Our organization is governed by the members - one of those "by the people, for the people" things. I'm not sure how it all works, and quite frankly, I've never really been too interested in all the ins and outs of it. But yesterday, at our conference here, we had "elections" on who would be on the next "executive committee". Guess who got elected to one of the positions?! Yikes. Yup, so I guess I'd better start learning about how this whole branch works. I gotta go to our first executive committee meeting on Friday. I guess I should be honored to have the opportunity to be on the leadership board of this group of people working together for such a noble cause. But man, it just seems like a lot of hard work that I really don't feel too equipped for! But I guess I'll learn fast!
On another note, I've been frustrated by trying to upload some photos. First, I tried to use Picasa - but since I have to re-install Picasa on my new old computer, I've had some trouble. I keep getting this message that tells me I can't use Picasa from this country! I've also tried uploading onto facebook, but every time I do that, my web browser completely freezes up and stops responding. So. I'm not quite sure what else to do. Sorry, Kendrah! Might have to revert to good old fashioned email (or, gasp!) a flash stick when I get back home to get you those photos of the Jebel!
I had quite a hard time staying awake this afternoon in the meetings, so I'd best be getting to sleep. Sorry, not too much adventure to be had around here, though I DID get to go to a MALL this evening! It wasn't all that exciting, but it's just fun to get out there and see what's there. I even pushed a grocery cart through the aisles of a grocery store! Of course, they didn't have that much more stuff than you would find at the normal corner stores here, but the fact that you could push a cart through the aisle was pretty slick. Not something you would have seen here a few years ago, that's for sure!
Monday, March 31, 2008
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Conferencing
Yup, I'm conferencing. And it's good. Not much more to say than that...
We're staying in a newer neighborhood of the city. We're all in a big house which is being run as a retreat center. There are 4 of us single girls staying together in one room, which is rather funny. It feels like I'm back in a dorm! But I can't complain about the cleanliness or the coolness of the place. Lots of tile and marble, so everything is cool and shiny!
Yeah, that's about it for today. Things are pretty boring when there's someone else to cook the food, fix the internet, the electricity's always on... Yup, not too much to say about it. But it's good to be here!
We're staying in a newer neighborhood of the city. We're all in a big house which is being run as a retreat center. There are 4 of us single girls staying together in one room, which is rather funny. It feels like I'm back in a dorm! But I can't complain about the cleanliness or the coolness of the place. Lots of tile and marble, so everything is cool and shiny!
Yeah, that's about it for today. Things are pretty boring when there's someone else to cook the food, fix the internet, the electricity's always on... Yup, not too much to say about it. But it's good to be here!
Friday, March 28, 2008
Such a good tired
Me, I'm exhausted from all the fun I had today.
First, I went to church with some of my friends here. I went to a church where I had been a few times before when I lived here long long ago. Man, have things ever changed there! Still the same pastors, still the same building. But where there used to be just a handful of white folks, a, well, rather lax time frame, only a few instruments and a few measly little fans turning over head... there is now A/C, a full worship band, a strict 2 hour time limit and about half of the congregation are foreigners! It's a completely different church!
I LOVED the worship, and it was so refreshing to be in a big gathering like that again. Funny how the city I'm supposed to live in is supposedly so "Christian", and I come up here where it's decidedly "unChristian" for a good refreshing worship service! I have to admit, though, the sermon left quite a lot to be desired. The visiting preacher was going on and on about how we all need to be baptized with the Holy Spirit and start speaking in tongues! I remember hearing another horrible sermon there once which was decidedly "prosperity gospel" stuff. So I'm not too impressed with the preaching. But after the sermon, the regular pastor got up and said a few words which made me think that he thought what the visiting preacher was talking about was rubbish, too :) But anyways, it was a good time to be together in a church!
After church, I went with some friends to "the club", which happened to be the very same club that I used to hang out at all the time. Of course, the price has seen a dramatic increase since I've been going (I paid 5 times what I used to pay just to get in the gate!). But here is how I spent my afternoon:
Yup, there's me sitting in the shade by the pool! The afternoon passed WAY too quickly. But as soon as I got home, our neighbors came over to play some games with us, which was also a whole lot of fun!
However, my week of getting my computer cleaned up and answering all the emails that I got behind on during my computer crisis is over :( Tomorrow we start our conference, which means meetings until I drop on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday AND Friday. Phew. I'm tired just thinking about it! I'd better go get myself into bed, as I have to leave the house at 7am tomorrow just to get there in time!
First, I went to church with some of my friends here. I went to a church where I had been a few times before when I lived here long long ago. Man, have things ever changed there! Still the same pastors, still the same building. But where there used to be just a handful of white folks, a, well, rather lax time frame, only a few instruments and a few measly little fans turning over head... there is now A/C, a full worship band, a strict 2 hour time limit and about half of the congregation are foreigners! It's a completely different church!
I LOVED the worship, and it was so refreshing to be in a big gathering like that again. Funny how the city I'm supposed to live in is supposedly so "Christian", and I come up here where it's decidedly "unChristian" for a good refreshing worship service! I have to admit, though, the sermon left quite a lot to be desired. The visiting preacher was going on and on about how we all need to be baptized with the Holy Spirit and start speaking in tongues! I remember hearing another horrible sermon there once which was decidedly "prosperity gospel" stuff. So I'm not too impressed with the preaching. But after the sermon, the regular pastor got up and said a few words which made me think that he thought what the visiting preacher was talking about was rubbish, too :) But anyways, it was a good time to be together in a church!
After church, I went with some friends to "the club", which happened to be the very same club that I used to hang out at all the time. Of course, the price has seen a dramatic increase since I've been going (I paid 5 times what I used to pay just to get in the gate!). But here is how I spent my afternoon:
Yup, there's me sitting in the shade by the pool! The afternoon passed WAY too quickly. But as soon as I got home, our neighbors came over to play some games with us, which was also a whole lot of fun!However, my week of getting my computer cleaned up and answering all the emails that I got behind on during my computer crisis is over :( Tomorrow we start our conference, which means meetings until I drop on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday AND Friday. Phew. I'm tired just thinking about it! I'd better go get myself into bed, as I have to leave the house at 7am tomorrow just to get there in time!
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Mmmmm, incense...
I'm having way too much fun in this city! I feel like I'm on holidays, actually. But I have also been getting quite a bit of work done, now that I have my own computer back :)
Today I went with the nieghbor (who also works with us) to the office here. It was so nice to see some more of my old friends at the office there. It's amazing that they still remember me after so many years away. It's also just so wonderful to be able to take the bus everywhere. The busses here are so "civilized" - nice, clean, orderly. Everyone has a seat, so they're not even as crowded as rush-hour busses at home! And if the traffic is moving, there's quite a nice breeze coming through the open windows, so it's not even all that hot. Today I was sitting on the bus, looking at the backs of the heads of all the passengers - seeing all the men in their white flowing gowns and little white caps and the women in their beautiful colored tobes (wrap around veils) fluttering in the breeze. It was just beautiful, and I was just enjoying myself so much. I was probably sitting there with a silly grin on my face just because I was so happy to be sitting on that bus today. Weird, I know. I often had that feeling as I walked down the street in the place where I used to live, as well. And I LOVE that feeling - just pure joy and awe of the fact that I get the privilege of being in this place at this time. I'm a little sorry that I don't get that feeling more often in J-town, where my house is! Anyways, I'm not usually filled with an inexplicable joy at being in that place, but at the same time, I'm quite satisfied living there, as I know that I'm there for a purpose for this time.
