The love of God

Yesterday there was a break in the clouds and the rain. I glanced out the window of the YWAM base and saw the sea was still and it was almost as if it was calling my name. I put on my coat and grabbed my camera and walked along the beach for about 2 hours. The seals were basking on the rocks and playfully jumping in and out of the waves. The sun over the Isle of Arran painted pictures across the sky going from golden to purple.

I’ve been consumed by the love of God the last few days. In many ways I came here wanting to search for answers and direction. I feel that those will come in time, but first and foremost, God wants my heart. And he wants to take me deeper with him, and open my spirit to his extravagant love.

Sadly God’s love is something we reduce to a basic Sunday School concept and we nod with agreement in our “spiritual maturity” when we talk about the love of God for people. When really, the love of God is something that should make us weak in the knees when we encounter it. It is the very force that sustains our existence, and it is the very thing that makes life worth living. How dare we be passive about it.

Sadly, in my drivenness, I’ve put the love of God on the backshelf. Even in this last week, God has dusted it off and set it in front of me. I’m forced to reckon with the love of God, and when we encounter it, we are never the same.

The love of God washed over me as I stood on the beach yesterday. Me, small, meek, insignificant in the scheme of things, but known by the God of the universe. He spoke his love as he painted a majestic sunset across the sky for me. His Spirit whispered to my heart. Words of intimacy, beauty, love.

“My beloved speaks and says to me, ‘Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away…’” (Song of Solomon 2:10)

If you have not heard the song by Kim Walker, I suggest finding it and letting the truth of God’s love sink, sink deep into your spirit. Not just Sunday School knowledge, let it ruin you and weaken your knees. Let is send tears down your face and shake you to the core of your being. This is the intensity with which we are loved:

He Loves Us

He is jealous for me
Loves like a hurricane
I am a tree
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy
When all of a sudden I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by Glory
And I realize just how beautiful you are and how great your affections are for me

Oh how he loves us, so
Oh How he loves us, how he loves us so

We are his portion and he is our prize
Drawn to redemption by the grace in his eyes
If grace is an ocean we’re all sinking
So, heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets when I think about the way

He loves us
Oh how he loves us
Oh how he loves us
Oh how he loves

A few beautiful things in Scotland so far:

On time trains. coffee. Glasgow. the sea. sleeping in. rain. more rain. lots of refreshing rain. curly hair because of the rain. new friends. old friends. a comfortable bed. corporate worship. red-faced Scottish men offering to buy me a pint. grocery stores. brie cheese. Guinness. high speed internet. skype chat with my family. the sun peeking through the clouds. smiling hellos. the front seat of a car. more coffee. hot water. men that look me in the eye. hugs. a walk by myself. my headscarf in the bottom of my suitcase. the Scottish lilt. men in kilts. soy lattes. using a credit card. cadbury chocolate. prayer. jeans. the English language. green grass. the fall leaves. electricity at the flip of a switch. freedom.

A few photos from a walk I took this morning:

Teams will come and teams will go...

I am presently preparing to catch a flight this afternoon for a much-needed two month break. I'm looking forward to refreshing and spending time with God and hopefully making some new friends.

But, as it is in this organization, the door is always a revolving one. I got up early this morning to say goodbye to a team that has been here with us for the past month. I really enjoyed having them here and they served our team and blessed the people of this place, especially the women, so much. It was life-giving to me because much of the stuff we did together is where my heart is.

This photo was from a local friend of mine's birthday party. There was much dancing, talking and eating after this photo was taken.

I love meeting new people, but it's always hard to see them go. Thankfully, the world is a really small place and chances are I'll see people again.

Off I go!

Get you up on a high mountain....

(Isaiah 40:9)




There is something exhilarating about mountains. It is such hard work to push your body up one, but once at the top, you forget all the pain, all the exhaustion and the burning in your lungs, and you stand in awe at the view around you.

