I survived...

...the coldest day in Cedar Rapids' recorded history. And I was even out and about, running errands! Here's how cold it is where I am:

That's from KCRG, the local TV station's web site.

Other than trying to avoid going out in the cold (simply because a small vehicle just doesn't feel so safe on icy roads...), I've been preparing for a photo exhibit which opens this weekend.

I've been given the opportunity to show some of my photos at Higher Grounds, the coffee shop at the local Assemblies of God church. They recently equipped their coffee shop to be able to show art, installing track lighting and adjustable cables to hang art work. I'm thrilled to be able to share my photos with people in the area.

If you live in or around Cedar Rapids, feel free to stop by Higher Grounds anytime on a Sunday morning or on Wednesday evenings.

I'll be posting photos of the framed photos here, since I hope to sell a few pieces.

New Storm

Though the water receded some today, a new storm is moving in right now. Hail is recorded in several towns in the area. We're praying for no new flooding in the basement here, and no more damage in the area! Follow the news at KCRG and Gazette. The water issue is becoming a major problem. We're not sure how long we'd have water. We're all trying our best to use as little water as possible. This morning, they reported that close to 500 city blocks are under water. Museums have been flooded. As have libraries. And business after business and home after home after home... It's really sad to see!

Tonight, friends and I are heading out to pull out the carpet at our mail lady's home. Tomorrow, we'll do the same. That's church for us tomorrow. We'll go serve wherever necessary. We can't do much, but it helps when a group of 6 "chicks" pull up and help haul stuff, or clean gutters, whatever. That's the way we felt yesterday when the girls showed up at Danette's house!

Anyway, we don't know what's going to happen the next few hours as the next storm is approaching. They're starting to talk about possible tornadoes. We don't need that. We don't need more flooding. Please pray that the rain will stop, that the water will recede, that we can start cleaning up.

My friend Erin wrote a very good entry about some of the things happening. Worth reading, for sure.

I just pulled up one of my text books for reading. Not sure how much else (work, studies, visiting with supporters) is going to happen in this last stretch in Cedar Rapids. There'll be lots of cleaning up to do. I don't think we have any idea yet of the immensity of the task ahead...

Blizzards and floods and tornadoes, oh my!

I'm still in Seattle, approaching the last day and a half of class. The past two weeks of class have truly been eye-opening. This class is basically an introduction to the entire program, so it covers urban theology and missiology, and several components on transformational leadership. We've had a wide range of speakers from all over the West Coast (mostly the Northwest, though) to expose us to the various tracks in the program. I'll be doing a leadership track. I will expand more later.

Yesterday, there was a blizzard on Mount Rainier yesterday (that's just north of Seattle). So, needless to say, it's been cold here the entire time we've been in Seattle. (Someone was commenting this week that it's a beautiful Junuary week!) In the meantime, Cedar Rapids and surrounding areas are having terrible floods. (That's the city in Iowa I fly to this weekend.) Many areas in the city and surrounding areas have been evacuated, and more rain is coming down on an already treacherous area.

Danette's home is removed from the areas in danger of flooding, but we'll probably go and help sand-bag etc when she picks me up from the airport Saturday morning. (Red-eye flight from here takes me through Portland and Minneapolis for an early-morning arrival. Yikes.)

And in the meantime, Danette is on a business trip in Omaha, where a tornado killed 4 scouts today and injured 40!

Please join in praying for all those affected by the floods & tornadoes, for the rain to stop, for the waters to recede, for safety for all. And let's pray that God will show us how to support those whose lives have been affected by this weather.

On a much lighter note: I have made some really neat friends this week! Our class is truly diverse, not only in nationalities, but also in denominations and backgrounds. Unfortunately, class has been so packed that we've not had as much time for discussion. It seems like everyone's truly using every moment, though, to work through some of the concepts. Meal times, break times, even the drive home (3 of us are staying at the the house of the dean, a former professor of mine from APU) is used to wrestle with ideas presented.

One simply cannot go back to your ministry environment unaffected by that which you have talked about this week. Well, at least I can't.

One of my new friends is a techie from around this area. So I've learned a few tricks from him. One of the most handy ones? To use Google Reader.

