Alice Cooper and Alcoholism

Alice Cooper speaks about his Christian faith and his deliverance from alcohol in this interview on BBC radio. Well worth the listen.

:)

Alice Cooper and... Christ?

*If you have trouble viewing this (the audio went out on me here on this blog for some reason) just view on YouTube by clicking HERE or on the video title - well worth the watch!

Cranberry Pork Crockpot

Attention all Foodies (& Crockpot lovers and users)!

My new favorite crockpot recipe: Crockpot Cranberry Pork

100% approval rating from the peanut gallery. I even took some over to my mom who recently had hand surgery and couldn't cook - she raved about it and even asked for the recipe.

SO taking my Crockpot to Argentina. As I recall, food takes FOREVER to make there. I never seemed to get out of the kitchen in under 2 hours. Not doing that this time...

*photo credit to http://crockpot365.blogspot.com - I didn't take any pics of my own. But it was DELISH and had the fam begging for more.

:)

Phrase of the Day

decíme con quien andás, y te diré quien sos (dime con quien andas, te diré quien eres) = birds of a feather flock together

Literally "tell me with whom you walk, and I will tell you who you are".

Just in case you...

... were getting too comfortable.

Mapuche Map

I found another map. I love maps.

:)

Pictures of Indigenous Mapuche of NW Patagonia

We just found out about yet another missions opportunity in Patagonia.

This is SO AMAZING, I'm really just in awe how we keep getting hooked up with these people. These are national Argentines (from what I can gather from their site) who went in August of 2007 (their winter) to deliver food and clothing to the many needy and isolated Mapuche communties in NW Patagonia.

They are leaving again TOMORROW to go on their second trip! So wish we were there... *sigh*.

Click HERE to view the pictures.

:)

Lies Homeschooling Moms Believe

So, before I wrap up Lies Homeschooling Moms Believe to ship out through Paperbackswap.com (and makes someone very, very happy - there was a long waiting list for this one!), I took one last look inside.

I got this book for free when I saw Todd Wilson speak at a homeschool fair. After he made us laugh til we cried, he handed us all a free copy.

After glancing one last time at the cartoons in this book, I am laughing out loud! Only homeschoolers will fully appreciate these. Maybe I should have held on to this one!

 

LOL!!! :)

Paperbackswap.com

I am having a GREAT time swapping books at Paperbackswap.com.

Get rid of all the books in your library you don't want, and get an equal amount of books for FREE.

Sign up is SUPER easy - all you do is pay for shipping when someone requests one of your books. Then, when you request one, they pay the shipping. GENIUS!

Check it out book lovers/homeschoolers.

:)

Poverty and Abundance

Economist Robert Heilbroner describes the luxuries a typical American family would have to surrender if they lived among the 1 billion hungry people in the Two-Thirds World:

We begin by invading the house of our imaginary American family to strip it of its furniture. Everything goes: beds, chairs, tables, television sets, lamps. We will leave the family with a few old blankets, a kitchen table, a wooden chair. Along with the bureaus goes the clothes. Each member of the family may keep in his wardrobe his oldest suit or dress, a shirt or blouse. We will permit a pair of shoes for the head of the family, but none for the wife or children.

We move to the kitchen. The appliances have already been taken out, so we turn to the cupboards.... The box of matches may stay, a small bag of flour, some sugar, and salt. A few moldy potatoes, already in the garbage can, must be rescued, for they will provide much of tonight's meal. We will leave a handful of onions and a dish of dried beans. All the rest we take away: the meat, the fresh vegetables, the canned goods, the crackers, the candy.

Now we have stripped the house: the bathroom has been dismantled, the running water shut off, the electric wires taken out. Next we take away the house. The family can move to the tool shed.... Communications must go next. No more newspapers, magazines, books - not that they are missed, since we must take away our family's literacy as well. Instead, in our shantytown we will allow one radio....

Now government serivices must go next. No more postmen, no more firemen. There is a school, but it is three miles away and consists of two classrooms.... There are, of course, no hospitals or doctors nearby. The nearest clinic is ten miles away and is tended by a midwife. It can be reached by bicycle, provided the family has a bicycle, which is unlikely....

Finally, money. We will allow our family a cash hoard of five dollars. This will prevent our breadwinner from experiencing the tragedy of an Iranian peasant who went blind because he could not raise the $3.94 which he mistakenly thought he needed to receive admission to a hospital where he could have been cured.