But it sure is good to be here and to have a few days of joy in being in a place!
So I went to one office this morning first, then I went with another co-worker on the bus to a different office, where I had a nice "breakfast" (at 10:30am) of beans and goat cheese. Man, it was SO good. Then I took off with Audrey to the market. We spent the next few hours wandering around the market. It was really interesting to be there and to see all the things that are available. My phone got a nice little jacket to keep the dust off, my head got a headband to keep the sweat from dripping into my eyes, the generator got a nice new hard cover notebook to keep track of his hours, and our workshop program got some beautiful paper to print certificates on. All in all, it was a very successful shopping trip!
We even had time to sit in the shade and have a little cup of tea (for Audrey) and coffee (for me) with one of the tea ladies who set up her shop in the shade of a building. This woman made the most wonderful coffee with a lot of wonderful spices in it. Wow, it was sweet and spicy and so delicious! I wanted to take her photo, because she was so beautiful sitting there all wrapped in her red and white tobe... but she was right next to a bank with a bunch of soldiers guarding it, so I didn't want to risk taking my camera out of my bag :(
I was encouraged, as well, that I could understand a lot of what was being said in the shops - maybe my Arabic isn't SO bad after all! At least I'm able to get what I want and ask questions about things, and understand some directions of where I need to go.
When we got home, I was pretty warm, so I took a shower, and was amazed at how clean I still was! I didn't even have dirt in my elbow creases after spending several hours out and about. Amazing. Yet another reason why I love this city.
This evening, Richard came and picked me up and he took me to a great Ethiopian restaurant. It was decorated in the traditional fashion, with the little tables and lots of Ethiopian relics on the walls. The waitresses were all in traditional clothes and there were Ethiopian music videos playing on the tv screen. And the food was so good! They even made the injera with tef, just like it's supposed to be. We sat there for about 3 hours, eating and drinking coffee and enjoying the smell of the incense. I can still smell it on my clothes and skin - I don't think I'll take a shower tonight since I smell so yummy :)
The restaurant was in a part of town near to where I used to live. So it was great to be on some of the familiar roads and see some of the things that I knew from before. We even passed by my dad's old office (the one near the railway station, dad!). It still looks exactly the same as before!
Oh, the internet turns off here at 10:30 (I'm staying with early birds), so I'd better post this before the internet shuts off! At least the air coolers and electricity stays on all night here!
Today I went with the nieghbor (who also works with us) to the office here. It was so nice to see some more of my old friends at the office there. It's amazing that they still remember me after so many years away. It's also just so wonderful to be able to take the bus everywhere. The busses here are so "civilized" - nice, clean, orderly. Everyone has a seat, so they're not even as crowded as rush-hour busses at home! And if the traffic is moving, there's quite a nice breeze coming through the open windows, so it's not even all that hot. Today I was sitting on the bus, looking at the backs of the heads of all the passengers - seeing all the men in their white flowing gowns and little white caps and the women in their beautiful colored tobes (wrap around veils) fluttering in the breeze. It was just beautiful, and I was just enjoying myself so much. I was probably sitting there with a silly grin on my face just because I was so happy to be sitting on that bus today. Weird, I know. I often had that feeling as I walked down the street in the place where I used to live, as well. And I LOVE that feeling - just pure joy and awe of the fact that I get the privilege of being in this place at this time. I'm a little sorry that I don't get that feeling more often in J-town, where my house is! Anyways, I'm not usually filled with an inexplicable joy at being in that place, but at the same time, I'm quite satisfied living there, as I know that I'm there for a purpose for this time.
But it sure is good to be here and to have a few days of joy in being in a place!
So I went to one office this morning first, then I went with another co-worker on the bus to a different office, where I had a nice "breakfast" (at 10:30am) of beans and goat cheese. Man, it was SO good. Then I took off with Audrey to the market. We spent the next few hours wandering around the market. It was really interesting to be there and to see all the things that are available. My phone got a nice little jacket to keep the dust off, my head got a headband to keep the sweat from dripping into my eyes, the generator got a nice new hard cover notebook to keep track of his hours, and our workshop program got some beautiful paper to print certificates on. All in all, it was a very successful shopping trip!
We even had time to sit in the shade and have a little cup of tea (for Audrey) and coffee (for me) with one of the tea ladies who set up her shop in the shade of a building. This woman made the most wonderful coffee with a lot of wonderful spices in it. Wow, it was sweet and spicy and so delicious! I wanted to take her photo, because she was so beautiful sitting there all wrapped in her red and white tobe... but she was right next to a bank with a bunch of soldiers guarding it, so I didn't want to risk taking my camera out of my bag :(
I was encouraged, as well, that I could understand a lot of what was being said in the shops - maybe my Arabic isn't SO bad after all! At least I'm able to get what I want and ask questions about things, and understand some directions of where I need to go.
When we got home, I was pretty warm, so I took a shower, and was amazed at how clean I still was! I didn't even have dirt in my elbow creases after spending several hours out and about. Amazing. Yet another reason why I love this city.
This evening, Richard came and picked me up and he took me to a great Ethiopian restaurant. It was decorated in the traditional fashion, with the little tables and lots of Ethiopian relics on the walls. The waitresses were all in traditional clothes and there were Ethiopian music videos playing on the tv screen. And the food was so good! They even made the injera with tef, just like it's supposed to be. We sat there for about 3 hours, eating and drinking coffee and enjoying the smell of the incense. I can still smell it on my clothes and skin - I don't think I'll take a shower tonight since I smell so yummy :)
The restaurant was in a part of town near to where I used to live. So it was great to be on some of the familiar roads and see some of the things that I knew from before. We even passed by my dad's old office (the one near the railway station, dad!). It still looks exactly the same as before!
Oh, the internet turns off here at 10:30 (I'm staying with early birds), so I'd better post this before the internet shuts off! At least the air coolers and electricity stays on all night here!
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Old friends
God is good. When I left the place that I lived before coming here, I left some really good friends who I thought I would never see again.
And today, I got to see two of them again! Whoo hoo! They have left their own country and have ended up here, like so many others from that country. One of them is quite happily settled here - he has a job teaching, a fiancee, and he speaks the language quite well. The other, though, has more recently arrived and is waiting for a visa to the US... pray that he gets it so that he can go and take advantage of his scholarship and acceptance to a graduate program at a university there.
Anyways, we had a wonderful visit with them! I'm so thankful for the people I'm staying with - Audrey was great in talking to them on the phone and helping us find each other (none of us know the city very well!). She even walked down to the corner with me so I could find them, and allowed me to host them in the house with juice and large amounts of water.
I'm still so amazed by the fact that I can walk around the streets here in the middle of the afternoon when it's 45 C outside and hardly break a sweat. It feels SO good!
Back to my visit with my friends - we had a great time. It was just so good to see them. We went to this cute little pizza restaurant down the street and had some sodas and a bit of pizza together. It was really a very nice time, and I even felt like I was back in that place where we all were together.
Later on, I went with one of the nieghbors here who is working for the same organization that I work for, and we walked down to one of the nicest grocery shops I've seen in a while. You could even push a cart up and down the aisles! I bought a few treats there to take back to Juba, including a bit of shampoo and yummy raspberry jam. I also bought some chocolate chip cookies and some fresh milk to dunk them in. Yum yum.