I know, a bunch of you are probably already doing that. I just hadn't taken the time till now to explore Google Reader. As with all other Google products, this concept is brilliant! I no longer have to check in to see if a friend has finally posted a new blog entry. All blogs that I subsribe to are delivered right to my customized Reader page (and better yet, to iGoogle!)

Some of you are thinking I'm coming out of the Dark Ages here. Oh, well. What can I say. I live in the bush. But if you're clueless what I'm talking about and were like me, opening one news site and blog after another to catch up with friends and news, I'd highly recommend that you spend an hour to set up Reader. It will save you many hours!

I'm rambling. Still need to journal about today's class. Much to write about. Much more to learn, about far, far more than computer stuff.

Non-linear thinking

• I decided not to go and take my driver's test yesterday. Thought I might not be too alert due to jetlag.
• Went this morning, but I have to produce some more pieces of mail to prove that I really have an Iowan address. So I might go back next week.
  
• Else I'll just use my South African license. Which is completely legal.
  
• I may have been the only person around Cedar Rapids wearing a coat, scarf and gloves. Some young Iowans are out in shorts and T-shirts while I'm shivering.
• It was 34 degrees this morning. It may get up to a blistering 50 degrees later in the day. Warm enough to melt all of yesterday's snow.
• Yes, we had snow yesterday.
  
• We had heavy rains yesterday afternoon, followed by an inch of snow. More, actually, but much melted thanks to the rain.
• This morning was the first morning in a while that I was back at scraping ice and snow off the window of the car I'm using.
• It was also the first morning that I was wide awake at 4 am. Got to spend 2 hours in bed, reading. Then I got up.
• Today, I get to visit with lots and lots of people at a dessert event. Tomorrow and Sunday's packed with missions events. And a wedding reception in between everything.
• I should be working on my presentation for tonight. Not a formal presentation, no. Just some pictures from the past year. Then head home to help bake a million pies for tonight.
  
• OK, I'm exaggerating, I know.
• Some people were wondering if tonight's dessert is part of the New Covenant missions weekend. Yes, it is. That's why I'm in town.
• Back to work.
  

100 Degrees of Separation

Today, it's -25F in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where many of my friends live.
And it's 85F where I am in Africa.
That's 100 degrees difference.
That's just about how far I feel from good friends right now.

Bam!

I just got shocked 10 minutes or so ago. There's a huge thunderstorm outside, and I was in my house, working on my computer. My hands were resting on the computer and my bare feet were on the tile floor when suddenly I got a huge shock just as lightning flashed outside. Within a split second, I unplugged the power cord and then BAM! came the thunder and more lightning.

We've been having a lot of rain lately. So much so that there was a mud slide in Kakamega, a town not far from here. No mud slides in Kipkaren. Just sliding in the mud, that's all.

Today, after welcoming a new team to Kipkaren, I spent time finishing a recording of our kids at the children's home. We're compiling a CD with some of their songs, memory verses and poems.

Tomorrow, the first of 400 or so youth will arrive for the 10th annual Kipkaren Youth Camp. Many of the students will be staying in tents. This place will be bustling with life for the next week.

I leave for Nairobi on Wednesday and will be back Saturday morning. Working on some projects from there, meeting interns, and hopefully getting a haircut and a movie. :)

Will try to upload an audio file to the Internet.

This time, I really did get stuck

This afternoon, the team and I were out and about. First, we wanted to go and drop off some food with a family in the greater neighborhood. During debriefing one evening, Adriel mentioned how strange it is to know we get such good food (and so much of it) while there are neighbors all around who don't have much. From that came the thought of fasting one meal and taking the food to neighbors. God laid two families on my heart: The first was the family of Caroline, a girl I had taken to the hospital last Thursday. The second is a family down the road where a toddler and another young child is taking care of their baby brother while their dad works. (Their mom left after the birth of the baby.) Granted, ELI seeks to empower rather than simply give handouts, but the Bible also teaches us, "If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?"

So we set out today to go and bless these families, and then to head to town. As we rounded the second to last corner (at a place called Corner Bar), the children's home van almost got stuck. Keep in mind that it's basically been raining for three days straight, so the roads are less than ideal for anything but 4WD vehicles. And my Land Rover is still in for major repairs to its gearbox.

