Blogging about life in Minnesota, raising our six kids with Down syndrome while battling Breast Cancer.

Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the floor in the morning the devil says, "Oh shit! She's up!"

Saturday, September 29, 2007

What does YOUR mom do?

The answers to this question will vary depending upon your age, and the age of your mother. My sister's mom (who is not my mom, interesting huh?) went roller skating several times a week till she was nearly 80. My best friend's mom does scrapbooking and is into yoga.

But I bet not many people have mothers like mine. My mom doesn't sew. She doesn't bake. (well, she does once in awhile, but not on a regular basis.) No, my mom does things like climb mountains in the jungles of the Congo to take pictures of the Gorillas. Yep, just like Jane Goodall, here's my mom trapesing around the jungle to observe the gorillas.

In a couple of days my mom leaves for three weeks in Kenya, East Africa to lead a photo safari. They'll be doing things like watching The Great Migration and photographing "The Big Five"

My mom is also a phenomenal artist! Here's a painting she did from a photograph she took while on her travels. Remember, this is a PAINTING!!!


As if that isn't enough, there is more that my mom does. My mom travels the world to places like Isreal, Turkey, South Africa, East Africa, and the Philippines just to name a few to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She runs an international women's ministry called Women of God, interdenominational ministry that trains women towards their calling. Mom has ministered in 18 countries, including ministering with a pastor alone in The Congo for a month. Not only does she preach the gospel, but she helps people along the way as well. Like helping a Maasai tribe establish a new well so they could have safe drinking water.

Mom with some of the Maasai leaders.


We try not to worry when Mom is in some of these places, but it's hard not to, especially when it seems every time she goes somewhere there is some type of uprising! Things like the Hutu/Tutsi conflict. My mom was in Rwanda, on a mountain photographing the gorillas when the park rangers came to find her. The borders were closing, she had to get out! A plane from the Missionary Aviation Fellowship was sent to get her. Just 10 minutes before the border was closed, which would have trapped them in the midst of a brutal war, she and three other people flew out on a four-seater plane. Or the time she was in Soweto during the end of Apartheid when things were very unstable in the area. Most people would have said it wasn't the place for a white woman to be hanging out!

And how do you not worry about your mom when she comes home with pictures like this? These are REAL wild animals people!!!


So that's my mom. What does YOUR mom do for fun?

2 comments:

Tom said...

Your mom and my mom sound so much alike, believe it or not. Last month she was in Thailand helping some missionaries recover from being kicked out of another country. A few months she and my dad were over in Africa helping yet more missionaries. She's always sending me postcards from the Great Wall of China or Istanbul or Nicaragua. Hard for me to keep up with her. Pretty cool.

Your mom is a GREAT painter. Wow!

Leah Spring said...

Wow Tom! Does your mom live in the area? Woudldn't surprise me if they knew eachother. LOL The only thing I don't like about my mom's travels is I can't get hold over when something exciting or tragic happens. She just doesn't answer her cell phone in the jungle!