awed and inspired

i consider myself to be a spiritual person and in no other instance is God's presence made more evident than in nature. whenever i see nature, like we did today, i am humbled.  i look at the waterfalls and i appreciate God's greatness and ingenuity; i see the mountains and marvel at how they look - molded by God's own hands and covered with a carpet of grass and trees. i am awed at how one powerful volcanic eruption can destroy a river, displace population, and change lives... forever.  yet it is precisely that destruction 17 years ago that brings 24 people from 10 different countries together to rebuild a culture, a community, and many lives. 

i am inspired by these people, who today, made a difference for others... and most likely, for themselves.  i am inspired by their determination to push on, despite fatigue and heat, to dig a hole, plant a tree, or climb a mountain.

sometimes, God deals people (and at times, an entire nation) acts of devastation and we question the wisdom of it all.  today showed me that perhaps it is not ours to question; the perfection of such an act was in the presence of each of the 24 people in this camp.

-- Leslie Sulit, IPP Staffer (Philippines)