Like a mountrain goat...

People have actually been complaining that I haven't posted in a while (just Mum and she wasn't 'complaining' per se) and the success of my last post makes this next post a little daunting and most likely a let down for most of you as this is more of a day-to-day post, less prose.

Anywho, as the title suggests I am the mountain goat. A few of us climbed a mountain behind our house yesterday--much to my initial delight for being asked to go, the following feelings of dread as the boys started to RUN up the mountain, next my feelings of vomiting, and lastly, feelings of triumph as we traversed THREE mountain tops to reach our goal: a hotel bar.

The mountain we climbed is more of a hill, really. But we like to think it's a mountain because we LIVE in the mountains. (For those of you who know, telling a story about mountains is very difficult for me as I type 'mountrains' every f-ing time. Be patient..unlike me.)
Anywho!
Ben, James, Christian and I took off with lofty goals of reaching the top of just one mountain. Suddenly, only 30 minutes later we found ourselves at the top of the first mountain. Satisfied at my brush with mountain-climbing I agreed that we 'check-out' the next peak to prepare for it another day.

This terrain, by the way, is not ideal. (What mountain-side terrain is, Claire?) If the dry grass isn't as slippery as ice, then it's the jagged rocks, or perhaps the grass twice as tall as a man that I became VERY intimate with after it became tangled in between my legs and around my feet. AND, without knowing much about snakes, or the habitat of said reptiles, I knew in my gut we were hiking through prime snake territory. I think besides being physically unfit for climbing mountains, it was the fear of a snake encounter that slowed me down the most. Oh, I failed to mention WHAT kind of snakes: black mombas, the single most poisonous snake in the world (minus coral snakes). Apparently this area is ripe with them.

Before we left James reassured me that we'd have to meet a lot of criteria in order to be bitten by a black momba.
1) Be in their territory (check)
2) Actually FIND one (probable)
3) Piss it off (likely)
4) Be within striking range

Having successfully accomplished the first criteria, and certain that numbers 2, 3 and 4 were sure to succinctly follow, I was lagging behind most of the time. And because I had agreed to Christian's terms that I wouldn't complain I said little about poisonous snakes. If I was going to die it might as well be from the most deadly snake in the world while climbing a mountain.

Ok, I didn't mean to write that much about the mountain, but, I'm pretty proud of myself. And since Christian didn't specify how long the 'no complaining' agreement was enacted for I resisted complaining, or rather commenting, on the extreme pain I found my body to be upon waking this morning. At least twice my knees have buckled, I want to cry out each time I have to use my quads, and the pieces of mountain and mountain brush that are slivered into my flesh still sting. Yet! I remain complainless. (Strong, stubborn, or prideful? It's a toss up.)

In other new I'm off to another town in Malawi to stay with a missionary family. The lady, Naomi, was a student of Mercy In Action, yet is not a practicing midwife. However, her and her husband Tim have been so kind in letting me come and arranging (I hope!) for me to meet some medial people, NGOs, and a couple midwives!
Oh, and they're really close to Mozambique so I think I might check that out for a couple days.

I'm not sure what God has in mind, but I agreed to go after I discovered the lady we're staying with here, Hellen Jones, happened to be driving to Tim and Naomi's town tomorrow! The Lord better be up to something. Ohhhhh you'd better, mister!
And unrelated, but a factor in my decision, was meeting a fellow named Ernest (Grace house guy for those of you who know). Something he said in his non-chalant, but wonderful way really struck me. He said 'All of the Lord's thoughts for me are good.' It's another one of those things we 'know' but rarely believe to be true FOR US, someone else, totally! But not for me. His thoughts for me are ones of disgust, disappointment, anger, occasional amusement, etc. But no! Even the man who can't afford to marry his fiance of 7 years because he doesn't have the money to agrees 'all of the Lord's thoughts for me are good.'

As I type this there is an Africycle meeting happening behind my back--things seem to be going well. But Ben just referred to my mad typing skillz as 'Fingers of Fury'. He makes me laugh. Frig, introduce me to a Ben that doesn't make me laugh and I'll do....something drastic.

There is internet in Namwera (Tim and Naomi's) so I'm hoping blogging won't be such a chore while I'm there, but then again I might be on the road a lot yada yada...but I'm home in 12 days and I've already composed that slide show displayed to the tunes of Louis Armstrong, U2, and something in Tagalog in my mind. We'll see.

Picture downloaded...buuuuuut here's another one bc it rocks my world.
AHHHaHahahhaha...I just checked out that first picture I downloaded and it's the WRONG ONE! Believe it or not, I did NOT want to post the picture of the guys being pervy behind my back. But, because it took so long, it's staying. And it's pretty funny, so that helps.
Anywho--the other picture is of James with a big stick-bug on his arm. Christian spotted this crazy creature in the grass and James proceeded to pick him up and then drop him about four times, causing the poor bug to loose a leg. Here is James trying to make up...make out? No, make up.
Ok...uh an hour later and the pic hasn't uploaded. That is my breaking point. Sorry.