Malaria On My Mind

I’ve suffered from malaria, my husband has too.  Two of my children have had the disease numerous times. The other child only twice.  Each time a family member was stricken with the parasite, a mild panic would set in….can I get the medicine to them in time?  Thankfully, the answer was yes.  I had access to the latest and best antimalarial drugs.  To me, the drug’s cost was a non-issue- a low price to pay for a cure.  However, I was exception in the country where I lived.  Many, many, of my friends and acquaintances have suffered from the disease so many times that it effects their abilities to work thus their ability to earn a living to support their families.  In the villages that Bryan worked he would often bring home report of babies dying from the disease.  We helped many people with medicines and information, but it was not enough to stop this monster of a disease.  

I read an enlightening article yesterday in National Geographic about malaria that I want to share with you.  It answered a lot of questions that I’ve had over the years about the disease.  Of course, it’s a very long article! But, I believe well worth your time and energy to read it.  Stamp out malaria!!!!

National Geographic Malaria Article July 2007

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!!!  

We are in Lampasas, Tx celebrating the big day with Bryan’s grandparents, a few cousins and an uncle.  This is our first Thanksgiving since we left for Togo in 2000.  So, my thoughts are going back to the Togo Thanksgiving dinners.  They will always be very special memories.  Here are a few highlights.

• The year with the Dolingers and the napkin rings made from toilet paper rolls. (UTI…nuf said)
• The year of Wilbur. (I have never been so happy to eat an animal that I knew.)
• The annual performances by the children.  So precious!
• The yummy chicken…did we ever actually eat turkey?
• The fellowship with our team, the Tabligbo and Dano crews.

Blessings to you!!!

PILAT: Day 3

I am writing at the end of another long day of thinking about language.  Here are some facts I learned today. There are 44 sounds in the English language.  There are a potential of 1,000+ vowel sounds that our mouths can make.  There are about 6,800 languages spoken on Earth and more are being discovered.  Kabiye is a cool language.  Okay, that last one is an opinion.  Bryan and I have had fun thinking about Kabiye sounds over the past few days.  There is one consonants drill that goes afa afa afa which means “pig” in Kabiye.  Another drill today worked on the trilled “r” kara kara kara  abra abra abra.  Those are the names of our city and our houseworker.  Amusing to us, but not anyone else.

Off We Go!

We are headed to Midlothian to visit with several former West African missionary families!  I am excited to be with so many who have shared similar experiences.  It should be an interesting time.  I’ll add to this post later today with a report on how it all went.  So, check back in….

Yay for you if you actually checked back in today!  The get-together exceeded my expectations.  It was a wonderful time of sharing and encouragement.  It felt so good to be around like-minded Christians.  As you might expect, the women all clustered together in one room and the men in another and talked and talked and talked.  The kids all played together.  It was a great time!!!  

 

The Group

Colorado – DAR

I am in Colorado with the family at DAR….Debriefing And Renewal retreat for missionaries.  Let me be honest… I did not want to come this week!!  We have been traveling non-stop and I just haven’t had the time to prepare myself for talking on a deep level about our re-entry into American life.  Thankfully, the Holy Spirit has been working on my heart and I feel good about being here now.

It’s been refreshing to be with other missionary women and share what our journey has been about.  They really “get it” – the paradoxes of missionary life.  For example, I think Togo is dirty, smelly and uncomfortable, but I love the way the people are hospitable and welcoming.  It’s your classic love/hate relationship.  

I am also exploring how to deal with the ways I’ve changed during our time in Togo.  Especially in the areas of spirituality.  I have a broader view of how God is working in the world.  I wonder how my new understandings will translate into a conservative church setting.

The main reason we chose to come to this retreat was for our boys. They have an amazing program for MKs!! Today, Isaac shared through pictures and words all about his life in Togo.  He relished the opportunity to share.  Graham’s turn will be Thursday.  The boys are also learning about expectations, feelings and culture. They have already made fast friends with the other MKs here.  (But there’s still NOT a boy Isaac’s age!!)  I am looking forward to Wednesday when I hear observations from the teachers about the boys.

