ransom

here are a couple of things i have been thinking about tonight, as i sit bored out of my mind in the john g. mitchell library during missions conference week. 4 hours down, and 1 to go:

1. beware of taking somali children to see a movie in a movie theater. jenni and i took our families (along with her sister and krispin) and it was a bust. we saw charlotte's web (great book, terrible movie), which the kids hated. abdulihi fell asleep. everybody got grossed out by charlotte the spider. and the kids were . . . bored. come to find out that their brother/uncle/cousin (i never quite know) had gotten an illegal copy of the movie from the asian market and they had seen it already. i also forget that these kids aren't exactly children either; at one point during the movie maryan pointed at the two crows onscreen and informed me that "those are the birds that eat the dead people", referencing her life in africa.

2. beware of american weddings. i know, i know, i have 10 months. but the way people have been treating me, it's like i have 10 days. here is what i don't want:
a. no stuffy wedding-ness.
b. no monogrammed napkins.
c. no extravagant waste of money.

here is what i do want:
a. missionary wedding!
this means the color scheme is that of a globe (brown, green, and blue), i want to buy everything second hand (from the dress to the decorations), i don't want to register anywhere for gifts, and i think it should be held in an old church with orange pews with a potluck reception containing deviled eggs, cocktail weiners, jello-salad (green, natch), and cupcakes instead of the traditional stuff.
give me suggestions, people.

3. beware of literal interpretations of books of prophecy. the book of revelation is crazy. i feel like i am in a bad sci-fi movie when i try and envision all of the things it is talking about. so i try not to, because i don't think that's what the original author intended. but still. what the heck does it all mean? i'm reading matthew as a counter-balance, and i am finding comfort in the sermon on the mount.
actually, i am just trying to find comfort in christ. period.