Little Things

We've mostly written about the "big" things that have happened on our journey, like selling our house, adventures in the rural areas, and family outings. But recently I've been struck by some "little" things, like gratitude and giving, that aren't so little in the eternal realm. The first occurred last week with one of the village kids. This elementary school-aged boy tirelessly throws rocks and other objects into one of the fruit trees to try and snag some fruit. When the fruit is ripe, it is a yellowish-brown color, but right now, the fruit is all green. He eats it anyway. One afternoon, he showed me two decent-sized pieces of fruit, and one was even ripe! I was congratulating him on his efforts, especially in finding a ripe one. Without hesitation, he opened his hand to me and said, "You take." I couldn't. I couldn't deprive him of his hard-won fruit, and I was floored by his unselfish offer.
Friday I accompanied the Living Proof team to Gawa, a rural area. We left later than planned but finally hit the main road and were on our way. Jon turned to Benjamin and asked him to pray for the day ahead. I'm thinking we'll just pray as we go, but Cephas slowed down, pulled off the road and stopped, and then Benjamin prayed. It didn't matter that we were hurrying to our destination; there is always time to pray.
And yesterday, Ellie and I went to the market. The market is a big outdoor thrift shop. It is composed of several booths, most of which sell used clothing (probably from the United States). One of the women from the village church has a booth there. When she saw us, she hurried over and greeted us with a big smile and hug and invited us to come to her booth. After perusing her booth, I showed her the piece of clothing I wanted to purchase (mostly to support her business). She refused payment, wanting to give it to me as a gift. When I asked her why, she said, "Giving is my gift." (Gift as in talent, something she is good at doing). I am aware of my own selfishness. Even though my financial resources are greater than theirs, I want to hold on and they want to hold out hands of blessing.

Cephas with Adventure Unlimited (the truck) 

School kids at Gawa