African Adventure week 6

The other day we went with the team to Milwane, a game reserve, for dinner. While we were chowing down, a family of warthogs sauntered by. Huh. Nathaniel told me that last time he was there, an ostrich ate off of this plate. That would never happen in the states.
Another animal experience:
The other day I saw my coffee cup was empty. I poured the last splash from the pot into my cup, added a splash of cream, and a little shake of sugar. AS I drank it down, there was something soft and mushy on my tongue. I figured it must be some coffee grounds from the bottom of the pot and spit it onto my finger tips.
Nope.
Not quite sure what it was, but it was a soft body with definite legs. I think it was a spider at some point. Now you know how I feel about spiders, but surprisingly I just shrugged it off. It didn’t really bother me. In fact, later that day, after running around I was starving.
“Hmm… Maybe I should have just eaten the spider. It would have held me over…”
Ha HA Yeah, I know it’s gross, but I think Africa is doing that to me. :0)
I also got my first flat last Friday. Amazingly, I was at peace. I knew God was in control and I was safe. Isnt' that funny? In the states I would freak out even though I just had to call my insurance to change it. But I sent a text to every man in my phone, and had a response in minutes. Nathie and Darren were on their way home from Manzini and were there quickly, changed it, and I was on the road again! HOw cool. And I watched, so now I know how to do it! Hopefully I'll never need it!

cool thought

This is an interesting except from an article I was reading on www.followtherabi.com :
The decision to follow a rabbi as a talmid meant total commitment in the first century as it does today. Since a talmid was totally devoted to becoming like the rabbi he would have spent his entire time listening and observing the teacher to know how to understand the Scripture and how to put it into practice. Jesus describes his relationship to his disciples in exactly this way (Matt. 10:24?25; Luke 6:40) He chose them to be with him (Mark 3:13?19) so they could be like him (John 13:15).
Most students sought out the rabbis they wished to follow. This happened to Jesus on occasion (Mark 5:19; Luke 9:57). There were a few exceptional rabbis who were famous for seeking out their own students. If a student wanted to study with a rabbi he would ask if he might follow the rabbi. The rabbi would consider the students potential to become like him and whether he would make the commitment necessary. It is likely most students were turned away. Some of course were invited to ‘follow me’. This indicated the rabbi believed the potential talmid had the ability and commitment to become like him. It would be a remarkable affirmation of the confidence the teacher had in the student. In that light, consider whether the disciples of Jesus were talmidim as understood by the people of his time. They were to be with him Mark 3:13?19; to follow him Mark 1:16?20; to live by his teaching John 8:31; were to imitate his actions John 13:13?15; were to make everything else secondary to their learning from the rabbi Luke 14:26.
This may explain Peter?s walking on water (Matt. 14:22?33). When Jesus (the rabbi) walked on water, Peter (the talmid) wanted to be like him. Certainly Peter had not walked on water before nor could he have imagined being able to do it. However, ‘if the teacher, who chose me because he believed I could be like him, can do it so must I’. And he did! It was a miracle but he was just like the rabbi! And then...he doubted. Doubted what? Traditionally we have seen he doubted Jesus’ power. Maybe, but Jesus was still standing on the water. I believe Peter doubted himself, or maybe better his capacity to be empowered by Jesus. Jesus response? Why did you doubt? (14:31) then means, ‘Why did you doubt I could empower you to be like me?’
That is a crucial message for the talmid of today. We must believe that Jesus calls us to be disciples because he knows he can so instruct, empower, and fill us with his Spirit that we can be like him (at least in our actions). We must believe in ourselves! Otherwise we will doubt that he can use us and as a result we will not be like him.

Too Busy!

I use to get so frustrated with the Children’s Cup team. I was sitting in American all curious aobut what was going on in Africa, but no one would be posting.
Now I understand. Judge not, lest ye be judged.
I just survived my first team. A group of 31 came from the states, and while I was still only minimally involved, I was still very busy! SO I return to the office on Monday hoping to catch up on some email and blogging only to find a mountain of suitcases in my workspace. The team had left behind tons of clothes, books, school supplies, and craft things for the carepoints. (They also left me all of their American toilet paper. Yea! I have the happiest bum in all of Africa!) But my chore is to now sort this mountain and distribute it.
I checked my email just at a glance and had lots of people wondering why I wasn’t writing or posting.
Sigh
Sorry guys. I just haven’t had time. But I love you and miss you and have been thinking of you!
But I must say, I enjoyed being with the team. Many of these members were sponsors for our care point kids. So one day we had a luncheon in the park. The children all got KFC, and Fanta, and candy to eat, and then they got to play on the playground. And if that wasn’t cool enough, we then went to the store where each child got a pair of new school shoes and then their sponsors bought them an outfit, or two. And if that wasn’t cool enough, they then went to Steers and bought them an ice cream cone! You can imagine that this was the best day of their lives! They thought they’d dies and gone to heaven!
Another day we hosted a fun day at the location of a in-process carepoint. Complete with jump houses, face painting, balloon animals and crafts the kids had a blast. One teen-age girl told me, “I’ve never had so much fun.”
So while it was crazy busy, it was a lot of fun!!!

Adventures in Africa- week 4

Saturday morning I decided to be brave. I drove myself to Ezelwini, just down the mountain. I did well (thank you to all who have been praying about my driving. Keep it up) and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. As I get closer to the Pic-and -pay grocery store, something darts in front of my car.
Is that a cat? No. The run is too bouncy.
It was a monkey!
How cute.
I get to the store, shop, and then go next door to a little handicraft market to do some window shopping.
Now this was the scary part...
When I come back to the parking lot, all of the other cars have left, and standing between me and my truck is a teen age boy.
"Hello Sisi," he calls "Is this your car?"
"Yes."
"I'm very hungry. Give me some food. Give me some money. I want some of the food in the bags. I see the bags in your car. I want some food."
Now this whole time he is getting closer and closer, and I'm feeling more and more uncomfortable. I keep saying, "No" to all of his requests and keep walking to my truck without making eye contact,- and yet not trying to show fear.
I get to my truck safely, climb in breathing a sigh of relief as this boy is inches from my window, continuing to demand food or money.
"I'm getting out of here." I think to myself as I stick the key into the ignition, and crank the engine.
Silence.
Nothing
not a tic, not a grind, nothing.
Silence.
I started fighting back the tears as I called Susan. She sent Ben as quickly as possible. I sat sweating in the hot car, unable to roll the windows down, and unable to open the door for fresh air because of this guy.
Just as my car began to smell like a kombi, Ben arrived, fixed the minor problem (Thank you Jesus!) confirmed the teenager was sketchy, and followed me home.
So I guess the lesson learned was this: sometimes in Africa you have a great time, sometimes you get in a jam. But even then I am watched over, protected, and provided for.

church

We visited a cool church this weekend.Many of the women wore traditional dresses and danced during the music,- very cool. They had expected an entire American team of 31 to appear, but since there were problems and missed flights, they couldn't make it. However I appreciated it! I kinda wish I could dress up with shells on my ankles and dance around...oh but I digress.
Afterwards we went to a braii. It's really just an african cook-out (notice I didn't call it a bbq. I didn't want to confuse anyone in NC who would imagine a bunch of africans roasting a pig, eating hushpuppies, and drinking sweet tea.) But there was meat, upon meat upon meat! Giant bowls heaped with chicken, beef, and sausages! Soooo good. Oh, yeah, there was some other food there, but I don't remember them... potato salad or something.

This one is for Pam M ...

I know how you love those big brown eyes and adorable tendrals... Keep scrolling, there's more of her later...

Happy Prayers

A long line of hungry tummies

Too cute

A little girl in a big world

Sneek-A-Peek Prayer

A picture is worth 1,000 words!

