reminiscent of...Africa

Since I am now a mortgage payer and more place bound than I have been in the past, I decided to decorate our home in honor of the places we have lived.

The first room that made any progress was an ode to my birthplace: New Mexico. I wrote about this in a post titled: home away from home.

I have made progress on my second room - our "great room"...I am not sure what else to call this. It is the biggest room in our house. It is the first one entered from the front door. This is what it looked like before we moved in.

Today, it has a 10' sectional and our dining table. The theme for this room is an ode to Africa. Many of the items in this room came from previous travels. For instance, the rug was purchased after an eventful day of bartering in Morrocco.

The round baskets on the wall remind me of this man who I met in Liberia on one of my trips. He was weaving similar baskets from straw. I saw many of these beautiful, colorful baskets all over the Continent. I look at these and think of the people I met who create such beautiful handicrafts.

One the wall between the windows is a batik that comes from Kenya.  

The figurines in the batik remind me of the Masai people. Some of whom I was able to meet on a visit to the coast of that country.

I also have memorabilia from Mozambique from our time there. We could not bring much back with us due to weight limits, but my heart still resides with all of the people I met along the journey of life. While I cannot be with them, and frequent visits are unlikely due to present circumstances; I have brought these memories front and center in our home. These items also allow me to share the memories with guests who come to our home.

just Sheri, collector of memories

Hatch Green Chile

When I say the word "chili" most people think of this...

Unless you grew up in New Mexico like I did, then "chili" is not a stew. It is a chili pepper; specifically, a Hatch green chile.

These tasty, spicy green chiles are grown in Hatch, New Mexico and are an essential ingredient in most foods we eat. Yes, a true New Mexican eats these chiles for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We eat it on pizza, hamburgers, with eggs, or smothering any other food we can think of. The peppers are harvested in fall and every grocery has them outside roasting. They can be purchased by the pound and usually they are brought home in a burlap sack after the roasting process is complete. I have lived outside of New Mexico for the bulk of my adult life and have never found a substitute for Hatch chile. Thankfully, in Virginia I don't have to.

A local grocery story in the town where we live held a chili festival one weekend in September.

They even had the authentic roaster sitting outside, which resulted in the same aroma of roasting chiles that I remember from my younger years.

They were selling the chiles by the pound or the case.

I brought home a case. My car held the aroma for weeks.

Then I hosted a party. All of the dishes served that evening contained this special ingredient: green chile, chicken enchiladas; spanish rice; fresh salsa; and posole. I also made some frijoles and had tamales shipped in for the event. I enjoyed sharing a bit of my homeleand with our friends here.

just Sheri, a green chile enthusiast

Fall Activities

Obviously I am a bit behind in updating the blog, but life hasn't slowed down. Here are some of the highlights from the fall season.

I took a road trip with these lovely ladies to Colonial Williamsburg.

It was Ms. Josephine in white that opened my eyes to the ways Americans lock themselves in their homes creating a voluntary prison.

At a dinner party I was reminded how our palletes are influenced by what we are exposed to...this young man was dunking sushi in soy sauce the way most kids dunk chicken nuggets in ketchup.

Kenyon and I spent some time exploring the District. We went to a Smithsonian museum known as "the castle." I am sure you can see why from the picture.

We also made a stop at the botanic garden. Which is where I learned about carnivorous plants.

The botanic garden is across the street from the capital building. I took a picture because it was looking particularly regal that day. Each time I see the capital building, I still feel like I am having a celebrity sighting. I want to say, "Hey look, there's the capital!"

My dear friend Phim took me to the fish market at the wharf. I felt like I had been transported back to Psar Toul Tom Poun in Phnom Pen, Cambodia.

Every year I set aside time to participate in the Global Leadership Summitt. This year the destination was Kansas City. I had the privilege of participating in the annual event with one of my sister friends. This was a photo from dinner with ladies who encourage and inspire me.

While Kenyon was between jobs, we took some time to date (again). This photo is from a double date with Joyce and Victor at the National Harbor.

Another date was an inaugural visit to the county fair. We saw lots of curiosities - a fuzzy chicken, acrobats, and this...fried Kool-Aid. We didn't order any, but I do wonder what that is all about. Can anyone explain this to me?

I also took a trip with my adopted dad to a warmer climate.

These are just a few of the fall activities that occupied my time, and the people who make life enjoyable.

just Sheri, blessed with wonderful memories and relationships

Valentine's Elf: variation on a theme

There is a young woman that I meet with weekly. She is in college. She and her boyfriend are planning their future together. She has lots of dreams in her heart that she'd like to make reality. During one of our meetings we were talking about the importance of kindness. I shared with her what my mentor Premdas shared with me...Acts 1:1. We are charged to follow Jesus example by doing and teaching - in that order.

