Words from an uninterrupted Quiet Time

First, a quote from an online Daily Encouragement site:

In order to realize the WORTH of the ANCHOR, you must feel the STRESS of the storm.

I've come to know that being a mommy is HARD.  And not just for me, not just here in Africa.  For everyone.  For my sisters and my friends back home.  It's hard, it hurts, it exhausts, it discourages.  But in the midst of ANY storm, let us cling to that ANCHOR that will, does, has always, held firm.

And my desperate longing prayer to be able to someday say to my friends here on the island:
From 1 Thess. 1:4-8 (some paraphrasing by me)

For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that He has chosen YOU, because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with POWER, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction.  You know how we lived among you for your sake.  You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering (though I pray not here), you welcomed the message with the joy given you by the Holy Spirit.  And so you became a model to all the believers in (Africa) and the Lord's message rang out FROM YOU, not only on this island-your faith in God has become known EVERYWHERE!

Oh, Lord, that's why we're here.  Please let us learn the language so as to tell, and let some welcome your message with JOY!

And now... a nap. =)

Ummmm...I'm alone

It's 9:42 on a Wednesday morning.  And I'm alone.  For me, this is UNHEARD of.  Braelyn, being the needy baby she (still) is (because I failed to provide a younger sibling for her as per her father), I don't get to be alone.  She is my wake up call and my good-night kiss (or shout, depending on how many times she's gotten out of bed).  She still wants to sit on my hip while I cook.  Her most frequently uttered (shouted) phrase in life is, "Moooooom, uh ah youuuuuuuu?" That's mom, where are you.

This morning she woke me just after 6 with her tears.  They continued off and on till I crawled back in bed with Justin and begged him to take her away.  I suggested for days, we compromised on hours.  So a trip to half-an-hour-away town was planned.  But then sisters begged with tears to go also.  And then friend needed to go to hour-away-town.  And now Justin is headed off into the wild, blue/green yonder with ALL THREE GIRLS!

And I'm alone.  The time will soon be over, I'm sure.  What shall I do?  Shower (uninterrupted)?  Quiet time (uninterrupted)?  Read a chapter of my book(uninterrupted)?  Start the next meal (with both hands)?  Oh Lord, (and Justin) this tired mama thanks you.  This never-alone mama thanks you!

June already

Just as you are getting HOT, we're cooling right down.  I even turned the fan off this morning!  It's lovely.  Oh, and if you've been wondering, things seem to have cooled off politically on the big island too.  The President issued a very well put "statement" condemning the attacks and reiterating his support for every person to religious freedom.  We haven't heard about any more violence since!

 The girls wanted mermaid outfits after watching Barbie Mermadia a couple months ago.  I resisted at first, but then thought, hey, there are not many things I can "give" them here on the island?  So, here they are.  I know belly buttons are peeping out, but these are a lot more modest than the actual costumes!  It was a fun project. 

 Every "cool season" the nice hotel up north closes for a couple months.  This year, we were BLESSED enough to get the standing invite to use the CLEAN pool!  It's been so nice for our Sunday afternoons.  Sometimes we take a picnic, always some yummy snacks and friends.  Unfortunately for mama, that water is FREEZING.  Well, gotta be in the 70's at least.

 2 or 3 weeks ago Avery came home with the tiniest splinter in her foot.  She is such a nightmare to work on, I decided to leave it and see what happened.  This past Thursday or so, having not mentioned it since the first day, she showed it to me before bed.  A huge boil had appeared!  We spent 3 days soaking it in hot water and bandaging garlic to it (not effective) and trying to poke it with a needle, to little avail.  But after swimming all Sunday afternoon, it was HUGE.  

We all headed to the car and were packing up when I looked in at Avery who was sitting with eyes wide in fear and dress pulled down over her foot.  She shrieked, "I don't want anyone to see it!!!"  So of course, I pull her dress away and spied a quarter inch thorn protruding from an angry red hole in her foot!  She'd squeezed it and out it popped!  We were all stunned that THAT had been in her poor, little foot!  So glad it's out.

So after the rains pummel us for a few weeks, Butterfly Season hits.  Last year it was simply the caterpillars and then chrysalises everywhere, we actually saw very few butterflies.  But this year we're ready.  We already found the first patch of butterfly eggs, now in Mayonnaise jar captivity, one caterpillar who may or may not have been the one to later make our first chrysalis, now in peanut butter jar captivity.  We also found this dying Cream Striped Owl Moth.  Different species, we know, but still very cool.  

This is a nice distraction since our garden is floundering.  Only two of our sweet corn plants (out of 10 or so) is still standing.  2 of the 4 watermelon plants are growing, though one looks pretty wrinkly.  The green bean plants sprouted fast and hard, but they're just sitting there now.  The green peppers and carrots that we thought were lost, however, are starting to go!  So, mixed results.  I'm not holding my breath to actually eat anything this year.

