I spoke by phone with Jeremy yesterday afternoon after he arrived in Niamey, Niger. His trip was pleasant and he was very pumped. I suppose he went to bed early. Today he's participating in an "international" softball tournament there in the capital. On Monday he and the DeValves will drive back to their town of Tera. I understand that there's still a chance of a decent harvest if God will send at least one more good rain in the next week. If not, there will be lots of painful hunger. Let's pray!

This new kemo is treating me very kindly. I was able to stay at work all day yesterday. (Of course, I slept about 11 hours last night.) Today we plan to drive to the mountains to see the autumn colors and buy some apples. There's nothing like a crisp, slightly tart mountain apple.

Eugene Peterson's Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places continues to bless and amaze me. I've just completed the section about Christ's sacrifice. Peterson gives huge attention to the shared meal. He says every time we sit down together to eat, we can be reminded of the sacrifice of Jesus for our salvation. In fact, every meal represents sacrifice: the salmon and the broccoli and the lettuce had to die, and the farmers and shippers and merchants had to work hard, not to mention the cook! The ritual of eating together has a long and favorable history. Abraham and Sarah prepared a dinner for their heavenly visitors. In fact, there are records of mealtime fellowship all through the Bible and in the memories of our lives. The tradition of shared mealtimes seems to be falling on hard times in our busy culture, but it's to our loss. Now my insistence that everyone living in our home sits down together for meals doesn't make me feel so outdated. It's a healthy practice. I may have more to say about this (especially about our celebration of what we call "the Lord's supper") before I move on.

I can't tell you how much your interest and prayers mean to us. I realize this is getting to be a long journey, and only God knows how it will turn out; but as I've said before, every day (and every hug and every note) is a gift. I know your prayers are making a difference.

Love,
Carol