Back to the story. We almost got stuck, but I rocked the vehicle forward and backward in the mud (not pushing, but by using the gears) and voila, we were out. We were smart enough to park and walk the final stretch to the home. The family was indeed blessed by the token as well as by the mere fact that we had stopped by to pray for them. Caroline is still in the hospital, and they asked if we'd come back when she's out to pray for her again.

Off we went to the second family, but we couldn't find their home right away, so we went to town, first. The team wanted to buy supplies to make breakfast for the staff on Friday morning, so I took them to the market. This was quite the experience for them! They bought some fruit, too, and Kigen (Teimuge) took them for a walk through the entire market with its bright-colored fruits and vegetables, smiling (and staring) vendors, and the smell of produce that had been trampled upon and had gone sour. The smell really is quite something!

I had an unusual experience in the market today, though, when I greeted a young mother and she jokingly asked if I would take her baby. At first, I thought I must be misunderstanding her. Perhaps she meant "take a picture of her baby," but I asked Kigen to translate for me, and he confirmed. I know she meant it as a joke, but it hurt my heart that a mom would even say something like that. I tried to respond with the biggest smile with a "But it's YOUR baby!"

We ran a few more errands, and the team really enjoyed seeing what life is like in town. In fact, for debriefing tonight, they wrote poems about the experience, and some were really funny, others were touching.

By the time we headed home, it had once again rained. And at the very worst part of the road, the car fishtailed once again, but this time, I couldn't straighten out of the mud and VOILA, there we were. Stuck. The car had turned almost 90 degrees and the rear wheels were in the little ditch on the side of the road. Without 4WD, this car was going nowhere. As the team got out to push, a little Suzuki pulled up, and the local vet, Dr. Shah, pulled me out of trouble.

However, the entire time he was towing me (he was going in reverse, towing me with the dinkiest metal cable imaginable which was hooked onto the bar right under the driver's side of the car), I was praying. But not necessarily that he'd get me out of the mud. My greatest concern was that the cable would snap and come right through the window...

Great was my relief when the car was straightened and on somewhat dry mud. The team were really excited that we actually got stuck and that they were there to experience it.

By the time we got home (and after dropping of the second batch of food with the other family), the guys went to Sammy's house for a visit. Sammy is a neighbor who had recently been hit by a taxi at night (a hit-and-run) and had a cracked skull. The girls went to Peris' house for chai. She told us about being called to a neighbor's home two days ago to deliver a baby. (She's a Traditional Birth Attendant, sort of like a midwife.) We also learned about her chicken farm, as well as about how God has redeemed their family. And we got to meet the newest member of their family, a nephew who they've taken in since the passing of his grandmother who had taken care of him. The boy's name escapes me for the moment, but I'd ask that you join us in praying for his healing. When he was a baby, he was in the hospital and had had an IV in his right hand. By the time he left the hospital, his little hand was paralyzed, most likely because of a damaged nerve. But that's not too big of a deal for God to heal, is it? I'm believing God for his hand to be restored fully.

It was a great day of cultural experiences for the team as well as a time for them to step out in faith and obedience. They were pretty wiped out by the time dinner and worship was over. I don't think they even went to read to the kids tonight!

Tomorrow, the task of keying the children's home continues. They've finished the kitchen and have now started with individual homes.

It has been such a joy working with this team, challenging them at times when they get discouraged by how much the kids know, and simply seeing how God is using each and every one of them in various ways.

Speaking of challenging: George and Sue (who left yesterday) had met with the parents from the home on Monday and talked for hours about culture and marriage. In the end, they challenged the couples to express their love for one another. Even one couple who has been married for 25 years said, "We just don't do that," but they accepted the challenge nevertheless.

When we asked them last night if they've "done their homework" yet, they just laughed and said, "It's not that easy." But this morning, the husband walked into breakfast with a smile, declaring, "I have good news!" He shared how he had dreamed about telling his wife that he loved her, and in the dream, she was radiant! So the moment he woke up, he told her, "Why should we not express what we feel?" And so they told one another that they love each other... Though expressing affection may be cultural, I do believe most people want to also hear that they are loved. It's cute to see a couple who've shown one another their love and devotion finally take the plunge and say it!