It was really nice to walk down the street with her, getting to know her, and not having to worry about stepping in a puddle of... well... you don't want to know what of... and not sweating, but enjoying a bit of warm sun (well, ok, it was pretty hot sun... but...). We took a rickshaw home, which was a bit fun, as well. I love those little three wheeled vehicles, although there was a pretty crazy traffic jam on the way and there were a few moments where I sorta had to swallow my heart... but oh well. We survived, and once again, I was really remembering why I like this place so much!!
And today, I got to see two of them again! Whoo hoo! They have left their own country and have ended up here, like so many others from that country. One of them is quite happily settled here - he has a job teaching, a fiancee, and he speaks the language quite well. The other, though, has more recently arrived and is waiting for a visa to the US... pray that he gets it so that he can go and take advantage of his scholarship and acceptance to a graduate program at a university there.
Anyways, we had a wonderful visit with them! I'm so thankful for the people I'm staying with - Audrey was great in talking to them on the phone and helping us find each other (none of us know the city very well!). She even walked down to the corner with me so I could find them, and allowed me to host them in the house with juice and large amounts of water.
I'm still so amazed by the fact that I can walk around the streets here in the middle of the afternoon when it's 45 C outside and hardly break a sweat. It feels SO good!
Back to my visit with my friends - we had a great time. It was just so good to see them. We went to this cute little pizza restaurant down the street and had some sodas and a bit of pizza together. It was really a very nice time, and I even felt like I was back in that place where we all were together.
Later on, I went with one of the nieghbors here who is working for the same organization that I work for, and we walked down to one of the nicest grocery shops I've seen in a while. You could even push a cart up and down the aisles! I bought a few treats there to take back to Juba, including a bit of shampoo and yummy raspberry jam. I also bought some chocolate chip cookies and some fresh milk to dunk them in. Yum yum.
It was really nice to walk down the street with her, getting to know her, and not having to worry about stepping in a puddle of... well... you don't want to know what of... and not sweating, but enjoying a bit of warm sun (well, ok, it was pretty hot sun... but...). We took a rickshaw home, which was a bit fun, as well. I love those little three wheeled vehicles, although there was a pretty crazy traffic jam on the way and there were a few moments where I sorta had to swallow my heart... but oh well. We survived, and once again, I was really remembering why I like this place so much!!
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Here I am
The coolest thing just happened - when I came to sign into blogspot, it all came up in Arabic script :) Good thing I blog often enough to know which box to fill in to sign in... of course, it was all the opposite way round, as Arabic is written from right to left and not left to right :)
I arrived last night, and it was SO easy. Richard took us to the airport and made sure we were all checked in and that our luggage got on the plane and that our passports were properly stamped. Whilst waiting for our flight, the president flew in from some Middle Eastern country. Everyone in the waiting room gathered by the windows to watch him walk off the plane and into the terminal. It was great to see him so close - he even waved at the adoring throng behind the glass, so we all waved back. I'm sure he was waving directly at me - the sole white girl in the crowd :)
The flight was so uneventful - I even got to eat my friend's dinner on the plane because I was so hungry and she wasn't - it's so nice to travel with friends!
It was wonderful to come to this city again! This city was the first place I came when I came to Africa, about 8 years ago! It's changed a lot, as far as I can tell, but is SUCH a nice city. Well, ok, maybe everything is relative, but there are smooth paved roads, 24 hour electricity, shops filled to the brim with stuff, phone networks that actually work, buildings that are higher than a single story, lights, cars, nice busses...The list could go on.
It was SO nice to have a hot shower and sleep in a bit of coolness last night. I'm staying with friends, and they have an air cooler (not an A/C, but an air cooler which works somehow by evaporating water). So it makes for a very comfortable climate in the house all day.
This morning I took a bus with them to the office where some of the translators work. The wonderful part is that I knew some of those who were working from when I was here before. It was so much fun to see the look on Luka's face when I surprised him in his office this morning! He was so happy to see me, and we had so much catching up to do!
Of course, we had to eat the usual "breakfast" together (at about 11am). We had beans with cheese and bread. Man, it was SO good! Even though I live in the same country, they just don't make beans like this down where I live. And of course, being together with old friends was also a wonderful thing!
I arrived last night, and it was SO easy. Richard took us to the airport and made sure we were all checked in and that our luggage got on the plane and that our passports were properly stamped. Whilst waiting for our flight, the president flew in from some Middle Eastern country. Everyone in the waiting room gathered by the windows to watch him walk off the plane and into the terminal. It was great to see him so close - he even waved at the adoring throng behind the glass, so we all waved back. I'm sure he was waving directly at me - the sole white girl in the crowd :)
The flight was so uneventful - I even got to eat my friend's dinner on the plane because I was so hungry and she wasn't - it's so nice to travel with friends!
It was wonderful to come to this city again! This city was the first place I came when I came to Africa, about 8 years ago! It's changed a lot, as far as I can tell, but is SUCH a nice city. Well, ok, maybe everything is relative, but there are smooth paved roads, 24 hour electricity, shops filled to the brim with stuff, phone networks that actually work, buildings that are higher than a single story, lights, cars, nice busses...The list could go on.
It was SO nice to have a hot shower and sleep in a bit of coolness last night. I'm staying with friends, and they have an air cooler (not an A/C, but an air cooler which works somehow by evaporating water). So it makes for a very comfortable climate in the house all day.
This morning I took a bus with them to the office where some of the translators work. The wonderful part is that I knew some of those who were working from when I was here before. It was so much fun to see the look on Luka's face when I surprised him in his office this morning! He was so happy to see me, and we had so much catching up to do!
Of course, we had to eat the usual "breakfast" together (at about 11am). We had beans with cheese and bread. Man, it was SO good! Even though I live in the same country, they just don't make beans like this down where I live. And of course, being together with old friends was also a wonderful thing!
In the afternoon I worked on my computer with Vinton - well, more like HE worked on my computer and I just hovered. I hope I didn't annoy him TOO much with all my questions. Anyways, to make a long story short, there is something that's still not "quite right" about my computer, but Vinton thinks it's been there for a while and that's not what made it crash... but it did make it difficult to get Windows loaded back on the new hard drive, which is why the guys in Nairobi thought it was a mother board problem. But here I am now, typing away on my new old computer :) I'm SO happy to have it back. But I AM going to be doing some serious backing up, every single week, to make sure this doens't happen again. So moral of the story folks - BACK UP! Now, go, do it, right now, go!
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Christ is Risen!
He is risen indeed! And that fact has been duly celebrated here by me, along with some of my friends!
I was awake before the sun (and even before Jackie!) this morning to join the expedition up this mountain - THE mountain here. I've wanted to climb it for SO long, but it's never been safe to do so (one or two landmines left over from the last war). Now the UN has now declared it land-mine free and safe to hike around (though I was still pretty careful to follow the beaten track up the hill!), so we decided to go up it for an Easter sunrise service.
At about 6:30 am, 12 of us set off up the mountain.
It was quite the scramble up the mountain, and there were a few moments when I wished I was as nimble as some of the goats that we saw up there, but anyways, after only about 30 minutes of climbing we all made it to the top of the mountain. Good thing there was quite a lot of cloud cover, so we didn't actually miss the sun rise :) 
It was such a beautiful view from up there - you could look out over the whole town. Of course, you could look the other direction and see the road that goes off into the boonies, too!
