My list

People are always asking, "What can I send you in Africa? What do you need?"
While most things I've found a suitable African substitute, there are just a few things that you can't find,- or it's just not the same. So I will update this list as needed, but for now, it's on the right!

What's in a name?

Okay I need your help. I need a name, a good name. A name for my inner-child, you know the 12 year old boy who makes me do crude things sometimes.
Like the photo of the pooping lion, that was his doing, I swear. It wasn't me.
But everything else here has a name.
My house is chippie cottage
My car is punkin
Heck, even the monkeys in my yard have a name.
So what is the name for a crude 12 year old boy? (who BTW had a very funny converstaion with Patrick about poopey diapers.)
comment please and leave your suggestion.

sad but true

“When white ladies find out they are having a baby they celebrate. We mourn. We say, ‘Ech. Another orphan.’”
The others laughed at its reality.

Funeral

I attended my first Swazi funeral today. Words cannot express all that I felt.
Waking up, still cloaked in darkness, we drove out to Siphoceseni to arrive at Gugu’s homestead and bury her sister at 5:30 am. We stood on the hillside opposite the mountains and the rising sun. There was something sacred about that time.
There was no sterile funeral home with organ music and folding chairs, but Swazi church members singing softly and gently dancing.
There was no row upon row of cemetery plots to bury her among strangers, but a hillside of beloved family who had gone before her.
There was something special about the morning,- a sense of returning God’s Creation back to his creation.
But there was a sense of unrest within me that followed.
I counted 20 graves on that hillside, most too fresh to have grown grass.
She was laid to rest beside her infant daughter who died just two months ago.
I saw 3 little girls at the home who were now motherless. They each had a little bundle in their arms,- all of their worldly possessions. A blanket, a few clothes, one carried a little bench.
They were being taken to their father in hope that he would take them in.
“One has a different father, but we don’t know where he is,- if he’s dead. We hope the father of the two will take her anyway. If not we don’t know where she’ll go to.”
The three smiled and waved at me, seemingly unaware of what was about to happen. They were just following Gogo’s direction to take their things to the truck.
“Thank you for coming to us today.” Uncle said to us. “I can say, no matter where you have come from, you have shared with us in our bereavement. You are Swazi now.”
But I will never be Swazi.
I will never know the pain of burying my uncle, then my mother, then my niece, then my sister.
I will never have to bury my 6 children and then 5 grandchildren.
I will never have to harden my heart against the grief just to make it through the day.
I will never be Swazi.

D'oh!!!! (slap forehead now)

I couldn’t believe I would do something so stupid!
I came home and decided to vacuum out my car. Afterwards I cleaned up, came inside and went to bed. The next morning I got ready for work and went out to see that my dome light was on inside my truck.
‘Why?’ you ask.
Because I had left the passenger side door open all night long.
Yes. 15 hours.
That shows me 2 things: First, I have a miracle battery in my car because I’m constantly leaving the lights on or something and it always started right up. Thank you Jesus!
Second, it shows me I’m no longer capable of living by myself. I mean, who leaves a door open for 15 hours? If I don’t get married soon, I need to be enrolled into some kind of assisted living program.

I resolve to...

What are your resolutions? It was suggested to me once that we should make resolutions for our friends.
Hmmmm. That might be cool. I bet no one would ever see you as needing to loose 5 pounds. (Isn’t that what we always resolve ladies?)
Instead they might make you resolve to take 30 minutes a day, just to pamper yourself. Maybe they would say that you are no longer allowed to say negative things about yourself. Maybe they’d say you need to work less, or read more, or stand up straight, or face challenges head on.
I dunno, but it seems that those who love us wish we’d worry about the things that make no difference, and begin to embrace and enhance those things that make us so lovable in the first place.

Meet the Popos

You know, I’d heard about them, but had never seen them with my own eyes.
I’d taken my laptop out onto the porch to do a bit of writing when I saw a great rustling of trees behind the pool. The trees were swaying and bending with too much force to be a bird. I tip-toed closer noticing a scurry of movement through the leaves.
Yep. They were they watching me as much as I was trying to watch them.
A family of monkeys. I counted 2 adults and several babies. I’ve affectionately named them The Popos. That’s a good monkey name huh? (‘popos’ are what they Swazi call papayas.) After all that’s why they live in our yard,- the abundance of fruit trees.
I watched them climb, eat, play. The baby was looking at me with his head cocked to one side. He kept climbing down for a closer look but always kept his distance.
Maybe I’ll write about them one day, The Adventures of the Popos.

An elephant says:

"Shhhh! Maybe if I stand behind this tree, the tourists won't see me."

Execution Rock

You would have been so proud of me.
I hiked execution rock! Yes,the whole thing, from the bottom at Mlilwane rest camp all the way up tp the very tippy top! We didn’t cheat and drive. I know this picture doesn't look like much, but we came from the other direction, and it's high!
I wore my real hiking boots, and my real hiking socks and did a real hike. The day was mild and the distance really isn’t that far, it’s just straight up. I knew if I didn’t make it to the top it would plague me. I can’t stand leaving goals unmet. So I kept trecking. Finally once I made it so far up I quit.
“I can’t do it Rajni. This is far enough. I’m happy.”
Then Nathan peeked his head down over a rock above us? “Why are you guys stopping here? You’re almost at the top. You have about 30 more yards.”
That’s it?
So I rested a bit and then did the final few steps. I made them sing the Rocky theme song as I ran up the last flat portions. I made it, and the view was beautiful
Here are some thoughts I had during the trek:
Back in the old days, if you were found guilty of murder or (ironically) witch craft they would march you up to the top of execution rock and push you off. Hence the name. But when I got up there I was so hot and tired, I kinda wanted to die. So I don’t know it that would actually have been a punishment for these people. The idea of jumping was more appealing then knowing I would have to walk all the way back down.
Second, I’d gone about 20 steps before I got hot, tired, sweaty, and mumbling/grumbling under my breath. So why do I give the Israelites such a hard time when I read about the 40 years in the desert? I guess I need to cut them some slack. I always think they should be “holier” than that. But in truth if I can’t do it on a journey I choose to do, how could they do it in something they were kinda thrown into? Give ‘em a little grace next time you read it.
Finally, I’m the luckiest girl in the world. I’m 30. I’m living in Africa. I get to hike big giant rocks, and sit on the top eating apples and looking over the country. My life rocks! (no pun intended)

Christmas

Had a great christmas,- very relaxing. I woke up late, opened presents with Lauren, Ross, and Jacci, and got a phone call from Heidi in Oregon.
We went to Summerfield, a beautiful botanical garden for lunch then spent the afternoon with L&R friend and their adorable baby. Finally a late night movie and then off to sleep.
You know I learned a lot about African Christmas.
Do you know you don't leave Santa milk and cookies here? You leave him Beer. And his name isn't Santa, it's Father Christmas.
Also, you don't have roasted turkey dressing and potatoes for African Christmas,- of course not, it's too hot! You have a braii, and cold salad with sparkling punch, and a pool and a slip and slide,- a very summery activity. Finally,if you are a good hostess, you provide a Christmas cracker for all of your guest, instead of buying a present for each one. You pull the two sides and it pops! Then inside is a paper crown, a joke and a little prize. How cool!
Then on the 26th celebrated Boxing day with British Emma. Traditionally in England you would spend all day preparing and eating a feast so you would open presents the next day, hence Boxing day. Now it's a day to eat leftovers, play yard games, and since you spent all Christmas day with your family, you celebrate boxing day with friends.
Cool huh? Now you know the African Holidays.