On this note, it's time for me to head to Dreamland. Flannel's already fast asleep in the pillow on my lap.

Rain. No rain.

Though it's the rainy season, and though we've had some days - even weeks - with plenty of rain, we've not had as much rain as we need. Davis, my neighbor in Kipkaren, explained the plight of the Kenyans well in this letter.

Even as I've been typing this, we had rain for just 15 seconds or so. I am praying that the rain will return.

Tomorrow, I will be going to Nairobi for 3 days. I've really not had any time out since I've been back, so these breakaways to Nairobi are critical for sanity purposes. I need to get a haircut. I'd love to see a movie. And I'll simply relax by going to sit and read a good book in a good coffee shop! (We don't have coffee shops in this area.) I also need to return a damaged piece of luggage to British Airways at the airport, and I am meeting with friends who recently lost their 9-month-old baby.

Before I head to bed: Today, a weaver bird came and sat by my window and kept pecking at the window. It was really cute. Then an African paradise flycatcher flew right into my kitchen and out again, and perched on my kitchen door! Later, as I took out my trash, there was a pair of cinnamon-chested bee-eaters right above my head, just watching me watch them. And yesterday, a Ross' turaco was playing in the tree right by my house! It was especially neat to see it fly - the tips of its wings are the brightest red imaginable. But even as it was just hopping about the tree, eating seeds, the contrast between its bright yellow beak and red crest was beautiful!

I love God's creativity with all these different birds, and with the people he has placed around me.

If your phone, power and water all work at the same time...

... you're probaly not be in Ilula. A good friend used to say that of Malawi, where she was a missionary. It's more and more true of this neck of the woods.

We've had a lot of issues with water recently. I have to remember to turn on the water before getting soap on my hands. Or test the shower before getting ready to get clean. But even if you do so, often times, when you're halfway through a shower, the water would just stop. Just like that.

Similarly, we've been having a number of power outages recently. I am not sure how things work at home, but out here, the fuses in the huge transformers seem to blow every so often, as it did today. By the time I got to Ilula, power had been out all morning. Kenya Power didn't know of the problem. They came out to fix the fuse 5 hours later. I'm thankful indeed that they did come to fix it. As Westerners, we're pretty dependent on power. (I am, at least. My computer battery only lasts that long. And the stuff in your fridge gets bad after the power is off for some time.)

On a different note: Today, before I left Kipkaren to return to Ilula, I stopped by the school to take some pictures. A first-grader was crying really hard out on the playground. I went to check on her and found that little Viola had a terrible sore on her toe. Puss was oozing out... I was trying hard not to look grossed out by it. I could never be nurse! I did take her to the clinic, though, where they took good care of her.

Back in Ilula, I visited with the kids for a few hours this evening. Like they often do, the kids had a million questions about everything under the sun, from Osama to earthquakes! They also got to sing "Happy birthday" to my brother Henk. The kids were laughing hard at me speaking Afrikaans on the phone to him. Henk is 42 today. This is a photo of the mountains in the town where he and his family live. (This is where Henk works.) South Africa's been exceptionally cold recently. Places that rarely ever get snow, got snow.
So, happy birthday again, Henk. Hope you have a wonderful year!

On that note, I'm off to bed. Lots to get done in the office tomorrow.

Ruby Tuesday

...as in, the opposite of Blue Monday. It's a gorgeous day. I've been up since early. Spent time praying with neighbor Jen this morning very early. That did my soul well. Had no power for a while due to wires being replaced in the center, so I worked on getting furniture into the house. Right now, it's raining. It rained quite a bit the past couple of days, which is good. The crops need the rains.

Speaking of crops, some of the interns from the agricultural program made double-dug beds for me yesterday. That is, they made beds for my vegetable garden by digging the soil at least 2 ft deep and tilling all the soil. I have three beds ready for seeds. I'm planning on planting baby spinach, romaine lettuce, sweet peppers and some herbs.

Here's how things are looking at my place right now. It's starting to look more and more like a little home.

