Beautiful Things

Imagine following a narrow footpath through cornfields climbing the sides of low mountains at an impossible incline.  The intense sun threatens to overwhelm the elements.  Where agriculture ends, jungle-like bush takes over.  Under the covering of the tree canopy, the oppressive air becomes cool and damp.  Here the ferns are the size of saplings; fiddles swell beyond the length and girth of a man's arm.  Dao trees stretch skyward around a gentle waterfall that pours out over a tremendous calcium deposit.  This water does not disappear in dry season so it is our water source, roughly 2 km deep into the bush.

Earlier this month, I was privileged to have the opportunity to see all of these beautiful things firsthand.  My companions joked that I was the first white woman to complete the trek to the spring.  First or not, my heart was in awe of creation and its Creator.  The words of the old hymn describe the feeling best: "Then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee, How great thou art!"