Sunday, March 30, 2014

Dear Mom...

Happy birthday!
 
You’re one in…whatever the current population of the world is. :)
 
Thank you for taking your responsibilities as a mom seriously.  For the many hours of happy memories you gave us.  For the sacrifices you made for us – although I realize I have only a slight inkling as to how great those sacrifices were.
 
You taught me how to read and cook and clean and a thousand other things I needed to know.  You taught me to love learning, to love laughing, to love God’s Word.
 
In a world that is forever urging us to be going and doing, I treasure your example of being.
 
I’m thankful for how you give so freely – the way God does.
 
What I’m most thankful for, though, is getting share this grace journey with you.  May we never, never lose sight of how crazy amazing it is.
 
Love you, Mom!
 

Friday, March 28, 2014

Dear _____,

Crumb moving across the floor tout seul...When I first saw you, I was like, "What?!"  Then I realized you weren't moving on your own, you were being carried by a light-colored ant that was nearly invisible.

Burner...You refuse to light several times in a row, then all of the sudden, you light with an enthusiastic "whoosh".  I'd appreciate it if you learned to be a little more even-keel.

Boy tipping hat...I don't get THAT very often.  You made me laugh inside.

Guava jelly...You get my definite stamp of approval.

Charlie Chaplin...I've always preferred wit to slap-stick humor, but I have found some of your films absolutely hilarious.  They made our French sessions more animated.

Dripping faucet...You remind me of those verses in Proverbs (19:13 and 27:15).

Two ladies speaking English in my apartment building...I was almost falling asleep when I heard something unusually familiar.  "Wait.  I hear English.  In my building!"  I don't remember the last time that's happened.

New pillow...Good pillow = good night's sleep.  I should have bought you months ago.

"Fattening" porridge (i.e. something to help one put on weight)...I don't remember what all exactly you contain (bean flour? corn flour? other things?), but a friend let me try you.  You weren't horrible, but if I had to put on weight by making you a regular part of my diet, I think I'd...not.

Guys fighting on the bus…I have no idea what started that whole fracas, or what you were saying (since it wasn't in French), but I'll admit, I was a little nervous.  I was standing right (RIGHT!) next to you on a tightly-packed bus (i.e. I couldn't go anywhere), and I didn't know if I was going to get an elbow or a fist in my face.  Thankfully I arrived unscathed at my destination.

Little girl walking by...You touched your hat and then pointed to mine with a big grin.  Yes, we're matching!  Sort of.

Phase 3...Au revoir!

Phase 4...You're 500 session hours long – a third of the entire program.  Someone dubbed you "the beast".  I sit here quaking and hoping you won't notice me.

Monday, March 24, 2014

This...

 
This is something I love.  I wish it came more often than once a month.
 
 
This is a lousy picture of a very fun package from Mom
 
 
This is something one cannot escape from here: onions.  And horse carts.  And sand.
 
 
This is my friend Anna
 
 
This is getting ready to watch Anne of Green Gables
 
Or...This is how much we like popcorn
 
Or...This is what I look like when I suggest taking a goofy picture
 
:)
 
 
This is what happens when you don't have a muffin tin
  
 
This was Saturday morning
 
 
This is an important day (Friday): the third-way point of the French program

Thursday, March 20, 2014

A Day in the Life of...

(The same things don't happen every single day, but this was a day from this week - more or less typical.)

5:30 - The alarm goes off.  I fall back asleep thinking I really should set the alarm later, now that I don't have morning classes.

7:10 - I come out to the kitchen and start heating the water for a shower.  Eat leftover rice pudding while reading Ephesians.  Work on my memorization for the week (which I'm happy to report is going much better now that I'm taking smaller chunks to work on.)

8:15 - I get ready and listen to French recordings.

8:50 - I run to the gas station for jelly.  Come back and make a batch of jelly-filled oatmeal bars while listening to French.

10:15 - I leave to visit my host family (the first time I went by myself - and I didn't get lost!).

11:00 - I arrive and watch Angèle make lunch...which (as for most of the dishes here) is a rather lengthy process.  We visit for several hours.

2:30 - I take the bus to class, and wonder of wonders!  I actually get to sit down.

3:00 - French session (later than we normally start).

5:30 - French is over.  I walk home and stop by a boutique to get something on the way.

6:45 - Dinner and French review.  Work on emails for a bit.

8:00 - Open package from Mom with her on Skype.