At the top, we had a wonderful time of prayer and worship to celebrate the new life that we have in Christ. Kendrah had even brought her guitar up to the top! 
It was a wonderful opportunity to look out over the town, and the countryside and to pray over it. Once again, God gave me a feeling of compassion for the people in this town. There are so many challenges that people face here - and if only they knew Christ, I mean, really knew Him, they could somehow find some peace in the midst of all the struggles. So we prayed and we asked God to work in this country and to build a strong church which will start making a difference in the lives of the people here. Somehow, when you're sitting on top of a mountain, overlooking the people that you're praying for, it makes it seem like God hears it better :)
Of course, once we were done our Easter celebration, we broke out the flasks (um, that's the British word for "Thermos") and enjoyed some biscuits (oh, that's another British word for "Cookies") and enjoyed some nice fresh coffee and a snack!
We didn't linger for TOO long on top of the mountain (keep in mind it was 30C when we started our hike at 6:30am!), and were back down at our cars by 9:30. But it was a wonderful way to mark this Easter. The picture above is Jackie, Kristina (from Kenya), Megesha (from Ethiopia) and me, with Lori (from the States) keeping watch over the city from the rock above us.
The rest of the afternoon was spent nice and quietly. I wrote some in my journal, listened to some good music whilst dozing on my day bed (though I woke up in a puddle of sweat from that nap - yuck), and getting ready for our Easter celebration this evening. This is how Zane spent the whole of his Easter Sunday:
I looked surprisingly similar to Zane in this pose, as I was spread eagle trying to stay cool during my afternoon nap, too.
This evening, Kendrah and I had put together some songs and readings for our usual Sunday evening fellowship group. Following the fellowship group, we had a special Easter potluck. It was so nice - Megesha's wife even brought shiro and injera and flasks of real Ethiopian coffee! Yum yum!
What a blessing it is to have friends here to celebrate Easter with! I had some good times with them today, reflecting on Christ's love for us, and celebrating the amazing gift of new life that comes when we are crucified with Christ... because if we die with him, we will also live with him!
I was awake before the sun (and even before Jackie!) this morning to join the expedition up this mountain - THE mountain here. I've wanted to climb it for SO long, but it's never been safe to do so (one or two landmines left over from the last war). Now the UN has now declared it land-mine free and safe to hike around (though I was still pretty careful to follow the beaten track up the hill!), so we decided to go up it for an Easter sunrise service.
At about 6:30 am, 12 of us set off up the mountain.
It was quite the scramble up the mountain, and there were a few moments when I wished I was as nimble as some of the goats that we saw up there, but anyways, after only about 30 minutes of climbing we all made it to the top of the mountain. Good thing there was quite a lot of cloud cover, so we didn't actually miss the sun rise :) 
It was such a beautiful view from up there - you could look out over the whole town. Of course, you could look the other direction and see the road that goes off into the boonies, too!
At the top, we had a wonderful time of prayer and worship to celebrate the new life that we have in Christ. Kendrah had even brought her guitar up to the top! 
It was a wonderful opportunity to look out over the town, and the countryside and to pray over it. Once again, God gave me a feeling of compassion for the people in this town. There are so many challenges that people face here - and if only they knew Christ, I mean, really knew Him, they could somehow find some peace in the midst of all the struggles. So we prayed and we asked God to work in this country and to build a strong church which will start making a difference in the lives of the people here. Somehow, when you're sitting on top of a mountain, overlooking the people that you're praying for, it makes it seem like God hears it better :)Of course, once we were done our Easter celebration, we broke out the flasks (um, that's the British word for "Thermos") and enjoyed some biscuits (oh, that's another British word for "Cookies") and enjoyed some nice fresh coffee and a snack!
We didn't linger for TOO long on top of the mountain (keep in mind it was 30C when we started our hike at 6:30am!), and were back down at our cars by 9:30. But it was a wonderful way to mark this Easter. The picture above is Jackie, Kristina (from Kenya), Megesha (from Ethiopia) and me, with Lori (from the States) keeping watch over the city from the rock above us.The rest of the afternoon was spent nice and quietly. I wrote some in my journal, listened to some good music whilst dozing on my day bed (though I woke up in a puddle of sweat from that nap - yuck), and getting ready for our Easter celebration this evening. This is how Zane spent the whole of his Easter Sunday:
I looked surprisingly similar to Zane in this pose, as I was spread eagle trying to stay cool during my afternoon nap, too.This evening, Kendrah and I had put together some songs and readings for our usual Sunday evening fellowship group. Following the fellowship group, we had a special Easter potluck. It was so nice - Megesha's wife even brought shiro and injera and flasks of real Ethiopian coffee! Yum yum!
What a blessing it is to have friends here to celebrate Easter with! I had some good times with them today, reflecting on Christ's love for us, and celebrating the amazing gift of new life that comes when we are crucified with Christ... because if we die with him, we will also live with him!
Saturday, March 22, 2008
It's all worth it...
I know, the title is a bit cliche... yet somehow, cliches are there because everyone knows what they mean... and at 1:12 am when it's too hot to sleep, I think I'm allowed one or two cliches :)...
I had another one of those moments in one of the translation teams' offices the other day. One of the translators was having some trouble with some computer files, so he called me over to their office to help. So I did what I could to help him find the missing file.
In the meantime, the other translator in the office was reviewing a section of the Gospel of John, which they had previously translated and is now being edited and checked. He happened to be reading in John 19, about when Pilate condemned Jesus to death.
He had tears in his eyes. He told me, "Even though I've read it so many times in English, when I read it in my language, it's so powerful. It really means something in my own language." It was the first time he had really read through the draft of the translation that they had done, and so it was the first time he was reading the whole story through in his own language. It was a powerful moment for him. This guy is a walking commercial for the impact of Bible translation, I tell ya!
And it was just an incredible privilege to be there to share that with him. It's the whole reason why I'm here. I'm so thankful that God gives me a little glimpse of that again, and that he gives me the opportunity to have these impromptu conversations once in a while, too, to just remind me of it again and again!
It also reminds me of what a privilege it is to have grown up knowing what Christ did for me on the cross... and to have been able to read it in English for as long as I can remember! I still have so much to learn about what it all means for my life, though. Sometimes I just get a bit overwhelmed by the whole thing - grace, sanctification, forgiveness, new life... man, I know I'll never understand it all here on Earth. It's also incredibly humbling to think about the fact that for some reason, God chose me, and somehow started teaching me some of these things from the time I was so young. And still, so many people have never had a chance to know any of it!
OK, it's getting late now, and my thoughts aren't coming out as eloquently as I hoped they might... so I'm signing off! I pray that God will teach me more this weekend as we celebrate Easter together.
I had another one of those moments in one of the translation teams' offices the other day. One of the translators was having some trouble with some computer files, so he called me over to their office to help. So I did what I could to help him find the missing file.
In the meantime, the other translator in the office was reviewing a section of the Gospel of John, which they had previously translated and is now being edited and checked. He happened to be reading in John 19, about when Pilate condemned Jesus to death.
He had tears in his eyes. He told me, "Even though I've read it so many times in English, when I read it in my language, it's so powerful. It really means something in my own language." It was the first time he had really read through the draft of the translation that they had done, and so it was the first time he was reading the whole story through in his own language. It was a powerful moment for him. This guy is a walking commercial for the impact of Bible translation, I tell ya!