~from Revolution in World Missions, p.40

by K.P. Yohannan

My little self-learners

I wanted to "start school" the first week of August and have been feeling really guilty that I haven't (like I don't have enough Mommy guilt already).

But I'm just. not. ready.

Then I glanced at M's little desk this morning and saw this:

She must have done it last night all on her own. ...*sniff*...

my little self-learners...

Much more effective than any pre-packaged Geography curriculum I could have spent (wasted) money on and made her sit down and do.

 If I look at all they've done this summer, so much qulaifies as "school".

Mental note to self: Must. Relax.

3 questions every Christian needs to ask

1. In one sentence, what is the single most important thing you are going to do with the rest of your life?  (It can not be self-centered or wordly in nature, and it has to bring glory to God).
2. Why do you think God has allowed you to be born in North America or Europe rather than among the poor of Africa and Asia and to be blessed with such material and spiritual abundance?
3. In light of the superabundance you enjoy here, what do you think is your minimal responsibility to the untold millions of lost and suffering in the Two-Thirds World?

~from Revolution in World Missions

by K.P. Yohannan

order it free here

:)

My Cheap-o Wal-Mart Camera

When I am in South America it's as if I have a sign taped to my forehead which says, "Please Rob Me."

I've been robbed so many times there, once even at knife point.

So the thought of having to buy a good (=expensive) camera to take to Argentina, as opposed to my cheap-o Wal-Mart one, just wasn't what I really wanted to do. It surely would get stolen from us sooner or later. A waste of money and an added and unnecessary stressor to the already challenging missionary life.

So... I was inspired to look again at my Kodak EasyShareC160 and actually learn how to use it. I was surprised that it actually had a lot of little settings on it that make for measurably better shots.

So, here are a few unedited pics taken in Granpa's yard yesterday. Purely amateur, but I am pleased with the results! I may still purchase a slightly better camera, but I am so happy I will not need a $1000 Nikon!

 

  

:)

Disclaimer

Because half of my Facebook friends are Tony's friends, most of whom still reside in Argentina, we get to see pictures of all their fun adventures. Like skiing, white-water rafting, and travel to far off places.

But that got me to thinking I should probably make a Disclaimer. Just in case.

Our good friend from Brazil who was a missionary for two years warned us, "Some people will accuse you of just wanting to travel. Some will say all you want to do is live abroad for free. Others will criticize you and say you're crazy and 'Who are you to be a missionary?'". When he was raising support to leave on a missionary ship to travel all around the world spreading mercy and the gospel, he said even Christians accused him of these things right to his face.

So, since we feel this overwhelming compulsion to leave it all and take the Gospel to what happens to be a particularly beautiful place (and there are many, many beautiful fields out there) - here it is.

Official Disclaimer:

• If I never ski again, I could die a completely happy woman.
• I've done all the hiking I ever care to do until I die. I'd rather just sit in a chair and rest in my "free time" (free time, haha, that's funny... anyway...)
• Camping, backpacking, mountain climbing, and outdoor adventures? I'll consider it a miracle if I ever convince Tony to do any of this, ever. I ended up donating the tent he bought to Haiti. I still have no idea why he bought it since he never actually planned on camping. Go figure.
• I hate the beach, so good luck to to anyone in ever convincing me to go there again (and I am secretly delighted we will mostly likely be way too far from the beach to warrant going). Sorry to all you sticky sand lovers.
• I've gone from fearless wonder to too chicken to ever really want to white-water raft again. (I know, I know... but I'll take my kids half way across the world to romp under an exploding volcano all for Christ - I can't explain that either...)
• We'll never have money to actually have the opportunity to spend it on nice hotels and vacations like most people we know can and desire to do. Nor do we really care to do that. Too many starving kids in the world. But if somebody ever offers for us to do these things, wellll... we are capable of humble acceptance.
• Fly fishing looks fun and relaxing - if you don't have kids. I do, however, hope my boy learns to fish (I've given up on hubby). I am already encouraging him on how GREAT it would be (hint, hint) if he could fish and - just think about it! - provide food for the family (hint, hint ;)). Free trout = mmmm.
• I'm too old and tired for all of the above mentioned things. It doesn't matter if you're older than me, and don't bother telling me I am actually young - I am tired.
• My idea of the "good life" is sleeping uninterrupted through the night.
• I can't think of any other reason people could accuse us of just wanting to live the "good life" down in Argentina - Patagonia specifically - but I welcome you to come visit us when we get there and see for yourself. You'll either envy us for the missionary life - or you'll pity us for the "pathetic" conditions in which we live.