heads up/out of the office

okay y'all. The newhope team will be here soon and therefor I'll be hanging with them for the next week adn some. So I won't be blogging but I'm sure I'll have lots of pics and such when I return
But in the meantime, please pray for the spiritual climate of Swaziland. Elections are coming in August and Swaziland has it's own unique turmoil that comes with it. Whle most African countries have beatings, riots, police intimidation around election time (think Kenya and Zimbabwae)Swaziland has ritual murders.
Candidates who hope to be elected visit witchdoctors for advice on how to get an edge over their opponiant. It usually involves body parts.
For example, find a very smart student and eat his brain, and then you will be smart. Or take this part and mix it with this and get this result.
Well the murders have begun. Three nights ago 2 bodies were found in the river. One woman was missing a foot, and the other (the maid of my friend) had had her genital removed.
this is sick and twisted and leaves many people, myself included, feeling unsettled yet ambitious to pray even harder for the spiritual climate of Swaziland.
While many westerners would look at the general witchcraft practice as old time superstition and silliness, I can tell you it is very real, very powerful, It is 100% demonic. Most of all it holds the power of fear over most of this country.
However we proclaim that Our God is more powerful and protects. He is mighty to save and more powerful than all the powers of darkness.
please pray about this, but mostly focus on the power and goodness of our God.
The dark forces don't even deserve our attention.

The monster Part 2

After sharing the story with the office staff, it’s assumed that my monster is a roof rat.
So while having tea with Jacci in the evening, there was a buzz at my gate.
“Hey I hear you have a critter problem?”
Sure enough, it was Pat and Jordan coming as my would-be heroes.
They were confident roof rat hunters with all of the right equipment. Now look closely. You will see 2 golf clubs, a cardboard tube, and a pellet gun with laser scope,- apparently all necessary to trap and kill a roof rat.
I thought the costumes were a bit much, but they explained that was actually just how they were dressed at the house. (Ummmm. I think I need to withdrawal from the Patrick-always-looks-good-fan club on Facebook. In fact the whole fan club needs to disband after this faux paux. )
So with video camera in hand we ascended the steps into the lair of the roof rat. The hunters experienced one slight set back as Jordan, trying to army roll over the bed, got tangled in the mosquito netting and bit the dust. But there were no serious injuries and the hunters made haste to the closet.
“1…2….3!!!!!!” they shouted trying to fling open the closet doors. But the rug was in the way so they tried again. "1...2...3!"throwing the closet doors open, they pulled out the sponge, the storage Tupperware… and found nothing but a whole in the floor.
Dag-gommit! That little rascal got wise to us.
So that was the very anti-climatic end to the hunt.
You might have outsmarted us this time roof rat, but if you do come back, you’ll be pushing up daisies!

Roger shared a version of this story:

A younge man once made himself a small boat.
He painstakenly carved it, paying attention to every detail. He laboured over it in love. He worked until it was pefectly crafted the way he wanted it.
When it was finally finished he went to test it out in the waters. He tied a string to it so that it wouldn't go to far, but the storms of the sea swept it away.
A while later he was walking along the shores near some little shops and spotted his little boat. He went to the shop keeper inside.
"This is my boat. I'd recognize it anywhere. I crafted it. I know this is the one I lost."
"Well, it's had a lot of attention, it's so nice." the shopkeeper replied. "I purchased it at a cheap price, but now I will only sell it for $1,000Emalengeni."
The man left the shop heart broken. He returned home empty handed, but began scraping together every last bit of money he had. Finally, he had the $1,000Emalengeni and returned to purchase his boat.
What a glorious day it was. He returned home so happy.
As he held the little boat in his hands, he began to speak to it.
"You are my little boat. You are mine twice over. Once because I made you, and once because I bought you back at a great price."

I will never tell my child, "It's nothing, go back to bed."

