a day in the forest tomorrow

First off, some good news to share! Ben is back in Rio! For those of you who have followed the visa drama, Ben was in the U.S. for 7-weeks working on getting his student visa. It has been over a year of visa hassles for Ben, so it is an answer to a lot of prayers that he now has his student visa. It will be good to have him a part of the community here my final month here in Rio. He is my roommate here at the Nichols place. The next prayer need is that Ben is able to find a place to live close by here in the favela.

Tomorrow morning Ben, Jenna, Rich, Rebecca, and I will make some space for God in personal communion and solitude with Him! We will get out of the favlea and the city for a few hours and go to a national park here that they refer to as a forest (Floresta da Tijuca). Apparently this forest is all that remains of the rain forest that once surrounded the city of Rio. There are hiking trials, creeks, waterfalls, and lots of green! The great thing is that it is only about an hour away by bus from where we live. I am really looking forward to the change of scenery and pace for a few hours tomorrow morning! Once we get to the forest we will split up and go off for our time with God.

As I was thinking and praying about tomorrow, I was reminded of the distractions that often rise to the surface in my head and heart whenever I sit down for some silence and prayer. As I have mentioned before, here in Rio, and especially in the favlea, there is a lot of activity and noise throughout the day and night. Whether the juke box just outside our window, fireworks, gunshots, loud funk parties, people yelling, motorcycles zooming by, or loud churches there can be a lot of outer distractions here, which is why we are getting away to the forest. But, I soon realized that the inner noise can be just as distracting, especially when we find space for solitude and silence. Henri Nouwen refers to these distractions as the inner monkeys that appear inside our head whenever we try to be still in the presence of God. Our worries, our concerns, our “to do” lists…they all immediately seem to rise to the surface. I think these inner distractions are often more difficult to deal with and surrender to God then the outer stuff, when we make effort to abide and dwell in His presence. God desires us to release those distractions to Him and find rest in Him.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

All that said, I look forward to tomorrow and whatever God has in store for the two of us…distractions and all!