That would never happen in America

Yesterday I was at Makholweni as Teresa did a clinic. I was out playing with the kids, and shooting pictures. I went inside and saw the scale, so I stepped on.
55kg. Hmmm. Down from 55.5kg last week. I like that.
Abraham's wife looked down at it, and laughed teasingly.
"Ha ha. I am more that you!"
I forgot the African view is bigger is better.
I feigned competition,- "Oh I have to go and eat! I will stand in the line with the children to get some pap and beans!"
But you know better don't you?
I'll just let her weigh more. I'm a good loser. :0)

Moneni Carepoint

New that I'm here, I've been assigned to oversee Moneni Carepoint, in Manzini. I've been told that the word "Moneni" means jealousy. Hmmmmm.
This is a picture of Phindile, the carepoint teacher, Queeneth,my co-worker, Nkihosinathie, then newly assigned teacher (now we have 2 male teachers on staff) and Make Sukati (pronounced ma-gee Soo-got-ee.)a leader of the Moneni community.On my other visits I saw several sickly students. Queeneth informed me that Moneni carepoint seems to have a disproportionate amount of children with HIV.
So we need to pray extra hard for them, and for Phildile as she cares for them. :0)

New things!

My man-truck had a light bulb burned out so I had to drive my way to Bob's Midas. I bought a bulb and then drove to the garage to replace it.
I did not belong! I don't go to garages in the states, but here, it was ree-dic-u-lous! I stood out like a turd in a punch bowl!

The guy put it in quickly, and then tried to charge me $50 E. I don't think so. The bulb was only $18E. I told him no. I told him I would pay only $20E. So another guy went to "ask the manager" while the first guy tried to ask me out on a date, (I played dumb-foreigner. It works often in dual language situations. I learned that a long time ago) and came back and insisted on $30E. I stood firm. I told them only $20E and no date.

I won! yeah! Now I realize I still probably got screwed, but hey, my first time bargaining in Swaziland! all in all the whole day was only $6.75 US so not that bad!

New teachers!

I spent a lot of time last week interviewing new teacher candidates. It's a strange feeling to be on the other side of the table. But don't worry,- I was nice.
This is the group of 8 who were chosen to start a trial period through the rest of term.
Aren't they a nice looking bunch? (picture won't post. sigh. come back later)

My first Guests

This is Mary and Roger. They were my first dinner guests at Chippie Cottage. Roger had asked that I teach Mary to cook pasta, so she'll know how when they get married. Now I think it was less about me teaching Mary (because it's pretty simple) and more that he wanted to eat pasta that night! And while my house is far from presentable, and I don't even have a dining room table yet, we ate on the sofas and had a nice time. I guess friendships that aren't dependant on furniture are the best to have!

A peek into the lives of others

Queeneth and I have spent the past 2 days at a conference and workshop pertaining to the emotional support of orphans and vulnerable children. And while there were many interesting things about the workshop, the most valuable information I gathered was simple observation of the Swazi culture. I questioned Queeneth on a lot of it, and she’d been so helpful.
I saw two men walking while holding hands on several occasions- not that uncommon in America, but for different reasons. Each time it was an older man taking a younger man to be introduced to someone. (I know in Sudan men in families will hold hands to show an unbreakable bond within the family)
Also, one of the presenters described the fear some children express when election time draws near. Huh?
Queeneth explained the practice of ritual murders around election time. While she says it’s less common then it was 25 years ago, candidates are told to kill someone to cut out their tongues, or a small child for their genitals, in which a witch doctor will perform a spell which will bring them luck to win the election. “Some people want what they don’t deserve,” she explained.
That blows my mind.
But the most interesting was the lifeboat activity. Read on

the life boat

Okay the life boat activity is a hypothetical story where you are on a sinking ship and get into a lifeboat. You are only able to save 4 of the 7 people in the freezing water. There rest will be left to die. Who of the following would you choose and why?
A prostitute
The ship’s 2nd in command
A mother and young child (they only count as 1)
A 16 year old boy
A 86 year old survivor of the holocaust
An 80 year old woman
A nurse
Now if you’ve read Donald Miller’s, Searching For God Knows What you are familiar with this activity. And you’ll have the same difficulty making a choice, with the understanding that all life has value. No matter who or what they do, or how long they have lived. A life is a life.
However this is an activity that exposes what cultures value as important. Typically Americans choose people with youth and status. The prostitute, and the two oldies are left behind. We say, “They’ve lived a good long life,” or “They’re trash and not worth saving.”
In China, the mother and young child are regarded as two each because they are each burdensome, and the remark was made, “China is overpopulated as it is. Let the child die and do China a favor.”
Now I kept quiet in my group and let the others decide. I was pleasantly surprised when the Swazi women recognized the value of each one. Swazi culture respects the wisdom of their elders and so the two oldies were not dismissed. And they saw that a prostitute was a person too, and deserved to live.
I don’t exactly remember which ones my group chose but some of the ideas the groups threw out were:
The mother and child because it was 2 people and the child would live on for many years.
The nurse because she would be helpful to us in case we got sick
The prostitute because they didn’t want to reinforce the stigma that prostitutes are worthless, or they have proven resourceful in survival.
Tthe 16 year old boy because he has a long life ahead of him, or he was young and healthy and could row the boat.
The ship’s 2nd in command because he would have knowledge of the sea.
The oldies we wise.
Now after making our decisions, more is revealed about each person. Does this make a difference to your decisions?
The prostitute is a male. (We were told that most all-male groups are crestfallen when they find out. Hmmm. What was their reasoning I wonder?)
The 2nd in command was responsible for the sinking ship and was blinded during the accident
The mother actually works aboard a small sea craft and is the only one who knows anything about navigating the small life boat. (We were told that most people only see her in conjunction to the small child. The idea that she might have a skill is never considered. She is seen as a mother, that’s it.)
The 16 year old boy is a parapalegic
The 86 year old holocaust survivor is the only person with proven survival skills.
The 80 year old woman is a doctor with over 45 years of experience, and sharp as a tack
The nurse has only 6 weeks of training, and is horribly incompetent.
Would that affect your choices? It did in our group. Many of the women got flustered and angry. “We should have chosen XXX, not XXX. I told you!” Their underlying message was clear. All life is valuable…but I’ll only waste my time on those who are proven valuable to me.
Yikes. That’s telling.

Happy Birthday Hurricane

It’s not how I expected to spend my 30th birthday. Usually my birthday is hot, but this year, since it’s winter here in Swaziland, I was hoping for a snow storm.
I got a hurricane instead.
On Friday night the winds started to really pick up. It was about this time last year when Manzini experienced a “dry hurricane” and although this wasn’t quite as bad, I’d never experienced anything like it. It was unreal! So as we drove home from Kristen’s house the wind was howling like crazy, and oh, did I mention the fires?
Yeah, here in Swaziland they burn …well everything! I guess it helps the grass to grow back better or something. But as you drive around you see a field, yard, or hillside smoldering and maybe some small flames, - nothing to get excited about. But with the winds the way they were, some of the fires got out of control. Hillsides were covered with giant leaping flames, and there was smoke all over town. It was truly an awesome sight to see; - although I’m glad my house wasn’t in the valley. The full moon was so bright, you could see silouettes of trees being blown sideways, and I wondered how they didn't snap!
So what does all of this have to do with my birthday? Well when I awoke on Saturday, after listening to howling winds and falling papayas, the winds were just starting to settle down,(the picture here) but there was no power, and no running water. To top it off, ash had blown under the door and in the bathroom window. Ugh. Cleaning on my birthday? No fair.
I was sitting very disappointed because with no water and no power my planned birthday brunch would have to be canceled. Boo.
But to my surprise, when I went into the Rodger’s house, they were cooking on gas camping stoves and decorating a banner for me! The party went on as planned, with all the guests un-showered. We had pancakes and "bacon." Yeah!
After all of that excitement, I decided 30 meant I was a big girl, so I sucked it up, and drove my truck to my cottage and began moving in. And that evening, I went to an outdoor concert at Waterford school where the white ash from nearby fires gently floated down over the audience, -an uncanning resemblance to snow flurries. I guess I got my wish after all. :0)
ps- the pillow are to go with my new duvet! so cute!
PPS- thanks to all of you who send e cards!

update

hey guys, I haven't been online for a while, I know.
things are going well here. I moved into Chippie Cottage officially and I'm working hard to make it home. It's re-adjusting all over again, but it will go fine. This house has really good water pressure. Also I'm driving myself a bit now.
I don't like it.
It makes me a nervous wreck. I try to avoid traffic at all cost but this morning I hit rush hour traffic. Now rush hour in Mbabane is nothing but it terrifies me. I prayed the whole way in.
And when I finally get from point A to Point B I'm a shaky nervous wreck. I just have to sit and breth deeply trying not to cry. So what I'm sayin is, Help! Pray for me. That it will go a lot better every day until I am confident and sailing smoothly!
Also in the news, I had an interesting/good b-day (more on that later) and thanks to everyone who sent me wishes. And I got my hair chopped off. Love it! but more on that later too.

