St. Patrick's day fun!

First on the serious side take a look at this prayer.  It is attributed to St. Patrick and is called his breastplate.
http://prayerfoundation.org/st_patricks_breastplate_prayer.htm  I really like this prayer.  It is said that Patrick prayed it every day when he woke up.  So, there is the serious side of this holiday.

When Patrick got to Ireland as a slave the island was non-christian.  During his years as a slave he drew closer to God and the Faith of his childhood.  After he escaped he went back to Ireland and preached the Good News of the Gospel.  At his death, most of the Irish people had converted to Christianity.  Lord, help me to be a missionary like Patrick!

Okay, so I had a little fun today.  I wanted to make green pancakes this morning, but I couldn't find my green food coloring.  After a breakfast of very sad regular looking pancakes, I went to town hunting for some.  I found it and spruced up the lunch we were fixing for my workers and some kids.  This is the result.

green Ugali

a fun lunch

We made ugali and cabbage stew for lunch.  Ugali is white corn meal that is cooked in water until it gets stiff - like mush for those who know what that is :).  When we took it out and Idi saw it, he made quite a face.  I had to show him it was the same stuff he normally eats before he would try it.  His little brother, Ichwa didn't have any problem eating green ugali

Idi & the green food

Ichwa says "YUM!"

We didn't make enough stew for me to eat too, so I made a St. Patrick's day meal for myself.  I can't get corned beef here that I know of except in a can.  I cranked open a can and added that to some chopped up cabbage and onions and fried it all up together.  I also made some green mashed potatoes.  I had some guacamole that I made a few days ago and added that just because it was green.  It didn't really go very well with the rest of my meal.  I decided to try making a green drink as well.  I had some ginger ale so I added some powder to that and it came out very green.  

I hope you have enjoyed the fun I had today.  I had a great time working on this and taking the pictures.  I hope you enjoy both the serious part of this post and the fun part and maybe they both will take on the flavor of the other for you as they did for me.  Have a great weekend!

The Way of Ants...and people

This past week I saw a long line of ants going in both directions.  I followed the line into my mind and thought.  We are a lot like ants.  We follow those who have gone before us.  We do what needs to be done as we walk the line.  I wondered if those ants knew where they were going and why they were going there.  Did they wonder too?  Did they ask?

Our lives are journeys toward something.  Sometimes we know exactly where we are going and why we are going there.  Sometimes we just keep going even if we don't know what the end result will be.  If we are people of faith, we know the end goal, but maybe not the in between stages and turnings.  We are often left with questions along the way.  Even so, we keep following the way that is set before us praying for insight and wisdom to see the turnings in time to make them.  We move along in the journey trying to serve and live lives that will bring glory to our creator.  We think we know why we are here in this particular place and time, but wonder where this path may be taking us in the next part of the journey.

A turn on the way

Ants follow the pheromones of the ants that went before them.  Me, I follow the Lord Jesus Christ, but there is no pheromone trail for me to sniff out.  So, how do I know where I am going?  Just like those ants, I don't know exactly where I am going.  There is a "trail" to help me follow.  The Word, God's Spirit living in me prompting my actions, faithful witnesses present and past, helpful comments and critiques from fellow followers - all these things help mark the way.  So, like the ants, I may not know where the journey is taking me, but I am going to keep taking those steps of faith each day because I know God has a plan for me in this journey.  What about you?  Any thoughts on your journey or about ants?  I'd love to hear them.

Seeing the ants was one of my gifts from God this week.  I'm listing out a few of the ways God makes himself known in my present, as my present.  It is a blessing to me and I hope it is a small one to you as well.

a gift bent, broken & beautiful

208. A long line of ants bent on a specific task.

209. Monday's sweet, beautiful smile as she caught up to me on my walk today.

Taken in Nov. '11

210. My "broken" Turkana that is still able to communicate love.

3 gifts in the kitchen

211. My double sided sign - a gift from friends that never fails to bring questions from guest and smiles to my face.

the kitchen side

the dining room side

212. My newish stove and crockpot that help to make cooking easier!

213. My fridge covered with pictures - the faces of friends all over the world.

214. a gift loud - The hum of the town generator.  It is a 15 minute walk away and noisy, but it means I have the many blessings of power.

215. Being able to help a new family adjust to this place just a little.

216. Seeing a cat completely comfortable laying on a gunny sack over greens being sold in a shop in town.  Only here :).

217. "Science lesson" with the Harris kids sharing about the line of ants seen again today.

218. A quiet day of reflecting and work.

219. Kakalei's big smile and greeting every first time he sees me in a day.

220. Encouragement from an unexpected source :).

221. Reading Dr. Suess to some of my kids.

222. Playing kick the ball (backwards) with some kids while out walking.

223. Finding Scripturetyper.com to help me with my memory work.

3 Gifts read

224. God's word in Turkana - Joyful praise in their heart language.

225. In the Company of Others - a good read!

226. E-mails from home to brighten the day.

227. Kids on the rocks yelling down greetings.

228. Good prayer time with friends.  Turkana grapes(!!) & John 15.

229. Pretty in pink.

 

The Numbered Gifts

Hello!  Another week has come and I need to get my gifts listed out here as I am a little behind.  I hope this is encouraging to those reading my lists each week.  Maybe it will help you to find the ways God is blessing you.  So, without further delays, here are a few of the gifts of God to me this past week.

Gifts from the past that help me trust the future

186. Times when God has spoken to me through his Word and dreams when I was troubled or had a decision to make - they help me know he will also be there in the future.

