A year ago this week, we were piling our worldly possessions into a moving truck to cross 5 states and move to Texas. We had no idea what Texas was like, but we knew we were moving there. We didn't know any Texans, but we knew we could meet some.
Joshua 3:17 was our rock of comfort. Israel was nervous. They were crossing into the Promised Land after 40 years of wandering, knowing that strong enemies were likely waiting for them. A new land. It's scary. We were only moving five people. They were moving thousands. God doesn't just send them swimming. He doesn't have them construct boats. He goes before them. He plans ahead and provides before their very eyes. The Ark of the Covenant passed into the middle of the Jordan river "while all Israel crossed on dry ground" as the slimy, rockbed turned into firm, dry ground. With each provision we would cheer, "Dry ground!"
For years we have moved. Migrants. Nomads. Seventeen times in fifteen years. You'd think we would get better at it! Texas is yet another culture for us. We've spent decades on the West Coast. We've spent years in Kenya and Congo and France, Kent even knows China, but Texas? And it's not different just because people say "all y'all" or "fixin to", it's how people drift across freeway lanes like they're ice skating in circles around you. Blinkers? Nope. It's how there is an understood but invisible social network. It's how you have to water a house's foundation and drive 10 over the speed limit. It's how 100 degrees for months on end is normal, and the plants that thrive are all foreign to us. It's all new.
But He goes before us.
And made us to walk across on dry ground!
Showing posts with label Personal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Personal. Show all posts
Monday, July 7, 2014
Saturday, September 1, 2012
A Heavy Load
I tread slippery bumps up the muddy hill.
Dogding piles of washed up garbage
Discarded bags
A broken shoe.
The road is messy, muddy and slick.
It's hard work.
I feel ready to fall at any moment.
But I enjoy the crisp morning air and bright sunshine.
A woman ahead of me struggles under a heavy load.
Many gallons of water for her family weigh her down.
She bears them on her back.
And cloth wrapped around her forehead to hold it.
She grunts, bent over under the heavy load.
I pass her easily, without that burden.
Time freezes for an instant.
The gospel illustrated before my eyes.
We walk a broken road.
Under a heavy load.
He takes the burden upon his own back.
He grunts and groans under the strain.
The Mender of brokenness carries our load.
While we walk freely.
Our path is not easy.
Still full of garbage, bumps and slick with mud.
But the burden is light.
We are free.
We can walk easily.
I tread the slippery bumps up a muddy hill.
I am free.
Dogding piles of washed up garbage
Discarded bags
A broken shoe.
The road is messy, muddy and slick.
It's hard work.
I feel ready to fall at any moment.
But I enjoy the crisp morning air and bright sunshine.
A woman ahead of me struggles under a heavy load.
Many gallons of water for her family weigh her down.
She bears them on her back.
And cloth wrapped around her forehead to hold it.
She grunts, bent over under the heavy load.
I pass her easily, without that burden.
Time freezes for an instant.
The gospel illustrated before my eyes.
We walk a broken road.
Under a heavy load.
He takes the burden upon his own back.
He grunts and groans under the strain.
The Mender of brokenness carries our load.
While we walk freely.
Our path is not easy.
Still full of garbage, bumps and slick with mud.
But the burden is light.
We are free.
We can walk easily.
I tread the slippery bumps up a muddy hill.
I am free.
Friday, August 31, 2012
Day In the Life
It's been a couple years since I chronicled an average day. This was yesterday:
3:32am Wake up coughing (between dust and charcoal smoke this isn't uncommon).
3:45am Almost back to sleep when 2 shots ring out on main street a few blocks away. Probably the police keeping order.
4:02am Dive bombed by a stealthy mosquito who snuck into our net somehow. I zap him with my bug racket and try to go back to sleep. Again.
4:28am Our mosque next door calls everyone to wake up at top volume. I think he has new speakers. At least he only takes about 2 minutes (unlike the patterns of last month!)
4:44am He shouts it out again. I'm beginning to give up on the idea of any more sleep.
5:00am Finally back to sleep for one last hour before the day begins.
6:30am Dressed, up, meeting with employees. They want to work early today and leave early to fight long lines of parents trying to sign their kids up for school by next week.
7:30am Fried eggs and papaya made for breakfast. Headscarf donned to head out to my choir rehearsal (which 'starts' at 7:30, but I usually go around 8).
8:30am Walking and greeting my way down slick muddy streets stepping over the discarded plastics of the world. Finally get to church to find that no one is rehearsing today. I surmise it is not rained out, but probably they are traveling to sing for some event somewhere.
9:00am Back home to see that the kids get their schoolwork started. Katie, the wonder teacher arrives to help. Anna needs to finish a subject or two before leaving for her art class. Joel and James dig into school at home. James learns to cross-multiply fractions while Joel takes 30 minutes coloring elaborate pictures on his Greek mythology assignment.
9:30am Anna and I head over the muddy roads in our car. It's about a mile away, but roads aren't safe over 15 mph. The parking lot is small and full, so we pull into the weeds right outside the gate. We arrive just in time for art class.
11:00am Anna enjoys a magazine-collage decorated box project, which doubles as a game she can play with her brothers. She loves the sandbox at recess and the little toy horses she brought along for the occasion. Next to 3 preschoolers, she looks pretty big these days.
12:30pm We drive home for lunch, hear about the boys' day, and enjoy homemade bread and soup before a busy afternoon.
2:00pm The boys head next door to deliver invitations to their friends to come to a last weekend of summer party tomorrow. They stay and play with friends, building shapes and toys out of local clay.
2:30pm Anna and her bff Brooke learn cool French ballet terms in the living room with their fabulous weekly ballet lesson by Jennings.
3:30pm A colleague and friend, Maryanne, arrives to help us print, copy and collate 22 books that are 200-pages long! James has fun calculating how many pages we will need. The power has been off for 2 days and isn't likely to return. Given that Kent's class starts Monday, we need to use our own generator and printer to get the books ready in time. We think we can do it in about an hour.
4:30pm What were we thinking? Piles of paper are strewn all over our living and dining room. Four of us are working non-stop and an hour later we have barely finished 25% of the book!
6:30pm That big pot of beans is perfect to feed extra workers tonight! We all dish up a bowl of beans and top it with sauerkraut, cheese and yogurt while we keep working on the books. The table is too full, so we let the kids have a 'picnic' on the floor.
7:30pm No power also means no hot water. So between sorting papers, I heat water for the kids' bucket baths and they finish chores in time to read some Dr. Suess and Narnia before bedtime. After they are all tucked in and asleep, Kent drives our friends home. It's rainy and muddy for walking and not very safe to be out alone at night.
8:00pm While he's out, I dish up the food and tea for our night guards and feed the dogs their dinner. One last glance at Email adds two more urgent requests to the morning's work. But that's tomorrow.
8:30pm Our generator has now been running for 12 straight hours (on ONE tank of diesel). It is fabulous. We finally let it rest and turn off electronics and extras overnight, leaving only the fridge and security lights for the batteries to manage all night. Kent and I debrief the day and watch a few minutes of Downton Abbey Season 1. I'm so tired I barely hear the mice outside our bedroom window.
3:32am Wake up coughing (between dust and charcoal smoke this isn't uncommon).
3:45am Almost back to sleep when 2 shots ring out on main street a few blocks away. Probably the police keeping order.
4:02am Dive bombed by a stealthy mosquito who snuck into our net somehow. I zap him with my bug racket and try to go back to sleep. Again.
4:28am Our mosque next door calls everyone to wake up at top volume. I think he has new speakers. At least he only takes about 2 minutes (unlike the patterns of last month!)
4:44am He shouts it out again. I'm beginning to give up on the idea of any more sleep.
5:00am Finally back to sleep for one last hour before the day begins.
6:30am Dressed, up, meeting with employees. They want to work early today and leave early to fight long lines of parents trying to sign their kids up for school by next week.
7:30am Fried eggs and papaya made for breakfast. Headscarf donned to head out to my choir rehearsal (which 'starts' at 7:30, but I usually go around 8).
8:30am Walking and greeting my way down slick muddy streets stepping over the discarded plastics of the world. Finally get to church to find that no one is rehearsing today. I surmise it is not rained out, but probably they are traveling to sing for some event somewhere.
9:00am Back home to see that the kids get their schoolwork started. Katie, the wonder teacher arrives to help. Anna needs to finish a subject or two before leaving for her art class. Joel and James dig into school at home. James learns to cross-multiply fractions while Joel takes 30 minutes coloring elaborate pictures on his Greek mythology assignment.
9:30am Anna and I head over the muddy roads in our car. It's about a mile away, but roads aren't safe over 15 mph. The parking lot is small and full, so we pull into the weeds right outside the gate. We arrive just in time for art class.
11:00am Anna enjoys a magazine-collage decorated box project, which doubles as a game she can play with her brothers. She loves the sandbox at recess and the little toy horses she brought along for the occasion. Next to 3 preschoolers, she looks pretty big these days.
12:30pm We drive home for lunch, hear about the boys' day, and enjoy homemade bread and soup before a busy afternoon.
