Woke up to gun shots

My hubby and I are staying overnight with our friends in LA. We had just drifted off to sleep an hour and a half ago. We were startled awake by the sound of repeated gunfire. Our friends  have never had this happen in their neighborhood before.
If you have a heart for intercession, please lift up this city. If you love this city please pray for God's peace to reign and transform the lives of the people here.
We are praying for comfort and peace for those affected by the violence. We are praying for mothers and fathers to raise up their children in courage.
I am touched by a neighborhood who responded to this shock in solidarity. Many of the neighbors called the police to report that someone had been shot.
We are trusting a loving Papa God to draw people to him and away from violence.
May this generation raise up, and reclaim their city for peace, education, family, and love.
my heart is broken. Jesus come....
Holy Spirit touch hearts. Infuse them with courage and tenacity. This is their home and not a place for gang fighting.
MMM

Most romantic day (blurg)

Something about a wedding is so amazingly overflowing with romantic love that even the passionately-in-love couples are inspired to love more – more deeply and more fully. We remember the firsts. First time I laid eyes on you. First impression. First conversation. First touch. First embrace. First first first….

I have loved more deeply because one more time, I am reminded of a love story made in heaven (The most romantic story ever: Jesus and his Bride- US!) that is reflected in so many of our own love stories. Today's bride and groom have a love story that is unlike any other ever told. And, their wedding was spectacularly different than any wedding I’ve ever been to. It is an honor to celebrate their love and the first steps in their journey as a family.

Lots of lobe….it’s late. Lots of love and goofy JOY,

Missionary Momma Mia

Dinner with our friends

You might be thinking, "Where has she been?" Tonight my hubby and I had dinner at our friends' house.  I always love hanging out with our friends at their house. Home made food, coffee and fun conversation. It’s usually in Mozambique. This time it was in the states! So happy to see them being blessed with an amazing property and a house they are turning into a great home. Tonight was beautiful! I love to see how Papa God blesses the people that I love. It is nice when random people have great happy stories and powerful testimonies, and it is even better when people you love have great happy stories and powerful testimonies. My hubby and loved hearing their great story about how they were able to get their house. They just have incredible favor, and God is generous in blessing them!!!!

Why? I believe it is because our friends are truly generous, not because they invited us over for dinner, but because they give their lives away for the kingdom. What kingdom? Jesus’. I know you probably know that if you read my other blogs. But lots of people interested in kingdom business have other things in mind. Most people who are interested in building up a kingdom want power. Some of them want power to be able to have more stuff and money. Some people want power to become famous. Some people don’t want power because they know they have it. That’s the kind of people that we are lucky to get to hang out with.

So anyway, enjoy life, be inspired and ask cool people questions and really listen. You might gain a friend who is inspiring. We did. I mean, who serves Jesus, the poor and needy for practically their entire life without focusing on their own gain? Some of our friends do, and they inspire us to keep trusting God with the crazy stuff and the daily life stuff.

By the way, my hubby and I are on a mini vaca/road trip before heading to Mozambique. So I took a break from blogging to focus on having a super special time with my hubby. I love to love this guy!!! We are goofy together, and good for each other. I’m a very blessed wife and momma!!! But I am missing my kids. Had to look at pictures of their awesome faces….That’s what pictures are for, to remember the people you love and reconnect with those heart-melting emotions. I get all emotional thinking about my Jesus, my hubby, kids and friends. There must be a soft gooey heart on my insides….

Thank you!, to friends who are keeping up with my writing, and encouraging me to tell my story. I’m still getting into the groove of writing, and taking few days off gave me time to remember why I’m inspired to write about our international family. Remember when I started to write I made a plan to write six days a week, as long as I wasn't writing just to be writing for six days in a week. I want to write from my heart. It was a great disconnect from 'writing as a job' and reconnecting with my family and friends who inspire my writing. We are a pretty cool bunch of people!! You’re a part of it!

Now I’ve gotta put my hair in foam rollers for attending a sweet spiritual sista’s wedding tomorrow. I saw a vision of this a year ago, and here I am, with my husband, to witness the vision actually happening! It’s great to celebrate family and friends. It’s great how God loves to love us. He shows us things to give us hope. I had hope for this day many years ago when I met a beautiful single missionary in Mozambique. It's my JOY to witness things we have seen in the spirit and waited for happening at just the right time!

My hair is almost dry, I gotta get it in granny rollers. G’night!!!

