Category: Other Page 81 of 181

Crazy Love

By

On June 13, 2013

In Other

They came on Sunday afternoon.  So many of them; these people we love.

And they played the games that Gil loves to play and has played so many times.  And we laughed together and ate together.

And when the eating was done, they all sat down on the floor of the basketball court.  The place where we have seen so many assemblies and graduations and sports tournaments and International Days and Christmas programs and the place where our hearts have been exchanged with theirs.  

So it was a good place to sit.  

And we laughed and cried and they loved us, and the sadness and the sweetness intermingled.  

And then they surrounded us with their love and lifted us up to the One who loves us even more.    

 My cup overflows.  

Thanks, Guys.

By

On June 8, 2013

In Other

 

Dear Blog Readers,

 

Hi.  I really like you guys. 

 

I love writing.  And you guys read what I write.  So…thank you!

 

I have been doing a lot of shopping lately.  We have a lot of people to thank, and a lot of birthdays and other holidays coming up in America. 

 

But while I was doing all that shopping, I also thought of you guys, my readers. 

 

 

 

So I bought you these.  Do you like them?  They are boxes carved in Zanzibar style, which is my favorite type of carving here. 

 

I know, I know, there are only two.  And I think there are about 200 of you.  I couldn’t buy 200 boxes. 

So……we’re going to do a drawing!  Ooooooh…I’m so excited.

All you have to do is leave a comment.  (I’ll tell you how to do that below.)

There are a couple of reasons I am doing this:

1.  I want to thank you for sticking with my blog.

2.  Because I want to know who you are.  If I have a real-life conversation with you in America, it really helps me to know if you are reading my blog.  Because, well, then I know that you know me.  It’s kind of weird, actually, to think that you know me so well and I don’t know you nearly as well.  But still good to know. 

So would you tell me who you are? 

This is the deal:

Leave a comment and tell me you are reading my blog.  You can do this one of two ways:

If you have a gmail account or blogger account, just sign in with that username. 

If you do not have a gmail account, then you can leave an anonymous comment.  How will I know who you are, you ask?  Well….sign your name after your comment!  Then the anonymous comment won’t be anonymous anymore….crazy how that works.

If I don’t know you, would you please let me know how you found my blog? 

And if the whole comment thing is just too technological for you, then just send me an email and tell me that you read my blog. 

I will wait about a week, put all the names into a hat, and let you know the winners!

I am willing to send these boxes anywhere in the world. 

Oh, one more thing.  If you live in East Africa and already have a half dozen Zanzibar boxes in your house, then if I choose your name, I will send you a bag of American candy of your choice!

Thanks for reading!

The Wonderful Life of Grace Medina, Part 2, and the People Who Make it Wonderful

By

On June 5, 2013

In Other

Living in Tanzania is a pretty great place to grow up, but attending HOPAC….well, that really puts it over the top.  I am so thankful that my kids get to attend here, and Grace (and even Josiah and Lily) have been able to participate in such wonderful experiences.  

You’ll see pictures below of a 1K Fun Run (part of a 5K race for older students) that Grace participated in…and won for her age group!   

You’ll also see pictures of beautiful murals.  Grace got to be a part of this after-school group which spent a number of months designing and painting murals in front of each elementary classroom.  

And third, pictures of the The Legend of the Lion King, a wonderful performance that all three of my kids got to join.    

What’s remarkable about all three events is that they were all initiated, coordinated, and staffed by volunteer teachers.  No one forced Rose to organize the 5K.  Sarah and Emily volunteered to teach a group of a dozen students or so to paint murals (knowing that there would be lots of small children and paint involved!)  And Sue and Jenny took on the ambitious Lion King project purely out of love.

They did not get paid overtime.  It was not part of their job description.  

They did these things because they love Jesus and HOPAC and our students.

Those are the kind of people I want my kids to be around.  

So, so blessed.  

The1K Race

The 2013 Mural Project

(Grace with Mikayla and Ellena.  They designed and painted much of this mural.)

The Legend of the Lion King

Rafiki with Baby Simba (aka Josiah)

Pride Rock

Timon and Pumbaa

I am His

By

On May 29, 2013

In Other

I dream of hugging my Daddy again, and chatting with my mom for an hour after breakfast.  I can’t wait to experience winter and spring with my children, and to go for long quiet walks in the park. 

I want to order pizza and have it delivered to my door when I don’t feel like cooking.  I want a break from ticks and cockroaches and mosquitoes.  I want to be able to drive a car without that tense feeling in my stomach. 

I long to sing in the churches that are full of my history and to ride bikes with my children on the same street where I used to ride bikes.  I want kitchen drawers that don’t have to be yanked open so hard that I fall backwards and I want to celebrate Independence Day and Thanksgiving and Memorial Day in the right country.

Yet.

I will miss how the Indian Ocean sparkles when I walk to school.  I will miss the dirt on my feet that represents the grit and the sweat and the earthiness of a life that has not been paved over.  I will miss the way my children are entertained by so little and the frozen juice boxes they beg for almost every day after school.  I will miss being Mrs. Medina to hundreds of children who I have watched grow.

I don’t know how I will live a year without my soul sisters, who are knit together in my heart and have held me up through the sweat and the dust.  Here, I am understood.  I am losing all of my work, all of my jobs and tasks and my identity, and even my roles of wife and mom are going to change completely as I take on new work, new routines.

And I don’t know who I will be, because Africa and HOPAC have been my life for 10 years. 

The emotions of excitement and anticipation and loss and stress and grief and transition and change all clash together in my heart. 

Too much feeling; just too much.

My brain is tired, and often I just go numb. 

But I know it has an end, and I know from experience that when I get on the plane, everything is okay.  Because I have been at this place before, and that makes it easier. 

And He is there, and I am His. 

He will never leave me, even to the ends of the earth.

Why Not?

By

On May 25, 2013

In Other

Young people write to us sometimes and ask, How do you know if you are called to missions? 

I always struggle to answer that question eloquently.  Today, I read the perfect answer.  It wasn’t written in the context of missions, and it applies far beyond it.  But from now on, this is how I will answer that question.

Marvin Olasky, editor of WORLD Magazine (our favorite) wrote this in the May 4 edition (they arrive late here) on the topic of whether or not to consider a radical move:

Much depends on motive.  Here are three clarifying questions:

First, where can I be most useful to the cause of Christ?

Second, where will I be most challenged to live and think as becomes a follower of Christ?

Third, what will I love doing?

Then he adds, Once we know ourselves, chapter 3 of Proverbs tells us what to do.  ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart….He will make straight your path.’

Brilliant.  That’s it, right there. 

Know your God.  Know how He made you.  And ask those three questions.

These questions apply to the decision to marry a particular person.  They help in the decision of whether or not to adopt.  They apply to the dilemma of a college to pick or a career to choose.  They apply to how you choose to school your children.  They apply to the neighborhood you decide to live in and the church you choose to attend.

I do realize that sometimes we are not given the luxury of choosing; sometimes our circumstances make the choice for us.  And in those cases, bloom where you are planted.  That’s God’s will too. 

But, as Olasky says so well,

Why not go for the challenge rather than play out the string?

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