The Chronicles of Janie

What is true love? That question has been popping into my spiritual radar screen a lot lately. Why? Because I'm convinced that I, along with the vast majority of American culture (and possibly other cultures as well), have been taught a lie about love. I'm beginning to think that love isn't as warm and fuzzy as I've been conditioned to believe. I had always thought that, if you really loved your friends, you'd try to be nice to them and not make them mad. Telling 'polite lies' or better yet, skirting daintily around tough subjects, was perfectly okay if you could avoid stepping on toes by doing so. Most of my life, I've been able to quote John 3:16 'For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.' Aww! What a nice God! I've also known that Jesus loved us enough to die on the cross for us. Aww! Wasn't that kind of Him! However, the thing that never connect...

I've been feeling terribly guilty about neglecting this blog. I could post a long list of excuses for my neglect, but instead, I think I'll just blog an extract from an email I sent to Mom and Dad a few days ago. About a week and-a-half ago, Zhenya and I went out to Mafambissi to interview some orphans that were being cared for by a man everyone calls Pastor Peter. Some of the kids were being sponsored by a team of Russians that had come to the base awhile back, and the Russians requested background information on the children they were sponsoring. Long story short, about 14 of the kids weren't there when Zhenya and I went the first time, so we had to go back yesterday.   Our day ran something like this: 8 am. Expecting someone from Pr. Peter's to arrive and take us to Mafambissi. 10 am. Chico actually arrives 10:20 am. Waiting for choppa 10:30 am. Discarded choppa idea and piling into the back of a pickup truck. 10:50 am. Wondering if the truck was such a g...