10,000 Reasons - Guyana

As I woke up this morning while flying from New York to Guyana - I peered out the window to the amazing beauty of a heaven’s view sunrise . . . the light reflecting off the clouds, the moment by moment unwrapping of sunlight caused me to soak in a new day. I immediately thought of this song by Matt Redman - “The sun comes up it’s a new day dawning . . . bless the Lord oh my soul”. I found myself whispering a prayer of thanksgiving - thankful for a new day, thankful for the opportunity to visit a new country, to meet both old and new friends, to see God’s goodness and beauty in a different culture . . . indeed it seemed like 10,000 reasons for my heart to find to worship and be in awe of God’s grace, goodness and beauty. As we prepared to land, all I could see was a vast jungle below me, a river winding through followed by more jungle - till at last we dropped onto a runway that popped up out of nowhere. The next 2 hours I was taking in all the newness. Greeted at the airport by a familiar face, we then started off on our trip along the coast to the YWAM base. The taxi driver was a proud Guyanese man who enjoyed sharing with me all the unique aspects of his country - the only English-speaking country in South America, the highest waterfall in the world, the longest floating bridge in the world, the largest wooden building in the world. My fact-filled trip was interrupted a few times, like when we passed a young boy holding up iguana for sale along the side of the road. We also stopped at M&M, the local fast-food joint to pick up some- “doubles” - a tortilla type wrap filled with something similar to curried chick peas - it was a tasty introduction to the country, even though “doubles” were brought here by a man from Trinidad. I indulged in my Trinidadian, Guyanese snack purchased for me by my Barbadian friend and literally was singing on the inside at the international moment - 10,000 reasons! As I was eating the “double” we drove over the famous floating bridge . . .and continued our journey onto the YWAM base. After a much needed rest, I enjoyed hanging out with some of the folks here who have come to be a part of the leadership training and found myself looking at pictures of Nepal - a place I had visited almost 10 years ago. One of the guys here did a school in Nepal and was showing me his pictures of a village where I had been. Two Americans looking at pictures of a village in Nepal while sitting on a porch in Guyana - 10,000 reasons for my heart to find to worship an amazing God. If you’ve never listened to this song 10,000 Reasons, please do and ask the Lord to help you begin to be on the lookout for all the incredible reasons we have to worship Him - Bless the Lord of my soul - My soul is indeed blessed and very full!