"One more moment pregnant with wonder..."

I am a hunter of beauty and I move slow and I keep the eyes wide, every fiber of every muscle sensing all wonder and this is the thrill of the hunt and I could be an expert on the life full, and beauty meat that lurks in every moment.  

I hunger to taste life.

God.

- One Thousand Gifts

mquirrels

 

After several blissful weeks of "modern" world living, Abbi and I flew back into Nagishot Tuesday afternoon (some of us kept our lunch down, some of us didn't).  We left behind the frigid winter cold of China (for Abbi) and Washington (for me), in exchange for cool daytime breezes and uncharacteristically late season nighttime thunder showers of Nagishot. 

We also returned to a kitchen quite literally teaming with, what our 2008 TIMO team branded, mquirrels (I have no idea what the official name is, if there is one, for these little critters).

Mquirrels are a peculiar cross between a mouse and a squirrel and must be a Didinga phenomenon.  

Lucky us.

Now Micky, Mighty and Stuart Little are famous in their own right, but when compared with this half squirrel half mouse oddity their wonders greatly wane...

Our pesky rodents, with their bushy tails and sticky feet, can:

• climb a vertical wall like it is no big thing
• out-smart even the best of mouse-hunting cats with their nasty feline repelling smells
• and, how should I phrase this, leave an astounding trace when considering their pretty insubstantial body size...

Due to talent #3 Abbi and I spent all, and I do mean all, of Wednesday cleaning out every nook and kitchen cranny.    

Thursday looked a lot like Wednesday.  Same work, different locale.  Hours were spent scrubbing our mudhuts - because well, mud, as you may well imagine, can get pretty dirty.

Today, home is once again, home sweet home.  

Except for those pesky bats roosting nightly over my bed... 

Abbi's obese mouse...

Mquirrals are attracted to water (it's one of the only ways to kill the buggers).  I scooped this little fella out of the water barrel.

Home for the Holidays

Happy New Year!

I am back in Africa after a lovely Christmas holiday in the States!  I enjoyed nearly 6 wonderful weeks with my family and friends.  

I took full advantage of the snow - sledding, skiing, snowmobiling, snow-shoeing....

It was great to be home!

Here are some pictures, in random order, from my time there:
 

Family, greeting me at the airport.

"Auntie Kim, do you recognize us BIG kids?"  
A year and a half is a VERY long period of time in the life of a 3, 5, 7 or 12 year old.  
It was so GREAT to see them!

With my sisters on Christmas Eve.

As I rarely, if ever, experience winter these days, I prayed for the opportunity to enjoy a snowy winter Washington wonderland while I was home. 

God certainly did answer that prayer. 

My 6 weeks of winter were COLD and snowy and, just as winter should be, only 6 weeks!

Though I didn't have enough time to visit everyone that I would have liked to, I had a great time catching up with friends.

I loved sharing a cup (or seven) of tea with my dear friend, Dottie.  She was a missionary in Mexico for over 40 years.  She prayers for the Didinga (and me) without ceasing.  Christ shines through her.  She is an inspiration.  I LOVE her!

I also spent a few days with another one of my best-friends, Lindsey.  I had a great time with her family.

I also played in the snow, a lot!

Family sledding party.

 

My nephew, Evan.  He's a kick in the pants!

Snowmobiling with my Mom and Dad.

With the help of my sister, brother-in-law, nieces and 3 year old nephew, I learned how to ski.  I LOVE skiing.  I could REALLY get into it.  Well, I could really get into it if I wasn't a poor missionary living in South Sudan! 

Chopping down our Charlie Brown in the woods behind the house.

Oh, was it ever COLD!

More sledding - here we are trying to stop the tub before slamming into the barn at the foot of the mountain. And people think that living in South Sudan is dangerous!

Enjoy the rest of your winter!