2:00pm The boys head next door to deliver invitations to their friends to come to a last weekend of summer party tomorrow. They stay and play with friends, building shapes and toys out of local clay.
2:30pm Anna and her bff Brooke learn cool French ballet terms in the living room with their fabulous weekly ballet lesson by Jennings.
3:30pm A colleague and friend, Maryanne, arrives to help us print, copy and collate 22 books that are 200-pages long! James has fun calculating how many pages we will need. The power has been off for 2 days and isn't likely to return. Given that Kent's class starts Monday, we need to use our own generator and printer to get the books ready in time. We think we can do it in about an hour.
4:30pm What were we thinking? Piles of paper are strewn all over our living and dining room. Four of us are working non-stop and an hour later we have barely finished 25% of the book!
6:30pm That big pot of beans is perfect to feed extra workers tonight! We all dish up a bowl of beans and top it with sauerkraut, cheese and yogurt while we keep working on the books. The table is too full, so we let the kids have a 'picnic' on the floor.
7:30pm No power also means no hot water. So between sorting papers, I heat water for the kids' bucket baths and they finish chores in time to read some Dr. Suess and Narnia before bedtime. After they are all tucked in and asleep, Kent drives our friends home. It's rainy and muddy for walking and not very safe to be out alone at night.
8:00pm While he's out, I dish up the food and tea for our night guards and feed the dogs their dinner. One last glance at Email adds two more urgent requests to the morning's work. But that's tomorrow.
8:30pm Our generator has now been running for 12 straight hours (on ONE tank of diesel). It is fabulous. We finally let it rest and turn off electronics and extras overnight, leaving only the fridge and security lights for the batteries to manage all night. Kent and I debrief the day and watch a few minutes of Downton Abbey Season 1. I'm so tired I barely hear the mice outside our bedroom window.
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Celebrating Joel
Joel has always loved that his birthday usually coincides with summer vacation! He spent his 1st, 2nd and 5th birthdays at the Kenyan coast, and was thrilled to get to spend his 8th there too! After all, 1+2+5 = 8.
The day started quietly. Our family tradition is that on their 8th birthday each kid gets a full-sized Bible of their own. Here Joel reads the dedication Kent wrote to him in the front:
The morning was spent at a sort of Vacation Bible School with lots of friends. Perfect birthday for our social Joel, or what? :) He planned out his travel wardrobe to save the blue Lego Star Wars shirt for the big day!
The hotel surprised us with a small cake at teatime. We ordered a large one at lunch to share with his friends, specially made without flour or sugar, so it was disappointing to have a surprise cake we couldn't eat. But he took it all in stride, and didn't mind having more people sing to him!
At lunchtime we ordered up a big pile of 'hedgehogs' (what we always called at home 'criss-cross mangoes'), which is Joel's favorite fruit. We flew in a few small boxes of 100% juice and added that to the blue-colored club soda to make a 'Blue Splash soda' without the Sprite (corn syrup) - more about foods later!
He ate to his heart's content:
Then the singing, clanging began and the floral chair and special-order cake arrived! It was gorgeous chocolate banana-peanut honey cake covered in honey-vanilla whipped cream and decorated with 8 sticks of mango chunks and Enjoy Life GF Mega chunks. The best part is the huge grin on his face:
As a bonus, it was the best cake I had eaten at this hotel in several years. They are not famous for desserts... So many people asked for the recipe and wanted a bite! The hotel felt bad about our food restrictions and only charged us about $8, half what you pay for the smaller, less tasty cakes! Here's the inside view:
Yum!
No kids seemed to mind a less-sweet cake. And it might have been the first birthday party where no one left with a sugar high!
His friends lined up with plates right away! :)
We brought out the presents after the cake and singing. This one had been carried across the world to Congo and then back across Uganda and Kenya in the suitcases of two other MAF friends just to be there for him on his special day. Transformers!
This is one of several presents smuggled into the suitcases of colleagues all the way from Grandma and Grandpa's house. The most anticipated was his Star Wars Lego set of Ewoks, but I didn't get any stellar shots of that...
Super Joel, we love you and
had so much fun celebrating your first 8 years!
Friday, July 27, 2012
GAPS Diet Anniversary
We spent our GAPS-Diet anniversary on vacation at the beach. Somehow
it is hard to believe we have been grain-free for a whole year! The following is an abridged version of our one-year overview. Go here to the 'Our Diet' tab for the whole enchilada. Or if you have lots of time to read, go here for all our GAPS-SCD links.
We originally started GAPS for the health of James and I, but the other three have seen benefits too. Kent, Joel and Anna were never feeling sick, but they are healthier and stronger now for having gone through GAPS. In June, the three of them added potatoes back in without any trouble, so they are officially coming off GAPS gradually. Next will be sweet potatoes, fermented millet porridge, sourdough and eventually rice and sprouted grains (maybe by Christmas?!).
ME (THE MOM):
In the past 6 months, I have been able to discontinue blood pressure medication and daily antihistamines. For the past 20 years I have taken daily antihistamines to control my running nose. These are no longer necessary.
As a primary schoolteacher with a weak immune system, I was prone to getting colds and developing secondary infections every time. If only I had a dollar for everytime I was diagnosed with sinusitis or bronchitis (or both)! My second year teaching I think I took 12 different courses of antibiotics. I was on antibiotics more than half of that year! Ten years later, our GAPS journey has changed all that completely!
During our 2nd month on GAPS, I got a cold I couldn't kick. As usual, it turned into bronchitis, and I took antibiotics as usual. The 5th month on GAPS, I got a cold and was able to fight it off a few days later without getting infected! (This had probably happened twice in my living memory.) The 9th month on GAPS I got a cold, but fought it off within 48 hrs. The 11th month on GAPS we traveled internationally (gets me every time!) and as expected, I got bronchitis a few days later. I doused myself in bone broth and slept lots. I upped my doses of probiotics and FCLO (fermented cod liver oil - in capsules!). And 8-10 days later it was gone! Finally I don't have to be envious of people with an immune system!
JAMES:
The biggest gains in James' healing happened in the first 4 mos. on GAPS. But the more subtle changes we see a year later are just as significant. He has very few Asperger's meltdowns - maybe 1-2/mo. where they were daily or more often than that a year ago. He regained all his auditory processing in the first 2 mos. His allergies seem gone. He hasn't needed antibiotics of any kind in 14 months. His sensory processing troubles with tactile under-responsiveness are gone, fading gradually over the past year. They have left in their wake a few gross motor issues we can now address (basically re-learning to keep your balance when you've been mostly numb for 4-5 yrs or longer). The last pieces of tactile numbness have faded in the past month or two.
This week we're preparing for another homeschool year. I found myself taking down the labels on his workboxes. I made them in desperation, searching for answers, 3 years ago. We haven't needed that familiar structure and routine for months. A wave of nostalgia hit me like I was putting away the last of the baby's pacifiers. My baby (10-yr-old baby) has outgrown his Asperger's supports. Whether we technically still qualify for a diagnosis is really not important. James is feeling and doing great! The bulk of the work we have left to do is in social skills and organizational skills, but I can't think of too many 10-yr-old boys who have mastered both of those already...
We are so thankful for the healing protocol of the GAPS Diet (and for SCD too!). They have served us well. I am a bit nervous about re-introducing starches and sugars, but we'll get there as they say in Swahili: "pole-pole" (step by step, or slowly, carefully).
We originally started GAPS for the health of James and I, but the other three have seen benefits too. Kent, Joel and Anna were never feeling sick, but they are healthier and stronger now for having gone through GAPS. In June, the three of them added potatoes back in without any trouble, so they are officially coming off GAPS gradually. Next will be sweet potatoes, fermented millet porridge, sourdough and eventually rice and sprouted grains (maybe by Christmas?!).
ME (THE MOM):
In the past 6 months, I have been able to discontinue blood pressure medication and daily antihistamines. For the past 20 years I have taken daily antihistamines to control my running nose. These are no longer necessary.
As a primary schoolteacher with a weak immune system, I was prone to getting colds and developing secondary infections every time. If only I had a dollar for everytime I was diagnosed with sinusitis or bronchitis (or both)! My second year teaching I think I took 12 different courses of antibiotics. I was on antibiotics more than half of that year! Ten years later, our GAPS journey has changed all that completely!
During our 2nd month on GAPS, I got a cold I couldn't kick. As usual, it turned into bronchitis, and I took antibiotics as usual. The 5th month on GAPS, I got a cold and was able to fight it off a few days later without getting infected! (This had probably happened twice in my living memory.) The 9th month on GAPS I got a cold, but fought it off within 48 hrs. The 11th month on GAPS we traveled internationally (gets me every time!) and as expected, I got bronchitis a few days later. I doused myself in bone broth and slept lots. I upped my doses of probiotics and FCLO (fermented cod liver oil - in capsules!). And 8-10 days later it was gone! Finally I don't have to be envious of people with an immune system!
