A Sweet Act of Love, Africa Part 3

I told you yesterday that next I would tell you about one of the sweetest acts of service ever done for me... Really, it was just an act of love, pure and simple...

First, let me introduce you to Enoch... This is Enoch with his family, Enoch is on the right.

When mom and S went to Kubuta the first time, Enoch was their guide, they have stayed in touch with him over the last 4 years and it was my blessing to meet him and spend time with him when we went in 2007. He is the most gentle, humble man you could ever hope to meet. His sweet spirit reminds me so much of my grandfather Pop...

I love being around Enoch... He loves to sing and will sing the most beautiful songs for us... Reign Jesus Reign... Amazing Grace... I love it when he sings a verse or two in his language...

Another thing I love about Enoch is how he will stand back and observe a situation and you will hear him quietly saying, "Wow...Wow...Wow..." Sometimes, just riding down the road, you will hear him, almost whisper it... Sometimes he would look at mom and S and I and whisper it... It's pretty humbling because you know that it has NOTHING to do with us, but for the moment, he is just seeing God's love for him, because we do love him with a love that is just not our own...

So the day we went to Kubuta, he went with us... Now Kubuta is in the middle of the mountains, nestled down in a beautiful valley, but it is very lacking in the luxuries of life...like running water...

Now for those of you who (like me) have experienced the wonders of the squatty potty in China, you "bathroomed" in luxury compared to the African long drop! And of course, mom and I had to go to the bathroom in Kubuta...

But as we headed that way, Enoch said, "Wait, let me go check it for critters." "Enoch...what kind of critters?" "Frogs...lizzards..." I didn't want to know any more!

So we waited and a few minutes later he came out and pronounced it all clear... But as I went in, I was overwhelmed by his thoughtfulness...this is what I found...

That sweet man had taken newspaper, torn a hole in the middle, and covered the seat for us so we would have a clean place to sit!

I realize this may seem like such a simple thing... I don't diminish all the amazing things people have done for us over the years, at all...

But to think that a man, who lives on the opposite side of the world...who sees us about once every 2 years, would love us enough to care about where we sat to go to the restroom is one of the most humbling things I could ever imagine... I don't know that I would have even thought about it...

I think in so many ways it touched me like the story of Jesus washing the disciples feet... It was just such a beautiful demonstration of Christ-like humility...

To borrow Enoch's words... wow...wow...wow!