187. Knowing he has a plan for my future and to give me hope! Jer 29:11

188. Knowing my help comes from the Lord - the almighty one!  Ps. 121

189. The words of old hymns of the faith - they strengthen and sustain me as I sing and think of them!

gifts dull, shimmering & clean

190. Working through some notes for a class - dull but helpful.

191. The shimmering sun -no dust haze today!

192. Clean floors - walking on the dust in the house no longer - at least for today.

193. Hearing the giggles of children outside my window - always makes me smile!

194. A fun, fast walk with a friend.

195. Finished a project that needed to be done.

Green gifts

196. Little Hannah in her green skirt.

197. My snake plant still doing well and a new green thing coming up.

My snake plant - or mother-in-law tongue  :)

new green things in the desert should always be celebrated!
I don't know what it is, but happy to see it.

198. 321 kids registered for a Hope Partnership school in Turkana!  Now to find sponsors and get the building built so classes can start in September. YIPEE!

199. A successful "Lynn's Concoction" served for dinner to guests.  :)

upside down tamale pie is what I call this Lynn Concoction.

200. A nice visit with folks from Missouri.

201. Hearing voices from home- a good chat with family by phone.

202. A hard thanks - the loud, all night, week-long music of neighbors mourning a death in the family.

203. Elias' enjoyment of some books I have - he wants the next one before his dad finishes reading him the first one.  :)

204. Help from Kara with meal preparation for tomorrow's meeting.

205. A good meeting and it is finished!

206. God provides blessing even in sadness.  Praying for Gene's Mom.

207. A wonderful lunch of Pad Thai with friends and teammates after the meeting!

That is my list for last week.  I hope you have been blessed as well.  

English is Fun!

Learning English can be a challenge to anyone who didn't learn it from their parents as a child.  My Turkana students are challenged by it, but they also have fun when we come together to learn new things.  This past week was no exception.

We spent a large part of our time talking about the resurrection and ascension of Jesus after his death on the cross.  Since last week also included Ash Wednesday, I decided to take my students to a service.  We went to a Catholic service that was held in English for local school children.  My students had never been to such a service, so it was definitely something they wanted to talk about the next day of class.

We spent about two hours going over what they saw, heard, did and thought about the whole thing.  They had many good observations and it was a good way to get them using their English in practical ways.  We spent time talking about and reading the Scripture passages used in the service.  We also talked about the things that are different and the same in a Catholic service compared to our worship services.  We talked about how being marked with the cross is an outward symbol of a spiritual reality.  When we choose to follow Jesus, our whole lives are marked by what Jesus did on the cross for us.  It was a very good conversation.

I asked them how this focus on the cross and our need for what Jesus did there went with our topic for the week.  We read and talked about 1 Corinthians 15:3-20.  The cross is a necessary part of our salvation and so is the resurrection.  The cross shows us the cost of our sin and the resurrection gives us the hope of eternal life.  

The movie we are slowly watching is called "The Hope."  The students watch part of the movie and we go over the words of the movie in simplified form and then the actual transcript.  They learn new English words to help them tell the Good News of the story they already know.  They spend time describing what they see in pictures from the movie, matching the story of the movie with the pictures, listening to words and putting them in the correct order to make sentences, and spelling English words. We play several games to help them remember the new words and phrases.

We also spent some time this week with the students reading from simple storybooks.  They read their stories to the class and did very well with their pronunciation.  They really liked this and asked for more stories to read.  So, one of their assignments for the weeks between class is to read another storybook to another English speaker and be ready to read it for class in March.  

So, that is a small description of a week of English class here in Turkana.  I hope your week is going well!

Marked By Thanksgiving

This past week was the beginning of Lent.  I attended an Ash Wednesday service with my English students and was marked by the Cross.  This marking reminded me how much I need the cross and resurrection of Jesus because of my sin.  This marking also made me immensely thankful for what Jesus did and marked me with Thanksgiving for the day.  Continuing to name the daily gifts of God that I see also helps to daily mark me with Thanksgiving to God.

3 gifts white

163. A gray and white go away bird making his distinctive call.

In the center of the picture.

164. A white breasted chicken seen wandering around free.

165. I missed the thorns - didn't step on them on my walk.

166. My students read their storybooks well in front of the class.

167. Ash Wednesday service with my students.

168. A prayer in English by one of my students that just rolled off his tongue without him having to stop and think of the correct English words.  YAY!

169. A good class discussion about the cross and resurrection in relation to the Ash Wednesday service we participated in the day before.

Gift of tin, glass and wood

170. The tin (?) chimes that sway with sweet melodies outside my window in the wind.

171. Ice cold glass of tea after a hot walk outside.

172. A wood dinning table that serves as a desk, a creativity centre, mess holder :), a cooks table and of course to hold food or friends and me.

173. A good end to my class for the week.

174. Money found that I thought was stolen - just misplaced by me :(  :}

175. Woodpeckers seen on the termite mound around the corner from my house.

176. Found the butchery in town that I didn't know had moved.

177. The internet was down all day, so I got some chores done that I had been putting off.

178. Watched an old VHS movie - the player still works!

179. Chewy kisses and chocolate chip cookies made today.

180. Christ's joy reflected in people's faces this morning as we praised the Lord.

181. Seeing kids play in the sun with great abandonment to the fun of the moment.

182. Enjoying a day of quiet rest and worship.

3 Ugly - Beautiful gifts

183. Hazy dusty day all day - ugly, but beautiful because it is another day to serve and count his blessings.

a normal day

today - same view - no mountain can be seen but it is there!

184. Messy table - beautiful when cleaned off as it joins friends hearts together over food.

same table as #172

185. Road works sign - ugly because spelled wrong, but beautiful because it means they will work on the road. 

Gravellin  :)