Stillness

It started just how any youth retreat would. The excited kids weighed down by backpacks said good-bye to their parents before embarking on the weekend retreat. Moms & Dads showered their children with hugs and prayers. It brought me back to my days being a youth and then graduating to youth leader for some years at Mid-Cities Bible Church. I loved those days so I was ready to see what God had in store for this weekend for the youth here on the Africa Mercy.

The luggage and the 20-something youth piled into the landrovers and we were off to Kpalime, about two hours north of Lome'. It was a typical car ride- the youth started to sing Veggietale tunes, Disney favorites, and finally settled into worship songs they knew by heart. The four-wheel drive landrovers took to the mountains of Togo and we arrived at the YWAM base just by lunch time, the hottest part of the day. The kids went straight into setting up their cabins and hanging their mosquito nets on the bunk beds. There was free time to play games, to explore, and a contest to find the weirdest looking bugs. We ate African dinner (and some boys ate flying termites), by lantern since the generators had failed. All of us gathered with our torches (i.e. flashlights) for a time of worship and message. Our speaker, Marty, shared his story and the story of Elijah hearing from God- in the still whisper. It was the perfect setting, to hear from God, except I would have to wait until the morning to do so. I was not only a youth leader, but camp nurse and had a restless night along with others. In the coolness of the morning, before our coffee & bread, we took time to mediate on Psalm 95.

"For the LORD is great God, the great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountains peaks belong to him." vs 3-4

The rest of the day we spent exploring God's creation in the mountains of Togo. We ate sack lunches at a waterfall, that was just dry a month ago, but because of rainy season, we had a spectacular view. Then we ventured further into the jungle, with a hike to another waterfall, where a cascade of water and a muddy pool cooled us off. We returned back to camp to clean up for dinner and then a campfire underneath the stars.

The last morning I spent time with some of my favorite people, my 6th grade girls. Bethany, Iona, and Grace created a collage with markers & glue to share how God speaks to them to share with the whole group. Then we gathered sticks, leaves, and flowers to create a prayer/meditation station. Each of us spent time at the stations that were placed on these worn stone steps. The staircase looked like it lead to an overgrown bush, but beyond was a abandon sanctuary. A perfect place to hear from God. That weekend, I heard from God- in the gentle breeze through the trees, in the grasshoppers jumping around my feet, in my reading and journaling, in the waterfalls, in the songs we sang, and in my time with the youth. Most of all I heard from God in the stillness of the sanctuary.