Just a Glimpse into a Day...

I never write letters anymore.  It is sad.  I miss receiving letters in the mail. I jot quick emails and post bitty messages on Facebook walls, but I don't write to people.  It is truly a loss in this modern age.  However, I have a friend that lives very far away in the jungle, dedicating her life to translating the Scripture into the Akolet  language so that the new believers can have His Word!  Did I mention they have a new baby?  Anyway,  I received an update from them.. whilst they are dealing with Malaria and translating hunks of scripture every day (feeling like my major accomplishment of folding a few baskets of laundry is a bit pithy now)  and I know it is important as supporters to not only pray for them, but to include them in our lives. I have learned from missionary friends that feeling isolated is a tool that Satan uses to discourage them.

I had no breaking news to share, so I just started writing about the random events of life here. And since I had it written, I decided to include an excerpt in my blog as these stories get printed off into a book each year and capture a small slice of our life....

Keep in mind that this letter is written to a close friend.. I knew she would be amused by the mishaps.  Nothing makes the stress of Malaria lessen like laughing at your own friends misfortunes!  That is the goal!

I had a bottle of Elephantastic Pink that I had been
unable to use due to the lid being stuck on tightly. So I tapped it on my
bathroom counter to loosen the paint in the lid. Although I have done this
hundreds of times, this particular time I shatted the bottle and
Elephantastic Pink sprayed all over our bathroom.
This did not deter me. I really wanted this color on my toes. So after I
cleaned up the mess, I dipped the brush in the bottom shard of the bottle
and proceeded to paint. and yes, my toes look stunning. thank you for
asking
to continue on with mess-making stories.. let me tell you about a recent one
as well!
scenario: tricia frantically packing for a trip to see sister and fam. the
goal was to be all packed before Nick got home from work so we could all
jump in the van and go. I was doing good on time.. I had the kiddos folding
clothes when, BAM--chaos ensues.. Screaming, Running, Blood.
My eyes dart from one kid to the other. Solomon looked suspicous as he had
donned a brown satin shirt of mine over his clothes, and Maylen had blood
gushing from her nose. The explanation? Solomon was folding my shirt when
he decided that it looked like something a Ninja would wear. So he put it
on and modeled it for Maylen. She was so impressed and told him that he
looked like a Karate master. That inspired Solomon and he apparently
whisked his foot high in the air to try out the roundhouse kick. Apparently
Maylen's nose got in the way.
Once I ascertained that Maylen was not permanently maimed, I began dealing
with the real issue... bright red blood on ivory carpet. Then I followed
the trail of blood down the hall, through the kitchen where I saw that blood
was splattered all over our new (sob sob) carpet in the living room and all
over the massive heap of clean laundry. It looked like a crime scene.

All is well now, and no, I was not ready when Nick got home.. but he was
quite understanding when i relayed the story to him. His comment was this,
"NO! NOT THE NEW CARPET!" that's the problem with new things.. it's so
devastating when they get wrecked.

Yes, these are the little daily events that make up life!  

And so I challenge you!  

Go to your refrigerator (or wherever you keep the pictures of the missionaries you support), and pick out a missionary that would love a little insight into the daily fun in your life!  Or maybe your grandma, or an aunt!  Wouldn't it be fun to send an old fashioned letter for NO Reason!! 

How delightful! 

I know there is a lot of people in my life who have no idea how much I value their presence in my life as I don't think about expressing it.  

I hope to change that!