This is my bedroom. The curtains still need to be made, so the Kikoi tucked into the burglar bars is just temporary. I'm still trying to figure out how to get a little dresser into the room, too...
The living room area. The Action Packer and stuff on the right will be gone soon and replaced by a small, square dining room table. Patrick's painting it right now. Next, he'll do some shelving for the kitchen. As I'm typing, the plumber is fixing my bathroom. Or so I think, at least.

OK, lunch break's over. Back to work to the sound of thunder and the rain pounding on the iron sheet roof. Ah, I love the African rains.

Random thoughts on a rainy Saturday night

I just wrote a long update on the team blog. I'd love to upload photos of the past few days, but just realized that my USB cables were left in Kipkaren. I hope this doesn't happen too often now that I'll be juggling life between two places--having the wrong stuff in the wrong place. Oh, well.

So I can't upload a picture of my new chameleon. He is asleep on my plant. Barra Barra passed away recently, so John (who took care of him) found me a new chameleon. This one's the same type (side-striped chameleon), but it's far more yellow than Barra Barra was. And it's not yet as sociable. Nor does it have a name yet.

Some things I learned the past few days:

• In the late 1800s, the British government disarmed all the tribes of Kenya as they continued invading the country under colonial rule. The Nandi (the people of Kipkaren and a sub-tribe of the Kalinjin) provided the most resistance. In fact, I'm learning a lot about the Nandi Resistance as I'm spending time with my new friends in Kipkaren. One of my colleagues, Richard, told me how his last name (Birgen) means warrior in Nandi. His grandfather was one of the warriors who tried to fight off the British, including shooting the trains with arrows!
• In 1905, the last Nandi King was assassinated. The Maasai helped the British to kill the Nandi king. I'm told that due to the fact that the Maasai helped the government with killing the man-eating lions of the Tsavo in 1898 (the movie The Ghost and the Darkness was based on these lions' story) as well as with the assassination of the Nandi King, they were never disarmed by the British government.
  

Other random thoughts/facts:

• I'm starting to think of more and more Swahili phrases in my mind as I do other things. Now I must just use those phrases whenever/wherever I can--a critical part of language learning.
• At the campaign yesterday, I volunteered to get tested for HIV/AIDS. It's hard to try and convince others to be tested if you had never been tested. My results were the same is 99% of those tested. Negative. Not that I wondered!
  
• Yesterday, I was actually craving Kenyan-style grilled corn, that is field corn grilled on an open fire. On our way back from the campaign, I stopped on the side of the road to buy everyone in the car an ear of freshly-grilled corn. It tastes a bit like burned popcorn (except it's good, while burned popcorn tastes terrible!)
• It's been raining every single day since I've been home. Many days, there are some heavy rains around 2 pm. It has rained much of the night every night. This makes for some pretty muddy shoes and even muddier roads. It also makes for some challenges in getting laundry dry. I have a retractable clothesline inside my house which helps a lot.
• Duchess hasn't been seen for a few days now... She may have fallen prey to a snake or an eagle. Or maybe she just found another home. I'm hoping it's the latter.
• Today, I was at a 25th-wedding anniversary celebration that was supposed to be "starting at 11 and ending no later than 2." I have learned that with functions like these (including weddings and funerals) Kenyan 11 is usually 12 at the earliest. I showed up at 12. I was the second guest. We finally started at 1:30 and finished at 5:45, after 17 speeches. (Yes, I counted.)
  
• There's a long-crested eagle that nests close to my home in Kipkaren. I watched it for a while the other afternoon, sitting in the trees really close to me! It's a good thing to have around since it eats rodents. But it'll also eat chickens, so that's not good. The birdlife around our base in Kipkaren is amazing!
• Today would've been my Ouma's 96th birthday. She passed away 5 years ago, just short of her 91st birthday. She was a wonderful woman who loved Jesus!
  

On that note, I'm going to pop in a movie and relax for a bit. It's time to switch off this mind of mine.

Soaked

I'm drenched. When I set out earlier this evening to make the rounds, greeting people whom I hadn't yet visited, I didn't notice any clouds. But I should know better. The rainy season has started, and though it hadn't yet rained much here, people have been praying for rain as they've started planting their crops.

Anyway, I first stopped by the Teimuges' home. Despite the fact that I had already had dinner at my home, I was invited to eat again. It's impolite to decline, so I had just a little slice of ugali and black nightshade (like very strong spinach). And a cup of chai, of course. Then I headed out to read to the East Side kids. (I had read to the West last night.)

