the little pink pills

Okay, one of the things I'm realizing about the trip I am about to take is the amount of pills I take just shot up by about 7. I'm going to be a little walking pharmacy! We've got pepto (the little pink pills) which I hear are worth taking whether you need them or not every day, malaria pills, sleeping pills, asodophollyis (sp?) pills -- I think my body will be well covered!

I am also trying to prepare myself for the spiritual journey we are going on. There are no little pink pills to do so (!), but there are prayers that go up, and stories that are read, and intentional acts that are taken (like buying a new journal, and preparing my kids here at home for my absence), that I hope will prepare me too. Mostly, I pray for God to make me/us open to hear and see what he would have us hear and see. In some ways, no amount of preparation will be able to accomplish what God can accomplish in us.

side benefits

This might seem crazy but God can use trips to 3rd World Countries to work on your personal hygeine.

One of my great temptations in life that I have succomb to since I was...6 or so (my mom will have to verify) is biting my nails. I know, yucky gross habit, and it is probably the reason why I have a cold a lot of the time. Now, I'm not going to hypothesize how I started to bite my little tasties (I probably need some counselling to figure that out), but it has been a lifelong struggle. And I've tried it all -- the bad tasting stuff you put on them, incentive plans, sheer willpower, and nothing has worked.

But when we started to put this Swaziland trip together, and as I was talking to my family about the possibility of me going, they were all for it, except for one thing -- If I was going to go, I needed to stop biting my nails.

Period.

Of course I said, sure! No problem! Love to!

But it has proven to be difficult, UNTIL these past 2 weeks, when we entered the "it's coming up really close zone."

And the more I started to see the trip face to face, and think about meeting Zwakele, and seeing the country that we are investing in as a church -- the more I met with our team and thought about the amazing times and impact the trip would have on our lives, the easier it got to stop my lifelong habit.

And so, I'm happy to say for 2 weeks now, I've gone cold turkey. I am using a little polish just to remind me (clear nail growing polish -- don't worry!), but so far so good. And I must say it was the hope and excitement of the future that is making it happen.

And to be honest, biting my nails doesn't have the draw it used to. Tomorrow in church, we are talking about temptation, and one of the things that combats temptation in my opinion is hope -- hope for something better. Right now, Swaziland is that for me, and I am grateful.

And so are my nails!

jeff

big day to be abd

Okay I have to break in on my swaziland thoughts to tell myself (or my blog, or you or whatever) that early early this morning I finished my LAST paper for the academic portion of my doctor of ministry program! This was a big one for me, and while I've loved all the things I've learned, my classmates, the professors, I must confess it is nice to be done with this part. Now I can start on my LAST big paper, my dissertation. But to have this done is exciting for me! Woo Hoo!

Cheers and blessings.
j

Zwakele

One of the things I am most excited about our trip is the chance to meet our family's sponsor daughter, Zwakele. Zwakele is 4 years old and lives with her father and 3 siblings. The fact that she doesn't have a mother suggests that something must have happened to her, which is sadly very common I fear. My family and I have been praying for Zwakele almost every meal and night, and are in the process of puting together a little picture album to give her, along with a few other goodies. We have written her a few times (I am astonished I can send a letter to Swaziland for 84 cents (!) and they say it gets there in 4-7 days -- I can't send stuff to Seattle for that!), and my kids especially can't believe I get to see her. To us, she is an extension of our family -- her picture sits on our fridge next to our own.

And maybe that is the part I am so deeply thankful for. Not only do we get the chance to help in a small way one of God's children, but my kids get to be friends and sisters with a little African sister as well. I realize that the extent of this relationship is very limited. But it is very real.

I can't think of any better Christian training right now than this. And I can't wait to meet her!

If you want to sponsor a child in Sithobella, Swaziland with World Vision along with us, let me know!

Sharpening My Pencil for Swaziland

"I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world." -- Mother Teresa

For the next 35 days myself and a team of 5 others from our church are getting ready to take the trip of a lifetime -- to Swaziland, Africa on a vision trip with World Vision. 119 families in our church sponsor 122 children in a small county in Swaziland called Sithobella. We are going there to see what God, World Vision, and our church partnership is doing there. We are going there as learners and lovers -- to learn from the people in the midst of a poverty and the health crisis of HIV/AIDS, and to love them as our brothers and sisters for whom Christ died.

In the next few weeks, I want to make it a goal to put a little pen to paper (or in this case, keystrokes to blogsite) and journal a little on what is going through my mind and in my heart as we prepare. Our team has been in place for six months, and each of us in our own way is both anxious and excited about what is to come. My hope is that I can encourage and challenge you (as you hear me encourage and challenge myself) to examine what it means to be lovers of people and a nation that is so radically different than ours.

We'll see what happens.

Jeff