Community. And some of a ride:weller's favorite things.

It’s been awhile since my last update, so I decided it might be a good idea to do that right now while I’ve got a hold of someone else’s computer and some down time.

The first thing that comes to mind that I really want to share is something I’ve been seeing a lot lately. Monday, just as we were leaving Socorro, NM, I hit some gravel in the road and fell off my bike. That part’s really not too big a deal, since now I’m feeling fine. Anyway, it was the rest of the day that mattered. That morning, Jacob was already heading to the emergency room to get checked out again, so I tagged along to be sure I was fine since I’d fallen on my head and my hip and to get my cuts all cleaned up. We were there for awhile, so our support van needed to go on to help the rest of the team, and wouldn’t be able to come back for us for awhile. We were kind of wondering what we’d do for the rest of the day and how we’d get our prescriptions filled, and found out that someone we’d never met before was going to come help. I think her name was Sue, and she picked us up at the hospital and took us to get our medicines, lunch, and a new helmet for me then on to meet back up with the team. While we were riding with Sue in the car, Criselda told her it was amazing that someone we didn’t even know would help us out so much. Sue’s response was so meaningful. She said something along the lines of, “Well, I think that’s how it was in Jesus’ day. They didn’t have things to meet all of their needs immediately, and the church depended on each other to meet each other’s needs.” She’s so right. We are made for community and to serve each other in that community. It think that’s something that’s become increasingly evident on this trip. As a team, we’re learning a lot about our need for each other, our interconnectedness, and more about what community looks like. We need each other and the people God puts on our paths along the way in the various towns we visit. We need each other for encouragement and for water, to make it up really challenging hills and to fill our stomachs. And to keep us united in the truth, to remind each other of our purpose. It’s easy to sometimes forget about the big picture when you’re staring at a hill or being shaken around by a bumpy road or feeling like your face is melting off. But when we interact as a team, as a community, and as our stories intersect and our thoughts take shape, we are able to keep each other not only on track, but growing. We are all in the same place and yet in different places, and someone is always there to keep us focused. We share our struggles and our joys, and we grow so much. We see each other and help each other see. I can’t begin to express how valuable this experience is. I am having such a blast. I think my favorite thing about the trip is the people. The people on my team who amaze me all the time and the people we come in contact with. Though we are all passionate about hope for our brothers and sisters in Marsabit, Kenya, it’s so great when we get to share it with random people everywhere who are hearing about it for the first time and are so amazed.

Some of my other favorite things in a nutshell:
Prayers from pastors and leaders across the country. I wish I had them all on tape. They are all different and all amazing. Their hospitality and love blow me away.
Seeing different people on our team share at the different churches.
Chocolate milk.
Wide shoulders on roads.
Ice.
Real bathrooms; not trees or bushes.
Clean laundry.
Smooth roads.
Downhills.
Down time.
Getting to know my team more. Their stories are beautiful.
Showers.
Signs, the game.
Making bracelets out of old inner tubes.
Fireworks.
The fact that it doesn’t bother us to where the same couple outfits over and over and over again and to go out matching.
Changing to a new flavor of gatorade.
The beautiful scenery.
Visiting all of the different churches.

I know I’m forgetting some. Guess I’ll have to add more later. There are so many more things I’d love to write about, but it would be too long. More to come.

Much Love,

Erin (Morris)