We have some great friends and colleagues in Eastern Congo. But they've known us for 14 months, max. And we've traveled away from Congo a lot during that time. Also, we're colleagues with most of them, which gives the relationship a certain level of professionalism.
We just spent Christmas with Micah and Betsy Dekorne and their two boys.
We've known Micah for 14 years. Mark lived with him for a number of those years. We met Betsy about 9 years ago. All four of us celebrated both of our weddings, and we were part of a tight-knit house church community in Denver for a couple of years. En plus, Betsy studied the conflict in Congo as part of her masters in International Development. D'ailleurs, they have two sweet boys who are around the ages of our nieces and nephews. So those things together with how easy and quick it was to travel to their town in Uganda made for a HOLLY, JOLLY CHRISTMAS!
Mark and I were so, so blessed and thankful to get to spend Christmas with these dear friends in Uganda. We got to eat really good food, live a very different pace of life, and hang out in their lovely house and yard. Some extra-special things we got to share were the Christmas party with women in a predominantly Congolese refugee camp where Betsy has been leading a Bible study; a bicycle safari with impalas, monkeys and zebras; a Christmas hymn sing at their church; and the yard-to-table process for turning "Franky" into Christmas dinner (best pork chops Mark has ever had). Micah and Betsy also inspired us with how they celebrated Advent with their three-year-old, and we had some meaningful and encouraging conversations about life and work in this part of Africa. It was so special to be a part of it all.
I also got a mani/pedi for $7 and got to put my clothes in a dryer (which does amazing things to the size of tank tops!). Mark got to throw the Frisbee (even with his terribly swollen eye) almost every day! Unfortunately, most of the pictures we took are of Mark's eye.
There were the minor disappointments of: sickness going around and Mark's eye swelling weirdly (after three days, a sty finally developed and is on its way out now). And leaving.
We just spent Christmas with Micah and Betsy Dekorne and their two boys.
We've known Micah for 14 years. Mark lived with him for a number of those years. We met Betsy about 9 years ago. All four of us celebrated both of our weddings, and we were part of a tight-knit house church community in Denver for a couple of years. En plus, Betsy studied the conflict in Congo as part of her masters in International Development. D'ailleurs, they have two sweet boys who are around the ages of our nieces and nephews. So those things together with how easy and quick it was to travel to their town in Uganda made for a HOLLY, JOLLY CHRISTMAS!
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| Christmas morning. This was one cool gift we brought: a motorcycle made out of banana leaves! Photo credit: Awesome Photographer Micah DeKorne |
Mark and I were so, so blessed and thankful to get to spend Christmas with these dear friends in Uganda. We got to eat really good food, live a very different pace of life, and hang out in their lovely house and yard. Some extra-special things we got to share were the Christmas party with women in a predominantly Congolese refugee camp where Betsy has been leading a Bible study; a bicycle safari with impalas, monkeys and zebras; a Christmas hymn sing at their church; and the yard-to-table process for turning "Franky" into Christmas dinner (best pork chops Mark has ever had). Micah and Betsy also inspired us with how they celebrated Advent with their three-year-old, and we had some meaningful and encouraging conversations about life and work in this part of Africa. It was so special to be a part of it all.
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| Betsy and I received gifts at the Christmas party with the women in the refugee camp. (They were Bibles in Swahili.) |
There were the minor disappointments of: sickness going around and Mark's eye swelling weirdly (after three days, a sty finally developed and is on its way out now). And leaving.
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