ahhh, food. glorious food.

One of the things we missed about living in the USA is the food. We ate plenty of it on our recent visit. Just about every meeting with friends or family involved eating. I joked that when I returned to Africa they were going to tell me, "Sheri, you put on weight!" Usually, in this part of the world that is meant as a compliment. I did put on weight, just under 5 lbs. I enjoyed every bite...and the ice cream every day, too. Here are photos from some of our tasty treats. Yes, I take pictures of everything - food included.

can you say burnout? I almost lived it

It's been a rough year. I had two tearful good-byes from teams that I love and work that inspired me. We moved continents twice in the span of one year. Professionally, I was struggling to connect with the work in Mozambique. I felt like a young teenager who was scared to get their heart broken again. Because of this, I was just doing a job. I'd show up to work, check things off my to do list, go home. I hardly felt connected to what was going on in the field. I wasn't investing heavily in relationships with people. I was numb in some places and hard in others. There were many times I thought it would just be easier to throw in the towel. I left for home leave weary and had only one goal; find my passion again - if I could not, then I should get out as I wasn't doing anyone any favors in the state I was in.

Today, I am in a much better place. It is amazing what a little rest will do, it does the body (and the spirit) good! I also did some specific things to help renew my soul.

While in New Mexico I visited the Sangre de Cristo mountains. I love nature, mountains in particular. I hiked for hours, then watched a beginning painting class as I sat soaking in the sunshine. 

I purposefully and accidentally met with people who have impacted me in positive ways over the years, those who serve faithfully decade after decade.

We visited with many good friends. This is just a sample from Kansas City.

I also attended the annual Global Leadership Summit - the one conference I make sure to attend every year. Why? It inspires me. It envigorates me. It reminds me what a privelege it is to do what I do for a living, despite the difficulties. The conference this year did not disappoint...but more on that later.

I had lost my passion somewhere along the way. I didn't like operating without it. Somewhere in the past few weeks I found it again. There is wisdom in my employers strategy of allowing us home leave. Going home allows us to be refreshed so we can return anew, ready to face the daily challenges of this work and life.

I have already started back at work. Today is the start of my first full week. Here we go...

Sheri

back in Africa

In the past few weeks we have been in four states (New Mexico, Virginia and Kansas/Missouri) for a few days each. We had a great time visiting family and friends at each stop. Sadly, we did not get to see everyone we wanted to see and it was difficult to say good-bye.

We had a sweet welcome back to Africa. Some of the staff had come over and made sure our place was clean, stocked our fridge with food and left us flowers with a note. They even provided us dinner the first night in country, I was overwhelmed by their kindness.

I have already returned to work. Over the coming days I will post picutres of our visit to the USA and begin to post again about our life in Mozambique. I hope you are enjoying the remaining days of summer.

Sheri

Good hair?

I have thick, straight, medium brown hair. It doesn't hold curl. It must be washed daily or it gets greasy. In Africa, my hair is a source of amusement - why, oh why, would I wash my hair every day? Because I must, I can't get away with that once a week hair salon trick they do. My hair basically just hangs off my head, anything else is a whole lot of effort and I just can't be bothered. Most day's it goes back in a rubber band, that's it, nothing more. I've often wanted waves in my hair, but that isn't what I was born with. The blessing of my hair; I wash, I go - no fuss, no frills. It fits my lifestyle.

Is hair really that big of a deal?

While visiting New Mexico there were multiple conversations with family about hair. My aunts have spent years getting relaxers as they have more kinky hair than I. One aunt had a bad relaxer session and had chunks of hair fall out from the top of her head, she was sporting a very stylish comb over with the hair that remained while the other hair grew out. My aunts grew up using flat irons and still use them daily. If Kenyon and I are blessed with a little girl, I have no idea what I will do about her hair - probably call my family for advice. My cousin (and first boss) has mixed daughters. I asked her for her solution,"keep it short, when they get older and want it long they can do it themselves." If I have a daughter, I will need lessons. During one of the many hair conversations, I shared with my family a song by my favorite recording artist, India Arie, titled "I am not my hair." You can view it here. It's all about hair and the expectations/perceptions society has of it.

In Virginia, the topic of hair came up again. Black hair in particular as Ramone does not like to comb his and his adopted momma doesn't like to fight with him about it. It is in this conversation that I learned about Chris Rock's documentary on black hair, called Good Hair. He made this documentary when one of his daughters asked him why she doesn't have "good hair." We rented it one night from the Red Box. I recommend it to anyone who wants to know more about black culture. I learned some things from it myself; the fake hair industry is dominated by Asians rather than black entrepreneurs and weave is a serious investment costing more than I ever realised. My absolute favorite though, was the term "tumble weave," we see this phenomena often in Africa. In fact, I have regular sightings at our apartment complex. What is it? Watch the movie and find out.

Kenyon was surprised by the largest supplier of weave. Where does all that hair come from? Mostly India. From women who have their head shaved as part of religious ceremonies. Suppliers then collect it from the temples, prepare it and export it globally. The women who donated it see no proceeds for their valuable hair. I had previously read about this in a news article from the BBC. Indian women have beautiful hair, I understand why others would covet it.

What is your definition of "good hair?"

I relate,

Booker T. Washington..."I always envy the individual whose life-work is so laid that he can spend his evenings at home. I have sometimes thought that people who have this rare privilege do not appreciate it as they should."

I have had similar thoughts myself. Do you cherish routines or daily time with family? It is a gift, at least that is how I see it.