I have been thinking lately of balance. Life, especially the christian life is all about finding the balance between different things. I have really been feeling this lately as I endeavor to find the balance between helping and creating a dependency, speaking up and staying quiet, giving what you have freely to help others versus saving for the 'rainy day" that is sure to come. This is a challenge anywhere you are and in any walk of life, but I am finding that the pull between the two oppositional forces becomes much stronger and more apparent when you are placed in a different culture. For example, in your own culture and among your own peers, you are free to pick friends to whom you relate more closely than others. In ministry and missions, you have to balance that with being careful not to play favorites. It is often difficult to see the line between cultural differences and what is right or wrong. It reminds me of walking a tightrope, and while I can handle just about anything, heights is NOT one of them. I was pondering this whole subject and feeling the pressure of it as I read Ecclesiastes..."there is a time and a place for everything under the sun..." when it hit me like a ton of bricks. I AM walking a tightrope, and if I were doing it in my own strength I would have long since been an unsightly pancake of failure on rocks below...but I am NOT. I have a harness that, through prayer, is attached to something much stronger than I, who is above me, and is "able to keep me from falling". WOW!!! I feel so free now. I don't have to worry about being a little to the left or to the right, He will take care of me and can nudge or YANK (depending on my error) me back onto the fine line of balance. That is just SO COOL! I hope I can remember this tomorrow when I wake up...

Roy and I are attempting to find some ways of food preservation that will work out here. Obviously canning works for us, but we are wanting to find ways that anyone who lives here can do, even with very little resources. We found a solar food dryer that works on the concept of convection (no actual solar panel, electricity, or battery involved). However, we don't actually have plans for building one, just an illustration in a book. We are attempting to make it using only things that are readily on hand here in Kabala. If we can make it work, we are going to attempt to teach others how to dry various fruits and vegetables and store them so that fruits and vegetables ( and thus vitamin C, ribofavin, niacin, etc.) will be available in and out of season.
Roy and Mr. Noah (a carpenter and good friend) spent a day or two collaborating and have made a wooden box and a tray using glass suspended above a piece of roofing zinc that we painted black to be a reflective surface. The plan is that the green house effect will heat the air, causing it to rise into the top of the wooden box and that it will then circulate down through the food as it cools, carrying the moisture with it. We set it out today and the air b/w the glass and the zinc has heated to 165 F. I put some cabbage in the box in order to do a test run. Wish us luck!!! If anyone has any insights or ideas, please send them our way!

As the season changes to consistent rains, we are beginning to see and hear different wildlife around. For example, Seth is very interested in birds and was excited to see a pin-tailed wydah in front of our house. If you have a chance, look it up while you are on line, they are a really neat little bird. The male has an excessively long tail during the rainy season. We have now also acquired a fruit pigeon in our menagerie. The word pigeon is misleading as this is a wild bird that is really quite pretty. Almost every evening now, we hear monkeys on the hills behind our house. Unfortunately, it is also the season to watch out for snakes. So, pray for safety.
Well, I have another couple of cooking stories for you. I managed to can green beans. Now, before you start wondering what's the big deal with that, please remember that I have only ever canned once before(twice if you count freezer jam :) So, I am far from being expert. Coming into canning can be a little intimidating, but add to that the um... adventure...of using a pressure cooker over a campfire during rainy season. I almost stopped before I started when I read the cookbook - "maintaining an even pressure is essential to pressure canning" HAH! How in the world... But, faint heart never had vegetables in the off season so...I pulled my courage to the sticking place and now have jars of nicely sealed green beans sitting in my dining room. Praise God - with Him all things truly ARE possible!!! I was using a pressure cooker, not a pressure canner, with a seal that was questionable to say the least, and was at least 5 years old. Well, lets just say that I am glad it didn't blow up!!! :)
Then, today, I had another little um... adventure... I was baking in my big cast iron pot, I made crackers. They had browned quite nicely and were ready to come out when I hit my snag. The cookie sheet was stuck, and I mean STUCK! Roy couldn't even get them out. For those of you with teenage daughters who are saying, "why do I have to study science, it's not like I'm actually going to use it" - you now have your sarcastic reply -"Someday when you are making crackers in Africa, you are going to need to know that iron pots expand differently than cookie sheets when heat is applied." See, you learned something helpful today. Anyway, the solution was simple - a crowbar. Yes, today I made wheat thins in my oven and had to remove them with a crowbar. How can you do anything but laugh!
Two days ago, though, I think I crossed some sort of an ethical line. I taught the little African kids about Spam. There's just something wrong about that. In my defense, meat is scarce right now and Zwan ( our version of Spam) is the natural fallout of a need for meat flavored protien (sorry to any of you who are vegetarian, but I don't think you can be too offended since I am pretty sure it isn't even really meat) I was making fried rice, and in the absence of vegetables ( I hadn't gotten any green beans yet) I had to make it using only Zwan, onions, and eggs - oh, and a can of peas. My normal panel of 7 and under advisors were present and had a long discussion amongst themselves as to what it was that we were eating. One of the kids solemnly informed the others that he was pretty sure that those little squares were bouillion cubes. I told that it was meat - to which they responded "Na LIE" (I don't think that I need to translate that). SO, I introduced them to Spam. I hope I haven't done any permanent damage....

Abby and I returned from Freetown on Wed. We really praise God for safe travels and no car trouble on the way. We are REALLY thankful for some good friends who generously shared their hospitality with us while we were there. Richard and Paula Miller are missionaries who, while not new to Sierra Leone, have newly joined Ripe For Harvest. Have you ever met someone and felt that you had been friends with them for a long time already. Well, Richard and Paula are those kind of people. They are a gift from God - for sure and to top it off, they have two adorable girls who are such a blessing to Abby. Abby had a great time playing and relaxing with them for the time that we were in Freetown. What a blessing! Richard and Paula, and their daughters Faith and Grace, are using Bible storytelling to spread God's Word, with much the same vision as we have. Please add them to your prayer list - they are part of our team and could use your prayers.
Well, about my interview, I think it went well. The questions that arose were in regards to what type of work I want to do, why I want to do it here, and how I intend to work with structures already in place. The review board had some good insights, and will discuss together, after interviewing me. Next week I am to call them to see if I have been approved, and if so, to get my registration number. When I go to Freetown the next time, I am to go have my picture taken for an identification license. Please continue to pray, but I am encouraged.

I am headed to Freetown tomorrow to have my interview for a Sierra Leone nursing license. Many people have told me that it is okay for me to practice now, but I want to show respect for the laws of the land and be above approach. I am not sure what all is involved in an interview, and thus am a little bit nervous. I generally look meds up prior to giving them, so I don't run a lot off the top of my head. In addition to that, many of the medications here are manufactured in France, Nigeria, England, and other countries so I don't always recognize the names until I do some research. Please pray for me. In addition to that, in order to save cost only Abby and I are going. It was going to be just me, but we have some new friends in Freetown who just happen to have two girls :) So, Abby is going down for a visit. Please pray for safety for us. Roy and the boys are going to try to do some fun manly man stuff while we are away, so that should be fun for them. Well, I am preparing and trying to get meal stuff together for the manly men while I am gone, so I will update you in a few days.