that feels like home to me

I love, love, love having fresh produce out on the counter. In fact, in the States, I loved looking at bananas in the hanging fruit basket so much that I periodically bought one or two bananas, just to look at them for a couple days before I had to eat them… even though I don’t like bananas in the States. True confession. (Thus, I would stand in the produce aisle and think: will I eat a banana in the next three days? I really want to look at one in the hanging basket, but I won’t buy it unless I am willing to eat it so it doesn't go to waste…)

fruit basketS
happy.happy.happy.

Growing up with eight sibs, the fruit basket in the kitchen was always stocked, and during the summer months, fresh produce overflowed on the kitchen counters to the point that it was difficult to find the counters beneath the masses of garden goodness. However, large quantities of fresh produce are not sustainable without mass numbers of appetites.

I’m the kind of gal who feels like I don’t have any food in the house unless there’s a generous stock of fresh fruits and veggies, but without a large family to help consume what I purchase, I have to limit my fresh stock these days. It was a fun treat last week to purchase fresh produce for 15+ as we cooked meals for a visiting team at the guesthouse.

Welcome...

Come on in...

...and please don't leave before enjoying a muffin or three...

or perhaps a piece of cake and a cup of tea...

Playing Hostess, or, S&J's Restaurant

Lack of internet doesn’t solely account for the recent silence here on my blog…

serving between 13 and 19 for meals required some furniture re-arranging

Sara and I don’t actually own or operate a restaurant, but we felt a bit like we did the past four days as we hosted a group of 13 Americans here at Nahumba. In addition to accommodating the group at the guesthouse each night, we served multiple meals each day.

we offered cereal if someone didn't like the main breakfast meal
(the cereal was untouched both mornings)
I just thought it looked so cute it needed a photo and thus was blog-worthy :)

I could re-post the menus and details of multiple shopping trips necessary for such an endeavor, but I’ll spare you the excessive details. Instead, here’s a tidbit-sized flavor of life the past few days:

• Monday’s schedule: non-stop from 6:15am to 11:30pm
• Last week we opened a new bottle of dish soap; this week it’s halfway gone. No joke. Until Tuesday of this week, I don’t remember a time my fingers literally hurt from washing so many dishes!
• From Saturday to Wednesday, we baked four 9x13 cakes, four dozen muffins, and multiple loaves of bread. Remaining are two small pieces of cake and 1.5 dozen muffins.
• Our guests had a touch of authenticity this morning when they woke up to no running water… (sorry, it’s just how life is here)

In other news, Sara and I decided it was definitely time to purchase two of those relax-a-ble looking camp chairs out for sale along the road to town. So, between all the recent chaos, we managed to squeeze in two or three twenty-minute breaks—sitting on our front veranda and staring at the beauty of the large tree in our front yard... and forgetting about everything stressful... well... okay, so maybe we brought our pencils and paper and brainstormed meal plans...

it was still

respite. bliss. wonder.

If your week has been hectic like ours has been, I highly recommend taking a few moments to LEAVE the craziness to enjoy some simple beauty. 

For soul health. 

And if you can't seem to find the perfect place for such a moment, our front veranda is always available...

This is Zambia

I pulled this essay from old blog drafts that were never published. It was originally written last year in July or August, I think. Though the daily details change, I think the piece illustrates the gist of how life runs here in Zambia. Originally I didn't have photos to post with the words (thus, I did not post it). I'm using photos from our recent bus ride back to Choma from Lusaka. They are all typical scenes here in Southern Province.

Yesterday Heather joined a friend for a social call at one of the pastor’s houses in town (~30 minute walk). She invited me to walk with her to the hospital to take a breather from my office, and I happily accepted her invitation.

The walk to the hospital is a brisk 10 or 12 minute trek. We had hardly made it 5 minutes down the road, when we noticed Stebbin, one of the field officers, riding his motorbike on the parallel path in the same direction we were headed.

We made it about three minutes further (overtaking Stebbin’s then-stopped motorbike), but stopped to greet Marvin, the accountant at Central Office, who was returning to the office from lunch break.

We were almost to the foot bridge when we noticed our pastor cycling toward us. So, we stopped and greeted him.

Meanwhile, Stebbin had finished his previous conversation and stopped to say hello before riding his motor bike on down the path for lunch.

At the bridge, we greeted two ladies who eyed us with deep stares.

Just after we crossed the foot bridge, our carpenter came around the bend on his bicycle headed toward Nahumba. We stopped and chatted, and scheduled a time for him to stop by to visit Sunday afternoon.

At the junction of the hospital drive and the road to town, Heather and I split ways. I headed back to Nahumba the long way, and she proceeded to town.

That evening, a friend messaged me: “I saw you at the hospital. I kept waving, but you didn’t see me.”

Just when we thought we’d seen everyone… haha!

This is Zambia. This is our life. 

this little man...

charms us all.

(photo thanks to Judith-- from my visit to PA in November)

cooking Zambian

relishes made from local mushrooms and okra

Recently, one of my friends came to teach me some more Zambian cooking. We had way more food than the two of us could eat, so we invited the field officers over to help consume the lunch. "If relish without meat could always taste this good, I could be a vegetarian!" one of the guys remarked.

(Here, "relish" is the flavorful meat or vegetable served alongside nshima-- the staple food made from a stiff porridge of white corn flour and water.)

Come and Dine

Jesus has a table spread

where the saints of God are fed,

He invites His chosen people

"Come and Dine"

With His manna He doth feed

and provides our every need;

Oh 'tis sweet to sup with Jesus all the time!

"Come and Dine," the Master calleth

"Come and Dine"

You may feast at Jesus' table all the time

He who fed the multitude, turned the water into wine,

To the hungry calleth now,

"Come and Dine!"

~C. B. Windmeyer 1914