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This new slideshow features photos from Christmas at home and in class last term. Watch for the medieval sword-fighting queen!

Kenyan Cooking

 Today I got to go to my friend Virginia's house. She and her friend Alice taught me how to make mtori, or banana soup. We used plantain-like bananas, potatoes, green pepper, eggplant, cilantro, and a few other ingredients. She asked me to teach her how to make spaghetti... Some of you might think that funny, considering my lack of pasta and meat recipe knowledge!

Virginia told me that Kenyans never measure ingredients because that would be planning to have a certain number of people, not being welcoming to whatever friend might stop by. By the time Virginia and I were finished, two other friends of hers had showed up. Together with Virginia's kids, sister, and us, we feasted with eight people!

The Word for the least, the last and the lost

From The Joyful Shepherd by Cyncie Smith.

The number of languages with none of God’s Word dropped to 1,976 in October. Though much work remains, this number shows good progress.

The progress comes little by little. Also in October, six languages in NW Cameroon received God’s Word for the first time, a collaboration of mother-tongue and SIL translators, with two other organizations. Bob Creson, the president of Wycliffe Bible Translators shared the story.

He said the people in the Misaje language cluster can now read  the parable of “the lost sheep and the parable of the lost coin. In both of these, Jesus illustrates the heart of the Father and the extent to which He will go for one person--God extending His grace and love to the least, the last and the lost.” What perfect first parables to hear.

Paul Kom, a mother-tongue translator, reflected, "Indeed, the world allows the more important issues of life to go unnoticed... If it were an important government official coming into the village, the whole village would be mobilized. But here comes the Word of God (Jesus Christ)… and He comes relatively in the midst of oblivion. But God is using ‘the foolish things of the world to shame the wise’ and ‘the weak things to shame the strong’ (1 Corinthians 1:27)."

Heri ya Krismasi!

 "Heri ya Krismasi" means Merry Christmas in Swahili. And I certainly had a merry Christmas. It was such a blessing to be with family and so many friends during the two weeks I was home. I got to visit three churches, go hiking and stay at the beach with my family, eat lots of good food, and just be with people I haven't been with for a year and a half. It was wonderful.

I returned to Dar es Salaam this morning at 3:30 am. I unpacked, went for a swim in the school pool, napped for 5 hours, and had dinner with  friends. Tomorrow I'll go into school to consider term 2, which begins Monday. It's a bit disorienting to be back, with such a change in climate, people, and activity, but I'm excited to see what God has planned.

The Lord is my strength;

He will make my feet

like deer's feet,

and He will make me walk

on my high hills.

Habukkuk 3:19