Working on the House!

This has been a very fruitful and productive weekend for the Meadows. So, here is a photo-essay of sorts of all the goodness from the past few days.

Mosa somehow thought that he fit on the cat's bed. We had our first vet visit on Friday, and he officially weighs 57.5 lbs. To me, that would indicate he's a little too large for this, but he seems to be making it work.

And lest you think we now neglect Moki for Mosa, here she is. She's still in the midst of a love affair with this orange chair that you may remember from a previous post.

Mom helped me pick up some furniture (see below), and we stopped by a new antique store in Chamblee and discovered this ADORABLE 1950s pattern called Blue Heaven. I picked up a set of four cups and saucers and a serving platter for $25. Now we have something to collect and that seems mature and easy for everyone else to find us gifts. And by us, I might mean me, because I don't know how excited Duncan would be to get a plate for Christmas.

Here Mosa models the new end table (we have two!). We got both tables and the coffee table for $55. Thank you, Craigslist. When we were leaving the antique shop, the owner was coming out at the same time and came up to the truck. "Wait a minute, I did not hear about these awesome end tables." When I told him how much we got them for, he gave me a high-five.

Mosa, again modeling, shows us the new coffee table. Perfection!

This was one of the Saturday projects. We ordered these house numbers on etsy.com and needed a way to display them on the brick. So we picked up some spray paint, wood, glue, and tiles at Lowes.

And we painted the shutters. This was very exciting. Yay for home projects.

So, this is what the house looked like when we moved in...

And this is what it looks like now! We're trying to make it our own. And we love it more every day!

Post Africa Response

So, we've been back from our Africa trip for a month and a half. Just like the desperate attempt to retain that "Jesus high" after summer camp, I'm trying to hold on to my connection to the children at the Ministry of Insured Salvation Orphanage. I don't want time to erase the pain I feel for them; I don't want to find one day that I am living my life as though I never went. I don't want to cease in my prayers for them; I don't want to stop petitioning God for change and transformation even though that seems unlikely.

Upon our return, as our team debriefed, we asked, "What do we do now?" What we've seen is unjust, heartbreaking, frustrating. Doing nothing seems irresponsible. But now we're more than 8,000 miles away. All I have left is prayer, earnest prayer with the hope that God will take my words to initiate change.

On Tuesday evening, we went to a presentation from the team that went to Kenya this summer—including three dear friends from small group. Some of the ministries they encountered were completely different than the orphanage. Places that don't ask for hand-outs, but partnership; places that are transparent in how finances are handled; places that are truly cultivating healthy transformation in communities. How refreshing that report was. (Check out http://www.majimazuri.org/)

For now, we ask for your prayers as we continue to process the experience and consider how God is calling us to respond. Join us also in continuing to pray for the children at the Ministry of Insured Salvation.