I’ll check in later….Blessings

Decisions, decisions, decisions

I’m learning more about myself everyday in my new environment.  Yesterday, I had an “aha moment” about making decisions.  In Togo, most decisions were made for me mostly due to a lack of choices.   For example, if I wanted to buy cereal, I had two or three choices.  Of course in America the choices for cereal take up an entire grocery aisle.  I knew that choices were plentiful in the US and that making decisions would be challenging before last week….that’s not the “aha”.

The eye-opening insight that came to me was that I am being called to grow spiritually in a different way.  In Togo, I had to make the best of many difficult situations.  It was my attitude that I could adjust and make the best of things.  But, in the States it’s still true that I need to have my attitude in check, but I am making decisions and then living with their consequences in a more responsible way.  In other words, I feel more responsible for the way I spend my money or where I live, etc.  The only other way I can think to describe is that in Africa I felt more passive and in the States I feel more pro-active when it comes to decisions.  I feel more “in control” here of my lifestyle, but I think with that “control” comes a great responsibility.  

Does this make sense to anyone else?  I’d love to hear your feedback.

Snapshots from the Journey

We had our annual employee party this year at Hotel Kara! It was a special treat for all of us.

Our last week in Kara, we went to the newly opened Sarakawa Game Park. They don’t have many animals, but it was a nice break from all of the stressful packing.

One last tough guy climbing picture in Kara.

Family beach picture…if only we had been wearing better clothes! Oh well, life is sorta like that these days.

I had matching shirts made for the girls in my 4th grade class. We had a blast posing for pictures at the Grove. Can you find Owen in this one?

Owen and his buddies, Gabe and Asher, loved playing on the wooden croc at the Grove.

There was a Krispy Kreme donut shop in the Heathrow Airport! The boys were excited to eat one, but in the end they only ate half on their donuts. Graham said that he wanted an African donut because they weren’t as sweet.

They had an amazing water fountain at the Heathrow Airport. They boys are huddling close because they are so cold. What a nice change.

More snapshots later….

The Long Good-bye, Part 20

The hard good-byes are upon me. Today, I say good-bye to our house – our home. After today, we will be a homeless family for about 4 months relying on the hospitality of family and friends. This is one of the hardest good-byes because it means giving up a certain level of independence. I absolutely love the feeling of being home and doing my own thing. From now on, I’ll have to make sure that our family’s plans are not intrusive to the others that we are living with.

I’m also saying good-bye temporarily to blogging in the style that I prefer. (Often and with photos!) We are having computer troubles. (It’s a long, boring story) Along with the computer stuff, I’ll have the challenge of Internet access while traveling. I have a bunch of pictures that I really want to post, but will be unable to for awhile.   So, please bear with me during this transitional season. I promise to post as often as I can to let you know what’s up so you can be praying for my family during this stressful, exciting, sad, joyful transition!!!

The Long Good-bye, Part 19

Only 4 more nights until our family is officially homeless.

Only 19 more days until we leave African soil.

Any suggestions on what I should title my future series on adjusting to life in America?

It’s almost here.

The Long Good-bye, Part 18

Girls’ Weekend!!!!

There’s nothing quite like a day at the beach (with no kids!) to celebrate friendship.

Andrea, Nicole, Becky and I had a great time shopping at the grand marche, eating out, and relaxing on the sand. The weekend would’ve been better only with the additional company of Jane and April. (We missed you!!!!)

It’s hard to express in words how much I am going to miss these godly women who have journeyed with me on a challenging yet joyful path for many years. We have seen each other through mountain top experiences and heart wrenching valleys of depression and sadness.

But, mostly we have lived daily life with each other. (Can I borrow a block of butter? What school curriculum do you think we should purchase for next year? I need help with gas money. Oh, I thought I already paid you that. Would you like to come over for dinner Friday? And on and on….) Anyone who has been in a long-term relationship knows that the daily stuff can be difficult at times. Relationships grow stale. Irritations build up. Feelings get hurt. We have honored each other to the best of our abilities and even then failure has come. Of course, that’s when God is glorified most evidently through humility, forgiveness and reconciliation. God has been good to knit us together as sisters in Christ. Over the past 10 years these women have become my heroes of faith. They shine brightly for the Lord.