Live Free or Die

My body is in Pakistan, my heart will always be in Chicago, my roots are in Indiana, but my toes think they are from New Hampshire. The cool weather has forced me to wear socks and shoes lately. My walking shoes are big and comfy, but Sunday I traded in my dress sandels for my dress shoes. Once toes get used to unrestricted freedom, they are lothe to give it up. I put on my shoes and for the first 30 minutes, my toes were shouting, "Live free or DIE!" I was tempted to concede defeat to de feet, but I persevered in pain and the shoes stayed on. I won the battle, but they won the war. Ouch.

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A Typically Atypical Sunday in Pakistan

We had quite a large group this Sunday at church. There were about 80 people there. Biggest group I think I've ever seen here in Pakistan. It makes me sad that some of our best and brightest are soon leaving us. Three of our young Pakistanis are going overseas on church missions for 1 1/2 years and three of our foreigners (including the former Branch President and wife) are heading back home for good. I was telling our American newbie how sad it is when we get a good group functioning and then people move, etc and group dynamics change. The only constant here is change.

At Sunday's service we had a farewell for the first missionary to head out. Her mother spoke from the pulpit for the first time. She spoke in Urdu, which I don't understand much of, but I could tell by the tremmor in her voice how proud she was of her daughter and how much she would miss her. The older brother then spoke and said, "My mother feels ashamed to talk in church because she is uneducated. But she is not uneducated. She sacrificed and worked hard so that her children would get educations. She is not uneducated, because she educated her children." I know the very humble circumstances of the people here so I know her sacrifice must have been great. Her humility and his pride in his mother were very touching

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NaNoWriMo or Bust?!

I've been reading in blogistan about the "National Novel Writing Month" aka: NaNoWriMo. You have to write a 50,000 word novel during the nonth of November. Blogger is jumping on the band wagon by hosting a special site to help bloggers post their NaNoWriMo entries.

I'm really toying with the idea. Just two days ago I found the rough draft of a really great short story I started 10 years ago. Yes,10 YEARS ago! I posted it on the fridge door and promised myself I would finish it soon. I'm thinking to expand it into a novel and give it a go. It's both exciting and scary. I've never written anything so big. It would be like having a full time job. This event is like a writers marathon. Anybody with any skill level can try their hand in this event where enthusiam is as valuable as skill. I'm inching closer to joining..... anybody wanna take the plunge with me?