The kids raved about the peeps again and wanted to make double sure we'll get to see the story of Jesus tomorrow. They had seen the Jesus Film for Kids in December 05 and have been asking about it ever since! No-one knew where the DVD was, so I purchased a new copy in the US. You should see how excited the kids are that they'll see the story of Jesus again! It's amazing! But they're also already asking what they'll be seeing next week. We'll see. Perhaps Charlotte's Web.

Anyway, while I was reading, it started raining harder and harder. I walked home as fast as I could in the dark (no moon, no flashlight).

It really is good to be back. I'm so trying to focus on all the things I had decided during my "recompression time." I've not gotten much work done yet, but that doesn't matter. The driving value in Kenyan culture is relationships. I can do my job well, but unless I spend quality time visiting with people--even having a second dinner if need be--my labors would be in vain.

Please pray that I'll get over jet lag really quickly. I slept very well my first night, probably because I was so sleep depraved by the time I got home. Last night, I finally fell asleep around 5:30! I'm ready to head to bed soon, though, hoping for a better night's rest.

Lala salama, friends. Sleep peacefully.

Disaster Area, and more

Turns out I live in a disaster area. The entire state of Iowa has been declared a disaster area due to the weather. Where I live in Cedar Rapids, we've had it easy. No power outages. No real challenges other than being stuck in the house. But all around us there's terrible effects of last week's ice storm. I drove down a rural road this week en route to a meeting. There were at least 50 power poles, snapped, toppled by the weight of the ice. Some other poles and trees had a sheet of ice around them perhaps 3 to 5 inches thick! It was bizarre to see! Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me.

Danette had to fly to South Dakota for work and got stranded. When flights got canceled, she decided to rent a big SUV and ride out the storm. Fortunately, she decided to do the right thing and pull into a hotel in a litte town in South Dakota when visibility got too poor. (A lot of highways have been closed due to the strong winds causing white-outs. Apparantly, lots of cars are in the ditches on the side of the road. With travel nearly impossible even to rescue vehicles, volunteers have been taking to the highways on snow mobiles to rescue stranded motorists.)

I'm thankful Danette was smart enough to pull over. It's a bummer that she's stuck in a hotel out in SD, though.

I miss my friend. It has been such an incredible blessing to spend this "recompression time" at her house. She travels a lot due to work, so though I stay at her home right now, she's actually gone more than she's home. In fact, she was stranded in Atlanta, Georgia, just this past weekend due to weather.

It's rare to meet a friend like her, someone with whom your heart connects instantly, who makes you laugh and who challenges you. She's been a huge blessing to me. I've realized that I don't write much about her. For those of you here in Cedar Rapids who know her, you'll agree with some of the things I love about my friend: Her love for God. Her love of life. Her passion. Her smile. Her laughter. Her heart. Her guts. Her giftedness in working with people.

I've been blessed with several amazing friends in my life. Danette stands out as one of the best, a Proverbs 27:17 friend.

Speaking of friends: Pam and I were able to go and see Amazing Grace this evening. (We were supposed to go last Friday but got snowed in.) I absolutely loved the movie! It's truly inspirational. I wholeheartedly agree what Pastor Kim says about the movie!

I found this clip from the movie on Christianity.com. (Click on the link for more clips from the movie.)

The movie truly makes you wonder: What would it take to change the world?

Blizzard

Late this afternoon, I finally got out to scrape ice off the car and move it out of the driveway in preparation of a trip to the airport. (I wanted to be able to get to Danette's Pilot in the garage. I'd much rather be driving a big SUV on these roads than a small sedan.)

What a job getting the thick sheet of ice off the windows. It was bizarre working so hard just to back the car out of the driveway, but you can't quite drive not being able to see a thing through the windows.

And that's what it's supposed to be like tonight. Whiteout conditions. Some roads in the area are closed due to power lines being down. Teams are being brought in from surrounding states to help with the power outages. Much of Cedar Rapids was without power this evening. Fortunately, in my part of town, power was out for maybe 3 seconds. I'm trusting it'll stay on for the rest of the night. It's starting to snow quite heavily, so with heavy snow packed on icy cables, it's possible we can still lose power. We're supposed to be getting up to 9" of snow in this part overnight.

