MMC update

I'm 11 episodes in now. 41 to go in 44 days. This is going to be trickier than I had first thought!

Mad Men started out a little slow, I had a hard time getting into it. But now that I am coming up on the end of Season 1, I'm hooked. I still can't get over how much boozing and smoking goes on--did they just feel like garbage every day?

Even though it is a drama, there are definitely some funny moments. Like when Sally was running around with a plastic dry cleaning bag on her head--her mom warned her that the dry cleaning better not be in a pile on the floor but said nothing about the bag on her head.

And when Joan showed Peggy her desk? "Don't be overwhelmed by all this technology"--I think there was a phone and a typewriter. Ha!

Tribute to Sammy Gumbe written by my dad

We lost the “Lion of Mozambique” yesterday. My heart is heavy with the loss. Sammy Gumbe was a good friend of mine. I spent 3 weeks with him in a van as we criss-crossed southern Africa last year. Sammy was terrific to travel with, so much energy, so much passion, such an incredible ability to communicate with anyone, and a great sense of humor.

I would see him up every morning around 4AM, reading his Bible, studying about the God he loved so much. Then he would go deep in prayer for his flock, his ministry, his dear wife and boys, for the country of Mozambique. Sammy was a Godly man, he was a man’s man, he was a friend, he was a strong leader and he greatly inspired me by his example.

Sammy was a man of God. He was a beloved Pastor to his Maputo church, and a beloved leader among Mozambican pastors for his work mentoring and teaching them. He had a great vision for the Sofala Bible Institute. Who can quantify the impact that his ministry has had on the Church in Mozambique?

Sammy loved his family almost as much as he loved God. He was a faithful and loving husband to the jewel of his life, Christine. He loved his boys equally as much. He was passionate about his family and talked about them with much love and pride. He was devoted to them in every respect.

Sammy was beloved here in the U.S. So many of us in Minnesota came to love this man. We loved it when he came in the winter so we could take him ice fishing or teach him to make angels in the snow. I am not so sure how much Sammy liked it, but he was always a good sport. He was able to connect with us just like he was able to connect in Africa. It was easy to see the Grace of God in his life.

He lived life with great passion, fun and focus. Sammy loved Jesus and wanted to live like Him. He loved people and he wanted them to know the transforming power of his King. He poured himself into everything he did with energy and passion. He was fun to be around.

It is very hard for me to understand why God would take someone like Sammy so early in life. One of my favorite hymns says,” I am not skilled to understand, What God hath willed, what God hath planned; I only know at His right hand, stands One who is my Savior.” We walk by faith and not by sight. So often, that seems cliché, but now it is the all I can do.
Goodbye Sammy. I know you are probably leading a Vision Conference in heaven. I love you.

Jim Louwsma

Sammy Gumbe

Sammy Gumbe died last night. He is a friend from Mozambique. He ran a church called Restoration Mission that was doing great things for both God and Africa. He leaves behind an amazing wife in Christine and three small boys.

I had the pleasure of meeting Christine and Sammy a while back when they came to the States. Sammy was the kind of man who filled up a room and had great passion and energy for the work they were doing. Christine and I really connected and talked deeply for a few hours that evening. She even showed me how to tie a headscarf like an African!

Christine is a woman of unshakable faith, even in the midst of Sammy's health crisis (he had lymphoma). She is truly inspiring and amazing--when I read her Facebook posts I get chills.

Now she is a single mother of three small but growing boys. Please keep their family in your prayers. Sammy is cancer free in heaven but Christine has to deal with trying to keep moving forward now. Please pray for strength and healing for all of them.

My heart is broken for the Gumbe family. It's hard to understand why God would take such an amazing servant out of this world.

so awkward...

The other person out there that always give my email address as hers is at it again. Now she has signed up for match.com and I'm getting all her matches in my inbox! I also got an email from match.com with her login and password. She is so lucky I am not the type of person to go in there and mess with her stuff! Imagine the fun that could be had at her expense.....

Moral of the story: Don't be an idiot. Giving the wrong email once is forgivable; giving it countless times is just plain stupid.

Big Event for Ethan!

Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension airs on Friday night! Ethan is beside himself.

it's a mad, mad world...

Mad Men is finally streaming on Netflix! I've been looking forward to this for quite some time. All I ever hear are rave reviews about it. I haven't allowed myself to watch it on TV because I really felt like I needed to start at the beginning.

I also thought I could tie a little challenge into my Mad Men viewing. There are a mere 58 days left until we hike the Grand Canyon. I have 51 episodes of Mad Men left. My goal is to watch all 51 episodes before we leave for the Grand Canyon. But lest you think this is just a lazy girl challenge, allow me to finish. The rule is that I can only watch Mad Men while exercising. Each episode is 48 minutes so if I can do that 51 times, I will be proud of myself!

I watched the first episode today while on the treadmill so I am already inching along to my goal! I will post regularly (imagine that!) for the next two months and let you know how my progress is going.

for all you AOL users...

And by that I mainly mean my parents and Jay's parents! In the top left corner of the blog I've added a "Follow by email" box. Just type in your email address and submit and any new posts will magically show up in your email. Simple!