Coffee anyone?

I hate it when I haven't done something that I love in a long time but the longer I have been away from it, the more daunting it seems to pick it back up again. That's how I have felt about blogging this week. In the time that I have been away from this I have travelled to East Africa and back again, (and ate about half a dozen double espresso milkshakes while I was there), turned twenty-seven over Ethiopian food, met up with old friends, made a couple of new ones, had a ugly twenty-four hour stomach bug, read four books and re-introduced myself to running. I have come back refreshed and rejuvinated after a few days in a cooler climate but I am so very happy to be here again with my sweet husband, affectionate cat and occasionally psychotic puppy. It's good to be home.
It is an interesting time to be here though I will admitt. Many of you may know that our host country is holding their first democratic (quote unquote) elections in 24 years next weekend. These elections are leading up to a referendum next year in which the southern half of the country will get to vote on whether or not they want to become a seperate nation. We live in a state considered a "transitional area" meaning it was claimed by both sides fighting in the civil war that ended a few years back. We are in a particularly interesting place in a particularly interesting time.
Last week the president of this country made a surprise visit to our town. (Many of you may have read about his uniquely poor relationship with the International Criminal Court due to certain conflicts in the western part of this country.) We had heard rumors he was coming to town but didn't really believe it until we saw the presidential helicopter fly over our house and land on a road behind a line of trees. We jumped in our ATV to go and hear his campaign speech in town (it's not every day you get to see a president and someone wanted by the ICC right?) but were stopped on the way by some soldiers who politely suggested we stay home for a while (quote unquote). We later found out he stayed only forteen minutes because he was met by too many people throwing stones. Awkward.
A few day later we found out that all oppostion parties are boycotting the elections. So the whole "democratic" thing has kinda gone out the window. And people are bummed to say the least. This morning we woke up to the sound of soldiers marching and singing to the sound of shrill whistles as well as the cracks of a couple of gun shots fired into the air. We haven't heard whose army they were or why they woke up so energized but the relative calm of town suggests it was just a drill. We have stocked up on food and water just in case things go poorly next week. We have our cards and dominoes out in case we need to army crawl nextdoor for our weekly game night. And plane charter companies are on standby in case next week turns out to be a good time to take an early vacation.
I don't want to upset anyone by my nonchalant attitude to all this. I assure you, the seriousness of the situation does not escape me and every day we pray that God will keep us and this country safe from any harm. And for whatever reason, I really believe that he will. But I have also been shaped by my neighbors and friends in this place. Over and over again we ask people, "What do you think is going to happen? Do we need to be concerned?" And the response is almost always the same. There is generally a short laugh, a quick upward motion of the hands and words something along the lines of, "Who knows? We pray to God for peace, we mind our own business and take care of our families. We will all see what will happen soon enough. How about some more coffee?"
So we are trying that one out - praying, minding our own business and spending time with each other. And drinking sweet hot coffee. We'll all find out soon enough. And honestly, right now everything feels very comfortable. Life as we know it seems very normal (quote unquote).