With a Little Help From My Friends

Some of you have been wondering... "Those zig zag brownies! Was she able to finish the whole pan in time, before she had to leave?!" And you may not even have realized how well fed I was all week, at the Wycliffe Connections program, making it a challenging task.

The week was thoughtfully and lovingly designed for missionaries returning from the field. They gave us time to rest, to reflect, to share our stories, to learn about organizational issues and resources, to worship with our Wycliffe USA colleagues, and more.

One of my favorite parts was chatting with people who share similar experiences. My friends in the States are lovely listeners, and we connect on so many topics. However, it was a fun treat to be able to mention a unique cross-cultural joy or missionary life struggle and have the listeners know just what I meant because it's true in their lives too. 

So, let your fears over my brownies be allayed. I met some new friends, these two ladies who just finished a New Testament Bible translation in South America. (One worked on it 40 years!!) They gallantly helped me finish off the brownies for breakfast the last morning!

Missionary Chocolates

These came in my stocking Christmas morning. They're so deliciously decadent that they deserve a slow nibble.

Isn't it considerate for a company to specifically think of missionaries, and our chocolate needs? This Rx fits well on a list I made at the Wycliffe program for returning missionaries mentioned in my last post. It's a list of ways to rest. I made it because I know I'm run down and need physical and spiritual rest, but it's so easy to be busy while I'm in the States.

Some other things on the list are: swim, make art, go for walks, focus on the moment, listen to music that reminds me of God's truth, share meals, take a break from my phone, pray, sit in nature, do computer work at a café instead of at home...

 (Actually, the company may have other aims besides giving rest to missionaries... https://missionarychocolates.com)

5 Differences That Make Me Smile

A few times over the past months I've noticed the feeling that something in the USA is not my normal anymore. It's amused me to see what these things are...

1. Sorting recycling: I felt a fresh satisfaction in this chore that doesn't happen in TZ.
2. Smelling skunk: I realized I hadn't smelled that particular smell for years.
3. Filling a car with gas: The attendants fill for you in TZ, and I don't drive much anyway. It gave a sense of independence.
4. Receiving an order at a restaurant in well under an hour: I'm used to at least an hour of sitting and visiting, letting hunger grow... which is kind of a nice time.
5. Having to fully commit to a walk: In TZ I might walk from the house for an hour and decide it's too sunny to walk back, or go to the market and decide I don't want to carry the weight back. In these cases I just stand at the side of the road and wave down one of the many motorcycles for hire. It takes a little more forward thinking for me to walk here!

10 Things I Miss From Tanzania

1. Geckos
2. The close knit community
3. Matvila Rock
4. Singing with Ronit, my housemate
5. A simpler pace of life
6. The kids at LVLC
7. Pineapple
8. Tank tops
9. Swahili
10. Unpredictable roadways

10 Things I Like About Being in the States

1. Family
2. Old friends
3. Mixed greens salad
4. City parks
5. Squirrels... chubby ones
6. SmartWool
7. Murals
8. Extra time to step back and reflect
9. Fairly predictable roadways
10. Psalm 23... especially the part about Him being with me

Wi-Fi in the Woods

I often get emails in Tanzania from my mom in the States at her Wilderness Wi-Fi in the Woods. She has to write really short emails in the winter because her fingers get too cold. When I imagine a hotspot I usually think of a coffee shop or other business, but no, this one is in the woods. It's at the top of my parents' mile-long driveway, in front of a log cabin owned by their closest neighbors.

Now, instead of receiving emails from the Wi-Fi in the Woods, I'm sending them! I'm even posting to Facebook and WhatsApping there! (Don't worry, I wear lots of layers and wool.)

That's just one of the many many changes that have happened in my live over the last week, since I've arrived in the USA.

Painting the Cross

I leave Tanzania for the States tomorrow! I've had lots of lists of things I wanted to do before I left... spending time with special people, passing off roles at work, trying to get rid of the bats in the attic, etc... Most things are done, and this is one of them!

My housemate, Ronit, and I go to a really nice little Anglican church a couple times each month. It's a simple cement building with a dirt floor. A wooden cross is the only adornment. It had "YESU KRISTO AMEFUFUKA" (Jesus Christ has risen) written on the wood in fading marker.
I thought it would be fun to bring color to the church and make the message more clear. So, I talked to our pastor, he talked to others, and they agreed.

Ronit and I stayed after church one day to paint. We had fun, and I hope the cross brings joy to people as they worship. :)