Say What?

I think Arabic is a pretty language to look at, but it's tough when I need to know what it says! Here in Mombasa where so many of our products are imported from the Middle East, I run into trouble sometimes. It makes me appreciate the marketing geniuses who came up with the logos for some of the world's biggest brands. Do you recognize these?

I've heard some pretty funny stories from people in countries that use different symbols for their alphabet. One friend of mine in Asia once brushed her teeth with hemorrhoid cream. Someone else I know used powdered sugar instead of flour in a tortilla recipe. It's a dangerous world out there...

(By the way, the answers are Diet Coke, Colgate, and Ritz)

I'm Not a "Lady in Waiting"...

While in Nairobi last week I stayed in the guest house of the International Bible Society. They have a Christian bookstore on their campus which is awesome for several reasons. One: it has the best price on Bibles in all of East Africa. Two: You can get Bibles in any Kenyan tribal language there is a translation for. Three: They have cool mugs. Four: I really like Judy, the girl who works behind the counter.

Sadly, there is one thing I regret about the place. Apart from the great Bibles, there isn’t much in that shop (easily the biggest Christian bookstore in Kenya) that isn’t fluff. Now, there may be some diamonds hiding among the… shall we say cubic zirconium?... but I’m always disappointed to find the patently shallow array of Christian self-help books and romance novels (I think we like to call it Spiritual Growth and Christian Fiction).

I have little patience for the literary (and musical) mediocrity of the evangelical world, but there is one thing I find particularly intolerable. Have you ever walked down the Women’s aisle in a Christian bookstore? Let me share with you most of the titles I found on the shelf at IBS.

Date… or Soul Mate? (How to know if someone is worth pursuing in two dates or less)
Becoming the Woman of His Dreams (Seven Qualities Every Man Longs For)
More than a Match (How to Turn the Dating Game into Lasting Love)
Dating With Passion (More than Rules, More than a Courtship, More than a Formula)
Sassy, Single, and Satisfied (Secrets to Loving the Life you’re Living)
Women Making a Difference in Marriage
Preparing for Marriage
A Wife After God’s Own Heart
A Mom After God’s Own Heart

There were a few other books about motherhood and marriage (including His Needs, Her Needs, and a potentially amusing offshoot called Mommy’s Needs, Daddy’s Needs, where I can only assume the author tries to convince young children that their parents have needs too, by golly, and you should give them a little more space). Then there is one devotional book for busy moms. Sadly, I’ve just inventoried the entire section for you.

Have you ever heard a single woman say, “I don’t feel like my life is worth anything until I get married and have kids.” What did you say to that woman? What would you say?

What is the Women’s section in the Christian bookstore saying?

What is the Church saying?

Let’s pretend for a moment that I’m a new Christian, and I’d like to know what the Church believes about singleness. If the bookstore is anything to go by, the job of a single woman is to make herself as attractive as she can and do whatever necessary to attract a man, then get married and have children as soon as possible. Then she will spend the rest of her life trying to make that marriage and those kids “work for her”.

Please hear me, I’m not trying to say that the Church should stop helping young women prepare for marriage and motherhood. I know many young women whose hearts’ desire is to be a wife and mom, and I believe that is a worthy calling. But I believe the Church has erred by bending to the world in this area, and it has placed an unhealthy focus on finding “true love”, which isn’t really true at all, and has called women away from the truths of the Bible. The Bible says if you can stay single, you should, for as long as you are single, you are able to devote yourself wholly to God and the things that concern Him. (That’s in 1 Corinthians 7.)

Well, this is a big topic, and I’m going to write more about it in the coming weeks and months. I hope you’ll feel free to comment on what I write, and even share your experiences if you like. I’m sure it would enrich my own study.

No Need for Miracle Gro!

I always tell people I have a missionary nose. Either I don’t smell very well, or I just don’t notice (the latter option is more consistent with my character J). My friend Cristina has a very sensitive nose, which is unfortunate, because she lives in Bolivia, where I’ve experienced some of the worst odors I’ve smelled to date. I’m really glad Cristina wasn’t in my house this week when I got back from Nakuru. There was a little science experiment growing in my kitchen in a pot. Two weeks ago, when I was here last, I made some oatmeal for breakfast, then put the cover on it and promptly forgot all about it (see what I mean about my character?). Now, this isn’t the first time a dirty dish has escaped my notice for a couple weeks. But this is the first time it’s happened in an un-air conditioned apartment on the equator. Whatever grew in that pot produced an odor even I couldn’t miss! I had to wrap a bandana around my face to keep from gagging while I cleaned it out.

While traveling with our visitors from Denton, we remarked a lot how small potted plants in the US grow to almost Jurassic proportions here. For instance, Americans have little potted poinsettias on our tables at Christmas time. Here they grow into 20-foot tall trees! Lantana, those sweet little ground covering flowers that sit just a couple inches off the ground in so many Texas lawns grow into giant bushes in Nairobi. Below are a few pictures of the mammoth flora we saw. Most of the time, it’s a good thing that things grow bigger and faster here. Unless you’re talking about that pot in my kitchen. But I won’t show you a picture of that.

A poinsettia tree!

Gayle said she has one of these, but it's tiny!

Schneicky, that's big!

Moved and Connected

After a month of moving, hosting visitors, and traveling, I have signed away the inheritance of any future children I may have in a contract with the most reliable (for that, read least incompetent) internet service provider in Ukunda. I no longer pay more for internet service than I pay to rent my flat. Sadly, that's only true because my rent increased! But, this is Africa, and I'm just happy to be online again!

I have so much to share from the last month! In the next few days I hope to post some things I've been saving. Be sure to check back!