Victoria Secrets, Here I come!

Every year they have that big undie fashion show. You know to advertise their "angel" line. They've been begging me for years, I finally gave in. 2008, I'm in! I've got my wings!

Merry Christmas!

God bless us, everyone!
No matter where you are, or who you are with, I wish you the peace of Christmas.
Just know that I'm am 7 hours ahead of you...so I get Christmas first!

3 monkeys in glasses

Okay this is me, Jacci and our primate friend from Guava Gallery. Who would have thought 3 monkeys could look so good?

Just because I can...

These pictures were emailed to me, so they download very quickly onto blogspot. SO I am putting them here for no other reason than 1)I can put them up without taking all day, and 2) I look cute in them. hee-hee

Thanks Vince

This is me and a baby from Mozambique. I love her so much! She would run right up to me and smile and giggle! then she's dance with me and play, and giggle some more. We had so much fun together. So Vince shot this picture and emailed it to me!

me and Bobo

okay his name is Sibongiseni, but everyone calls him Bobo. And he's one of my graduates. He is so sweet.

For my dad:

This is how we do Christmas flowers here in Africa. No poinsettias, only plumeria and hydrangeas. These are both in my yard.
Christmas in the middle of summer; different, but good.

Missed you guys!

I’m back! After an exhausting week (albeit fun) with the team from Celebration church, I’m back in the office. Did you miss me? I know you did.
I survived Mozambique,- thanks to your prayers. Because of room problems, I had to share the “executive suite” with Jacci and Zinty. I was kinda excited. The executive suite sounded nice huh?
Well it wasn’t. It was a couch at the foot of the bed. And the couch pulled out into a tiny bed which I had to sleep diagonally across.
“Don’t you like your ‘executive’ bed?” Zinty asked
“I guess executives ate only 3’2”.” I said. Well after a long weary day of driving and border posts, that sounded pretty funny to me. It started a giggle fit that I couldn’t stop. At 11pm, I’m the funniest person I know.
But overall it was a great trip, you know I love Mozambique.
So now that I’m back I’m trying to post some blogs and photos.

Charlie Smith, you got some 'xplainin' to do

Remember I told you my teacher Ntombie had a baby? Why does he look like Charlie Smith? Charlie, you're lucky you haven't visited yet. You'd be in big trouble!

Hlane

I spent two days at Hlane Game park with this past team. Now I went once before just for a game drive. It was fine, but staying overnight is a totally different experience. We went on 2 drives, slept in little thatch roof huts, star gazed at the most amazing sky (with shooting stars and everything!) and ate impala stew and wilderbeast vorst (a sausage).
It was perfect weather and an amazing and relaxing experience. I saw the two lions who were just cubs when I came in April 2006, lots of rhinos (my favorite) and I finally saw elephants! yeah!
Here are a few pictures:

heh-heh

Okay, the 12 year old boy who lives in me also shot this photo at Hlane Game park with the team.

Heh- Heh poop is funny.

What did you say?

We speak British English here. A traffic light is a robot, a shirt is a jersey, a candy is a sweet.
While many of the words are the same, some just don’t translate, and some are just down right offensive.
For example, an eraser here is a “rubber.” I guess that makes since, since you rub the mistake to erase it. But I read a story in the newspaper of David Beckham’s son telling his kindergarten teacher he has a rubber collection. Too funny!
Another example, -We were watching a session of the Bait of Satan on DVD. John Bevere was preaching and used the word “sourpuss.” Lauren, my Zimbabwean friends let out a gasp and a hysterical laugh.
“Oh! That is rich my friend!”
None of us got the joke.
“Sourpuss is such an offensive word here. You don’t use it. You just don’t use it!”
Same goes with the word “bonk”
But check out this photo below. I think this takes the cake. This is a restaurant in Manzini. They serve great chicken, but as an American I laugh every time I see the sign. Maybe it's the 12 year old buy that lives inside of me, but I can't say it with a straight face.

Get ready to feel jealous!

My life rocks! There I said it! After graduation, we took all 26 students to Mlilwane Game reserve. The kids were so excited, but I think I topped them all. The park is so beautiful and we walked for quite a showing them all the different animals and shooting photos.
For most of these children this was a first time experience. Even though they are living in Swaziland, most have never had a care giver take them to a game park. their eyes were wide as we drove in. One little girl asked her teacher in SiSwati, "Is this where Auntie Christy lives?" Too cute.
We also had lunch there. Beef curry, salad, fruit, pap, and juice. Again, most of these orphans don't eat meat, so they were chowing down!
Another thing that made me laugh was the kids trying to eat with a fork. Most Swazi will eat with their fingers on a day to day basis, so many of these kids dont' use silverware. I showed them the "proper" way to use the fork, and they gave it an honest effort. But it was so funny to see them dangling the forks, trying to stab some food and then dangle it up into their mouths.
The thing that surprised me the most was that the children were so well behaved. Watching these kids run and play at the carepoints, you'd think they were wild! But they were polite, quiet, sitting well and eating, and so respectful. That says a lot about the teachers who are training these kids.
So all day long I kept thinking, "My life rocks! How many teachers get to take their kids to a game park in Africa as a field trip? How many get to experience so many 'firsts' in their lives.
Jealous aren't you? You should be! I have the coolest "job."

Graduation

we had our graduation at 4 of our carepoints on the 1st. It was so cute. Each child in their little caps and gowns!

Comfort isn't all that, Part 1

You know we have a lot of biblical sounding clichés that aren’t in the bible:
Cleanliness is next to godliness.
God helps those who help themselves.
Money is the root of all evil (well that is partly right. It’s the love of money that is the root of all evil.)
But the one on my mind since coming to Africa is: God will never give you more that you can endure.
While the bible says he won’t allow temptation greater that we can flee from, I think the opposite of this statement is quiet true.
I believe God will intentionally allow suffering, and sometimes great suffering.
Why? That doesn’t seem like a very nice God does it?
In some cases, God will allow suffering in the lives of someone who is far from him,- not to punish him, but to break him of a rebellious spirit, and send him running home into his loving father’s arms (think of the prodigal son eating pig slop.)
But in other cases, it is our suffering that causes us to become Christ-like.
1Peter 2:21 …suffering is all part of what God has called you to. Christ, who suffered for you is your example. Follow in his steps. He never sinned, and he never deceived anyone. He did not retaliate when he was insulted. When he suffered, he did not threaten to get even. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly…
We don’t like to hear that do we? Heck as Americans we don’t even like to be uncomfortable, let alone suffer. We have air conditioning, extra strength Tylenol, 1000 thread count sheets, and Whoppers-your-way.
And if someone looks at us cross eyed; Well buddy, you better watch out! We’ll haul your butt into court so fast your head will spin. We’ll make sure justice is done!
Oh, but how different is Jesus? He says:
Matt 5:44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.Hebrews 5:9 though he was a son he learned obedience by what he suffered.
Yikes! Jesus had to suffer. It was through suffering that he learned obedience.
1 Peter 4:1 therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourself also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin.
In other words, those who accept suffering with the right attitude, and don’t seek revenge, and pray for those who have treated them wrongly, have grown into spiritual maturity.John Bevere puts it this way:
“Physical growth is a function of time. We don’t see two year olds who are 6 feet tall. Intellectual growth is not a function of time. We have 14 year old who have finished high school, and 5o year olds who haven’t. Intellectual growth is a function of learning.
Spiritual growth,- is it a function of time? No. We have people who have been saved for 20 years who are still wearing spiritual pampers, and make the most noise in the church. Is it a function of learning? No, the Pharisees could quote the books of the law from memory, but couldn’t recognize the son of man. Spiritual growth is a function of suffering. But I know many people who have suffered and it has made them bitter, they just end up with a sourpuss heart.
Spiritual growth is this: When we encounter unfair treatment, when we encounter offensive behavior, and we choose to obey God’s word in the mist of it rather than react and defend ourselves, and avenge ourselves or return evil for the evil that was done to us. God says when you do that, that’s when you grow.”
1 Peter 2:1 touches on this when he says, “So get rid of all malicious behavior and deceit. Don’t just pretend to be good! Be done with hypocrisy, and jealousy and backstabbing. You must crave pure spiritual milk so that you can grow into the fullness of your salvation…Hey I don’t like this anymore that you,- who likes to suffer? But I see that, when it inevitably comes, I can handle it the right way and become better because of it. It will make me stronger, and more mature.
At least that is encouraging!

