Eid, New Sisters, and More!

Eid al-Adha or just Eid is a holiday celebrated to remember the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac as an act of obedience to God before God stopped him and provided a sheep to sacrifice instead.  There are two Eid celebrations each year.  The first one celebrates the end of Ramadan, the second one is about 70 days later.  I had the amazing privilege of celebrating the second Eid with an amazing family that I work with here!  This family is such a joy and I can't even express how sad I'm going to be to say goodbye to them when the time comes.

I'm seriously so honored to get to be a part of their family.  Mama has 16 kids... no multiples in there and she says she would have had 24 if they didn't have to leave their country.  "Enough for two football teams."  Wow!  What a strong, strong woman!  Here are some pictures from that day.

Love!

This makes me so happy!

My buddy!

Love her!

And her!

Mama is amazing!

Aren't they beautiful??   Wow, I just love them and I love being invited to these fun events!  I've learned so much from this fantastic family in the past year... praise the Lord!

Focus... so the day of Eid I went over to their house and was greeted by some yummy treats.  First we had coffee (which isn't my fave, but with the right amount of sugar is fine) and sweets.  I can't remember the name of one of the cookies, but it's delicious.  Then a bit later we had the main course which had of course been slaughtered that day.  The women cooked all day in order to feed everyone and it was good!!  We had goat meat... including the stomach and intestines (which is a delicacy) rice, colored potatoes, salads, and cabbage.  There was probably more, but I can't remember it all.  The only thing I really struggle with is the stomach and intestines... they're sooooo jiggly which is a texture I just can't do, although the flavor isn't terrible.  Anyway, it was yummy and the women did an amazing job.

We all ate together (the ladies and guys who weren't in the family).  After we finished, the men of the house came in and got their food.  They ate in the other room... men and women generally don't eat together.  It was just a completely blessed day.  It always amazes me how hard these women work.  The food prep took all day and many of them were working to make sure we, the guests were all taken care of.  Their hosting ability is impressive!  You'll never leave their house on an empty stomach, that's for sure!

In other news, another two women from that same hotel have given their lives to Christ!!  I had the privilege of praying with one of them today to accept Jesus.  It was beautiful.  The energy and sheer enthusiasm these women have is admirable.  3 new sisters in less than a week!  God is doing big things at that hotel.  I'm so grateful to be a part of sharing Christ with these ladies.  It's been really great to be able to sit down with them and learn about their lives and even to hear their reasons for converting.  I love hearing their stories and seeing the joy on their faces after they accept the Lord.  Incredible!

I've been going to the baby home a lot and holding some precious little orphans.  It's been a blast to go each week... on the way there we "call" or "reserve" the babies that we've bonded with.  It's just awesome.  The place I go has a high turnover rate, which is a really good thing... it means these kids are being adopted out and they all go to amazing homes.  I've met some really beautiful people who are adopting from the home.  It's really encouraging to see how well taken care of the kids are.  I know it's for the best, but I actually get sad when I hear that this kid or that baby is being adopted.  It's selfish, but I love going, knowing who I'm going to get to hold and play with.  It's also been really sweet to watch the tiny babies grow.  Some come in in terrible condition.  One of my favorites was incredibly malnourished and sickly when he can in.  He only weighed about 5 pounds.  He's now fattening up a bit and his smile is unbelievable!  Even his eyes shine!  I'm so excited that he's been chosen to be adopted, but a bit sad to see him go.  It's a privilege to hold these tiny infants and watch them grow and develop in amazing ways because they're loved and cared for.  Thank you Jesus!  I'm also really glad that others are patient enough to hang out with the toddlers... don't get me wrong, I love playing with toddlers, but when there are 20 of them climbing on you, it's not fun!!  So I opt to grab a tiny one from their crib and hold them the whole time... this prevents the jumping toddlers... most of the time.

The situation in Sudan is growing more intense.  Things are getting worse and worse.  People are dying, fleeing, struggling... and it's going unnoticed.  One of my dear Sudanese brothers has lost his father due to the situation.  It's just terrible.  Please, please continue to pray for Sudan and South Sudan.  A major storm is brewing between the two nations.  This will only add to the death count.  It's not just lives that are being lost, it's souls being lost for eternity.  Pray for those who don't know Christ (SOOO many don't) and pray for a miracle in the North's government.