9:00 - The credit runs out.  I have several things left on the day's to-do list, but not a lot of motivation or mental energy to do them.  So I journal for a while instead.

10:20 - I decide it's time for bed. (Notice I said "decide".  What actually ended happening may have been slightly different.  I decline to comment on this matter further.)  I leave the sizeable pile of dishes in the sink because, hey, you got to pick your priorities, and I've done so poorly with decent bed times for...well, a while...that I figure dishes could wait until tomorrow.

So there you have it.

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Destination: Unknown

Acts 8:26-40.

It was a story I’d heard a lot growing up.  Sunday School, sermons, devotionals, the works.

All the other apostles were in Jerusalem.  That was the hub of the early church, the happening place to be.  Then an angel shows up and tells Philip to, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza” – desert.

I used to spend so much time on the “arise and go” part (it seemed like such a good missionary motto) that I honestly didn’t pay much attention the rest of the command – until the message at church last week.

But when I really read it and thought about it, I realized…it’s almost unbelievably (and, if you’re me, irritatingly!) vague.

Get up and go, Philip.  Take that desert road towards the south.

That’s all.  No destination.  No task.  No explanation.

I mean, that would be like someone telling me, “Okay, I want you to go down I-5.”  I-5.  That’s great.  What am I supposed to be doing?  Where exactly am I supposed to go?  How will I know when I get to where I’m supposed to be?

Come on, Lord.  Can You be more specific?

But Philip doesn’t do that.

He takes the lonely desert road away from all the activity, all the exciting things God was doing in Jerusalem.  And then this chariot comes along.  It’s an Ethiopian official on his way back from worshipping in Jerusalem.  He just happens to be reading the Scripture as he rides.

Philip – there’s your man!  Go catch that chariot!  (Interesting that God didn’t give Philip the slightest indication of what purpose He had for that journey until the official actually appears.)

Philip catches up to the chariot, and he hears the man reading.  He just happens to be reading a prophecy about Jesus, but he doesn’t understand it.  When Philip asks him about it, the official invites him up into the chariot to explain the prophecy.

Philip explains.

The man believes.

He asks to be baptized.

When they come up from the water, the Lord whisks Philip away to another place, and the official continues on his way, praising God for what He’s done.

The curtain closes on the scene.

It’s an exciting story, isn’t it?  For the last week-and-a-half, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it, but I find that I’m not seeing the story the way I used to.  I’m beginning to realize the story is less about obedient Philip who just got up and went, and more about…God.  How He works.

Suppose God’s call is usually less about a destination and more about the road, the journey.  Suppose we don’t need to know where we’ll end up or why we are where we are.  Suppose He knows exactly what He’s doing even though we might see only a little piece of His plan.

Suppose…I’m at where I am today not because I’ve arrived at a destination, but because this is part of a journey He is taking me on.

With Him.

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Dear _____,

Switched-around dates… You still trip me up sometimes.  Like last week when I looked at the carton of chocomousse and saw the expiration date: 02/08/14.  I was like, "Oh no, it's March!  That stuff is expired!  Oh, wait.  02/08.  That means August 2nd."

Green skillet on display outside a store that sells household items…  You're exactly the same as the one I brought with me from the States.  I had to chuckle.

Guy whose heels I tripped over…  You responded to my apologetic pardon with "Oh, no problem."  In English.  Then you turned around again and looked at me…"Hey, do you remember me from last time?" Last time?  Sorry, dude.  I have no clue who you are.  No. clue.  (Side note: I'm surprised people aren't constantly tripping over each other – there are so many people everywhere.)

Ramen noodles…  You take three minutes, according to the package.  Unless, of course, the gas can runs out before the water starts to boil.  Then it's about 20 minutes: disconnecting the gas can, carrying it down to the boutique around the corner, carrying the full can back up, connecting it, getting the water going again.

Person reading an electricity bill while walking down the street…  Ooo, how much did you pay?

Cat eating something (who knows what) on the patio outside class…  Ugh.  That looked disgusting.  Please go somewhere else.

Fuzz on the floor…  I had my hands full, so I stomped on you, thinking you were a…mosquito.  (You didn't think I'd stomp on a cockroach, did you?  Never.  Not with bare feet, anyway.)  I looked again, only to see you for what you were.  At that very instant, a real mosquito breezed past me, triumphantly noting my inability to swat at it.  (You might not think mosquitoes could be triumphant, but trust me on this one.)

Onions…  Yes, yes.  Sniffle.  I'm okay.  Really.  I'm not having a breakdown, although the amount of tears streaming down my face could lead you to believe that.
 