It’s every child’s fear to have a monster in their closet. And parents never believe them!
Well I am a 30 year old child and I DO have a monster in my closet! I don’t care if you believe me!
When I returned from the states I was awaken by a noise. It sounded like something digging into wood, a scratching sound. I woke up and went to the window. Nothing on the roof, the dogs next door weren’t out,- I couldn’t find anything. And by then the scratching ceased, and I went back to bed.
Well over the past week I’ve heard it again, always at night. But it quickly stops and then no more.
Well last night I started hearing the sounds from down stairs, even before I went to bed. I woke up and heard it loud and clear, never ceasing. Scratching, scurrying, tapping, on and on. I got up, and followed the sound to my first closet.
There is something living in my closet! It was midnight and I was terrified to open the doors. I have no idea what it could be but it is obviously nocturnal. And whatever it is, it is now bigger and more active than it was a week ago. I put a stool in front of the doors and went back to bed. I was petrified to go back to sleep in that room,- but there is no place else for me to sleep in the house.
So what do I do now?
They have such crazy things here in Africa. Snakes, scorpions, spiders as big as your face! I’m so afraid of what I might find if I open those doors!

Think about it... you'll get it

Usually our carepoints serve beans over pap, or sometimes rice.
We'll our carepoints have recently recieved a large donations of Bulgar wheat.
"It's nice Christy." the teachers told me. "The children like it. It's very nice....but if you are going to keep giving us wheat, you need to give us more toilet paper."
Too funny! I'm not quite sure how to write up that budget request.

No way!... Yes way!

This is a picture Pepe and Trinity.
Pepe on the left is a 12 year old, child that we have served as Children's Cup for years.
Trinity on the right is the 4 year old daughter of our directors, Ben and Susan.

Christmas in July...kinda

You know those little poinsetta plants that we put into 6 inch pots and sell at Christmas time? Do you know that if you plant them in a warm tropical African climate, they grow into trees?
Check it out, this is one of 3 poinsetta trees on my property here in Swaziland.
Pretty cool huh?

Please say a prayer for my mom

okay y'all my mom just found out that her sister has passed away. First my dad, then my dog ( hey you have dogs too, you know they are family) and now her sister has died. That's a lot for one person to have on her plate emotionally speaking. Please pray for her.

Wanna see me?

Go to natalie's blog y'all. she posted a video we made on May 13th. You can see me on the way to Bulimbu.
okay the hatchet-as-mic was her idea but it didn't really translate well. it just looks like I'm holding an ax.

As I sit in the airport, I write:

I’m leaving the states today.
It was hard to readjust at first and a lot of things got on my nerves.
But now after this month, there are things that stand out that I definitely like. They use to be everyday things that I took for granted, but now I see them as creature comforts that I will miss now that I know I won’t have them “over there”
1)Big appliances. I cooked on a big stove, and put my food in a big fridge. The washer machine was so big I put in my normal African load of clothes in, and then had to go and get more dirty clothes to fill it up!
2) High speed internet. Just click. You’re there.
3) Good coffee. Africa has crap coffee, which is ironic because good coffee is grown in Africa. I guess they export it all and leave us only with tea in Swaziland
4)Math-less days. I stayed here a month and never did math. I didn’t convert Celsius to Fahrenheit, kilojoules to calories, kilograms to pounds, kilometers to miles, or milliliters to cups. You have to be very smart to live in Africa. It makes my brain tired.
5) Free stuff. Free refills, free chips and salsa, free bread and olive oil, free gift card with purchase. America is the land of the Free.
6) Customer service. Have a problem? We’ll get it fixed. If we can’t fix it, we will find someone who will. Leaving a job undone is not an option. Not once did I hear “ah, sorry madam. I can’t help you.”
7) Now-now movies. See a commercial? Go and watch it. You don’t have to wait until a missionaries’ grandma sends it on DVD. And you can get butter on your popcorn.
8) House marathons. Episode after unseen-in- Africa episode.
9) Yummy high calorie, fatty foods- Coffee creamer, donuts, McDonalds, pizza, Mexican, sushi all at your finger tips.
10) Garage Sales- good stuff at cheap prices. One man’s junk is my affordably priced treasure.
11)Toilet seats in every bathroom stall- Guarenteed, or your money back. Oh that's right, we don't pay for toilets in the US. And each stall comes clean with toilet paper available. Very very soft toilet paper. It makes me very very happy. No explination necessary.
While I’m fine with going back to Swaziland, I have been very happily pampered in the USA

