“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my
power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast the more gladly of
my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” 2 Corinthians
12:9
Blank. That’s how my brain is about how to start this blog. I
could tell you about what happened Saturday. I could mention that I’ve had a
grouchy week. Again. Or I could simply say hello, how are you? Except that my
audience is more than one, so that seems a little awkward… I will tell you that I absolutely love
this font that I’ve chosen for “africa.blog seventeen”. Thank you Microsoft
Word, for giving me lots of fonts to choose from! Oh hey, now I’ve start my
blog, looky there!
This week I watch a tiny frog hop across my floor and actually considered kissing him. Maybe that's how I'll get my prince charming! I've obviously seen Princess And the Frog recently!
Monday I had great plans to bust out a bunch of internet stuff
in town. I was going to update my blog. Upload pictures on Facebook. Reply to
various Facebook messages. Even with Africa-speed internet, I still had hope.
Way to think positive, Naph! Positive thoughts are nice. I find them quite
refreshing... They didn’t work on Monday though.
It started off bad. I didn’t sign up for a town ride in time (me
and DJ both), so after lunch found us walking the 1.5K trek to the road to
catch a dala dala. After waiting for a bit, DJ, I, and now Roland, boarded a
big dala dala for town. We stood most of the ride, except for when we had to
duck down through the police check (TIA!) and once enough people disembarked so
that we could have seats. After a post-office trip to mail Dad’s birthday card
(happy 52 on the 25th, Dad! Hey, they’re reciprocal numbers!), I
arrived at Warthog. Amanda was there, camp’s owner. She saw me, came up
to me, and said, "Naphtali, you’re crap!" I was curious why in the world she
would call me such a thing, and then discovered it was because I hadn’t signed
up for town as soon as I should have. She’s one of those people who can call
you crap, literally, and its ok. I think that British accent helps things out a
bit J
I was enjoying my iced coffee and things were going well online.
And then, it went a bit south. Photos were uploading to my blog, very slowly. I
didn’t get to do all the Facebook I wanted. And then I found out some news from
a friend that sent me into a tailspin.
This has been one of those extra-prayerful weeks. Thursday, Mama
texted me some family news that came as a shock as well. I can’t give details
right now, but if you could just pray for my friends and family, God will take
care of the details. He’s pretty darn good at that!
I tried again Tuesday. Andrew and Amethyst were going in, so why
not get more internet done. Right. The power
was out at the internet café. Oh, lovely! It was to come on, but never did.
Instead, Dylan (another Kiswahili student) and I wandered the market. I spent
about $1.50 and got a bunch of tiny bananas, two avocados, and some baobab
fruit.
I think I’ve failed in the past to mention a slight miracle
that’s occurred here in Africa: I’ve come to actually enjoy bananas in their original form. Prior to here, eating just
plain bananas practically made me gag!
After buying the baobab fruit, I think I’ve feasted on it every day
since! It’s an odd fruit. It comes from the giant fruits they produce. They
break it open and harvest the stuff inside. It reminds me a bit of dried apple,
at least the texture, with a tad more melt-in-your-mouthness. You suck on it
and spit out its heart-shaped seeds. I find it a delightful snack. A few fruits
can last you through an entire House episode. And the best parts about it is
that you don’t feel the need for chocolate after and it’s meant to have lots of Vitamin C and calcium. Bring on the
good health, baby, one baobab fruit at a time!
Due to the distance of our nearest Wal-Mart, Dylan and I
wandered around town looking for a pocket knife for him. The first of our
search found us knives. Kitchen knives. Someone told Dylan that across from one
of the banks in town there was a place that sold knives. It was a fair
distance, and upon arrival we discovered that unless we were at the wrong
place, there were no knives. Our trek took us past dress shops, but since I was
with a boy, I didn’t feel free to browse. Dang it!
Saturday morning we ventured to town to watch the Ruaha
(National Park) Marathon. They had 5k, 6k, and 21k (half-marathon) runs. I
found great pleasure in cheering on the runners at the finish line. Roland and
Dylan ran the half-marathon along with Newton, one of our server friends here
at camp. There were even some Kenyan professional runners who came to race. They
were the first to cross the finish line for the half-marathon. There were
people aplenty, lots of Tanzanians watching at the finish line. The day was
bright with the African sun beating down quite intensely on the watching crowd and the runners. I had my camera with
me, and at one point one little boy asked me to take a picture, and then all of
a sudden, there was a mob of little
boys wanting their picture taken!
This week I found myself to be quite the (sorry guys) pms-ing
monster. Kiswahili class was the worst. I felt like the kids kept saying things
that didn’t feel nice, and I had trouble just ignoring it. I had to do some praying about my attitude and actions
and found much need of God’s strength, especially after Kiswahili. God’s grace
was sufficient and homeschooling was usually loads better. And… Garrett
finished his math this week and Avery her english! We have two weeks left to
finish up homeschooling (except our Narnia reading) and Kiswahili studies. I am
feeling a bit sad and bummed to leave Iringa. Our next step is Dar and finding
a place for the Morrison’s to live. Keep them in your prayers as they house
hunt!
Thank you God:
µ For a chance
this upcoming week to chat with Andrew about photography
µ Tricia’s refreshing
perspectives on life and various concerns
µ That God
provides us with mamas away from Mama J
µ That Mama is
still mama, even 9,000 miles away
µ That in a
month and a half I’ll get to go on coffee dates again
µ That the
grouchy bugs aren’t forever
µ A new novel
to read
µ Church at
the Morrison’s
µ Prayers of
children
µ Everyday
sunshine
µ Getting
shopping done
µ Thinking
about future dreams
µ This font
that I’m tying in J
