Where do I begin?

It is our final hours at training camp before we ship out to Kenya for the next 40 days, the first portion of the trip. How can I describe this feeling? Its so surreal, unreal. I have a hard time really putting the frame into focus and truly understanding what we are about to step into, but then again we never truly understand, do we? I think thats the beauty of everything, its the mystery. I think it's thats partially why the Gospel is so beautiful too. Who can understand the things of God?

Job 28 puts it nicely - "Surely there is a mine for silver and a place where they refine gold. Iron is taken from the dust, and copper is smelted from rock. Man puts an end to darkness, and to the farthest limit he searches out the rock in gloom and deep shadow. He sinks a shaft far from habitation, forgotten by the foot; they hang and swing to and fro far from men. The earth, from it comes food, and underneath it is turned up as fire. Its rocks are the source of sapphires, and its dust contains gold. The path no bird of prey knows, nor has the falcon’s eye caught sight of it. The proud beasts have not trodden it, nor has the fierce lion passed over it. He puts his hand on the flint; he overturns the mountains at the base. He hews out channels through the rocks, and his eye sees anything precious. He dams up the streams from flowing, and what is hidden he brings out to the light. But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? Man does not know its value, nor is it found in the land of the living. The deep says, ‘It is not in me’; and the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’ Pure gold cannot be given in exchange for it, nor can silver be weighed as its price. It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx, or sapphire. Gold or glass cannot equal it, nor can it be exchanged for articles of fine gold. Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned; and the acquisition of wisdom is above that of pearls. The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it, nor can it be valued in pure gold. Where then does wisdom come from? And where is the place of understanding? Thus it is hidden from the eyes of all living and concealed from the birds of the sky. Abaddon and Death say, ‘With our ears we have heard a report of it.’ God understands its way, and He knows its place. For He looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens. When He imparted weight to the wind and meted out the waters by measure, When He set a limit for the rain and a course for the thunderbolt, Then He saw it and declared it; He established it and also searched it out. And to man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.’”

And Proverbs 8 - "Does not wisdom call, and understanding lift up her voice? On top of the heights beside the way, where the paths meet, she takes her stand; beside the gates, at the opening to the city, at the entrance of the doors, she cries out: “To you, O men, I call, and my voice is to the sons of men. “O naive ones, understand prudence; and, O fools, understand wisdom. “Listen, for I will speak noble things; and the opening of my lips will reveal right things. “For my mouth will utter truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips. “All the utterances of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing crooked or perverted in them. “They are all straightforward to him who understands, and right to those who find knowledge. “Take my instruction and not silver, and knowledge rather than choicest gold. “For wisdom is better than jewels; and all desirable things cannot compare with her. “I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, and I find knowledge and discretion. “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverted mouth, I hate. “Counsel is mine and sound wisdom; I am understanding, power is mine. “By me kings reign, and rulers decree justice. “By me princes rule, and nobles, all who judge rightly. “I love those who love me; and those who diligently seek me will find me. “Riches and honor are with me, enduring wealth and righteousness. “My fruit is better than gold, even pure gold, and my yield better than choicest silver. “I walk in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of justice, to endow those who love me with wealth, that I may fill their treasuries. “The LORD possessed me at the beginning of His way, before His works of old. “From everlasting I was established, from the beginning, from the earliest times of the earth. “When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water. “Before the mountains were settled, before the hills I was brought forth; while He had not yet made the earth and the fields, nor the first dust of the world. “When He established the heavens, I was there, when He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep, when He made firm the skies above, when the springs of the deep became fixed, when He set for the sea its boundary so that the water would not transgress His command, when He marked out the foundations of the earth; then I was beside Him, as a master workman; and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him, rejoicing in the world, His earth, and having my delight in the sons of men. “Now therefore, O sons, listen to me, for blessed are they who keep my ways. “Heed instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it. “Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at my doorposts. “For he who finds me finds life and obtains favor from the LORD. “But he who sins against me injures himself; all those who hate me love death.”

Wisdom, Understanding, and Knowledge is what we need to remain in as we step into this new book of life. Lord keep us close, and come quickly.