Seen written in BIG letters on a Burger King paper tray-mat:

“Burger King. Because you have the right to have exactly WHAT you want WHEN you want it.”

Tell that to any kid in Bundibugyo and watch them stare at you like you’re crazy.

And they’d be right.

I brought that traymat home to put in my journal. So that I would NEVER, NEVER FORGET.

One more reason NOT to eat Burger King. And you can super-size that sentiment.

Spent a great afternoon with John and Karen – two really cool people who I’m going to pray into missions!!

Karen, an education expert,  introduced me to Geoffrey Canada’s work . . . . . pretty amazing stuff.   I’d love to do this with the basis being JESUS.

http://www.hcz.org/home

We are still emerging from our African life.  Culture shock has made me cautious this  time around.  I feel shell shocked, like a tourist  back to see somewhere I visited long ago.  I sense familiarity but am surprised by reality.

Making lemon poppy seed muffins last week turned into a long lesson in culture with comments from kids about the eggs (why are they white? Why do they have numbers and letters stamped on them?  Why are they so big?  Why do they stay in the fridge?) among questions about many other things.

And our first trip to the library today was thrilling to all as we talked about buying vs borrowing, library cards and fines, and availability of books.  We were thrilled to find books long desired and free for the reading.   Finding old favorites on the shelves in multiple copies kept Quinn loudly exclaiming around every turn – time for a talk about voice volumes and American culture!

We have yet to  visit a grocery store (please no!), or do much of any shopping but the kids had an amazing time visiting drive throughs on our trip south last week.  Quinn had heard stories of restaurants where they hand your food through a window and he was not disappointed by the experience!  They pled for highway stops just to experience the radio order and the friendly hand extended to our car. . . . .

Driving back and forth to Annapolis is full of unexpected wonder as we discover license plate differences (one for each state?! Really?! What about for each country?  I think I just saw a license plate for India, Dad!!)

Enroute to Tennessee late last week I limped (TERRIBLE infection in my leg) into a gas station with my children for a potty break. “America’s gas station bathrooms are BEAUTIFUL!” Naomi said.  “And the gas station stores are better than  Kampala!”   Strolling up to the desk I was surprised by the clerk who wanted to make conversation and asked me, “how are you, REALLY?”  Discovering that the random people around me not only speak my language but a similar dialect has not ceased to shock me and I found myself scrambling to orient myself and answer her.

“Didn’t that lady have what you call a ‘buckaroo accent??’” , asked Quinn as we exited the store. Um, yea.  My children are open to all cultures and races but perhaps not too sensitive to the south.

These are just a few random snippets from our lives right now.  Full lives.  Exciting lives.  Good lives.  God continues to show us the way one step at a time or sometimes a few weeks ahead.  And we continue to enjoy the journey, not without fears or tears but with much learning.   More stories to come.

From Jesus Calling: a book that speaks the heart of God, to us.  Not inerrant but Spirit-inspired:

Listen more to Me, and less to your doubts.  I am leading you along the way I desgned just for you.  Therefore, it is a lonely way, humanly speaking.  But I go before you as well as alongside you, so you are never alone.  Do not expect anyone to understand fully My ways with you, any more than you can comprehend MY deaings with others.  I am revealing to you the path of LIFE day by day, and moment by moment.  As I said to my disciples Peter, so i repeat to you:  Follow Me.

See what our awesome friends did for our welcome home party!!  They slurped our blog via Blurb and now it’s official – a book of 426 pages!  I hope I’m not narcissistic enough to read it!

Thanks Kees, Leights and Lowes!  We had a wonderful time with you all on Sunday – can’t wait to do it again!

Sickness has hit the Pierce family hard, post-travel.  In addition to three festering staph infections, I  have slept forty out of the last forty-eight hours with fevers and a hacking cough as has Quinn. Naomi got sick last night. David is the lone man standing, drinking and resting and hoping it won’t hit him too. . . . . if I haven’t emailed or called you back, this is why.

We re-entered American life Sunday with our first trip into the real world, to church.  It was a great time of hugs, smiles and reunion.  How many friends we are blessed to have.  Worshiping with our church was a gift.