Friend (you know who you are)...  HAP-PY BIRTHDAY!!!  Always remember, if you learn a lot, you'll age soon.  The flip side being, of course, the less you know, the more soundly you sleep. ;)

Monday, March 17, 2014

Popcorn puzzles (and other stuff)

 
What is that?!
 
Why, it’s eggplant, of course.  (Clearly I have too much time on my hands.   No, that’s not true.  I should think of another excuse for taking pictures of eggplant skin.)
 
Eggplant was one of the two (the only two!) vegetables I couldn’t stand growing up.  The other was zucchini.  I like them both now, though.
 
Speaking of too much time of my hands…
 
 
Ahem.
 
 
I’m so going to make this picture into a puzzle.  I mean, popcorn and puzzles just go together – right, Mom?  This would make a nice 1000-piece jigsaw for a perfectly relaxing evening.
 
What’s that you say about headaches and eyestrain?
 
 
I went over my host family’s house for the second time last week.  I’ll admit I’ve been a bit apprehensive about this whole host family thing, ‘cause it’s still so much work to communicate in French.  But after the last visit, I feel more relieved.
 
The wife is so nice.  So warm.  So open.
 
She told us (I went with another lady) about how she met her husband, how she became a believer, about her family, and so on.
 
All the while, her little toddler was pulling every single one of his dad’s computer books off the shelves and stacking them one at a time on my lap.  Each time he added another book, he grinned and gave me a thumbs-up.  Quite comical.
 
 
No, quiche has nothing to do with my host family.  It’s just something I made last week.  I think I should add it to my list of regular meal ideas.  It’s easy, adaptable to whatever veggies I have on hand, can be eaten hot or cold, and has a good amount of protein (are you listening, Esther?).
 
And a hefty amount of cheese, which of course makes everything better.
 
Almost everything.
 
Cherry pie or chocolate cake, not so much.
 
 
Almost every time I see the moon during the day, I think of something my sister said when she was little.  “Did God forget to take the moon down?” :)
 
 
We’re going to finish the Gospels this week in class, and I can’t wait to start Acts.  I love, love, love that book!  It’s almost impossible to be bored reading it.  There’s so much action.  And so much reality.  (Think the early Church was perfect?!  Nope.  They have problems just like we do today.)  I have a post in the works about one particular story that’s been on my mind a lot since last weekend.
 
Anyway.  That’s for later.
 
 
As a new week starts, this is what I’m reminding myself of –
 
Make each day count.
 
Not by trying to do great things or by chasing big goals, but by receiving grace in all the thousand abundant ways He gives it.
 
Soak it in.  Celebrate it.
 
Snuggle up in His love because that is where I’m truly safe.

Friday, March 14, 2014

Everyday life: Hobbies

Before I came, one of the girls who was already here strongly encouraged me to bring a hobby (or some games) with me.
 
It was good advice.
 
 
Life anywhere can be stressful at times, and having a way to de-stress is definitely a good thing.  I'd say that living in a new culture makes that a non-optional.
 
You could argue that it's a non-optional anywhere.
 
And I'd probably agree with you. :)
 
Anyway. 
 
 
I love Lark Rise to Candleford.
 
With popcorn.  Buttered, with ranch seasoning.  It makes me think of Esther.
 
I could almost consider eating popcorn one of my hobbies!  Not quite.
 
 
For those of you who've perhaps been puzzled by my use of the expression "_____ is my one weakness" (when I must obviously have more than one), it's a line one of the characters often uses.
 
And for those of you who are Lark Rise fans, here's a trivia question for you: What was Miss Lane's first "one weakness"?
 
 
 
It's amazing how many fun crafty things can be fit into a shoe box.
 
 
 
 
Note cards aren't as available here as they are in the States, but I brought paper with me so I can make my own as the need arises.
 
The paper also serves other crafty purposes - the bunting in my living room is an example.
 
 
I'm not sure what I like making better: cards or envelopes (from magazine pages).  They're both fun.  Envelope making takes less creativity, though.  And is therefore less draining on my brain's battery.  Not that card making is unrelaxing, it just takes more thought. :)
 
 
 
Boxes within a box within a box.
 
I love my shoe box.  It's like a little treasure chest bursting with possibilities.

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Happy birthday!

To a niece...
 
 
 
 
 
Goofy grins
 
 
 She melts my heart...
 