I hemmed and hawed about whether I should join my two friends on the hike up the mountain. I was the one who pushed for it, but when the morning came I panicked a little. I was afraid I would hold up the group. I have been working out fairly consistently but the town we were in sits 6,000 ft. above my city. Then we were going to ascend another 6,000 ft. I wasn't sure I was used to the altitude and in good enough shape. But that morning, I got up, hard-boiled some eggs and of course, drank a good strong cup of coffee. I donned the strangest outfit I've ever worn hiking a mountain before: black dress pants (they were the most durable and comfortable of the two pairs of pants I had with me), a punjabi top (to maintain culturally appropriate attire), a fleece jacket and a head scarf.



We set out before sunrise...myself, a friend and former teammate of mine from America, and a Pakistani man working with another NGO in town. The two of them started walking really fast, and I was a bit worried the pace might wear me out quickly. We had to hike an hour just to the base of the mountain, traversing peoples' wheat fields and passing by shepherds already bringing their animals out for early morning grazing.

As we started up the mountain, all the jump-roping I had been doing the previous months was paying off. I was keeping pace with the men and even urging them on at times. Our Pakistani member of the group insisted on taking a few tea breaks on the way up. He even bought his own full thermos of black tea and a glass! We told him you could meet 100 hikers on a mountain in America, and he'd be the only one with tea to share! While he took tea breaks, I kept moving forward and beat both of them to the top.

At the summit (sitting just over 14,500 feet according to the GPS) the view was fantastic!!! We could see the peaks of the mountains from three countries all around us. I was in awe at the beauty of creation all around me. We had lunch and then sat at the top for about an hour. The guys took a nap. I closed my eyes for a bit but wanted to just take in the beauty and the grandeur all around me. Creation always leads me to praise the creator. I can't help but worship in the outdoors. This day was no exception. I let the praise flow while we were up there.





I have been hoping for an opportunity to do some hiking and climbing since I've moved here but this was the first real opportunity. The mountains closer to where I live are still littered with landmines and I haven't wanted to take that chance with my life! This area however saw little to none of the war and the countryside is free and clear. I hope there will be more opportunities like this in the future.

Girl, you wear your bathrobe with STYLE!

I wish I had any pictures from that morning, but words will have to create the scene instead. Every Saturday is the Tajik Bazaar. On this day, the peoples of from either side of the Tajikistan border come together to mix and mingle, sell their goods and reveal close up the juxtaposition of two very different worlds.

A river runs between the two countries and at one place the river splits, leaving a small piece of land in between. You cross a bridge on either side of it, leaving your passport behind at the border station and a lingering question haunts you, "which country am I in right now?" There's probably a legal answer for this, but on Saturday, bumping shoulders with Tajiks and Afghans, it's anybody's guess.

It's mostly men at the bazaar from the Afghan side. My friends and I walk through the crowd, feeling a bit like celebrities as the local governer, the principle of the school, the head of security, and the border commander all stop to say hi and give their greetings, many of them wearing their Karzai-style coat giving them an air of dignity and even, maybe, royalty, at least in this small village-kingdom that they rule.

The thing that strikes me however, is the women. My head has been so immersed in Afghan style, literally even, as I wrap my headscarf around me as it keeps getting blown off by the wind, that I am taken aback at how different Tajik style is. (and feeling a bit shameful as I remember a time when I looked at a map with all the "stans" and thought, isn't it all the same?!). The Tajik women are both selling and buying at the bazaar...already revealing the somewhat greater freedom of movement and involvement outside the home. They are dressed in what I can best describe as a flowered moo-moos, and of course, their pants underneath are another pattern and color scheme entirely than the top. I brush by girls in their young twenties who would look right at home in America: skinny jeans and t-shirts with name brands boldly printed across the front.

Janna, one of the other girls on my team, elbows me and whispers "oh my goodness. Check out that girl!" A Tajik girl walks by us with head held high. She has around her a terry-cloth robe which is brightly pink striped with the words "I love you" written all over it. It's dotted with red hearts. She has on pants just as bright and knee-high rubber boots. What I might wear to a "bad taste party" she has carefully purchased, dressed in and paraded through the bazaar in this collision of cultures.

