this is your life, is it who you want to be?

today is my second full day back from africa. yesterday was rough. jet lag is killer. today will be better i think. matt and i both woke up at 5am on the dot. so right now i'm sitting on the couch, drinking the best coffee i've had in two weeks, and processing. i have to go back to work today. something about that gets under my skin a little.

we live in such a rat race. we work for ourselves. last week, i worked harder than i ever have. i helped mix an insane amount of cement, by hand, in an old bathtub, with a huge hole in the bottom. we made a basketball court/hopscotch/four square court. all 12 of us worked together, each bringing our specific gifts and abilities. we finished it, by hand, and it looks amazing. i STILL have bruises on my thighs from digging up the sod. they aren't even fading yet:)

the work was hard, the days were long, the food was simple. but we did it, and it wasn't for us or about us. maybe that's the nature of a trip like that. a week of two of self sacrifice, and then you go back to your life hoping that something will change, knowing it won't. the thought of coming back and working to make money to pay for everything i have makes me a little nauseous. we even cut back on a lot. this summer, we cancelled our cable, got ride of texting, and are in the process of experimenting going down to one car. because we have more than we need. more than enough.

we spent 2 weeks living with people who had just enough, some days not even that. they were full of more joy than nearly anyone i know here in the states. they are grateful and thankful for what they have, and in that would still sacrifice whatever they have to help their neighbor.

our friend bekah lives on that farm in SA. she gets paid so little, only $250 a month, and lives frugally off of that. still, she ends up giving money to her friends on the farm when they have no food, or need medical expenses paid. she sacrifices the little that she currently has to help everyone else out. such an unamerican thing to do. now i wonder, what am i supposed to do?

Our new friends: Zulu, Rumbi, and baby Marvin

Francis and his son Matthew

Publish Post

at the end of the day, everything works out

i didn't have much internet access in SA. if i did, it was only a few minutes here or there to check my email.  never enough time to blog. therefore, i'll try to commit to writing a little everyday about the trip as i process it.

the sunsets in africa are spectacular, amazing, beautiful. lekker. there isn't a sunset in the world that even remotely compares. every night, while we ate dinner in the restaurant (which was out in the open), we experienced this beauty. it was relaxing, refreshing. after a long, hard day of manual labor, the sunsets revived us for the evening meetings we held for the black workers on the farm. the excellent south african food helped, of course. (sidenote: i know you want to know! we tried warthog, kudu, giraffe, and guinea fowl. loved warthog and guinea fowl, kudu is ok, giraffe is pretty gross)

every morning, we were picked up in a game viewer and taken to the bottom of the mountain to work. every morning but one, we were greeted by the giraffes. God blessed us, because many people stay on the farm for several weeks and never see one of these beautiful creatures. one morning, they were blocking the road and we had to stop and wait on them. another morning, we woke up to four of them right outside of our rooms on the top of the mountain! it's impossible to wake up in a bad mood, even with the lack of good coffee:) they are the most graceful animals, and hands down my favorite animal i saw the entire trip.

the highlight of the trip were the kids. they were just incredible. the farm has a school on it for the children of the black workers, as well as for the children of the couple who runs the farm. there are seven kids right now, all boys, from 2 years to 6 years. at 6 they leave the farm and go to school in town, or back to zimbabwe for school (most of the black workers are from zim). in particular, these two captured my heart. if it was even remotely ethical, i would have packed them in my suitcase and brought them home! on the right is deserve, who is trying pop rocks for the first time with matt. he's only 2, and has such a charismatic personality! on the right is matthew, whom we sponsored for the trip. each person on the team took one of the kids and brought presents, clothes, and shoes for them. matthew is also two, and became matt's favorite kid in the world. he's just like us...quiet, shy, and has the cutest little boy giggle ever. they loved to be loved on, snuggled, kissed, tickled, played with... even people who don't particularly care much for kids (like matt) fell in love with them. matthew and deserve are cousins and live in the same house (called a lapa). we delivered some things to their parents, and as we were leaving the compound, the two of them shouted "ha-le-lu-jia!" over and over and over again to us:) it was precious:) i miss them already!

Our team, plus  5 of the boys:) minus les

another day, another adventure

so i haven't blogged in  a long time. like, all summer. i wasn't sure where to go with the blog, to be perfectly honest. i've always been a writer, but more for myself or for a class of some sort. i wanted everyone to stay updated while i was in haiti, and a great friend suggested that i start this, so there i was. it went pretty well, but when i was home i wasn't sure what to do with it. so i stopped!

this summer, for anyone who wants to know, was a big summer for me. i'm terrible at finishing things that i've started (a genetic trait i'm told!), but this summer i've done or am currently working on three very big, HUGE, life-changing activities and milestones in my life.

first i went to haiti, which you all know. it was last minute and spontaneous; wonderful and terrifying. perhaps because it was such a last minute opportunity, i didn't have the chance to be nervous. i processed everything a little while after the trip, and to some extent still am. one thing i do know: God has given me a compassionate heart for the poor. i knew it before, but i felt it there.

THEN, on july 27, i GRADUATED!!!!!!! WOOHOO!!!!! 10 years is way too long for anyone to get a bachelor's degree, but i did it and i finished it and i graduated magna cum-laude, which is the second highest:) why it took so long is a very long story, and i won't go into it, but know that it was a HUGE accomplishment!!!

third: i'm training for a half marathon. on october 3, 2010, my sister--in-law ashley and i will be running/jogging/surviving 13.1 miles along the atlantic ocean in ocean city, nj. why you ask? my only answer to you is i have absolutely no idea, but i must be at least a little crazy. until a few weeks ago, three miles was the longest i've ever run (run/walk really). this past sunday: 8! more than halfway there! i do have to take a little time off for accomplishment #4......

TOMORROW I LEAVE FOR SOUTH AFRICA!! twice out of the country this year, twice for things that aren't quite "vacation". they are very different experiences, however. i'm spending 11 days in mokopane, SA (in the northern province) ministering to kiddos and adults who work on a farm/game reserve. there are 11 of us going, most of whom go to the same little home church and know each other probably a little too well:) it's going to be great! we will get to sightsee a little, go to kruger national park on a safari, hike a little in beautiful places, play with adorable little african boys, teach to the adults, and do lots of good old labor during the day. of course, this is a mission trip, so all of that could change in an instant! but we're open to anything.

the best part is: my husband is coming! my sister is coming! my good friend is coming! we'll be working and serving together, experiencing it all together. that's probably the biggest, most refreshing blessing of all. i pray that i learn a lot on this trip, and that God uses it to prepare me for what's next. after all...4 big things in one year can only lead to two things. an unbearably boring 2011, or one filled with so much excitement it's unfathomable!

i'll try to blog while i'm there....i hear internet is sketchy!  see you in 2 weeks!