JAMES:
The biggest gains in James' healing happened in the first 4 mos. on GAPS. But the more subtle changes we see a year later are just as significant. He has very few Asperger's meltdowns - maybe 1-2/mo. where they were daily or more often than that a year ago. He regained all his auditory processing in the first 2 mos. His allergies seem gone. He hasn't needed antibiotics of any kind in 14 months. His sensory processing troubles with tactile under-responsiveness are gone, fading gradually over the past year. They have left in their wake a few gross motor issues we can now address (basically re-learning to keep your balance when you've been mostly numb for 4-5 yrs or longer). The last pieces of tactile numbness have faded in the past month or two.
This week we're preparing for another homeschool year. I found myself taking down the labels on his workboxes. I made them in desperation, searching for answers, 3 years ago. We haven't needed that familiar structure and routine for months. A wave of nostalgia hit me like I was putting away the last of the baby's pacifiers. My baby (10-yr-old baby) has outgrown his Asperger's supports. Whether we technically still qualify for a diagnosis is really not important. James is feeling and doing great! The bulk of the work we have left to do is in social skills and organizational skills, but I can't think of too many 10-yr-old boys who have mastered both of those already...
We are so thankful for the healing protocol of the GAPS Diet (and for SCD too!). They have served us well. I am a bit nervous about re-introducing starches and sugars, but we'll get there as they say in Swahili: "pole-pole" (step by step, or slowly, carefully).
Monday, June 25, 2012
Bye Bye Baby Tooth
The moment we've all been waiting for for weeks,
finally arrived last night.
My baby girl lost her first tooth.
It would really not be possible for her to be more excited about this step in growing up.
 | |||
| Sheer bliss of the long-awaited |
James had seen it hanging by a thread and threatened to pull it out yesterday evening. They were watching Rapunzel (again?!), but decided to watch it in Spanish. [And no, they don't really speak Spanish. They just have the movie memorized. Anna was surprised to see that Rapunzel does know Spanish, and since her Mama also knows Spanish, she decided to try learning a few words.]
She just pulled it out herself somewhere when Rapunzel and her novio were singing about Las luces. =)
She kept marveling that she lost her first tooth on vacation and that it was in the same place she was born (Kenya). People here told her she is Kenyan, so now when we pass the Kenyan flag, she says 'There is my flag!"
And in case you were wondering, the tooth fairy does make it all the way to Kenya, but prefers to do business in US Dollars...
 | |||||||
| Absolutely thrilled to be growing up! |
Friday, June 22, 2012
Answers
Just in case you haven't followed updates on facebook...
Anna did continue to improve and healed completely just in time for our long journey across Congo, Uganda and Kenya. She did amazingly well in the taxis and buses. The night before we left she downed a double serving of her dinner and topped it off with 3 small bowls of potatoes! She made up for lost time after keeping nothing in for days.
So all's well.
And none of us ever did get this flu, though we all thought about it several times and wondered... I'm fighting off a sinus infection. But what else is new?
Thanks so much for your prayers and encouragement!
As I began to worry about whether this trip (much like this one!) could or should really happen given the sickness and logistical hiccups, several of my sisters from choir came over to pray for our trip. They read from Exodus where Moses heads out and God promises, "I will go with you."
This particular verse is the one that I clung to when moving to Congo. And here it was again.
As we skimmed the choppy waters of Lake Albert, a beautiful white wagtail raced us in front of the wooden motor boat (and he won). And this verse rang in my ears... "I will go with you."
As we arrived at a tough, rural immigration office and found 2 helpful strangers willing to fight for us.... "I will go with you."
As we thumped along bumpy roads in a small game park in Western Uganda, we were surrounded by gorgeous herds of gazelle... "I will go with you."
Overflowing grace.
Anna did continue to improve and healed completely just in time for our long journey across Congo, Uganda and Kenya. She did amazingly well in the taxis and buses. The night before we left she downed a double serving of her dinner and topped it off with 3 small bowls of potatoes! She made up for lost time after keeping nothing in for days.
So all's well.
And none of us ever did get this flu, though we all thought about it several times and wondered... I'm fighting off a sinus infection. But what else is new?
Thanks so much for your prayers and encouragement!
As I began to worry about whether this trip (much like this one!) could or should really happen given the sickness and logistical hiccups, several of my sisters from choir came over to pray for our trip. They read from Exodus where Moses heads out and God promises, "I will go with you."
This particular verse is the one that I clung to when moving to Congo. And here it was again.
As we skimmed the choppy waters of Lake Albert, a beautiful white wagtail raced us in front of the wooden motor boat (and he won). And this verse rang in my ears... "I will go with you."
As we arrived at a tough, rural immigration office and found 2 helpful strangers willing to fight for us.... "I will go with you."
As we thumped along bumpy roads in a small game park in Western Uganda, we were surrounded by gorgeous herds of gazelle... "I will go with you."
I could list tiny moments for 10 pages and not get them all.
Sunsets, kind officials, potty stops just when we needed them, crisp apples for sale on the roadside, patient kids enduring a 14-hr bus ride without movies...
safety
health
taxis waiting for you on arrival
entertaining the kids with the reverse-cam in their car.
Overflowing grace.
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Guessing game
Thanks for everyone's prayers for Anna's health.
It's always a guessing game as to what is really going on.
All you can see is cookies tossed, lethargy, fever and total lack of appetite. Which could add up to about 30 different diagnoses. Food poisoning? Flu? Brucellosis? Hepatitis? Giardia? or Deadly malaria?
Not that easy to tell, at least in the beginning. And if we treat for one thing, we may mask the symptoms of the real thing. So the stakes are high. I've been studying faith and trust in God's provision for us. Job says, "How can we accept good things from God and refuse trouble?"
It's so much harder to reach this 'accept' when your baby is so sick.
So we take things one hour at a time.
Keeping our records,
looking for patterns in fever readings,
trusting that the answer will be obvious soon.
Then this morning she woke up
and ate breakfast like nothing ever happened.
Like she didn't spend the past two days
groaning and puking on the couch.
We hum
and play
and look well this morning.
But morning is usually best for her.
Malaria can come in cycles.
Is this the eye of the storm?
It's anybody's guess.
It's hard not to remember the hundreds of kids fighting for their lives right now in overcrowded bush hospitals.
An epidemic of deadly malaria.
For now, I'm thoroughly enjoying her 5-year-old jokes!
And keeping the thermometer and treatment meds in my back pocket.
It's always a guessing game as to what is really going on.
All you can see is cookies tossed, lethargy, fever and total lack of appetite. Which could add up to about 30 different diagnoses. Food poisoning? Flu? Brucellosis? Hepatitis? Giardia? or Deadly malaria?
Not that easy to tell, at least in the beginning. And if we treat for one thing, we may mask the symptoms of the real thing. So the stakes are high. I've been studying faith and trust in God's provision for us. Job says, "How can we accept good things from God and refuse trouble?"
It's so much harder to reach this 'accept' when your baby is so sick.
So we take things one hour at a time.
Keeping our records,
looking for patterns in fever readings,
trusting that the answer will be obvious soon.
Then this morning she woke up
and ate breakfast like nothing ever happened.
Like she didn't spend the past two days
groaning and puking on the couch.
We hum
and play
and look well this morning.
But morning is usually best for her.
Malaria can come in cycles.
Is this the eye of the storm?
Or is this recovery?
It's anybody's guess.
It's hard not to remember the hundreds of kids fighting for their lives right now in overcrowded bush hospitals.
An epidemic of deadly malaria.
For now, I'm thoroughly enjoying her 5-year-old jokes!
And keeping the thermometer and treatment meds in my back pocket.
Friday, June 8, 2012
Snapshot 5: Storm
I wake to the rolling and rumbling in the distance. 1:45AM. Wondering if (hoping?) it was just something on the roof. But no, the rumbles grow. A thunderstorm approaches. The counting begins. Sheer force of the King of Nature. Silhouettes of the barred window panes flash bright light across the dark house. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8-one-thousand Wind rushes through like a squire He announces loud and clear, “Arise! His Omnipotent Lord of the Storm is here!!” Then the pounding begins. Jamie says the heavens try to 'drown you in a vertical river'. She's right. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6-one-thousand The beating of hundreds of drums. Gallons of water. Pounding on the tin roof overhead. In a loud steady beat. So loud you cannot hear your own voice. I try not to remember the colleague's roof ripped off by this Wind. Another blinding flash. The shape of our papaya tree outside is etched on the insides of my eyelids. 1, 2, 3 – one-thousand That's my cue. Once it is less than 5 miles away, we manually disconnect our house from the city's electrical chaos. Storms can move fast, and we've lost several appliances to neighborhood lightning. (In the mountainous region to the south of us, they boast the highest number of lightning strikes per mile in the world. Here in town several people have been killed by lightning.) Then the water creeps in. That window I didn't latch. The floor floods, seeping into the small rug. This time it's not toys left unattended. Or books. When the full force covers us, I can't help but recognize my place. I stand by the back door, in awe. At 2:30AM. I am confronted with a terrible Force, Power, Strength. I can only try to keep my books dry.
I feel so finite, infantile, tiny, powerless.
I am tired, but could never sleep through this. I don't want to miss it. As I watch the flashing, beating, pounding, blowing I worship. The only song that seems to fit... “My God is so big so strong so mighty! There's nothing my God cannot do!”