The story of the goat and the mouse

Well, I am back from the remote northeast and there are many stories to tell. I figured I'd just post on here as I have time. But I wanted to start with a little fun tale that was a memorable experience. (and as a note of caution, for those of you who aren't so keen on bathroom stories, skip this post and wait for the next one to come...)

It was late at night at our friends' guesthouse. Their accommodations are a bit more well, primitive than a 5 star guesthouse in say, well, anywhere else. The toilet is basically an outhouse (but keep in mind, many peoples' bathrooms are just a spot somewhere on the ground outside).

This particular night, I had to use the bathroom after the generator had been turned off for the night. So, I donned my handy-dandy headlamp and made my way to the outhouse. I lifted up the seat to the toilet, and I don't normally glance down into the toilet of outhouses, but my light from my headlamp happened to shine directly down into the hole. I saw something moving in the light. I did a double take and saw a white little mouse scurrying around on the...ahem, pile. My thought was, "sucks to be that mouse right now." Then I turned around and what should have made its way into the outhouse behind me but a goat! I grabbed the broom in the corner and hit the goat on its butt trying to get it to make its way kindly back out and leave me in privacy. However, the goat was stubborn as all get out and refused to move, let alone leave me alone to take care of business. So, I figured well, goat and mouse, we will experience this trip to the bathroom together.

Yep, a moment I will remember forever...and the goat and the mouse probably will too.

Our team

God has entrusted his task "to the ends of the earth" to people such as these. :) Inspires great confidence doesn't it?!

Our team is off to a more remote part of the country for a few months. I am helping co-lead the team for a month of this time, helping getting project things set up and running, and especially talking with the government officials. It is going to test my language skills for sure!

So remember us as we go. I won't be near the internet for about a month's time and we are not guaranteed cell-phone coverage where we will be. I'll post some photos and an update when I return to civilization.

Until then....

I took photos of my room when I first arrived back in February. I looked around at all the work that had to be done and figured I’d feel a lot better about the process if I took pictures and compared the progress.

Today, the president of the country came to my city so we are just keeping a low profile today. I usually spend at least one of my two days off all day at home, catching up on reading, doing my laundry (in the machine, or by hand, depending on whether there is electricty). Today was an electricity day and so I decided to tackle a project I have been waiting two years to finish…I hemmed my curtains. I had a local woman make them for me but she made them about a foot too long and they have just sat there with the extra foot piled at the bottom collecting dust….a LOT of dust.

Well, I took out my sewing machine that I bought off another worker that left earlier this year. It is a beautiful sea-foam green and is from Japan so I can’t read a thing on the dials and have to experiment and guess and hope that I have the right tension for the stitches, etc. And, I actually hemmed my curtains. I’ve been looking at them every weekend thinking, “I should hem those” but something else always seemed more important. I guess life still can be productive when you are holed-up inside your house! ☺

So, without further ado, here are the before and after pictures of how I’ve made my room into a nice little sanctuary…
Before: (sorry the poor quality. They were taken with my camera phone at night)






After:




The room is a weird shape…long and rectangular. So, I split it into two with a sitting area so the other girls can come in and sit and chat and we watch movies in here sometimes. The other half is my bedroom area and I just finished what I was wanting to do by hiring someone to make my bookshelf. Now, after 7 months, I have finally unpacked all my stuff!

Colorado rest

This last week I spent in Colorado around Denver, Colorado Springs and the Breckenridge area. I can't tell tell you how refreshed my soul feels when I am in the outdoors. It makes me wonder why people in Colorado are not some of the happiest on earth.



I also had some time to catch up and hang out with my dear friend Augustine (pictured below) and Bob and Donna (my other, southern parents) and visit the Y base while I was in town. It so blesses me to have relationships that can continue on even after months and even years of not seeing people. If I didn't have friends that could just pick up after time has passed, well, I wouldn't have very many friendships at all because I'm so in and out.



