Capturing Moments: A Mothers Love

My friend, K, sent me an email yesterday with 29 Pictures of the Year from National Geographic.  They were all AMAZING, of coarse, but these just really got me.  How ADORABLE is this:

Mediterranean Monday (ok its Wed.): It’s Jellyfish Season!

During the months of July-August, we are bombarded with the pesky creatures of the sea, aka…Jellyfish!  They come invading our Mediterranean bliss on their way up north towards Lebanon and beyond.  

We are reminded that they are not dangerous or deadly, but can cause bad burns on the skin where they touch you (try telling a child that they are not dangerous after he/she has just been burned).  

This morning I went to the beach to do some of my “light reading: Iraq to 1958“; this way I could break up the monotony with a few swim breaks.  Low and behold, there were jellyfish in the water.  Personally, I did not get stung, but a young girl did (and made sure the entire beach knew about it).

It reminded me of when I was little and we would take our yearly family vacation to Florida to visit my grandparents.  One year we were at the beach and a jellyfish wrapped itself around my mom’s arm.  I’m sure that she could tell the story better, as I only remember bits and pieces; but I do remember not wanting to go back in the water after that.  It was a really bad sting, and my dad had to get a trash bag in order to grab and pull it off her arm. 

So when you go to the beach this summer, be careful!!! Its an underwater jungle out there….

Any other jellyfish stories floating around??? Mom: you might want to fill in the missing parts….

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Saddened but not surprised.

I wasn’t going to, but here I am jumping on the MJ band-wagon to give my 2¢ about his life and death.  

It has been inescapable… the news, radio, internet, magazines, and even on twitter its the #1 topic.  No matter how you feel about him as a person, his impact on music and pop culture is unarguable, especially with the generations growing up with him.  I can honestly say that there is not one of his songs that I do not like.  I mean come on…Thriller!  Billie Jean! Beat It! Man in the Mirror! Scream! (I love that one with Janet)

I remember watching a documentary about MJ years ago when he was going through all those child molestation trials, and after seeing what he endured throughout his childhood and adolescence, my heart seriously ached for him. He went from this innocent, extremely talented child to a music icon, who was sucked in, chewed around and spit out by the world he was now living in.  It happens to oh, so many people, not just celebrities.  We start out as these cute, adorable children, we grow up, and the world literally engulfs us and leads us into disaster.  I have seen it in my own life, as well as the lives of friends, family members, and too many celebs.

Fortunately for many, we get out of it and move forward.  Unfortunately for MJ, he did not.  I am completely saddened by this fact, but I am not surprised.  

So, in memory of the King of Pop…what is your favorite Michael Jackson song(s)???

Summer Shower Poll

I haven’t done a poll in a while! Now that summer is upon us and the weather in the states has finally caught up with us (its been consistently HOT here for at least a month) my poll is going to reflect the type of shower you take (not quite brain surgery, but it runs a close 2nd).  

When its super HOT outside, do you still take HOT showers or do you take COLD ones?  

On twitter I admitted that I took my first COLD shower EVER last week, and since then I’ve taken many more.  Soooo, here we go……cast your vote:

From the mouth of a child

Today I was humbled. 

There is a young Sudanese girl, 10/11 yrs. old who comes each week for Food Distribution for her mother.  She is the cutest thing and since she is in school here, her Hebrew is super good.  Today she brought her brother with her and I asked her (in Hebrew), “Is this your brother?” and she said, “yes“.  So, I said to him “Shalom!” And he said “Shalom” back.  Then he turns to his sister and asks her (in Hebrew), “does she know Hebrew?” (referring to me)  And the girl replied back, “Yes.  Just not good Hebrew.”  

There really isn’t a response to that, so I looked at her, smiled, and said “Toda raba!!!” (thanks so much).  She just smiled back.  Oh, the joy of honesty from a child!!!