Thanks for all your love and prayers and support.  It means more to us than we could ever tell you.  Keep up the good praying, we need it!

Unrest in the islands

Over the past few weeks there has been a growing number of people calling for separation from the mainland. Zanzibar was joined with the mainland back in 1964 from necessity and not from a desire by the people. Recently talks of breaking free from the mainland have increased and a group of leaders have been going from mosque to mosque gaining support in an attempt to separate. 

This past weekend things escalated to a new level. Thousands of people started marching and protesting calling for a more Islamic fundamentalist government. They want Zanzibar to do away with all things "non-islamic" and so they set fire and burned down 3 churches and 3 bars.  When the police showed up, it turned ugly. They used tear gas and water cannons and the people began throwing rocks and setting fire to tires in the streets. 

This all happened on Friday and Saturday. We have heard that thing continued to be burned and destroyed on Sunday and most of Zanzibar has closed down. Big rocks and logs have been placed in the roads preventing the police from traveling the roads and keeping rioters under control. 

The leaders say that this is a political riot where they are demanding separation from the mainland and is not religious. However, since they have targeted churches (like the picture below) it sure feels like a religious "battle" is about to begin. Here is a news article: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/27/zanzibar-protest-idUSL5E8GR1HB20120527

Zanzibar has a very unique political structure because it is an Islamic island with an Islamic government but is connected to mainland Tanzania which is mainly Christian. The island has its own president, military, flag, and just about everything else. However, it does not have its own currency. There has always been dislike and distrust between the islanders and the mainlanders and now it appears that the people are calling for permanent separation.  

 

We feel pretty safe where we are. The riots have all been on Unguja. However we still ask for your prayers for peace and safety for the people of Zanzibar and that the rioting does not spread here.   We also look with concern at the ramifications if the islands do separate from the mainland.

11 and a half years...to the day!

Life here has been the daily grind (studying, visiting, cooking, studying more) for the past week. Things have been so boring here that there were no new pictures, no news to report.  Today when we got to the beach after eating lunch at a friends house, the camera battery was dead.  I thought it was going to be another day of nothing to tell you!  Boy was I wrong!!!!

Justin had the good foresight to have the underwater camera on-hand, so you get to join in the fun.  It started when Justin found this little guy out in the sea.  He brought him up for us to enjoy, and we did!

I was so surprised when Avery shouted out that she wanted to hold it first!  

Then Hunter followed, but Braelyn was a no-go.  

Even Mama was brave enough to let it creep across her hand!

Then things got more interesting.  Justin took him back out to deeper water to let him go, only he didn't want to!  He grabbed onto that left little hand and would not let go.  Justin grabbed a shell and tried to pry him off.  This did NOT please Mr. Octopus who then dug his sharp little beak and took a chunk out of Justin's palm.  Up on shore, I hear a muffled underwater shout emerge from a snorkel and see Justin thrash around a bit, trying to pull the thing off!

I am not sure if the octopus decided that after biting him 3 times he would just let go or if Justin's flailing caused him to come off, however what he did NOT let go of was Justin's wedding ring. The octopus darted away and disappeared taking the ring with him.  

Back to our title.  When we got married Justin bet he'd lose that ring within a year.  He was so sure that he wanted to get a back-up or two.  He guessed surely by year two.  Absolutely by year five.  Turns out, he made it exactly 11 years and 6 months.  I can't be too upset, right?

Then our evening picked up a bit when we got to RESCUE some people that plowed their little SUV into the deep, deep mud of the forest that lies between the beach and home.  It's a gorgeous 30 minute drive through the most breathtaking, raw land we have.  But the road is a nightmare.  If you don't know which way to swerve and dodge, you WILL get stuck.  We passed by, told them we'd go get a rope, went to get said rope, drove back and pulled them free!  So fun.  It turns out that they are medical students from Switzerland that are here for 3 weeks so they can learn about infectious diseases and tropical medicine first hand. They rented a car and decided to explore the island.  

Around 10:00 at night we got a knock on the gate. A little uncommon as our lights were off but Justin when to check out who was there.  It turns out that the volunteering medical students we pulled from the bog a couple hours earlier got really lost and couldn't find a hotel to stay out. Which wouldn't have matter much anyways since the two hotel here are both closed for the rainy season  So, having told them where we live (the house on the far side of the forest with the pink wall...yes, we have a pink wall) the found us!  They will be staying at Hotel Brown tonight and hopefully tomorrow we can show them around the island a little bit, get to know them better and share our lives with them. All in all, a fun day.

