Starry skies and flourescent plankton

This past weekend the Lord treated a very lucky group of us to the starriest of skies and a magnificent display of what He can do.

A group of us headed off to Bureh Beach for a weekend of camping and having fun for a friend's birthday. Bureh Beach of course lived up to it's reputation with clear beaches, swaying palm trees, good food, friends playing volleyball, crystal clear waves, dark jungle-covered mountains behind us and billowy white clouds. There is a small island across from the beach over that you can swim to if you've packed your sense of adventure with you. It's about a 15 minute swim and if you take it slowly and don't try to show off your strong swimming technique you can make it just fine, not even being tired once you get there! We walked around the tiny island jumping on the rocks around and eating this fruit that yes, it was brave to pick up and eat, but tasted like passion fruit and nobody bent over double afterwards. Or got any cases of what the Sierra Leonians call the fast-fast, which involves motion out the derriere at the aforementioned speed.

The beach boys, locals who pretty much take care of what you need food and drink-wise, cooked up some delicious smoked fish, couscous, tomato and onion sauce and crab. And a huge bonfire.

We were treated to a magnificent sunset, with a few of us lodged on a large rock overlooking the orange splendour as it set behind that tiny island, the rock warm from the sun and curved so it contours perfectly to your back.

But once the sun set, the true display began. The moon was a mere sliver so the stars came out in force, the full Milky Way on display. The only break in the stars came from the outline of the black palm trees. Looking down from the stars, a magnificent lightning storm broke over the horizon and continued for awhile, nice and far away so all we saw was the crashing light, and below us, the ocean lit with flourescent plankton.

A friend and I were walking in the dark on the beach when we noticed that the sand was sparkling. Running back to tell the rest of the crowd, most everyone headed off into the water once we realized that the plankton sparkles with motion. So general waterfights, twirling in the water, and back into the ocean we all go; it looked like a scene from the movie Avatar, where what you touch glows. Even the waves sparkled when they crashed. Those who opened their eyes underwater tell of a lit up land that you couldn't even see from standing in the water.

So it was starry skies above, lightning on the horizon, and sparkling waters beneath us. A true display of God's creativity. I giggled at all of us because we were really remarking that God loves us so much to put on such a show for us; we were with a group of Peace Corp people on vacation and they must have thought us nuts - maybe it entered into their consciousness that yes, "the heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim the work of his hands." Ps. 19:1. It was impossible to ignore the unexpected beauty of the night and not give notice to Him who put it there.

One of my ship friends has a tiny tatoo of a star on her foot, and when I asked her about it she told me that to her, stars are just the most effusive display of love from God for us. He didn't have to put them there at all, He just did, and we get to enjoy it. Like every good thing that comes down from the Father of Lights.

James 1:17 "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."