TII #4 Missent to Thailand

Yesterday my roommate noticed an envelope in someone else’s mailbox addressed to me.  We grabbed the letter and on the front was a stamp saying, “Missent to Thailand.”  

Thailand??? Thailand??? Yeah, thats a clear mistake for Israel!!!

Then I noticed the date of the sent stamp from Winterset, IA…April 21, 2009.  2 months ago?? It took 2 months to get my birthday card from my friend K?  Are you kidding me??? It only took a couple days from the package from South Africa and this was only a card.

Thanks, K for the birthday card, and sorry its only 2 months in the making. lol

TII!

Some light reading…

While most of you will be enjoying your summer vacations over yonder in the US of A, I will be here preparing for what will be a HUGE challenge in my life.  Many of you are aware of the visa issues I have been facing, and the numerous prayers I have been asking for.  I am announcing now that I have been accepted to study in order to acquire a student visa (YEAH!!!)  

This means much change for me and A LOT of hard work!  I will still be doing my mission work with the homeless and the Sudanese refugees, as well as taking classes, learning Arabic, and improving my Hebrew.  Its all for the greater purpose!

As the title of this blog mentions, I have some light reading to put in this summer before my courses actually begin:

• Iran Between Two Revolutions, E. Abrahamian
• The Old Social Classes and the Revolutionary Movements of Iraq, H. Batatu
• G State and the Conflict in the Middle East, Ben-Dor
• King Hussein and the Challenge of Arab Radicalism: Jordan, U. Dann
• The Middle East: An Anthropological Approach, Dale Eickelman
• A Peace to End All Peace, David Fromkin
• The Interpretation of Cultures: Selected Essays, Clifford Geertz
• Muslim Society, Ernest Gelner
• A Mediterranean Society. 5 vols, S.D. Goitein
• Arabic thought in the Liberal Age, Albert Hourani
• An Economic History of the Middle East and North Africa, Charles Issawi
• The Arab Cold War 1958-1970, Malcolm H. Kerr
• Syria and the French Mandate: The Politics of Arab Nationalism, 1920-1945, Philip S. Khoury
• The Emergence of Modern Turkey, B. Lewis
• Orientalism, Edward W. Said   Thanks 2: @jcdulaney!!!!!
• The Modern History of Lebanon, K.S. Salibi
• The Struggle for Syria: A Study of Post-War Arab Politics, 1945-1958, Patrick Seale
• The History of Egypt: From Muhammad Ali to Sadat, P.J. Vatikiotis
• The Making of the Modern Near East, 1792-1923. London, 1987. -The Near East Since the First World War London, 1991, M.E. Yapp  Thx to a Used Book Store in TA!
• The Formation of Modern Lebanon, Meir Zamir

I’m sure that many of these titles are just sitting around on your bookshelves collecting dust, as they are best sellers throughout all the world.

But seriously, if any of you feel compelled to help me out: you can choose a title and find it used on Amazon.com or a used bookstore etc…you would be helping me out tremendously!!! I’m praying to get them all donated and sent over within this month so I can begin trudging forward.  You’re not only helping me, you’re helping all those who I am helping (not to mention the huge blessing, as my support doesn’t exactly cover these types of things).  And if someone actually has one of these titles, I would not only be impressed….I would have to send some sort of prize or something for owning such a jewel of a book!  

Update: I have put the books on Amazon Wishlist, as to the request of a couple people.  You can either click on the link in this blog, or the Amazon Wishlist icon on the right-bar.  Thanks everyone!!!

Shipping Address:  

Maureen Milham

Hamavdil 8

Apt. #39

Ramat Gan

Israel

52562

Pen Pals

Do you remember the days of Pen Pals??? 

I had a pen pall in 6th grade…actually it was my entire 6th grade class.  We were pen pals with another 6th grade classroom in Canada, and at the end of the year we went to their school for a day, and then they came to ours.  I can still remember getting mail from my pen pal, it was like the highlight of the day!!!