Get in the Game

Okay! I'm a bit slow on this one. But 40 days of prayer is about to begin! Yikes is it that time of year again? It seems like just yesterday I was sitting in Brazil, sipping Pilao, and praying with my little guide, but I digress.
Don't miss your chance. Email pray@childrenscup.org and let them know you are going to get on board, and they will add your name to the list on the web page. (This can be your 15 minutes of fame!) Also request a prayer booklet, but if you don't get it by the 1st, neverfear. You can check the children's cup web page and see each item on its day. (And if you are at newhope, I beleive Joey has some!)
Pray hard!

OMG!!!

If you are my age, you don't even need me to explain who these two men are.
When I was 10, I was obsessively in love with Corey Haim.
Obsessively.
I can't tell you how many times I've seen the Lost Boys, or License to Drive.
I use to pray that I would win a BOP contest and meet him, and then we could get married.
I'm so glad God doens't answer all of our prayers the way we expect. ha ha
If you are my are you also know of the two Corey's very public struggle with drugs and such. Corey Feldman has since cleaned up, got married and lives straight. Corey Haim on the other hand, still struggles to act like an adult and once tried to sell his molars on E-bay. (no I didn't try to buy them)
But now A&E has a new reality series premeiring this sunday (until January)where the two are living together in a modern day odd-couple. Can someone get this for me? can you tivo it and record it on DVD? Is that possible?
someone has to feel the excitement I'm feeling.
yea for the return of the 2 coreys!!!!!

No braai!!!!

This is Espresso, newly adopted puppy for the Rehmeyer family. I spent the weekend with him. Cute widdle puppy-wuppy.
No braai Daren!!!!
(For those of you who aren't in on the joke, a braai (pronounced BRY) is like a
bar-b-que. Daren thinks they have too many dogs and was printing out recipes for dog from the internet.) Don't worry. It's all in good fun...I think.

Open the floodgates!

I have been tremendously blessed. I don't even think I can grasp it yet!
In the 3 weeks I've been here, things have fallen into place so well.
I have a house to live in, a car to drive, and almost a complete house full of furniture!
The truck came about when Ben got a call saying there were some leased vehicles up for sale and they were holding one for us to look at. It's only a 2003 and doesn't have too many miles. Ben suggested I snatch it up, which I did. Many men are envious of my man-truck. If you knew how hard it is to get a decent vehicle here, you'd know why.
My house was also prearranged for me, and I only have to furnish it. Furniture here in Swaziland is very expensive and often ugly. But days after arriving a couple Crystal and Nathan suddenly had to return to the states. They sold me so much furniture and housing items at a crazy low price. In addition, I was given by another family, table clothes, some kitchen items, a juicer, curtains, a headboard and inn tables, a vanity table, a step stool and a standing full length mirror! With the exception of a dinning room table, my house is fully furnished well under budget (which has allowed me to by the slightly over budget car.) I can't believe it! Now I only have to buy little things to make it nice, candles, pictures etc. Things they call "scatters" here.
One of out Swazi staff asked me "What is your secret? How do you know the right time to come, when the car is available, and people are moving, and people are giving things away? I've seen others come and they have to live with others for months to get things arranged. But it is coming so easy for you. How did you do it?..."
The thing is, I had nothing to do with it. It's simply God's favor.
Ben joked, "You must be livin' right."
That's got nothing to do with it. If mercy depended on my performance, I'd be in trouble some days. But I think because I am here by myself, and don't have a husband or family to depend on God has given me an abundance of grace to get through the rocky times.
A long time ago as I struggled with the idea of coming here alone, God showed me this part of Scripture:
Moses said to the LORD, "You have been telling me...but you haven't told me whom you will send with me. You call me by name and tell me I have found favor with you. Please if this is really so, show me your intentions so I will understand you more fully and do exactly what you want me to do..." And the LORD replied, "I will personally go with you, Moses. I will give you rest. Everything will be fine for you...I will show kindness to anyone I choose, and I will show mercy to anyone I choose..." Exodus 33:12-19 [emphasis mine]
So these 3 weeks have been a fulfillment of His promises. He goes along with those He calls, working on their behalf, choosing to show His mercy to those he chooses.

The easy way is not always the best way

When I first began teaching I took over a class where a teacher retired mid-year. I was in the class no more than 2 days when I realized why she'd left mid-year. The kids were horrible! I mean real monsters!
I would drive home crying on some days and when June finally arrived and I left for summer break, I would occasionally have nightmares. I'm serious, they were that bad.
But in the years since, no matter how bad my students acted, I knew how to handle it. I'd learned how to teach in a touch circumstance, and therefor all others, seemed easy in comparison.
That is my attitude about driving a stick.
I'm learning that hard way.
My truck is big, petrol (instead of deisle)and Mbabane is on a mountain, so you just can't avoid hills. To top it off, my hand break is tight, and I can't drop it. So I can't rely on it to keep me from rolling back when I stop on a hill. I am forced to balance with my clutch when I start off in 1st.
It's an American learner's nightmare.
But in spite of it all, I'm learning, and Roger says I'm doing well. Once I get going, I'm pretty good, shifting and all. And I've just had to get over what others think about me.
Roger said this morning, "You don't have a L on your truck to show you are a learner. So if you stall, people will shout, 'What is wrong with you?!!! Are you drunk?!!!!" Ha Ha HA
But he says not to worry. He would have a bit of trouble himself because it's a tough car to drive.
So I will perservere. I will learn the tough way. I will succeed. And then all other cars will be a piece of cake!

Lazy Days of...Winter?

Monday was a holiday here,- the former King's birthday. So we got the day off. However we still worked hard moving furniture from house to house to prepare my house, the team house, and to close up Crystal and Nathan's house.
In the mist of all of this chaos, Kayla made up homemade lemonaide. Yum! She used the lemons growing on their trees, juiced them herself and made a wonderful treat!
In spite of it being "winter" the days are getting quite warm and the nights aren't quite as cold. So Kayla's lemonaide is a real thirst quencher.
She and the other children have been selling it to raise money for a new veranda of one of the care points! How cool is that?

Big truckin' momma!

