happy thanksgiving and bid in the auction

It seems terribly odd to think that this will be the 3rd of the last 4 Thanksgivings that I've been in Mozambique, away from the holiday cheer and the familiarity that this week used to bring. I find that I try not to think about it because it may hurt. Too much reflection will likely lead to tears, homesickness, and, if not careful, further exhaustion. With all that being said, I've committed myself, with a friend, to preparing a Thanksgiving feast on Friday this week for about 20 of my "family" here. We've been laughing as we've been drawing up the menu because we don't know if we'll be able to find 1) TURKEY 2) PUMPKIN 3) SWEET POTATOES and definitely not 4) CRANBERRIES! We even Google searched for alternative options for turkey on Thanksgiving. Thank you Mr. Google but we are not vegetarian. I think what that really meant was there's no alternative for turkey on Thanksgiving. But, in Mozambique, chicken (AGAIN!) may have to do. It promises again, to be a different Thanksgiving.

While my Thanksgiving is different in Mozambique I want to share what a Minnesota friend is busy adding to her holiday hustle and bustle. In honor of November being National Adoption month in the States my friend Carrie is having an auction of hand-crafted items that she and friends have made. And, much to my surprise, yet delight, Carrie has decided to hold this auction on behalf of Nede and me! Please, even if only just for fun, check out Carries website to see what she's doing, you'll see a familiar face. Her specialty is cloth baby diapers but she has other things available as well. Take a look http://hyenacart.com/stores/mudbuttclothdiapers/ She'll be donating 100% of the money earned to support Nede and me. I KNOW! Isn't it amazing all we have to be thankful for??? So, go ahead, make this click http://hyenacart.com/stores/mudbuttclothdiapers/, go crazy bidding for fun things and...tell everyone you know!

There's bound to be more Thanksgiving stories as this week unfolds.
Until then. Be thankful.

abundant life

Nede + Love of Jesus = Abundant life

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. John 10:20

Holding on to truth here!

another proud moment

I'm taken back again about what it feels like to be a mom and to feel so proud when your child does something new. It's really quite something to experience. My new favorite thing is watching Nede wobbling around on her bike trying to avoid that bloody spill. As you'll see, she often doesn't even know where she's going. She is so out of control. Shame. Doesn't help that her mom gives her a bike with NO brakes of any sort! 

I'm so proud of Nede...

Children are a gift from the Lord;

      they are a reward from him.- Psalm 127:3

AMEN!

where am i?

As would be expected after being in a place for coming close to 2 years my surroundings are feeling pretty familiar. Even though it's familiar to me I'm reminded many of you probably have no idea what it looks like here. So, I thought I would send a few pictures to give you an idea. Many places it's not the greatest idea to stick my camera out the window so this no fantastic photography. 

I live in Chimoio, Manica province:

This is the road to my house:

This is the gate into my house:

This is our property:

And the entrance to our house:

This is Shoprite, the grocery store. If you continue up this road our house is less than 100 meters to the right, off this very bumpy road:

This is La Plaza, the best cappuccinos in town. I usually drop Nede off at school on Monday mornings and meet some friends here to start off the week:

And this is Nede's school:

This is the post office, corrieos, where I love to collect my packages. Most things get to me unless something enticing is written on the outside of the box, someone else then chooses to help themselves: 

This is the market where I buy all my fruit and vegetables:

Right across from the market is Vapor, the best pizza available for miles:

 That's all for now. As familiar as this all is I am far too often reminded that I am not at home here. I will always be a foreigner. No matter how well I know the language, not matter how much cultural understanding I think I have, I will never know what it's like to be born and live my life in a place like this. I wish it weren't so but, I don't fit. I'm often frustrated by the different world-views that I try to conjoin. Impossible. I guess culture is culture no matter where I am, the only saving grace we have is to try to live in a Kingdom culture. This can and should be my attempt no matter where I find myself. And I guess, this is part of my journey where I continue to find out what Kingdom culture even is. Nede and I will always have a different culture, won't we? It's my desire that the culture we represents most is a culture that Jesus would smile upon-- being part of "thy kingdom come..."

And when I look at this airplane building that's being constructed, I have no idea where I am!!!! It seems like it belongs in Epcot, not the outskirts of Chimoio. 

 

 There it is. It's seems like I'm in a very strange place.