So, this afternoon I board yet another plane and begin yet another journey across the ocean. It's strange how this jumping back and forth, switching from tank tops to head scarves, speaking English and Persian in nearly one breath, going from green trees to brown desert within a day has become normal. I have to admit that the transition and the current stress of life overseas has taken it's toll on me. I am sensing a need for a possible extended rest. I may not know what that looks like and I feel that I am to keep going hard through the finish of our school (March 2010). For those of you who do pray for me, I'd ask for you especially to lift up this area. I want to walk in fullness and really am seeking to find joy again in what I do, my relationship with God, and with others.

To those of you I spent time with in the States or talked with on the phone during this time...thank you for blessing my life! You are all so important to me and thanks for pouring into our friendship. I love you!

Jeremy and Rachael's wedding

My brother is a married man!
In one day I gained a sister-in-law and a new neice!

Through my blurry-eyed jet lag I was able to arrive at home, get my hair cut, get a cute dress for the wedding, and engage in the rehearsal dinner and all other wedding activities in style. It has been so great to be home for this event as Jeremy is the first of our family and my cousins to get married.

The wedding was very casual and it was a beautiful day in the park. The ceremony was quick, simple and sweet. Rachael's beautiful daughter, Bella, stood up front with Jeremy and Rachael. She seems to be quite taken with her new dad as well as her "Uncle Bill." I have to admit, it was quite the adjustment to hear this little girl call my mom, "Grandma." I love how our family is growing!

The reception was a lot of fun with dancing and visiting with relatives. It was very special for me to be able to share this day with them. I'm so thankful I was able to make it back. I often feel so far away from home and distant from people but being able to make it back and participate in these important occasions makes the distance seem a little less.

So, congratulations Jeremy and Rachael (and Bella!). I wish you the best in your future together and may you grow closer as a family (and to our whole family) and continue to love one another even more every day!



With the bride and groom



The siblings together again

Engagement Party

As in most cultures, engagements and weddings can be all-consuming, big events. This culture is no exception. At the time of engagement, after back and forth communication between the man's family and the women's family (most marriages are arranged here), an agreement is made and then an official party is held to announce the engagement. Unlike my own culture however, the woman stays at home while the families party. Last week I had the privilege to attend the party.

If the family has money they rent a wedding hall and have a big ordeal, but if the family has less money, like the family that I attended the party with, the event is held in the home.

So, I donned my visiting clothes (the ones with the sparkly sequins all over them...yes, I'm contextualizing!), went over to a local friend's house and then we went together to the party. We were seated in a room which proceeded to fill to the brim with women and children. And just when I thought we couldn't fit more people in, the whole bride's family showed up announcing their arrival with hand drums, carrying a tray of gifts on their head. Later they will present these gifts for the bridegroom and members of his family. They usually consist of clothes, scarves, toiletry items and such. The women entered the room, and we proceeded with the formalities of kissing each other three times on the cheek with each woman. I was trying to count how many kisses I gave/received but after the first ten women went by, I lost track!

We sat around and had tea while the young teenage girls played the hand held drums and took turns dancing in the center of the room. After a few cups of tea we went to another room where the lunch was set out for us. I had to smile when I was seated next to a plate of rice that I was told was made with less oil (my friend knows foreigners don't consume as much oil as they do here) and I was handed a spoon, rather than expected to eat with my hands (which by the way...I have mastered the art of, but still prefer the spoon if it's an option!).



So there was more eating, and there was more dancing, and there was much chatting. I love the world of women that I get to experience here. They sit around talking of weather and kids. The women are nursing their babies, chatting about their children's upcoming school exams and laughing and dancing. There is so much beauty seated in that room. I can sense God looking down on them and delighting in them and longing to call them his own. What a privilege to experience!

Beauty in the desert

In my compound, surrounded by concrete, sits a garden of beauty...reds, oranges, yellows, pinks. The flowers greet me in the morning and remind me of how we as humans are attracted to beauty. With my garden in full bloom, my eyes don't dwell on the brown, mud-brick walls, or the gray cement. They dart straight for the brilliant colors and complementing hues of the flowers.

Beauty can be found in unlikely places here, hidden in the lines etched on a woman's face, peeking out from under her scarf. It can be found in the hand that slips into mine by a little girl walking down the street next to me. It can be found in the lilting language as someone says, "you are like family to me." There is dust and dirt and sweltering heat and violence and fear, but there is a beauty to be found in this land.