Freaks and Geeks

(Written last week)
As I’m sitting in the DC airport, I see a group of teenagers.
Teenagers are an interesting species to observe.
Take the kid who chose to buy and eat a dozen donuts for lunch. Or the friends who now try to get one of those donuts with the argument, “Dude, I gave you money.”
That seems to be a perfectly rational argument, earning him ½ a donut. He insisted on the “good half.”
But over the course of the last month, I’ve been “reacquainted” with many people I went to high school with via Facebook- that weird cyber addiction that everyone has insisted I join for so long.
Okay now it’s not actually like having a legit relationship with another human, but it is entertaining to look up people you use to know and now see what they are up to.
I’ve realized two things:
1) I’m old, and have been out of high school a long time, and
2) geeky boys aren’t eternally geeky. Okay let me clarify. The semi-geeky boys aren’t eternally geeky.
The weird kids who mumbled and didn’t bathe… we’ll they’re still weird. But the tall skinny guys with glasses and braces,- you know who I’m talking about. Maybe they had pimples, and were a little too good in math to be cool,- they’ve turned out okay! Somewhere along the line their metabolism slowed enough to put a little meat on their bones, the acne cleared up, and they stopped letting their moms cut their hair. Now they are doctors, or engineers, nice guys and successfully normal.
It makes me smile, and wonder what happened to the football playing boyfriend I thought was such hot stuff. He’s probably fat, bald, and selling magazine subscriptions.
So if you are a teenage girl, go find yourself a nice geeky boy. You’ll thank me later.

Bye-Bye my Baby

My mom wrote me. Baby died this morning.
I knew she didn't have much longer, but I'd so enjoyed being with her this past month.
It pains my heart. She has been a loyal companion for almost 13 years.

This is what i've been up to.

painting

catching up on important reading

hanging out with my childhood friend

Feeling the need to share

In January 1990, we got the shock of our lives.
We’d noticed changes in dad for a while. A personality change, headaches, and running into things.
“Why’d you do that dad? It’s right there?”
“I didn’t see it.”

The doctors diagnosed a cancerous brain tumor on the left side of his brain, which they thought had started in his lungs. On the vision center of his brain, it was quickly growing and causing dad to go blind. Dad explained some of what he was going through.
“I can’t see anything.”
He stood with his arms out to the side and began to swing them forward slowly. Finally when they were almost directly in front of him he stopped. “Here. I can see them here.”

As surgery was scheduled, family and friends began to pour into the house offering casseroles, kind words and promises of prayers.

One, my cousin Sherry, took it another step further. She wanted to pray with us. So even thought I thought it was “weird” (but at 13 everything adults do is “weird”) we stood together in a circle and held hands, while Sherry prayed a simple prayer for blessings, strength, healing, and guidance for the doctors.

Short, sweet, simple.

But that simple prayer caught the heart of God.

Later that afternoon I came down from my room and found my dad crying at the dining room table. At first I panicked.

“What’s wrong?!”

He looked up at me. “I can see.”

“What do you mean ‘I can see?’”

He put his arms out to the side again and began to swing them forward slowly. This time he stopped quickly, with his arms still out to the side.

“Here. Now I can see them here.”

I was 13, but that was the first time I understood that God interacted with us,- that prayer wasn’t just throwing up ideas, but someone was listening, and responding. And while I wouldn’t become a Christian for 4 more years, this was the beginning of my relationship with God. I knew the Lord as the God who Sees, and the God who Heals, way before I knew him as the God who Saves.

And while most patients with non-small cell lung cancer will die within 4 months of their diagnosis, my dad survived and lived well for 17 ½ more years.

I am so grateful for that gift of time that was given to my family. He was able to experience graduations, weddings, and grandchildren that the doctors said wouldn’t be seen.

