Watch the Walk

Not dressed for island life... As I bought some meat and veggies at a shop today I had a pretty normal conversation with the lady at the register-- Her-- "Whats your name?" Me-- "Abby, and you?" Her-- "Fatima. Have you given birth?" Me-- "No, not yet." Her-- "God will give you children." Me-- "God-willing." Her-- "So, you live here?" Me-- "Yes, I'm an English teacher. I live in M-town." Her-- "Oh, so-and-so wants to learn English." Me-- "Great! Here's the administrator's number." Yes, I'm back on Clove Island. And yes, this feels normal. I may need some help when I get back to America.

The weekend before I left "other Africa" I took a trip. You've already seen a few pictures from that trip, but now I want to share with you a thought that solidified as I was exploring. Fear is a powerful thing. It's powerful, not in the sense of being strong, but in the sense of making you weak. I saw the outworking of that during my weekend away. We went to a place that used to have a ton of tourists, but fear has pushed them away. Entire grandiose hotels sit empty because of fear. We prefer to think that we can guarantee our arrival at our vacation destination. Minimizing risks, maximizing profits, vacation-wise, at least. Now, I'm not saying that people should be stupid. It takes a special type of thinking to knowingly risk death on vacation. But when it's not vacation, it's for other reasons, can we trust the Father to make us brave? Bravery is choosing to be strong even when fear tries to make you weak. And just as the Christmas story repeats over an...

This last weekend I took a trip with a couple of friends to another part of my "other Africa" experience. We took a van, a ferry, a bus, a car, and walked a lot too. A lot. Makes up for all the delicious food we ate, I guess. It was a really neat weekend, although short hours of sleep and lots of untangling Arabic made for a very tired Abby by the end of it. Here are some picture with quick explanations: Taking the ferry across. The pickup below is piled high with sacks of olives. Henna in the henna market. There were tons of piles of henna just like this. It changes color when you get it wet, but dry it is this light green color. Other spices for sale in the henna market: tumeric, ginger, 4 spice, pepper, and more! Boat building. I found this process fascinating! Local food-- it's egg and parsley deep-fried in a paper-thin wrapper. Couscous, a local favorite (and absolutely delicious! They cook it by steam, with a rich broth below. Then serve by pouring the broth over th...

Learning a new rhythm Draw up a chair, grab your favorite coffee, or tea, or beverage of choice: it's story time. Once upon a time there was a girl named Abby. Now, this girl liked to do a lot of things, but she especially liked to go on adventures. And one cold January she went on an adventure to another part of the continent she'd been living on for a couple of years. It was a new part of the continent, but similar in a lot of ways to where she had been living. She discovered good coffee. And we all know how important quality coffee is. She discovered fun music. And we all know how much she enjoys new musical pursuits. She discovered a new language. It was new to her, at least. Making mint tea over a charcoal fire She discovered new friends. And we all love to have new friends whose hearts burn for the same things. She discovered new food. And food is important for life and relationships. And most of all, she discovered that she really likes where she lives most of the time, ...

A few days ago I hopped/flew/teleported from the southern hemisphere to the northern hemisphere. It's been awhile since I obtained any real distance from the equator, however, so the shock has been rather huge. For starters, it's summer back home on Clove Island. That means heat, humidity, and a downpour when the humidity and heat get too high. I wouldn't even consider wearing long sleeves, let alone socks in weather like that. And a coat? That would be insanity. Yet here it's 60 degrees out and I'm freezing. This type of freezing reminds me of a camping trip my family went on to Three Creek Lake in Oregon-- we woke up in the morning to find an inch of ice in the water buckets! Now recognize that my body hasn't experienced true cold in over two years, and that the houses here aren't really heated, and you might understand why my back is stiff from the cold and my fingers have a strange propensity towards going numb. I'm currently wearing a shirt, two swe...

This student was so nervous giving her speech that her friend came up to hold her notes. "Don't be afraid, Mary," said the angel, "for you have found favor with God." "Fear not," said the angel to the shepherds, "For behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people." "Fear not" said the angel as he spoke to Joseph. "Don't be afraid to take Mary as your wife. The baby in her is from the Holy Spirit." As I read the Christmas story this year, this phrase kept hitting me in the face. Now, I'm not exactly a fearful person most of the time. My parents have been known to call me "No-Fear Abby." But there are things that worry me. The future is one. There are elements of my future which I can't really control. Yet, that which is of God is not to be feared. Joshua was told multiple times (by God and by Moses) "Don't be afraid. God is with you." And as much as "perfe...

This week I agreed to teach a couple classes for an islander friend. He's taught a few of my classes when I was off-island, so when the person he'd originally asked to teach for him became unavailable, I agreed to teach. But on one condition: he had to arrange transportation for me. The place where he teaches is a full hour's drive from my town, more if you're taking a bus. Since he has a motorbike, that's no big deal for him to get there. But I don't have a motorbike and don't like the idea of catching a taxi bus at 6 in the morning in order to make it to class on time. So he arranged for a friend to give me a ride. Let me tell you, the back of a motorbike is the best way to see the island. You've got an unobstructed view, can pick your way around a lot of the potholes, and breath the fresh air of the mountains. Take a look at this video of part of the ride: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/56521309/20151221_104228.mp4 It's easy to fo...