splish-splashed and speechless.

Around one-thirty this morning, DJ woke up with chills, fever, and nausea. It felt like malaria. So he took some malaria pills and went back to bed. At around seven this morning, he got up, feeling ok. At around eleven this morning, he boarded a plane that after some stops and flight changes, would make him bound for our fair country of the U.S. for a week and some days. Three words: God is GOOD! It was awesome to watch the Morrisons trust the Lord in this and continue in his peace even when things were uncertain. See how I want them to rub off on me? J They already are. I am so grateful to be around that all the time, and it’s a daily encouragement to me.

Today we watched movies. Lots of movies. And ate bread and ice-cream. Tonight we even had melted cheese sandwiches with tomato soup. It hit the spot. It’s my favorite! (ooh, and we had some avocado too. Yummy, another favorite!)

Prior to today, we’d been running. After our beach vacation of course. You know how it goes: after you get back from vacation, you need to recover FROM that vacation! We had guests for coffee break on Friday, then lunch at some friends and dinner at some other friends. To share my true feelings, I really just wanted to go nowhere and hole up at my new home and watch movies. I guess we made up for it today J On Saturday, there was packing up the house and then company. The Morrison’s old neighbors when they lived in the city came. Two African couples with their kiddos. The husbands spoke English, the wives didn’t.

I was hesitant about the whole thing due to that small thing called a language barrier. It makes it a little tough to carry on a conversation if you haven’t noticed. And just a little side note: it’s quite stifling for me nowadays here since I used to be the kind of person who smiled and said hi to everybody and their mother. Now most of the time, I am left speechless. But alas, I have learned a tiny bit of Portuguese. It makes me more thrilled to get to Tanzania and dig into some Swahili so I can actually talk to people!

Anyhow, back to yesterday… So, these two families came, one with a sweet little baby. I felt a bit awkward at first. But you know what I discovered? You can communicate a lot with a smile. That’s what I love about smiles: they carryover to all people, regardless of the language. And hand motions do a lot of good too. The ladies were sweet and kind. And when I was holding little Miriam after Tricia fed her a bottle, she had leaked out of her diaper and gotten me a little wet. One of the ladies said (and Tricia the translator translated for me), “Miriam, how could you do that to your auntie?” I felt almost as if, despite the language barrier, I was a part of their family, like they were welcoming me in. Thank you Jesus!

In case you were curious about my beach bumdom, it was quite a new and curious experience. While visiting the island of Ilha (which, hehe, means island), we ate some of the best food I’ve ever had, and had some cookies stolen from the coolers in the back of the Zook’s (the other family we bungalowed with) truck. Oh life…

When we actually got to Shocas to spend our three nights there, Tricia, the kids, and I went for a dip in the ocean. The INDIAN Ocean. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced an ocean so turquoise. And warm! Man, the temperature beats the Pacific any day of the week. And the sand: it’s almost white! The next morning while strolling with Tricia and Chris (our other bungalow buddy), I discovered shells I’d never seen before in colors like pink, and white white. Ahh-maa-zing!

The next day, we snorkeled. This was quite the new and exciting and troubling experience for me. Troubling because you have to breathe through your mouth into a tube and taste and occasionally swallow the saltiest water of your life. New because, well, I’d never done it before. Exciting because, number one: I like new things, and number two: I got to see fish I used to only know from Nemo and tropical fish tanks.

There are so many beauties in God’s creation that one doesn’t give much thought to or even thinks about experiencing. One lives their life without experiencing most of them. What an amazing blessing to get to see and do some of those things. Thank you Morrison’s for these opportunities. Sometimes I wonder if I’m in a dream…

In other news, I am currently a recovering lobsterette. Let me tell you, that equator sun is something else! That mixed with Doxycycline, sunscreen that I don’t think is waterproof, and the ocean, and I was toast. Literally! Even my legs got burned, something I’ve practically dreamed of a lot of my 21 years.

As I watch Garrett and Avery and see their struggles, especially with their attitude, it’s not easy to see. Sometimes their noses end up on the wall (a very smart punishment from their parents). But it struck me (again. I think it has in the past sometime too) just yesterday when Garrett was having a bout of bad attitude with his mama: I’m that way with God. He tells me something, and I hardly ever just say, “Ok Lord, let’s do it, you know what’s best.” Nopers, I kick and scream until I’m so dang miserable that I’d rather do whatever he’s asking then be in this terrible state anymore. Where’s my trust in the One who holds the whole world in his hands?

Two days and a morning and then we’re off on a new adventure: Dar es Salaam for a bit and then – ta-da! – Rivervalley Campsite, our new four-month home. I am so excited for more new sights and sounds and smells and a whole lot of learning. Oh, and pictures, which I hope to post (more) soon. J I wish all my fellow blog readers a very wonderful and happy week. And hey, maybe go out and do a new thing sometime this week! PS- I get to Skype with mama and daddy Lord-willing in the morning. Hip-hip hooray!