Part 2: "We're called to be holy, not happy" or "I have a big but"

God took the Israelites out of Egypt to take them to the land of Milk and Honey, Right? That’s what I always thought. But read this carefully:
Exodus 6:2 And God continued, “I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God Almighty, though I did not reveal my name, the LORD to them. And I entered into a solemn covenant with them. Under its terms, I swore to give them the land of Canaan, where they were living. You can be sure that I have heard the groans of the people of Israel, who are not slaves to the Egyptians. I have remembered my covenant with them.
“Therefore say to the Israelites: I am the LORD, and I will free you from your slavery in Egypt. I will redeem you with mighty power and great acts of judgment. I will make you my own special people and I will be your God. And you will know that I am the LORD your God who has rescued you from your Slavery in Egypt. I will bring you into the land I swore to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. “
The Israelites had been praying and calling out to God for a long time… and then he did something about it. He did it to honor his promise to their ancestors, because that’s his nature to stay true to his word. He took them out to worship Him, to glorify him, and then he would take them to the promised land.
Do you see what I see?
God was keeping his word to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
So many times we forget that it’s not about us. We envision God as a heavenly Santa Clause who just created us as to sit and be “fat and happy”. And he just sits up in heaven thinking about how to give us stuff all day long. Maybe we don’t think about it exactly that way, but we act as though we do.
And as a result, we have the tendency to ignore the parts of scripture that challenge us, or accept the twisted scripture that tickles our ears.
We’ll say, “I know it says ABC, but God understands, -I’m only human.” Or “Yes, I know that part…but God forgives sin, and he makes all things new… After all doesn’t God want me to be happy.”
Actually…no. We’re not called to be “happy.” We’re called to be holy.
He did not create us because he had nothing else to do. He created us with a purpose: to worship him, and glorify his nature, and fulfill the plans he’s created for us. The blessings come as a flow from being obedient in this.
Again and again God sent Moses back to Pharaoh to tell him, “Let the Israelites go three days out into the wilderness to worship the Lord.” He never once said, “Let them go because he wants to give them the land of milk and honey. Let them go, you’re too mean and he wants them to be happy.”
When Pharaoh refused, Moses would tell him about the plague that was coming and its results,- and none of it was about the people. It was about God.
“And you are going to know that I am the LORD” 7:17
“It will be as you have said. Then you will know that no one is as powerful as the LORD our God.” 8:10
“Then you will know that I am the LORD and that I have power even in the heart of your land.” 8:22
“I will prove to you that there is no other God on earth. I could have killed you all by now. I could have attacked you with a plague that would have wiped you from the face of the earth. But I have let you live for this reason,- that you might see my power and my fame might spread throughout the earth.” 9:14-15
“This will prove to you the earth belongs to the LORD.”9:29
(to Moses) “I can continue to display my power by performing my miraculous signs among them. You will be able to tell wonderful stories to your children and grandchildren about the marvelous things I am doing among the Egyptians to prove that I am the LORD.” 10: 1-2
And on and on and on and on.
Not once is he doing this to make his people “happy”. Every single thing he did was to honor his word, and be glorified. Yes the people had been crying out to him in their suffering, and God made it clear he’d heard them (3:7). But we see when they rebelled in the wilderness (grumbling and complaining, making an idol,) they were rebuked and/or killed off (chapter 32). If God was this Santa Clause- God we envision he would have just patted them on the head and said, “There there. I understand you’re only human. It’s okay. Here, I’ll give you Canaan so you will be happy.”
No. Instead, not one of those rescued from Egypt set foot on the promised- land, only their descendants. God still kept his word to Abraham, but would not bless those Israelites in all of their disobedience. They were only trying to get themselves happy, not holy.
Yes, God is merciful. He knows we won’t hit the mark every time. He forgives when we apologize to him. But his mercy cannot be an excuse to live sloppy lives. He cannot, and will not bless intentional disobedience.
We say, “I know I should… but…” (Hey, I’m not judging, I’m in here with too. Do any of these ring a bell?)
I know I should come clean, but I’m afraid I’ll get in trouble.
I know the bible says I should forgive, but I’m just so angry at her.
I know I’m supposed to tithe, but I just have too many bills. I have to think of my children’s future.
I know I shouldn’t gossip, but she’s just telling it to me, I’m not spreading it.
I know I shouldn’t leave him, but he just drives me crazy, I can’t take it anymore.
Do you have a big but? I know I do.

Part 2: We're called to be holy, not happy:

