This week there has been a little bird that has come to sing to me in the mornings. I am awestruck at the brilliance of God’s creation. It started early in the week when I heard a very loud chirping on my front porch. I thought, there is nowhere for a bird to perch except on my motorcycle. So I peeked out and it wasn’t there. I scanned the porch and there, “sitting” on the porch floor was a bird facing my window singing. I thought it was so cool. Well, the next day, there he was again, SITTING on the porch floor, FACING my window and chirping away. The smile on my face was so big as I thought of God sending this little creature to encourage me.

Of course I was reminded of His Word where Jesus told us that the birds of the air never worry about what they shall eat and what they shall wear, He will care for them. God will talk to us all the time if we would just open our ears and eyes and listen with our hearts. I love to pull myself out of a low place by thanking God for all His blessings to me and blessings that I have seen Him pour out for others. It’s always good to remind ourselves how truly blessed we are. There are so many in this world without the knowledge of God’s goodness.

The toddlers around the town have all finished their school year this week. I was in town yesterday and had to pull over to watch this big procession marching down the street with drums and music and parents dressed in their finest attire, all marching behind their little preschool graduates, fully attired in cap and gown. I thought how amazing it was that they made such a huge deal over preschool graduation. What a way to start a child’s school career on a positive step, people watching and clapping and smiling at them. Well, I didn’t have a parade for our toddlers but I did make them peanut butter crackers and balloon hats. When you hand a small child something to eat here, they cradle it in their hands and if it is bread, they pick it off teeny piece by teeny piece trying to make it last for ever. Mine, they walked around dabbing their tiny fingers for just a small taste of peanut butter so as to make it last. And when they share, they literally share the crumbs. It is like a precious treasure to them and they handle it with such care.

The work began in a flurry of activity, rocks and sand flying, holes being dug, grass chopped back, all to get our security fence in place. These guys work really fast. It would take me all day to dig five holes to their one! They are amazing. It is going so fast that I think it will be done by this next week.

Another great animal adventure concerning my front porch, involves a sneaky snake. As I was walking out onto my porch I saw a bright green snake crawl up into my motorcycle, in to the engine compartment area. I screamed, “SNAKE!” and all came running. We poked sticks in the bike, I sprayed massive amounts of bug spray which would have easily annihilated me, and we dumped the bike on its side, still no snake. My compound manager then took it for a ride, still no snake. I said to just leave it and it would eventually crawl out. He kept saying that it wasn’t there anymore because of all we’d done to it. I know what I saw and it was still in there.

About five hours later as I was walking up on to my porch I saw the snake trying to get in my house! I screamed, “SNAKE!” again. Here we are all these girls and two mamas trying to wack this snake with our little sticks. This snake liked to jump and rear its head. Well, he got away sad to say. It was a fun adventure though when I told my compound manager the next day that he took a snake for a ride! Haha! Only in Africa! It’s always something here.

And that’s this week in review from the animal kingdom! Be blessed by His love and His heart for you.