NEW MOON
Ladies
and Gentlemen we have a NEW MOON! In the last week we have enjoyed a full moon in village.(It's amazing what you learn about the stars and moon, when you sleep on the roof every night and don't have electricity.) And I know this might not mean a lot to any of you with electricity, but without electricity it makes an evening absolutely delightful. We took advantage of the Moon and put our flashlights away. We were able to actually be productive after the sun went down. CRAZY! Usually I just get tired when it starts to get dark and head to bed about 8. But with the full moon out we decided to make the most of it, we played cards every night on the roof before getting in our tent for bed. And my favorite was our "date night." We biked back cokes from a neighboring village about 3 miles away, beings our village has nothing close to a coke, and decided to eat some Cheez-it's that had come in a package a few weeks back that we were saving for something special. So there we were on the roof, in the light of a full moon, drinking cokes, eating Cheez-it's and playing cards in Africa. Some things just don't get better than that.NEW BABY
And we have a NEW BABY! Well not us, but my good friend from back home. Ingrid and I have been friends since elementary school, we did almost everything together, sports, playing the trumpet, going to the neighborhood pool, church activities, family vacations, eating pepperoni pizza, and even college. I have been so blessed to have Ingrid in my life, she is a faithful friend with an amazing heart. I am also blessed that our husbands get a long quite well...maybe a little to well with cloves and hooka involved. I miss the time we don't get to spend together, as we have lived in different places since after college, and being in Africa doesn't really help.
On Monday when I received the news from my mom, I was completely elated for the gift of life God had given Ingrid and Jon, but also saddened that this was one experience I would not be able to share with her. I can't wait to hold baby Thjis, and to one day tell him how wonderful his mom is and how I cherish her friendship. I love you Ingy. Congrats!
Baby Thijs Oscar van Anrooy
Baby Thijs Oscar van AnrooyNEW DAY
So the last few weeks have been kind of hard for us, we are winding down in our months as Peace Corps volunteers which is super exciting, but it also makes life here a bit more difficult. You start day dreaming of family, friends, running water, Mexican food, speaking English, real date nights, our return, the plane ride home, etc... And with all the day dreaming, you forget where you are, and take living here in Mali with these remarkable people for granted. We went to a baptism yesterday in our village for some of our friends, which involved Muslim traditions of a naming ceremony, prayers and lots of eating rice(a special treat). We had a wonderful time and spent most of the day at the baptism. We met back at the house in the late afternoon (as men and women would never celebrate together) and decided it was a NEW DAY. God had blessed us with a new day of good food, laughter, tradition, and culture and we loved it. We know we need to take this time and revel in it while we are here, because it will soon be over and we won't be able to get it back.
Hey! Well, I never wrote here but I'm following you since you started! Just to say that I think it is amazing what you are doing! To bad I could not visit you!
ReplyDeleteMais si jamais, quand vous rentrez chez vous, vous etes les bienvenues pour me visiter!
Love,
From your best brother ever,
Bernardo
Hi Joe and Ashley,
ReplyDeleteI really like the picture of the moon. It's cool that you can spend your nights looking up at the sky. The stars and the moon what a beautiful thing they are. To be able to spend your evenings and exspecially "date night", with the moon and the stars how romantic. To drink coke, eat Cheez-it's and play cards how fun is that.
Ashley, that is really cool about your friend. A "baby" what a blessing they are!!!! The time will come fast when you can visit with Ingrid and her baby. It's awesome that you have a close friend like that. It's hard to find that kind of friendship with someone.
Joe and Ashley, cherish every moment you have in Africa. It's a blessing to have experienced what you have so far and will in the months to come. Miss ya both!!!!
Love,
Jody, Ben and Anna
LOVE your perspective Ashley!! Thanks for your sweet comment on our blog...I love that you stop by and see what we are up to! I pray that as you finish these next few months....that you would have great favor! Bless you guys. Love,
ReplyDeleteKy
maybe a masters in photography might be order. i think joseph missed his mark :-) keep the great pics coming. looking forward to that first hug on u.s. soil myself. LYLYLYLY
ReplyDeleteOh, Ashley and Joe, baby Thijs is sooo precious. He truly is a gift from God. Mark and I have had great fun being with him-and Ingrid and Jon these last few days and will be very sad to go back to Iowa. I know that Ingrid is already telling him about you both. Love, Sue
ReplyDelete