I'm feeling decidedly uninspired to do a regular post. We do have a few pictures and a video or two but I'm so far behind on computer time (emails, work, etc) that I can't face doing something that requires pushing so many buttons- plus it's a Saturday afternoon (which is our date time) and the pool opened today after a month of renovations.
Still, I feel a bit of guilt for having left off with posts recently- so I thought I'd just write a little about things I've been thinking, etc.
1) I found fresh basil in the market here- had no idea it was here but it's cheap and oh so flavorful. I made bruschetta the first day we had it. Mmmm
2) There are some really beautiful colors on birds here- they're not all showy like the parrots in Costa Rica, but under the brown you'll see a flash of brillant bright turquoise. That's so surprising every time.
3) I've been thinking a lot about being a good rich person (a theme on this blog, I know). I found a great bit about this at the end of 1 Timothy. Right after it talks about the love of money being the root of all evil it says 17Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
Since I consider virtually all of my friends reading this blog to be rich (just like me), I challenge you to think about those verses. I have a friend here who is poor though not as poor as many. I define her as poor not just because her finances are tight, but because she does not have power. That is the real key to poverty in my opinion. She doesn't have an education, she doesn't have control over her husband's drinking (and wasting money on beer or how he acts when he's drunk), she doesn't have control over the decisions of landlords who decide to evict people with no notice, etc. etc. During an unrelated conversation, an American friend of mine was telling me that Congolese Christians are often Jesus + and not Jesus only, holding the idea of going to the fetisher in the back of their minds as a plan B to prayer. We were enjoying the verses in Colossians that talk about the supremacy of Christ and how the writer was emphasizing that for the church in Colossus because they were tending to include Jesus among their other gods but not in exclusion of them. Anyway, it hit me like a thunderbolt. We Americans tend to be Jesus + too but it's money that is our +. I felt very convicted and loved how this verse in 1 Timothy says not to put our hope in our money. What a good reminder!
3) Sam is a super fun mimicker these days- pig noise, lapping milk like a puppy he saw on tv, brushing his teeth, etc. I am also reminding myself to hold Sam loosely- I don't have control over lots of things including his safety and I have been reflecting on what it is to trust God in and with all things (including the lives of my favorite people). These thoughts have been influenced by a blog I'm reading some these days my charming kids
4) along with that last one (since the author of that blog and I are also going through similar things in our faith though through very different circumstances), a good friend of mine sent me an email this week which put into words exactly how I'm feeling right now. So encouraging to hear from someone who has been there
"One thing that we have learned so much in our 4 years overseas is about faith. I thought I knew all about faith before we started out, but I realize now that I only knew about it in theory! We have also faced a lot of disapointments and set-backs along the way. In fact, I don't think anything we started out to do has ever turned out how we hoped and expected. Our first year I really struggled with God on this; I really felt like He had let me down. It was during that time that He challenged me to believe that He is good--no matter how things go or what happens. It was during that time that I studed the word "hope" all through the Bible, which is where my 2nd daughter got her middle name. I realized that my hope had to be anchored to a deep believe and understanding that God is good and that nothing that happens is beyond his ability to redeem and restore. I had to choose to believe this in spite of a lot of things going wrong, me being disapointed by how things were working out, and all of the stress I was feeling in trying to raise my 18 month old. During that time the writing of Amy Carmichael was really helpful to me because so much of what she writes about is centered on the goodness of God.
My friend here often talks about how the biggest battle in the Christian life is to believe. To believe God's promises, to believe in His goodness, to believe that He is able to work beyond what our minds can understand."
5) we've been having a ridiculous number of logisitical challenges. Almost every day something breaks. I'm honestly not exaggerating. For example, just this last week- our electrical wiring was being worked on so we were without electricity in 1/2 the house and had to call back the poor electrician 5 times in as many days. Our car this week has had fixed it's clutch, brake pads, hand brake, gear box, radio, fuel guage and then clutch and brakes again. We just got 2 new flash drives in the mail to replace three that had mysteriously broken and one of those just fried. Our generator broke last week during horrible citywide power cuts for about a week and we had just used it three times before it broke again last night. So John spent the morning going to find someone to fix it (it's on again- hence the blogging). Oh and we haven't had water from the city in 9 days. We have been buying water to fill up our underground tank but we really have to conserve water so we haven't done laundry (and Sam is officially out of clean clothes :-)- in fact yesterday we dressed him in a shirt that we didn't think was that bad, but it must have been because when our babysitter got here to take him out she said 'let me just change this first' :-) )
6) these logistical difficulties are hard, but having them makes us realize that they aren't that hard for us compared to not being settled in a work routine yet (though it would be nice if John didn't have to go hunting through the markets to find pieces for the car or the generator).
And to finish off- things that I love about Congo and my life here (always nice to focus on the positive, right?)
a) the birds
b) how green it is even during the dry season
c) how cool the dry season is- even with fall leaves :-)
d) Sam's babysitter- she's so great and she lives so close and her kids like playing with Sam and she has the most wonderfully cheering smile
e) fresh herbs in the market (basil, mint, parsley, celery, chives) for so cheap
f) our 'family' Barb, Ann, Ruth, Ron and Hannah and Leticia (at least those are the members in Brazza now). I love praying with them on Friday mornings and eating and playing games Friday nights. I love how they are supportive and give good advice and hugs.
g) I appreciate that even though shorts are off-limits, I can wear tanktops and short sleeve shirts- a definite improvement in my books over other warm places I've lived and had to cover up more
I could probably do more, but that'll do for now. Pics and videos next time :-)
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