Home

I returned home from Zambia yesterday afternoon. Safe and sound! I must admit that had my family all been there with me, I would have been tempted to stay and not come back. Mr. B did a fine job of playing Mr. Mom. The house was clean, the laundry and dishes all done, and my babies were excited to tell me about all the fun they had with Daddy. He survived, but assured me that he now knows how much our home requires a mommy AND a daddy to function smoothly. I was back to work today—hitting the ground running despite being a bit jetlagged and playing catch-up with correspondence and new matters that came in while I was out.

Zambia was beautiful, tragic, joyful, heartbreaking and everything in between. A part of my heart is still there, with precious children whose faces and names I now know and love. Perhaps all those anti-malarial medicines and miscellaneous supplements I was taking made me a bit discombobulated—or maybe it was just a bit of culture shock, despite the fact that I’d visited Africa two times prior—but the whole time I was in Zambia, I felt like I was having a sort of surreal, out-of-body type experience. I tried to soak everything up and savor every moment. But so much was going on on the inside of me that I never really felt fully present on the outside. 9 days in-country was not long enough to fully settle in, process what I saw and come to an understanding of why the Lord took me there and how it works into the plan He has for my life. Seems D and I have all these random dots in our lives. We are impatient to connect them and have the final picture revealed. But instead of connecting them, God just keeps adding more dots to the page. Now that I’m home, I’m dealing with culture shock in reverse as I continue to process the things that I saw and felt, both physically and spiritually, while in Zambia. Each time I turn on the kitchen faucet, the dishwasher, the shower and the washing machine, I think of all the people fetching their water from the wells on the Wiphan school campuses, walking long distances with bare feet and carrying the heavy filled yellow jugs back home to cook their food, bathe their children and wash their clothes. I snuggle up with my girls in a cozy queen-sized bed with fresh sheets my girls and think of sweet Fridah in a cold, mud house sleeping on a reed mat and tiny piece of foam, covered with a rough, dirt-caked blanket. I wonder why I was born into my life and the precious people living in Ndola’s compounds were born into their lives. I lament the fact that there is no simple solution to poverty and that it will never go away. I am inspired as I remember people singing, dancing and worshiping for 4 to 5 hours straight in a mud church with only rough wooden pews or the dirt floor to sit on. I am outraged as I remember Mumi, a 4 year old girl with a lump on her head where she was hit with a chair by her drunken father, Ruth, a 10 year old girl that was raped three times in three days, and Helen, a 16 year old girl with 2 children aged 5 and 3 (do the math!). And I reflect on the fact that whether we are surrounded by material excesses or whether we lack even the basic necessities for living, we are empty without Jesus.

Lots to think and pray about! I plan to share some reflections and stories from my trip in the coming weeks. In the meantime, here are a few pictures:

Zambia Bound!

I’m leaving for Zambia in the morning! I am so thankful to have the opportunity to participate in this trip and am so, so, so excited about seeing first-hand how Wiphan is changing the lives of widows and orphans. My friend Andrea is on the team, too, which is just icing on the cake! We'll even get a little glimpse of South Africa (new stamps in my passport make me giddy!), as we’ll be stopping over in route. I’m looking forward to being stretched, challenged and changed and pray that I am able to contribute something meaningful to the Wiphan program and the precious people that we will be meeting, visiting and serving.

Photos courtesy of Wiphan:

Leaving my family behind is going to be the hardest part of the trip—I’m going to miss them SOOOO much! This will be Mr. B’s first experience flying solo with the girls for more than a couple of days. He’s going to have an adventure of his own! I'm sure he and the girls will have a grand time of fun and memory making, but I also know how much I miss that extra set of hands-on hands when he’s away! Will be praying for the household to run smoothly for him while I’m gone. If any of my local friends and family are reading—please give my peeps a little extra love and care for me during the next couple of weeks!

