Thank You for an Inch of Snow Over Night!!!

108. Thank you for carpet! Warm, supportive, shock-absorbing.

109. Thank you for instant fire at the flick of a switch!

110. Thank you for decaf Verona (Starbucks) on sale at King Soopers for 4.99! 

111. Thank you for cuties! (Clementine Oranges)

112. Thank you for central heat.

113. Thank you for an inch of snow overnight.

169. Thank you leggings and long, warm sweaters.

Wait! What? Where am I, you ask??!!?? 

Basking in memories of Christmastime in Denver.

 My Journal of Thanksgivings fell open this morning to December 2017. I teared up. I felt the pangs of missing home.

It was the second time in a few days that emotions swelled to longing pangs and tears.

From this recent Friday until yesterday our New Hope Uganda foreign staff were off-site at a retreat. We joined Kasana and Musana Camps staff together to glean the good, process the bad, hear encouragement and teaching from the Word of God, worship, rest and relax as a team.

On Friday evening we played, “Have you ever?” and “Would you rather?” We laughed while learning more about ourselves and each other with questions we could all relate to, “Have you ever eaten white ants?” “Have you ever vomited in a pit latrine?” (And, by the way, those two questions were surprisingly NOT related.) “Would you rather have a jigger or a mango worm?” “Would you rather sit on a taxi holding a live chicken or a holding a bag of mukene?” (Mukene is a VERY stinky dried fish.)

Here’s a little quiz...what were my answers to the above questions? How well do you know me? (Answers will appear at the end of this post.)

Also on Friday evening, Josiah, our New Hope Uganda Ministries director of member care and development, asked us to turn to Proverbs 25:25. 

Go ahead and get your Bible and look up that reference.

I read it and was momentarily caught off guard; I wondered what would come next. Our sessions were based in II Corinthians for the weekend, and this Proverbs passage seemed to come out of left field.

He began to explain, as he pulled out a bag full of Manila envelopes, that he had sent messages to our families and friends and asked them to send us letters of love, appreciation and encouragement. “So, these are for you! Each family has a packet of handwritten, (and some typed) letters from a far country.”

My heart got caught in my throat. Tears blurred my vision. Geoff asked if I was ok. I shook my head, yes! Before I opened the first envelope I was so anxious to see everything at once! Who were they from? What did they say? How many were there?

Sniffles, rustling papers, giggles, sighs and quiet comments between spouses filled 15-20 minutes of bliss as we all eagerly read news from Home. 

There is no possible way to say adequate thanks to those who wrote; you will never know how much your words impacted us. I wish all of you could have seen heads bent into cards and letters and families huddling around to read together.

I can feel pretty tough some days as if I can withstand anything—having to make a way in a foreign culture for years can do that to a person. But, I melted when I read the letters and cards. 

What a gift Josiah gave us by making Proverbs 25:25 come alive!

I have MUCH to record in my Journal of Thanksgivings!!!!!!!

For all of the joy I felt last December while writing thanksgivings #108-113 and #169, they pale next to #379, “Thank you for good news from a far country!”

So, how did you fare on guessing my answers?

1. Yes, I have eaten white ants. One evening I took chocolate chip cookies over to the David family kids. Uncle Mulu said he would eat one of my cookies if I would eat one of his cookies. I agreed, even though I detected a hint of ornery in his smile. He brought out a container of freshly roasted white ants. I garnered two or three, swallowed and laughed. They weren’t horrible, but I wouldn’t go looking for them to stave off hunger! I was really glad to chase the taste with chocolate chip cookies!!!!

2. Thankfully, NO, I have never had to use a pit latrine when I was sick enough to vomit.

3. I would rather have a jigger, even though they can make you itch a crazy amount. They burrow under a toe nail usually and must be dug out. However, if you do it yourself it is not too painful. The biggest issue is to get the whole thing out without leaving remnants! Not an awesome experience, but better than a mango worm in which you must either suffocate it with Vaseline and then grab it with tweezers when it comes up for air——gross(!) or wait until it is large enough to squeeze in order to pop it out, again, GROSS!

4. I would rather sit on a taxi, in the front seat, by the way, holding a live chicken. The smell of mukene is nauseating! At least you can put a plastic bag around the chicken’s hind end to catch any poo and keep the claws from scratching you. And why would I prefer the front seat? Even though taxi drivers are often crazy risk takers, I would prefer a front row seat to the show than be squeezed in the back with no way to get out unless anywhere from four to six people have to move to let you out!!! (Taxis are 14 passenger vans with sometimes 18 or more squeezed into it.)