Well, guess what?!? I have a pen pal again!!! Yesterday, I got a package in the mail from my new friend, Kristi, who serves in South Africa.  We became friends through blogs, and she is one of those amazing people who still likes to use ’snail mail’.  I love that about her, not too many people even send letters or cards in the mail anymore.

I have mentioned this before, when I lived in Africa, but I will say it again (and again, and again….)  There is just nothing like getting mail when you live far away from your family and friends!  It literally makes your whole day!!! Needless to say, Kristi made my day today!  Now I need to get going and send one back to her……

Meet My TJ…

 Yep, this is TJ, and yes…I’m 34 and still have a teddy bear!  He is what I call my comfort zone.  

TJ has been with me everywhere I’ve been.  From Brazil to Africa…Europe to the Middle East; I don’t go anywhere without him.  

I don’t know how he handles all the tosses and turns that I make during the night, ‘cuz no matter how restless I am, I always manage to grab onto him…even in my subconscious.  I can’t sleep when he’s not there, and if he rolls off the bed in the middle of the night, I notice his absence.  

I’ve even been asked what I’ll do without him when I get married; but the way things are going, I don’t think I’ll have to worry about that anytime soon.  (but I think I’ll still keep him around even if that time comes rolling around)

Sooooo, what about you? Anyone out there have a comfort zone item, thats been with you thick and thin?  Please tell me I’m not the only one!!!

Hope + Expectations = Vison

This formula has been stewing around in my mind, thanks to a series called Marked by Hope, by my home church pastor, P. Lee.  I have been watching the podcasts of the series, which is excellent by the way.  

I will admit….I have always had huge vision and great expectations.  Lately though, its my hope that has been lacking. Reality kicks in, and slowly my hope has been dwindling.  Its super hard living here, and things don’t happen as quickly or easily as I had hoped for.  Doubt and fear seep in and chew away at that chunk of hope that was once full inside of me.

My vision is still there, and I still have expectations; but without hope the formula will not be fulfilled to its FULLEST! They all work together.  They all need each other.

Getting that hope back can be difficult.  The fact that we should be overflowing in hope, is something that I know I haven’t been visibly showing every day.  BUT, there is one thing that I am reminded of, which is helping me to restore that hope I once had: I am SEALED with ALL of His promises!!!  This includes the promise of hope and a future.  This is what I am holding onto, today and tomorrow, and forever.

(Thanks, P. Lee for the kick of inspiration)

TII #3: Snake Robot

When you are a tiny country, completely surrounded by enemies who want nothing more than to wipe you off the map, you have to come up with BRILLIANT ideas such as this…

Its a robot snake, able to get images from areas where human soldiers cannot reach. Awesome!

UPDATE:

It seems as though the Israeli news channel wasn’t too keen on their report making it to You Tube for the world to see. Sorry, the video’s been pulled, but I swear….it was really cool!!!

Capturing Moments: Moremi, Botswana

I miss Africa today!

Cramps, Humidity, and Insomnia

There are days when you are just NOT on your A game, and today is that day!  I’ll admit it, I’m crabby!

On top of having bad cramps, sweating the moment I step outside, and not having slept much in the past week, I had to come home last night and re-cut my hair after the hairstylist totally did her own thing.  The icing on the cake though, was coming home and finding condoms on the floor inside my apartment building, outside the flats where prostitutes live and work.  I don’t need to see OR walk over that!  Two words: TRASH BIN!!!

So there you have it.  A different side of me (unless you’re my family and you already know the crabby Mo).

Tomorrow will be better!

Mediterranean Monday: Israeli Salad

It’s back! I haven’t done a Med. Monday in quite some time and I’ve been missing it. As a special come-back post, I made a short video of me making Israeli Salad.  Yes, you heard correctly…. I am going to actually prepare it myself!!!  Take a look….

(Don’t worry, its not actually that long…after the credits the song goes on for a bit)