I'm also finding there is a beauty to be found in the spiritual desert. In seasons of dryness, when the voice of God seems a far-off whisper, when circumstances buffet us like a storm, when people wound us in uexpected ways, Beauty breaks through. The soft breeze of the Spirit blows through our life. The nearness of God breaks the distance of humanity. He kisses our foreheads and floods our hearts. And we can't help but turn our eyes to the beauty and away from the grays and browns and dullness of our lives.

Let us fix our eyes on Him!

Where am I again?!

In the capital city, there is a hotel that costs $250 a night to stay in. When you walk through the massive security gates you enter into a world that is nothing like the one you left behind. You can change into a bikini and go for a dip in the pool. You can sip a cappuccino while checking your email on your computer via wireless. You can get a massage or a facial. You can eat at the buffet for a mere $35 a person. You can stroll through the garden with the roses in bloom, the fountain flowing, and the grass soft beneath your feet. For some, in other parts of hte world, this is may be an everyday experience. Here, it is a rare treat.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to see the dance recital of a studio here in town. Some of my friends' children were in it. So, I went with others to see the performance and then afterward we sat in the courtyard, eating the best bowl of ice cream I've had in awhile, letting the breeze blow through my hair as my scarf rested on my shoulders and then topped it off with a nice strong cup of coffee. I was in heaven. What a blessing! Here are a few photos from my day:





In this last photo I am wearing an antique wedding headdress. The shopkeeper said it came from the city that I live in, but the stitching on it was from a group in the south part of the country. I don't know if any of that was true, but it looked so funky I couldn't resist a photo opp.

Dr. Mom

11 May 2009 marks the day my mom officially completed her PhD. studies! She successfully defended her dissertation and can now be called by the prestigious title of Dr. I'm so proud of her because she went back to school when I was still in high school and went on to continue her Masters and PhD studies in Indiana. She persevered through some really difficult times, especially when my brother died. She put in the long hours, the sacrifice and stuck it through even when she felt she couldn't add another word to her dissertation. She's an amazing woman and I'm so proud of her!

Beginning of the school

Today was our first day with our students. We still have a few more on the way as they are coming from remote locations around the world. It's an exciting season and I have a lot of anticipation as to what He wants to impart to us. However, I am still struggling to juggle the responsibility of my role here and saddened over not being able to do as much of things that I enjoy doing, such as teaching. I've also been processing how I might be able to have an opportunity to do a bit of writing. We'll see.

I thought I'd post some photos for some updates on our work on our house. There is still more to do in the kitchen and in the classroom but here is where we are at right now:

The kitchen:




The classroom:



I wish I had some before pictures because then you'd be able to see we got a LOT of work done! I'm looking forward to all the things happeing in these rooms...great food being created for fellowship times over meals, and great teaching and prayer times in our classroom.

Construction and New Beginnings

In a short time we will have a house overflowing with guests, new students and long-term staff. Our school will be beginning (and if you need more details...email me as I won't post about that on here too much). But, because of that we are expanding our kitchen which meant rerouting our front door. In addition to that we are fixing up our classroom, readying our house for more people and basically, keeping busy all day long.

Construction in this country always intrigues me. I picture what people like my grandfather would think if they came here...like when I first moved into my house in 2005. it was a "brand new" house but I had to turn on my ceiling light by putting two wires together without getting shocked by 220 volt electricity. One day I went to open my door and the doorknob snapped off in my hand, thereby locking me in my room until someone heard me and opened the door from the outside. Things are cheaply made, jimmy-rigged, temporarily "fixed" and done as cheaply as possible. We discovered this when finally decided to tackle the issue of our basement walls constantly leaking water thereby causing mold and damage to the wall. We dug out next to the wall and discovered that the evidently the hole for the basement had been dug, some bricks thrown against the sides of the hole, and some plaster and paint was put over the bricks. There were big gaping holes where large quantities of water were seeping in. Lovely.

