s. asia
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rwanda today.
I’m writing from Kigali, Rwanda. Jonathan and I are here to get licensed for a Business Development Center we hope to bring to our city. I’ll write about that later. For now, I am gushing over this little nation that has overcome tremendous obstacles to become the beautiful, bright country it is today. For most of us, the only thing we know about Rwanda is her scarred history – a 1994 genocide that claimed a million lives. In a hellish frenzy of racial violence, neighbor hacked neighbor to death with blunt weapons in the worst human catastrophe of recent history. I walked through her genocide museum and saw unspeakable crimes.…
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my grandfather.
Yesterday my mom’s dad, whom we affectionately call Granddaddy, went home to be with Jesus. Today I am thankful that he died peacefully, with his family around him singing hymns. I’m thankful that he is no longer in pain. I am thankful for our amazing family, who has cared for him so well in these last weeks, taking off work, traveling from near and far to sit and keep watch with him in his last days. I am thankful for the sweet, gentle spirit that he’s had my whole life, and that up to the end he regularly thanked and was a delight to his care-takers in the assisted living…
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day two, check.
I don’t have any new pics to post, so here’s an oldy-but-a-goody. Look at those two little munchkins. You’d never know it by the photo, but Miss Amelie was a holy terror back then. We have officially made it through Day Two of David Being In Another Country, and here are a few random thoughts . . . 1. David is doing great! He has emailed several times from Kigali and loves it there. It’s green! It’s clean! It’s quiet at night! Wow. His hotel is very simple but adequate. Jonathan just joined him and their meetings start tonight. I’ll let him explain in more detail what they’re doing there…
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saturday.
Tonight David leaves for nine days in Rwanda. He and our friend Jonathan will be attending a business training class there put on by Regent University in VA. We’re excited for this opportunity, but are going to miss him a ton. As I write this, he is in the office, making videos of himself reading books and practicing letters and numbers and a Bible verse for the kids. He’s a good daddy.
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another sari!
Sweet Lilly surprised me with a sari for New Year’s! It was hard to accept her spending money on me, but generosity is a big part of this culture, and she was so excited to give it to me. I was very touched, especially because she learned my tastes and bought something I would have chosen for myself! It’s gorgeous. And of course it came with lots of bling. Now that’s not so much my taste, but I have to admit it’s fun. (she refused to let David take her photo with me, so he snuck one in)
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school.
It is January second of a brand new year. The Christmas tree is packed away and the new toys organized and the last of the endless sweets are finally disappearing. With the holidays over, I find myself happy to settle into the rhythms of ordinary life, and to look ahead to all that this new year will hold. The biggest change, now that our new routine is falling into place, is that Judah is home with us in the mornings. We had every intention of finding a new preschool in our new neighborhood. We just wanted to give him a break for November and December, time to adjust to yet…
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2011.
january. february. march. april. may. june. july. august. september. october. november. december.
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skyline fun.
We have been trying to go to Skyline one morning a week to see our friends. If it’s nice out, we meet up on the playground. You can see our lonely, forsaken balcony in the bottom right. No new family living there yet. It’s hard being friends when you’re two and you each think the world revolves around yourself. But through it all these girls still love each other. Our friend Deepakshi comes out on her balcony to chat with Maggie and me while we’re on the playground. And I like to beg a cup of tea off her because she makes the best. Hadi, in true Texan form, is…
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pastor-and-families gathering.
Today we had the first annual gathering with pastor’s families in our presbytery. About fifty of us met at a local church from 10:30 to 2:30 today for fellowship, worship, games and lunch. This was the first time most of us had met as families. I think it was one of the highlights of my year. I am so, so grateful that we are settling in and my health is better so that I can start being more involved in David’s job. Really what this looks like is visiting churches together as a family, getting to know the pastors we work with, sometimes hosting them in our home. It’s hard…
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five things i like about christmas overseas.
Last Christmas was a bit of a blur. We were hardly a month here in South Asia. I remember lots of tears. And that I wasn’t even cooking in my new kitchen yet. Fast forward a year, and we’re still homesick. I know you know that, and you’ve prayed for us especially in this season, and we’re so thankful. Maybe it’s because of your prayers that we’ve found ourselves really relishing certain aspects of Christmas here. Here are some of them: 1. The slower pace. Obviously this has a lot to do with the fact that we simply don’t know nearly as many people here in South Asia. And that…