Ode to The 3 Kids Club

It has been almost a year since I have seen my three children, aka The 3 Kids Club.  Not a day goes by that I don't think about them and pray for them.  I love getting photos of them and the people and places that they are encountering while we are absent one from another.

  

Today I was gripped with a sense of sadness when I received spring break snapshots.  I loved seeing their smiling faces and vicariously enjoining their escapades, but I began to miss them.

It seems that when the work has you busy, you can almost forget what you are missing by living so far from "home".  You can almost tell yourself that one or two or even three years is not really that long.  But in reality, it is.  There are many moments and memories and conversations that will never be created together in this span of time.  I miss that.

  

The thought that gripped me today as I looked at some of their photos was how very special these three young people really are.  Each is full of life and love and such an eagerness to embrace all that life will allow them.  They each have a good heart and are kind and caring individuals.  Unique, intense, extreme, passionate, irreverent - yep, that's them and their collective sense(s) of humor.  But earnest and sincere Christians they are, each striving to perfect this walk of faith that we all endeavor to master.

 

The question that surfaces in my mind is: "Who is fully enjoying each of my kids' wonderful attributes?"  If I were there, I would try to absorb as much of them as I could.  I could be content to be in the same room with them, talking or playing games or watching TV or just  looking at them, as if to brandish their images in my mind and spirit forever.  Or we could go to the mall or the movies or take a walk in the neighborhood. 

May God grant The 3 Kids Club significant friends in their lives who realize how really great they are.  Love and miss you moocho mucho.   You make me proud!

Mzuzu Ministry

We have traveled to the northern city of Mzuzu a couple of times for ministry, and each time we have really enjoyed ourselves.  The country is beautiful, and so are the people.

We stopped at local markets...

      

...drove through a national forest and a rubber plantation...

 

...enjoyed interesting sights and beautiful scenery...

       

...visited a coffee plantation with the agronomist who terraced the land...

        

...welcomed the use of a village toilet...

 

     

...and enjoyed wonderful times of ministry with three of our churches as well as

meeting several of our pastors.

      

Termite Tasting Time

After the rains come and go, scores of termites fly en masse from the ground heavenward.  The photos do not adequately capture the sight, but if you look closely you can see them on the ground and in the air. Even the dog and deer were fascinated.

This is the time that the locals love to capture and cook (or eat raw) these tasty morsels.  I joined our security guard today in an afternoon snack.  As you can see, he was a bit more excited about this delicacy than I was.  But I'll have to say, "You don't get this kind of taste treat in Texas! "