Barbara's Random Thoughts

So here's the thing. I was scheduled to fly out of Johannesburg on November 12th. I tried to change my ticket to the 9th, so I could make it to a friend's wedding on the 11th. I was denied by both the travel agent ("that is not available for your itinerary") and then British Airways ("You'll have to contact your travel agent").

This week I made one last-ditch attempt and emailed the travel agent again, this time asking her to explain the "not available for your itinerary" comment. Her reply email informed me that she'd changed my ticket, and I'll now be leaving on November 9th, arriving in LA on the 10th.

I read the email and realized that my new arrival date was only one month away. Suddenly I'm not sure I want to leave three days early.

Plus, I've managed to miss the opportunity of saying: "One month from today, I'll be leaving South Africa..." I was happily oblivious of that date coming and going.

Oh, it'll be really really good to go to Hannah's wedding. It makes me smile to think of reuniting with college friends and seeing Hannah and Neil get married (the day after I get back!). The last time I hung out with Hannah, I told her she wasn't allowed to get married while I was in South Africa. I'm making sure she doesn't.

But at the same time, I don't yet want to let go of where I am. The days and weeks I have here are slipping by so quickly. I'm gonna miss this.

I'm in the middle of editing a paper on church growth for one of the staff members here, and I keep getting frustrated with extremely convoluted sentences. This drives me to take small procrastinating breaks, which really don't speed things along. But they help my sanity. So here I am, avoiding the last 2 1/2 pages of the paper in order to make a small announcement.

I'm going to be an aunt again. My brother and sister-in-law are expecting their first baby in June. I'm so excited!!!

Last night, I got a cryptic message from my sister-in-law on the Pangani voice mail. I wasn't able to get in touch with her and therefore endured a restless night in which I wondered what was wrong in my family, because Dianna rarely calls me when I'm in the same state, let alone when I'm in South Africa. This morning I finally got in touch with her, got to talk with both my brother and sister-in-law, and heard the news that they're expecting their first child. They were married 11 years ago and have really wanted children, but it just never happened. They had kind of given up on ever having kids. But God had other plans. =)

I keep joking about how many of my friends have gotten engaged, married, pregnant, or have had babies since I've been here in South Africa. The total is now at 8 engagements and 7 pregnancies. This really is getting ridiculous, but I will totally not complain. I'm so excited for my brother & sister-in-law!!

Add to this the other amazing experiences that have happened in the past few days: being part of a reunion between a mother and daughter who were separated 37 years ago, and my roommate Carissa already gaining 140 degrees of movement in her arm after an intense surgery on Friday...and I can't help but praise God for all He's doing around me.

Oh, I so want to write more...but I need to finish editing this paper. Forthcoming will be an account of the mother/daughter reunion story. It's pretty cool.

Labels: family

Just a few links, because I'm in a remembering mood today.

The Anticipation

The Fulfillment

The Reflection

Labels: Italy