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weekly download

I’ve been a bit disconnected this week. I spent Monday through Friday up north in South Africa at a game reserve. The first few days were spent with the interns on a bit of a getaway/retreat. The second half of the week was debriefing with our Outreach Staff (summer interns).

Lows of the week:
Being out of the office
Having friends visit our house (and not getting to see them)
Not having reliable internet
Feeling extremely tired

Highs of the week:
80-degree weather
Late night talks with a friend
Seeing a three-week old baby elephant
Lots of hippo action
Swimming in a very warm pool
Paddle (pedal?!) boating for the first time ever
Hearing/seeing how God has changed lives

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backlog

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I believe in backlog.

I'm pretty much always tired. I wake up almost every morning still feeling sleepy. Even after a good night's sleep, I'm tired. Even after the very rare occasion of sleeping till noon, like I did this morning (wow!), I still wake up tired. Backlog, I tell you.

Getting a sufficient amount of sleep one night (or even several) does not seem to make up for the backlog of tiredness. That's my theory, anyway. Otherwise, why would I still be tired today?

Backlog. Gets me every time...

weekly download

Random thoughts from my week...

  • My hombre celebrated his birthday this week. And by "celebrated" I mean drove Thrive Trip to safari five hours away, ate yet another meal at Carnivore, and had a migraine all day. Sorry your day wasn't too exciting, Niel. Happy Birthday anyway!
  • Thrive Trip finished up and headed home. We got to spend some time with them on safari their last two days. It really was amazing to see how much God worked in their lives during the trip. All of them went home changed!
  • I've gone to bed after 2:00 AM most nights this week. I wish I could work the night shift; I totally function better at night.
  • We celebrated Christmas last night. The interns decided to celebrate "Christmas in July" and invited us to join them. They decorated their living room beautifully and exchanged Secret Santa gifts. It truly felt festive, and the cold weather made it feel pretty Christmas-y. (More so than it does in the scorching heat of December!)
  • We have been having gale-force winds the past few days (over 50 mph!). Friday night the wind was so strong that it blew the roof off of one of the cabins. A cabin we had mission team members in! Yikes!

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one perk

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Our bout of warm weather was short-lived. The past few days have been freezing again. After 9 African winters, I'm still not used to the constant cold (constant because of the lack of central heating). I don't think I'll ever get used to it.

Instead of complaining, tonight I tried to think of the perks of our cold winter weather. But I could only come up with one. It's a good one, though.

I can read at night without being attacked by bugs.

In the summer, it gets a bit buggy here. And since windows don't have screens, the moment the sun goes down the lights attract all sorts of insects, beetles, and moths. I really enjoy reading in bed before I go to sleep, but this is no easy task in the summer. When my bedside lamp is suddenly the only light source in the entire house, it gets a little dangerous to be right next to it. All sorts of flying creatures dive-bomb onto my book, into my face, and through my hair. This inevitably causes me to flinch (and sometimes yelp), and then I hear a loud huff from my "sleeping" husband's side of the bed.

But in winter... No bugs at night! I can read in peace.

weekly download

My thoughts are real scattered and I'm struggling to even remember what I did this week! Let's see what I can recall...

  • We have Thrive Trip with us! For years we have wanted to host our own mission trip for young adults from across America, and last year (around this time) we decided to go for it for 2007. Having our team of 8 here, with our 2 incredible team leaders, is the culmination of a dream. And I believe it's the seed for many more Thrive Trips to come. (What are you doing next summer?)
  • We've been doing some fun and different things with Thrive Trip (since they're our own team). We had a session on vision the other night, and Niel did an awesome job teaching. It was a priceless moment to see someone get it when Niel explained vision and purpose as something you are constantly thinking about, something you can't seem to get out of your head. One of our interns discovered her passion, and in that, her purpose. I just love it when we can help people realize the potential and purpose with which God created them!
  • In our staff development meeting on Monday I was reminded of this principle: Deferred obedience is still disobedience. My prayer is that I would hear God's voice clearly and obey immediately. Why should He keep talking to me if I haven't acted on what He's already shown me?
  • One of our interns is back in the States for her sister's wedding. It's not the same without her here. I miss hearing her laugh...
  • I had lunch with a friend I hadn't seen in quite a while (aside from quick "hellos" in the grocery store). It was great to catch up and hear about her recent adventures. She had been in our youth group when we first moved to Harrismith 9 years ago. You've come a long way since then, Melissa!
  • After we dropped off a team at the airport, Niel treated me to a great dinner in the city. More than the good meal, what filled me up was our conversation. With all our busyness in the past several months, it felt like we hadn't talked like that in a long time. I just soaked it in. I love you, Niel...
  • We recently got some pigs that we are raising and breeding on the base as an income-generating opportunity for the ministry. Yesterday Niel and I walked down to the "piggery" so he could show me and explain to me what the whole plan is. (It's quite a distance from our house, and let me tell you -- by the time we got back, we were both wiped out! I so need to get in shape!) Niel laughed at me because the whole time we were with the pigs, I was jumpy and squirmy and kept pointing out all the nasty things they were doing. The mamas are huge (I call them "hogzillas") and they are just plain gross. And the noises they make! How we ever decided it sounds like "oink" is beyond me... Yes... Even though I've lived in a rural area in Africa for 9 years, and have lived on our sprawling property for 5, I am still more a city girl than a farm girl.