"Happy Birthday..."

I'm pretty sure this is the first time I have ever celebrated my birthday in a hot climate, and what a day it was! I had a wonderful wake-up call from Daniel early early Friday morning (I think he just wanted to be the first one to say 'Happy Birthday' to me and he was) and after I taught my morning class, I enjoyed TZ donuts my host mum had made for me the night before. I kind of ruined the surprise because I figured out what she was making and wanted to see exactly how it's done. They were delish!

My host family insisted I invite a few friends to join us for dinner and I had no idea what to expect. Birthdays aren't a big deal out here and we spent some time talking about how we celebrate birthdays at home. The next thing I knew, there were balloons hanging in our living room, the table was covered in delicious food, fresh fruit, home-made juice, and a real birthday cake with icing and everything! My contribution was a large batch of London Fog (thanks to Eden fro providing the recipe, tea, and vanilla syrup). It was a huge hit! My host mum couldn't get enough of it :) Rachel and Hazel (the SILers who taught with me last semester) showed up along with Theo, Fred, and Carren. It was a full house but we all managed to squeeze in to enjoy a great evening. The kids sang 'Happy Birthday' for me, we all sang a hymn together before my host father gave a little welcome and Theo prayed for the meal. We were all stuffed by the end! My host mum is a great cook and she proved again last night...

Phew, what a great birthday! I know I'll never have one quite like it again. God is good!!!