So much to write about!! I am writing from my home (in Sanford) and man, it feels weird to be here. Not a "bad" weird, just VERY different. I am not used to TV and relaxing! It took me about 4 hours to drive home in very yucky weather though... sleet/rain in the dark. So I am glad to be home! It is great to see my Mom and Dad and my cat, Oscar. :) And it certainly will be nice to sleep in MY bed tonight!!

Let me tell you about our Southern Africa culture day yesterday (Wednesday). This week at MLC has been regional time. That means that instead of everyone at MLC meeting, just 5 of us from the Southern Africa region have been meeting with our Richmond Associates (a couple living in Richmond who have been missionaries in Southern Africa for a long time). This time has been wonderful, and very relevant to South Africa. Well, on Wednesday, we had "culture day." All of us ladies wore our long skirts in lieu of the day. We learned about cultural/tribal beliefs and customs, special greetings, and cultural faux pas. The coolest part though was cooking a South African meal. We meet in out quad so that we could use out kitchens. We cooked the whole meal ourselves! We made, mealie pap (pronounced "pop"), which is kind of like a fine grits that form up, vegetables to go on top of that, baked chicken, and peanut butter rice. Here's the kicker... for an appetizer, we had... all the way from South Africa... dried mopani worms!! I wish I could tell you they were great, but in all honesty, I almost gagged. THey don't taste "bad." But when you think about what you're eating, it's hard to get it down. But I DID IT! I passed the test. :) All of the other food was really good though!! It was exciting to cook food like in Africa. My roommate and I even had the job of washing the vegetables in our bathtub! Good thing we were warned ahead of time and could clean it!!

Well, I have a big weekend ahead of me. Tomorrow we head to Winston-Salem, where my brother's wedding is. I have to get my dress (and I am PRAYING it fits!) and then we have the rehearsal and all the jazz. Saturday is the wedding at 1pm, then the reception afterwards. Then as soon as that is over, I quickly change into another dress, and drive to Durham for Christmas Spectacular (the Summit's Christmas show). After that I'm going to the Baker residence to basically crash!! I have a feeling I will be exhausted by then. Then Sunday morning I REALLY get to go HOME! I get to worship at the Summit (the closest thing to Heaven I can experience on earth as of yet). I am so excited about seeing my friends and family there. I have missed them more than words can say. Sunday night I am singing in the show again, and then heading back to the MLC. I probably won't be on here anymore until I get back to MLC. When I get back there I'll put some pictures from culture day on my webshots. I've got some great pictures of the worm experience! (Sorry you have to wait for them!)

Have a good night everyone! Thanks for checking in!

Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81