Mondays with Allee

But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed. Isaiah 53: 5 It's the first day back at school after a two week break and I can honestly say, just as I felt at the end of our last two week break, I am ready to go back to school.  I have learned here how differently a "break" feels when your work does not constantly keep you running.  When it doesn't leave you collapsing in bed exhausted at the end of the day and groaning at the alarm clock the next morning.  Of course my job keeps me busy and there are days where I am dead tired- but there's something different about it.  I think that means I'm doing what I should be doing. The first week of the break I went to Zanzibar with a group of my friends.  Zanzibar is a small island that used to be it's own country, but is now part of Tanzania.  We took a bus from Morogoro to Dar es Salaam and then we took ...

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4: 12-13 Friday afternoon just as school was letting out, a large "boom" was heard throughout the neighborhood followed by a chorus of groans.  The transformer for our street's electricity had blown again and with it being Friday afternoon, the chances of it being fixed before the weekend were pretty much nonexistent.  For the rest of Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and most of Monday we had no electricity.  Now I'm a pretty positive person, and after living in Africa for nearly a year now I've learned to live simply, but after the first sleepless night with no power, I was pretty much done.  No fans to provide respite from the intense heat and humidity, no fridge to keep water cold or meats frozen,...

The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame.  You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Isaiah 58:11 I apologize for my absence in posting last week.  I have no excuse other than life got in the way.  If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you probably saw pictures of the new fur babies (yes, plural) that we welcomed into our family over the past week.  It all started with rats.  Since moving here last July we've had a pretty consistent rat problem in our house.  We probably have one hanging around somewhere in the house at all times and every other month or so we start seeing signs of it inhabiting a kitchen cabinet or one of our closets and we begin the laying of traps and cleaning out of all crevices in the attempt to catch it.  After several nights of uneasy sleep we do always eventually catch them and they are always much bigger than I...