To help Mr. B out a bit, I made one last, big grocery run and got the fridge and pantry all stocked with lots of healthy breakfast, lunch and snack choices. Saturday morning, Miss M and I had a mommy-daughter date to Dinner Done where we made up a bunch of yummy, nutritious meals that can go from freezer to oven. We had so much fun! I made up a menu and schedule of dinners and preparation instructions and even made arrangements for my crew to have dinner with our folks a few of the evenings to give Mr. B a little break from the kitchen. Ha! I color-coded our calendar to help Mr. B keep up with child care duties, dog grooming appointments, dry cleaning and house cleaning services, and honey-dos: Work is always super-stressful in the last few days before I head out of the office, and I've been busy this week trying to get my files covered and projects delegated so that nothing falls through the cracks while I’m away. It never fails that when I prepare to go on a trip, everything I'm working on starts blowing up and clients I haven't heard from in ages start coming out of the woodwork with new ideas and issues. And I’ve got a big deal scheduled to close 3 days after I get back. Soooo. . . . once again, I’ll be having to periodically contact the office and keep up with the status of some stuff during the trip. We’ll see how that goes. I'll be taking my laptop. And techno-savvy Mr. B has been trying to teach me all sorts of tricks and techniques for getting connected and inexpensively communicating via computer and iphone--but I declare, after 15 seconds he starts sounding like the teacher on Charlie Brown! Bwaa bwaa bwaa bwaa bwaa bwaa bwaa. . . He's going to have to write me up some directions before I go. And then there’s the dreaded mountain that will inevitably be piled in my chair and on my desk when I get back. Another hard thing about leaving—knowing that even though I’m away, the rest of the world is still moving at a head-spinning pace!

Goodbye, office! Sorta.
Then there was the packing. . . I surprisingly managed to fit all of my clothes, converter gadgets and chargers, anti-malarial pills, probiotics, medicines to treat every other digestive issue or other potential ailment I could think of, Bible, journal, camera, snacks, bug spray, makeup, hair, skincare and hygiene products (and appliances--not sure whether we'll have power but I figured it was worth a try!), etc... into one 50 pound suitcase and a carry on. I’ll be toting another 50 pounds of donations once I get to Atlanta. Mr. B used to think it was so funny back in the days before airlines were so strict about weighing luggage and my bags would always arrive at the luggage carousel covered with flourescent orange HEAVY warning stickers, an effort made by the airlines to save their handlers from thrown-out backs and avoid worker’s comp claims resulting from my bags. The topic of my luggage has worked its way into several B family classic stories--like the one of me boarding a plane from England with a sword sticking out of my carry-on (obviously pre 9-11, when a sweet, naive smile was enough to clear security) and the story Mr. B and I refer to as the “German train station incident”. Apparently my lessons in traveling light (after the loss of my lovely safari wardrobe in route to Kenya a few years ago) were short-lived as I used every bit of my suitcase space and might barely came within my weight limits. Planning and packing for a trip is a big part of the fun for me, but it’s also a challenge!

A little weight on top helps to zip up a suitcase! I'm sure going to miss these silly girls! And of course, in addition to all this, I couldn’t leave without taking care of a bunch of tasks “just in case”. Before I leave home—especially on a long journey--I suddenly feel a sense of urgency to complete all those little cleaning and organizational tasks and projects that I’ve been putting on the back burner. Like finally putting a bunch of photos in albums, cleaning out my closet, making sure the laundry's folded and put away, cleaning out the fridge. It’s like the “always wear nice, clean underwear because you could get in an accident” rule taken a few steps further. I worry not only about what the paramedics might think if, in the process of trying to save my life, they notice that my undies have a hole, but what the ladies from church bringing casseroles and cobblers to my grieving family might think of my housekeeping skills if, heaven forbid, I don’t make it! Must be the Southernness in me—worried about my reputation and wanting to be gracious even after I’m gone! Mr. B thinks it's ridiculous, but, as his precious mother would say, “That’s Just Me!” Shoot, I even spend a couple of hours cleaning before the cleaners come to our house! The upside is that I’m fortunate enough to return safe and sound, I have an added bonus of coming home to a clean house (Though we will have to wait and see just how tidy the house stays without Mama home. Seems if I go shopping for a just couple of hours, a tornado blows through!). My Daddy is an estate planning attorney, so we’ve got our important documents-–wills, trusts, insurance policies, etc… in order. And everyone has been advised of the location of all important documents and records. Earlier today, I jotted down our banking and other important passwords, my Kodak Gallery account info (how terrible for my family to lose access to all those family photos?), and the location of my wedding rings (I only wear a gold band when traveling) and gave them to Mr. B to store in a secure location. I even made sure he had the password to my blog, "just in case" he needs to pass along the news of my fate to all my anonymous blog readers. Wouldn’t want to leave you hanging!