She had no idea about my annual Valentine's tradition of delivering roses. But she told me she had been thinking about Acts 1:1 and decided to buy 75 roses to deliver to her neighbors on Valentine's Day. On this day, I became her apprentice. V-day morning I showed up at her house. We made a small card for each one and delivered them to homes in her neighborhood. While most people weren't home, we hoped it would bless the residents when they arrived.

Following her lead, I bought some roses and gave them to my neighbors that evening when I got off work. I received a BIG hug in response from my next door neighbor who is a single mom from Ghana.

I love this tradition and have kept it alive for many years, in various forms, depending on where we lived and what was available to me. This year, frankly, I was discouraged and wondering if any of my efforts to make the world a better place have been worth it or if I was just wasting time and energy. I had no intentions of keeping my tradition this year. I just didn't have the heart...that was until I heard Jo's plan. Her plan became my plan. Instead of one there were two of us conspiring to bless others. It was a lot of fun and was the highlight of my week.

Thank you, Johanna, for encouraging my heart and carrying on the Valentine's Elf tradition...without even knowing the tradition existed.

just Sheri, a reinvigorated Valentine's Elf

Year in Review: Perfect Peace

My theme for 2012 was "Perfect Peace." The theme was chosen because the storms of life felt overwhelming.

My birth father had passed unexpectedly. I wrote about this in a post titled: "In rememberance..."

The dream for my life was becoming a distant memory as we had spent two years in the U.S., bought a house and planned to stay a while. I went through a time of serious grief as I mourned the loss of that dream and had nothing to take it's place, except for uncertainty. I wrote about this in a post titled: "in absentia"

The year brought more death, "In loving memory: Adra Irene Gettemy" and the continued heartache of remaining childless.

I don't have to tell anyone the kind of stress moving continents multiple times in a few short years, extended unemployment, and disappointing heartache can put on a marriage. At the beginning of 2012 it seemed like we were at our breaking point. Then unemployment struck again.

I needed a solid rock in the midst of life's storms. I needed peace that surpassed understanding. I chose the theme because such a peace felt unattainable, but I knew I desperately needed it. Nothing else was going to get me through the difficulties I was experiencing.

The scripture that guided the past year was Isaiah 26:3,4:

You [God] keep him [or her] in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on you,
because he trusts in you.
Trust in the Lord forever,
for the Lord God is an everlasting rock

Looking back over the course of the year, I can tell you that my trust in God has grown deeper. I trust him to be my provider. I trust him to be my foundation and safety-net. I have come to trust him with my future and dreams.

I spent a series of weeks this year fasting (going without food and spending most of the day in solitude and prayer) on Sundays. I felt called to the task. I found the result to be an aligning of my will with His. Through the course of those weeks my perspective (and subsequently my attitude) changed. As these things changed, my behavior followed suit. Breakthroughs in my circumstances came, eventually, as well.

While I still do not have a defined purpose, I am finding joy in helping others discover their purpose, fanning the flame of their dreams, and interceding on their behalf. God has given me pictures of faces, folks that I  have been working to build relationship with. He has given me encouraging words to share with others. When I share those words immediately, I am finding that it speaks to something they are going through at that moment - usually something they did not think anyone else knew about. God knew. He always knows.

When the heartache in my life seemed too much, I discovered I also needed to invest in friendships locally. While I had met a lot of people I liked a lot; my mentality was that, because I hoped to be leaving soon, it was just easier to keep relationships at a surface level in anticipation of saying good-bye. I realized I needed to build a network of support. I have been investing in friendships this year and have built the foundation for excellent friendships with a number of women. This has also served to help calm my restlessness. I expect these friendships to improve with age. God also gave me a group of sojourners to do life with. While the majority of the year was filled with disappointment, it ended with hope as we are embarking on a journey of discovery and service together.

Because it was clear we are staying a while. We invested in real estate. I wrote about this in a post titled: "a place to call 'home'" God asked me to do the unthinkable. Something so far outside of my comfort zone I wasn't sure I could even accomplish such a task. I felt completely unequipped and inadequate. He asked me to make a home for Kenyon and I. I wrote about this in the post titled: "what is a homemaker?"

While God was busy changing my heart and behaviors. While I was busy building supporting relationships, attempting to be an encouragement to others, and learn what it means to be a homemaker. A miracle happened. Our marriage was restored. I wasn't even sure such a thing was possible, but I am grateful that He is faithful despite my disbelief.

I expect storms will remain part of life. In the midst of the storms God proved to be an everlasting rock. I trust Him more today than I did yesterday, or in this case more this year than I did the previous year. While He is faithful, I am not. That is what I will be focusing on in 2013. More to come on that in a future post...

just Sheri, trusting the everlasting rock to provide peace in the midst of storms