So, to give you a peek into the world of construction here, I thought I'd show you a bit of what we've been having worked on lately:

This is our kitchen after the cupboards and everything was taken out. As you can see, we have a ways to go. We are expanding it out into what used to be our entry-way. We are adding a serving window because we eat outside for half of the year. We are also adding nice marble counter tops, some storage areas, and a new sink. So, consider this the "before" picture.




Here are the guys helping us get this done. Yes, he is applying plaster with his hands. That's the way things get done here. The guy on the far right has worked for us for a few years. He has been such a blessing to us here...he is a man of integrity and has such a soft heart. We'd love to see him in the Family some day.



This is how cement gets mixed here. You can see the shovel and the bag in the background.


Here's our newly installed front door. The room that this door enters into was my first bedroom I lived in here. This room has been used for many things. Now it's the entry-way and bit of a community hang out place.

The exciting thing about all this is it reminds me that there are new things to come, more people to walk through this place, and more that He wants to do among us. I'm looking forward to seeing how things grow and change among our community here.

Visiting Basil in Taiwan

Well, friends, in response to the floods of emails and messages on facebook, I was going to give you a little update on my trip to Taiwan to visit Basil. I was able to get away from work for a week and visit. I stayed with some other girls working with my same organization at the base there in Taiwan. However, I have to admit, most of my time was spent with one person....

Taiwan is beautiful, especially when coming from the deserts of central Asia! We had a chance to go to the beach, cruise around the city on Basil's moto, hike one of the nearby peaks, spend some time in Taipei, sit at starbucks, and just spend some quality time together. It was great to be able just to see Basil's life in Taiwan, meet his friends and roommates and be in the midst of the places he spends his time. So, he's seen A-land and now I've gotten to see Taiwan.

This week was a real blessing...thanks for all of you who expressed your excitement and your support and your prayers for us. We are both very excited about this season and the way God has brought us together. The week FLEW by but I'm so thankful for the time we were able to hang out. I'll continue to keep you posted! ;)

Here are some more photos from the week:


The ferris wheel...on the top of which we took the above picture of the two of us. The view of the city was fantastic!


A typical scene of the streets of Taiwan.


The view from the top of the hill we climbed. Unfortunately it was a little hazy but it was still beautiful!


Driving around on the moto.

Spring picnic

In a world lived behind walls, under a veil and hiding from the darting eyes of the crowd, freedom is something that can be a rare experience. A woman's life is all about hiding, not standing out. But then Friday rolls around and the entire city bursts out of the walls into their cars and taxis and drives away from the city to enjoy the beauty of the rugged landscape. The time is limited...if you don't go now the scorching summer sun will beat you there, rendering the landscape brown and you wasted by the heat.

But springtime means hills are green, the weather is cooler and people are ready to get out after having tons of relatives staying for the new year.

So, this last weekend, me, some teammates and my staff headed out to the green hills in the shadow of the craggy mountains. We were in an area that was heavily trafficked by fighting about 8 years ago. Now, thankfully, the mines have been cleared and the tanks have rolled out, leaving just overgrown memories of tragic days.

I love days like these, when I have the freedom to be outside the wall, without staring eyes, the sun shining down (not beating down) and the wind blowing. I can let my scarf slip a little to my shoulders and I can race my teammates up the foothills and toss a frisbee around and play soccer to my hearts content. I was so at peace. I wish I could get out like this more often. I also wish I would not have taken my time in Colorado so much for granted and gotten out hiking and skiing more. So, I hiked until my calves were stiff and ran around until I was out of breath and took advantage of the beauty of a day of freedom, out in the hills.


Riding donkeys


The beautiful scenery


The ladies

A bit of the language learning process

Believe it or not, it has been a whole month since I left American soil! Returning to this place has been quite the adventure with it’s ups and downs. It’s a good thing I like life to have a bit of advenutre and the unexpected, because that’s what I get every day.