 
 
"Auntie Rachel, take a picture of us!"
 
 
Love you, Merry-girl!
 
- - - 
And to a sister...
 
 
She's an incredibly good listener and sounding board.  We can talk for hours and not run out of things to say.
 
 
She's crazy fun, too.  Emphasis on the crazy.  And the fun.  And also the crazy. :)
 
 
We met in Missouri, and from the first afternoon we spent scrubbing showers together, I felt like I'd known her forever.
 
And when I found out she'd read my favorite book (the one and only person outside my family and the people I'd lent it to), Evangelists in Chains, I knew: She's a keeper.
 
 
Happy birthday, dear friend.  Love you bunches! 
 

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Everyday life: A culinary perspective

 
 
 
I try to keep an open mind when it comes to fruits, veggies, and grains.  (I’m a little less adventurous in the meat department.)  There’s a whole slew of jellies in the supermarkets, a good number of which I’m not familiar with.  So I decided to try papaya jelly last time.  It has hands down the oddest texture of any jelly I’ve ever had.  The flavor isn’t bad - if you like papaya.
 
 
It’s fun to tweak my baked oatmeal recipe.  I tried a pumpkin/spice version one week, and last weekend I used bananas and coconut milk.  Maybe an apple cinnamon version will be next…
 
 
It’s easy to get into an unimaginative rut when cooking for just oneself.  Sometimes, inspiration comes in a burst and I like to make the most of that. :)  Lentil curry was the result of the most recent burst of inspiration.  I was beyond thrilled to find fresh cilantro.  AND fresh ginger.  The result was quite tasty, I must say.  I mean - garlic, onions, cilantro, and ginger?  Enough said.
 
 
 
Piment.  For those who like it hot.

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Little victories (and a bit of rambling)

“Celebrate the small victories,” one of the other missionaries told me, “because it will be a while before you see the big ones."
 
Like finding a bus (one I’d never taken before) that was going where I wanted to go, without someone I know specifically telling me, “I’ve taken bus x from point a to point b.”
 
Feeling familiar enough with the neighborhood to try a new way home – knowing that even if it didn’t take me where I thought it would, I wouldn’t be lost.
 
Noticing a subtle change in how the girls and ladies at church greet me.
 
Small things, yes.
 
I shouldn’t forget, but I probably would if I didn’t write them down.
 
 
It’s March and I’m still shamelessly listening to Christmas music.  I’ve lost all sense of the seasons. :)  Yup, Joy to the World, pumpkin goodies and iced tea all at once.  That can do weird things to your mind.  Or maybe French is doing weird things to my mind.
 
Anyway, about the Christmas music…it’s not just for December.
 
I don’t mean Frosty and silver bells and sleigh rides.  I mean peace.  Joy.   Emmanuel.  How God came down, lived among us, is still with us.
 
It’s a truth I need every. single. day.
 
 
We’ve picked up our pace with the Bible stories – in the last two weeks we’ve gone through Esther, Job, Daniel, Jonah, and now we’re in the New Testament.
 
Matthew 14.  If you’ve been around here much at all, you know I love that chapter (especially the last part).  Have you ever wondered about the twelve baskets of leftovers?  I mean, it was miraculous enough that 5000+ people were fed with five loaves and two fish.  But what was the point in so much surplus?  Honestly, I don’t have a real answer to that.  But I do think that, perhaps, God wanted to remind them – and us – that He is not a stingy God.  He’s an abundant God.  Dazzlingly abundant.
 
The disciples had their stomachs filled along with everyone else; they’d seen with their own eyes how nothing could faze Jesus.  How He could be relied on.  Trusted.
 
And yet the next part of the chapter is an almost pitiful account of fear and lack of faith on the part of the disciples.
 
After we listen to the chapters in class, Marie-Claude retells the story in her own words.  She got to the part where Peter is out on the water.  “The wind was strong,” and I thought she’d follow that with, “so Peter started sinking.”  But the instead she continued, “So Peter was afraid.  Then he started sinking.”  That made me stop to think.  After all, it wasn’t really the wind that caused him to sink, was it?
 
I sense an application there…
 
But it’s so much easier to blame things on circumstances, isn’t it.
 
We sink because the waves are too high.  Because circumstances are too rough.  Because situations are overwhelming.
 
And yet it really all comes back to trust.
 
 
He is the Mighty One.  He is the Hero.  Nothing will undo Him.
 
To wrap up, here are a few good links:
A Sunday morning for my friends Lindsey and Dawn