I ended up not going to the airport after all, by the way. Danette's flight was canceled. She's stuck in Atlanta, hoping to get in tomorrow. I'm hoping they're able to land by early afternoon... Church has been canceled for tomorrow. I'm ready to have my friend back home.

Stuck

I was going to see Amazing Grace with my friend Pam last night and attend a Beth Moore simulcast at church today. However, I'm stuck at home. We're having a terrible storm that started last night with freezing rain. The freezing rain has continued on and off since late afternoon yesterday so that most of the windows in the house now look like etched bathroom windows because of the layer of ice on the outside. There's at least half an inch of ice out on the driveway. Not safe at all to be outside... I'll stay put right where I am. At least being stuck in the house has given me an opportunity to tackle tasks such as going through boxes that I'm storing at Danette's house. What better time to get into the attick and sort through things than now. I've had enough sorting for a bit, though. I'm going to get comfortable with a book, I think.

This is just WRONG!

It's -9F outside. That's -22C! But it's windy, so it feels like it's -25F (-31C)! That's just not right! I was out earlier, taking Danette and her mom to the airport. My computer was in the back seat for just a while, and even though I've been indoors for a while now, it still feels like my arms are resting on a block of ice. I'm very, very thankful for good heating. In fact, I came straight from the airport to Java Creek, one of the local coffee shope to sit here and work. There's a fireplace, but both comfy seats closest to the fire are taken right now. Can't wait for those people to leave so I can get closer to the fire...

Last night, my friend Karen and I went to see a movie. It was sort of silly to go out considering the cold weather. Meetings were being called off everywhere, but there we were, heading out. There were no long lines at the movies. In fact, until about 20 minutes into the movie, we were the only people in the theater. We saw The Last Sin Eater. Based on Francine Rivers' book by the same title, it's a powerful story of redemption, but also about the power that one person can have in changing their culture by seeking to know the Truth. It's well worth seeing. Perhaps not in sub-zero weather, but nevertheless, it's worth seeing.

"I hate playing Poker with Christians!"

Winner!
Originally uploaded by Boyznberry.

I won't say who said it, because that won't be nice. :) But it was one of the funniest lines at the "Texas hold 'em" poker night at my friend Beth's house. I've never played poker and wasn't too keen on learning, but I went for the pure sake of hanging out with friends. The comment came as a result of one player losing all her chips, and another saying, "Oh, no! You can have 'em back!"

We had lots of fun, despite the cold weather outside. Right now, it's -11F out. That's -24C! As the night goes on, the high is supposed to be -13 (-25C)!

Fortunately, I'm flying to California tomorrow where it's warmer. But I don't mind the cold weather. Especially not when I'm indoors with good friends.

Click on the picture for a few more photos from tonight's event.

Crunch

I love the sound when you walk on good packing snow.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
I need to dig out my snow boots so I can go for a walk.
I'd also need my hat, coat and several layers of clothing.
It's cold out. I love that winter is finally here.

Great neighbor!

As I'm sitting here, there's a low buzz outside: Neighbor Lauren is out cleaning Danette's driveway with his snowblower. Wow! What a neighbor! Which makes me wonder, what do I do to bless my neighbors? Hmmm.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

It's snowing outside. Just light snow, but snow, nevertheless. Perhaps when I get up in the morning, it will be all white outside. Soon, I'd have to find my snow boots, somewhere between my stuff somewhere in Danette's house.

Further to yesterday's remodeling post, the house is starting to look like a normal home, bit by bit. Perhaps we'd even be able to get a Christmas tree up this weekend. Perhaps I'd even be able to move into my room again and know where everything is.

I'm blessed to be able to help Danette during this time. I wouldn't want to be doing this job of moving and cleaning on my own! Plus it gives me something totally different to set my mind on... I've been meeting with a fair share of people and avoiding doing regular ELI work for the time being. Soon I'd have to get to it, though.

For now, I'll just appreciate the snow and the fact that I can go to cozy coffee shops and beautiful homes to visit with people about what God is going in Africa and in my life.