new season

i decided it's time for a blog change... i've called my blog "musings of a wanderer" since i switched to the blogger platform in 2007. at that time in my life i was wandering... heck that year alone i traveled to 5 countries and only spent 3 months that year at "home" in pa. i was on a journey of discovering who i was and what i wanted to do with my life. i didn't feel like home was any one specific place so therefore i was a wanderer... making my home and taking up residence wherever i was at the time.

fast foward to 2010. a lot has changed. i bought my first home in may and moved out of my parent's house, i got involved in a new church plant in the city i moved into and i'm settling more into my role at work. yeah, i still spent a month in africa, but i now know where home is for a while and i'm content with that. in fact it brings me so much to joy to say that!

so i'm gonna make a few changes on the old blog here, which will hopefully lead to me posting more. i think i felt like i couldn't post about everyday life because so many people who read this blog do so soley to hear about my overseas adventures. and because, how can i post about my home when i call it "musings of a wanderer?" so now it's simply "the life of susan." i've owned that domain (www.thelifeofsusan.com) for a couple years now and never really did much with it. so now it's linked up to the blog. i changed my twitter name to reflect that as well (@thelifeofsusan). afterall, that's what i want this blog to be about- my life. the ups, the downs, the good, the bad and the beautiful!

so join me as i share about my adventures in being a homeowner... my obessions with all things crafty... my occasional worldwide adventures... my journey to being the best aunt ever to my 3 amazing nieces and oh so much more!

28 years young

i know i'm way overdue for a "i'm back from zambia and this is how i feel post" but honestly i'm not there yet. it's hard to describe what living in a village for a month and then coming back to america does to you. so forgive me for not being "there" yet, but it will come eventually.

i felt the need to post today because it's my birthday and one of the things i do enjoy about having a blog is getting to look back at previous birthdays and see what i wrote. so this year is no exception!

today marks 28 years since i made my grand entrance into this planet. wow typing it out makes it feel so real. in some ways i feel like that's so old, but at the same time still so young. once again i find myself looking over my life and reflecting on all that i've been through. this is usually the time where i think about where i wanted to be by this age, but nope- not this year. i'm not going to spend my day wishing i was somewhere else in life but i'm going to be thankful for where i am now and all that i've been blessed with!

• my family- i am so blessed to have such a wonderful family who actually enjoy spending time together and make it fun every time!
• my nieces- ok so they are part of my family but they deserve their own bullet because they are so stinkin' adorable and so much of who i am now is because of being an aunt to them. they bring me constant joy and i can't wait to get more (and maybe a nephew or 2 as well). ;)
• my job- i hate even calling what i do a "job" because it's almost become like a lifestyle to me. working with hbb has challenged me and taught me to be a better leader. i mean come on, i get to travel and see people's lives transformed- it doesn't get any better than that!
• my house- i am so so so very thankful for my little house that is slowly turning into a home. this was one of the best things that happened this year and i still have to pinch myself sometimes to believe it's real.
• my community- i am so blessed to live in a community where there are people i can call on at a moment's notice. i love that we're all trying to live life together and learning what it means to serve each other in love. it's such a beautiful picture of what the church should be and it literally brings me to my knees at the beauty of it.

i could go on and on about all the amazing people in my life who make me what i am today, but i want to keep this short. you all know who you are and i'm so thankful for each of you!

today i choose joy and peace and contentment in the journey that God has me on... knowing that each day gets better than the last and each day i'm becoming a stronger, more compassionate, more loving woman.

thank you lord for 28 years of breath in my lungs and life in my bones! can't wait to see what the future holds!

halfway point

well it's been 2 weeks since i arrived in zambia and i feel like so much has happened! i'm back in the capital city of lusaka because one of our team members left this morning to head home. tomorrow 4 more arrive (including my parents) and then on friday we will head up to the village again. i left my brother and andy in the village for a few days and i think they're enjoying some freedom. hopefully they figure out how to boil water so they can eat! haha! just kidding... they know how to boil water. :)

our time so far has been VERY relational which is great. after coming here for 4 years there are some deep relationships that require time while i am here and i am happy to give it! my dear friend agness just recently had her 3rd child (a baby boy named blessing) so i've enjoyed some cuddle time with him. you may remember me talking about her oldest daughter named gracie in year's past and how she was scared of me because i was white. well this year something changed and all she wants to do is be on my lap! i'm happy that she's no longer scared of me. i guess it's cause she's 4 now... you know how things change when you turn 4. ;)

that's her and i in the picture!

we were so excited to deliver over 50 books to the kaombe basic school. they were purchased with funds from the "soap for hope" project from last christmas. kids in coatesville made soap and the profits were to be used for the school. they were in desperate need of books so it was a blessing to be able to help them out! the teachers and students were so happy when we delivered them!

we've also gotten the chance to visit a couple surrounding villages who are trying to start different endeavors, such a goat project and a craft club. there's been lots of traditional food and dancing which always makes for exciting times.

one of the most amazing things so far has been seeing the completed water project in the village. there are water taps all over the place and you can tell what a relief it has been to the community. people no longer have to walk 1-3km to get water. for some it's now a super short distance. lots of people have started gardens in their yards where they're growing vegetables for their families to eat. now that they have access to plenty of water they can easily tend their gardens and now provide food for their families or even sell it to neighbors!

i was going to put more pictures up but the internet is really slow today so you'll just have to wait!

thank you for all the prayers! please keep them coming! on friday we travel back to the village for the last leg of our journey. pray for the remaining projects we have and the time spent with our friends- that it would be fruitful and that God would allow us to encourage them and speak into their lives.

miss you all so much!!!