Wired

creation window (Photo credit: mtsofan)

I am becoming quite the "handy Andy." When sparks were flying out of our breaker box in the house a couple of weeks ago, I had two choices. Remove the burning wires, or do without my precious electricity until David got home. Round here, when the power is on, you don't waste it! So I got my nerve up and pulled this out of our box and set us up to run on just one phase until hubby could make repairs. Yes, I cut off the power before I touched the wires.


These wires couldn't take the heat. They frayed and burned, ending up useless and dangerous.

We have had a week of sickness. First Daniel, then Emily, now David. I am the "last man standing." We have also had a week of twice going over 48 hours without power and several days of only getting an hour or two at a time. Not having a/c is inconvenient in this heat, but when someone has a fever, it's miserable. I felt so sorry for the kids.



During Daniel's sick time, I had to run the generator anyway to keep the fridge cold, and since I wasn't home schooling I decided I might as well sew. Having finally finished making curtains for the living room (it only took two and a half years), I pulled out a quilt project.

This is going to be for Daniel, if I ever finish it. While I was in the states for my surgery he got to choose his own fabric. I finally completed all of the blocks. Now I just have to assemble them and add borders.

This one is my favorite and Daniel's too. Of course, it was also the one that took the most time and care because of all the points there were to match up. Half square triangles are not my strong point. I have to do them slowly and carefully.

 The closer we get to finishing it, the more eager Daniel and I both are to see how it will turn out.

There is just something about working at a project and really putting yourself into it, and then being able to look at the finished product and see its beauty that makes you feel really good. God understands that. It's why He keeps working on us, carefully and sometimes slowly - and doesn't stop until he completes the good work He started. It's why when He finished creating the world He took time to notice that it was good. We are just wired to get pleasure out of doing good work.

I hated that my family has been suffering with the fluish like bug that has hit them, but the forced down time has probably been good for us. We've rested. We've done things we don't usually get time for like reading and sewing. Maybe we were really feeling the heat, literally and figuratively, and about to burn up like those wires. Naturally, my idea of down time would have been different from God's. Mine would include electricity and high enough voltage to use my oven and my dryer, but then I would have filled that time with work, trying to catch up on laundry and bake ahead for the "no power days." It would have been "do time" instead of "down time."

Sometimes Going With the Flow Feels Like Rapid Water Rafting on a Swimming Pool Floatie

Last night we attended a concert at TASOK, Emily's school. The concert was a benefit to collect funds and food for the orphanage in Kimbondo. It was a double blessing for me, getting a chance to help the orphanage and getting to see Emily perform. This year she sang in the high school choir AND played in the band. 

We recently visited another orphanage with a new friend, Jennifer McCullough. The man in this photo was introduced to us as the doctor at the orphanage but I heard him tell someone else he is a nurse. Jennifer is on the left, and on the far right is my friend and fellow MAFer, Sandy Francis. 

We passed out treats and had a belated Easter celebration with the kids.











Jennifer also had donations of toothpaste and brushes for the orphanage. A good follow-up to all those sweets we gave them!










Daniel with his new friend. Kids with red or blonde hair are conspicuous in Africa and get stared at. A lot. 

Unlike all of the other orphanages we have been to, this one had no fences or walls. This photo gives you a good idea of what housing is like in DRC. The "door" is a curtain. The building is  often concrete, with a tin roof and no windows. and no electricity. It's like living in an oven. A dark one.

When we arrived, kids and parents from the neighborhood showed up in droves. After we began passing out the treats, we quickly realized there were way more kids in line (I use the term line very loosely here) for goodies than there are in the orphanage. Moms from the neighborhood were overheard telling kids to go through the line and get something for them. I saw big teens stealing treats from the little kids and tried to help but couldn't stop them all. I caught at least one kid going through the line twice. They were crowding around and pressing in on us. It was mayhem. We ended up having to have the staff go through a list of names of their kids so that we could make sure the orphans got treats. Many times here in Congo I have had mixed feelings about all the walls, but that day my slightly OC mind was telling me "This place needs walls!"  Sort of a Congo version of the old saying "good fences make good neighbors." I am glad I went and got to be part of it but my American self felt conflicted, trying to just relax and go with the crazy haphazard flow instead of being overwhelmed by the lack of structure and order. 