Yes, this is my truck! I didn't really expect to ever get a truck, but a good car is hard to come by. This was a good car at a good price,- a little over my price range, but hey, it will be worth it.
Pray for it,- seriously.
I've heard everyone talk about how much trouble they have with cars here. SO pray for itthat is always runs well, and safely, and never gets into a wreck.
Roger took me driving in it yesterday and it's tricky, but I'm getting it.

change my mind

It’s all in how you look at things.
Friday night I drove to Sifanzani School to pick up Danielle. The Rehmeyer family was in Mozambique and I spent the weekend with 2 of their teenagers. So as Nathaniel and I waited for Danielle to come out from her play, we decided to listen to a CD.
It was just a few minutes before the lights inside the cab of the car started to flicker and the song warbled.
Oh-oh.
My worst fear was confirmed with a turn of the key. Silence. Dead battery.
Trying not to panic I turned to Nathan for guidance. “What do we do?!!!!!!”
“Call the Rogers.”
“They’re in South Africa this weekend.”
“Then call Roger.”
Oh I felt bad. Poor Roger. He was house sitting for Kristen, who was also out of town, and I could just picture him kicked back, enjoying some American TV and the last thing he would want to do on a Friday night would be to drive into town and rescue us stranded on the side of the road.
But he came without a second thought. And when I profusely apologize he shrugged it off. “I am serving the Lord! It’s okay.” He seemed sincere, not like he was just saying it to be nice.
The next day was moving day for me. I was schedule to move a lot of things bought from Nathan and Crystal to furnish my little cottage. And Roger had been semi-assigned to help me move. He drove this giant flat bed truck and helped load up furniture and such.
“Hey Roger, do you own a TV?” Nathan asked. “Here, we just paid for 3 months on our satellite card. There are 2 ½ months left. You can have it.”
Roger stood there, not saying a word, smiling and giggling like a child on Christmas morning. He explained later that a 3-month satellite card would cost about a month salary for him. “Now I can watch the God channel …and soccer!”
Once back in the truck he said to me, “Thank you for asking me to help you move today.”
Whoa!
I’ve asked a lot of people to help me move thru the years. Not one has ever thanked me for asking them. Most of them agree begrudgingly, or at best agree because they expect I will have to return the favor in the near future.
“Do you see what I mean?” he said. “When you serve the Lord willingly, you are blessed in return. Am I am so blessed today!”
What a great attitude. Do your best with whatever situation comes your way, and trust that God sees. Roger’s attitude reminded me of this scripture: “Don’t grow weary in doing good.”

Imaginations

Last night was a creepy night, and it was all my fault. I let me imagination run away from me. The Rehmeyers brought me home after Danielle's play and I went to unlock the door to my flat. I noticed the gate next to the door was slightly open. Well, the gardener or house girl probably left it ajar on accident but I was on guard. I also noticed that the dogs hadn't excaped into the front yard.
Well then I hit the gate button and the gate would slide a few feet, stop and then open. I tried and tried and it did the same thing. Darren tried pushing pulling, nothing worked!
That's when my imagination started to run wild!
some one has been watching the house...they know the rodgers are out of town...they've been messing with the gate so I'll have to leave it open...they've been in the back yard already and have poisoned the dogs...
It freaked me out. But then the gate closed, I checked my loft to find no boogey men and went to sleep.
I hate when I do that.

American the Beautiful

I was window shopping in Mbabane today. I stopped into a linens shop to look at the bedding. A salesman approached me knowing I’m American.
“Sawubona” I greeted him. (Of course everyone knows that word.)
“Yebo. Ujani?”
“Ngiyaphile”
He was impressed. I guess most Americans don’t learn all the way to ngiyaphile.
“blah blah blah, click click on-and-on in SiSwati.”
Yikes!!!!
“I don’t know beyond ‘Ngiyaphile’. I’m sorry”
Could I be any more uni-language deficient? I ought to just have a t-shirt made with a big American flag and the words, “My SiSwati done run out.”

The power of Prayer

Pray about all things.
I’m good about praying about big things,- crisis, sickness, money issues. I’ve got that covered.
But since I’ve been here, I’m feeling I should pray about even the tiny things, the silly things, the This- can’t- possibly- make- a- difference- to- God things.
And I’m hearing his voice in a very different way.
For example, last Friday I woke up with perfect hair. I mean it looked great.
“You don’t have to wash it today” I heard.
But I guess it wasn’t registering that I was “hearing” it.
“hmm…I’ll wash it anyway and redo it. I don’t want it to get greasy later.”
So I go in the shower and about 2 minutes into it, the hot water cut out and the pressure dropped.( I found out some days are “shower days” and everyone in the town is using water. So those are the days you shower early or not at all) I had to rinse my hair in freezing cold water. Brr! After I got out of the shower I found out Susan was leaving in a matter of minutes and left the house with random clothes, and a pony-tail.
I should have listened to the small voice.
Then today I dilly-dallied around and got to the shower around 7. No pressure, not hot water.
Sigh. I put my hair up and started preparing to wash up in the sink.
“Ask me.”
Huh. Okay. What would it hurt? “Jesus, can I wash in the shower today?” I tried again and it was on! I jumped in quickly and soaped up and rinsed. “Can I shampoo my hair too?” (I wasn’t going to make that mistake twice.) and felt a definite “yes”
And the water lasted! Yea
But best of all was the Potter’s Wheel. That’s a little coffee shop near out office. Nothing like starbucks but it’s cozy and cute and they have decent coffee and little hot sandwiches for lunch. Well two days ago Queeneth told me they were closing!
But I just got here!
So I started praying. I know that sounds dumb, but I was sad about it.
Today I went to get a cup of coffee and asked the girl, “I heard you were closing?”
“Yes, we closed yesterday and opened today”
“No, you are closing down.”
“No. We opened under new management today.”
“So I can still come here any day and get coffee whenever I want?”
“Yes madam.”
Prayer works. Even with small things
Don’t worry about anything, instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done…” Phillipians 4:6

granidilla= guava

So I wrote that I was trying new flavors of foods. Well I bought some granidilla yoghurt. (Yes, that is yoghurt with an H.)
When I opened it, it was full of seeds! No, not candy seeds, or fun-fetti seeds, but real, honest to goodness seeds. They look like tiny watermelon seeds and there were dozens of them through my yoghurt.
Are you suppose to eat them?
Won’t that give you a belly ache?

Day 10 (sorry it's late, my internet has been down)

Hmmm. What has happened lately?
I have walked on a lot of footpaths, here and there, in the hot sun. I think I’m becoming African. I asked Treasure, one of my teachers, to teach me to carry things on my head. But she just laughed. “In six months, I’ll teach you. You will be African then.” :0)
I’ve also ridden a kombi. No not our children’s Cup kombi, but a real honest to goodness public transportation kombi. Not sure how safe that might have been but I prayed about it and felt at peace before I went to the bus rank. That, and I was with Queeneth. I don’t think anyone would want to mess with her. :0) It was hot and smelly but overall an uneventful trip.
Although the Manzini bus rank is supposed to be sketchy, I thought it was kind of neat with all of the vendors and such there. And you simply look for a kombi with “Mbabane” on that back and that means they are driving to Mbabane. So you get in and sit down and they drive you. Pretty simple.
I also had the opportunity to see how Swazi resolve conflict. There was a problem,- well it wasn’t really a problem ,-that Queeneth and I had to work out for some teachers. But there was no shouting, demanding, or threatened law suits. They simply talked very submissively saying, “Well sister, this is what I suggest to you…” or “Do you see why this is a problem for me…”
I asked Queeneth why we had to drive all the way to Manzini and then walk around to solve the problem. Why couldn’t we just call and settle it?
“No. That’s not good. That’s not the way we do it. On the phone you can lie. But if I see you eye to eye, you can’t lie to me. And can you imagine how much money you would spend. You could go around and around and never solve anything.”
Interesting

Swazilocks

Can you see her? She's the one in the middle! I told you, she's happy, healthy and hairless.
Yea for Swazilocks!
Pam, I bet you didnt' even recognize your sweet girl.

you're mean!!

The rehmeyers have 2 dog and have just adopted a puppy from a family who has had to move suddenly. But one of their dogs is pregnant as well. So Daren R, and Nathie are here in the office looking up recipes for dog online!!!!
Sick and cruel.
So, not funny!

So, not PC

It's official
I'm not an idiot.
To obtain my work permitt I had to go to a honest to goodness real doctor and have verified that I'm not deaf, dumb, blind, epileptic, or an idiot.
You can't make this stuff up.
The doctor asked me if I had any chronic problems, medications, or a baby in my stomach....hmmmm I sure hope he meant my uterus.
If he's a doctor and think babies are in your stomach, maybe he's the id-... I won't go there.

