A Greener Sunday

Sunday, October 26th....I know the Sunday part because I heard the singing coming from the Baptist church in the village early this morning. The 26th part? I only know that because my computer tells me so.

I woke to a new sound and then a wonderful fresh new smell. The rain has come!! How strange to feel chilly with just one blanket. How good to see the trees looking greener after just one little rain shower to dust them off a bit. And now, nearing noon, what a treat for this heat-weary mzungu...a day still cloudy and breezy and, for me, comfortable. I celebrated the rain by allowing myself a teensy bit of extra shower water and an inaugural go at shaving my legs in cold water...dodging around all the little puppy scratches that adorn them of course.

It was good to have Happyness staying with me last night. We came up to camp about 4pm and I couldn't figure out why there were so many young men in the immediate area. Johanna explained that earlier in the day it was discovered that a 'cheetah' had eaten 3 goats a little ways up the mountainside. Now, I must interject...Happy tried to explain to me that sometimes a cheetah isn't a cheetah. I didn't exactly end up understanding (when do I ever, totally??) but SOMETHING ate the goats and that certainly warranted a great deal of discussion and concern around here. We were, as always, assured of our safety down here at the camp though, so with the wind low I actually had the best sleep yet, helped along I'm sure, by the pleasure of hearing someone breathing in the bed beside mine.

This morning I learned to cook maize porridge for the dogs. They've had a few days of the extravagance of my oatmeal and powdered milk, but that's ridiculously expensive as dog food.

I feel good today. I'm looking forward to a visit soon, from my friend Abel who says he'll come to greet me after church. Then back to the internet centre which hopefully will be open as promised so I can post this and reply to some of the emails that came through last evening.

Tomorrow it may all change, but for today I think what I feel most (and what I came here most needing to relearn and truly internalize) is acceptance. A long catch-up conversation with Happyness last evening reminded me of why I generally feel less anxiety here in Longido. Here it is somehow easier to reconcile acceptance of the present, with the contagious faith and hope in fulfilled dreams tomorrow. Here, everything is possible so long as we continue to believe in that possibility. No need or even sense in trying to rationalize away the hopes and feelings that back home came with a boatload of obstacles. This is not a place conducive to falling out of even lopsided love.