And it was just an incredible privilege to be there to share that with him. It's the whole reason why I'm here. I'm so thankful that God gives me a little glimpse of that again, and that he gives me the opportunity to have these impromptu conversations once in a while, too, to just remind me of it again and again!
It also reminds me of what a privilege it is to have grown up knowing what Christ did for me on the cross... and to have been able to read it in English for as long as I can remember! I still have so much to learn about what it all means for my life, though. Sometimes I just get a bit overwhelmed by the whole thing - grace, sanctification, forgiveness, new life... man, I know I'll never understand it all here on Earth. It's also incredibly humbling to think about the fact that for some reason, God chose me, and somehow started teaching me some of these things from the time I was so young. And still, so many people have never had a chance to know any of it!
OK, it's getting late now, and my thoughts aren't coming out as eloquently as I hoped they might... so I'm signing off! I pray that God will teach me more this weekend as we celebrate Easter together.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Unexpected Expected
I had dinner tonight with a friend, and when asked how my day was, I had to puzzle over it for a few minutes. The sub question to "how was your day" around here is always "what unexpected challenge did you have to meet today?".
It actually took me quite some few minutes (oh, sorry, there's my East African English coming through again!) to realize that nothing unexpected happened today. Or maybe I'm just starting to expect the unexpected, so when the unexpected occurs, I've already expected it.
It was really amazing today. I had two meetings set up with two different language teams to touch base about how they're doing on their literacy plans. Both of the meetings actually happened, more or less around the appointed times. Lunch was exactly what I had planned. The computer which is broken is still broken, as is parts of the network, as expected. It was hot and dusty, just as I expected. Everyone came to work when they were supposed to. Zane was his zaney little self, begging for chicken bones all day. The generator was turned on and off as it was supposed to. The water was flowing out of the taps. The toilet was backing up, as it has been in the past few days... really, nothing out of the ordinary occurred. The text message that I sent to my friend about what I was bringing over for dinner arrived in her phone as we were polishing off the meal, just as expected.
In a way, it's a bit disconcerting. Does having nothing unexpected happen in a day mean that I'm way too used to the odd way things work around here?! I sure do hope it doesn't continue - I sure don't want to start getting bored!
It actually took me quite some few minutes (oh, sorry, there's my East African English coming through again!) to realize that nothing unexpected happened today. Or maybe I'm just starting to expect the unexpected, so when the unexpected occurs, I've already expected it.
It was really amazing today. I had two meetings set up with two different language teams to touch base about how they're doing on their literacy plans. Both of the meetings actually happened, more or less around the appointed times. Lunch was exactly what I had planned. The computer which is broken is still broken, as is parts of the network, as expected. It was hot and dusty, just as I expected. Everyone came to work when they were supposed to. Zane was his zaney little self, begging for chicken bones all day. The generator was turned on and off as it was supposed to. The water was flowing out of the taps. The toilet was backing up, as it has been in the past few days... really, nothing out of the ordinary occurred. The text message that I sent to my friend about what I was bringing over for dinner arrived in her phone as we were polishing off the meal, just as expected.
In a way, it's a bit disconcerting. Does having nothing unexpected happen in a day mean that I'm way too used to the odd way things work around here?! I sure do hope it doesn't continue - I sure don't want to start getting bored!
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Traffic Police
Richard and I had a little adventure today.
We went out to purchase airplane tickets for everyone, as we're all heading to a different city next in a week or so for our conference. Anyways, we successfully got the tickets, even picked up a handful of mail, some stationary, and started to make our way home in the truck. Of course, I wanted to go on a little diversion to pick up some bread from the Eritrean bakery, which was also successful.
The adventure came when we turned round the corner on the main street, and the police pulled us over. Richard was driving (thankfully, since I didn't happen to have my license with me!), so he had a few words (in Arabic, of course) with the police man. Seems they're pulling people over to make everyone switch to the new license plates that they're trying to introduce... again. Of course, our truck has the registration paid up through November of this year, so we're not really interested in paying to re-register the truck... again.
Anyways, Richard convinced them that yes, when the truck needs to be re-registered, we would get the new set of plates. However, they were convinced that they wanted to see our certificate of insurance. No problem - I put a photo copy of it in the truck last year, when we got all the papers in order for the truck.
So we looked in it's place in the folder. And it wasn't there. So we looked in the glove box. It wasn't there. We even looked under the seats. It wasn't there. So, all we could do was jump out of the truck and leave it there on the side of the road. I called "home" to see if someone could bring us the original of the insurance certificate from home, and me and Richard went in search of someplace to sit in the shade and have a cold drink (this was at about noon, when it was 38C in the shade!). Of course, today happened to be "clean up the town" day as well, so none of the shops in that area were allowed to open.
Instead of standing on the side of the road in the sun, we just decided to take a little mini-bus home. It was my first time in a mini-bus in this town, and it actually wasn't too bad! The first 5 or 6 that passed were completely jam-packed. So we waited until one came by with a couple of free seats! The busses are actually a bit expensive - it cost us a whole $1 to go about 2 kilometers. Imagine if you were making a salary of about $150 a month, and you had to take the bus back and forth to work every day? That's quite a big chunk of your money just for transportation!
Anyways, we made it back to the compound all in one piece, and I only flashed a little leg as I tripped in and out of the bus in my straight skirt! Richard just grabbed the necessary papers and turned around and took the bus back to where we left the truck - we didn't want to risk missing any papers in the other truck! Anyways, at least now I know how to take the bus back to the compound, if I ever get stuck anywhere like that again.
We had another funny moment this evening. While we were at the stationary shop in the morning, I was standing next to Richard and another African man. The second guy's friend came along and asked him, "Hey, are you with the white girl?!" Before the second guy could answer, Richard piped up and said, "No, I'm with the white girl!" with a big grin on his face. Then, this evening, as we were eating our dinner in a local restaurant, the same guy came in. He took one look at me and Richard and said, "Hey, you're still with the white girl!".
Ok, so maybe that's not so funny. But Richard and I had a good laugh over it - maybe you just had to be there...
We went out to purchase airplane tickets for everyone, as we're all heading to a different city next in a week or so for our conference. Anyways, we successfully got the tickets, even picked up a handful of mail, some stationary, and started to make our way home in the truck. Of course, I wanted to go on a little diversion to pick up some bread from the Eritrean bakery, which was also successful.
The adventure came when we turned round the corner on the main street, and the police pulled us over. Richard was driving (thankfully, since I didn't happen to have my license with me!), so he had a few words (in Arabic, of course) with the police man. Seems they're pulling people over to make everyone switch to the new license plates that they're trying to introduce... again. Of course, our truck has the registration paid up through November of this year, so we're not really interested in paying to re-register the truck... again.
Anyways, Richard convinced them that yes, when the truck needs to be re-registered, we would get the new set of plates. However, they were convinced that they wanted to see our certificate of insurance. No problem - I put a photo copy of it in the truck last year, when we got all the papers in order for the truck.
So we looked in it's place in the folder. And it wasn't there. So we looked in the glove box. It wasn't there. We even looked under the seats. It wasn't there. So, all we could do was jump out of the truck and leave it there on the side of the road. I called "home" to see if someone could bring us the original of the insurance certificate from home, and me and Richard went in search of someplace to sit in the shade and have a cold drink (this was at about noon, when it was 38C in the shade!). Of course, today happened to be "clean up the town" day as well, so none of the shops in that area were allowed to open.