Eventually, wind blows over, pounding turns into dripping, and water is mopped up.
I reconnect our power system and head back to bed.
3:15AM
And the question lingers in my sleepy head: If this is God's power in an everyday thunderstorm,
what must his wrath be like?
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Why? becomes What?
A wise friend advised me that when Anna turned 3, she would begin the 'Why?' stage. Why do you cut carrots? Why do we use forks? Why do I have to wear that? Why do we eat vegetables? Why? Why? Why?! I really tried not to resort to 'Because I said so.' Thankfully the 'Why?' stage was scattered with cute hilarious toddler quotes that kept us laughing, as they tried to conceptualize a complex world.
It occured to me this week that we have switched gears. We are no longer asked 'Why?' about everything (and sadly most of the mixed up kid quotes are past as well). We are in the 'What does it mean?' stage now...
This past week I can remember:
What does 'defraud' mean?
On second thought, James recently said, "Do I know lots of words?"
Yes, son. You know lots of words.
J: Do you know more words than me?
Yes, son.
J: Really? Like what?
Do you know 'copious'? 'luminous'? or 'amiable'?
J: [with hunger to learn]: What do those mean?!
I rest my case.
The 'What does it mean' stage.
It occured to me this week that we have switched gears. We are no longer asked 'Why?' about everything (and sadly most of the mixed up kid quotes are past as well). We are in the 'What does it mean?' stage now...
This past week I can remember:
What does 'outrageous' mean?
Mom, what does 'sacrifice' mean?
What does 'defraud' mean?
What does 'monopoly' mean?
At this rate, we won't have to do much cramming for SAT words!
Yes, son. You know lots of words.
J: Do you know more words than me?
Yes, son.
J: Really? Like what?
Do you know 'copious'? 'luminous'? or 'amiable'?
J: [with hunger to learn]: What do those mean?!
I rest my case.
The 'What does it mean' stage.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Nostalgia & Pain - Part II
After finishing this last week with tears, and after further reflection, I realized there was something more.
More to say.
More to chew on.
When my Maasai friend hadn't seen someone in months, he 'greets' for a LONG time. He 'chews the news'. So join me in chewing on some thoughts...
Yes, I dread moving again. Ironic for a missionary. I lost track after 15 moves... It's pure selfishness. Moving takes so much work. Not just physical lifting of boxes. It's the months of goodbyes and hellos, the emotional work of moving that exhausts me.
I used to think it would get easier.
But it doesn't.
Talk to any veteran missionary who has lived in tens of countries.
They will confirm that moving doesn't get easier.
That's not part of the deal.
Stability and familiarity are sacrificed.
Amy Charmichael often writes on themes of sacrifice. [Check out her life if you haven't already.] Her poem 'Hast Thou No Scar?' hit me like a ton of bricks, especially this line:
Last week as I 'chewed' on sacrifice, this post came to my mailbox. Impeccable timing really. Hard things are good. Good for us like medicine.
Ann writes:
The surrendered accept that pain is always but growing pains.
And growth is always a gift — even when trials are the tutor.
Wait! Doesn't that mean that pain is essentially a gift?
I could spend a decade trying to wrap my mind around James 1:2
Pure joy? Trials?!
It's the paradoxes, the puzzles, in Scripture that make me fascinated, curiously digging for how that WORKS. Then falling on my face in awe, because I will never fully uncover the whole of it. God's ways are so much higher than I can grasp.
During a dark season in my life this song was produced by Indelible Grace, using the words of John Newton from 1779. It is not fast, but the words require reflection. Note: The end is the best, but it won't make much sense if you don't go through each verse in order.
Those were dark days for me, but God used them greatly and I wouldn't trade them to go back to where I started out. I needed to go through them to get to today, and I am truly thankful for the difficult things (at least in retrospect).
So how are trials a cause for pure joy? Knowing they grow us should be cause for joy. But even when I can't see or even imagine ahead to the good, I can remember that I follow in the footsteps of wounded feet.
The scars and sacrifices are gifts of devotion. When something hurts. When my kids bear the wounds of moving away from friend after friend. When my wedding momentos are lost by the airline. When we get tropical illnesses that may never heal. When we can't attend a family funeral. Life hurts.
I imagine boxing up all this pain. The pain of what is missing. I box it up carefully tucking it in, put a pretty ribbon on top, and lay it at my Savior's feet. Lord this hurts, but I have given it up for You. Please accept this gift. Gifts worth giving have to cost you something, right?
Honestly, I recognize the grief and grit of moving across the world over and over are not among the most painful things on earth. It's not cancer or violence. My gift looks small compared to others.
Whatever little sacrifices you are making?
They are beautiful gifts too.
More to say.
More to chew on.
When my Maasai friend hadn't seen someone in months, he 'greets' for a LONG time. He 'chews the news'. So join me in chewing on some thoughts...
Yes, I dread moving again. Ironic for a missionary. I lost track after 15 moves... It's pure selfishness. Moving takes so much work. Not just physical lifting of boxes. It's the months of goodbyes and hellos, the emotional work of moving that exhausts me.
I used to think it would get easier.
But it doesn't.
Talk to any veteran missionary who has lived in tens of countries.
They will confirm that moving doesn't get easier.
That's not part of the deal.
Stability and familiarity are sacrificed.
Amy Charmichael often writes on themes of sacrifice. [Check out her life if you haven't already.] Her poem 'Hast Thou No Scar?' hit me like a ton of bricks, especially this line:
"pierced are the feet that follow Me."
Last week as I 'chewed' on sacrifice, this post came to my mailbox. Impeccable timing really. Hard things are good. Good for us like medicine.
Ann writes:
The surrendered accept that pain is always but growing pains.
And growth is always a gift — even when trials are the tutor.
Wait! Doesn't that mean that pain is essentially a gift?
I could spend a decade trying to wrap my mind around James 1:2
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you
face trials of many kinds..."
face trials of many kinds..."
Pure joy? Trials?!
It's the paradoxes, the puzzles, in Scripture that make me fascinated, curiously digging for how that WORKS. Then falling on my face in awe, because I will never fully uncover the whole of it. God's ways are so much higher than I can grasp.
During a dark season in my life this song was produced by Indelible Grace, using the words of John Newton from 1779. It is not fast, but the words require reflection. Note: The end is the best, but it won't make much sense if you don't go through each verse in order.
Those were dark days for me, but God used them greatly and I wouldn't trade them to go back to where I started out. I needed to go through them to get to today, and I am truly thankful for the difficult things (at least in retrospect).
So how are trials a cause for pure joy? Knowing they grow us should be cause for joy. But even when I can't see or even imagine ahead to the good, I can remember that I follow in the footsteps of wounded feet.
The scars and sacrifices are gifts of devotion. When something hurts. When my kids bear the wounds of moving away from friend after friend. When my wedding momentos are lost by the airline. When we get tropical illnesses that may never heal. When we can't attend a family funeral. Life hurts.
I imagine boxing up all this pain. The pain of what is missing. I box it up carefully tucking it in, put a pretty ribbon on top, and lay it at my Savior's feet. Lord this hurts, but I have given it up for You. Please accept this gift. Gifts worth giving have to cost you something, right?
Honestly, I recognize the grief and grit of moving across the world over and over are not among the most painful things on earth. It's not cancer or violence. My gift looks small compared to others.
But you don't have to have the biggest gift at the party to give one.
Whatever little sacrifices you are making?
They are beautiful gifts too.
Friday, May 18, 2012
Nostalgia & Pain - Part I
That old familiar friend stopped by this afternoon.
Nostalgia visits often, but particularly around landmark events.
Next week is the end of this school year. Ah, how much we have all learned.
The end of this school year marks the end of me teaching a preschooler (I always dreaded the preschool years - I so enjoy the thinking of ages 8, 9 and 10. So after more than 6 years of preschoolers around, what will I miss ?) Ah, these years were so much more fun than I feared.
It also marks the end of our last full school year in one place for a while. Next year is another 'on the road' year. Ah, this peace has been good.
So many milestones. The inches gained. The words written, rehearsed and practiced again. And sometimes still misspelled. Oh how it's hard to watch them struggle. Oh, what a joy when they succeed.
As the home manager, it will take me months to emotionally and physically move out of this house by the end of this year. We will have lived here almost 4 consecutive years! This is the longest we have ever lived anywhere. And it feels more our home than any place we have ever lived. And I don't mean 'our home' only because we did all the ceilings, wiring, plumbing and tiling ourselves. . .
Our home rich in memories. Our home with tropical bugs flying through, dust piling up everywhere, visitors chatting on the porch, a gorgeous garden, swing in the tree, socks lost under the couch and children growing up. Their height scrawled on the hallway corner: Mom, how tall am I now? Their favorite nooks and crannies for curling up with a book. These things don't pack well.
But Time, he doesn't wait around. There is always some end or beginning around the corner. And I don't want to spend today on tomorrow.
Anyway, Nostalgia and I aren't quite ready to treasure up all these fabulous memories and move on. The pain is fresh.
But then we don't have to.
Not just yet.
Nostalgia visits often, but particularly around landmark events.
