Marcel Proust

An author of whom I have never heard...until this semester. He holds the title of writing the longest book ever written: In Search of Lost Time - 4000 pages - 6 volumes. Yes, I think you might know where I'm going with this. I, the student that I am, am going to read it this semester. NOTE: THIS IS NOT A "JUST FOR FUN" READING, IT IS MANDATORY FOR A CLASS. I just felt I needed to clarify that I don't enjoy 4000 page novels all the time. So it works out to 42 pages a day...I guess I should get started on my 42 for today since it's already 9PM.

En la biblioteca por toda la mañana

Today...I am sitting here in the Mervyn Sterne Library at UAB until I go to meet Dane for lunch in about an hour and a half. I came this morning to check out a book that is EXTREMELY helpful for my research project I'm doing this fall but...of course, since it is the ONE book I need, the library has lost it. O well...I actually have the book at home, I just left it yesterday and wanted to read some today while I'm out and about. I guess that's what I get for packing up in 20 mintues.

So now, I'm sitting in the library working on my IRB training. It is a time consuming process that is less than exciting so I decide to treat myself with random breaks for blogging and facebook. Yes, I know, if I work continuously it'll get done quicker, but you know...staring at a computer screen of words can only be done for so long.

I really have nothing too eventful to say today, other than that I found a super cute blog called Silly Beanz that sells adorable homemade hairbows for $.75 and $.99! Of course, I have no need for this, I just like to keep a database of cute girly things... :)

Nos sonreimos

It means "we smile."

Meghan (Harris), a girl on our Zambia team, just added more Africa photos on facebook and she had this one of me playing around with Peter. I absolutely love it because this child won my heart, just like he also did with everyone else. (The pic is the main one at the top of the page if you still haven't noticed.) Peter is around 3 or 4 and is absolutely a monkey at heart. He LOVES to be picked up, swung around, do flips...anything that involves human contact. As Meghan took this picture, he is climbing up my stomach to do a flip or at least to try.

One thing concerned me about Peter though. He never said a word, nor did he make a sound. I asked another girl if he spoke and she said "yes" but even speaking to him in his native language, he never made a sound - no laughs, cries, grunts, acknowledgement of sound or anything. I wonder if he might be deaf. He had no shoes on so when we were playing he stepped on some prickly things that stuck into his foot. Instead of crying out, he just stopped and squeezed my hand and looked up with eyes of pain. I picked him up and removed the pricklies and he was fine, but I thought it odd that even in pain, he made no sound.

I long for the day when Dane and I adopt children. I absolutely cannot wait to take a child like this and call them mine and love them with the love of Christ every day. What better way is there to be the hands and feet Christ to one child.

Real Hope for Haiti

This blog has made a giant impact on my life. It is one of the few that I read daily and each picture and update truly shakes my heart at its core. I invite each of you to check out this blog and begin to pray for the people and children of Haiti. Also, how can you help? There are various ways from financial donations to donating supplies to adoption to prayer.

http://www.realhopeforhaiti.org/
http://haitirescuecenter.wordpress.com/

I leave you with a quote from their website:

"Let us all hope and pray that with our time and resources, coupled with hard work and a dependence on God's soveriegn power and love, we will see God heal their land and that Haitian believers may become a light to the nations."

I've returned once again to the USA!

I don't even know how to begin this post. All I can say is that Zambia is an amazing country with some of the friendliest, most loving and hard-working people that I have ever met. The women there put me to shame! Any women that can carry pounds of things on her head while walking miles (or kilometers in this case) or repair their homes on their knees all day while carrying a child on their back are MUCH stronger than I can ever imagine to be. To read an actual "play by play" I'm just going to direct you to David's blog here or you can also click on "David's in Zambia" on the side bar under "Blogs I Like" if the link doesn't work. (I'm not too tech saavy so I'm still trying to figure out how to link things.)

Here are some pictures from my time in Zambia.
Here I am holding Carrie sitting by her older sister and another young girl.


I found it very funny that whenever the children are happily playing and you hold up your camera to take a "candid" photo, the kids instantly stop and form a group pose and have serious, sad faces. No wonder there are so many pictures of sad children in Africa!


One Saturday afternoon we got to see Victoria Falls! It is truly breathtaking!



Most of our Zambia group after we'd arrived back at Alabanza, the mission base in Pretoria, South Africa.


These are two of my most favorite faces in the entire world!
I present to you Jane and Joan.