“And my God will
supply every nee of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:19
Five days. Until
I pack my suitcases. Until – possibly tearfully – I give goodbye hugs to my
sweet Morrisons. Until I set foot on a plane bound for Amsterdam and attempt to
stay awake for ten hours so that I hopefully adjust to the ten hour time
difference between Africa and home easier. Six days. Until I set foot on
another plane after almost being in Europe and attempt to sleep to help myself
adjust to the time difference. Until I, Lord willing, make it through customs
with all my goodies from Africa. Until I fall into the arms of the people
dearest to me who I haven’t seen in six months.
It’s a good
thing my time here is almost complete. My hard drive is filled UP. Seriously, I
have about ten gigabytes of free space left. That’s what I get for taking so
many stinking pictures! But, I regret it not one bit. This may be my one and
only time in Africa. Since they say a picture is worth a thousand words, then I
guess I have thousands upon THOUSANDS of words about Africa. Yes!!! My trip
shall live on in my memory, not to mention my photo albums. J
Tricia boarded a
plane bound for Turkey and then Holland last week. She had a lovely and busy
time with her friends and saw them successfully married. And since she was
gone, it was up to me to be the cook. So, I donned my apron and went to work. And
you know what? Nobody died or got really ill (that I know of!). I discovered
that for all laziness in cooking the past 21 years, I can do alright. Avy was
my little helper too J
Last Tuesday, the
day dawned bright and stayed that way. About ten in the morning, I climbed onto
a boat bound for an island with the Ellises and their friends. The boat was
small, covered, and wooden with a motor. As I disembarked from the boat, the
tide came rushing in, stealing away my sandal. I feared it gone forever. But a
moment later it appeared just a bit away from the boat. I scurried after it and
caught it just in time. That was a close one!
The island was
secluded and covered with these cute wispy baby pine trees that shed needles
and little pinecones. We made ourselves at home in a little covered banda,
played on the beach, and soaked up the sun. I got to work on my tan. Read my
book. Enjoy taking pictures of the gorgeous day. The other family we were with
had three kids, two boys and a girl. The little girl, Julia, was four and a
sweet social butterfly. We became fast friends even before we left for the
island. She asked me to play in the water with her, and we even dug sand holes.
For lunch we indulged in fish caught fresh that day and chips. What deliciousness.
I ate the whole fish!
Due to the small
size of the island, I’m not sure if there were public toilets or not. Our toilet
was someone holding a grass mat and then you squatting in the sand underneath the
pines. Good thing sand is absorbent!
I have a confession:
I am a sucker. For shells. And this island was like the supermall of all places
to find them. I limited myself to just a few. But I didn’t ‘limit’ myself as
much in January in Mozambique. So, I’m bringing home lots of shells from the
Indian Ocean! They’re so beautiful and unique. The ones I found Tuesday are no
exception. Browns and a yellow one and some coral too. There was a girl
visiting the island who had found a baby hermit crab about the size of my pinky
fingernail. It was the cutest thing. I got to hold it!
When we came
back from the island, the tide was out. The boat stopped and we were surprised
to find out we were to walk. At least a couple hundred feet through knee-deep
water to shore. Caleb, the one family’s nine year old boy, and I held hands and
kept each other up. And it was a good thing I had shorts on under my dress or it
would have been a sight to see for everyone who cared to look because up my
dress came as I trudged through the sea!
Wednesday was my
Gramma and Grampa Foster ‘s(Bibi and Babu in Kiswahili J) 6oth wedding anniversary. Crazy to think that
they’ve been married almost three times as long as I’ve been alive! That was
also the day Garrett and I celebrated our birthdays. Our days aren’t until the
1st and 3rd of September, but since we’ll be 9,000 miles
apart on those days, we had our party early. We drank Red Bulls and played
Ticket to Ride: Europe. And you know what? Garrett beat me. By 14 points. And he’s
turning 14! I had a blast playing with him, even if he did beat me!
We enjoyed a few relaxing days over the
weekend with our friends from language school, Mark and Laura. We had girls’
nights with popcorn and movies, the boys played rousing games of Risk, and Laura
was great help in the kitchen. Us girls even made it to the Slipway, a huge
tourist trap chock full of booths with all sorts of African goods. I spent
money and got bargains.
At Slipway, I bought
things from an Indian man in a silver store. He was kind and I got things for a
bit less than the original price. But, in the process of talking to him, I
asked if he had ever been to the U.S. He said he hadn’t because he’s in his
store seven days a week. “I have a thirst for money,” he told me. And it made
me so sad that that’s what seems to drive him, that’s what he lives for. If you
think of him, pray that he discovers that there’s something More to life!
Monday, the kids
and I were cooped up in the house most of the day. When DJ got home, he
suggested a walk. Despite pleas from an 11 year old and a 13 year old, we went.
We walked to the beach and went for a stroll. It wasn’t long enough (is it ever
when you’re on the beach?). As I walk beside the water, I find peace and calm
unlike any other. I don’t need to talk, and I can just think and talk to my
Jesus. When we were off the beach, we headed down the road and straight to the ice
cream man. DJ treated us all to ice cream. My ice cream bar was almost as good
as Haugen Dauz. J
DJ picked Tricia
up from the airport in the middle of the night, and Tuesday morning was like
Christmas, the goodie version. She’d brought the treasured Dutch treat that I can’t
spell: two waffles smooshed together with caramel in the middle, Turkish
delight, and chocolate. She sweetly brought me the cutest scarf from Turkey. After
she showed it to me, she looked at the tag: made in China. Ha! Poor thing, she
was so bummed. But no worries, I still love it!
I think since I’ve
been in Africa, I’ve seen Tricia every day. And when she left for Holland, I didn’t
think it was that strange. But, when I saw her Tuesday morning, it was the
weirdest thing. After not seeing her for
a week, to see her pretty face again took a second to adjust to. But it was a
good adjustment! Mamas’ hold down the fort and bring a security that no one
else really can. So, our house is back to its normal self now, whatever that is
J
Someone from
Brazil gave Tricia perfume. When Avery let me smell it, I commented how nice it
was. “I have a lotion for you,” Tricia told me. The lady gave her a lotion with
the perfume, and she saved it, for me. Who
does that? Tricia is one of the most amazing and thoughtful people I know. She’s
very inspiring. It’s almost as if just being around her makes you a better
person!
God has been
teaching me about giving these past months, especially as I go to leave. I
another confession: I love clothes. I think there have been times I’ve thought
about them too much. So as I go to leave and think about what clothes I’m
leaving here, there are ones that I want to take, but some of them I sense I should
leave here. After all, I do have lots of clothes at home and can pretty easily
buy more whenever. I gave some to Laura one night, and her joy and excitement
was totally worth all my bummed out-ness about not being able to wear the
clothes anymore!
Thank you Jesus for…
o
A few more days to cherish, possibly for the
first and last time, in Africa
o
Sacrificial giving
o
That all I have is really God’s and His to use
for His purposes
o
That the power has been on during the nights and days for over a week now!
o
The joy of cooking
o
Chances to serve
o
The house to myself, once
o
Early birthday celebrations
o
Funny texts from my Mama
o
New scarves – one can’t have too many!
Happy Independence
Day to all of you in the U.S.! We’re celebrating too, minus the fireworks J See you on the other side, friends. I’m coming
home to you!
