Just hopping on to say hello!  Just had a yummy salad and thought that it was worth sharing.  It may just be a perfect snack as you look out on the snowy ground.  That was a little snarky wasn't it?  Oh, just love coming your ways.... A snowy day sounds probably just as good to me as a hot day sounds good to you all.  ( c :  It's a rather simple recipe... but it was DELICIOUS! 

Avocados diced, tomatoes diced, and mixed with Italian Dressing.  That's it! 

Good Day Everyone.  It's Friday evening and I am relaxing on a l-o-n-g blue couch with a cap sleeping at my feet. There is an ever so faint breeze coming in through the windows.  The bugs are chirping away and I can hear the occasional person walk by.  Someone gave me a packet of Oreo's and I have to confess that I just consumed a grand total of SIX OREO's in the last couple of hours. They were yummy and even though I felt some need to confess I can't say that I feel too guilty. They were yummy.  It's been a full week.  Prior to that, I was down with malaria. So thankful to be feeling better.  It is definitely something that knocks you on your socks... or whereever one gets knocked onto.  ( c :

I am going to go ahead and post some pictures from our maize harvest from last week.  The whole ministry helps with harvesting the maize (corn).   Each husk is picked, stripped, and gathered all by hand.  The profit from the maize here at the ministry goes right back into the ministry.  It was a morning full of hard work, sweet conversations, LOTS of ants crawling all over, and the gift of just laughing and connecting with others.

Just chilling before the big harvest

The best combine ever!

Journeying through the banana trees to get to the field. 

Hard at work

Each husk removed by hand

The detail of Our God

Momma Emaculate.... the Harvesting QUEEN!

Just chilling at the end of a hard morning's work.  We had So MUCH fun! 

hers.  

I type a few words and delete them... it's happened multiple times in the last twenty minutes.  I am waiting for my soul to take off and for my fingers to start typing.  It's not happening as quickly as I want it too.  There is so much I would love to say and yet, I realize, that my soul is not quite ready.  It is still absorbing and spinning all that has happened in the last five weeks.  Has it really been five weeks since I said farewell to so many of you and boarded the huge jet that took me halfway around the world.  So much has happened in these last five weeks.  So many things that have been surprisingly natural... like putting on an old pair of jeans.  And then there are things that have not felt as natural.  Probably as unnatural as brushing your teeth with chocolate syrup.  I have been thankful for the overall transition and find myself smiling throughout the day.  It still tickles my soul that God has led me here.  I smile when I look up at night and see more stars that I can count, when I see the joy in a little boys eyes who was COMPLETELY petrified of "muzungos" (white people) now freely receiving love and care, when I clean the wound of a child and give them a hug when it is done, when I hear the laughter of children in the background, watching as God provides opportunities to listen to new friends process their lives, and the list could go on for quite a while. 

Linda and Fiona

Linda, Rachel Myself, and ... ( c : 

The Lizard

Last Saturday, I met up with the kids from my family group.  We spent time slashing the long grass and soon realized that we were NOT the only ones hanging out in the grass.  One of the boys found this lizard.  We played with him for a few minutes and then headed back to work.   After slashing, we sat and washed laundry together.   There are four young ladies that I    have been  getting to know these last several weeks.  This coming week, we are going to get together for a special dinner on Thursday night. So looking forward to just getting to KNOW them and just living life with them.  

Linda and Rachel

The wound treatment room

The wound dressing station

And then there is the clinic.  It is a happening place to be... especially true for the children who come to be cared for and truth be told for many of them... to get out of school.  I am on to them... and definitely direct them back to class.  But in the meantime, there is opportunity to clean their wounds, medicate their bodies, and just love on em.  And some of the wounds they have.... eesh.  I would be crying.  Most of us would.  Cuts and irritations that have transformed into angry, painful, and infected lesions. Cleaning them is painful... and yet necessary.  Malaria is an everyday reality.  And I am asking Jesus to give me wisdom and I am choosing to rest in the truth that He is the ultimate Physician and that He has led me here.  He has given me a solid education, significant experiences in the hospital setting, various professionals eager to assist, and ultimately, He has led me here.  And where He leads.  He is... 

For some reason, the format of this post is not coming through.  I need to head out... but will try to make it look how it did when I put it together and even how it is when I look at it right now.