At a Loss for Words- Justina Sparks

a picture is worth a thousand words, right? i've taken 1,930 pictures already. do the math and you might be able to understand how even i might be at a loss for words to describe my experiences so far...but i guess a logical place to start would be today.

the men and women (girls and boys?) went separate ways for the first time: the men were back to the daily grind at kenduiwo, roofing and being manly, while the women embarked on a journey with a mysterious overtone that can only be identified as apprehension. let me back up- this morning, we were all zombies. instant-human (just add caffeine) zombies. so...yeah, we were apprehensive to say the least concerning the hut-mudding plans in store for us.

the road to the hut itself was rough, to say the least. it was about forty-five minutes of driving on bumpy roads (i'm sure you've heard about them, but if not...ask us when we get home) followed by a hike down a road that alternated between muddy slicks, patches of grass, and rock formations. when we got to the village, a beautiful woman (are there any not-beautiful people here?) greeted us warmly and brought us down to the home we were going to mud...a wooden skeleton.

men were chopping dirt from a wall of earth and pouring water over it, then stomping it with their bare feet to mix it into a sort of natural plaster. the process to the mudding seemed simple: shove globs of mud between the spaces in the frame and make sure there aren't any holes...so we followed their lead and did our best.

after chai and an hour-long hike back up the hill (mountain.), it was time to pass out the gift packages to the children of the area. this is the part of the day that gets me. there's always one person that sticks out and makes my eyes well up (don't worry, i man up before i start to cry. i'm not a total sap.)...this time, it was a woman escorting a little boy. the boy didn't react much to the package (shock? confusion? it's a lot to take in), but the woman was smiling as big as the ocean is deep. she shook my hands furiously when i handed the boy his blanket and toilet paper and said "thank you, thank you" over and over again...in english, so i would be sure to understand. i was taken so far aback by the pure joy all over her face- in the lines around her eyes, the gaps in her teeth, the tears in her eyes. how do you react when you realize that you are a part of that joy?

god is all over this trip. i can't say that enough. everything that goes wrong- waking up at 3am every night, torrential rains, carsickness, bad dreams, exhaustion- has had a purpose. my mom's words keep coming back to me...when our family is fighting and experiencing utter chaos, she pulls us together and reminds us that as christians, we are always susceptible to spiritual battles, especially when the lord's work is upon us. she's right, as usual. our battles here are only because there is one that hates to see us spreading the unconditional love of christ to people that need it. so far, his attempts to foil god's plans are failing pathetically...and with a team like this and the support we have (on earth and above it), he will continue to do so.

Glory to God,
Justina Sparks