Next week is the end of this school year. Ah, how much we have all learned.
The end of this school year marks the end of me teaching a preschooler (I always dreaded the preschool years - I so enjoy the thinking of ages 8, 9 and 10. So after more than 6 years of preschoolers around, what will I miss ?) Ah, these years were so much more fun than I feared.
It also marks the end of our last full school year in one place for a while. Next year is another 'on the road' year. Ah, this peace has been good.
So many milestones. The inches gained. The words written, rehearsed and practiced again. And sometimes still misspelled. Oh how it's hard to watch them struggle. Oh, what a joy when they succeed.
As the home manager, it will take me months to emotionally and physically move out of this house by the end of this year. We will have lived here almost 4 consecutive years! This is the longest we have ever lived anywhere. And it feels more our home than any place we have ever lived. And I don't mean 'our home' only because we did all the ceilings, wiring, plumbing and tiling ourselves. . .
Our home rich in memories. Our home with tropical bugs flying through, dust piling up everywhere, visitors chatting on the porch, a gorgeous garden, swing in the tree, socks lost under the couch and children growing up. Their height scrawled on the hallway corner: Mom, how tall am I now? Their favorite nooks and crannies for curling up with a book. These things don't pack well.
But Time, he doesn't wait around. There is always some end or beginning around the corner. And I don't want to spend today on tomorrow.
Anyway, Nostalgia and I aren't quite ready to treasure up all these fabulous memories and move on. The pain is fresh.
But then we don't have to.
Not just yet.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Randomess
I meant to title this 'random-ness' but mistyped 'randomess', and our life is messy, so I'm keeping it. Life in the raw and real with all the messy parts is life ready for redemption.
The kids have just finished their homeschool assignments for today and are making quick work of a craft project involving lots of cutting and pasting bits of paper. These bits seem to have magnetic attraction to our carpet and few of them obey the glue and stay on the page. The laughter and fellowship between Joel and Anna curled up over bits of paper on the carpet makes me at least temporarily blinded to the mess. It also makes me want to stop time or videotape everything.
I have joined the 'mama' choir at our local church, and each time I meet with them to sing, pray and praise God I am astounded by their courage, strength and perseverance. It was very humbling this morning to sing the equivalent of a prayer: 'Jesus take me by the hand' while holding hands with Congolese sisters who have been widowed in their 20s with three kids to support, or who have 7 kids to feed and school each day and still manage to care for 3 others. I feel honored just to know them. I think they've given up on trying to say 'Kimberly' and dubbed me 'Mama Anna' which is fine by me. I like it better than 'Madame Kent' anyway.
After 9 months of life without sugar and flour, Kent has finally PERFECTED the best pancakes in the world. He's trained the boys well how to flip the pancakes and the boys are in charge every Friday morning to give Mom a break. It's fun. I'm serious though, these pancakes are better than any I have eaten for years, flour or no flour!
Other random facts:
We haven't had running water come in from the city for about 10 days, and it is not likely to come for several more. The city water pipes are being replaced on our street. Experimenting with buckets of cloudy rainwater for just about everything...
Our kids don't remember much about living in France as babies, but two things stuck with us: a love for trains and the call to eat "A table!" I can call that out from anywhere in the house and they will come running from across the compound. Such a useful little phrase...
Lightning destroyed one of our battery chargers 2 weeks ago, so we've been low on power for the first time in a few months. You know those little glass fuses? Well, it wasn't black. It wasn't cracked. It was exploded. Tiny. glass. pieces. A replacement is on back order from another country for the foreseeable future...
We are blessed immensely that a lovely mission-minded young lady will come and help out in our homeschool for 2 months! So exciting!
I've been doing this for years and I'm still not great at wearing head scarves. Tying them in various ways is no trouble, but keeping them on so they don't slip? Notsomuch. Sunday, my friend Sylvie was helping me out. She's new to foreigner's slippery hair. She said, 'Your hair is just not habitue [accustomed] yet to the scarf.' The thought that my hair will just decide to be sticky one day on its own makes me smile.
The kids have just finished their homeschool assignments for today and are making quick work of a craft project involving lots of cutting and pasting bits of paper. These bits seem to have magnetic attraction to our carpet and few of them obey the glue and stay on the page. The laughter and fellowship between Joel and Anna curled up over bits of paper on the carpet makes me at least temporarily blinded to the mess. It also makes me want to stop time or videotape everything.
I have joined the 'mama' choir at our local church, and each time I meet with them to sing, pray and praise God I am astounded by their courage, strength and perseverance. It was very humbling this morning to sing the equivalent of a prayer: 'Jesus take me by the hand' while holding hands with Congolese sisters who have been widowed in their 20s with three kids to support, or who have 7 kids to feed and school each day and still manage to care for 3 others. I feel honored just to know them. I think they've given up on trying to say 'Kimberly' and dubbed me 'Mama Anna' which is fine by me. I like it better than 'Madame Kent' anyway.
After 9 months of life without sugar and flour, Kent has finally PERFECTED the best pancakes in the world. He's trained the boys well how to flip the pancakes and the boys are in charge every Friday morning to give Mom a break. It's fun. I'm serious though, these pancakes are better than any I have eaten for years, flour or no flour!
Other random facts:
We haven't had running water come in from the city for about 10 days, and it is not likely to come for several more. The city water pipes are being replaced on our street. Experimenting with buckets of cloudy rainwater for just about everything...
Our kids don't remember much about living in France as babies, but two things stuck with us: a love for trains and the call to eat "A table!" I can call that out from anywhere in the house and they will come running from across the compound. Such a useful little phrase...
Lightning destroyed one of our battery chargers 2 weeks ago, so we've been low on power for the first time in a few months. You know those little glass fuses? Well, it wasn't black. It wasn't cracked. It was exploded. Tiny. glass. pieces. A replacement is on back order from another country for the foreseeable future...
We are blessed immensely that a lovely mission-minded young lady will come and help out in our homeschool for 2 months! So exciting!
I've been doing this for years and I'm still not great at wearing head scarves. Tying them in various ways is no trouble, but keeping them on so they don't slip? Notsomuch. Sunday, my friend Sylvie was helping me out. She's new to foreigner's slippery hair. She said, 'Your hair is just not habitue [accustomed] yet to the scarf.' The thought that my hair will just decide to be sticky one day on its own makes me smile.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Held
I am trying to do 10 minutes of deep pressure/holding with James each evening. I don't always feel like following through, but he reminds me. And it's good for both of us. It's been two weeks and this pseudo-poem as been swimming in my head lately:
He eagerly scrambles into my arms.
They can hardly hold him anymore.
A boy barreling full-speed ahead toward the teen years.
Proud to be as tall as Mom's shoulders.
But we have ground to recover.
We must go back before we go forward.
His eagerness reminds me of his toddlerness.
The ruffling of the blond hair.
The holding was necessity then.
But we forgot.
He ran.
He went numb.
He forgot the feeling, the loving.
I try to hold him tight enough.
To squeeze his numbness out.
Feel this holding.
Feel this loving.
You are loved.
And my arms go numb.
Numb with the holding.
Taking on his numbness, I begin to feel less.
He begins to feel more.
It is a daily gospel.
He who takes on our numbness.
So we can feel.
So we know we are loved.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Rabies & Balloons... Except Not
Over dinner just now our family discussed just how wild a day we have had, and Kent asked, "Are you going to blog about this? Because if you don't, I will!" You see, I had a peaceful, quiet extra Sabbath day of rest in mind. Today is national election day. Voters are out in large numbers and exit polls seem to sound positive about the experience. None of our regular folks were coming here to work all day and the house would be quiet. I thought I might even wear pajamas all day!
Except not.
Very late last night one of our friends came by on a motorcycle taxi in a frenzied panic because his 7-yr-old daughter, Deborah had been bitten twice by a rabid dog. By the time he told us the whole story the dog had been on the loose in his neighborhood 'across the tracks' 12 hours, and had bitten 16 people! We sent him to the hospital and told him to return right away if they didn't have treatment in stock. He was so scattered, he forgot his daughter's middle name. I would have too. It sounds like one of the little friends she was playing with on a placid Sunday afternoon was bitten in the head and was already showing dangerous signs of rabies. Who knows for sure if it was panic or rabies, but neither are good. And the dog is still out there.
In case you hadn't thought of rabies as anything other than a shot at the vet for your pet, it is alive and real, killing 100% of its victims slowly in a matter of days, weeks or months. I am not a huge fan of vaccines, especially for non-essentials like chicken pox, but rabies?!! I praise God for the science that created that vaccine! It saves countless lives. Unfortunately, it costs about 10 times the normal family's monthly rent. Take your monthly rent/house payment and times it by 10. Pay that 'out of pocket'. Would you do it? Of course you want to save your child's life! But how do you pay that off when cash is required, there are no banks or credit cards? Congo has a friends-and-family network for such a time as this. Works beautifully! Well, we hoped as they didn't return last night that he found treatment at the hospital.
Except not.
