great expectations.

“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