A Man Named David

Near the end of a long hot day, there he was.  Sitting in the middle of nowhere (it seems many of our important contacts have been made with people sitting in the middle of nowhere).  We had walked for an hour and a half since the last village, and had at least an hour and a half before the next.  Looking ahead we saw a stand, or a house, or was it store?  It was hard to tell, but as we approached we kne that whatever it was, we were welcomed to stop. "Welcome to Paradise", he said from the shadows, then proceeded to tell us he had many things to share.  

He had us with "peanut butter". (Do you have any idea how many times a Canadian misses PB when in Europe?) 

He shared his PB, and a drink of cold water, and a piece of melon - but mostly he shared himself.

So I asked, "do you stay here all day?", thinking that would be quite an undertaking.  Imagine my surprise when he replied, "this is my home.  I live here, all year, and I have for the last five years."

I asked him about water - he carries it 2 km.

I asked him about supplies - sometimes he goes into town (6km), or sometimes he walks 2 km to a telephone, and has supplies delivered.  

I asked him about winter. (The "building" was only two walls and some curtains.) - he had a little wood stove - to cook on and to heat an area about 5x10 when it gets cold.  

And this is his home. Which he was sharing with us, because we were tired, hungry, thirsty.

For the past two or three years, I've been researching the idea of minimalism - living with less, much less than we presently hold.  I think David has the minimalist life style mastered.

He asked about Canada - is it stressful there?  Oh no, I said, tongue in cheek.  Everyone lives just like you.

I'm not here to say you should live like him.  I don't think I'm ready to live like him.  But I have to say there's something appealing about finding so much happiness with so little of life's possessions.

The Bible says, "Godliness ... With contentment ... is great gain."  I don't know about godliness, but David has the contentment thing nailed.