But, in the process of getting settled in here and back into life, I have started up with language lessons again a few days a week. I’m very conversant in my language but I’m finding that I tend to use the same words and grammar structures over and over to make my point. People understand me, but I was getting in a rut. Thankfully, we are connected with a woman who is an amazing teacher, and I’ve been working with her. She doesn’t let one object marker or one mis-conjugated verb slip by. Frustrating sometimes, but so helpful!

So, yesterday we met again and rather than just go into sentences and the picture story we have been working through, she spent some time telling me about the customs here surrounding New Years. Many of them I was familiar with but there were some things, like the things that they do at home that I hadn’t heard much about. So, there I was listening (and feeling pretty proud of myself that I was picking up probably 80-90% of what she was saying) and asking questions.

Then she tells me about what happens at home the night before New Years day here. The young children will put henna on their hands and wrap cloth around it overnight so that it sets in really nice and dark. They then wake up early, pull of the cloth and run around showing everyone how beautiful their hands are (My opinion is still to be decided on that….I love henna if it’s the decorative and intricate designs, but here also, they just cover their entire palm in it…so their skin is a brownish/orange. They think it’s beautiful…often I just think it’s, well, orange.)

Then my teacher tells me that they spread out the dasterkhan which is a giant tablecloth put on the floor for eating. Then she tells me that they fill it with things that have seen in them (not the english word seen but a word here pronounced the same way). Now I was wracking my brain to try to remember the word seen. I didn’t know this word. So, I kept listening to her story to figure out if I could pick up the meaning. She gave me some examples and then continued on telling me the whole family sits around these things, and they are really good things and they pray for the New Year together that God would bless it, that they would have health, etc. Now, my training from Wheaton was kicking in and I was thinking, well, this sounds a bit like folk religions, and I bet seen maybe means something like a magic power, or something that has strong characteristics to it. I wrote these notes in my language notebook and made a mental note to check with a local teammate of mine.

My language lesson ended and I went to talk to my teammate about it, thinking I’d hit on some deep meaningful thing in the culture. As I told him the story he said, “oh yeah. Seen…as in the letter S. They are all things that start with the letter S.” Sure enough I looked over my list of things she mentioned: sabzi, safed, somoloq, etc. Not the deep spiritual meaning I was thinking for sure! But my next question is, “why? Is there a meaning behind it, or just a tradition?” I’ll have to find out and get back to you. (although, I’ve figured out “why?” is a frustrating question to ask here because you usually don’t get an answer, or not an answer that seems conclusive!)

New Years is coming!

I took a couple pictures while I was out and about in town this week. The streets are more full of people than normal, both from the warmer weather (it was up to 80F this last week!) as well as preparations for the New Year festivities which will happen a week from now. The city is full of energy, they are beautifying everything and planting tons of trees and flowers, repaving the streets, and I keep waking up to the sounds of my neighbors beating the dust out of their rugs and cushions outside every morning.

Myself, I'm also expectant of the year to come. There is lots of energy here, lots of expectation and lots of anticipation for what this year is bringing. I know that I too have to do a little house-cleaning, some preparing and some time just sitting with Him.

What a wild two weeks!

It has been quite the whirlwind being back here these last two weeks. I feel like I've been here for a few months with all that's been going on! About a week after I was here one of the short-term team members ended up having to be brought into the military hospital because he had a seizure in our bathroom. It was an incredibly scary day and one of my worst fears as a team leader was realized.

However, the peace of God was upon all of us as we sprang into action and got on our knees. The photo above was the day that the student was released from the hospital. (the sign says welcome back). He's currently on his way out of the country to get further care. We were very sad to see their team leave.

This is a new season here. I'm realizing how much more my focus is on equipping the team and getting ready for our school in May. I am enjoying it in that a lot of my giftings in the area of leadership and teaching are going to be used, but I really miss having as much time with the local people as I did before. I am hoping to get some visiting time in this week as I've been in the house having meetings all day the last few days.

Home again!

I wish I could take video of all it takes to get to my home here in Asia. Yesterday I took a taxi drive up through the mountain pass that has banks of snow on either side of the road at least 10 feet tall in the deepest parts. There are these huge trucks that are painted so brightly with tassles and jingling things hanging off of them. They don't seem to fare well over the pass so every so often there would be one stuck in the middle of the road, or the tunnel. In front of one I even saw a small fire going and a bunch of guys gathered around warming their hands and chatting while the hood of truck stood gaping open and traffic passed by around them.