He was back with little Deborah this morning. The hospitals don't stock it. It is not a very stable vaccine, needing to be kept cold (nearly impossible here!) and is therefore expensive. We were able to make some calls and verify that there was indeed a supply in town that would be available tomorrow morning. Deborah will get her shots. We are all thankful. My Mama heart was very proud of my kiddos all praying for her and for the medicines to be found, and then making her snacks and drinks while she listened to the men calling all over town, working for her life. The teeth marks in her upper arm are very real! Sadly, by the time they left the dog had been on the loose for about 20 hours and had bitten 23 people (that they know about) - many of them children.
Without any workers today, we had hours of handwashing dishes, cleaning floors, etc.
Except not.
All these tasks require WATER! Our water tanks are empty today and we are using large bins of water hauled over from a friend's house. The boys pitched right in and we finished most of it before 9am - in time for school! Meanwhile, James discovered a large rat we trapped in the pantry. While we are thrilled to kill another one (8-9" long without the tail), we overlooked his passing for probably 24 hrs and had a stinky trap to deal with (to be fair, the boys in the family had a stinky trap to deal with...) =).
SO not a lazy day off! It was time to teach school.
Except not.
We still had to eat! In between instructional moments, I cracked 41 eggs, chopped 6.5 onions, baked a double-batch of raisin cookie bars, baked 2 quiches for tomorrow, made 2 salads, brewed two cups of coffee, heated up leftovers, gutted and sliced up a huge papaya from our backyard, made a thermos of tea for our night guard, and a pot of rice and meat for him as well. How ever will I do it when they are teenagers?! It's probably not more than most busy Moms, but I felt a bit like I was on a roller coaster. Or maybe one of those funky carnival rides where you don't know which way you will turn next...
We tried to decorate our tree too. We got the lights up yesterday and were looking forward to pulling out a few favorite ornaments...
Except not.
We took them to the US last Christmas, and the best ones didn't make it back into the right storage box, so they are MIA. Mommy fail.
This evening Joel was on duty as 'dinner helper'. In searching for a replacement bottle of gummy vitamins he found a huge bag of skinny balloons stashed away from Kent's balloon-making days. You didn't know I married a balloon artist?? It was Kent's introduction to missions - making balloon animals for kids. He's pretty good too! So Joel convinced Kent to make him a 'light saber' balloon. Anna quickly ordered up pink poodle.
Except not.
After the 4th attempt popped, we resigned ourselves to the fact that these balloons sat in a box for one year too long and were basically worthless.
Except not!
Anna discovered that by tying 8 long pink balloons together at one end, she could make an 'octopus'! And the rest of the evening was spent making various octopi, sting rays, and jelly fish in various balloon colors. Maybe we'll hang THEM on our tree! =) Anna's two favorites were white and pink, and at least one was named Princess. Why not Princess the Pink Octopus?
When life gives you popped balloons... make an octopus!
So our not-at-all-lazy day at home today turned into some kind of carnival ride full of twists and turns. And I'm so proud of my kids taking all those left-turns in stride! Two months ago, a day like today would have included hours of emotional meltdowns. Today we rolled with the punches. We took the left turns. We hauled our water. We helped our friends. We were content in every kind of circumstance. I'm just so thankful.
Got any old balloons? You know you should make an octopus! And smile.
Except not.
Very late last night one of our friends came by on a motorcycle taxi in a frenzied panic because his 7-yr-old daughter, Deborah had been bitten twice by a rabid dog. By the time he told us the whole story the dog had been on the loose in his neighborhood 'across the tracks' 12 hours, and had bitten 16 people! We sent him to the hospital and told him to return right away if they didn't have treatment in stock. He was so scattered, he forgot his daughter's middle name. I would have too. It sounds like one of the little friends she was playing with on a placid Sunday afternoon was bitten in the head and was already showing dangerous signs of rabies. Who knows for sure if it was panic or rabies, but neither are good. And the dog is still out there.
In case you hadn't thought of rabies as anything other than a shot at the vet for your pet, it is alive and real, killing 100% of its victims slowly in a matter of days, weeks or months. I am not a huge fan of vaccines, especially for non-essentials like chicken pox, but rabies?!! I praise God for the science that created that vaccine! It saves countless lives. Unfortunately, it costs about 10 times the normal family's monthly rent. Take your monthly rent/house payment and times it by 10. Pay that 'out of pocket'. Would you do it? Of course you want to save your child's life! But how do you pay that off when cash is required, there are no banks or credit cards? Congo has a friends-and-family network for such a time as this. Works beautifully! Well, we hoped as they didn't return last night that he found treatment at the hospital.
Except not.
He was back with little Deborah this morning. The hospitals don't stock it. It is not a very stable vaccine, needing to be kept cold (nearly impossible here!) and is therefore expensive. We were able to make some calls and verify that there was indeed a supply in town that would be available tomorrow morning. Deborah will get her shots. We are all thankful. My Mama heart was very proud of my kiddos all praying for her and for the medicines to be found, and then making her snacks and drinks while she listened to the men calling all over town, working for her life. The teeth marks in her upper arm are very real! Sadly, by the time they left the dog had been on the loose for about 20 hours and had bitten 23 people (that they know about) - many of them children.
Without any workers today, we had hours of handwashing dishes, cleaning floors, etc.
Except not.
All these tasks require WATER! Our water tanks are empty today and we are using large bins of water hauled over from a friend's house. The boys pitched right in and we finished most of it before 9am - in time for school! Meanwhile, James discovered a large rat we trapped in the pantry. While we are thrilled to kill another one (8-9" long without the tail), we overlooked his passing for probably 24 hrs and had a stinky trap to deal with (to be fair, the boys in the family had a stinky trap to deal with...) =).
SO not a lazy day off! It was time to teach school.
Except not.
We still had to eat! In between instructional moments, I cracked 41 eggs, chopped 6.5 onions, baked a double-batch of raisin cookie bars, baked 2 quiches for tomorrow, made 2 salads, brewed two cups of coffee, heated up leftovers, gutted and sliced up a huge papaya from our backyard, made a thermos of tea for our night guard, and a pot of rice and meat for him as well. How ever will I do it when they are teenagers?! It's probably not more than most busy Moms, but I felt a bit like I was on a roller coaster. Or maybe one of those funky carnival rides where you don't know which way you will turn next...
We tried to decorate our tree too. We got the lights up yesterday and were looking forward to pulling out a few favorite ornaments...
Except not.
We took them to the US last Christmas, and the best ones didn't make it back into the right storage box, so they are MIA. Mommy fail.
This evening Joel was on duty as 'dinner helper'. In searching for a replacement bottle of gummy vitamins he found a huge bag of skinny balloons stashed away from Kent's balloon-making days. You didn't know I married a balloon artist?? It was Kent's introduction to missions - making balloon animals for kids. He's pretty good too! So Joel convinced Kent to make him a 'light saber' balloon. Anna quickly ordered up pink poodle.
Except not.
After the 4th attempt popped, we resigned ourselves to the fact that these balloons sat in a box for one year too long and were basically worthless.
Except not!
Anna discovered that by tying 8 long pink balloons together at one end, she could make an 'octopus'! And the rest of the evening was spent making various octopi, sting rays, and jelly fish in various balloon colors. Maybe we'll hang THEM on our tree! =) Anna's two favorites were white and pink, and at least one was named Princess. Why not Princess the Pink Octopus?
When life gives you popped balloons... make an octopus!
So our not-at-all-lazy day at home today turned into some kind of carnival ride full of twists and turns. And I'm so proud of my kids taking all those left-turns in stride! Two months ago, a day like today would have included hours of emotional meltdowns. Today we rolled with the punches. We took the left turns. We hauled our water. We helped our friends. We were content in every kind of circumstance. I'm just so thankful.
Got any old balloons? You know you should make an octopus! And smile.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Fallen
Yesterday at church we heard a fascinating take on the Fall. There were several points that stuck in my head - maybe you will also find them thought-provoking:
- All in the Family:
From an African perspective, family relationships define most everything and the terms, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, etc. are used often in the broadest possible sense. There are, of course, rules, but I don't have time to explore the glories of anthropology right now. This sermon discussed the entire story of the Fall calling Eve 'our grandmother' and Adam 'our grandfather'. Putting them quite literally in our direct lineage brought the whole thing much closer to home.
- Not Even:
The pastor described 'our grandmother' telling the serpent what God's Word said about the forbidden fruit. She not only told the serpent the rule: 'not to eat' but exaggerated it: 'not even to touch'. Oh, how easy I find it to exaggerate! Guess it runs in the family... =) I know the absolute Truth, but I like to enhance it a little to make myself look better.
- Conflicted Desires:
The last thing that stuck with me, was his perspective on the curse our grandmother incurred. She was cursed with painful childbearing and the desire for her husband. I've always thought of that as a desire to be more powerful or controlling, but never that desire to be loved and needed beyond normal reasoning. He explained this curse as the reason we see a battered woman return to her husband again and again. Even if she is beaten and abused, she will come home. Even if her husband has been horrible and absent for a year or more, she will take him back. Yes, marriage should be preserved with forgiveness and perseverance, but this powerful desire to belong and be loved can make one do crazy things. I know there are times that I look to Kent to supply what only God can.