Faith in Action

I heard a great sermon this morning. It began with the understanding that in the Hebrew culture and language, belief and obedience are one and the same.
Jesus replied, “My mother and brothers are all those who hear the message of God, and obey it.”
-Luke 8:12
He replied, “Even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice.”
-Luke 11:28
That’s very different from the American thinking. We try to believe things with our brains, and stop there.
I remember in Brazil, Betty McKinney talked about Americans having “uh-huh” faith
Do you believe in Jesus?
Uh-huh
Do you believe he is the Son of God?
Uh-huh
Have you asked him to forgive your sins?
Uh-huh
Good! You’re saved!... and they move on to the next. But…
“Not all people who sound religious are really godly. They may refer to me as ‘Lord’, but they still won’t enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The decisive issue is whether they obey my Father in heaven.”
-Matthew 7:21

Now of course, we are not saved by our actions, but within the context of scripture we see that action is the natural result of our belief. When we truly believe, we act as though we believe!
A very simple example I thought of was my childhood belief in Santa. I believed in Santa…so I behaved as though I believed in Santa. I was very good all December long, knowing that he was watching (although Jan 1st saw a whole new Christy.) I wrote him letters, I put out cookies and milk, I slept on the couch on Christmas Eve, - my actions were a direct result of my belief. I didn’t have to tell anyone I believed in Santa, you could see it with your own two eyes.
Get it?
Of course, James put it best:
Dear brothers and sisters, what’s the use of saying you have faith if you don’t prove it by your actions? That kind of faith can’t save anyone…Faith that doesn’t show itself by good deeds is no faith at all- it is dead and useless…Do you still think it’s enough just to believe that there is one God? Well even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror...”
-James 2:14
But there are more examples too:
Then Jesus told him, “Go back home, your son will live!” And the man believed Jesus’ words and started home.
-John 4:50
“You are truly my disciples if you keep obeying my teachings. And you will know the truth and the truth shall set you free.”
-John 8:31
“Didn’t I tell you that you will see God’s glory if you believe?” So they rolled the stone aside…
-John 11:40
Just a tidbit but you get the point.
Go out today. Do what you believe! :0)

Day 8

Can you see the beautiful scenery of this carepoint? Everywhere you go you see big beautiful mountains!
I’m loving it here. Sure there are things that are different and strange, but I am having my great adventure!
Electricity and internet are fickle. They just kinda work when they want to. So far it hasn’t been too big of an inconvience. But the internet is soooo slow it makes me want to cry. Pictures are very hard to load onto blogger, so check back every few days to see if any are up there.
I’ve also started driving that past five days. Teresa has an automatic, so I’ve been practicing getting from here to there with her guidance. It’s going well, I think. She’s still riding with me, so she must think so too.
It’s tricky at first being on the opposite side of the car and road. And every time I try to turn right into a parking lot I feel this urge to contort around and look over my right shoulder, thinking a car will be coming up behind me. No matter that I can see oncoming traffic on the right side, just habitual instinct I guess. Sometimes I try to turn on my blinker and turn on my wipers instead.
I drove back from Manzini today, about a 25 minute drive up the mountain. The slow lane is on the left, which feels weird, you drive 120 (that’s kilometers per hour), and there are no speed limit signs (at least not where you expect them. They are all on the left instead of the right.) Oh those tricky Swazi! Some have said I am brave for trying to drive so soon. I don’t think I’m brave, it’s just a necessity of life.
Another aspect that is new is this whole concept of “Swazi-time” Americans plan meetings at 1 and they begin at 1. My 1 o’clock meeting started at 2:45. (or perhaps I should say my 13:00 meeting began at 14:45.) My 9am ride arrived at 10:15. I’ve been told that it takes 10 times longer to do anything in Swaziland. If America runs at 100, Swaziland runs at 40. So far this has proven true. It takes forever to get anything done! What can I do? I need to learn to chill out and accept it (“shaka”, as the Hawiians say.) It’s suggested that I take book where ever I go. (Hmmmm…..Maybe the internet works on Swazi-time)
I went to see my house the other day. It’s very cool, but I don’t want to post pictures of it yet, simply because it’s empty and I want to make it feel like home before I do. Remember as I was doing my fundraising, I had a budget of $4000 to furnish my house and get set up? I thought to myself, hmmmm. This will be nice. $4000 for towels, sheets, and dishes will be great. Oh no! I had no idea that houses don’t come with appliances! I kid you not y’all I had to by a refrigerator the other day! It’s super tiny and when I found that the men had delivered it to my porch, I simply slid it into the kitchen. I am lucky to have a stove in my house but need to buy a microwave, washer and dryer as well as all of the furniture.
I’ve picked out my bedroom furniture but they do delivery a bit different here. You pay for it, and they put it in a truck and drive to your house. I just haven’t had time for that yet! And I don’t exactly have an address. Charles said I need to give directions like this: “I live at Derek Hopf’s house” (Apparently my land lord is a well know architect and with this small town feel, most people would know where he lives.) Or I could say, “I stay in Fontayne, on Mseni road. There is a purple fence with a black gate.” And that will do it.
But in spite of all of the newness, I love it.
Ps- I’ve been sleeping better and no more maggots.

flavour of the month

Africa has some strange flavors; it’ll take some getting use to. I bought aqua fresh toothpaste in an orange box. I was so excited because my orange toothpaste was confiscated as a terrorist threat on the way here. (Don’t worry I won’t go off on that again) I enthusiastically opened it, squirted on my toothbrush and started brushing.
It’s not orange.
It’s menthol.
I can’t say much about that. It’s like brushing your teeth with a cough drop. But, on the good side, it cleaned my teeth and opened my sinuses.
They also have some crazy flavored chips here, -oops! Sorry, I mean crisps. They have plain and salt and vinegar, just like the states, but they also have biltong (which is like beef jerky made from different game animals,) fruit chutney (very yummy) pepperdue, and chicken & thyme.
Going to the store today was interesting; - I tried to buy all things that I would need to stock my kitchen. I took Kayla as my guide to explain everything. Very few things have a name brand that I would recognize, but I did find Coke Light (that means diet coke), Kraft Mayonnaise, Dannon Yogurt and Heinz Ketchup.
I did find Africa’s version of Splenda, spaghetti sauce, and strawberry jelly.
But there is no pudding, or corn syrup, or maple syrup. Boo.