What startled me, though, was the question on EVERYBODY’s mind: “so, what’s your plan?”   This question, strangely, overwhelmed me in a way perhaps no other would have done.  And after about the thirtieth time it was asked I almost burst into tears and ran to the ladies room! (but no, those Ugandan ladies have taught me more stoicism than that.)

So what’s our plan??  I think it has about three steps to it:  wake up each day, ask Jesus what He’s doing and how He wants me us to get involved,  then go and be a part of it.  We HAVE tentatively decided to take from now till the end of August for travel (both speaking as well as  visits to friends/relatives), rest, and processing of our experience.  This will be a very busy time of travel but we believe we will still rest deeply and debrief well.  Unprocessed “stuff” surely holds us back as we desire to  move forward so this six months will be crucial.  After that??  God only knows.  We have applied to several ministry schools for the fall and are unsure whether God is asking us to move that way or not.  We are very interested in staying long term in missions work overseas.  But we are open to living WHEREVER God asks us to, even if that means being a soccer mom! ( I know, how horrifying!)

I think the reason this question was hard for me is because it taps at the root of this faith journey we are on right now.   It is a reminder that what looks to us like faith ( being obedient to not knowing even the future a few days ahead sometimes) looks to others like foolishness and poor planning.    When I sense that it looks that way to others I quickly tend to doubt myself instead of trusting Him. So this question was an opportunity, for me, to learn better how to embrace my choice of faith proudly and without shame.  Uganda was plan A,  radically trust Jesus with the future is plan B.  We’re on plan B now.  And that’s a pretty cool place to be.

Yesterday my friend Dana (more on THAT welcome party to come!) brought me a card.  When I opened it I burst into silent tears, because the quote is so perfect, so fitting and because I am so thankful that she GETS it and that she reminds me that He and many others do too.  Even many who ask the question “what’s your plan” not knowing how I will respond.   The card said simply;

“not all who wander are lost” jrr tolkein

We are wanderers for the moment, BUT WE ARE THE FARTHEST WE HAVE EVER BEEN, FROM LOST.

We “reached” yesterday afternoon to a full contingent of Flanagans (we missed you Andrew, Sarah and boys!) at the airport and at home.  This is the home I grew up in. The home I homeschooled in for 11 grades.  I know almost everything in this house by heart:  the peacock feathers from my gramma’s peahens,  my sister Alison’s beautiful art, the antique child’s secretary that I played librarian and “wallpaper seller” (yes, an early ambition) with as a small child, posters of Oregon wine country from that phase of our lives, flowers everywhere because my mother loves them so, our antique chest, my old bedroom that I decorated at age 12 and still think is beautiful, the design I stamped on my brother James’ wall, curtains I made, many many books I have read. . . . . . . Yes this is home from long ago and far away and somehow it has come close again because we are home from long ago and far away too and memories have changed and become new just as places have and yet somehow it is all the same and familiar and warm and more beautiful than I remembered.  My mother has a gift for making simple things beautiful in the cherishing.

All five pieces of luggage made it through every single leg of the journey.  And we did too despite more throwing up on the plane (once Quinn coughs he can not stop)  and  and yet another traffic incident (train wreck in Belgium) that left us scrambling to get across the Channel in time for our flight.

Now we figure out what being here, now, means.  We combine the joys of reuinions and remembered things with the losses of our other way of life.  We find that things our family remembered we loved we had forgotten to miss (Clausens pickles!)   America is bigger and better and louder and realer than it ever seemed in Bundibugyo.  But it may be lonely too.

It is so hard to remember the pitch at CSB, the hot sun, the touch of warm black fingers on my arms, hunger.  And that makes me sad.

But wherever you are, said Jim Elliot, be all there.  So we are here, now.  Loving it. And remembering to forget what might be forgotten in the joy of remembering what was, right now.

Early yesterday morning we hauled our four trunks, one large suitcase and assorted backpacks and purses down the hall to the “Greasy-Grimy Glass Lift” which only fits one person and two bags at a time and out to the street where our driver met us for the ride to the airport. When we reached the airport we were surprised not to find our flight on the screen. When we asked they simply said it had been cancelled and we had been rebooked on tomorrow’s flight. We were dismayed. Two days in Greece minus one day is simply not good. We also felt annoyed.