We got stuck in the sand on our way out. You never have to worry about getting stuck in the sand in Congo as long as you have a little cash on you. Before we even had time to ask for help, people ran to push the van in exchange for a few francs.

Picture This: Somber (and otherwise) moments during Family Conference

Thanks Jocelyn Frey for the photo!

The MAF family of west DRC has officially conferred and our conference time is over until next year. As always, there were many blessings. We had time to visit with one another in a relaxed, non-work/ministry setting, just getting to know one another better and enjoying each other's company. Since some of us live in Lubumbashi and all of us stay really busy, that is a rare treat. We enjoyed goodies that our pastoral team brought from the states - especially chocolates! The teaching sessions were great. The food was great - BONUS: we did not have to cook it! In the land of weirdo-unpredictable power that was a huge blessing.

I promise this is the LAST post about this year's conference. I just wanted to share some of the special moments with you, via photos.

photo credit: Jocelyn Frey

 On the last day of conference the kids showed off the songs they had learned. Except my kid, who was busy talking to his buddy, Nicholas. My gene pool is a strong one, what can I say?

photo credit: Jocelyn Frey

One really neat moment was when the pastors anointed us, all thirty-something of us, with oil and prayed for our team, even the kids. It was a very serious and touching moment...

Photo credit: Jocelyn Frey

...as you can see.










But then, Pastor Don was a very serious kinda guy. Truthfully, we have many special memories from this conference and lots of things to ponder in our hearts. Thank you, Walnut Creek Mennonite Church, Don, Brenda, Beau, and Nicole!












I already have a very nice group photo above of our entire team, plus the pastoral team from the states. I really like bloopers, though, so I thought you might enjoy these. Click on them to see an enlarged view.

Photo credit: Jocelyn Frey

Photo credit: Jocelyn Frey

Perspective

Today my husband related a story to me about his day at the hangar. He was talking with one of our national staff, who was asking David questions about our home.

"Do you have a water tank?"
"Yes."
"Do you have a generator?"
"Yes."
"Do you have solar panels?"
"Yes."
"Aaah. Paradise. Like heaven."

Perspective.

Renewal - Family Conference

Family Conference is in full swing.

A major theme at family conference time is renewal. We have time to focus on spiritual renewal with worship times and teaching.

Our friend Jocelyn with her daughter Ruth, who is getting an early start in discipleship!


We also have times for paying attention to our needs for physical, emotional, and relational renewal.







Yesterday after the worship/teaching session, we took an outing to a lake for a hike and a picnic lunch. The drive was long, the weather was hot, the traffic was terrible. Once we arrived at the lake, though, it was worth it.








We took our time walking, enjoying the quiet and tranquility - a rare thing in a city the size of Kinshasa. At one point, David and I literally just stopped and took a deep breath and stood there taking in the fresh air and natural beauty and wide open space.

Last evening the ladies enjoyed some time pampering our feet - which take a beating here in the land of dust and concrete.

While we soaked our tired feet, we had a chance to just relax and visit with each other. Often when we get together as a team there is work to be done and not much time for visiting and connecting on a deeper level.

Conference Time!

photo credit: Tim Dyk

This week we are having our annual Family Conference. I'll try to take photos for ya and post them. Meanwhile, here's a cool photo or two of our guys working on the planes. In both photos, my hubby is the one on the ground at the nose of the plane.

I don't get a lot of comments on the blog but I do get some emails. I hope you'll check out my latest post on the MAF Blog - Better Than Bitter. This post started as a response to an email from a blog reader/friend.