::ohmyword, the FOOOOOOD::

So, a question I've gotten a lot...[picture the person with a slight questioning look, head tilted slightly to the side, maybe a nice grimace...] So how was the food?

My response:  Ohmywordthefoodissoooogooooood.  <<<--------- said that fast.

How in the world can you beat vegetables picked straight from the garden that day, every day of the year?!!  Fresh, antibiotic, hormone-free meat.  No preservatives.  Just lots and lots of butter + cream + milk + salt. 

One afternoon, Carol and I went to the garden and picked fresh strawberries.  Then, meandered over to the lemon tree.  Yes, I said, lemon tree and casually picked a few lemons.  We then proceeded to make strawberry lemonade to accompany our dinner...or rather, our dinner was accompanying the strawberry lemonade.  If this were Twitter, the hashtag would be #sufferingfortheministryinAfrica.

On The Farm, my favorite meals were:  beef stroganoff, chicken curry, macaroni and cheese, roast lamb, roast beef, roast chicken, meat balls [mini meatloaves] .  See?!!  Like I said #sufferinginAfrica  I have no words to describe the meals I just listed.  And they were all accompanied by some sort of delicious rice/potatoes/nshima and gravy and creamy vegetables [creamed spinach was my favorite!!!!!!!!!]

At The Fig, my favorite things to eat were: meat pies [very similar to pot pies], samoosas [those from FH, they are similar to Mrs. Gentry's triangular egg rolls], chicken salad, a traditional English breakfast, milkshakes.

Basically, I need to exercise every day or I will gain weight.  The food is that good.

You should come visit someday and taste it for yourself.  :)


 

::animals::

Of course, I saw exotic animals in Zambia.

NO, none of these animals were anywhere near Kabwe.  The only animal that came too close to comfort were little grey monkeys swinging through the trees by the hotel where we stayed in Livingstone.  Fortunately/unfortunately enough, I didn't see any [!!!!] snakes on my visit, except snakes that were in a glass case. 

And the only animals that I came into contact with were cows + dogs.  And you know how much I love dogs, don't you?!!!!  [That was sarcastic. I don't like dogs.]

 

::a sunrise and a new look::

I could list several [ahem, so many] favorite moments from my trip to Zambia. But seriously....one morning, Bianca took me with on her morning run.

Oh my goodness.  The sun!!! rising over the fields of wheat/grain/whatever!!!! magical!!!!  glorious!!!! I wish I had my camera!!!!  I couldn't stop talking about it all day.

Just as I was falling to sleep Thursday night of this week, Bianca had embarked on her Friday morning run.  Two buzzes on the cell phone means either BBM [ie...Bianca or Natasha] or text message [Leon].  So I grab my phone and Bianca had sent me the picture above.  The morning sunrise!!!!!! on her run!!!!!!

So, when I go back to Zambia in December, BIANCA, PLEASE TAKE ME RUNNING AGAIN and I promise to bring my camera and take some good photos to share here.

In other news....DO YOU LIKE THE NEW BLOG DESIGN?!!!!  Because I really, really do.

Up there and to the right...the links are to...
#1 Etsy
#2 the story -- Cotton+Wood -- the new tagline -- me and Leon -- the whole she-bang!!!
#3 Pinterest
#4 the Big Cartel shop which will be moving to Zambia with me in 2013 and debuting at The Fig


Happy weekend, all.


 

::the story::2::

 ::the Zambezi River at sunset as seen from the David Livingstone Lodge::

Fast forward to 2010 when our friends, Adam and Carol, knew the Lord had called them to Zambia.  They filled in for one year for the current missionaries to come back on furlough.  Adam and Carol arrived back in the States last September, 2011.

I started to hear more about Africa [Zambia] and it didn't sound so bad after all.  No, there are not snakes around every corner waiting to bite you.  No, you may not get sick the minute you enter the country; you actually can remain healthy.  No, it's not hot + dusty + sticky + nasty, all the time.  Actually, the weather can be quite nice.  Yes, the church and the people in it are wonderful people.  Yes, life is an adventure.  Yes, it's a wonderful life to serve the Lord wherever He has you.

The Lord slowly began working on my heart.

I had heard that Leon was planning to come visit for Preaching Conference in April.  So, I began praying in October for some very specific things.  I needed specific answers to prayer.

I can truly say from the time I met Leon in April until now, God has done this:

I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight:  I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron:  And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.  Isaiah 45:2-3

 

::helicopter ride over the Zambezi and the Falls::

One of the best parts about our trip to Livingstone [7 hours south of Kabwe] was a helicopter ride over the Victoria Falls and Zambezi River.

 It was so beautiful!!!! and so fun to see from above!!!!

...And points for using the word "majestic" twice.

::and look at these cuties::

Aren't these girls just the absolute cutest??!!!  

The kids at the church in Kabwe are so, so, so adorable.  You can imagine that the two beautiful girls with blonde hair are Leon's nieces [Madissen on the left; Teija on the right].  The other two cuties are Naomi [on the left] and Mercy [sitting right next to me].

The power was out in the church on my last Sunday night there.  So some of us were sitting on the steps waiting a bit before going into the dark auditorium.  No worries though, the power came on right right before church started.   Super-duper on-time and convenient those Zesco people are, I tell ya.

I'm going up to Michigan to spend a few days with my grandparents before I start work on Thursday.  Stretching out the month-long vacation a few days longer is what I do best.

On a serious note, my Opa [grandpa] was diagnosed with cancer the day I left for Zambia.  So, spending time with my grandparents is absolutely essential at this point.

Happy Labor Day, everyone!

What are your plans?



 

::and I'm back::

 

Hello, everyone! I'm back from Zambia. 

Wow.  What a trip.  It was great, amazing, wonderful, awesome, life-changing (!!!!!!---no, I'm not engaged), fun, happy, and any other adjective you'd like to throw into the mix.

Leon and I were able to spend lots of time together.  Highlights include:::::::meeting his family (loved them, helloooooooo family that is reading this), meeting the church family, going to Livingstone, family dinners on the weekends, and lunches at The Fig.

I'll try to post a bit more over the next few weeks and start to share the story of how we met.

Yes, it's amazing.  And, yes, this relationship can only be attributed to the fact that God has orchestrated the entire thing.

Happy Sunday!