God took the Israelites out of Egypt to take them to the land of Milk and Honey, Right? That’s what I always thought. But read this carefully:
Exodus 6:2 And God continued, “I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God Almighty, though I did not reveal my name, the LORD to them. And I entered into a solemn covenant with them. Under its terms, I swore to give them the land of Canaan, where they were living. You can be sure that I have heard the groans of the people of Israel, who are not slaves to the Egyptians. I have remembered my covenant with them.
“Therefore say to the Israelites: I am the LORD, and I will free you from your slavery in Egypt. I will redeem you with mighty power and great acts of judgment. I will make you my own special people and I will be your God. And you will know that I am the LORD your God who has rescued you from your Slavery in Egypt. I will bring you into the land I swore to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. “
The Israelites had been praying and calling out to God for a long time… and then he did something about it. He did it to honor his promise to their ancestors, because that’s his nature to stay true to his word. He took them out to worship Him, to glorify him, and then he would take them to the promised land.
Do you see what I see?
God was keeping his word to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
So many times we forget that it’s not about us. We envision God as a heavenly Santa Clause who just created us as to sit and be “fat and happy”. And he just sits up in heaven thinking about how to give us stuff all day long. Maybe we don’t think about it exactly that way, but we act as though we do.
And as a result, we have the tendency to ignore the parts of scripture that challenge us, or accept the twisted scripture that tickles our ears.
We’ll say, “I know it says ABC, but God understands, -I’m only human.” Or “Yes, I know that part…but God forgives sin, and he makes all things new… After all doesn’t God want me to be happy.”
Actually…no. We’re not called to be “happy.” We’re called to be holy.
He did not create us because he had nothing else to do. He created us with a purpose: to worship him, and glorify his nature, and fulfill the plans he’s created for us. The blessings come as a flow from being obedient in this.
Again and again God sent Moses back to Pharaoh to tell him, “Let the Israelites go three days out into the wilderness to worship the Lord.” He never once said, “Let them go because he wants to give them the land of milk and honey. Let them go, you’re too mean and he wants them to be happy.”
When Pharaoh refused, Moses would tell him about the plague that was coming and its results,- and none of it was about the people. It was about God.
“And you are going to know that I am the LORD” 7:17
“It will be as you have said. Then you will know that no one is as powerful as the LORD our God.” 8:10
“Then you will know that I am the LORD and that I have power even in the heart of your land.” 8:22
“I will prove to you that there is no other God on earth. I could have killed you all by now. I could have attacked you with a plague that would have wiped you from the face of the earth. But I have let you live for this reason,- that you might see my power and my fame might spread throughout the earth.” 9:14-15
“This will prove to you the earth belongs to the LORD.”9:29
(to Moses) “I can continue to display my power by performing my miraculous signs among them. You will be able to tell wonderful stories to your children and grandchildren about the marvelous things I am doing among the Egyptians to prove that I am the LORD.” 10: 1-2
And on and on and on and on.
Not once is he doing this to make his people “happy”. Every single thing he did was to honor his word, and be glorified. Yes the people had been crying out to him in their suffering, and God made it clear he’d heard them (3:7). But we see when they rebelled in the wilderness (grumbling and complaining, making an idol,) they were rebuked and/or killed off (chapter 32). If God was this Santa Clause- God we envision he would have just patted them on the head and said, “There there. I understand you’re only human. It’s okay. Here, I’ll give you Canaan so you will be happy.”
No. Instead, not one of those rescued from Egypt set foot on the promised- land, only their descendants. God still kept his word to Abraham, but would not bless those Israelites in all of their disobedience. They were only trying to get themselves happy, not holy.
Yes, God is merciful. He knows we won’t hit the mark every time. He forgives when we apologize to him. But his mercy cannot be an excuse to live sloppy lives. He cannot, and will not bless intentional disobedience.
We say, “I know I should… but…” (Hey, I’m not judging, I’m in here with too. Do any of these ring a bell?)
I know I should come clean, but I’m afraid I’ll get in trouble.
I know the bible says I should forgive, but I’m just so angry at her.
I know I’m supposed to tithe, but I just have too many bills. I have to think of my children’s future.
I know I shouldn’t gossip, but she’s just telling it to me, I’m not spreading it.
I know I shouldn’t leave him, but he just drives me crazy, I can’t take it anymore.
Do you have a big but? I know I do.

Practice what you preach

Can I practice what I preach?
You know I’ve been going through the Bait of Satan curriculum with my teachers. It’s all about offence.
It’s a great program and I’ve learned so much…but can I put it into practice?
I had a rough day on Tuesday. I was flat out treated wrong by a man and the business he represented. To say I was fuming would be an understatement.
I got home and just sat in my chair.
“All he saw was a white American woman.” (Here in Swaziland that is equal to a rich, naïve sucker to fleece.) “I guess I showed him. Now I’m gonna to this and that, and such &such. He’ll be sorry…”
As I was shouting all of this (in my head of course) the Lord said to me. “Can you practice what you preach?”
Huh?
“You stand up in front of your teachers every week and talk about not taking up offence at others, about letting me vindicate them… can you do it yourself.”
I wasn’t trying to hear that.
Silent fuming.
Sqinty eyes. Pursed lips. Huffy breaths.
Grrrr God. Very Grrr.
I just went to bed.
I thought that was the end of the conversation.
He wanted to talk about it more at quarter to 5 in the morning.
“Will you let me take care of it?”
(I’m a bit to honest when you wake me up.) “No God,- you take too long. 12 years for Joseph. 14 years for King David. By the time you get around to it, it won’t even matter. I want him punished and to know it was because of what he did to me.”
“What about ‘Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do’”
“Oh! -don’t give me that bologna,- he knew exactly what he was doing! That was intentional because I called him out on his shady business. Now he’s trying to break my stuff, and I have to go and pay even more to get it fixed…”
“But he doesn’t know that he’s messing with the Lord’s anointed…”
I sat straight up in my bed, hands in the air.
“Whoa.” Eyes as big as saucers I scrambled to get out of my bed. “Okay, that’s it. I’m done. I’m done. No offense. No offense. I’m not messing with that one anymore.”
The thing is, I forgot that me being here in Swaziland had nothing to do with me. God has sent me here with for a purpose,- he has a plan while I’m here. And if someone is messing around and is trying to keep me from doing my stuff, he’s not messing me up,- he’s messing God’s business up.
God will not stand for that. He will make the situation right. I don’t have to do one tiny thing to set things straight, in fact, I’ll just get in the way if I try.
So I’m not taking offence. I’m stepping back, -way back,- and letting him take care of it.

A Cruel Joke

What's the big idea!
I realized that I am in the mist of prime eating season! Thanksgiving leading into Christmas.
Last night as I was eating T-day dinner, Karen asked if I was happy.
Whoa momma. "Oh course I am...I have a plate full of carbohydrates!"
Mashed carbs, carb nibblets, orange carbs with marshmellows on top, carbs to be stuffed in a bird, and little fresh baked carbs to sop it all up with. For desert, a slice of carbs with whipped cream.
I ate until my belly hurt. I had to unbutton my pants beneath my tented blouse.
I was blissfully happy...but you know what? This is also bathing suit season!
What gives? Can they do that? I mean, how am I supposed to gourge all season on ham and candy, carmel corn, cakes, cookies ect, and then go to the beach or pool and relax?!
Is this some kind of cruel joke?!!!

the small still voice

I've invited Carol and Isaac to stay with me tonight, when they drive through from Mozambique.
Yesterday when I was cleaning, I felt that small still voice.
Wash the sheets today.
What? Why? That doesn't make any sense. I'm just going to sleep in them tonight. Then they won't be clean anymore when they come. What, am I suppose to sleep on the sponge tonight?
But I did it anyway. Washed, dried, and back on the bed.
Guess what? My water went out. We have a tank,- that never happens. But it did.
so I spent the night at Lauren and Ross's house and came back today, to my still clean sheets to have my plumbing repaired.I'm so glad I listened.

Happy Thanksgiving!

By the time you read this, it will be turkey day!
I will spend the morning getting my plumbing fixed. boo.
But then I will go to the Rehmeyer house and eat and eat and then eat some more. Do you know what I'm in charge of?
Oh c'mon! you know me better than that. I'm bringing the mashed potatoes of course. For 30 people!
Last night I carried on a family tradition with a new friend. My mom and I always baked our pies the day before so it wouldn't take up oven space on Thursday. Last night Lauren, Zinty and I baked until 1am.
Swaziland has made me so thankful for:
The opportunity to try new things,
meet new friends, remember the old ones,
see new sights
have running water, electricy (most of the time)and my health.
comment, what are you thankful for?

Update

For those of you who recieve our Children's Cup newsletters in the states, you might remember Isabel. She was an adorable girl we featureed in the spring of '06. I remember how adorable she was on the cover.
Well imagine my surprise when she walked in the door of the carepoint in Mazambique! She's just as beautiful and happy. Look at her!

Learning to adapt

Life is all about adaptation right? Well this photo is my Australian straighening iron, plugged into a 3 prong african adaptor, which had to be plugged into a 2 prong electrical adaptor to plug into the outlets in Mozambique.
This contraption had to be at least 6 inches long, and i'm sure it was a fire hazard. Of the lengths we ladies go through to make ourselves beautiful!

No, I'm not pregnant...

