Tuesday, June 28, 2011

TEN MONTHS

Wow. Ten months of this amazing experience and I've:

  • Obtained 3 new pairs of shoes
  • Filled up 7 pages in my passport 
  • Developed a nice caffeine addiction thanks to drinking so much black tea
  • Had my hair cut twice, which means it's rather long at the moment
  • Mastered the art of storing my cell phone in my bra
  • Only used 1 bottle of sunscreen
  • Read all my books and am trying to make the last one stretch as long as possible
  • Lost 2 pair of sunglasses
  • Long stopped converting S. African rand and Swazi emalangeni into US dollars
  • Decided that I am definitely sad to be leaving... but so excited to be going
Please keep me and all YAGM in your prayers as we enter the last final weeks of service. Ten months! Isn't that crazy?!

Thursday, June 9, 2011

DAILY BREAD

"One shall not live by bread alone"... but I come pretty darn close! In fact, I recently estimated that I eat an average of six slices of bread per day! However, although a bit high, this is not unusual; I have always loved bread. Even in the USA, my default snack was a nice crispy piece (or two) of peanut butter toast.

But looking back, I realize I inhaled most of those pieces while leaning on the kitchen counter, in too much of a hurry to even sit down.

I don't eat my bread like that anymore.

I sit down. I take my time. And I pray before eating, thanking God for providing yet again, food for me to eat.

The Lord's Prayer says "give us this day our daily bread". I pray that just as my body is nourished and sustained by physical bread, my spiritual self will also be fed with the Word of God. I think of it like the spiritual version of "if I had a nickel every time I..."  If I pray every time I enjoy a slice of bread, I'll be talking to God a lot more. And that means that He'll probably talk back. The combination of eating and praying leads me to a more fulfilling relationship with God... and makes me feel a lot less guilty about indulging in another slice!

Saturday, June 4, 2011

JUNE SUPPORTERS


Thanks to all my June supporters!

11- Folin Family
Memories of a Moroccan feast

16- Keith & Joyce Amundson

18- Don & Lori Neptun
Happy Birthday Lori!

21- Tom Schmidt
Summer Solstice

24- ELCA-Oregon Synod Global Mission Committee