God Still Has Surprises for Us

During these first two weeks of June, God has provided me with several new experiences to spice up my life. Imagine that—at this stage of my life I am still experiencing some “firsts.” It all started last week on Sunday with experiencing my “first tornado watch.” For people in this part of the country, tornado watches are routinely occurring events; however, I have not been in a location before where an official tornado watch was announced. We are currently in a campground in Des Moines, IA. Last Sunday evening the security guard came to our door to tell us of the tornado watch and explain where to go if we heard sirens. I’ll have to admit I was a bit uneasy and kept checking the clouds for quite a while that evening. Praise God, the night passed without any tornadoes in the Des Moines area. Last Monday I ate Oryx meat for the first time. Some of you may be wondering what Oryx is. I was in the same boat until late May. I learned from Wikipedia.com that Oryx are species of antelope, typically having long straight almost upright or swept back horns. Two or three of the species are native to Africa, with a fourth native to the Arabian Peninsula. Small populations of several oryx species, such as the Scimitar Oryx, exist in Texas and New Mexico, USA as captive populations on wild game ranches. My brother-in-law, Mike, drew hunting tags that allowed him to hunt Oryx in the White Sands area of New Mexico last year and he bagged one. He has the skull (with horns attached) prominently displayed on his wall. He and Pam graciously shared a couple packages of their Oryx meat with us just before we hit the road again; thus, we enjoyed Oryx stew from the crockpot last Monday for supper and repurposed the leftovers into a tasty vegetable soup later in the week. The taste of Oryx is somewhat similar to beef in taste. The next “first” on my list was camping near a group of carnival workers. Midweek we saw several “campers” that looked like repurposed U-Haul trucks pull into the campground as well as some fifth wheels that looked a lot like converted horse trailers. All these so-called “campers” had been partitioned off into small compartments. As I was taking a walk one afternoon, the door was open to one compartment. What I observed was a very small room with only enough space for a single bed or cot and a narrow walkway across. I didn’t get a close-up look, but it did not appear to me to be a very comfortable place to live. I am thankful I don’t have to live in such a small space. Living in a 36-foot motor home is tight enough quarters for me! Another “first” was meeting a food editor who works for Better Homes and Gardens magazine, which is based here in Des Moines. It was great fun to visit with her over dinner on Friday night. She happens to be a member of the church where we are working on the LFC project. Life continues to be an adventure and we never know what lies around the corner. We just enjoy each day as it comes and leave the itinerary to God. He continues to surprise us in the most delightful ways. I hope He is providing wonderful surprises for you too.