Our Babylon

In our recently completed ladies' Bible study on Daniel, Beth Moore focused on the need for Christians to recognize their "Babylon." In other words, what is it that distracts them from their desire to serve the Lord. She pointed out that a telltale sign of a culture in demise is losing touch with the poor. An ultimate reality of living in Indonesia and Angola has been to see that we [as Americans] have little understanding of the poverty of the rest of the world. We give our clothes or food to the homeless in the U.S., but they often have a place to seek refuge if they want it. We give money to different agencies to buy presents for children but rarely see the faces of those recipients. We choose to live in certain areas of cities so we are not subjected to living near people who don't live up to the same standards we do. In other words, poverty is generally not a firsthand experience for us. It is quite another thing to step out of your doorway and confront poverty wherever you look. Now I must say, we live in a very nice part of Luanda, but we don't have to walk more than a couple blocks to see the other side. Masses of people living in poorly constructed shacks or shanties. Scantily clad children playing in the dirt. Someone drinking out of a muddy gutter or washing clothes in water sewage. Many with missing limbs or gross deformities. Orphanages with no fresh water source. Smells of garbage and urine as we cross the street into church each Sunday.


At Christmastime, the U.S. news reported how difficult it was going to be for parents to tell their children they couldn't wouldn't be getting as much for Christmas this year because of the economic crisis. One lady in our study asked for prayer for our college graduates having to go through such tough economic times and looking for a job. All of these things have put me in mind of my need to assess my response to the poor. Living overseas as an expats, we are certainly enjoying the good life without any concern for being able to afford things we want--even in a city billed at the world's most expensive. In fact, it is this incredible disparity which drives me to consider my Babylon. I have been forever changed by living in a third-world country. I see the richness and ease of life in the U.S., and even those who are experiencing tough times have it ten times better than most here. I have begun looking at the financial crash as a purging of our mindset---of all those things which we have always taken for granted (or depended on) because they have come so easily. How convicted I have felt over my attitude towards people living in such conditions, and how pressed I feel to make a difference in the lives of those around us. However, it seems like an incredibly small drop in a very gigantic barrel.

A Penny For Your Thoughts

As a communications major and an English teacher, I rely heavily on feedback to determine whether I am reaching my intended audience. Writing a blog can be like writing in a vacuum since I can't see or hear my readers. A few of you have told me via emails that you have read this and enjoy finding out what is going on, but for the most part, I haven't heard from many of you. Just a friendly "Hi," "I know what you're talking about,"or "Nancy, you're as crazy as ever" would be great to hear. It's really simple to add a comment to any one of the blogs. Just hit the button that says "Comments." That's about it. I guess the delusion would be to think I am writing these posts for other people to read . . . when really it's just a way for me to journal. So I guess it's not a loss after all. (But I would love to hear from you!)

Am I Stoked?

I'm not so sure the word "stoked" is used much anymore, but it used to be back in the day (just don't ask me which day it was). During our stay in Washington, we had enough cold days to keep a fire going in the house much of the time. However, I never realized how frequently I needed to add more logs and fan the flame. In no time at all the fire would die down, and I'd be back in there stoking it. How true that is of my Christian walk as well. A change of place or pace and I find my daily time with the Lord dwindling to a flicker. You would think that being on vacation with no set schedule would mean I could spend more time with Him than normal, but, no, I managed to fill my time with things much less important. Tending the fire was a vivid reminder that I cannot radiate the warmth of the Spirit or Christ’s love unless I am personally fueling myself with his Word. Am I stoked? Not always, but I sure need to be.

Days of Christmas

Since we spent Thanksgiving in the U.S., we celebrated "Thanksmas" (as Allan's sister dubbed it) with all the kids and grandkids. We had a full house and enjoyed so many different activities, ending with the opening of presents on Saturday morning. We had the usual -- a tree (albeit sparsley decorated---and undecorated as Haddie found cute ornaments to play with), stockings, a nice blazing fire, and presents. So it seemed unusual when everyone else was still playing Christmas music and shopping for presents. After all, we had already celebrated and were ready to move on. So our Christmas day here in Luanda was very quiet. Actually, that is a nice change from most days here, and we enjoyed being able to get around in traffic with absolutely NO stops. We celebrated Christmas morning with a service at our international church, and I was able to lead the music, singing familiar carols in quite a different environment. They really rocked into my version of the 12 Days of Christmas entitled "On the Day That We Celebrate As Christ's Nativity." And we concluded our service by singing "Go Tell It On the Mountain" on the front steps of the church to any of the passers-by. We were quite a sweaty mess by the time that ended as the sun was in full force, but it was a joy nonetheless. In the evening our friends Paul and Amy Oen and their daughter Sarah joined us for a special prime rib dinner after our do-it-yourself sushi appetizers. It was a bit strange not having the house fully decked out and no presents to open under the artificial tree, but it was somewhat refreshing not to be in constant motion. I can't say a part of us wasn't lonely not having our kids to talk to and wondering how they were all spending their day. Being away from family on such a holiday can be tough, but it sure makes us appreciative of those times we do have together. We trust you enjoyed your time with friends and family as well.

Ok, so here's the words:
On the day that we celebrate as Christ's nativity
Twelve prophet praising
Eleven drummers drumming
Ten trumpets blaring
Nine people dancing
Eight children laughing
Seven cows a-lowing
Six donkeys braying
Five bleating sheep
Four shepherd boys
Three wise men's gifts
Two angels sang
That the little babe was born to set men free

A Double Life

Although it's not exactly like an exciting episode of Alias, nevertheless, stepping back into our life in Angola after a six week absence can feel like leading the life of a double agent. Our weather, friends, resources, routines, and time zones are all so different that it takes a while to readjust----sometimes with shocking reality. My time in Bakersfield with the grandkids and then our time in Port Townsend was such a wonderful break that I was reticent to step back into our assignment here, particularly knowing it would be six months before we would see family again. We celebrated "Thanksmas" with all our children, so we really felt our Christmas had already happened. Surprising that everywhere we went people were still singing and playing Christmas carols. Especially when we left Washington with the first of the snow and a beautiful blanket of white on our property to come back to the stiffling heat of summer in Angola. And then they were singing carols here as well! Although we don't doubt that God has called us to this job and this place, coming back after experiencing the comforts of home can be difficult---even though we admittedly enjoy more comfort than most all the population of Angola. The adjustments hit us immediately. We had left our key to the house here back in Washington, so we needed to wait for security to send a key over so we could get into our house. We then sent our driver out to buy some fruits and vegetables while I took a nap, with the instructions to just put the groceries in the air conditioned garage on top of the freezer. Funny how much difference a little prepostion makes. When I went out there at six o'clock and didn't see my groceries, I hesitantly looked IN the freezer to find my lettuce stff and translucent, not to mention worrying about the bananas, eggs, and avocados next to it. (Need I mention that while we were gone the power went out on our freezer and we lost over 100 lbs. of meat and fish! Our poor empregada [maid] who discovered it and had to clean it out! The stench still lingers.) It hit me again as I took fifty dollars into the little market to buy more produce and found out I didn't have nearly enough for the few purchases I had made. It hit again as I found out our gardener didn't show up for work because he was attending the funeral for a niece who had just died of malaria. And then again when I couldn't get internet service for the first day and a half. But it pleasantly hit me when we walked into church on Sunday morning and our African friends broke into huge smiles and gave hugs and greetings with, "We're so glad you're back! You were gone too long!" Those are the moments we can treasure, assuring ourselves that this is where we need to be.