I beleive this is what they call "reverse culture shock"

It's weird being here.
Like, drinking tap water is cool... but there are things that make me feel uneasy.
Like, when did Drew Cary become the host of The Price is Right? SO un-charismatic.
And why is it every motivation to do something fear? I can't turn on the tv or talk to someone with out getting hit with a scare tactic! Global warming, bad economy, war, soaring gas prices,fear, fear, fear! Do this or the earth will blow up! Do that or so-and-so will get elected!
Was it always that way and I just didn't notice it before? I've found myself turning off the television, just over the whole thing.
...And since when did Oprah become the authority on everything? Any question about Tom Cruise, the shape of poop, God, or morality can be answered by watching her show. The scary thing is she's so far out there and people don't even notice because she's a "nice person" and does "good things."
Wake up. She's misguided. I don't care how many schools she opens in Africa.
Ech...
And why do we need so much stuff? Walmart is huge, and all the aisles are filled with stuff! stuff for your house, stuff for you pets, stuff for your kids, and your kids' pets' houses. And if that's not enough, you can get all of that stuff in a variety of colors, so it will match your other stuff. Because God forbid your stuff doesn't match.
Im packing up my fathers house, and I find so much stuff! 2 George Forman grills, one small and one large. 4 crockpots. Yes 4. 3 sets of knives.2 tractors, 2 leaf blowers, 2 cans of tuna...and my dad hated tuna! but i'm sure there was a reason he felt he needed all of this stuff.
Someone probably used a scare tactic.

Some times you just need a good laugh

This week has been tough, but you know sometimes you get an unexpected chuckle. For example, my dad's dog, Bud, is on seizure medication. I have to give it to him twice a day. Now, the pharmacist knows it's for a dog, because the label clearly reads, "Give to dog-Bud 1 tablet twice a day..."
But the warning label is absurd! it reads:
May cause drowsiness. Alcohol may intensify this effect. Use care when operating a car or dangerous machinery.
I'm not making this up! I'm not that creative. Needless to say Bud is mad that I took away his whisky, and his keys to the tractor.

Also, if anything good can ever come out of losing a loved one, it's the ability to mess with those pesky telemarketers that call.
I got a call the other day from a woman, whose favorite line was "I apologize."
The conversation went like this
"Hello?"
"Yes, is this Mrs. Merrill?
"This is Miss Merrill."
"I apologize. I'm looking for Gar-net. Is she available?"
"Garnet is my father."
"Oh I apologize. Is he available?"
"No. May I ask who's calling?"
"I apologize, this is Maryanne with the American Lung association. Is there another time I can call and reach Garnet?"
"No. My father passed away about a week ago."
"...OH FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!!!!!!!! I'msorrypleasedisreguardthiscall!"
Click.
I just had to laugh. This poor woman is probably going to quit her job now. she couldn't get anything right!

This is how I choose to remember my dad

These were taken in Hawaii last summer before I left for Africa.
These were the last times I spent with my dad.
This is how I will choose to remember him
Happy, carefree, living life and loving life.
My dad never liked to travel, or spend money. But for his baby girl he pulled out all the stops. As you can tell he was having the time of his life on that cruise, and I will always be grateful that such an amazing gift.
I see now the gift was not in the trip itself, but in those wonderful memories I now have with my dad.

out of town

Dad passed away early sunday morning.
I got to say my goodbye over the phone and I have peace that he is with the lord.
I arrived in the us today until...?
The blog might be limited for a while

It's working Part II

"Your new hair looks nice."
"Ah Christy, You always say that." She said smiling bashfully. "You are the only one. No one else ever tells me I look nice. But you always say, 'Oh your shoes, oh your hair.'"
"What?!!!! You're husband never tells you?"
"Oh yes, my husband, and my children do. They say 'Oh mommy, you look so beautiful.' But no one else. Only you."

It's working!

"Come Auntie. Come and dish."
"I will. But the teachers have been working so hard. I will wait until they dish first."
"...that's what you do Christy." Teacher Lindiwe said. "You always let others go first. But that's not how blacks do it. They will always put themselves first,- even in front of children. They want to be first."
In education we would call this a "teachable moment."
"It's not because I'm white that I do this Lindiwe. I do it because Jesus says we must prefer others. We consider them and not just demand for ourselves. And I need to be a servant of those I lead. And to be honest, what harm does it do if I don't go first? Look how much food we have. We'll never run out, and I won't go hungry. So what difference does it make if I go after my teachers?"
She pondered that for a while.
Leading by example take a lot more time than lecturing, but the lessons will be well learned.