Well

I was going to add pictures this time. unfortunately for you, the internet is slow this evening.

Today, however, was one of the best days ever. for starters, all i am responsible for is walking. the results are out my hands. my closest coffee stand wasn't there today so i headed around the corner, only to be warmly welcomed to breakfast and exciting (and interesting) conversation; an explanation of which will come at a much later date. after breakfast, i was invited to another breakfast one coke bottle stool away (it would've been impolite to deny upon this first meeting). and all of you should be jealous (in a good way, of course) of what i partook in... the national food of national foods!

Class was good. and the friendships started shortly after, even better. to those of you who remembered, thank you.

And this evening, i treated myself (because it was a very special day for my mother a few years ago) to a frapaccino and a machiatto...

Ah sweetness!

Present needs:
Time and wisdom and understanding and "to love" and persistence in all things.

Present certainties and thanks:
There is a fountain,
And the fountain rained on me all day with many smiles,
I got a monkey (who deflates),
Joy was granted,
And i have the means to purchase a frapaccinno and a machiatto in the same night,
And in many other ways i was given today my daily bread.

I think i am jumping into a big river soon, and that is another thing you wish you could do...

Love abounding, peace be.

The ice cream here is

Delicious! laziiz is likely my favorite "take away" so far. today i had shish kabaab sandwich and five scoops of ice cream... i think i had vanilla/ caramel, dark chocolate, heath bar, something else good and something else good. i'm gaining weight here, and that confuses me.

The place we get our propane for the stove must have been abducted by aliens. i need that receipt for reimbursement, but it has disappeared from the face of the earth!

And in other news, i've already "lost" my first cell phone on the buses. this isn't like me, and so it was another humbling reminder of my humanity. i'm not perfect? so, now i call my new phone which i bought this weekend (definitely counted that as language learning time), the $100 phone.

Present needs:
Energy to visit my friends and time to drink tea under that tree over there with those guys and rich abiding.

Present certainties and thanks:
There is a fountain,
And the fountain fills me up.

Peace be.

Here are

A few reasons, brothers and sisters, why this place is about to be party quad na style. for one, we have completed two days of language study, AHA! so, soon i can say something intelligible to somebody other than to a huaja. among many useful things like how to buy mooz and 3eesh (ignore my attempts at transliteration), we have also learned that p's are hard to come by (don't worry, we can't say a lot of things either so they are probably way sweeter than i could ever wish to be). there is bebsi, bizza, and bicnic :)

But do not fret, these little ubdates don't come without their berks. some of you will be bleased to know we are in the brocess of introducing nub-ball and bullmoose to our sweet, yet boor and unsusbecting city. boss man likes the idea of nub-ball, and stand-in mother is curious about bullmoose. needless to say, both are sweeping the world, and hobefully as instruments of beace. i've embellished this a tad for comedic effect, of course. just know that all is well.

Bresent needs:
Language soaking sbonge thing for a brain,
And wisdom and time management and a bioneer sbirit.

Bresent certainties and thanks:
There is a fountain,
The fountain was already here,
And the fountain is moving us along.

Beace be.

We've tried to do some exploring

Here and there. bought a cell phone today and we thought we should learn the bus system (believe it or not, rickshaws can get old), so two of us hopped on one after meeting a new friend and headed home.

The routes can be a bit confusing. hand signals, coloured stripes, snapping fingers. this is foreign language on top of a foreign language. we got to our street and thought maybe it would be helpful to ride around for a while, see where this route leads, and surely it would bring us back to our other stop eventually. so we thought...

The buildings got smaller and smaller. people were less frequently seen. sand abounded. and we eventually stopped in a traffic jam outside a small market. every one got off... and i started asking questions. hand motions. "you don't know either?" okay.

Thankfully, a very kind man overheard us, escorted us up another road, and got us back to a road we knew of (only 15 minutes further than we had ever taken it), and all was well. a sweet african adventure.

I hope to post pictures soon.

Present needs:
The right questions and a language soaking sponge for a brain.

Present certainties and thanks:
There is a fountain,
Everything is a learning experience,
And the fountain has helped a lot back home.

Love and peace be.

We are

Here. and some cool things began before us. things we don't want to miss.

Present needs:
To benefit others.

Present certainties and thanks:
There is a fountain,
And the fountain has given a family.

Peace be.

Today, we are sailing

To a port across the sea.

I have sweat more this morning packing bags into my car then i think i will the next couple years. (ignore that. -j)

My pant legs are rolled, huck finn style, one last time. the old faithfuls are (not) laced on my feet. i have a hat, gold and blue (actually irish green) through and through, on my person. and i probably have a few too many lbs. on my shoulders. that is okay, though. his yoke is easy and his burden is light, and i can't think of any other i would rather be enslaved to.

My next story will come from afar. thanks for remembering me. in the meantime...

Present needs:
Travel mercies and wisdom and favor with others,
To make the most of every opportunity and an obvious filling,
Peace unto my family,
A humble, meek, and teachable demeanor.

Present certainties and thanks:
There is a fountain,
And i think the fountain is overflowing,
My family is pretty cool,
And blessed are those who hunger and thirst.

Peace be.

One of the saddest things i had to do

Before going to virginia, say good-bye to turbo. thankfully, she wasn't abandoned to another undeserving owner but stuck around for what has proven to be a sweet reunion the past four weeks.

You are a tank, sliding under a deer without a scratch. you are a trooper, faithfully hauling me for thousands of miles at a time without asking for much more than an occasional water break. and accelerating at the push of a button up steep hills and past slower drivers, you are turbo.

Turbo, my turbo, i will miss you sweet girl. but don't worry...i won't leave you in ungrateful hands.
If you have any fond memories of my little girl, please send a comment. let her know how much we appreciate her before my departure.

Present needs:
Patience,
To make the most of every opportunity,
A good and faithful date for turbo (call her: 501-860-2221),
Abiding in the Story,
And travel mercies on tuesday.

Present certainties and thanks:
There is a fountain,
And the fountain gave johnnie his visa in time!

Verily, and verily. peace be.

"He's playing fetch with himself,

With a cinder block!" yes, we just looked outside and my friend, with his shirt off and our dog running in circles, was throwing a cinder block across the yard and running after it. repeat.

And for your reading enjoyment, we were "ticketed" today! we leave in one week, 08 may 2007. thank you for remembering us.

Also, i have not digested this completely, but last week after a couple encounters with the least of these i sarcastically said to "myself," "haha, if i followed You...like i should...i would be broke." there is perhaps more truth to this than i thought at first, and more shame to be felt than i originally did as well.

Present needs:
Sensitivity to the present and focus in intercession and money management.

Present certainties and thanks:
There is a fountain,
And the fountain has provided for our needs!

Peace be.