Good Day/ Bad Day

I went all about Manzini today delivering toilet paper with Queeneth- that wasn’t in the job description. :0)
But I saw each care point and have met all of my teachers. That’ll be good when we have our teacher’s meeting on Monday. At least they’ll know who I am.
Queeneth would introduce me to the class as Auntie Christy. The children respond in unison, : “Hell-oo Aunt-ie Christy. We ah pleeeesed to meet chu.”
At one of the carepoints, Murray camp, I saw Swazilocks!!!! She’s a little girl who captured my heart last year and I showed her picture all around. While most girls have their hair shaved off, Swazilocks had long tendrils shooting out in every direction, and hence the nickname Jean gave her.
Her hair has been shaved, but I still recognized her. I was so happy to see that she is still there at the care point, happy and healthy a year later! My eyes lit up when I saw her, and her eyes lit up in response. I shot a photo of her with my cell camera, but who knows how to get that uploaded for y’all to see. Anyway for those of you who know and love her, she is well.
Afterwards I met up with Teresa and we went to RFM, the government hospital.
Oh my goodness.
I have never been to a place like this is all my life. I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was old, worn, dirty, and smelly. I knew to prepare myself to go in, but it was still unbelievable. The first sight I saw as an old man (a visitor, not a patient) who is dying of AIDS. He was tall but couldn’t have weighed more that 100 lbs. He was so skinny and frail.
We visited a small carepoint girl who had been burned when her dress caught fire at home. She was in a smelly 10X 10 room with 2 other beds. Her grandmother, who is her only other living relative was sitting on a large piece of cardboard in the center of the room. Teresa explained later that a relative must stay at all times to act as an advocate for the patient, - or else they won’t receive treatment. She said that if a ‘cup kid doesn’t have someone to do that for them, and then we will pay someone to stay with them to make sure they get medical attention. Unbelievable.
Afterwards we went into the children’s ward. At first, I was caught up in the expressions of the children’s faces. They were excited to see up and giggled, and chatted a bit. One, Pepele, was reading a magazine and we would look at the pictures together and say the English words. I’d pretend to gobble up the food in the pictures and He would just laugh! Another small child was there with a broken leg (the mother said the dog had been chasing the chicken and knocked the child over. I’m sorry, that’s just too funny) and just coo-ed and laughed, and grabbed hold of my fingers to play. So sweet. I enjoyed that time with them, but again, as I left, I was appalled to see the horrible conditions that these sweet little children were in. The children with broken bones were in makeshift-traction. An ace bandage was wrapped around their wrist and elbow, and hung through an IV stand, with a fluid bag on the other side as a weight. Pepele’s steel bed had been broken and the foot the bed was held up by a plastic chair wedged under it. The walls were in need of fresh paint, - it was just pitiful!!!
It looked like a hospital I would imagine in a war-zone! But it’s not a war zone! This is just the best the government provides for its people. AGHHH! I just keep hoping that the children we serve with HIV will never have to end up there.
I ended the day as Makholweni, and tried a bit of the food. We had rice with gravy and vegetables, - yummy. Also squash which was very good,( even though I don’t like squash,) and beets,-ech! Daren and Teresa assured me they had never gotten sick from eating at the carepoint.
“Oh I’m not worried,” I said as I took another bite. “It’s all hot and fresh.”
“Oh, we’re not worried about the food… but I’m not sure how clean that spoon and plate you’re eating with are.”
Ech. I hadn’t thought about that.

You've come a long way baby!

Last time I was here I did a medical clinic with Teresa. We went to Makhoweni, and the clinic literally consisted of a long line of people at the door of Dudu’s house. Teresa stood in the door and saw each patient. I stood at a scale that we’d brought along and weighed each child. Then Teresa would diagnose each problem and shout to Darren who was acting as pharmacist in the living room. He would dispense the cough syrup, de-worming pills, bap ointment, painkillers etc. IT wasn’t fancy but I know it made a difference to those who were helped that day.
Well today I went with Teresa again to Makholweni, to the same area, where a clinic has now been built! It is bright and cheery with pale yellow walls and peach doors. The rooms are painted with butterflies and flowers! And it’s a proper clinic now, with a waiting room, and single rooms for the patients to be seen. Off to the side is a pharmacy where patients can get their medicine before leaving.
Oh it was so cool to see how things have changed for the better, and how these children are still being provided for.
Thank you Teresa, Abraham, and all of the teachers who brought the kids in need, for the ministry you do!

Culture Shock NOT A POST FOR SENSITIVE READERS

Culture shock
Two nights ago several member of the cup team sat around in an informal meeting at the Rogers’ house. Ben asked Teresa what some of her goals for the future of our medical program are.
Her response?
Child hospice.
I’ll let you think about that for a moment…


She wants a program in place where children can die with love, comfort and dignity.
Oh that still makes me want to cry.
Later in the evening, I found out how invaluable life is here in Swaziland. Charles told a story of how he’d seen 2 go-gos (grandmothers) fall out of an over-packed kumbi, and cars simply zipped past. No one stopped for them, no one seemed to notice they’d fallen out.
Ben and Susan said it’s uncommon to drive through South Africa without seeing a body on the road. Once, Ben said he’d seen, what he thought was a bag of trash in the highway. Cars zipped over it unaware or uncaring, as it was further mangled and mutilated .
It was only when he passed in his own car that he realized it was a child’s body.
Assuming that the child fell from a car and would be dead upon impact, no parent/guardian had bothered to gather the body and remove it from the highway. They simply left it.
The conversation left me confused and angry. How could a people be so uncaring? So unaffected? My dog had puppies once, and would growl and bark if you came too near. When the runt died she acted strangely for a while. If a dog knows to protect her young with simply animal instinct, shouldn’t we as humans do so much more?
But the team explained the culture of death here. Teresa says that Swazi’s here experience death greater than we could ever imagine. Swazis go to funerals for their families every weekend.
Every weekend.
It is so common to them, they begin to shut down, harden their hearts just as a means to survive.
As I talk to the Swazi here, that is beginning to make sense to me.
Sigh
This is Africa.

Fontayne

Yesterday morning I visited the Fontayne Carepoint to observe the school that we have in place there. What a great experience for me! I’d been missing the classroom a bit and this was enough to cure what was ailin’ me.
But what a culture shock! School here in Swaziland is so very different. The children sit very quietly, and only speak when prompted. When they do speak, to answer or respond to the teacher, it’s in unison. Mostly I believe this is because the students are learning English and rote answers probably reinforce words. The only time they speak independently, is to say, “Teechah, I am feeneeshed.” (So cute)
And these children were all 5-8! A few times they did start to talk a tiny bit as they were working independently, and Mary (their teacher) would say, “You are making noise!” and that was then end of it. (I think Mary would pass out to see some of the classes we have in our schools.) She said later that she thought they were very rowdy today, probably because I was there and was a new face to them. Ha!
Mary also allowed me to call the role. Ha! What a disaster! The only name I got correct was Boy-Boy. The rest were pretty bad. I’d have to sound it out (by the way, it’s the letter C that makes the click sound. Lots of names have the letter C. sigh) and then she would say it correctly so the child would recognize their own name.
What impressed me the most was the attitudes of the children. When I arrived they were a bit shy, but quick with a smile when I approached them. They were friendly, and tried to speak with me in English, (and I in my 3 SiSwati words.)
When Mary arrived they ran from the play area into the classroom and were waiting at their seats quietly before she came into the door. And at the end of the day they stacked the chairs and tables before going out to play.
As I waited for my ride back to the office, they came and sat in my lap to cuddle or talk, which Charles said, as new kids at the carepoint, many often would shy away from attention, or cringe at physical contact. Mary explained the stories behind most of the students and it was appaling. One boy is living in a family where both parents are HIV positive and his two younger siblings are positive as well. There is a pair of sisters who lost their father, and so the mother goes from man to man every few months to have a home to live it. She will often disappear leaving the girl to fend for themselves, tragically ending in sexual abuse at times. One bright little girl was abandoned by both her parents (who were step-brother and sister) leaving her to the go-go to be raised. Another girl is often left alone to care for her 3 year old sister. When she comes to school, the 3 year old has to walk herself the carepoint to eat. And it goes on and on. Each student has a heart-breaking story, but to see them at Fontayne, you would never know. For those hours they are at the carepoint, they feel safe and loved and free to be kids. :0)
This is why we do what we do.
We are ambassadors of hope

pics

this is a picture of some of our cup staff from america and swaziland. And the other is of me and Zinty. She is such a trip, I love her. She took me about downtown Mbabane yesterday and helped me find some products I needed. She also taught me how to cross a busy street, (snicker) it went something like this:
"Hmmmm. IT's about to turn red, but that's okay. WE'll go."
halfway across it did infact turn red.
"That's okay. We'll wait here."
I stood on the yellow line with cars going in either direction, sucking in my belly trying to be as skinny as possible. I explained later about the video game we all grew up with, Frogger, and how it eeriely felt like that!

Adventures in Africa Day 2

Okay, I knew the second night would be bad. The first night of jet lag you sleep for ever, the second night you wake up for no reason. SO as expected I woke up at 2am.
sigh.
But wait, it gets better. when I finally got out of bed at 6am I couldn't get a hot shower. The water was scalding, then drizzled out, then cold and then no more hot! So I showered, shivering, very quickly, and jumped out as fast as I could. I ran out to the living room in a towel to stand in front of a gas heater,- oh soo nice!!!!!!
But then I noticed what looked like lots of little leaves next to the sliding glass door. Leaves? How did they get there? (shiver shiver)
Then the leaves started to wiggles. No they weren't leaves, they were some kind of long white, maggot- type larva.
Ewww! I swept them up quickly and placed them outside, with a slight loss of apetite for my toast and PB.
Soon after I found about a dozen more. I swept them as well, but tossed them not so gently to the fence.
Soon, a dozen more. I'd loss my cool. I swept them and flung them angrily over the fence. Mumbling some ugly words under my breath.
By the time I found more, I'd had it. they weren't that gross. I left them to crawl. I have better things to do in my sleepy haze then sweep worms. I'm over it.
I ate my toast.

