A White Christmas

When we flew to Illinois a few weeks ago, we were hoping for a 'white Christmas'. The first morning, I put on boots over my pajamas and ran outside to take pictures of the dusting of snow on the ground. Then, the snow melted and we got rain for a few days. At the last minute, Christmas day, while we were in Northern Illinois, it began snowing. Big, fluffy flakes that came down at a slant because of the wind, and kept coming all night and the following day. It is amazing pristine beauty to look at, especially when it settles on the trees and gives everything a look of peace.

We went out for a walk to savor the snow with my brother Jeff and his fiancée, Rebecca. We had to borrow some boots and scarves from Grandpa, and then set out to walk 'over town' in the new-fallen snow. Up past the Methodist church, down main street, peering in the shop windows and appreciating the beauty, history, and 'quaint-ness' of a small rural town. We walked by the house where my great-uncle lived, from the time he was a boy until he died last year at 92. We walked to the small park that I remember going to as a child with cousins. We kicked up the snow, made snow angels, tried to really 'experience' the snow, since we can't take it with us to Africa! I even shoveled some of the driveway, just for the fun of it. :)

Jeff, demonstrating the way to make a snow angel
without leaving any 'tracks' up to your angel.

Jeff and Rebecca, simulating a fierce snow-storm under the tree

Bob, the human snow-plow, wanting the full experience.

My attempt at shoveling--the first time in a few years!

Our week at the farm

A couple of weeks ago we had the rare pleasure of spending a whole week outside of major cities, enjoying some great time with family. It was so refreshing both to be in the country and get to reconnect with people who we don't get to see very often. We followed Tiffany and Dylan around our first morning, impressed at how a 2-year old knows the routine of feeding the donkeys and the dogs, letting out the sheep and ducks.

We took a couple of short hikes through the woods, with a spectacular view of Mt. Shasta. We woke up to the incredible sounds of donkeys braying. It sounds remarkably like a large truck honking, in my opinion! We were in the kitchen one day, and heard the honest phrase "llama on the loose!". How often do you hear that??
We enjoyed the slower pace of life, the conversations, enjoying the community. We were especially impressed by the community gardens and the new arboretum that Bob's sister has been involved in. One highlight of the week was the Thanksgiving parade, an amazing show of community support that was really inspiring!

And, of course, we built things. Restaurants, sky-scrapers, zoos, buildings to be painted, anything that a young active imagination with a penchant for construction could come up with. It was great fun, and we're so grateful for those every-day moments to reconnect with the people we love!
One more rare experience from the week was our first attempt at making a pie. We even made and rolled the crusts from scratch! I think we have quite a way to improve before it will really be picture-worthy, but it was a great attempt, and delicious! We even used Tiffany's home-grown apples, which probably helped!

Retreat at the Camoldoli

After we moved out last week, we headed north for a much-anticipated stop at the Camoldoli Hermitage. I always try to savor the drive along coast on Highway 1--some of the most majestic views I think I've ever seen! After the stress and busy-ness of packing and moving, our spirits began to relax as we enjoyed the serenity of the views.

We pulled in to the Camoldoli after the long 2-mile driveway that zig-zags up the hill from Highway 1. As soon as we got out of the car, we were struck by the strange silence and profound peace of the monastery. The atmostphere is a world away from Pasadena, where we lived next to a freeway and there was always some sort of motor as background noise!

As we pulled up to the retreat house where our rooms were, there were 5 deer grazing right next to the building. That was another sign to me of the distinctiveness of this place--I think the deer have gained confidence in roaming through the buildings, partly because of the quiet and peace that pervades the place. It was a bit strange at first--learning to slow down, speak in whispers, and put away the to-do list! It was so wonderful to not have a 'schedule' and take the freedom to just sit and ruminate for awhile on any subject that came to mind!

