Thirties...

The best time of my life.

I can't say I am sad about being in my thirties. I am contrary to sadness actually - I am overjoyed and filled with awe and wonder at how great this time in my life has been so far and promises to be. O.K. Maybe not awe and wonder but I am impacted and amazed sometimes and feel really good about it. Most of the time... I love it.

I was in a class one day earlier this term and someone was asking this guy beside me what it was like to go back to school after "all these years". All these years being four.

I was chuckling to myself and listened as he answered her with his back to me not noticing my aged self beside him, and said, "Yeah, it's not so bad, I'll graduate at twenty five, it's not like going back to school when you're like -thirty- or something..." blah blah blah.

I wanted to join the conversation and say, "Yeah, I couldn't imagine going back to school at THIRTY!!! That would be HORRIBLE!!! Because I'm like thirty one right so that's like so much better than Thirty!!! Shudder... Shiver, Grimace and Groan... and thirty, of course, being said with disgust and horror.

Finding Grace.

How do I know I am finding it? I'm not sure but it happens. Grace lifts and transforms me and I know I am experiencing it because of the results.

Grace usually breaks in when...

Actually, no. It doesn't break in anything. I break and there, Grace is waiting.

a quest for honesty

I am desiring to be more honest: with myself and God and then with others.

This is already working out very well. Blessings have flown and my resolve to do anything else is weakening much to my good.

So, I'll let you know how it goes. So far the fruits are overall peace, especially in my mind, and a sense of direction that doesn't have anything to do with specific 'who will I be when I grow up' kinda stuff.

I know that who I will be when I grow up depends on who I am today so I thought honesty with what's real right now might help to build a more stable and satisfying tomorrow.

Welcome to my new world.

I'll let you know. So far so good.

Why is going out for tea so difficult for me?

Why does it have to be difficult to go out with a friend to drink tea and talk?

I was having a nice time with my friend tonight chatting it up at a coffee place when this random guy got up from behind the partition in the shop and decided to sit at a table near us.

That would be fine if he just happened to choose that spot... But no. This guy got up from where he was sitting and walked straight to a table very close to where we were and listened intently to our conversation.

He had a blank note pad and wrote stuff down while we were talking and made it completely obvious that he was listening to us. Why?

Why, why, why, can't I have a normal night out without something weird happening?

It was so stupidly strange. Not funny. Sometimes the weird things that happen to me make me laugh and cheer me up. This did not. Just weird and random and strange and did not make sense and wasn't even funny at all to soften it for me. :/

Why was he writing things down? Why was he hiding whatever he was writing with his other hand and looking at us all intent and weird like? WHY????

Maybe he would have liked to join us? If he did, I would have preferred him asking to join us. Maybe he was lonely.

Ech. I don't know...

Now you can help me by thinking of funny things I could have said to him. That may make me feel better. That or suggest a place I can go for tea where I may be able to enjoy my time without someone trying to kill me or listen to my conversations.

That would be alright.

Going Home~

I am coming home soon.

March. Yikes!

I leave S. Africa this weekend, Saturday and will be in Kona on February 18th. Crazy. I can't wait to be home but I will seriously miss being here and hope I will return soon enough. I would be happy to work here for a much longer time.

For now I know I will be at home for at least 8 months serving at my church and my favorite ministries, House of Hesed and Crisis Pregnancy Centre. Fun times. I can't wait to see you all but know I have been seriously impacted here and now I will be recruiting all of you to join me for future outreaches to S. Africa.

Consider yourself invited. It's a wonderful place to be. Sorry no pictures for a while but I am not online much and if I am it is rarely planned and I'm super busy anyway to put pictures together at this point. There are lots though so I'll post them when I get back or something.

I love you all so much. See you soon!

Love Marnie :)

A Brief Look

Still Alive :)

Sorry I can't post pictures right now. Won't upload. :(

So I am alive and well in South Africa. I love it here and am having tonnes of experiences that are awesome and wonderful, fun and crazy all at the same time.

It's wild seeing the contrasts in living and travelling in and out of extreme poverty and overwhelming wealth. We live in a good home on a hill overlooking a mountain range. To my left is the atlantic ocean and to my right, the Indian Ocean. It is beautiful and wonderful. I have met amazing people and of course the children are astounding. We have so much fun with them but it's not without problems.

Some of the children, are extremely abused and it is beyond sad and challenging. We are good though so please keep praying if you remember us. Thanks! :D

I have many stories and lots of fun to talk about but I'm hard pressed for time on the internet. I have half an hour to shop for ten grown adults and believe me they can eat. It's crazy to be like a mom to them all having to look after their needs and take care of so many details ALL the time.

Anyway, I'm fine and well and rushed and busy. Sigh.

Love you all a lot!

CU