Isaiah 58

My it has been a while.  Or a year and a half!

The silence (without going into a 5 volume novel about this missing chunk of time) has been a result of being exorbitantly busy, then burnt out to a smoldering piece of bacon, then spending time healing.

I'm just now starting to feel snatches of my old self (and a new self) emerge from the rubble with an undeniable and ever-growing helping of 'chutzpah,' as my old roommate Heidi would say.  :)  I actually feel excited about things.  And the excitement is paired with a hope that I might really be able to get back on my two feet and bring something to the table after all this time.

At some point, I think I'd like to share a little of what has transpired in these months - both from a mental/emotional/spiritual perspective, as well as from a physical perspective (including the awesome things I have learned about health & medicine, and using good food and lifestyle habits to nurse my body back to health).  But I'll leave that for another day.

Today I'll share a passage that Heather, wife of Shawn - both of whom are now leading the Serge (formerly World Harvest) team in South Sudan -  shared with us today.  And I share it because it so clearly expresses the work that it seems God has been doing in my life over the last eight months in the US, and a brilliant hope for the work that we are reopening with a host of new teammates shortly.

Isaiah 58:10-12

If you pour out yourself for the hungry
and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
then shall your light rise up in the darkness
and your gloom be as the noonday.
And the LORD will guide you continually
and satisfy your desire in the scorched places
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters do not fail.
And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt,
you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach;
the restorer of streets to dwell in.

The passage is aimed at the people of Israel but gets to the heart of what God desires for and of His people throughout time.  Such a beautiful picture!

Please pray that this is what God would be using us to do.  Currently, my former teammate Scott and new teammate Justin are on the ground in Mundri, shortly to be joined by our new team leaders (early September), followed by two other new teammates (Will & Theresa), and myself (sometime in that same window, Lord willing).  It's been a long hiatus, but He knows what He's doing and I'm ever so excited to see what is next.

Thursday Morning Prayer

The vitality of God be mine this day
the vitality of the God of life.

The passion of Christ be mine this day
the passion of the Christ of love.

The wakefulness of the Spirit be mine this day
the wakefulness of the spirit of justice.

The vitality and passion and wakefulness of God be mine
that I may be fully alive this day.

The vitality and passion and wakefulness of God
that I may be fully alive this day.

Amen.

-J. Philip Newell Celtic Benediction

Kid's Club

We used to get really irritated with neighbor kids coming and fishing in our trash pits, making noise, leaving messes, sometimes stealing things. We try to get them to first greet us and ask for things rather than jumping in the pit and getting hurt (one morning I had to fish a kid out who couldn't climb up!!) or running away like thieves when we come outside to address them. Then we give them containers and other prized trash that we've saved so they don't rummage in the pit.

Teaching Ag at BNTC

It's 6:39pm on the clock. I've been banished from my garden by a feisty afternoon rainstorm. I'm not complaining - grow cucumbers!  Grow radish!  Grow squash!  Grow tomatoes!  Grow! And actually, it's a good moment to sit down and share some exciting and much-overdue thoughts about BNTC.

Absentee Bloglord. Part Three: Anything and everything you could desire to know about what I do in agriculture, not including my work at the college - ha!

RAINS, DIGGING IN GARDENS, AND PLANTING.

Installment One: March

Towards the end of dry season (March), you wonder that anything could be different. The ground is hard as rock, baked into granite by the never-ending sun. All manner of vegetation is dead and desiccated. A few trees sport their green leaves for the long haul, but others stand bare, either having dropped their clothes, or having had them eaten off by Lulu caterpillars, grasshoppers, or some other ravenous thing. Shades of bleached brown, red, and yellow stretch out as far as the eye can see - and owing to the lack of vegetation, that's a long way.

Absentee Bloglord. Part 1: Changing Seasons

Visiting Lui's yet dry resevoir before the rains

So there are absentee landlords ... and there are absentee bloglords. Yep, that's me. I haven't been in the blog world for a while. But I hope to be back for a bit. With some stories from my travels in the real world. Do forgive my long absence. Sometimes there's a lot happening. And not much time to write about it. But here are a few glimpses from the last few months, and a handful of thoughts to go with them.