Home Sweet Home

I'm here and trying to settle in. My assignment this week has been to learn to survive. :0)
My first life lessons include running through the house first thing in the morning to turn on all of the space heaters to heat up the house, Keeping socks right next to the bed so I can put them on before stepping out on the cold marble floor, and I've taught myself how to roll my hair using steam rollers and a tea pot.
But the coolest thing was out meeting this morning. I know meetings aren't suppose to be fun, but I enjoyed meeting the local staff and team. Best of all was the singing, prayer, and bible teaching we had as a team. It was very reminiscent of or breakthrough group back home, and that made me smile. I've missed that group a lot, and I've been praying that I'll have a team like that here to learn with, and do life.
My prayers have been answered. :0)

my gripe

okay, I've made it here safely to Swaziland, and all of my luggage has arrived. Yeah! I've very excited abou that. and I will blog a read post with pictures and good things in a few days when I'm more coordiated and on my own computer.
so for now I have a big gripe- this whole liquids thing on the airlines
It stared last summer while we were in Brazil- liquids and such have to be limited because of terrorist threats. Okay I get it.
So when I left the other day the man at the counter told me I could take my large duffle bag as a carry-on, thus saving me the $135 for checking an extra bag! I was all for it! But I didn't consider until it was too late that my duffle had lots of gels, liquids creams, ect. So the woman took it! Most of it didnt' matter, but she took my hair goop. I tried to explain that I couldn't get it in Africa, but she had no compassion. (that set off a crying fit, but considering I also cried about my oatmeal that morning, it obviously doesn't take much these days.) I go, fly to J-burg and have to go through security to get to my Swaziland fight. Getting searched again, the second woman took more things that were from the center of my duffle bag.
So the first lady only took some of the things but obviously didn't search my bag throughly!!!!
So my point of frustration is this: If we are going to "be safe" by confiscating all liquids, then do it right! Don't just do it half way to make it appear as though you are doing your job but leaving it unfinished.
If I have my terrorist-threat hair goop taken, then I should also have my terrorist-threat suncreen taken at the same time,- not 2 flights later. Otherwise no one is really safer, just uglier.
Okay, I'll get off my soap box. But don't worry, it's been bar soap, not liquid soap.

The Hawaiian Song

Okay, this is the Hawaiian song we leaned.
Everybody sing along!


Just hang loose,
Just have fun,


Sippin' on a drink,
layin' in the sun




Don't try to fight it
it ain't no use


'Cause when you're in Hawaii,
you just hang loose

I like mine with lettuce and ta-matas...

Heines 57, french fried po-tay-tas...
Yes this is me eating a cheeseburger in Paridise
Huge pun intended

And you thought you had it bad!

These were the gas prices in Maui!
And in Honolulu, it's over $8 for a gallon of milk!
And H3 interstate, cost $15 million per mile, and took over 30 years to complete. And we thought I-40 was bad! sheesh!
So the next time you start to complain...consider the alternatives.

sigh

I learned a bit about the Hawaiian people and their faith this week. It was a little disconcerting to hear about some of the ideas of the original Christian Missionaries in the 1800's. They introduced the hand shake because the Hawiaan greeting was too provocative (they would touch noses and inhale each other's breath) they forbid the Hula (which was origionally done only by men) and they banned surfing because it was Godless.
Sigh. You know you hear a lot of stories like this about missionaries. And yes I know there are million of good stories out there, but it seems that often cultures are altered with things that are not even important. I mean surfing? Common!
That is one thing I hope never to do as I step into a missionary position,- change insignificant pieces of culture. I'd much rather be remembered like the priests who lived among the lepers of Moloka'i or the Father who painted bible stories onto the chapel wall to help the Hawaiians understand the Gospel. That that is truely makeing a difference in someone's lives.

And now you know

Did you ever wonder why Hawaii has an interstate?
I did too. What state are they connected to?
Well I learned that President Eisenhower borrowed the idea from the Germans, who use it to connect military bases, not states, like we think. And since Honolulu has 13 bases, they have H1, H2, and H3 to connect them. But don't go any further. You'll run into H-2-0.
Okay Alex, I'll take random worthless facts for $400.

Awwwww!

This just made me melt. IT's part of an email I got from a student's mom:

Thank you so much for your email and I am very excited to be put on your list for updates. Gabe will be thrilled! He was so cute last week. The boys were helping us around the yard all weekend and we gave them extra money for their help and hard work. We went to Target later and he said he wanted to buy himself some gum, but give the rest to you for the kids in Swaziland. Out of the mouth of babes.

Another student, Aidan, has become my fund raising manager. He called his g-ma and asked her to make a donation for my to go to Africa.

You know sometimes I think what I say goes in one ear and out the other. But then there are moments like these when I see they're listening.

I love those boys

Milton was wrong!

I've been listening to Paridise Lost on my MP3 player as I travel. In his classic story, John Milton depicts hell as a desert, a dried lake, the city, Pandemonium where Satan and his demon followers plot and try to twart God on this throne.
Not the case.
No, Hell is more like being awake for 24+ hours when you're on a flight to San Fransisco, and the toddler behind you is screaming and kicking your seat the entire time while his mommy dearest coos, "Don't do that. Don't do that"
And to make matters worse, your seated next to an elderly woman from Spain, who while, very sweet, makes up for her lack of English with an excess of flatulents.
That is Hell.
I'm glad to be home.

hey, lets have a contest!

Last weekend I went from NC to Baton Rouge and back. Tomorrow I'm going to Hawaii and back later, and then I'm going to Africa (not back) on the 7th.
So... guess how many hours I will be a) on a plane, or b) in an airport.
The closest guess-er gets a prize!!!!!!I dunno what it will be, but a prize is a prize

I'm go-in' to Ha-wa-ii!

nuf said.

Phew. That was close!

It was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back.
After weeks on constant motion, non-stop work and STRESS I returned from Baton Rouge to pack my house, close, and go on to Michigan.
As I worked to move mountains at home, I decided I needed to get online and get my ticket. I was excited and thought it would be the bright spot of my day in the mist of letting go.
I was not surprised to find tickets available for July 7th,- after all that is my day. That's the day He picked for me to travel.
Select and Click.
I almost fainted. The price, in one week, had jumped to $3,600.
I'm not making this up.
I thought perhaps I had ordered 2 tickets by mistake.
No, there was no mistake.
I hurried to call South African Airlines, explaining the situation. But I got no sympathy from them.
What was I to do? Fist I frantically emailed my 'cup team for prayer and advice. Appearantly, the only other option I thought reasonable was to have a meltdown. I'm talking about a wailing, sobbing, stomping, pounding, kicking tantrum! I made no effort to control myself. I sat in the floor with my I Love Lucy face, and bawled. Finally pulling myself together, I attempted to put some sweaters into my suitcase. When they didn't fit, it was round 2.
I carried on for over an hour, but you know what? (The women will understand this)It felt good! It felt so good just to sit and cry and get it all out,- infact I'd just told James that's what I needed,- a good cry. He just looked at me. But for months everything has been building up in me and I just needed release! Finally I put my big girl panties on, and checked my email. My team had been praying, and offering advice when they could.
And now I have a ticket bought for only $2,300.
Done
Phew, that was close.