Though much of this post is written in a lighthearted spirit (can you tell I’m deliriously excited and up way past my bedtime?!?), on a serious note, I do ask that you please lift our team up in prayer over the next couple of weeks, that the Lord will protect us in our travels and cover our families that we are leaving at home, that He will guide and direct us in all we do and say while on the trip, that He will minister to us and to everyone in the Wiphan program in a BIG way, and that we’ll all safely return home to our families to share the great things God is doing through Wiphan in Zambia.

And with that, a few hours of sleep and a bunch of airport kisses and hugs, I’m off! I’ll be back in a couple of weeks to share all about it (Lord willing!). (smile)

xoxo

Chalk Art, Dog Tricks and Boys

Recurring conversations with Miss K:
Miss K: What doin Mom-Mom?
Me: Reading a book.
Miss K: Why?
Me: Oh, because I like to read books.
Miss K: Okay. Go ahead.
. . .
Miss K: What doin Mom-Mom?
Me: Carrying these clothes to the laundry room.
Miss K: Why?
Me: ‘Cause they’re dirty. I’m gonna wash them.
Miss K: Okay. Go ahead.
. . .
And on and on throughout the day, whatever activity I’m doing.

Chalk art by Miss M on our patio (gecko with fly on tongue): Close up of the fly:

This masterpiece was created with 3D chalk--you should have seen it through the glasses! So neat! Such talent!

Miss A to Miss K: When you are grown up your heart will be this big (spreads arms wide) and you can do anything! You can drive a van and even cook your own dinner! AND. . . you can have your own cell phone!

Chloe had a birthday: And the girls are training her to be a circus dog (scroll down and pause (II) the backround music first):

Me to the girls: What would you girls think about having a baby brother?
Miss M: No, thanks.
Me: Why?
Miss M: Because I know about boys. I have a bunch of them in my class. They B-word and T-word (that's burp and toot to those not in our family) and they don't say excuse me. And they don't flush.
Me: Well, any boy in our family would have manners like Daddy.
Miss A: And K needs someone to boss. So I say okay to a baby brother.

Fourth of July!

A few more pictures from our trip to Cedar Key with the B fam:

Our Beach Beauties! Surfer girl!

And some Fourth of July fun. We spent the afternoon with MamaToo and Ken: Horseback Riding, Hamburgers, and Swimming!

These girls are turning into great little riders! Pistol is MamaToo's new horse. He is so good with the girls--very laid-back and responsive and patient! Reminds me of my first horse, Rebel. Little A hops up there (her feet don't even reach the stirrups) and tells him what to do and off they go!

M wanted to wear her purple shirt to the barn to match Dream! I'm so impressed with how far M has come in the last month! Losing the water wings is one of our goals for the summer! But Miss M told me that swimming without water wings is "not really my style, Mama."

Our summer seems to be flying by! We're enjoying staying up late, sleeping in, a break from lessons and extra-curriculars, lots of beach, pool and barn time, weekend warrior yard projects, and lots of sunshine and lemonade! Hope you had a Happy Fourth of July!