the cederburg day 3

7 am again. Brewing coffee again. For some reason, this ritual never gets old. I will never tire of the sights, smells, and sounds of the mountainside; or the peace and stillness of the wilderness. It's unexplainably wonderful, and I feel at home. There's a part of me that will always want to be so deep in nature, and nearly one with creation and God. But I know my calling is to people and relationship. It's ok to disappear every once in a while to catch back up with God, but I know I can't selfishly hide. I've tried that before, and no matter where I ran, God found me and drew me to Himself. There's no way I can run anymore.

A bird just arrived to sing to me its morning song. A symphony of a place untainted by the pollution and corruption of the world. And I hope it stays like that. I hope these birds continue to sing their songs freely without human disruption. We tend to conquer and plunder all that's around us, but I hope for your sakes, birds, that we never make it this far.

The rain... that means no cave exploring today, but there is unnamed beauty in the rain. With the rains spring up winter wild flowers. The heat and burn of yesterday can be washed away: it cleanses, refreshes, renews, restores, reclaims. The pitter-patter on the roof lulls me to sleep again, and the scent of the wet earth is glorious. Comparable to the smell of a fresh flower: it brings joy and clarity. Here I am again: I never tire of this place, this rain, this cold cup of coffee.

Yesterday was an interesting day. The sun shone so bright and warm, you wouldn't know it was almost winter! Reminded me of home. We began with breakfast and then relaxed for a little bit. I spent some time just soaking up the sun. We then headed out to the nearby town Clanwilliam to do some exploring. We first went to a very dead flower garden... we're a little late in season for summer flowers and much too early for the winter ones. Nonetheless, we made the best of it, and I found every flower that place had left.

We also went on a tour of a tea farm. 70% of the world's rooibos tea is produced in this small area of South Africa! Who knew?! The name rooibos means "red bush" in Afrikaans. We rode around in a vintage '78 Toyota truck and got to see the rooibos growing in its natural habitat. We stopped by a processing plant as well, to see all the work that goes into making the perfect tea. It was fascinating. We ended up back at our tour guides house/shop and got to taste some of the locally grown teas. They were outstanding. Chris, our tour guide, was an interesting fellow, but clearly loved leading tours and loved nature. He could tell us so much about the area and the surrounding flora and fauna.

He talked of one flower in particular that has an amazing way of pollinating itself. During mating season for one type of beetle, the flower blooms. It blooms with 3-D images of that specific beetle on its petals. The plant will so intelligently spread the number of fake bugs among the other flowers between 0-3, so it looks very convincing. The male bug will see the flowers and think, "Oh, mates!" And fly down to impress the ladies with his mating dance. He dances all over the flower and when the girls seem uninterested he flies off for the next flower... pollinating along the way.

God is quite the designer isn't He? He made this beautiful world and all these beautiful things and we get to enjoy them! What more could we want??



-Kristen

the cederburg day 2

There's an eeriness over the mountainside this morning, as a swift wind blows. It's as if the mountains can talk, and their voice beckons to the earth. A deep, solemn tone. I made my coffee a little strong this morning, but I'm not upset. I will appreciate the energy in an hour, when everyone is hustling and bustling around our farm lodging. The wind comes and goes, just as quickly and suddenly as it started every night and into morning. Without warning it's gone, leaving only the silence of the valley and the occasional noisy bird or cow.

Time seems to be traveling at some speed lately. In Rob Bell's new book, Love Wins (which is not nearly as controversial as I expected), he talks about us as being in time, but never of it. Because we were built and destined to be somewhere else beyond this world, we are never going to get comfortable with time. It's too slow, too fast, it flies, it lags, it goes without permission ("Where did the time go?"); and most of the time, there's not enough of it when we're having those epic discussions with the people we love.

I've already been in Africa for a little over four months now. That's hectic, as the South Africans would say. I do have to ask myself, where has the time gone?! Sometimes I feel that I would love for time to pass and me to be done with this chapter and on to the next. Other times, I never want this adventure to end, and it's almost halfway over... In these beautiful surroundings before me, I NEVER want time to pass. Oh just to spend a few years in this kind of peace and tranquility, not bothered by the world or people or things! But then I know that's not what I'm called to. God's creation is to enjoy, as it draws us nearer to our actual Creator, but the people of God's creation are His prized possessions... and they need attending. That's where we come in! It's all about LOVE.

Yesterday we hiked to a marvelous waterfall. Wow. I could have spent hours there. The view from that height was spectacular and then to turn around and face the power of this natural wonder. It was breathtaking. The bite of the water produced a crisp fresh air about the falls. You just breathe in deep, hoping you can harness that feeling forever. How to put into words something that words cannot describe? It's impossible. I bask.

I finish my coffee and quietly listen to the mountains complain to the earth. Herein lies tranquility & strong coffee.



-Kristen

the cederburg day 1

This morning, I find myself in an area known as Lemon Valley. Surrounded by peaceful farmland and pristine mountains. A place up in northwest South Africa called the Cederburg Wilderness. I almost didn't come. I almost let cultural differences and language barriers get in the way. When have I ever let that stop me before?? And I call myself a missionary?! A chance to escape into the wilderness with some wonderful people that have become like family to me. I shouldn't miss it!

Thankfully, I got my head screwed back on and decided to go. Now I sit here with my fresh cup of French press coffee (the best I've made so far, if I do say so myself), my journal, my kindle and a sunrise. 7 am never felt SO good! The pitter-patter of a light rain is soothing to my weary soul. It brings an indescribable life to everything. The sounds, the smells, the trees dancing to the beat of the droplets. There's just some kind of feeling out here. An unexplainable one, where you feel you are at the ends of the earth and out of sight of the world and people. You are at the mercy of only God: in a good way.

The sunrise naturally brings about a new day and with your soul, new mercies. Where the natural and spiritual meet. They are never truly separated. But being in the moan and drone of a new day in civilization, you find the beauty and newness of the morning lost in the dread of the day to come and the traffic to battle. Well, my coffee is cold now, but I'm still enjoying its company. The stillness of my surroundings warms me enough.

Yesterday we went on a small hike along the river for about an hour. Before we came to the base of the mountain to climb up, we saw a herd of goats all with newly birthed kids! It was just beautiful. Although, I did notice one thing: as the kids lost focus on their mothers, they would begin to cry out in fear. The mothers would normally respond with their individually identifiable bleat and the baby would then find her. In this case, the mothers were too busy grazing to notice their lost young crying out for them. I just then thought about our relationship with God. He would NEVER leave or forsake us. He is always near and if we thought we might have lost Him, then we just cry out, and He will immediately respond: not getting caught up in anything else, but our hearts and our lives. At times you feel lost, because you separated yourself from God... He moved on into another pasture and you were consumed with the present world around you.

"But take heart for I have overcome the world!" -John 16:33

Give Him your world, your life, your burdens, and He will gladly bear it. Don't be like a lost kid!

-Kristen