...along the road to the Camoldoli

Bob and I like to go to some of the prayer services while we are there, and we find the 'rhythm' of the services helpful in entering the spirit of prayer and focus on God. I appreciate the expressions of prayer and rituals that they use that are different from what we are used to: the whole congregation 'sprinkled' with water as an expression of cleansing from sin, singing accapella through the psalms at lauds (morning prayer), watching the celebration of Christ's presence with us in the Eucharist, and spending 30 minutes in corporate silent meditation focused on the cross after vespers (evening prayer).

On our second full day at the monastery, we planned to do a big hike to Cone Peak, the highest peak on the California coast. Unfortunately, Bob was not feeling too well, so we decided to lay low and not hike. After all the packing and preparing in Pasadena, Bob realized he needed physical and emotional rest. I must admit I felt a little restless by then--ready to go somewhere, check e-mail, or just be able to talk above a whisper! I realized I needed to appreciate this rare time of solitude and quiet, so ended up taking pictures of some of the great flowers and scenery in the area.
I am an introvert and really appreciate times of quiet and solitude. But in a place where that is really the focus, I realized that it was hard for me to embrace the quiet and really feel content in it long-term. The moving of the past week and all the events to come kept my mind racing and wanting to be 'productive'. I realized that I needed seize this opportunity to read, rest, pray, and leisurely enjoy nature--all the things that I long to do when I am too busy! Once I let myself 'settle in' mentally, then I felt like I could soak in the value of the quietness and let myself be renewed. We always leave these times of retreat so refreshed! When we step out of the things that normally occupy our minds and really find peace, then I think we are able to sense God's spirit and hear His voice in new ways. We highly recommend a trip to a monastery for any of you who need a new perspective or need to be spiritually refreshed!

Moving

This is our last week in Pasadena, before we begin the grand transition. We are in the throes of moving--packing, sorting, purging! By Friday, all the furniture will be gone except the kitchen table and the bed (which we insisted on keeping until the final day). The rest is going into boxes and being shipped to IL while we visit family in Northern California.

Bob, sorting through files in the 'renovated' living room

So...if you haven't heard about our big transition, and want to know details, please let us know. The essence is that we will be moving to the DRC (Congo) in February to work with the Presbyterian Church of Congo. We will be based in Kananga, a city in the south/central region. In a nutshell, Bob will be working in Christian Education and Evangelism, and Kristi with some of the community development projects.

For the next few months, (Nov.-Dec) we will be visiting family and hopefully finalizing the ordination process for Bob. Then, off to orientation in January, and moving to Congo sometime in February!

I won't give more details here...please ask if you want to know more. We welcome your prayers for this big transition. We have never been to this particular region, so there are still a lot of 'unknowns' about life there, but we are excited to see how God will lead!

Burundi...last visit to Turame!

I'm in Burundi, trying to finish an impact assessment project that I started 3 years ago! We are interviewing clients to try to assess the impact that their loan from Turame has had on their lives--health of the family, profitability of the business, social relationships, etc. The loan officers working with me on this project have been fantastic--putting in long hours and trekking many miles to find clients. Here is a picture of one client being interviewed in a rural village:
In the midst of working, I'm also trying to reconnect with friends here. On Sunday I went to church with a colleague from Turame, and afterwards her family showed me some of the new houses being built in her neighborhood. It is amazing (and sad!) that many new HUGE houses are being built in Bujumbura, which means the poor people are kicked off their land and forced to live farther up in the hills around the city. In the picture below you can see one of the mansions being built in the distance. The kids in the front of the picture live in typical small mud-brick houses that are currently on the same hill as these mansions. Such disparity!
Turame is growing and developing with leaps and bounds! Not only that, but there are many great things happening...I've really enjoyed hearing how God is working in the staff and the clients. There seems to be a renewed spirit of comaraderie, and they are especially excited about going on a staff retreat in October. The picture below is the head office in Bujumbura with their brand new sign on top. Very impressive, when you consider how far they have come from being a very small program just a few years ago!