It was not until an hour or so later, as we sat at the airport Burger King, eating hot apple pie and drinking coffee (good too!) that we saw the CNN report on the Greece strike.  Turns out ALL flights in and out of Greece are cancelled for at least 24 hours.  In fact the government is closed down meaning no customs officials and no historic sights either.  That made our decision easier.  With only time for a day and a half in Greece given the flight change, we decided to skip Greece and head straight to Rome.  SAD – but a good excuse to come back and spend a longer time there once the weather is warm enough for swimming (she writes hopefully.)

We hauled our gear back to the hostel which thankfully still had space for us and headed back out into the city for a relaxed day.  Having already seen the major sights we had no great plans and no schedule to keep.  It might have been our best day in Cairo yet.  The sun came out and we felt warm enough to take our jackets off, Quinn’s breathing had settled a bit, and we discovered the American University bookshop – a GEM! (It is so frustrating not to be able to even read the book titles in the book shops here, everything’s in Arabic!  I found my ultimate Egypt novel, a very special book called the Yacoubian Building and David picked up a great non-fiction read on Egypt called “Inside Egypt” which was originally banned in the country because of it’s content.  We are both learning and enjoying a LOT.  Egypt is under our skin and we want to know more!  Meanwhile Naomi and Quinn blissfully read on the floor for an hour then got to purchase Usborne books on Rome that kept them busy all evening.

After a dinner at K.O.S.H.A.R.Y. (we love the egyptian food called Koshary!) we headed home to snack on our nuts bought off the street, finish our Cairo journals and sleep.  Today we head to Rome.

Post written morning of February 1oth:

Cairo is NOT a beautiful city.

It is LOUD.

It is DIRTY.

It is full of honking horns, shouting people and smog.

But the people have lovely hearts.  And there is great history here.  Culture abounds in every form – much unknown and unnoticed by Egyptians themselves but thirstily enjoyed by us foreigners.  We are having a blast.

Memorable moments thus far:

- taxi drivers nearly coming to blows as we excited the airport.  Physical pushing and threats made at each other in an effort to earn our business.

- the long-gowned Muslim woman whose son tried to talk her onto an escalator in a modern mall and who simply couldn’t take that step onto the moving stairs.  His wide grin and her clinging arms and stubborn feet were irresistably laughable.

- The Pharaonic Village in all it’s glory.  Far from “authentic” as billed but great fun for the kids. David and I got some laughs too!

-Head coverings of every kind on the beautiful Egyptian women.  I find it fascinating to see young Muslim girls wearing tight jeans and tops together with a thick multilayered head covering.    There is the full gamut here from traditional full-face and body veiling to the modern-day women who do not even cover their heads.  Most interesting is that head coverings are a fashion statement, perfectly coordinated with their clothing.  Naomi and I are jealous!!

- Arabic EVERYWHERE.  I have always imagined that Arabic is too hard to read in REAL life.  Yet here each shop name is written in Arabic, every license plate, most menus.   We recognize a few words from the Juba Arabic we spoke (briefly) in S. Sudan.  Both David and I feel a craving to learn Arabic.  It is somewhere between singsong and harsh with the mediterranean feel mixing with the Hebrew guttural sounds.

-Papyrus Making  We discovered that what we have always called “pom-pom forests” in Uganda is actually Papyrus!!  We learned to make papyrus paper and learned the wonderful history of it’s making and use.  It was rediscovered only fifty years ago!

-Food!  The kids favorite discovery of food in Egypt is . . . . Orange sweet potatoes!!  They love Ugandan sweet potatoes but don’t know to be surprised by their cream color and barely sweet flavor.  Orange sweet potatoes (like ours in America) taste like candy to them!!  In the bazaar here, the sweet potato man walks around with his wooden cart, selling freshly baked (on the cart!) potatoes.  We quickly bought a HUGE one (after Naomi tugged my sleeve and said, “Mom, mom! Aren’t those the orange potatoes you told me about from America!!”)  The potato was devoured in minutes, as fast as our mouths could take it’s heat.  And this morning they are already talking about buying another.  We have also tried pigeon, enjoyed shawarma street sandwiches (Acacia, I thought of you!), sampled nuts from street vendors, and looked longingly at all the amazing fresh fruit from car windows.  We hope to pick up some this morning!  Though we love the traditional Egyptian cooked foods, especially the spiced meats and rices, what is most exciting is simply the variety, freshness and availability of so many foods in-country. Egypt is blessed!