Instead of standing on the side of the road in the sun, we just decided to take a little mini-bus home. It was my first time in a mini-bus in this town, and it actually wasn't too bad! The first 5 or 6 that passed were completely jam-packed. So we waited until one came by with a couple of free seats! The busses are actually a bit expensive - it cost us a whole $1 to go about 2 kilometers. Imagine if you were making a salary of about $150 a month, and you had to take the bus back and forth to work every day? That's quite a big chunk of your money just for transportation!
Anyways, we made it back to the compound all in one piece, and I only flashed a little leg as I tripped in and out of the bus in my straight skirt! Richard just grabbed the necessary papers and turned around and took the bus back to where we left the truck - we didn't want to risk missing any papers in the other truck! Anyways, at least now I know how to take the bus back to the compound, if I ever get stuck anywhere like that again.
We had another funny moment this evening. While we were at the stationary shop in the morning, I was standing next to Richard and another African man. The second guy's friend came along and asked him, "Hey, are you with the white girl?!" Before the second guy could answer, Richard piped up and said, "No, I'm with the white girl!" with a big grin on his face. Then, this evening, as we were eating our dinner in a local restaurant, the same guy came in. He took one look at me and Richard and said, "Hey, you're still with the white girl!".
Ok, so maybe that's not so funny. But Richard and I had a good laugh over it - maybe you just had to be there...
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
And for something completely different...
So if you want to read a little about what I actually DO, read the link below. It's not EXACTLY what I do, but it gives a little glimpse into a piece of the picture.
If you want to know what daily life is actually LIKE... keep reading!
As I was sitting in my office this afternoon, one of my African colleagues came by to have a little chat. He's quite concerned that I'm getting too fat. He's concerned about Jackie, as she's too skinny. He's concerned about me because I'm too fat. And he's not ashamed to tell us these things... usually every month or so we get the "Akol weight update". I must admit that most days, I have a good laugh over it, since it's just such a completely counter-cultural thing (in our culture!) for someone's colleagues to discuss your weight - especially if they think you're too fat. But here, it's quite socially acceptable to talk about being a little, well, on the "strong" side. However, I must admit, that there are also certain days where I just can't get out of my own cultural mind set, and I start to feel a little, well, offended, when someone is constantly giving me an update on my weight! Besides, how in the world can he tell if I've gained or lost 5 pounds with the huge baggy, mumus that I wear most of the time?!
However, after work, I DID end up getting some exercise. My friend invited me to go and play... wait for it... get this... SQUASH! Yup, one of the old ruined hotels has a squash court that someone discovered. And now, one of the UN Agencies has left squash raquets, balls, and a broom at their guard house, so you can go and sign it all out and have a game of squash! Of course, it's an outdoor court, and the reason for the broom is that you have to sweep all of the leaves and sand dunes out before you can actually play, but it's really quite brilliant!
Even though I haven't played in half of forever and it took me a while to get back into the swing of it, it felt SO good to be out getting some exercize. And somehow, swacking a little rubber ball in a crumbling old concrete dust filled squash court is an extraordinarily satisfying feeling. I have a special fondness for hot concrete squash courts, as I first learned to play in one when I lived in a different part of this country many moons ago... ah, those were the days. And now THESE are the days :)
I have a feeling I'm really going to feel it tomorrow, though. I mean, I could feel my shoulder muscles after a few rounds of Wii boxing - I'm not sure if I'll be able to move after an hour of real sport! We've decided to go every Tuesday evening now. I just hope that word doesn't get out to TOO many people, because there's only one court and the time that you can play is really quite limited - before 5:30 it's too hot and people are working, but by 7pm, it's just too dark to see the ball!
We also had some really good, real, honest conversation while we were swacking at the ball, and sometimes that's just as refreshing (if not more!) than a little exercize!
If you want to know what daily life is actually LIKE... keep reading!
As I was sitting in my office this afternoon, one of my African colleagues came by to have a little chat. He's quite concerned that I'm getting too fat. He's concerned about Jackie, as she's too skinny. He's concerned about me because I'm too fat. And he's not ashamed to tell us these things... usually every month or so we get the "Akol weight update". I must admit that most days, I have a good laugh over it, since it's just such a completely counter-cultural thing (in our culture!) for someone's colleagues to discuss your weight - especially if they think you're too fat. But here, it's quite socially acceptable to talk about being a little, well, on the "strong" side. However, I must admit, that there are also certain days where I just can't get out of my own cultural mind set, and I start to feel a little, well, offended, when someone is constantly giving me an update on my weight! Besides, how in the world can he tell if I've gained or lost 5 pounds with the huge baggy, mumus that I wear most of the time?!
However, after work, I DID end up getting some exercise. My friend invited me to go and play... wait for it... get this... SQUASH! Yup, one of the old ruined hotels has a squash court that someone discovered. And now, one of the UN Agencies has left squash raquets, balls, and a broom at their guard house, so you can go and sign it all out and have a game of squash! Of course, it's an outdoor court, and the reason for the broom is that you have to sweep all of the leaves and sand dunes out before you can actually play, but it's really quite brilliant!
Even though I haven't played in half of forever and it took me a while to get back into the swing of it, it felt SO good to be out getting some exercize. And somehow, swacking a little rubber ball in a crumbling old concrete dust filled squash court is an extraordinarily satisfying feeling. I have a special fondness for hot concrete squash courts, as I first learned to play in one when I lived in a different part of this country many moons ago... ah, those were the days. And now THESE are the days :)
I have a feeling I'm really going to feel it tomorrow, though. I mean, I could feel my shoulder muscles after a few rounds of Wii boxing - I'm not sure if I'll be able to move after an hour of real sport! We've decided to go every Tuesday evening now. I just hope that word doesn't get out to TOO many people, because there's only one court and the time that you can play is really quite limited - before 5:30 it's too hot and people are working, but by 7pm, it's just too dark to see the ball!
We also had some really good, real, honest conversation while we were swacking at the ball, and sometimes that's just as refreshing (if not more!) than a little exercize!
Beyond the Rivers of Cush
Want to read the story of some African Bible Translators? This is a cool story, written by someone that I know.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Baths
I had to give our Coke bottles a bath this afternoon. After listening to a very good Palm Sunday sermon by John Piper on my MP3 Player, AnnaMarie and I went out for lunch at the Catholic Sister's Cafeteria. We met some of our nieghbors there, which was quite nice, and then, on the way home, stopped off at the "Amasina Moll" shop and got a flat of Coke. Then Zane helped me give the Coke a bath. The Coke really, really needed a bath.
Now I'm off to give the plastic chairs a bath before our church/fellowship group meeting tonight. After that, I'll give my feet a bath. At the moment, AnnaMarie is giving the dishes a bath. I'm sure there are plenty of other things around here that could use a bath, but somehow, I've only been back for a few days, and I hardly even see the dirt!
Now I'm off to give the plastic chairs a bath before our church/fellowship group meeting tonight. After that, I'll give my feet a bath. At the moment, AnnaMarie is giving the dishes a bath. I'm sure there are plenty of other things around here that could use a bath, but somehow, I've only been back for a few days, and I hardly even see the dirt!
Posted Photos
FYI - I inserted some photos into the post about my birthday party, so scroll down and look. I'm also trying to post some photos on facebook, but my internet is going slow this afternoon...
A parallel universe?
Tonight I actually DID feel like I was in a parallel universe to the one that I normally inhabit.
