Last Saturday a group of 10 of us went out of town. After four hours winding through the greenest tropical mountains I've ever seen we made it to Dolisie. I think my favorite part of the trip is that none of it was planned. Well, a group was planning on going and I decided to join them, but besides that many of the details were unknown till we decided there in town. It's actually one of the reasons I wanted to go so much. Everyday my job revolves around planning and having things prepared so this was the perfect opportunity for spontaneity.
When we arrived Saturday we walked through town not knowing exactly where we were going, but in the direction of a restaurant that we had heard about from people that had been before. In the day and age of cell phones interuptions and 30 minute meals we managed to get up from the table three hours after sitting down. I don't think I heard a single complaint. We were just enjoying our time, having good conversation and tasting crazy new foods like gazelle, wild boar and antelope.
Sunday morning we headed even further out of town. At the end of our 30 minute taxi ride we made it to a small village. As we drove up the children were yelling "Mondeli, Mondeli" aka "white people, white people" in the local language. After a little bargaining we had two guides take us up to a beautiful waterfall. One day I hope to make it to Victoria Falls and Angel Falls, but I was happy to be taking in the view what was before me. It was nice to feel the cool breeze coming down with the water and even nicer to be standing in the knee deep in it taking some great pictures. On the way back I was reminded to take in my surroundings. It's a message that God has reminded me many times over the last year. As I was walking down the path to many times I found myself looking at the feet of the person in front of me. I wanted to make sure that I didn't miss any steps, but every time I looked up I was amazed at the views before us. I was focusing to much on the next step and not enough on where God had me.
Today as I booked my tickets to return home God gave me that nudge again. Take a look around. My time on the ship is limited, the end is near. In less than 60 days I will step down the gangway and into what God has for me next. I'm not sure what it is yet, there's a possibility in the works, but for now I think I'll dig a little deeper before I plan away my time here.