Blessings

Last weekend Justin hopped over to the big island to meet with the head of the vocational school there about things.  Land, buildings, timing, options, etc.  Of course, it wouldn't be a complete trip without a little fishing, right?  Only, this is what the skies held as they headed out.

But afterwards, God's Promises appeared, all over the sky!  Back home, I had taken the girls swimming the same day and on our way home, a gorgeous rainbow arced across the entire sky, coconut tree line to banana tree line.  I LOVED hearing the girls ooh and aah and join me in exclaiming in delight over God's amazing creativity!

Normal week progressed into Friday and just as Hunter and I were transitioning from math facts to phonics, we hear Braelyn let out a scream, followed by the dreaded silence and Justin shouting my name. She'd had her arm bent over the side of the couch when Avery yanked down on it in the direction it doesn't bend and felt a crack that Justin heard from across the room!  She gasps her way into the dining room where I am, lips blue, mouth open in still silent scream, holding her left hand limply at her side.  I gather her up and try to see what's going on...she won't move her arm and as I cradle her elbow in my hand, she won't let me move either.  Let me take this moment to say I have no idea how I worked in the children's hospital for six years!  With tears in MY eyes, we decide it might be serious and head to the car.  Then the blessings roll on.  

A: We have a car.  B: There is an x-ray machine on the island.  C: There is a delightful, beautiful young doctor from the Netherlands volunteering at that hospital.  D: Braelyn holes down into herself, grimacing at every bump, but enduring the ride with eyes closed, humming along to the music.  E:  When we enter the x-ray room, she starts screaming, so Justin takes the other 2 girls out.  They go outside and pray.  And Braelyn starts fighting for her life...with her left arm.  We pin it down for the x-ray but by this point, no-one is really worried anymore!  

We survived our first broken bone scare...on this little island no less.  God was good and seriously performed a miracle as Justin and Hunter and Avery prayed outside that room!  She hasn't complained since.  Plus, we got to invite Dr. Irma over for dinner and spend a wonderful evening getting to know a new friend.  

Just in case you aren't tired of reading yet, I have some more wedding info.  A couple months ago a man and his 2 sons moved into the "work in progress" house next door.  He's been working morning, noon and night...cause he was getting married last night!  His first wife "got the red card" according to our other neighbor.  That's soccer lingo for being ejected.  Divorced.  She got the 2 girls plus one of the twin 12 year old boys.  How terrible is that!  Anyways, not knowing the man or woman, we weren't invited to yesterday's wedding.  We were, however, asked for the electricity to power the "music" that lasted till 10pm!  I was arguing with myself about unplugging the extension cord when we were ready to go to sleep; I'm glad they wrapped it up and we didn't have to pull the plug!

So this morning, in-between rainstorms, we decided to take a little gift over and meet our new lady neighbor.  I had no idea what to expect, or who to!  There were lots of really happy grammas around, welcoming us in.  They led us through the house to a locked door.  One of the old ladies produced a key and unlocked it, ushering us in.  I'm getting more nervous, but thankfully see my neighbor man standing there fully dressed, even in a suit coat!  I speak to him for a minute, then ask where his wife is, since several other ladies entered with me and I don't know who's who.  He points to the bed.  I turn around and there she is, fully dressed but laying in bed with a veil over her head.  I smile and turn back, asking if I can talk to her.  So weird.  He says yes, so I go over and introduce myself and welcome her to this area of town.  Thankfully, she moved the veil and smiled at me and seemed nice and friendly.  Then we left.  The mysteries continue.  She is young, but thankfully not a teenager.  Anyways, that's life on your first day of marriage here I guess!  Oh, it's also gift day.  A whole bus load of ladies arrived right after us, each laden with house warming gifts and lots of laughing and noise!  

Pray with me that I can be a shining light to this new, young neighbor, and we can be a beautiful picture of marriage to them, making them ever so jealous and curious.

More nature than we can handle

The rains have come, it's cooling down and nature is coming alive again!

I love hearing the frogs singing again...though the screeching of these monsters is less pleasant.  Any idea what these things are?  They're about 3 inches HUGE, full of guts and seem to be like the idea of hiding inside my screen door every morning!

Justin has been tilling up the fields with our neighbor Ali, getting the ground ready for his wife Mariam to plant a new batch of rice.  The fields have lain sleeping and growing their weeds for 6 months or more and there is plenty to do!  

Our own little garden is sprouting nicely, though one watermelon sprout got plucked by my "weeding" 2 year old, bless her helpful little heart.  It looks like NONE of the green peppers took and only a couple sprouts are growing in the rows we planted broccoli and lettuce in, but we'll see.  

We hope that everything is going well on your side of the Earth!  We miss you all and thank you for your love and prayers.  Please keep praying for our health and safety and for our daily wisdom, time management and growing love for the people here!