Tell Your Heart to Beat Again

I'll be honest. This trip didn't start well. First, I've been going though a bit of a spiritual valley lately, and while you would think the prospect of going on a mission trip to see children and friends that I love would put me in the right frame of mind and spirit, something just didn't feel right and it really bothered me. The situation wasn't helped by a few traveling inconveniences, such as being told when I checked in at the airport that I wouldn't be able to get on the flight because my Kenyan visa had not been approved, or finding out when I arrived in Kenya after 24 hours of traveling that my two checked bags did not make it, or the reaction I had to my anti-malarial medication. But, God has been applying the electric paddles to my heart the past two days, and the old ticker is starting to beat again. I think the first jolt was when a five year old girl named Eunice who just came to the Centre a few months ago shook my hand to meet me and then just wouldn't let go. and slid in beside me The next jolt came when Eunice's three year old sister named Abigail was giggling, hugging Andrew Mukumbu's neck, calling him "daddy", and saying "I love you, too" back to him. And, today, my heart was lifted by watching the sheer joy in the children's eyes, as they got a rare treat to go swimming. There's a song by Phillips, Craig & Dean called "Tell Your Heart to Beat Again that I've listened to a lot lately,. The Chorus goes: "Tell your heart to beat again. Close your eyes and breathe it in. Let the shadows fall away, step into the dawn of grace. Yesterday's a closing door. You don't live there anymore. So, say goodbye to where you've been and tell your heart to beat again.." I can't say I'm ready to be discharged from the recovery room, but I can feel that heart beating, and that heartbeat is what gives me hope.