reflecting beneath the neem tree

I've become accustomed to showering by moonlight. It's quite nice--except for the mosquitoes who also like being active at that time of night. There is something special about the open sky above me as the bucket nozzle dribbles down cool water on me and washes away the day's grime, sweat and clinic germs. This is one of the rare times of day when I'm truly alone and is a great time to think. Sometimes I sing, sometimes I listen to the conversations and life going on on the other side of the grass shower enclosure, sometimes I think about what God is doing here in the bush and what I hope He'll do, what He might want me to do differently and how in my frailty sometimes I feel like I've really messed up.

Tonight the moon is particularly striking. I so appreciate the beauty around me here in Sudan. The Arkansas sky pales in comparison to the Sudan sky even though we cannot see the horizon for the overgrowth of bush in the rainy season. God touches my heart with His beauty when the circumstances around me are heartbreaking. I am thankful.