Okay I had to put that out there first, to deter any rumors. But in Mozambique we went to have a little bite after church. And I orders the most delicious bacon and banana pizza.
No.... NO!!!!!!! you're not allowed to say that! I can hear you all the way over here in Swaziland. No "eeeewwwww"ing allowed! (well accept you heidi, I know how you feel about bananas.) You can't knock it until you try it. You eat pinapple and ham right? It's the same thing,- sweet fruit and salty meat. I find a lot of african recipes combine salty and sweet. So good, right up there with popcron and M&ms.

I'm baa-ack!

I loved Mozambique! Thank you to all who prayed! The traffic was surprisingly mild when I drove into Maputo. Patrick Conti even commented, “You must have people praying for you back home…the traffic is not bad at all.”
See. Your prayers work.
The city is rough looking, there’s obvious poverty everywhere you look, but I love it so much. I didn’t really expect to, to be honest.
We decided on the first night that one day would not be enough. So we made a weekend out of it. We had seafood, and watched great movies with Portuguese subtitles
The next day we went to the Nkobe carepoint for a caregivers meeting, and then a youth event in the afternoon. Finally on Sunday we had church, lunch and had to say our goodbyes. But I tell you, if I didn’t have obligations on Monday, I’d have stayed until my 30 day visa ran out. I can’t wait to go back in December.
I’ve really enjoyed getting to know Carol and Isaac Williams, the Brazilian couple who work with Children’s Cup there. They are so hospitable and a great couple. I was thrilled to see how their carepoint is running, even though it’s so far removed from us in Swaziland. I look forward to working with them more in the future. The children and adults who come for church have such a servant's heart. They all wanted to help set up the chairs, to serve tea, to collect the cups,- anything to help!
I can’t exactly put my finger on why Mozambique is so different from Swaziland, even though it’s only a few kilometers away. But the people are different, the spiritual atmosphere is different, the children are different. It was so hard to communicate with them since they don’t speak English and I don’t speak Portuguese or their native language, which I won’t even attempt to spell here. I could say "Bon dia" or "caio!" but the rest... just smiles, hugs and kisses.But I fell in love with them so quickly, and felt a real connection with the people.
Sigh. I miss it already.

In the office...

Look at out new uniforms!
Okay not really. But the video team that came from Children's Cup brought us t-shirts to wear with pride.
these are the lovely women I work with:
L-R Nomtie, Gugu and Queeneth.
If you would like one of these super cool shirts, you can get them from the webpage:
www.childrenscup.org

Well I'll be!

Remember when I first arrived, I told you they were burning everything? They say it helps things to grow better. I wasn't too sure but whatever!
So there was a hill across the highway from Moneni. And I'm not sure if they have a small stone wall, or a trench or what, but exactly one half was burned and the other was not.
Well look at it now! Wow!

a chippie kitchen!

Yes this is my kitchen. I hadn't got my microwave back from the shop yet when I shot this, but it goes on the Zebra stand.
Yes those are the stairs to my bedroom. And yes, I pee before I got to bed. Trust me, you don't want to navigate those badboys at 4 am.

shame...well not really

My church is sending a team next summer (well winter here.) I thought it was July 20-30. I was so excited it would be over my birthday! What a great way to celebrate.
But I was wrong. It's June, not July.
Shame
But then I realized, it's a whole month sooner!
Yea!

Insert sad face here:

I have so many cool photos to post and it's just not working. sigh. Please be patient.
On a happy note I went to Moneni today and passed out clothes to some of the neediest children we serve. You know we did an outreach like that when I was in Brazil,- it was my favorite.
On a crazy note, it is so hot! I know I posted it before, but now it's hotter! yeah, I didn't think it was possible either.

And...it looks like I'll be taking my first trip to Mozambique this weekend. So please pray for me with all of those crazy drivers. I'll try to take lots of pictures that I won't be able to post here either. :0P

too funny! Only in Africa...

I was walking through the mall today on a beautiful sunny day. I could hear the birds chirping as I approached the open area of the mall...very loudly.
'Wow, are they always that loud?'
Then they kept getting louder.
"Cheap cheap. Cheap!!!!! CHEAP CHEAP!!!!!!CHEAP!!!!!!"
Wow! they are so loud!
Then I saw her. there was a woman walking towards me with a box of baby chicks on her head. Yes a whole case. Well that explains it.
Only in Africa.

It makes me smile. My life rocks.

Yeah!

It was awesome!
You know that when you are doing good, opposition will come?
Well knowing that Pastor Ron would be in the states for 3 months and unable to teach his bible class to my teachers, I’ve been praying about what to do instead.
I really wanted to do the Bait of Satan curriculum by John Bevere. (Now if you haven’t heard of that, so out and get it today! The book, the dvds, the cd…I don’t care get one of them. It will change your life! Especially, if you are thinking of leaving one church and going to another, read chapter 4 first!) Okay, I guess it’s obvious how I feel about it. So I began praying about it months ago. I’ve been preparing worksheets so my teaches could follow along taking notes in English, their second language. I’ve been working very hard to make it possible for them to learn and understand what this man is talking about. I knew it wouldn’t be easy, it would take a lot of extra effort on my part, but I strongly beleive this is something my teachers needed to learn!
Finally the day arrived! I was nervous, but God was telling me it would be awesome! I took him at his word.
About an hour before I was due to leave for Manzini, I started to gather up all of my materials.
Where’s the projector?
This is where it gets hairy. The projector had been lent out to someone in a different ministry. We called him. He had it, but couldn’t bring it to the office because his wife had the car. So we went to him. He gave us the projector but then realized the cords were not in the bag. So we had to drive to the main house across town where the projector had been used. Couldn’t find them.
I was starting to get a bit frustrated/panicy/ discouraged. I realized it was opposition. I just started praying, “Lord, if you want these teachers to see this today, which I believe you do, You have to do something! You have to fight on my behalf because there’s nothing I can do! You can do it, it’s not too big for you. Let those cords be found!” (I remembered a devotional I read once there they suggested reversing your common prayers. Instead of saying , ‘God this is my problem’, you can say ‘Problem, this is my God.’)
Within minutes, he came around the corner of the house with one cord. “It must have fallen out of the bad. It was in the back yard in the dirt.”
Ha HA. One down, on to go! We went back to his house to borrow the cord he had and when he went inside, he found our cord! Yea
Now you think that’s the end of the story right? Nope. We made it to Manzini ½ hour late and I began to set up. Even though we had all of the cords, and I pushed all of the right buttons, the projector would not work. I’d done it before, I knew how to do it, the projector just refused.
But some of the teachers had already arrived and were sitting together singing praise songs in Siswati and praying softly. And before you knew it, the projector gave it, and worked! It was soo cool.
As we got started, I shared the stories and frustrations of the day with the teachers. I told them “There must be something important for you to learn today, if the Devil is working this hard to prevent it.” They all smiled and laughed, nodding knowingly.
We watched the first 2 lessons, talked about them, reviewed them, gave examples, and on and on until I was confident the teachers understood what he was teaching. And they responded so well!!!!!!! They were getting it. It was the light bulb moment!
It was sooo cool! And afterwards the teachers were thanking me, and encouraging me! I think they are excited about this too! There are 10 more lessons and I can’t wait to share it with them! Yea!
I was just walking on air for the rest of the day. It was awesome!