Lots of love,

Missionary Momma Mia

Subway for Thanksgiving Feast

Today when we ate lunch at Subway, I remembered when my hubby, firstborn son and I had Subway subs for Thanksgiving in Sau Paulo Brazil, instead of turkey in Colorado. It was one of those unexpected adventures that turned out to be a blessing for some tired missionaries.

Let’s see. That family trip was scheduled for late November. We were supposed to arrive just one day before Thanksgiving, on a Wednesday. Our tickets had been bought for a while, the visa for my hubby to visit the USA was still valid. Everything checked through just fine on the first leg of our trip to get to Sau Paulo, but that’s where we got stuck for a couple nights while even our second carry-on went ahead to Colorado. We were ready to go, except right there, between our departure from Brazil and arrival in Denver, an overzealous airline employee decided to check our details just one more time. She found out that my hubby didn’t have a visa for Canada. “What? No one said that we needed a visa before?” Our connecting flight showed up in her computer system as US/Canada. According to her computer, we didn’t have all the right travel documents.

We were surprised to hear her say that we would have to delay our flight and get a visa in the Canadian Embassy in Sau Paulo. It was the weirdest thing ever. Our flight had one connection in an airport that was both Canadian and American. We were literally only walking through the airport to get to our connecting flight, our itinerary said USA. I explained that the city and state is in America, but she was adamant that Canada would require a visa. We asked for her to confirm the details until she was getting even a little more short with us. We explained that we were not going to Canada, but she was insistent. So we told her that it was the company’s fault that they had verified our visas, loaded our baggage, and given us boarding passes before she verified the details again, and then changed their minds about it.

They were going to help us. We wouldn’t have to pay for everything since the company was partially responsible. Then something changed. I was surprised (this time happier surprised) as I learned how sincerely kind Brazilian culture is towards expecting mothers. My hubby talked with her explaining that the first airline employees hadn’t seen any problem with our visas because we weren’t disembarking. She apologized and insisted we had to get the visa. “Its just difficult for my wife because she is pregnant…our suitcases have already gone on to Colorado…..” “She’s pregnant? It doesn’t even show?” And then, the atmosphere shifted. They were helpful. Insistent that he get a visa for Canada, but they reserved a hotel and got us booked for the same flight in two days. So they paid part of the fees to change our flight, and even a got us a room in a hotel. That meant that we would arrive after Thanksgiving. I was still a little distraught, but it was actually nice that we were going to spend a night or two in hotel that the airline company paid for, it was a five star hotel. That was super nice for frugal missionaries who wouldn’t splurge on that kind of luxury. We only had to pay for a Canadian visa, and the taxi and travel costs in the city.

It was late when that was finally sorted. A taxi took us from the airport to the hotel, and the next day we headed to the United Nations complex in Sau Paulo. Beautiful place! We were barely able to get the visa, but we did. I don’t remember all the details, but I do remember praying because it was possible that we would have to come back the next day to get the visa - it usually took more than one day to process. Somehow it worked out. They would try to have his visa available after a few hours, just before they closed.

We were so tired from all the unexpected requirements, but there was a UN complex full of shops and restaurants to explore while we waited until just before the embassy closed. We had to find some clothes because we didn’t have enough for the three of us in the one carry-on bag that we had with us. There wasn’t a lot available there, but we managed to find something.

Then we looked for our lunch, and to my delight, there was a Subway fast-food restaurant inside the UN complex. We looked at each other and my husband knew what I wanted. I told him that I was actually more thrilled to have a Subway sub sandwich that he could imagine. I had dreams about subs, not turkey. So, inside our unexpected delay was a gift that I had been dreaming about.

In the end, we didn’t need the visa. We didn’t even walk on the Canada side of the airport. We would have been just fine. But my husband looked at me and he said do you remember asking God for a Subway Sandwich? You even told me that if you could pick any food for your holiday it would be a fresh cut Subway sandwish….Things that pregnant woman say!?! I was dreaming of their pickles and fresh veggies.

Well, I didn’t think that an entire company would examine my husband’s passport and determine that he needed a visa –that he didn’t actually need (and we were barely able to get in time!) just so I could rest in a nice hotel, get a lovely back massage, get three haircuts taken care of, and eat the sandwich of my pregnant dreams.

Mommy advice, be careful what you wish for….it might change an entire family’s holiday plans while actually blessing you at the same time. You can trust that God’s got you in his perfect care. He’s not throwing a wrench in travel plans just to see if we will cry, but actually to give us the things our hearts desire. That sandwich that I was dreaming about is also one of my hubby’s favorite foods. 

