Hour Eleven - Saa Kumi na Moja

Western sunset blazes red
   Over random piles of rocks.
Balanced boulders scattered ahead;
   Also, hidden dwellings formed with blocks.

Africans are planting rice and maize;
   Women bending low, performing tasks.
Herds of goats and cattle graze.
   "Dream or reality?" This I ask.

Days of wonder fill our heads;
   Mounds of memories we find.
Sunset colors blaze deep red;
   Hearts of love have been entwined.

by Julie Dunlap   10-18-2013

Note:  We are in 'the last hour' of our stay in Africa.  We have been blessed beyond anything we could have imagined.  It has been like living in a dream.  We thank God for bringing us to Africa and blessing us with many new African friends.

Western sunset

 Balanced boulders

Hidden dwellings

Africans are planting

Women bending low

Cattle graze

"Dream or reality?"

Sunset colors blaze

Hearts of love have been entwined.

Prayer for Africa

God bless Africa

Guard her children;

Guide her leaders, and

Give her peace

For Jesus Christ's sake.  Amen.

This short prayer is found in the front of the song books we use at the cathedral in Mwanza.  Please join us in prayer for the African church and the African people, that they will know Christ and follow His way of the cross into the brilliant, everlasting Light.

Hush, This Day is Holy

Hush, this day is holy,
   Holy to the Lord,
   The Lord most high.

Quiet your mind,
Still your thoughts,
For this day is holy
To the Lord.

Joy springs from a grateful heart;
   Give thanks to the Lord
   Almighty.
Joy springs from a grateful heart
   With quietness and trust
   In God.

10-9-2013
Inspired by Amy Carmichael's writings
in Edges of His Ways

Note:  This short song came to me this week, and encouraged me to quiet my mind, still my thoughts, and give thanks to the Lord, and thereby obtain true joy.  This is the joy that comes from a deep trust in God and heartfelt gratitude for His mercy, extended to each of us as we come to realize our frailties.

 
 

You Have Our Faith with Our Bodies

Father, thank you for your revelation
    about death
    and illness
    and sorrow.

Thank you for speaking so plainly to us,
    for calling us all friends
    and hovering over us;
    for extending your arms out to us.

We cannot stand on our own;
    we fall into death without you.
    We fall from faith, left to our own.
    We are really friendless without you.

Your extended arms fill us with joy,
    expressing love,
    love caring and carrying,
    asking and receiving our trust.

You have our trust, Father,
    and our faith,
    with our bodies
    and all that we are and possess.

We fear nothing when with you,
    safe to stretch out and help others,
    those troubled in faith,
    those troubled in body.

Father, help us to do with our bodies what we proclaim,
    that our faith be known to you
    and to others,
    and be effective in all the world.

Masai, Tanzania
from An African Prayer Book by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, copyright 1995

Six Weeks

          Six more weeks remain;
          Seems so short a space.
          Day by day, we gain
          Gratitude for grace.

          Grace that brought us here;
          Friends who bring us cheer.
          Love that will endure,
          Lasting year by year.

          Thanks to Thee, O Lord.
          Thank You for Thy grace.
          Kindness Thou hast poured
          On us.  Africa we embrace.

          9-30-2013
       

My Heart Shall Rejoice

The Lord is my strength, and He is my shield.
I will trust in Him, and I shall be healed.
My heart shall rejoice, and my song will praise His name.
My soul shall rejoice, and my voice will bless His name.
Come bless the Lord with me.

The Lord is my strength, and He is ever near.
I will rest in Him, and I shall not fear,
My heart shall rejoice, and my song will praise His name.
My soul shall rejoice, and my voice will bless His name.
Come and rejoice with me.

by Nathan Dunlap,  17th  of August, 2013,  Inspired by Psalm 28

Note:   The Lord is bringing us joy as we place our trust in Him while we sing this song together.  He has been helping us put some parts of the Psalms to music.  Then the words become personal to our lives. Bwana Yesu asifiwe!!  (Lord Jesus be praised!!)

Emmanuel's Song

Make my heart and your word a rhyme;
In my giving be a living sign,
     A living sign.
Submit my desire to thy holy fire;
Submit my will to thy will divine,
     Thy will divine.

     Emmanuel,
     Our God with us.
I look to thy hands, thy feet, and thy side;
I look to Thy wounds to be my guide,
     To be my guide.
Bread for the world, wounded indeed;
Wound my soul along with Thee,
     Wound my soul
     Along with Thee.

Make my heart as a broken field;
In my motion, thy focus revealed,
     Thy focus revealed.
Humble my time to thy holy mind;
Humble my will to thy will, I yield,
     Thy Will, I yield.

     Emmanuel,
     Our God with us.
I look to thy hands, thy feet, and thy side;
I look to thy wounds to be my guide,
     To be my guide.
Wine for the world, poured out indeed;
Let my life flow out with Thee.
     Let my life
     Flow out with Thee.


by Nathan Dunlap  1-21-2001

Note:  Today is Nathan's birthday, and I thank him for sharing in the journey of life in Christ,  that we are companions along the way.  It is such a blessing to have and be a companion. May God bless you, Nathan, with His peace and joy always abiding in your heart and mind.