Good bye little house

:0(
That's me pouting. But just a little.
Today I closed on my house.
I no longer have the cutest little house in the world.
But that's okay.
I've always said, "I own, my house, it doesn't own me."
I've loved living in it every day for the past 3 years, and sincerely believe it was only by God's grace that I got to buy it in the first place.
A few weeks ago, Dennis and Tracey came and installed the ceiling fan- the last improvement project I'd wanted. And as I sat there enjoying it, I thought to myself, "Hmmm. It's done. All of the things I wanted to do are done." That's when I heard "sell it"
So I did.
And last night as I locked up for the last time, and said good-bye to my little house I felt at peace. I knew it wasn't my house anymore.
So good-bye little house. I love you and I will miss you... On to chippie cottage.

Baton Rouge!

I had a great weekend in Baton Rouge. I met some fun people, ate a LOT of food, saw the cutest children ever, and just relaxed. I haven't had that in a while, and probably won't again for another week or so.
One of the most enjoyable things was an outreach I did with Healing Place Church. We passed out tea and prayed for folks. It was crazy hot and all I could think about was watermelon, but it was a good time
One little old lady names Eloise, (92) found out I was going to Africa. She started praying for me after I prayed for her! I love it.
While the neighborhoods were really rough, there were some of the sweetest people living amongst it all. Poor yes, but gentle spirits and kind hearts. I'm glad there is a church attempting to serve their needs there. :0)

hmmmm

My very first blog post was about going to Swaziland. Cool huh? Check it out, May, 2005

Dad was wrong

SEE!!!!! It does grow on trees!!!
Whatever a man reaps, he shall sow!

Pretty Cool

Yesterday a friend came up out of the blue and apoligized for something he'd felt was wrong, even though I didn't know a thing about it.
Pretty cool.
It takes a big man to do something like that.
Humility is a good thing.

The bravest Man in Chapel Hill

This is a picture of Mike Helpingstein and his lovely wife Fran. Mike gets the award for the bravest man in chapel hill.
He (after his wife's volunteering) taught me to drive a stick!
My mom said an extra prayer for him (not me) and things seemed to go fine.
I need some practice still but if I absolutely had to do it today, I could. :0)
Now I only need to learn to drive on the wrong side of the road and I'll be ready for Swaziland. (I know we're not supposed to view other cultures as "wrong" but different. But if we drive on the right side, then they have to be on the wrong side. Right?)
And Drivers are also on the right side of the car over there. But in this case, the right- side is the wrong- side too.
Anyways, a big thanks to Mike and his patience.

That being said...

So the sale was kinda hard on me. Just a bit. (sniffle sniffle)
In spite of everything I felt yesterday, it was hard for me to watch the things go, bit by bit, one by one, to people who might not even cherish them the way I do.
I mean, the couple who bought the fan,- will they simply put it in a hot room, or will they take the time to talk into it and let it live up to it's full Darth Vadar potential?
The woman who bought my heels? Will she put them on with rolled up jeans and dance on a hard wood floor just to hear them click?
And the man who bought my tiki torches? Will he just use them for himself, or will he invite friends over to sit on the back porch, and curse the blasted things when they all realize they don't really deter mosquitos?
Maybe the things that I love so much,( even though they are just silly things) mean so much to me because of the memories they hold for me and those I love so much. And maybe I have so many things because I'm just so super blessed,- not with items, -but with people I love who I feel the need to share them with.
Maybe the Lord will bless me with some new things in Africa...and new loved ones to share them with.

I've know this day would come. I've been clinging to this lately:
And Jesus replied, "I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for my sake and for the Good News, will receive now in return, a hundred times over, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property..." Mark 10:29

How I'm feeling

Today was my BIG SALE. I attempted to sell every last possession. And last night as my mom, Jennifer, and I hurriedly rushed about (with the power out) to price and set up everything, I began to get this icky sinking feeling.
I HAVE SO MUCH STUFF!
I'm not one of those people you see on Oprah who horde stuff. And I'm not materialistic in any means. Yet When I saw everything I own, out of cupboards out of closets, and out of the attic and shed, it made me really upset.
Why do I have this much stuff?
I think about the people in the other countries I've visited. They dont' have 8 matching embroidered beaded placemats for Christmas dinner, and then 4 swede placemats for the fall. They dont' have so many shoes they need a show rack. They don't have a special plate to serve chips and dip in when they entertain.
Hmmm. It's not guilt I'm feeling. You know I'm not big on guilt.
But I don't like feeling like this. I don't like knowing that I have stuff, just for the sake of having stuff.
Yech.

I'm surrouded by deception!

Every person in my life is a big ol'e phoney! They lie to me! They purposefully decieve me! They sneak around behind my back! And I love them so much for it
This is how it all went down.
Joey told me a while ago she wanted to do a girl's night before I left with Jennifer and Renee. Fine
So we went to lunch at Carrburritos and then a movie. Now I'd wondered if they were going to secretly invite Heidi, but Heidi never gave me any incling to this so I figured maybe not. To be honest I was a bit hurt Heidi wasn't making an effort to say good-bye, but I figured "what ever!"
So we do the lunch and a movie and then Jennifer handed me a coupon:

To:Christy Merrill
From: Unknown
For: Dinner at Firebirds @ 6:15

Hmmmm. I thought "Great! They are taking me to dinner." But they kinda seemed clueless about what to do once we arrived at Firebirds.
"What is going on?" I thought. Then I thought again, "Did Heidi sneak into town to surprise me?"
Well sure enough, there she was. I'm not a cryer, but I did start crying I was so touched. My friends pulled a fast one on me, and I was so thrilled.
Oh, but it doesn't end there! As Heidi led me to our table, who was there but MARY!!!!!!!! I NEVER Expected her to come down. Between her national boards and wedding planning, I just didn't think it was possible for her.
So we have a nice dinner and walk around the mall a bit and then leave. Half-way to my house Heidi shout out, "Crap! Mary my car is still at Carrburitos! (they snuck there after we left) We need to go pick it up!" So we started down some back roads towards Carrboro when Mary suddenly turns into Mary Catherine's drive way.
And there waiting for me was a going away party with all of my friends and favorite people! I couldn't believe it. I still can't beleive it. And best of all they had all created a unique page about our friendship for a scrap book,- even the guys! I was so proud of them.
What a wonderful day...
But who says lightning doesn't strike twice? Monday I wen tot school and had a long sweaty day of field day activities. Snow cones, tug-of-war, dunking booths...lots of fun. but all the while, unbeknownst to me, my room parents were setting up a suprise party in our classroom complete with cake, streamers, and gifts
Sigh.
It's gonna be hard to leave peole like this behind. :0(

How true!

I have found that there are three stages in every great work of God: first, it is impossible, then it is difficult, then it is done.
J. Hudson Taylor

Wow!

Awwwww. What a nice thing to say.

Here is a quote from President Bush about his funding for Africa: “Similar success stories are playing out all across the African continent where victims of HIV/AIDS are finding new reservoirs of strength and support. Villages in Africa now talk of the Lazarus effect, dying communities being brought back to life, thanks to the compassion of the American people. This is the impact that has made our emergency plan and the modern-day good Samaritans who are implementing it so effective. It's important that we continue the work we have begun.”


I know we (Americans) aren't the keepers of the world, but we are extremely blessed. And I'm glad our government is doing a bit more in this area. A while back an advisor to the someone, of the assistant to someone in the Bush administation visted Swaziland and the Children's Cup carepoints to see the work they are doing there. I'd like to think that this quote includes Children's Cup, as well as the countless other ministries and organizations in that area.

Okay, so it's not really about me...

There is so much that I never blogged about from my first trip to Africa. but now as I'm getting ready to return, I felt perhaps it's time. Lots of different things influenced my decision to return.

One was this little boy: Levi Rogers.
He's the son of Ben and Susan Rogers in Swaziland. The day before I left I visited them to say goodbye.
"Miss Christy," he asked with big puppy-dog eyes "Are you ever going to come back?"
Oh how could I resist that?
"Yes Levi,... I think I will be back ."
His little face lit up. "Good! Will you bring me some strawberry pop tarts?"