Pressures & Planking & Plus-Ones

As the last visitors of the summer left yesterday, it felt weird to have an empty house again. I've spent the last few months keeping very busy and not having a chance to just be.

The moment I walked back up the hill, after waving goodbye as the bus pulled out of our village, I collapsed on the couch and could feel my body releasing and letting go. Immediately my throat developed a tickle and my bones began to ache. Whatever adrenaline was keeping me going over the last couple months seeped away and I could feel the strain my body and spirit have been under. I now have to allow myself to be. To release the pressures and let myself think and feel.

I do have a ton of work to catch up on. Some seriously missed deadlines are weighing on me but I will let my worries go and simply work hard each day to the best of my abilities. The rest will have to sort themselves out.

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I've recently been made aware of a trend that is crossing the globe. Perhaps, it has been around for a while--trends do take their time reaching us out in the African bush.

Anyway, while taking our visitors to our special place, I decided the waterfalls made the perfect backdrop for planking.

Troy showing us how it's done

Wesley Collin--one of our visiting volunteers

Yours truly.

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As I wrote this blog post four people came to my door to let me know that a woman has died during childbirth in a village about 45 minutes from here. Her baby is now 2 days old. The baby was too little for them to bring with them so I need to go to them. Trouble is that Tom is now out of town for a few days--he accompanied our visitors to Lusaka to see them off at the airport. I decided that I will pass through that small village on my way to Mansa on Friday. I hire a driver for that shopping trip whenever Tom is away.

In the meantime, I've given the baby's father a tin of milk formula and a bottle. I've given him careful instruction and I hope he and the grandmother will be able to look after the baby until I can get there. Our beds are actually full and we'll need to build new cribs to take in a new baby but God will provide as he always does. If we add this new little one to our 'family', we will have 22 children. Whew!

 

Exactly One Year Ago: Life in Africa

New Tradition

So, I'm gonna start a new tradition here. As a treat on Fridays for all those who find the day dragging I am going to post a Fab Friday Foto. I love aliteration--it makes my heart sing. Corny, I know but hey, whatcha gonna do.

Each Friday I will post a photo to inspire and delight. Sometimes it will be a photo from nature around us. Other times it will be an adorable child. Maybe it will be a portrait of a local person here. It might be something funny we see in our day to day life.

I'm hoping that a lot of the time it will be Tom's photos. He takes amazing photos and I want him to share them. I just have to work on getting them watermarked for him.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this feature and that it lifts your spirits and makes you happy.

Today, pictures from a nearby waterfall:

Mulumba Falls