The Mysterious White Box.........

....has arrived!!!!!!!!!! Yes, we got a box yesterday! We have been waiting for this box for 3 months now, and it finally came! Our dear friends Blythe and David, Erin, Jessica, Kathryn and Lauren sent us various items (mostly pregnancy items!!!) in this little white box, and it was such a HUGE encouragement! Amongst the notes of encouragement and the preggy goodies (mostly cute things to boost my pathetic wardrobe), there were tons of pictures! I couldn't stop looking at them! They were pictures of all our dear friends from Seattle. It was sooooooo wonderful to see all of their faces! We definitely did not bring enough pictures of friends and family, and I must say that it has been very hard being here in Malawi without our friends and family. I was an emotional wreck (mostly overjoyed) while I opened that little white box and went through it's contents a hundred times over.

It's amazing how encouraging little things from home can be. Some friends of ours also got some things from the states yesterday. A team from their church has just arrived and brought all sorts of goodies for them like JIF peanut butter, Quaker Oats granola bars and movies!!!! It sounds silly, but things like peanut butter and Burt's Bees products can truly bring a tear to your eye. Another team is here visiting ABC, and They brought Hershey's kisses with them!!! I got one in my box this morning, and almost screamed! Again, I know how weird this probably sounds, but it is truly an encouragement to have pieces of home.

Sorry this entry is so materialistic, but I just had to be honest and express my gladness for this box. It's funny, because I used to think that Missionaries were supposed to be quiet humble people who eat dirt and live in the dirt and never desire anything more than dirt. Well, I am learning so much. First, I am learning how important it is to have a place to call home. A quiet place that is somewhat your own, so that you can pray and go to God when the world around you is caving in and the devil is trying to pull you down. It is so spiritually draining to be here sometimes. It IS okay to have pictures of the people you love and to have towels from home, etc. They are small but significant comforts that the Lord uses to re-energize us when we want to just give up. Secondly, I see now that it is okay to not completely adopt Malawian culture. There are many things that we have adopted just naturally from being exposed to it so much. But, there are other things we can enjoy without feeling the pressure to take it on as part of our lives. For example, Dan and I don't need to live in a hut. We could, if we wanted to and that would be okay, too. But we shouldn't feel pressure to go live in a village in a hut to feel like we are really doing the work. That is just silly. Dan and I also love to hold hands while walking around on campus. Men and women really don't do that here, but men hold hands all the time. Dan and I feel like it is something that isn't offensive to others when we do it, because Malawians know that we are from a different culture. Another one is that I LOVE sharing the joys of being pregnant with other people, but in Malawi, you aren't supposed to talk about pregnancy, especially with men because it might do something bad to the baby. If something were to go wrong, the person who spoke about your pregnancy would be blamed for it. We just know that God is in control, and speaking about the joy of pregnancy isn't going to hurt our baby!

Like I said, we are learning to take in some of the culture while letting other pieces of it go, realizing that we don't have to become Malawian in order to love and connect with the people here. The love of Jesus Christ is enough. We would never come here and assume that our Malawian friends would need to adopt our crazy American culture, and we have seen that they also do not assume the same of us. We enjoy our differences, and often have great discussions about them.

All of that is to say, I can enjoy the Hershey's kiss without guilt, knowing that I am not spoiled, but in fact, I am blessed. The Lord has given us breathes of fresh air as we periodically receive little gifts from our friends and family from back home. So, here are some new belly pictures in my new shirts from my loving friend. Elijah and I at 30 weeks!