A(nother) First

Today was the first time I have ever had an inkling of feeling unsafe in this country.

Please don't panic.

I do not live in fear, and neither should you.  Fear is not from God.  We are safe.  

But today, as we drove up the mountain a little ways for a hash, we encountered a bit of a harry situation.

Re-Entry (ish) Revelations

A lot of things have been happening lately that we weren't expecting.
Our family trip in July/August.
Some {new} friends arriving in Tz for a visit and bringing with them a Target bag full of goodies and surprises for our whole family.
A four-day whirlwind missions/meet-up trip.(pts. 1, 2 and 3 here)
An on-the-edge couple of months about our futures here in Moshi (don't worry, it's all working out, I hope to be able to write in detail about it all soon!)
Anyway.  Among all those things, one thing I really never expected, was dealing with re-entry after my latest international excursion.
I didn't really think I'd have issues in South Africa, but I did.  And once I processed those and was good with them, I thought I was in the clear.  But then I got back home.  And my brain, well, it just refused to brain.

On Moving, Arachnids, Culture Shock and Accents {part 3}

{this is part 3 of my three part blog on #takingSAagain, for part 2 click here, and part 1 here}
I had a lot of anticipation about Sunday morning. When we were here as a family back in July we got the {rare} opportunity to attend an Acts service on a Friday night, and it was absolutely incredible. So I knew Sunday was going to be nothing short of amazing.

What I didn't expect, was to feel God's presence the way it fell during worship.

On Moving, Arachnids, Culture Shock and Accents {part 2}

{this is part 2 of my three-part blog on #takingSAagain - for part 1 click here}

After getting into our rooms at the lodge, I was chatting with my new roommate and Dawn & Brian in my room when Alison came in with a concerned look.  "I don't want anyone to worry but..." she started.  I was intrigued.
She continued to tell us that a very large, very harry spider was just found (and killed) in one of the other rooms.  "It was this big!" she said, holding up her hands about the size of a baseball.
"Oh, that's probably a baboon spider or something similar from the tarantula family.  They're no problem, you might get tingly or have a little pain if they bite you, but you won't die." I say.

The Seventh Time - In an Airport (part 1)

When we discovered we'd be missing each other's trips to South Africa by only a couple months, we were bummed.  But accepted the reality of it.

But as the time drew nearer, my missions coordinator and I began wishing and dreaming about a South African meet-up.  After all, she was going to be on the same continent - so close, yet so far away.

Then one day, she said, "Come on. What do we have to do to make this happen?"
So I started looking at airline tickets.  "About $250 and permission to take time off." I replied casually.

Then she said it, "Okay, buy the tickets.  They're paid for."