Unsolved Mysteries in Missions

Here's my shameless plug for WGM's magazine, The Call. This current issue is really rad. It looks at 28 "unsolved mysteries" or problems we see in the world, with four people commenting on each one. I'm in it, Steve is in it, my in-laws are in it, and a bunch of my friends are in it! (I was in charge of getting commentators for eight mysteries about Europe, and I happen to have a lot of family and friends who have lived in Europe for extended periods of time.)

Also, I'm on the cover. In a weird way.

If you would like to experience the joys of The Call, you can sign up at http://www.wgm.org/! It's free! There's a web version available too, but it's only a portion of the print version. Each issue is packed with practical information about how you can get involved in missions. If you prefer your media via podcasts, we're on iTunes, or go to http://www.hearthecall.wordpress.com/. Let me know if you want a copy of this issue!

Rachel's Weird Frugal/Green Tips

Just like salvation, being frugal and environmentally conscious is a process. Okay, maybe not EXACTLY like salvation. But I do try very hard to do what I can to take care of the earth, and it’s always a good thing when that saves you a few bucks. My main philosophy with all this is to be creative with what I have, wanting to waste less, save more, and not buy things when something I already have will work. So, with that in mind, I’ve listed a few maybe a little off-beat things I do to that end.

1. I use every freaking last ATOM of shampoo or conditioner, adding water to get it out of the bottle until it’s all completely gone. Savings: a few more uses means you get to put off buying another one for a little while.

2. Heels of dried-out-but-not-yet moldy French bread go in the freezer to be later processed into bread crumbs for schnitzel, casseroles, etc. Savings: you don’t have to buy bread crumbs, plus these taste way better than the stuff that comes in a can.

3. I turn off the water when I brush my teeth or wash my face. This requires some small amount of manual dexterity as you turn on the water to wet your face, squirt facial cleanser in your hand, get a little water to foam it up, turn off the water with your hands full of cleanser, soap up your face, squint one eye open to find the faucet, and turn the water on to rinse. Whew! Savings: I’m sure someone has done studies on the water savings. Go Google it.

4. Super ripe bananas go into the freezer to be later used in muffins or bread. Once frozen, they turn a disgusting shade of green-black, and then in order to use them, you have to let them thaw enough to squeeze the banana out of the skins, which frankly also looks disgusting. But the muffins or bread always turn out! And I'm a girl who loves her banana-themed baked goods. Savings: no more wasted bananas.

5. If I bring home my nalgene at the end of the day that still has water in it, rather than tossing it down the drain (where you’d have to pay for it), I give the water to my plants. I also do this when people don’t drink all the water in their glasses at dinner. Savings: pennies, but it makes me feel better about conserving water, and the plants get much-needed drinks, which they sadly don’t get very much.

Hope this sparks something in your gray matter to use what YOU have!

Normal Saturday with Steve and Rachel

Saturday was a lovely normal day, with sleeping in, meeting a good friend for lunch, a leisurely stroll around a pond, and playing cards with friends in the evening. Perfectly, completely, and in every way all things civilized, refined, and normal.

Well, and then this happened:


Here's how it went down: Steve is working on a phone system upgrade at work that means they have lots and lots of nice-sized boxes that I can use for my half.com bookstore. I get free shipping boxes, Taylor feels a little less guilty about trashing the environment, and everyone's happy. He recently brought home all those that you see in the picture. But Steve also is sort of mischievous. And I'm kind of a klutz. As we were carrying stacks of these boxes upstairs, Steve got to the top of the stairs, turned around, and decided to drop his stack down towards me, who was paused at the landing. I tripped on them, fell backwards, and ended up as you see. Definitely one of my shining moments. (Don't worry, no Rachel's were harmed in the carrying-out of this prank.)

But Steve also won major points yesterday for buying me a new bike and a 250 GB hard drive to upgrade my lappy. So, the way I see it, it all evens out. And I totally married Steve for his money.

The Namesake

I succumbed to my cold-ravaged head today, and stayed home from work. After sleeping half the day, I popped in my Netflix DVD, The Namesake, which had been sitting around for the last couple weeks.

It’s a beautiful movie about a Bengali couple who moved to the US, raised a family, and it morphs into a story of their son’s journey to reconciling with his Indian heritage. Mira Nair, who directed Monsoon Wedding, did a fabulous job of creating a story that is incredibly relevant to ABCD’s – American-Born Confused Desi’s (natives). I believe that term was actually coined from the novel that the movie was based on. Anyways, as an ABCD myself, I cried like three times.

And it got me thinking, will I be okay with wherever my kids call home, or whatever culture they become attached to? I’m sure it was difficult for my parents at times to realize that I did not feel attached to the US at all. I just know that my children’s culture will be radically different than mine – and will I be okay with it? Even as Ashima and Ashoke stayed in the US because they knew their children would have many more education and career opportunities than they would in India, it hurt when Gogol and Sonali rejected some aspects of Indian culture and heritage. Steve and I plan to live overseas eventually, because we want to follow God’s call to make disciples of all nations. But I know that it will mean that our children will be extremely influenced by whatever culture that is, and we will have to deal with the good with the maybe not-as-good.

What parts of my heritage are so important to me that I will feel the need to pass them on to my children? Will I want them to learn about Ghandi as well as Abraham Lincoln? Will I teach them how to get around an airport as well as how to cross the street? Will I want them to be equally adept at eating with chopsticks and fingers as well as silverware? How do I keep myself from passing on my own hang-ups and prejudices?

Oh, heaven help me if they’re picky eaters. It would serve me right, I guess.

MK's, a Scary Baltimore Underpass, and the White House

The Baltimore underpass was the fault of our GPS. Yes, we are one of those. At least we didn't turn into a lake or drive off a cliff. But because we were UNDER the freeway system, the GPS couldn't find us, and there was trash and abandoned vehicles everywhere, and then Rachel (MK from Bangladesh) pointed to a train track, "Oh look! There's a creepy man walking toward us!" Fun times.

Steve and I spent a week away. It was VERY nice to disconnect from life and stuff here, and just spend some time together. We drove to Washington, DC, and stayed with some friends of my parents, traveling into and around the city during the day. We saw all the essential DC sights, and even had time to spend a day visiting some Civil War battlefields. We also got to hang out with a few friends from Taylor who showed us some fun places in the city.


Then we drove to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, stopping by Baltimore (scene of the aforementioned underpass adventure) to pick up Rachel at the airport. Another of our Bangladesh MK friends was having a wedding reception at the ABWE headquarters. (actual wedding happened in Thailand) About 11 MK's and spouses gathered for the momentous occasion. It's so nice to be with people who understand you, inside and out. Got to wear a sari, eat curry, talk about politics and the world, and stay in one of the executive suites!