- Explosive speech. I find the tone and volume of many Egyptian men to be quite startling!  It is not unusual for the waiter at the table to begin screaming to another waiter at a tone which hurts the ears and makes you jump!  In traffic drivers snarl at each other then break into smiles.  At street corners one notices men’s faces turned into their phones, speaking Arabic at high speeds and high volumes and acting as if life as they know it has ended.  Just another conversation here.  We have often turned to each other and said, ” can you imagine living at this stress level all the time!” but I’m not sure it is stressful to them to shout at each other the way it would be to us!

-Smoking; cigarette smoking is rampant here.  It seems a compulsion for every driver, tour guide, etc.  Quite sad, really.  Of course there is also the hookah or shiwah which is used with flavored tobacco.  In outside cafes you can see Egyptian men enjoying an evening puff of this relaxing habit.  I have yet to see a  woman try it.  We took a puff too just for fun (and besides, our friends were doing it.)

- the Bazaar; Kahl el Khalili is the Egyptian Bazaar in Cairo.  It is huge, touristy and filled with Chinese goods.  But when you venture into the long dark alleys it is also beautiful and colorful.  We loved taking sweet drinks at El Fishawys smoky brass tables; hibiscus juice, mint lemonade and tamarind juice.  Naomi and I got prettified with henna and we spent many hours walking the streets of the bazaar and people watching.

-OF COURSE, THE PYRAMIDS.   Quinn’s excitement as we reached the pyramids was incredible.  They were incredible.  Of course there were hawkers, there were too many picture takers.  But they are absolutely unreal in their size, their majesty.  We climbed down inside the smallest pyramid, through a steep shaft and landed in a small burial room.   We walked between pyramids and marveled at the dust, the barreness, the size of each stone.  It was super windy the day we went and sand was EVERYWHERE; in our hair, between our teeth.

-Islam; 85% of Egypt is Muslim while 15% is Coptic Christian.  Our hearts are drawn deeply to the death of this culture, spiritually.  Egypt needs Jesus.

Heading out to Athens this morning.  All for now.

This post written on Saturday evening, February 6th:

It seems like long ago that we left Bundibugyo but there is still the final push of leaving Uganda up ahead in . . . . . 10 hours.  I have several trunks still to repack to their correct weight, reservations for the Early Civilizations Plus Paris Adventure still to finish making, and hopefully a few hours of sleep before we reach Cairo at 8:30 tomorrow morning and dive in to “ECPPA” (see above).

Quinn has been obnoxious the last few days and I sat with him last night and asked our usual ” how’s your heart?” and his response was “sad. sad about leaving.”  I find that for my children they sometimes have trouble connecting their behaviors to their heart feelings and need that check-in.  We’ve all been a bit obnoxious with each other for the last two days.  We’re all sad.  It’s the final cut of the tethering to our current life.  And it’s finally real; it’s finally happening.  Without another $10,000 or more we won’t come back here.  And we don’t have that kind of money.  That’s okay.  But the reality is still in our faces, and hard.

Right now, David is dropping off our car , cleaned and tank filled, to wait for the Johnsons arrival in a few weeks.  We are strangely attached to Kisembo (as we call our car) and it was another goodbye.  So many funds raised for that vehicle, so much faith extended and answered in it’s tough metal self.  Much of me wants to hang on to it – but Jesus is ALWAYS ENOUGH.  We had lunch with a few sweet Ugandan Kampala-based friends today.  And we finished the last few errands.

Now I’m procrastinating by writing here, because I wish I had a dear friend with me in this moment .  . . . and I’m glad I DON’T because I don’t know if I can handle any more goodbyes at this moment.  I think I need to pack and cry alone for a little and then move forward – towards many of you.  And into the rest of our Destiny in our Great Adventure with Jesus.

“The only thing you can grasp without damaging your soul is God’s hand.” – Sarah Young