My (un)lucky 7

These are my babies at Moneni" Bobo, Sihle, Mpumelelo, Mandisa, Maluleki, Ntombikayise,and Ayanda. All 7 of them are graduating from our literacy program on December 1st. We will have a ceremonty with caps and gowns, they will read for their caregivers, and then we will take them for a celebration at a game park. Big fun!
But after that.....
Only the two on the left, Bobo and Sihle are sponsored to continue on with their schooling at a local govenment school. The other 5 simply don't have the school fees.
While it's only about $1000 Emelengeni to attend for a year, the local wages for the cargivers are much lower than that, maybe $600E a month.
The teacher told me that in Bible club she asked for prayer requests. One of the carepoint children raised his hand and prayed that God would provide a way for him to continue his schooling.
It breaks my heart.

Unity

There’s not I remember from my college physics class. I remember why gravity works, why popcorn pops, and that British professors are cute. And there was something about the power of water as it travels through pipes. I don’t remember the formula, but it had to do with the circumference of the pipe and the velocity of the water, and probably force or something too. But this part I remembered clearly. No matter how powerful the water was at the beginning, if you split the pipe into 2, the power was lessened. And the more times the pipe split, the weaker it became. (But don’t worry, the professor’s cuteness was always a constant factor, no matter how weak the force was.)
God told the Isrealites to create a tabernacle where he could come and dwell among his people. And he gave them very specific instructions.
Most times, I just kinda skim through them . They always seem tedious and boring. However this time I actually paid attention.
Do you know what I saw there? Repetition, and a focus on unity.
For example, the instructions for making a lampstand:

Make a lampstand of pure, hammered gold. The entire lampstand and its decorations will be one piece – the base, center stem, lamp cups, buds, and blossoms. 32 It will have six branches, three branches going out from each side of the center stem. 33 Each of the six branches will hold a cup shaped like an almond blossom, complete with buds and petals. 34 The center stem of the lampstand will be decorated with four almond blossoms, complete with buds and petals. 35 One blossom will be set beneath each pair of branches where they extend from the center stem. 36 The decorations and branches must all be one piece with the stem, and they must be hammered from pure gold. 37 Then make the seven lamps for the lampstand, and set them so they reflect their light forward. 38 The lamp snuffers and trays must also be made of pure gold. 39 You will need seventy-five pounds F48 of pure gold for the lampstand and its accessories. 40 "Be sure that you make everything according to the pattern I have shown you here on the mountain.
Every part is to be one piece, and set to reflect their light forward. And he adds at the end “Be sure to make everything according to the pattern I have shown you here on the mountain.” (emphasis mine) and goes on to give more instructions for the tabernacle, often using the phrases, “forming a single unit” “making it a single unit,” and “made of one piece”
Now I’m no trying to create a whole new doctrine of these chapters, but I think it’s interesting that God requests unit from his people, even in the seemingly mundane details.
Why?
There’s strength and power in unity.

'Cup team

Children's cup has had a video team here this week in Swaziland. Now of course all of these people in the photo aren't here, but this is the picture I have from my Baton Rouge visit. Vicki ( green shirt) Ty (black shirt) and Emily and Vincent (not shown). Of course I'm here and Patrick (white shirt).
But you know what? I've loved having them here. While on the surface it's been no different from any other "team" I know they are "one of us." They are doing their thing back in the states to make what we do here possible. I can't tell you how important our state side staff is in supporting us here.
So I appreciate them, and have enjoyed seeing their smiling, and exhaused faces. They're off to Mozambique now. Go well friends.

HOT!!!

It's hot here in Mbabane today! it will reach 91, so I dread going down to Manzini.
Satan might show up and ask us to turn down the heat.

frustration

How do you spell it?
Recklace
Recless
Wrecless
Holy crap! I really can’t picture the word in my mind to save my life? What is wrong with me? And I can’t figure out how to use the dictionary on Windows Vista. How can I write this blog post is I can’t figure out how to spell the word? It’s so far off, the spell check doesn’t even recognize what I’m trying to spell.
Forget it. I’m picking a new word.
Y’all I dun got dummer heyer in Afrikka.

Thinking outside of the par-a- dig-m.

Africa does funny things to your mind. It changes your perspective on what is “proper”, what is
acceptable. We had a game night on Wed, and the hostess served Easter shaped sweet tarts that someone sent from the states a while back. Isn’t that funny? Would you ever serve Easter candy at Halloween? Of course not. It would be “old” and therefore gross, and your guests wouldn’t want to eat it.
But we were very excited to have sweet tarts. No one cared.
I’ve seen partially used bottles of Bath and Body given as a gift, and the recipient being thrilled to have it! Ha Ha.
Last night, I invited a friend Jacci, to dinner. Since she lives in Manzini, we pre-planned that she would just stay with me last night and go home in the morning. (The Swazi don’t even drive in Manzini at night, so there is no way a white woman will.) Since I don’t have a guest room here, but I do have a proper double bed, she had to sleep with me. The funny thing is, neither of us even thought it was strange. It was just practical. It was kinda fun, talking until 1 am after the other guests had left and then just falling asleep. This morning I thought to myself, “I’m 30 years old, and I just had a slumber party.”
What a riot! You just wouldn’t do those kind of things in the states, but here, it’s second nature. No one thinks twice about it.
I love it. I love the freedom of doing what’s enjoyable, fun, realistic, and rational, instead of what is “proper”.
So I give you permission to abandon all sense of “how you should do thing.”
If it tastes good, eat it, no matter what shape it is. Give a gift you know someone will love, even if you used a bit. Sleep with whoever you want…err. No wait, that didn’t sound right. But you know what I mean.
Live Life! Love Life! (I saw that on a t-shirt here. I’m adopting it as my new motto)

Written Sunday

Did you ever watch that show Sliders? You know the one where you discovered an older, slimmer, much cuter Jerry O’Conner? Or O’Connell, or whatever his name is. You know the chubby kid, Vern, from Stand By Me? Anyway in each episode they were in a parallel universe. And that’s how I feel lately. I feel like I’m existing in a world that’s operating day to day, and once in a while I can look through the window back into the life that I experienced for so many year.
On my homepage, yahoo, they listed the top scary movies.
So? I thought, why would they do that?
Duh, Halloween is in 3 days. This entire month has slipped by and I didn’t even realize it. Without a Wal-Mart full of costumes, and grocery stores with isle after isle of candy, I didn’t even realize it was Halloween. I started thinking about my former students, the fun activities we did in the fall, and how I would decorate the classroom and my home.
But not this year.
Somewhere on the other side of the world, my mom has a giant pot of mums blooming, children are carving pumpkins, friends are having movie night with scary film, and my dad has bought 6 bags of candy using the excuse of trick-or-treaters, although we never have one at the house.
And one more I discovered just this instant. My microwave clock says 7pm. My parallel universe computer clock says 6pm.
Y’all had daylight savings time today, didn’t you?
Nope. Not here.
It’s such a strange feeling. Life is going on without me, while living a life here.

One for my dad...

Don't know why I was surprised, after all, orchids come from Africa. But when I saw these lining my drive way I was so excited! It's like the way you have daffodils in the states. With teh rain and warm weather they just appeared out of no where.
So I shot this for my dad. He loves flowers and growing them. When we went to hawaii a friend had told him, "Don't just shoot a flower. You have to put a person in the picture too." So everytime he saw a flower/tree/bush/plant he liked, he made me stand by it.
We have a lot of pictures of me, and hawaiian flowers.
Unfortunately, there was no one around when I shot this, so my appologies. It's just a picture of a flower, no person. :0(

"everything will be fine"

I got my microwave back! Fixed for Free! I took it to the repair shop and they told me it would be $450E for the Part and another $100E for the labor.
Ech
But they saw how new it was they asked if it was under warenty.
Of course it is, but I couldn't find the slip or the box (which is required here.) The manager sent me to the shop I bought it at (across the street) and in a book, they keep all of their registars, and I was listed on the first page.
Now I must repent. I complain about the lack of technology in Swaziland, but in this case, hand written recipts make a difference. The manager gave me a copy, and then filed the paperwork himself.
I got the call today, and took it home right away! While life was not that bad without it, I'm happy to have it back.
Not sure the lesson in all of this....but I had peace about it all. I guess I'm just suppose to learn that lightning stikes here, I should always keep my boxes, and modern technology isnt' always what it's cracked up to be. We can live well without it.

