we live in all we seek

12 October 2010

& what do you do?

while we were in north american this summer/fall we made a few presentations about our work in cambodia. i thought i'd post the slides here, in case you've ever wondered just what exactly it

is we do here.

Talstras in Cambodia

and while i'm at it, MCC British Columbia just came out with its Prayer Booklet for 2011. If you have a moment, you can read about the experiences of MCC workers in British Columbia, Colombia, Cambodia, El Salvador, and Zambia. (we're on page 21 & 22, click the image to download)

3 October 2010

overheard

amanda: i had a dream that i saw our baby & it was a boy with very short legs

daniel: i had a dream you were a gecko

1 October 2010

what a shame! [laughter + swine flu]

while en route to north america & back again, we spent some time in the shanghai airport. both times we were entertained by this swine flu public service video playing at our gate.

the title is "how to protect yourself from being attacked by the influenza a(h1n1)"

enjoy...

i can't speak a lick of mandarin & at the risk of being hypocritical, we got a kick out of the english translation for this little ditty. some favorite lines...

"swine flue comes from America, spreads around the world...what a shame!"

"if you have a cough or sneezing, stop your mouse & nose with paper. throw the paper in the garbage can. social morality!"

"although the epidemic situation is nervous, we should have a good mood"

"don't drill the crowd to join in the fun. dangerous!"

"if there were patients in the place where you live, don't have a no purpose stroll outside"

[shanghai expo + belly]

29 September 2010

pizza!

for the last 2 years one of my [amanda's] primary roles has been working with graduate students at the royal university of agriculture. its been a pleasure working with the same group of 16 students [15 boys & only 1 brave girl] studying english academic & scientific writing.

last spring to celebrate the end of the classroom portion of their masters program [now they begin research + thesis writing] we celebrated with a pizza party [!]

it was a good time of spending time with the students outside of class. they surprised daniel & i by having the restaurant play "happy birthday" over the loudspeakers [it wasn't either of our birthdays...] & presented us with a special mango cake. then each student stood up & gave a small speech wishing us "successful, more beautiful, & a baby"

house stomach [baby]

[20 weeks & a little wave]

in cambodia the word for "pregnant" literally translates as "to have a house stomach", which seems pretty charming, indeed.

we are excited & nervous & thrilled & thankful that amanda's [rapidly expanding] belly has become a home for this little person & we would love your prayers for his/her safe arrival sometime around january 29!

25 September 2010

mountains beyond mountains [visit to terrace]

the second half of our sabbatical this summer was spent on the west coast, most of it up in northern BC in daniel's hometown of terrace. we did a little hiking, biking, kayaking, ocean fishing, family reunioning, taco tuesdaying, celebrated jack & hilda's 35th wedding anniversary & several birthdays, explored prince rupert, had lots of evening fires & spent a lot of time catching up with old friends & family. it was lovely & a hard place to leave.

[the whole talstra clan with sunflowers! & umbrellas! - photo by sarah zimmerman]

[snapshots from a month in terrace - by christina, nathania & us]

[& yes, we do have the cutest nieces and nephews ever]

20 September 2010

stitches of gold [sabbatical part II]

"Love is what carries you, for it is always there, even in the dark, or most in the dark, but shining out at times like gold stitches in a piece of embroidery. "

— Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry

apart from visiting with family, we LOVED spending our sabbatical times catching up with old friends. it was a whirlwind of visits, guest beds, tea, lingering evenings, quick catch ups, friends, friends, friends & we loved every minute of it.