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Happy New Year to everyone! May you find new joys, new grace and new adventures in 2007.

John and I brought in the new year by jumping into a swimming pool. It was quite fun! We had spent the evening playing monopoly and eating as much as possible. Today we went to kumusha (rural home) with our sawiras (close friends) - the Rutanhiras. It was really nice. People traditionally go to kumusha for the holidays, although many people can't afford to any more because of fuel shortages. It was a lovely drive. It's been raining a lot, so there is a lot of green everywhere. Something happened to our engine on the way back. We stopped at the side of the road and asked if there was a mechanic nearby. The response was, "turn left and ask for Canaan." We turned left and approached a large set of huts. We found Canaan in the bar. That made me a little nervous. But after a while, we did get the engine working. We also met a myriad of kids who were very excited to see white people. The kept smiling and dancing, and killing themselves laughing whenever we would smile or wave back. When we were leaving I put my hand out the window to give high fives. Everyone wanted to rub my arm, although some were frightened and just ran up, touched me, giggled and ran back to brag about the "victory" to their friends. Going to the rural areas is always fun.

Of course I made resolutions for the new year, but I also picked a few "theme verses" for 2007 that pretty much sum up the kind of attitude I want to have this year. They come from 1 Thessalonians 5:14b-18 - "Encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else. Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." Amen!