It has been a few weeks since we did this, now we are back. Except late because today is Sunday. Friday I was camping!
Sharing our good things.
Tell us something about your life in international development, faith, missions, cross-culturally…anything. Tell us something you have seen, heard about, done that is:
Good
Kind
Beautiful
Generous
Lovely
Praise-worthy
Honorable
You get the idea. Tell us something good.
My good news is my family.
I have three siblings and lots of nieces and nephews and the way my family takes care of each other is kind of amazing. My nephew has spent the past three months in Djibouti with us. Right now, my son is driving with with my brother-in-law (the Djibouti-nephew’s dad) from Seattle to North Carolina to help with a family need. My dad is in Oregon taking care of my sister’s kids while her husband has surgery. My mom is in Minnesota helping my brother and his family while they both work full time and try to do online school plus care for a baby…
My daughter is going to my in-law’s farm this weekend and spent Covid lockdown with her aunt and uncle and cousins.
There are a lot of moving pieces literally scattered across the USA and the globe and it is a gift.
Shout out to my family. I was born into and married into a good one.
(here is my nephew and I on a run - or rather, when he smoked past me on a run)
What Can a Christian Learn from Muslims?
In case you missed it, here’s a link to the book launch with Barbara Brown Taylor and Abdi Nor Iftin. We had such a great time and I had to work to keep my head from falling off at how amazing these two are.
Best Story about Somali Women
Sada Mire is a leading archeologist and one of the only Somali women in the field
Best Ramadan Jokes
Does anyone still read Buzzfeed? Here are some Ramadan memes, just for fun.
Best Audiobook Listen
I have recently returned to books for my long runs rather than podcasts. I still do a lot of podcast listening but am enjoying the way “I have to know what happens next” gets me out the door as the temperature here rises. Mysteries have been my go-to (any suggestions? I need a new one…) But right now I’m listening to The Chicken Sisters by KJ Dell’Antonia and it is so much fun. It feels like just the right pace and tone for my soul to rest in something that is not world-shattering or life-altering but just a good fun story, with lots of fried chicken.
Best Seminary Tweets
I’m in seminary right now and find Sassy Seminary Student a riot on Twitter. In seminary or not, you might think she’s funny. And we all need a little funny.
Best Running News
So I missed this a few months ago, but this is incredible. She broke the 5k world record in a seriously impressive display of, well, fast running!
What is your good news this week?
More from Rachel
Here are some podcast interviews I’ve done that dropped recently:
Holy Heretics: Learning more about God through other religions
I cannot say enough about how wonderful your nephew is! And I love how many members of your family are supporting each other at this time, across states and continents, in various ways - absolutely beautiful. The archaeology article and Ramadan memes were both excellent, enlightening reads (albeit in very different respects :) ); and I'm excited to listen to the podcasts! My good thing was observing the extensive warm hospitality that several students at our school showed to a family who was visiting the school. One of the students mentioned that she remembers what it was like to be the new kid at school, and so she now makes a point of being a friendly and welcome presence to other newcomers.