Well, I promised you 'several' things and gave you 'three'...
There I go with exaggeration again!
- All in the Family:
From an African perspective, family relationships define most everything and the terms, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, etc. are used often in the broadest possible sense. There are, of course, rules, but I don't have time to explore the glories of anthropology right now. This sermon discussed the entire story of the Fall calling Eve 'our grandmother' and Adam 'our grandfather'. Putting them quite literally in our direct lineage brought the whole thing much closer to home.
- Not Even:
The pastor described 'our grandmother' telling the serpent what God's Word said about the forbidden fruit. She not only told the serpent the rule: 'not to eat' but exaggerated it: 'not even to touch'. Oh, how easy I find it to exaggerate! Guess it runs in the family... =) I know the absolute Truth, but I like to enhance it a little to make myself look better.
- Conflicted Desires:
The last thing that stuck with me, was his perspective on the curse our grandmother incurred. She was cursed with painful childbearing and the desire for her husband. I've always thought of that as a desire to be more powerful or controlling, but never that desire to be loved and needed beyond normal reasoning. He explained this curse as the reason we see a battered woman return to her husband again and again. Even if she is beaten and abused, she will come home. Even if her husband has been horrible and absent for a year or more, she will take him back. Yes, marriage should be preserved with forgiveness and perseverance, but this powerful desire to belong and be loved can make one do crazy things. I know there are times that I look to Kent to supply what only God can.
Well, I promised you 'several' things and gave you 'three'...
There I go with exaggeration again!
Friday, July 29, 2011
The Light(ning) Side
In Kenya we were told that the 'long rains' come in Sept/Oct, which was easy for me to remember as it should be 'fall'. Only not really.
In Congo, things are similar in the sense of dry - then wet - then dry - then wet. [Cultural tangent: We have met people who do not know how old they are in years, but how many wet seasons, which unfortunately doesn't count the years of drought...] But the timing is a bit different here. I was told when we spent time in the rainforest that the long rains come Aug. 25th. Sure enough, they did! But here on the savannah, I'm told they come end of July. Given that the past week has had at least 2 hours of rain each day, I guess they are right. So end of July it is! (not the time to go on vacation apparently...) It's been SO cold (down to 60 degrees!!)
Rain here is not in the same universe as Seattle rain (figuratively!). It is more like my limited experience with New York rain. Sun, then dark clouds, then crashing thunder and drenching downpour, and back to sun. If Seattle rains like a street band (all day long just singing my song to make a few bucks), then New York rained like the tune of a commercial (throw it at you fast). If Seattle rains like a flute solo, New York rained like a heavy metal band.
Well, over near one of the world's largest rainforests, we have heavy-metal rain. No shock there! The thunder booms in the East (always in the east) and approaches town. By watching the flashes and counting the seconds, I keep track of how close the center of the storm is from our house. You see, lightning strikes are a very real menace.
People have been killed or maimed in town by lightning. When the thunder rolls, the streets empty out like the end of a movie (forgive me. It's analogy day). A few minutes and a thriving neighborhood looks like a ghost town (see?)! If you drive by and look closely, people are crowded under porches or the overhang of a storefront waiting it out.
Once in the last two years our neighbor's house was struck. We didn't see it coming (who does?!). I was typing right here at my computer when the outlet on the wall in front of my desk (at eye level) suddenly arc'd! Thousands of watts flowing through all these wires and right over to my face. Very scary. The sound came immediately after the arc. We lost some of our equipment in our house due to the proximity and spent $300 replacing it. We were lucky! Much more could have been lost.
So now when the lightning comes within 5 miles, I disconnect us from the grid manually (just flipping a switch) whether the power is on or off. This is easy enough. But when you wake up at 4:23am to flashes and rolling thunder, it's not so fun. I sleep on the light side, so it makes sense for me to be the designated 'Lightning Control Monitor'. I'm up anyway.
Often I sit and marvel and the phenomenal light show and sheer power God displays in these storms. The fear of God makes sense and heavy metal rolling thunder becomes my awe-filled song of worship. There is nothing God cannot do!
In Congo, things are similar in the sense of dry - then wet - then dry - then wet. [Cultural tangent: We have met people who do not know how old they are in years, but how many wet seasons, which unfortunately doesn't count the years of drought...] But the timing is a bit different here. I was told when we spent time in the rainforest that the long rains come Aug. 25th. Sure enough, they did! But here on the savannah, I'm told they come end of July. Given that the past week has had at least 2 hours of rain each day, I guess they are right. So end of July it is! (not the time to go on vacation apparently...) It's been SO cold (down to 60 degrees!!)
Rain here is not in the same universe as Seattle rain (figuratively!). It is more like my limited experience with New York rain. Sun, then dark clouds, then crashing thunder and drenching downpour, and back to sun. If Seattle rains like a street band (all day long just singing my song to make a few bucks), then New York rained like the tune of a commercial (throw it at you fast). If Seattle rains like a flute solo, New York rained like a heavy metal band.
Well, over near one of the world's largest rainforests, we have heavy-metal rain. No shock there! The thunder booms in the East (always in the east) and approaches town. By watching the flashes and counting the seconds, I keep track of how close the center of the storm is from our house. You see, lightning strikes are a very real menace.
People have been killed or maimed in town by lightning. When the thunder rolls, the streets empty out like the end of a movie (forgive me. It's analogy day). A few minutes and a thriving neighborhood looks like a ghost town (see?)! If you drive by and look closely, people are crowded under porches or the overhang of a storefront waiting it out.
Once in the last two years our neighbor's house was struck. We didn't see it coming (who does?!). I was typing right here at my computer when the outlet on the wall in front of my desk (at eye level) suddenly arc'd! Thousands of watts flowing through all these wires and right over to my face. Very scary. The sound came immediately after the arc. We lost some of our equipment in our house due to the proximity and spent $300 replacing it. We were lucky! Much more could have been lost.
So now when the lightning comes within 5 miles, I disconnect us from the grid manually (just flipping a switch) whether the power is on or off. This is easy enough. But when you wake up at 4:23am to flashes and rolling thunder, it's not so fun. I sleep on the light side, so it makes sense for me to be the designated 'Lightning Control Monitor'. I'm up anyway.
Often I sit and marvel and the phenomenal light show and sheer power God displays in these storms. The fear of God makes sense and heavy metal rolling thunder becomes my awe-filled song of worship. There is nothing God cannot do!
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Quiet but not gone
I just realized I haven't blogged in over a month. Ack! Things have been super busy since we finished school. There are a few picture finally uploaded to a facebook album if you'd like a peek at the kids and how well Joel's birthday went.
We've also just finished a long-overdue newsletter that you should see in the next week at your mailbox, real or electronic. We're hosting a guest on his way inland to help wiring a new Bible Translation office for solar panels and internet. Lots more to write! We are quiet momentarily, but not gone!!
Sending you love from dusty Congo!
We've also just finished a long-overdue newsletter that you should see in the next week at your mailbox, real or electronic. We're hosting a guest on his way inland to help wiring a new Bible Translation office for solar panels and internet. Lots more to write! We are quiet momentarily, but not gone!!
Sending you love from dusty Congo!
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Saturday Tid Bits
Thanks for bearing with the non-photo phase of this blog. I now have photos and will share them soon - for sure! I want to tell you so many things, but do not have time to write them all down right now, so today you get 'tid bits'. Bits of many stories that all involve our adventurous life here.
Chai
It is a cloudy morning after a cool, rainy night. It's probably only down to 68 degrees, but I pulled out the fleece. We all woke up slowly (perfect for a Saturday anyway). You know something is up when your 4-year-old begs for chai. After 5 years in Kenya, we became rather accustomed to chai, and Anna learned how to ask for it before she was 2 years old. So Chai it is.
Monkey Business
We have some gorgeous fruit ripening on the trees right now. Our loquat tree is full. Our avocado trees drop beautiful fruit with each and every puff of wind. They hit the tin roof with a boom-shak-a-lack-a and then BUFF! onto the grass. Kent and kids LOVE mangoes and eat them with every meal during mango season. We have two trees. The one in the front yard gives a stringy, tough variety that is better used for juicing. (Local kids will pick them and rub them on a rock or tree trunk to release the inner juice from the fibers, then poke a hole and suck the juice out! Practically Tropicana.) But the backyard has the beloved mango tree! It gives wonderful, flavorful mangoes and there are many currently ripening on the tree.
So you can imagine where this is going. Someone in this neighborhood brought three wild monkeys in to sell or have as pets. Then they got loose (or were cut loose?) and now they maraud around eating people's fruits! There are now only two of them left and I caught them yesterday in Kent's beloved mango tree each with a mouth FULL of ripe mangoes. Grrr! Let's just say he's off to the market this morning to buy a better machete and cut down some of the surrounding trees. We're hoping that will make it more difficult to reach the beloved fruit. And just for the record, monkeys are not cute or cuddly or fun in real life. FYI.
Tornado
I have seen some of the horrible images from the mid-west of the damage a tornado can do, and I have to say, it sometimes reminds me of my kids' rooms. Or the school room depending on the day. Just saying. That's what Saturdays are for, right?