Four folks actually put on a concert tonight in the cathedral! It was the most amazing concert I've ever been to here in this town... well, ok, it's the ONLY concert I've ever been to in this town! But they were truly amazing. The quartet were singing sacred songs in preparation for Holy Week. It was all a mix of languages - Latin, Slavic, German, English - but the words weren't as important as the sense of the sacred that came out through their voices.
The concert was held in the cathedral, and they had it lit only by candle light. Hearing the voices (unaccompanied) echoing through the church was an experience that made me feel like I had been completely transported out of this town. It was an hour of beauty, of celebrating the sacred, those things that have been set apart from "normal" life. If it weren't so late here, I would compose a nice little sermonette here about how this is how life is supposed to be - finding the sacred, the beautiful, in the midst of the garbage, in the midst of the Shania Twain blaring from the market bars, in the midst of the heat and the dust and the dark. I need more of these moments. And I would love more of the moments to sit and think about it more... but I'm just too tired tonight... and I'm afraid of falling asleep with this borrowed laptop on my lap and waking up to it crashing down to the concrete floor!
Four folks actually put on a concert tonight in the cathedral! It was the most amazing concert I've ever been to here in this town... well, ok, it's the ONLY concert I've ever been to in this town! But they were truly amazing. The quartet were singing sacred songs in preparation for Holy Week. It was all a mix of languages - Latin, Slavic, German, English - but the words weren't as important as the sense of the sacred that came out through their voices.
The concert was held in the cathedral, and they had it lit only by candle light. Hearing the voices (unaccompanied) echoing through the church was an experience that made me feel like I had been completely transported out of this town. It was an hour of beauty, of celebrating the sacred, those things that have been set apart from "normal" life. If it weren't so late here, I would compose a nice little sermonette here about how this is how life is supposed to be - finding the sacred, the beautiful, in the midst of the garbage, in the midst of the Shania Twain blaring from the market bars, in the midst of the heat and the dust and the dark. I need more of these moments. And I would love more of the moments to sit and think about it more... but I'm just too tired tonight... and I'm afraid of falling asleep with this borrowed laptop on my lap and waking up to it crashing down to the concrete floor!
Saturday, March 15, 2008
All is right with the world again... well, I mean, as much as it CAN be this side of heaven :)
Yup, things are back to normal, which, in this case, is a good thing :)
I had to get up early this morning to catch my flight back here from Nairobi. Everything went SO smoothly, though! I had a few heart-stopping moments in the taxi on the way to the airport, but my faithful taxi driver, Joseph, is quite in control, and I made it there all in one piece! I even had 1.8 kg to spare in my alloted weight allowance! Imagine, me, packing "light"! I was pretty amazed.
I had plenty of time to spare at the airport, so I treated myself to a birthday breakfast of a latte and bagel with cream cheese - yum yum! Whilst waiting to board the flight, I met one of my friends from here, which was very nice. Of course, I invited him to my birthday party which we had planned for tonight. I also found someone else that I knew on the flight and sat near him on the plane. Just before they closed the door, a very distinguished looking woman was escorted on board, complete with an couple of ladies in waiting. My buddy sitting near me told me that she is the wife of the previous president of this country! And she came and greeted someone right next to me - so I could have shaken her hand and said hello, had I known who she was! Anyways, her bum brushed me as she walked past me in the aisle... so I have come this close to greatness today.
As soon as we landed, I called Richard on the cell phone, which still amazes me every time it works here, and he jumped in the truck to fetch me. No problems at all. It was a bit freaky when I walked into the airport and the customs guy at the immigration desk called out to me by name. I'm not sure if it's a good thing that the immigration guys know me by name now... I'm hoping being friendly with them will end up working to my advantage some day, but you never know!
From the airport, I came home, just in time for lunch. Over lunch, my kindly neighbor offered me the use of one of his extra computers for a week or two. Wow, what a difference that makes! So I'm now laying on my bed (on my nice orange sheets!), blogging by the light of the solar lamp. My cat, who obviously missed me, is actually curled up on my feet. Yup, not AT my feet, but ON my feet. As if I need a footwarmer at the moment - it's nearing 1 am and still 28C in my room. But Zane noramally doesn't want to ever actually touch me, so I think he really must have missed me! He even followed me around the compound this afternoon as I did my rounds, checking out what's changed since I've been away. He was like a little puppy or something! Anyways, he looks like he's been well looked after while I've been away.
I spent a bit of time checking my email and getting the back-up of my old email onto this computer so I could actually do a bit of work. I also cleaned some of the sand dunes from my shelves, in preparation of unpacking tomorrow, and put up my mosquito net. I also tripped down some steps, and have a nice bit of "road rash" on my arm. I cleaned it up quite nicely, though, since I don't really need an infection starting on my first day back!
This evening, I had such a WONDERFUL time! My friend and I here share the same birthday - exact day, month, year! So, for the second time in a row, we had our birthday party together! I'm so glad I was able to make it back in time for this party. I really had no clue what was happening, or who would show up or what... so we decided to have it at our place, thinking that there was plenty of room for people. But goodness, it was PACKED. I honestly don't even know how many people showed up. There were probably close to 30 people all stuck together in our little house! Thankfully, quite a breeze had blown up, so it was pretty cool, without having to run any fans. And since it was potluck, we had some amazing food. It never ceases to amaze me when we have potlucks that no matter how many people and how few actually bring food, there are always a ton of leftovers! It's like the miracle of the loaves and fishes or something, every time we have a party.
Here's a photo of a small portion of our guests at the buffet table:
My fellow-birthday girl did an amazing job of cooking up a couple of huge pots of curry, and all I did was buy some chocolate at the duty free in Nairobi and cook up a little pot of rice! But it was such fun being together. After dinner, we had some cake, and played some games - Settlers, Dutch Blitz and Wii.
It was such a blessing to be able to celebrate my birthday for the second year in a row in the same place, and to be surrounded by such good friends. One of the surprises of the evening was the presence of a friend that I used to hang out with a lot when I first came to Africa! He's working in a different part of the country, so I haven't seen him in over 7 years! I think he was at my first African birthday celebration! It's really wonderful to be reunited with old friends again like that, especially on my birthday.
We had a ton of fun tonight, and I am still completely wired from being with my friends all evening - I'm not in the least bit sleepy yet. But I guess I probably SHOULD at least try to sleep... afterall, Zane is already snoring away on my feet. I have some great photos of the party tonight. I'll post them tomorrow after I dig my camera cord out of my luggage! Then, those of you know are in the know, can see if you can spot the old friend...
And thanks to all of you who sent me birthday greetings! I've got warm fuzzies all over (and not just from the cat!) because of the nice greetings I got today.
I had to get up early this morning to catch my flight back here from Nairobi. Everything went SO smoothly, though! I had a few heart-stopping moments in the taxi on the way to the airport, but my faithful taxi driver, Joseph, is quite in control, and I made it there all in one piece! I even had 1.8 kg to spare in my alloted weight allowance! Imagine, me, packing "light"! I was pretty amazed.
I had plenty of time to spare at the airport, so I treated myself to a birthday breakfast of a latte and bagel with cream cheese - yum yum! Whilst waiting to board the flight, I met one of my friends from here, which was very nice. Of course, I invited him to my birthday party which we had planned for tonight. I also found someone else that I knew on the flight and sat near him on the plane. Just before they closed the door, a very distinguished looking woman was escorted on board, complete with an couple of ladies in waiting. My buddy sitting near me told me that she is the wife of the previous president of this country! And she came and greeted someone right next to me - so I could have shaken her hand and said hello, had I known who she was! Anyways, her bum brushed me as she walked past me in the aisle... so I have come this close to greatness today.