Okay, a week late but I can update you on the camp. It was a wonderful experience. Yes I slept horribly, and was dirty and tired, but I think it made such a difference to the teens that were there. They were so tickled that I came and slept over.
And you know watching them pray, sing, and dance I was so blessed. I thought to myself "this is so cool." It almost brought tears to my eyes. I love them so much!

Here it is!

Okay, this is my baby,- the Chippie cottage! Not 100% finished, but it's coming along. My kitchen was too dirty to shoot, I don't have one of the living room yet, but here is the outside view, the dining room (I have to hang the mirror)and my bedroom. Yes that's a misquito net, but it's more for decoration than necessity, at least at this point. It's still not hot enough to sleep with the windows open. But to me, when it's down, it looks very "Africany"

So it will make sense to you too...

I love my friend Lauren for many reasons.
She’s taught me that African pancakes (crepes) really are amazing with avocado and bacon, or that sweet bananas, onions and spicy curry really do go together.
She’s sweetly quirky.
“When I was a little girl, I use to love thunderstorms. I’d lie in bed listening, and get all warm and tingling inside. I’d think, ‘Yes! My God is that powerful!’”
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I’m struggling.
How do you go on day after day on blind faith.
When you don’t see His hand working. When you don’t see an end in sight.
How do you continue on for one more day, when, honestly you don’t believe it will be just one more day.
That day will lead to the next, to the next, to the next.
“Behold! I do a new thing…”
But month after month, the test results are negative.
Months have turned to years and he still won’t speak to her.
Countless prayers for her, and she’s farther away from God than ever.
What do you do, when you realize that you're no longer surprised by the disappointment.
Your heart is right before the Lord, “But it’s been the same for so long...”
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The thunderclap shook my house this morning… “I am that powerful!”

A scary story with a happy ending

The other day we left our teacher's meeting at St. Paul. One of our teachers, Lungile couldn't find her son. She went throughout the carepoint, and then took other teachers throughout the community. They visited homesteads, and his little friends thinking perhaps he'd left with one of them. Finally a teenager came forward and told her he'd been picked up by the police and taken home.
so the next day I'd asked her about it.
She said he'd wandered out of the carepoint because he wanted her. He was trying to walk to St. Paul's to find her when the police picked him up. He said, "I want my mom" but had neglected to tell them she was just around the corner at the church. So the police took him to the store, bought him some food items and then took him all the way to his homestead, about 15 KM away. She said she walked into their house frantic, and he stood there all smiles.
"Look momma I have food for us!" He was the little man of the house.
So sweet. It's also nice to hear a good story about the police here.

One for Miss Jean!

This is a jacaranda tree near our Makholweni carepoint. Isn't it beautiful? Most of the blossoms are gone now, but it was soo cool to drive around Manzini and see purple trees throughout the landscape.

Say cheese!

Hey I finally got it to load!
So many of you commented that it was good to see a picture of me. So here is one of me, Lauren and Julia. You can see I'm healthy, and happy here in Africa

coming soon...

okay, I know I promised an update on camp. But I've been really busy. Please wait patiently. I'll get an update soon, possibly with picture ofChippie cottage as well

Camp

I’m going to youth camp today. You know, I wasn’t a Christian when I was a teenager, so I never went to youth camp. And I’ve certainly, never been to African youth camp, - so I think I’m in for a surprise. In my mind I’ve been thinking of bunks and cabins, but I know for a fact it’s nothing like that. I’ve heard “horror” stories from some of our other Americans who’ve attended in the past.
“It’s hot! You can’t shower. You have to sleep on the ground…” They usually just go home to sleep, bathe and return the next day.
At first I thought this sounded like a great idea, but as it’s approached, I’ve been feeling in my heart that I need to go and stay. How can I expect my teachers to do something I’m not willing to do? I’ve been to their houses, - they sleep in beds too. I’ve given them a good sniff, - they bathe everyday too.
In addition, many have husbands, and kids and extended families at home that they are leaving behind for a whole weekend, to love on these teens, serve them, teach them, etc.
In my “lead by example” approach, I feel it’s important for me to be there too. I’ve been fighting it, but this week I finally submitted to what the Lord is asking me to do. It won’t kill me to get skuzzy for a day or too. I will not melt in the heat, nor will I literally be eaten alive by mosquitoes. I’m just viewing it as camping. After all, I’ve already been asked to bring my own sponge (foam mattress) sleeping bag and dish to eat from. I’ve packed my sunscreen, bug repellant, and wet wipes to bathe with.
And do you know what? The past few days I’ve been getting a bit excited to go! I’ve never been to youth camp or even tried real “roughing it” camping before. Yea! I get to get dirty, and nasty, and eat food cooked on a fire. Not only that, I get to spend a night with the teenage girls from Moneni, who I have grown to love so much!
It’s funny how when you have a submissive attitude, God will bless you and change your heart. So, please pray for me this weekend at my first ever youth camp. I guess it’s never too late to start. But more importantly, pray for the 130 teenagers who will be there. Pray that they have “eyes to see and ears to hear”, that something will strike a chord in them. Pray they will have an “a-ha” moment or an “I get it now.” Pray that their hearts are changed and that their lives will be changed as a result.

It's worth repeating...

A few years ago I read Blue Like Jazz, by Donald Miller, and there is an amazing chapter about loving others. I posted an excerpt on my blog a year or so ago, but so many of you weren't reading yet. So it's worth repeating...