It's 4:10pm. Where has the day gone? I came back to our compound to get some stuff done. But I think I've spent more of my time chasing ornery goats out of my garden. God used them, as He does all things if I'm aware enough to catch on, to clue me in a little more to His own heart today. After the third time running like a lunatic through the compound hurling stones, I walked all the way down the path behind our house to our closest neighbors to have a "chat" about the goat situation. The situation is that our neighbors have stopped tying the goats because good pasture is harder to come by in dry season. Now the charming animals have decided that my house is their favorite hang-out - which aside from their free eating of months of my work in the garden, they stink, they're loud, and they're constantly hounded by one rather virile beast that can't keep his eyes off the ladies. I'd had enough.

Pray Please! Home-Stay #2

Dear Friends,

It's hotter than hot. And my brain feels like melted butter and scrambled eggs all at once. At noon I dropped my entire team off at the air-strip, sending everyone off with multiple bear hugs and kisses as they left for a bit of work and a bit of play in Uganda. And I drove home to an empty compound. Weird! I felt a true pang in my heart of hearts to send them all away like that. Standing alone on the road and waving as their dear little faces disappeared from sight. It was a sweet sadness - one that tells me these are my specials, my people, and I really, really love them.

That done, I am switching gears again majorly and will shortly bike off to Miri-Kalanga and Margaret's house. Two heads shorter than me and with enough hugs and smiles and genuine love to more than take the edge off the loss of my team, she is a member of the church I've been attending for the past two years, and part of the Mother's Union there. I'll stay with her at least for the next two weeks - but hope to hop between her house and another lady's for the next month and a half or so (if I can stand the heat).

I covet your prayers for me:

1. For grace in getting to know everyone, loving them well, finding our stride together, and fielding the awkwardness that's bound to hit at times!

2. For great gains in learning more language and culture (these folks don't speak a lick of English, so there's great potential for real improvement.)

3. For true help with the heat. I'm not just joking or complaining when I tell you it's hot. It is getting past 100 every day. Some nights are not cooling off any longer. And by noon everyone is wilted and cranky. On top of that, I'll be surrounded by people all the time, not in my own place, and I've had some struggles with heat rash (which by the way, is HORRIBLE). So, I need God's intervention - to keep my brain sharp, my heart soft and willing and patient, and my body able to deal with the heat (since I won't have the usual access to an ice cube, shower, mango slushy, or the privacy of my own room when I'm just DONE.)

4. Fun. Deepening relationships. Heart to heart communication. Creative ideas to engage people. Strength to move towards people. There is nothing more dear to me in life than going deep with people and truly feeling connected with bonds of love. What better thing could I share with people than myself and my God? It's what I've come here for. Please pray that I will be a huge blessing to this family and all their neighbors, and that they in turn will be the same for me - so all of us can grow and be encouraged and inspired by the goodness of our God.

THANK YOU!  So much love to all of you - even the ones who haven't had a personal email from me in months. Please know you are on my mind and in my heart, even though I'm not able to stay in touch better.

Larissa

I'm Off!

I leave for my first Sudanese home-stay with Mama Viviana and her family this morning!  So exciting!  Please pray!  I'm completely discombobulated...or as Wani said to me yesterday, "it is mingling my mind."  HA!  But I live close enough that I can come back and sort out everything I forgot later.

Please pray for:
1. grace, fun, and ease in slipping into their family and routines.
2. supernatural help with language learning - both intentional, and by osmosis.
3. ways for me to bless and help their family, hopefully including things like song, painting and drawing, story telling, as well as the usual cooking and cleaning, etc.
4. helpful insights into Moru life and thinking.
5. freedom from fear - of any kind - bugs, standing out, not understanding, awkward cross-cultural interactions, etc.  And the ability to LAUGH and not be overly sensitive or self-conscious.
6. me not to be eaten alive by mosquitos!

Thanks!  Can't wait to tell you all about the first few days next week . . . I'll be coming back home for team meeting on Wednesdays, but other than that, I'll be without computer or internet.