As soon as we landed, I called Richard on the cell phone, which still amazes me every time it works here, and he jumped in the truck to fetch me. No problems at all. It was a bit freaky when I walked into the airport and the customs guy at the immigration desk called out to me by name. I'm not sure if it's a good thing that the immigration guys know me by name now... I'm hoping being friendly with them will end up working to my advantage some day, but you never know!
From the airport, I came home, just in time for lunch. Over lunch, my kindly neighbor offered me the use of one of his extra computers for a week or two. Wow, what a difference that makes! So I'm now laying on my bed (on my nice orange sheets!), blogging by the light of the solar lamp. My cat, who obviously missed me, is actually curled up on my feet. Yup, not AT my feet, but ON my feet. As if I need a footwarmer at the moment - it's nearing 1 am and still 28C in my room. But Zane noramally doesn't want to ever actually touch me, so I think he really must have missed me! He even followed me around the compound this afternoon as I did my rounds, checking out what's changed since I've been away. He was like a little puppy or something! Anyways, he looks like he's been well looked after while I've been away.
I spent a bit of time checking my email and getting the back-up of my old email onto this computer so I could actually do a bit of work. I also cleaned some of the sand dunes from my shelves, in preparation of unpacking tomorrow, and put up my mosquito net. I also tripped down some steps, and have a nice bit of "road rash" on my arm. I cleaned it up quite nicely, though, since I don't really need an infection starting on my first day back!
This evening, I had such a WONDERFUL time! My friend and I here share the same birthday - exact day, month, year! So, for the second time in a row, we had our birthday party together! I'm so glad I was able to make it back in time for this party. I really had no clue what was happening, or who would show up or what... so we decided to have it at our place, thinking that there was plenty of room for people. But goodness, it was PACKED. I honestly don't even know how many people showed up. There were probably close to 30 people all stuck together in our little house! Thankfully, quite a breeze had blown up, so it was pretty cool, without having to run any fans. And since it was potluck, we had some amazing food. It never ceases to amaze me when we have potlucks that no matter how many people and how few actually bring food, there are always a ton of leftovers! It's like the miracle of the loaves and fishes or something, every time we have a party.
Here's a photo of a small portion of our guests at the buffet table:
My fellow-birthday girl did an amazing job of cooking up a couple of huge pots of curry, and all I did was buy some chocolate at the duty free in Nairobi and cook up a little pot of rice! But it was such fun being together. After dinner, we had some cake, and played some games - Settlers, Dutch Blitz and Wii.
It was such a blessing to be able to celebrate my birthday for the second year in a row in the same place, and to be surrounded by such good friends. One of the surprises of the evening was the presence of a friend that I used to hang out with a lot when I first came to Africa! He's working in a different part of the country, so I haven't seen him in over 7 years! I think he was at my first African birthday celebration! It's really wonderful to be reunited with old friends again like that, especially on my birthday.We had a ton of fun tonight, and I am still completely wired from being with my friends all evening - I'm not in the least bit sleepy yet. But I guess I probably SHOULD at least try to sleep... afterall, Zane is already snoring away on my feet. I have some great photos of the party tonight. I'll post them tomorrow after I dig my camera cord out of my luggage! Then, those of you know are in the know, can see if you can spot the old friend...
And thanks to all of you who sent me birthday greetings! I've got warm fuzzies all over (and not just from the cat!) because of the nice greetings I got today.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Just Letting You Know I'm Still Alive
Goodness, this life of being computer-less and blog-less is getting a bit old! I can't wait for life to get back to normal! For those of you who haven't been checking my facebook, I've had a bit of a week. My computer hard drive completely cratered. And that's an ongoing project - thankfully, there is a computer department here to deal with it! But man, it's Wednesday afternoon, and I brought my computer in on Monday morning, and I still don't have a new hard drive for those guys to even START installing in my computer. Sigh. I'm scheduled to leave on Friday, first thing in the morning. I've already postponed going back "home" twice! And I have a birthday party planned for Friday night at home, so I'd better actually make it!
All of you are invited to my birthday party! Want to know the details of when and where, email me :) I just hope I make it into that country before the party starts without me!
Since I'm on a crazy slow dial up connection (the office connection won't allow me access to blogspot!), I'm keeping this short.
But PLEASE pray for my computer! Thanks!
All of you are invited to my birthday party! Want to know the details of when and where, email me :) I just hope I make it into that country before the party starts without me!
Since I'm on a crazy slow dial up connection (the office connection won't allow me access to blogspot!), I'm keeping this short.
But PLEASE pray for my computer! Thanks!
Monday, March 3, 2008
Friends!
My friend Alida inspired me to write about my friends. But I don't quite have the time to write about all the wonderful friends that I have - I'm on a dial up connection here in Nairobi now and I'm just waiting for all my email to download... so I thought I'd blog whilst waiting! I've had such a wonderful few days with friends. I love having friends here to visit, and on Saturday I got to see a whole crowd of them that I didn't expect to see. What a wonderful gift from God that was!
I think my emails are downloaded now, so I'd better get off of this slow, expensive dial up connection. Hopefully I'll get to go to the office tomorrow and spend some time blogging for real!
I think my emails are downloaded now, so I'd better get off of this slow, expensive dial up connection. Hopefully I'll get to go to the office tomorrow and spend some time blogging for real!
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Not Quite Dead Yet
I'm still here - just have been really internettingly challenged over the past week. It's now Saturday morning, and I came into the little hamlet of Karen to do some internetting, shopping and coffee drinking. The taxi will come to our little convent this afternoon after lunch and take me and Jackie over to our friend's house where we will stay for the next week.
Please pray for us as we apply for a visa so we can go to some meetings with the rest of our branch at the end of March. It's an "interesting" situation in that country - we live in part of the same country, but because there are separate governments, I have just a permit from a different government to be there than the people who live in the other part of the country. Anyways, pray that the proper invitation letters will get to the embassy here in Nairobi at the right time, and that our visas will be granted.
But these past weeks have been great. I've been refreshed, I've learned a ton, I've been encouraged to go on with our work... it's been good. I'll write more about it next week, as well as writing a LONG overdue newsletter, while we run back and forth to embassies trying to figure out what we need to do to get to our next conference :)
Maybe I'll post some more photos from this past few weeks, too, so you'll know what I've been up to! Now, a latte is calling...mmmmm.... gotta go.
Please pray for us as we apply for a visa so we can go to some meetings with the rest of our branch at the end of March. It's an "interesting" situation in that country - we live in part of the same country, but because there are separate governments, I have just a permit from a different government to be there than the people who live in the other part of the country. Anyways, pray that the proper invitation letters will get to the embassy here in Nairobi at the right time, and that our visas will be granted.
But these past weeks have been great. I've been refreshed, I've learned a ton, I've been encouraged to go on with our work... it's been good. I'll write more about it next week, as well as writing a LONG overdue newsletter, while we run back and forth to embassies trying to figure out what we need to do to get to our next conference :)
Maybe I'll post some more photos from this past few weeks, too, so you'll know what I've been up to! Now, a latte is calling...mmmmm.... gotta go.
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