Do You Ever Stop to Think?

When you turn on the tap, are you thankful for clean water? When you lie down to sleep at night in a comfortable bed, are you thankful? When you walk into your home after a busy day and are sheltered from the elements, are you thankful?

My friend, David, a former missionary kid from Haiti, is in Haiti now along with Samaritan's Purse. He is there chronicling the work of those who have gone to help relieve some of the suffering of the Haitian people. Above is one of his photos. To see more, go here. Click on the photos to see them enlarged.

Grasshoppers, anyone?

This past weekend I had the pleasure of having Thom and Ellen in my home. I first met Thom and Ellen about nine years ago when they came to our church and told how they were going to Cameroon to work at a hospital site. Thom, a contractor, would be overseeing construction at the hospital, and Ellen would be hosting the guest house there. Having raised a family, they were at a time of needing some direction in their lives, and someone who came to their church said, "I think you should go to Cameroon."

After speaking in churches and raising their funds to go, they packed up their house and set off. When I met them, I asked Ellen to look through my Pampered Chef catalog and choose some items that she would like to have in her kitchen in Cameroon. Some time after they had arrived, I received these photos in a letter.

Gladys is holding the Pampered Chef batter bowl, filled with grasshoppers. Thom told us that the grasshoppers, when fried nice and crispy, taste much like fried chicken. Ellen said that she put one in her mouth, but that she wouldn't do it again. A visitor who came to be with them needed a little encouraging to try one, but after he tried the first one, he was reaching for another before he had finished the first one.

Can you imagine cooking these for a snack?

Thom loves the grasshoppers, but he said he draws the line at termites.

Happy Birthday, Sarah

Today is my daughter Sarah's birthday. I tried to upload some photos, but Blogger isn't cooperating. I'll refer you to my post from last year. When Blogger's working for me again, I'll post an up-to-date photo of Sarah. The bottom one in the post is one that was taken after she had begun losing weight. She has worked so hard over the past year and a half to lose, and she has been victorious!

Last July found her jobless. Since then she has sold her house, moved back in with me (I love that.) and just this week started a new position. So hopefully, this is the start of a new good year for her.

Happy birthday, Sarah.

Hope in hopeless times!

Danny Pye, in Haiti, writes: "Hope in hopeless times: Ture story in Jacmel. Mother of 22 day old infant feeding he child just before 5 p.m. last Tuesday. Placed the infant in bed, asleep and walked out of her small home for a short minute. In that short time, the earthquake, house collapsed with infant inside.

Family accepted the death of their infant and grieved for her. Today, search and rescue pulled her out...ALIVE...not a scratch, not a mark. On IV fluides and being treated for malnutrician...who wants to say now there is no God? 7 days...22 day old infant

Haiti

What more can be said about Haiti? I will not even try. Anyone who has ever visited there for a time or lived there takes with them a piece of the country in his heart and never forgets the people of this poor country.

Facebook has been a wonderful medium for leaning news first hand of things going on, as well as blogs. E-mails have come with news that one doesn't necessarily see on TV, even though there is plenty to see.

One blog I would refer you to if you are interested in reading some first hand experiences about the earthquake is Pye's in Haiti. This young couple went to Haiti about four years ago and established a children's home in Jacmel, one of the cities away from the epicenter of the earthquake and yet very damaged. They are updating every day their activities and you can get a glimpse into what many people are doing. If you go back to older posts, you can read Leeann's account of the day of the earthquake.

I was going to put links to some documents that I've received that give some really good information, but I realize I don't know quite how to do it.

Did you hear it is cold in Florida?

Yes, it's cold everywhere, isn't it. It has been cold enough to snow here, but hasn't quite done it yet. I do feel sorry for people who plan for a week's vacation in Florida expecting sunny skies and warm weather. We certainly are not having warm weather, and some days haven't been sunny. Friends on Facebook have said, "If it's going to be this cold, why doesn't it snow?" And I have to admit that I agree with that one.

Yesterday drivers were being warned of icy conditions. There are no signs in Florida that warn of bridges freezing over before the roadways.

Did you read about the iguanas falling out of trees in south Florida? Too cold.

These cold days take me back 33 years to the winter of 1977. We had an extreme winter that year too. I was pregnant with my daughter, Sarah. We had moved into our new home in August. At Christmas, we had two big Christmas open houses, and when I went to the doctor the next day, he announced that I would be going to the hospital because my blood pressure was unusually high. I spent a few days there and then went home to stay in bed until she was born.

One morning I woke up, and the house was unusually cold. I checked the thermostat, and it was down in the 50's. No electricity. The power company was doing rolling blackouts throughout its area. With all the building and development that has gone on since then, the utility must have kept up with the growth because I haven't read of any outages. Schools were closed for a couple of days because they could not adequately heat the buildings.

Anyway, on January 20, the day that Sarah was to be born, Don and I drove to the hospital before 7 in the morning, and as we passed by the bank on Manatee Avenue, the thermometer on the bank read 26 degrees. We had been told in birthing classes that the labor and delivery rooms were kept comfortably cool for the mothers in labor. Well, that day the heat was billowing! And I don't like heat! And to top that off, workers were repaving the bridge that is right next to the hospital. The smell of tar wafted into the room. It was not the most pleasant experience that I have ever had to say the least.

Yesterday one of my friends was at the grocery store and said that there were no strawberries to be had. The farmers have been sprinkling them with water to coat them with ice before the temperatures dip too low. With the cold going on for these many days, it will be interesting to see what happens. We had just bought some a few days before the cold started, and they were oh so good.

Stay warm, wherever you are. Sarah just pointed out an article from our local paper about wintry weather from 1989. It refers to the winter of 1977 as well.