Diwali

hopefully i'll have pictures soon of this past weekend.

it. was. awesome.

it's diwali!

it's the hindu festival of lights and includes cleaning your house and eating sweets, oh, and fire works. loads of them. everywhere. coming and going from all directions. we can hear them from our house and it makes the dogs hide under tables and chairs. on friday night we (members of my house minus clay) ate indian food with friends at a delicious restaraunt/convenient store/parking lot. it's actually called "occidental plaza." you can get great food in the parking lot (which is now covered with a canvas) and it's the only place i know if in nairobi where dipping tobacco can also be purchased. don't worry, i only go there for the food. and don't ask about why i know about the skoal. so we had dinner, remembering to order the "mild" version of everything because it's the spiciest around, and drove around like crazy white people looking for an indian party. we could hear fireworks, but never found the source.

BUT, on saturday night we found the party. we went to one place a friend suggested but the party there was dead so, again, we drove around our part of town following the sights and sounds of explosions. then we found it. there were a few tents set up on a soccer field and only two or three of them were selling food. oh, but the food was good. the other tents were like box seats at a sporting event; private parties for viewing the festivities. but it wasn't a sporting event. well, sort of. there were people of all ages standing around the field launching fireworks in all directions. 7 year olds (or younger) could be seen running quickly away from something they'd just lit and thrown into the air. my favorite sight was a middle aged man holding 4, read it again FOUR, roman candles in one hand with his face turned away from the direction he was pointing them. occasionally one of those huge fireworks (you know, like 4th of July down at the levee) would explode on the ground and people would jump out of the line of fire and we would all duck and cover. us whiteys seemed to be the only ones nervous from all of the loud sounds and shooting blazes. i felt like a 10 year old turning in circles and screaming, "wow! this is awesome!" over and over after i'd eating pizza, samosas, and spring rolls. then we went to DP for more indian food and ice cream. Happy Diwali!

yesterday was my normal busy Sunday. i was supposed to have lunch with a student but it didn't work out. i'm really looking forward to spending time with her. pray it happens soon.

it's raining so much now which is great but means making a "rain plan" and a "no rain plan" for middle school youth group. and yesterday we ended up inside while it cleared up and becamse sunny outside. we did have to clean our muddy feet though. mud is everywhere. don't even get me started on muddy dogs who have amazingly learned to jump over the even-higher-than-the-other-one gate when i arrive home from a long day.

i gave the message this week at high school youth group and felt like it didn't make any sense. i was pretty excited about it, but sometimes my words get all mixed up and when i say things aloud they don't make as much sense as they do in my head. by the end of it my face was burning and it felt like my toungue was swollen. that feels great when there are like 30 teenagers staring at you. but some encouragement was exchanged with a few students that i've really been thinking about and praying for. i was obedient and God is faithful; that's success.

we had dinner at the Conway's which is always wonderful. Eric watched my face and laughed at me when Holly announced we were having chilli dogs. it's such a BLESSING to be welcomed into a warm and loving home and feel like a family member. being taken care of for one evening by a mom and a dad (even if they're not your own) is so good for my soul. it's nice to borrow a family every once in a while. thanks Conway's.

this weekend i finally get to go to the BEACH. hopefully. that's the plan anyway. thank you to our good friend Shawn who has a sweet low-cost place (i mean, free) and invited us along. so we're leaving on Thursday morning and returning Sunday. i'll miss all the kids at youth group on Sunday, but i'm excited about this much needed rest.

the minshew's returned last night! i'm so excited to have them back. i missed them a lot. and their sweet baby, Graham. he's grown so much over the past few months.

hopefully soon i'll have pics of diwali and the beach!

love to you!!!