Thus the drive down memory lane as we ate lunch today.

May all your sandwiches be yummy, and some of them be memorable.

Lots of love,

Missionary Momma Mia

P.S. to yesterday....

I did ask someone I love if they were feeling alright when I heard them stutter for the first time, and I found out that He was not ok. He had been, or was going back to the hospital for another malaria treatment because the previous round of meds didn’t get totally rid of this case of malaria. 

It was a big deal for me to know that asking a question about an abnormal behavior was ok. He wasn't offended. I knew he was smart, and pretty thoughtful before he spoke. He was usually methodical in his communication and I had never heard a stutter before. So, I was genuinely concerned when his stutter went a little bit into a slur. That's when I said to him what I hope someone would say to me if they noticed a brand new ‘quirk’ or maybe even a typical quirk of mine that was a little too pronounced.

So yeah. That is another reason why I’m so passionately talking and writing about mental wellbeing. That case of malaria stuck around and messed with his brain for a long time. Jesus won, and he's not even stuttering. But that was a big scare. 

I guess that is all I have in mind for mental wellbeing. I’m also interested in other things like, celebrating my little sister’s 30^th birthday, hosting my best-friend while she has a three day speaking engagement near Denver, and all the while getting ready for our trip to Cali and then on to Mozambique.

Do you want to know some of the preparations for our trip to California?

Dance moves! I love it!!!! A dear friend from our early days on the mission field is getting married and we’re gonna do a Bollywood flash-mob dance.

Here’s a few of the dance moves that I gotta try to roll through :-) to read because I thought that if I wrote out some of the dance choreography, then I could remember it better. I'm pretty wordy.....if you haven't noticed.

So here it is: Intro 1,2,3,4

Starting on 5, then 6,7,8  feet shoulder width apart both feet facing forward and tapping. Turn face towards the right lift right hand up straight and flat (bent at the elbow) in front of face, with left hand just under chin in the middle of upper chest. Pumping shoulder a bit and hands at the beat.

On 1, then do the same move facing left 2, 3, 4

Back to right on 5, then 6, 7, 8

On 1, move left hand from in front of the chest to the left of left hip at waist height. Move fingers to soft and long with middle finger touching the thumb. Step with the right foot slightly to towards the left in a counter clockwise motion bouncing the right hip with each step and slightly extending and retracting the arms on each step.  Then on through 2, 3, 4 ,5, 6, 7, and clap in front of your waist on 8 and change directions.

On 1, doing this move going from left to right. Clap on the 8 count

On 1, lift hands up and out in a slow bounce (slightly facing left with right knee slightly bent) out to 8 count. On Jai Hoo

That’s only the first part of the dance! It is going to be fun, and I am certain that the choreographer is going to tell us we look amazing!!!! Here’s hoping.

Well tomorrow is my day off from Blogging. So lots of love for two days!!!

Missionary Momma Mia 

Celebrating our brain's quirks

‘Well this happened’ is a pretty common phrase, and it's ok to say.

We all learn how to edit out mistakes that our brain previously thought was okay as we gain more education and experience. Our societies have certain standards that help maintain order, such as language spelling and grammar rules. We learn to speak our national language according to the standards that will produce the greatest ease of communication. However, as children and babies, the majority of us were probably allowed to say words with ‘baby sounds’ or our own baby words for various things like bottle, mother, father, food or pets. Lots of parents help their children edit out baby words before heading to elementary school. We expand our vocabulary and understanding of grammar in order to be better more mature communicators. Our brain edits out the habit of saying, “me want numnums” to “May I please have a snack.” Why? I think it’s because after a certain age,  one form of communication produces the desired result much more rapidly. (I think its because of the use of the magic word).

Some of us would rather not have communication norms and spelling and grammar rules. But, it would be really hard to understand other people. So, what am I trying to say? Every once in a while an adult has published a post, article or blog with a few small grammatical mistakes, or even left out an entire thought that caused a book to be revised only a year later. This stuff happens. It could be because word did or didn’t automatically change something. I tend to think that it is our brain being quirky and reminding us that we were once children. The learning process was, and is amazing. At the same time, our brains might need to edit out more childish thinking.