Life Without Closets
When we first arrived home last month, everything was so clean and empty. We unpacked our bags and still had room left over. Then we hit the storage room. We dug out all our old mess and now it is still laying around (what I did not immediately give away, that is). You see, some of this stuff is just going to take time to sort through. Kids artwork from last year? Extra curricular materials? Craft supplies? It's the kind of stuff I would put in a closet or the garage until I had time to go through it. But this house was built without closets. Yes, you read that right. Without closets. So for now we have to walk around the occasional stack of dusty boxes. That's just the way it is. I often joke that if I wrote a book about our life here, I would title it 'Life Without Closets'. No place to stash and hide things. Hm...
Chef-boy-are-Amazing
Due to James' diet changes, I feel like I am learning to cook all over again. Maybe I never really did learn how to cook in the first place... So far, my experiments with the industrial-sized pressure cooker we hauled over here have been tasty. It seems one of the only ways to cook meat that gets tender. Experiments with alternative salads, juicing and flours await me after school is out Friday.
Novel
Kent and I have been married 12 years next week, and we still learn things about each other all the time. Amazing. We've recently discovered that he thrives on novelty. He loves to try something new and figure out a new puzzle. This works really well here because there is always something new breaking! Today it is chopping trees and fixing our living room sink, which has been emptying into a pot for 3 weeks. On the flip side, I love the things I love (I ate PBJ sandwiches with a glass of milk every day of my 7th grade summer vacation. Every day. Still like them.) So trying new things is really not my favorite. Kent is understanding me on a whole new level with this knowledge. Thus the kitchen adventures I'm trying are a big step for me. When I start to panic, I can just call on my handy novelty man, and he'll find a way to make anything work!
Festivities
So looking at the calendar, as with so many of you I'm guessing, it's the end-of-the-year extravaganza this week. Over here we have our little piano recital Wed., school 'graduation' on Friday, a friend's birthday Sat., Father's Day Sunday, and Monday I start an important checking session for a few days. Come July we have Joel's birthday and hopefully some REST! May your summer be restful and refreshing too!
Chai
It is a cloudy morning after a cool, rainy night. It's probably only down to 68 degrees, but I pulled out the fleece. We all woke up slowly (perfect for a Saturday anyway). You know something is up when your 4-year-old begs for chai. After 5 years in Kenya, we became rather accustomed to chai, and Anna learned how to ask for it before she was 2 years old. So Chai it is.
Monkey Business
We have some gorgeous fruit ripening on the trees right now. Our loquat tree is full. Our avocado trees drop beautiful fruit with each and every puff of wind. They hit the tin roof with a boom-shak-a-lack-a and then BUFF! onto the grass. Kent and kids LOVE mangoes and eat them with every meal during mango season. We have two trees. The one in the front yard gives a stringy, tough variety that is better used for juicing. (Local kids will pick them and rub them on a rock or tree trunk to release the inner juice from the fibers, then poke a hole and suck the juice out! Practically Tropicana.) But the backyard has the beloved mango tree! It gives wonderful, flavorful mangoes and there are many currently ripening on the tree.
So you can imagine where this is going. Someone in this neighborhood brought three wild monkeys in to sell or have as pets. Then they got loose (or were cut loose?) and now they maraud around eating people's fruits! There are now only two of them left and I caught them yesterday in Kent's beloved mango tree each with a mouth FULL of ripe mangoes. Grrr! Let's just say he's off to the market this morning to buy a better machete and cut down some of the surrounding trees. We're hoping that will make it more difficult to reach the beloved fruit. And just for the record, monkeys are not cute or cuddly or fun in real life. FYI.
Tornado
I have seen some of the horrible images from the mid-west of the damage a tornado can do, and I have to say, it sometimes reminds me of my kids' rooms. Or the school room depending on the day. Just saying. That's what Saturdays are for, right?
Life Without Closets
When we first arrived home last month, everything was so clean and empty. We unpacked our bags and still had room left over. Then we hit the storage room. We dug out all our old mess and now it is still laying around (what I did not immediately give away, that is). You see, some of this stuff is just going to take time to sort through. Kids artwork from last year? Extra curricular materials? Craft supplies? It's the kind of stuff I would put in a closet or the garage until I had time to go through it. But this house was built without closets. Yes, you read that right. Without closets. So for now we have to walk around the occasional stack of dusty boxes. That's just the way it is. I often joke that if I wrote a book about our life here, I would title it 'Life Without Closets'. No place to stash and hide things. Hm...
Chef-boy-are-Amazing
Due to James' diet changes, I feel like I am learning to cook all over again. Maybe I never really did learn how to cook in the first place... So far, my experiments with the industrial-sized pressure cooker we hauled over here have been tasty. It seems one of the only ways to cook meat that gets tender. Experiments with alternative salads, juicing and flours await me after school is out Friday.
Novel
Kent and I have been married 12 years next week, and we still learn things about each other all the time. Amazing. We've recently discovered that he thrives on novelty. He loves to try something new and figure out a new puzzle. This works really well here because there is always something new breaking! Today it is chopping trees and fixing our living room sink, which has been emptying into a pot for 3 weeks. On the flip side, I love the things I love (I ate PBJ sandwiches with a glass of milk every day of my 7th grade summer vacation. Every day. Still like them.) So trying new things is really not my favorite. Kent is understanding me on a whole new level with this knowledge. Thus the kitchen adventures I'm trying are a big step for me. When I start to panic, I can just call on my handy novelty man, and he'll find a way to make anything work!
Festivities
So looking at the calendar, as with so many of you I'm guessing, it's the end-of-the-year extravaganza this week. Over here we have our little piano recital Wed., school 'graduation' on Friday, a friend's birthday Sat., Father's Day Sunday, and Monday I start an important checking session for a few days. Come July we have Joel's birthday and hopefully some REST! May your summer be restful and refreshing too!
Thursday, May 26, 2011
The Shouldas
Shoulda Woulda Coulda
It's easy for me to feel bound by what other people think. It just hit me this morning that over my lifetime, many people in authority over me have had plans. They feel it necessary to tell me of these plans.
You should.
You could.
Hey, you should consider becoming an artist.
You should write a book!
Could you promise me you will get a PhD? (strangely enough I got that one twice)
You could write a book! I would totally buy it.
You would make such a wonderful natural childbirth educator or doula!
And while I would probably do okay at these things and enjoy them... what don't I enjoy? I know they mean well, but theirs are not the plans that matter.
You see, God has planned my days. Each and every one of them. He's planned yours too. There are good things laid out for us to do. And I have felt called to do good things (though no one has ever said, "Hey! You should be a Bible translator!"). Why don't people say:
You would be a great homeschooling Mom!
You could raise godly kids!
You could attend to your needy child with beautiful patience and endurance!
You would be good at coming up with yet another healthy dinner!
You could scrape all the grime right off toilet seats!
Yet these are the plans, the calling, that I live. We are called to something higher than what human eyes can see. We are not bound by what others think. Motherhood and household management deserve a better reputation.
Doesn't pay overtime.
Little short-term return.
Huge long-term gains.
Build your house. Don't tear it down. You are doing one or the other.
I often have to stop what I'm doing and remind myself to 'build my house'. Not with wood and nails, but with wise words, contentment and endurance. So to all you ladies out there, I invite you to join me today in building your house. That will look different for each of us. Build your house.
This is God's plan for me right now. I'm throwing out the shoulda-woulda-couldas.
It's easy for me to feel bound by what other people think. It just hit me this morning that over my lifetime, many people in authority over me have had plans. They feel it necessary to tell me of these plans.
You should.
You could.
Hey, you should consider becoming an artist.
You should write a book!
Could you promise me you will get a PhD? (strangely enough I got that one twice)
You could write a book! I would totally buy it.
You would make such a wonderful natural childbirth educator or doula!
And while I would probably do okay at these things and enjoy them... what don't I enjoy? I know they mean well, but theirs are not the plans that matter.
You see, God has planned my days. Each and every one of them. He's planned yours too. There are good things laid out for us to do. And I have felt called to do good things (though no one has ever said, "Hey! You should be a Bible translator!"). Why don't people say:
You would be a great homeschooling Mom!
You could raise godly kids!
You could attend to your needy child with beautiful patience and endurance!
You would be good at coming up with yet another healthy dinner!
You could scrape all the grime right off toilet seats!
Yet these are the plans, the calling, that I live. We are called to something higher than what human eyes can see. We are not bound by what others think. Motherhood and household management deserve a better reputation.
Doesn't pay overtime.
Little short-term return.
Huge long-term gains.
"A wise woman builds her house,
but a foolish woman tears it down with her own hands."
Proverbs 14:1
but a foolish woman tears it down with her own hands."
Proverbs 14:1
Build your house. Don't tear it down. You are doing one or the other.
I often have to stop what I'm doing and remind myself to 'build my house'. Not with wood and nails, but with wise words, contentment and endurance. So to all you ladies out there, I invite you to join me today in building your house. That will look different for each of us. Build your house.
This is God's plan for me right now. I'm throwing out the shoulda-woulda-couldas.
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