…The problem with Christian culture is we think of love as a commodity. We use it like money...If somebody is doing something for us, offering us something, be it gifts, time, popularity, or what have you, we feel they have value, we feel they are worth something to us, and I and, perhaps, we feel they are priceless. I could see it so clearly, and I could feel it in the pages of my life. This was the thing that had smelled so rotten all these years. I used love like money. The church used love like money. With love, we withheld affirmation from the people who did not agree with us, but we lavishly financed the ones who did.
The next few days unfolded like a thick line of melancholy thought and introspection. I used love like money, but love doesn't work like money. It is not a commodity. When we barter with it, we all lose. When they church does not love its enemies, it fuels their rage. It makes them hate us more.
Here's how it worked out on a personal level:
There was this guy in my life at the time, a guy I went to church with whom I honestly didn't like. I thought he was sarcastic and lazy and manipulative, and he ate with his mouth open so that food almost fell from his chin when he talked. He began and ended every sentence with the word dude.
"Dude, did you see Springer yesterday?" he would say. "They had this fat lady on there who was doing it with a midget. It was crazy, dude. I want to get me a midget, dude."
That's the sort of thing he would talk about. It was very interesting to him…regardless; I had to spend a good amount of time with him as we were working on a temporary project together. He began to get under my skin. I wanted him to change. I wanted him to read a book, memorize a poem, or explore morality, at least as an intellectual concept. I didn't know how to communicate to him that he needed to change, so I displayed it on my face. I rolled my eyes, I gave him dirty looks. I would mouth the word loser when he wasn't looking. I thought somehow he would sense my disapproval and change his life in order to gain my favor. In short, I withheld love.
…I knew what I was doing was wrong. It was selfish, and what's more, it would never work. By withholding love from my friend, he became defensive, he didn't like me. He thought I was judgmental, snobbish, proud, and mean. Rather that being drawn to me, wanting to change, he was repulsed. I was guilty of using love like money, withholding it to get someone to be who I wanted them to be. I was making a mess of everything. And I was disobeying God. I became convicted about these things, so much so that I had some trouble getting to sleep. It was clear that I was to love everybody, be delighted at everybody's existence, and I had fallen miles short of God's aim. The power of Christian spirituality has always rested in repentance, so that's what I did. I repented. I told God I was sorry. I replaced economic metaphor, in my mind, with something different, a free gift metaphor or a magnet metaphor. That is, instead of withholding love to change somebody, I poured it on, lavishly. I hoped that love would work like a magnet, pulling people from the mire and toward healing. I knew this was the way God loved me. God had never withheld love to teach me a lesson.
Here is something very simple about relationships that Spencer helped me discover: Nobody will listen to you unless they sense that you like them.
If a person senses that you do not like them, that you do not approve of their existence, then your religions and your political ideas will all seem wrong to them. If they sense that you like them, then they are open to what you have to say.
After I repented, things were different, but the difference wasn't with my friend, the difference was with me. I was happy. Before, I had all this negative tension flipping around in my gut, all this judgmentalism and pride and loathing of other people. I hated it, and now I was set free. I was free to love. I didn't have to discipline anybody, I didn't have to judge anybody, I could treat everybody as though they were my best friend, as though they were rock stars or famous poets, as though they were amazing, and to me they became amazing, especially my new friend. I loved him. After I decided to let go of judging him, I discovered he was very funny. I mean really hilarious. I kept telling him how funny he was. And he was smart, quite brilliant; really, I couldn't believe that I had never seen it before. I felt as though I had lost an enemy and gained a brother. And then he began to change... It didn't matter to me whether he did or not, but he did. He began to get a little more serious about God. He gave up television for a period of time as a sort of fast. He started praying and got regular about going to church. He was a great human being getting even better. I could feel God's love for him. I loved the fact that it wasn't my responsibility to change somebody, that it was God's; my part was just to communicate love and approval…

Love

God’s re-accuring theme since I’ve arrived in Africa has been love. I’ve been on this journey of learning all over again. How do I love others? Many days I feel, not very well.
Our focus of the recent retreat was Loving Well. (It’s a Beth Moore study that I highly recommend)
It made me question many things. Do I love from an outflow of the love I receive from God, or do I love out of my own strength? Do I look for opportunities to love, or do I love because of a sense of duty? Is it a chore to love, or is it a joy to love?
This is not a one day fix-up, but a continuous journey of seeking a better understanding of Christ’s love. While I might never in this life understand the fullness of His love for me, there’s one thing I’m realizing about it:
It’s not a just- enough love.
It’s not a filled- to- the- brim love.
It’s an overflowing love.
There is a beautiful song on a CD that a friend gave me.
Your love is deep, Your love is high
Your love is long, Your love is wide
It’s deeper than my view of grace,
Higher than this worldly place
Longer than this road I travel,
Wider than this gap you fill...
Pauls writes, “And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep the love of Christ is”. Ephesians 3:18
I don’t know if I’ll ever fully understand his love for me. But his love is an abundant love.
It’s not limited to my understanding of it.
It’s not just enough to get me through the day.
It’s not equal to what I need to go through the tough times.
It is more than I could ever imagine.

African Funnies

Africa makes me smile.
The other day I rode to work behind a pick-up truck. In the bed was a man, a woman, her baby, a granny, and a goat.
Only in Africa.

Nomty is a sassy 20 year old who works in our office. One day, frustratedly teasing Queeneth, she said, “Oh I see. You think you are better than cheese on toast.”
To an African that would be pretty good. :0)

We had dinner with a group of Zimbabweans who were visiting. For desert, Felicity had a big bowl of ice cream and brownies. Since I’d been eating cookies as an appetizer, I only had a tiny scoop of ice cream and a tiny little brownie.
She was appalled! “How come I have this huge bowl, and you only have a lick and a promise?”
I like that one. I’ll use it. You can use it too.
Smile!

It's christmas!!!

In the states, October is for Halloween.
November is for Thanksgiving.
December is for Christmas.
But here in Swaziland, we don't celebrate Halloween or American Thanksgiving.
So Christmas can start in October!
Yeah! I'm so happy.
I went grocery shopping at Spar yesterday. There were giant gingerbread cut outs hun from the ceiling, Santas, wreaths with bows and bulbs, pine garland, and Christmas candy!
I'm so happy!

words of wisdom

"When you love someone, you do what's best for them."
Pastor Ron said this in our last Marriage and Family class lecture. It makes sense to me.
God always does what's best for us.
Parents do what's best for their children, even if they don't like spinach. :0)
It's not always easy, but it's important.
This week our chapters covered divorce and remarriage. "...Because those involved in marital conflict often do not receive support to keep their vows, their hearts become hard and divorce becomes a consideration. Jesus makes clear the concept that divorce is always perpetrated because of hardness of heart. Many other situations usually exsist but this is the root cause (Matt 19:8) The devastation left by divorce leaves deep wounds and scars. God wants to bring resptration. Pointing the finger at a mate and passing the blame to them will never bring restoration, but coming to God and repenting will begin the restoration process." R Tucker 2000.
I see this in the divorces I've seen. A friend of mine one confided in me that things were rough in her marriage. She said, "I don't want to be a statistic, but things are bad. I can't stay like this anymore."
When I asked her what was so wrong, she began to list all of the things her husband didn't do for her, and how he wasn't making her happy in this way and that way.
Knowing her husband is a good, decent, caring, supportive man, I couldn't beleive why she was so unhappy. I remembered when they first met and she was falling all over herself to be a loving caring supportive wife to him.
Sometime during the marriage she'd stopped doing what was best for him, and started looking out for what was best for her. As a result, her heart became hardened.
A few months later she told me things had been getting better. "I realized the problem was with me. It was my attitude towards things." As her heart was softened, her live for him returned, and now things are much better between them.
Guard your heart readers.

Nkosatana Sihle

This means "princess Sihle" She is a spunky outgoing little girl at Moneni, who needs your prayers.
She was the first friend I made at Moneni.
She was trying to tell me her name and I just couldn't get it. she got so frustrated with me. Finally she did a big sigh at me, rolling her eyes. With her huffy voice she said,"Say 'see'"
I repeated obediently, affraid not to.
"Say, 'shlay'"
"Shlay"
"yes! see-shlay"
Plucky little girl. I love her, please pray.

Book Distribution

A few weeks ago I went about distributing books to the carepoints. I'd always been told that the swazi aren't really into books and reading. But children have a love for stories reguardless of where they are raised. They met me at the truck and wanted to carry in the books themselves. And even the tiny ones were grasping at them, with wide eyes! They were facinated with the colorful pictures, knowing that the black marks meant something. They would point to the pictures and chatter excitedly to one another. And sometimes they would point and tell me the english words as well. I sat a read with a few tiny ones about going to school and every page they would point excitedly shouting "Peeen-sul!" Well at least they know what a pencil looks like!