Adventures WorldRace SethBarnes Sponsorship Giving

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A couple Saturdays ago I had a day off.  A lot of ideas were thrown around about how to spend the day – hiking in the mountains nearby, swimming, reading/watching a movie, just relaxing, etc.  I had been talking to some of the guys from the other (N) squad, also staying in Morogoro, and the decision was made to rent motorcycles for the day and see the countryside.  There was a waterfall their contact had told them about that was a short ride away that looks beautiful (according to the picture they saw on a guy’s wall).
 
 
 I was a bit apprehensive at first.  I’ve never really driven a motorcycle.  I’ve driven a couple scooters, the occasional dirt-bike, but my motorcycle experience is limited.  And I don’t know if you remember, but my brief motorcycle history, most notably my recent Kenyan motorcycle experience, hasn’t left me with an overwhelming sense of confidence or security.  Honestly, I was probably more than a little bit scared to get back on a motorcycle and face the often unpredictable African traffic. 
 

 
But I did it anyway.  Sure, in the back of my mind I was thinking about how many ways there are to die on a motorcycle, but Africa has made me very aware of the fragility of life in general.  No, I’m not relying on some kind of caution to the wind daredevil logic, but knowing how fragile life is, why not live it up?  Maybe I had to prove that a motorcycle is a horse I can get back on, maybe that’s a fear I needed to conquer.  I don’t know.  But I prayed before we headed out, and I felt a sense of calm and security about it all.  I knew, as cheesy as it sounds, that God would be with me and protect me.  
 
 
We rode all over Morogoro.  Through the town, up into the mountains.  We rode to the waterfall, and spent two hours hiking up the stream and in the mountains barefoot.  We found a local guy to show us how to navigate the rocks on either side of the water that flowed out from up in the hills.  He floated effortlessly from rock to rock over the water below.  We scrambled around on ledges and bounced around on rocks…not quite as effortlessly…but we made it.  It was awesome.  Just 5 guys truly exploring and enjoying creation.  
 
 
 
We spent the afternoon just riding through the countryside.  The sun was setting and painted the sky all kinds of beautiful colors.  We found a beautiful lake where people were fishing from hollowed-out log canoes.  I took these pictures.  I was there.  I saw the beauty in  person.  I feel like I was living in a postcard.  It was awesome. 

God is teaching me a lot about his will and my place in it.  I know that God has a purpose for my life that cannot be blocked or prevented. 

“I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.” (Job 42:2)

“The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.  Do not forsake the work of your hands.” (Psalm 138:8)

That day as I drove through the mountains, as I felt the cold water of the mountain stream, as I felt the warm dirt of the mountain path beneath my feet, as I stood on the shore of a glassy lake and watched the sunset change the color of the mountains in the distance, I knew God was with me.  I was reminded that he has a plan for me.  I love that his plan includes things like motorcycle rides in Tanzania.  I love that he is good and loves to make me happy.  He is so awesome.