I think of spoonerisms or accidental ‘tongue twisters’ more like a quirk, a twitch, or a need for editing. It’s probably not so far out there that a spoonerism would interrupt our lives and be a major concern. It could be weird if someone hears the speaker switch sounds for the first time and it is considered ‘no laughing matter.’ Someone might throw out that is a sign of impending doom. I think that you are not necessarily on your way to a nervous breakdown because you said “spork and foon”. If someone said that to me, then I would have to say, ‘So that happened.’ or  “I’m sorry that’s not what I intended to come out of my mouth.” I usually laugh or argue that is not what I wanted to say!….

If it happens to you, learn your stuff! Know your stuff! And also admit when you aren’t sure and need to learn more about your stuff. Do some research about your quirk. My dad told me that a college professor was famous for switching the starting sounds of words around in a phrase, so that little quirk was given his name. That brain quirk became a ‘spoonerism’. Talk about celebrating his brain quirk! This is like fifth hand information. I don’t remember if I properly researched it. I was around twelve or thirteen the first time I was emphatically explaining something and it poured over my teeth incorrectly. I argued that that is not what I said. Dad helped me through it. Was there a college professor named Spooner? I think so. I believed him, and it calmed me from thinking my quirk was singular and a sign of doom.  

I mean seriously, does your leg twitch? Your nose tickle, or your eye blink rapidly? There could be some much deeper explanations for these things. But, if it is not interfering with normal routine or your life in general, it is probably something to look into in your spare time for curiosity sake and to learn something new about yourself.

If a little quirk becomes intrusive in life then it is probably time to celebrate it enough to let your friends know: “Hey, sometimes I get super excited when I’m talking and this happens…..” When friends are aware of your little quirk it might become more clear if that is actually something that is intrusive, or was only a little bit embarrassing but not really a big deal. Celebrating a quirky brain, a little tick, or a bouncy knee might just ease the situation. It also give our friends and family permission to say something like, “I’ve never heard you stutter before, is that normal and I never noticed it?”

We might be able to identify real ‘red flags’ or warnings of too much mental stress, an oncoming migraine headache, or an indicator that our ‘mental wellbeing’ might be on the downslope.

I love to celebrate my little quirks called “spoonerisms”, but if I stutter I want to be told so I can figure out why I would do something I’ve never done before. A quirk could become a source of immeasurable concern if someone makes a big negative deal out of it. If we celebrate the way our brain works with it’s quirks and all, we might not be caught off guard by a little brain quirk mistaken for a red flag or vice versa. We could be spared from having an actual breakdown.

My point is, talk about how you understand what’s going on in your mind with friends and family. We all process things in an individual way, pretty similarly, but we have different foundations, languages, analogies, and belief systems. It is important to know and identify more about how we understand our own thought processes in order to weird, I mean weed out quirks and warnings or ‘red flags’.

I do believe it is better to be safe than sorry, so as a mommy, I would suggest celebrating and looking into your brain quirks and learning more about them. Don't be afraid of what you find. Take care of you, Love you!

That’s enough thinking for now. Well, its not a very missionary-ish blog. Its from my experience of missionary living though. Anyway, I’m not editing this again tonight….take my word for it. Missionaries need to research things like what culture shock and compassion fatigue does to thought processing and emotions.  We can get really quirky.....it's probably still ok for most of us....At least my friends and family can laugh with me. 

Here's to JOY and Lots of love!

Missionary Momma Mia

Spork and foons

Tonight while we dished up birthday cake I asked the kids if they wanted a spork or a foon. I really love ‘spoonerisms” and I’m grateful that spork is a word because I almost got away with my mistake until ‘foon’ came out of my mouth.

I literally switched the beginning sound of the word on accident. Oh well. I mean I could actually conceptualize a foon being a slightly less full bowl with longer and thinner prongs than what are on a spork. So there it is folks, my spontaneously creative way to justify and camouflage my spoonerism.

Here’s to transparency, I goofed, and it happens. Sometimes, I will not even hear that I have switched sounds or even simple words. I might even think faster than I can speak and skip a thought entirely with certainty that it’s the listeners fault for ignoring me. 

Sometimes it isn’t my hubby’s fault for having selective hearing, sometimes I don’t actually say what I think I said.

So instead of asking you if you would like a spoon or a fork, I fumbled over my words.

Its all part of living. We had a good giggle. I laughed too. Laughing at life’s little mistakes is great practice for laughing at bigger mistakes.

My thoughts, learn to laugh more, it will come in handy when you need it for medicine.

Lots of love,

Missionary Momma Mia