small updates.

i may or may not have copied this from my recent email to a friend, but i added some nuggets so all can enjoy:

malaria is out-booya grandma! but i do have a cold that won't go away and kleenex is a rare commodity. farmer's blows are my new best friend. at christmas time we slaughtered a sheep that slept right outside my door and with whom i tried to avoid any relationship prior to its depressing destiny. jim almost got arrested for taking pictures in the IDP camp's market (one of which is featured above). the boys love to watch "big mama"-and they get a kick when my lanky little body dances like her character. my american pals (jim and nathan) have left me all alone. but i'm having lots of new fun with everyone. i'm living in the local IDP camp some of the time. a few nights ago my 6 foot denka friend priscilla slept in my bed with me-still not sure why. two UN workers (including one american) were shot and killed while driving in khartoum. another random lady was shot while cooking in Mayo, the IDP camp, just blocks away from where i was having a conversation with one of the teachers who lives there. old and new directors are crazy, the truck broke down, the headmaster's stealing money from the center, and our pets' heads are falling OFF!

but honestly, people, i've felt more peace now than ever. i'm having so much fun-isn't that wierd? i've been reading, playing futbol, dancing, and singing 50 cent. i recently attended a hybrid wedding that was full of ugly 80s american decor crossed with traditional african choruses and one very awkward kiss. i'll be going to another one tomorrow.

long story short, Jesus' peace remains steady in my heart and i couldn't be happier to be here. it's funny how He takes us on a trip where we don't know directions or what we've packed or really, why we're going at all but the point is He's driving and you just don't care. i'm not talking about some corny "Jesus take the wheel" song, more like the beach boys "this is the worst trip i've every been on", but either way the reality is that i'm on a very strange trip by being a part of life in general, especially the life that God makes for me. i guess i'm trying to say that being a follower of Christ is confusing, yet there is this richness that doesn't match up with anything i've ever experienced and i can't help but feel myself uninterested in sorting out the confusion, but simply continuing to marvel at the beautiful Guide...