It had just taken place seconds before we arrived on the scene.  I have no idea exactly what happened.  What I do know is that on our way home from the retreat this weekend, we crossed a major intersection in Thies and stumbled into the scene of a fatal accident. 

The lifeless young man lay on the middle of the road in a pool of blood.  His bicycle lay several feet away, and the bus that appeared to have struck him was still loaded with passengers.  Alice, Irène, and I didn't even know how to pray.  We simply cried out to God.  It was one of the most disturbing things I have ever seen, and I know that I will never forget that nameless young man who slipped into eternity before my eyes.

I must confess that aside from shock, my initial reaction was anger.  Anger at the carelessness of drivers in this country who overtake slower cars w/o a clear line of vision, then go on to say it was the will of Allah when someone dies.  The utter disregard for human life is sickening.

My second reaction was one of urgency.  We have a message of hope for the nations, for this nation, that we better not keep to ourselves.  The day that began so brightly, as we bid farewell to the pastors wives we had ministered, ended in sobriety as I considered the brevity of life.  Any cab driver, street vendor, or tailor I come in contact with could meet his maker this very day, as that young man did.  Have I done everything within my power to share the hope of the cross with my neighbour?  Have you?

Inspired by fellow new mama Pat, I thought I'd post an update on xanga since, I, too, had been posting stuff on Facebook to the exclusion of my blog.  Frankly, I didn't think there was anyone left on this earth who hasn't signed up for FB!  But, since I've come to find out that at least a couple friends aren't on FB, I figure there might be others as well. 

1. I miss not having to think about sticking my stomach in. :)  All my life, my belly was my "problem spot." While pregnant, it wasn't a belly, it was a baby!  Sigh.
2. I will soon be burning my stupid natural childbirth book in effigy.  What a useless piece of crap that was!  It seemed to imply that labor shouldn't be that painful, and that if it is, it's b/c you aren't following its detailed instructions on relaxation.  I tried to relax!  But how am I supposed to relax while screaming like a banshee?!
3. No amount of reading or listening to parents talk can prepare you for the inexpressible joy of holding your own child in your arms.  I love my nieces and nephews, but I wasn't prepared for the kind of love that overwhelms me every time I look at little Isabella Joy.  I'm completely smitten (ditto for dad)!
4. God knew what He was doing when He made Isabella the kind of baby who finds a bath relaxing rather than stimulating.  Our only reason for bathing her every single night w/o fail is not a concern for personal hygiene, but rather to do everything possible to ensure ourselves a better night's sleep!
5. Being pregnant is fun in a culture where procreation is a core value.  But having a cute little baby outside the womb is even funner here!  Everyone is so drawn to Isabella!  And they're fascinated by the Maya Wrap I carry her around in.  Some people will stop just to tell me it's a bad thing and that I should carry her on my back like all the women here do.  But a lot of people want to know what it's all about and think it's cool, especially when I explain that it's what indigenous women in Latin America use to carry their babies.
6. Shortly before Isabella's birth, I started wishing I could delay parenthood a bit longer.  I felt like I was going to be exhausted all the time and be weighed down by the hassle of changing dirty diapers and getting up in the middle of the night to feed a crying baby (just being honest here!).  But, now that I'm actually caring for Isabella, I'm amazed at what a delight it is to do all these little things for her!  I don't mind changing dirty diapers!  And getting up in the middle of the night to feed her is ok, too!  It just gives me an opportunity to listen to some music or some Rick Holland or Will Varner sermons (among others) on my MP3 player!  Good times!  Of course, I look forward to her sleeping through the night consistently, but for now I'm just glad that Isabella has gotten to the point where she feeds and falls right back to sleep, as opposed to the torture of the first few weeks when she had to be walked around for an hour after feeding at 3 AM.  Brutal!
7. I used to think that moms who stressed the importance of their babies being home for their naps were just inflexible, complicated women.  Was I ever wrong!  Isabella is so much happier when she gets her rest and isn't carted around all over the place, disrupting her routine.
8. I regret all the times I was mean to/impatient with my mom - most recently while she was here visiting after Isabella's birth.  It hit me that one day it's going to break my heart when Isabella starts talking trash to me!
9. I'm learning that it takes a lot of effort to raise bilingual (or in our case, polyglot) children.  I've been speaking to Isabella exclusively in Spanish, and it's not easy!  Especially b/c daddy doesn't speak a word of Spanish - other than the important stuff like "Eres hermosa! (You are beautiful!).  I love to sing to Isabella, but I hardly know any Christian children's songs in Spanish, since I didn't grow up in the church, and English just comes a lot more naturally to this ABC (American Born Colombian)!  Any words of wisdom from friends trying to teach your kids a second (or more) language(s)?
10. I'm glad I live in a culture where breastfeeding in public is the norm, b/c it would be a big hassle to sequester myself every time Isabella got hungry while at church or visiting w/friends or running errands in town.

I'm sure I'll think of all sorts of other things to share as soon as I press "save," but Isabella just woke up and I am not sure how long the mobile we just installed over her bed will entertain her. :)

So, without further ado, here's the link to our Picasso web album, for anyone interested in checking out photos of Queen Isabella - our nickname for her, which, obviously, isn't a shortened version of her name, which, so far, we're not into.  We won't get all bent out of shape if someone calls her Bella, but we prefer Isabella.  We will, however, correct anyone who tries to call her Izzy/Issy.  Nothing against anyone who chooses to call a girl by that name, but to me it sounds like a boy's nickname (a diminutive for Israel) and not the name for our princess!  I mean, Queen!

And if you want the "Cliff's Notes" of that huge collection of pictures, here's a few fun collages I put together (starting with the most recent pictures):