I got up to my house last night and was so warmly welcomed by my team and the short-term teams we have here. They made pizza and cake for my birthday! amazing! I got the biggest hugs and hugest smiles from my Afghan friends. It's times like these that I realize how much I love being here and what's truly important here.

Then I went home to my room and also realized how much work I have ahead of me as I glanced at my pink and purple walls in desperate need of paint, my curtain-less windows which I draped a sheet across and an empty room that needs a bit of a domestic touch to feel like it's my sanctuary. The cable for electricity for our street also blew out last night. It is being worked on as we speak so I am using a friend's computer at our other house. The realities of life here. So, no shower today...maybe tomorrow, maybe not. And I hope to at least get some new carpet today for my room. We'll see how it all goes.

Ladies Taxi

Yesterday evening I arrived in Dubai. This city never ceases to amaze me on how cosmopolitan and globalized it looks and feels, and yet how much a part of the Middle East it is.

As I exited the airport to catch a taxi to my hotel (which by the way, had the HUGEST bed I've ever seen. Between that and the cold medicine I took, it was a delightful night's sleep) I was ushered off to the side to what they called the Ladies Taxi. What an amazing idea! The driver was a woman, she only drove women passengers (and families) and get this...instead of yellow and white the car was PINK and white!!! The woman wore a pink and white uniform (complete with a pink head covering). I wish this would catch on in Af! I would LOVE to avoid being hassled by men in a small space for a extended periods of time as he drives me across the city. Maybe I could open up a ladies taxi station in my city! ;)

And you know you're in the Muslim world when: there is a sign on the ceiling and on the wall indicating which direction mecca is in the hotel room.

Well, my flight leaves in less than an hour. I was just taking advantage of the free internet at the airport. My next update will be from AF!

My new camera

Well, I'm excited about my recent purchase of a new camera to take with me overseas. I was disappointed when the lens on my old one malfunctioned last summer and I've been without it since. It was going to cost about $150 to get fixed so I decided rather than doing that I'd invest that money in a new one. I find that a camera is such a necessary item to let people in on the world that I am experiencing as well as useful for our advertising, brochures, and slideshows that we do. I've been wanting a digital SLR for a long time but opted for a high-end point and shoot...about as good as you can get without getting into the professional range of cameras. So, after I get everything set up, I hope to share some good photos with you!

Packing my bags, taking only memories

I know many of you reading this have had your fair share of transitions and maybe even lots of moving in your life. It's never easy. I forget the tumult of emotions I face every time I pull out my suitcase and begin to fill it. However, this time I've been unpacking my suitcase to refill it again. I've been bouncing around from place to place for over a month.

You know what the weirdest experience for me is? It's when people are discussing their plans for the week or two after my departure date and I'm realizing, I won't be here! Many people have joked saying "yeah Danika, every time I see you, you're saying goodbye!" I know some have this perception that I just can't or don't want to sit still. But the truth is, the transition is always hard. I am missing out on my friend's first child, missing out on my friend's new house, missing out on my friends' marriages.

But, I set out again in hopes of a future that has been called into being by God himself. This was his plan from the beginning. And, to be honest, the adventure is fun! The land of the Afghans beckons to me once again promising many conversations over cups of tea, many giggles with my team over random incidents, many tears, many friends, many experiences, many lessons, many visits to government buildings. The good and the bad and everything in between lie ahead and I anxiously await it.

I depart Saturday.
Can you believe a year and a half has passed since I made my way to start grad school? wow! For those of you following my blog, you'll know that my camera died at the end of the summer this last year. The lens somehow got off it's tracking and refused to work. So, after much debate and research on the internet, I purchased a new camera and will be back in the business of giving you a visual of my life. (though I still have to pick it up at the store, so you just get my words in today's post!)

Pray, pray, pray....and for those of you who post, please remember my location and keep your comments "sanitized." Thanks!