And that’s about all I have to offer you today.

Next week, I’ll be back on the bloggy train, I promise. I just don’t know what to say about Africa yet, and I know you want to hear about it. I want to tell you …. I just don’t know how yet.

Here’s what I can tell you:

1) I’ll show you lots of pics next week as well. Don’t worry about that. I didn’t wear a lot of make-up in Africa and I didn’t get the chance to wash my hair all that often. The pics depict these sad truths. I’m sorry.

2) I still cry when I watch this video. Hearing Ernie sing makes me miss him (and the rest of our team) terribly.

[for you feed reader peeps, there's a video over here, so click on over.]

3) I’m still really tired. I don’t know if it’s jet-lag or just exhaustion, but it makes my eyes hurt and my head droop at unexpected times. Which can get awkward for the people around me.

And sadly, that is the fullness of material that my brain is managing well right now.

Yikes-a-rama.

Though I’m not sure all the Mocha Club people will really get it.

But you know me. You know how I roll.

I’m not right in the head.

Check it out.

MOCHA CLUB BLOG VIDEO WHERE ANNIE IS A DORK

Love you peeps.

I haven’t slept much. As indicated by the lame joke in the title of this post.

But it is really cold. As in, it would help if I had a cape to wrap myself in.

I brought one sweatshirt. I will wear it every day and you shouldn’t judge me for that.

I’m serving God. So what if I get grimy?

[Confession: I just cried about it in front of the whole team regarding said grime. Whatevs. I repeat: I haven't slept much.]

We don’t have much internet time, so I may not be able to hop on here much.

The best way for you to keep up with our team:

Mocha Club’s twitter- http://twitter.com/mochaclub. It gets updated every time I post.

OR

Subscribe to Mocha Club’s blog- http://blog.mochaclub.org.

OR

Just keep checking the Mocha Club blog constantly. As my mother has been doing for the last 27 hours.

YES! My turn to take a shower. First one since Thursday at 4am.

[I repeat: Stop judging me.]

I have to walk out my door in 4 minutes.

But I just had to say bye and thanks for your prayers and keep up with us at the Mocha Club blog!

There are 2 posts there already, including a video about my packing shenanigans. [Just click on the button below]

Ok, I SERIOUSLY have to go. When Marisa sees that I posted when I was supposed to be headed out the door, I’m in big big trouble.

Much love, my bloggy friends. I can’t believe I’m headed to Africa.

I have a friend named Annie.

On Sunday, I called her to go shoe shopping with me and instead, she GAVE me her shoes. The same shoes that took her to Africa a few months ago will take me to Africa tomorrow.

Somewhere, in my mind, is rolling around the depth of this idea- two Annies taking the same pair of shoes to multiple countries in Africa- her to Egypt and Sudan, me to South Africa.

There’s something in that. There’s something about the steps she took that are impacting the steps I’m going to take. There’s something about the places these shoes have already been that gives me courage to take them across the Atlantic again.

It’s deep, y’all. I can’t wrap my mind around all of it, but I know it’s there. I know it in my knower.

I wore the shoes yesterday around Nashville, just to make sure they were comfortable and were going to be worth the packing space. ALL DAY LONG this thought ran through my mind. I couldn’t shake it. This physical act is really also a spiritual act. Annie encouraging me to walk that same road, equipping me with what gave her strength to make the journey. Giving freely so that I, in turn, will give.

It was a simple gift, meant only to ease my mind and my budget for this month. It was not meant to be taken quite. so. seriously. And I know that. But God has used this to speak to my heart today.

I’m walking in the shoes of a woman who loves Africa.

And there is a chance that by the time these shoes return to their rightful Annie, they will have walked my heart directly out of my chest and left it lying in Capetown. I’m prepared to return to Nashville with the shoes, but without a portion, or any, of my heart.

I really have no idea what God has in store for me on this trip. I can’t decide if my lack of expectations is a recipe for a disaster or an open door for Him to do His thing. [Probably some diabolically weird and beautiful combination that will have me begging for mercy and begging for more, at the exact same time.] And when my heart can take no more, or when I’m too tired to take another step, I’ll look at the shoes. The ones who have done all this before. I’ll be reminded of Annie, and the other Mocha Club members and artists, who have walked these steps. Literally walked in these shoes. And made a way for me.

Two Annies. Two shoes. One continent. One mission.

To glorify God by loving His people.

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion [Capetown!], “Your God reigns!” -Isaiah 52:7

That’s you. I just have a few world wide web stops I don’t want you to miss.

Yesterday, I was the interviewee [glad you liked it, by the way]. Today, I interview. Over at Bloggable Music Network, you can see an interview I got to do with Joy Williams. I heart her mucho.

Joy Williams Interview Part 1

Joy Williams Interview Part 2

Also, my super great friend Linda has written an amazing book that I’m thinking you are going to want to give for Mother’s Day. Because did you realize that Mother’s Day is May 10? That is not so far away.

Spilt Milk on Amazon.com

So you can click there and get yourself a copy, and then get one for your mama and some of your mama friends. You know. Whoevs.

Wanna read about my trip to Africa? Well, my AH-MAZE-ING blog master Lauren made a special page for the Mocha Club Capetown trip. You can see it at the top of this page (it’s a tab) or you can just click.

CAPE TOWN ’09

Speaking of awesome non-profit organizations that take bloggers around the world and break their hearts, I hope you are keeping up with some of my buddies who are in India this week.

Compassion Bloggers In India

I think that shall wear out your clicker for a while. Amen.

So I’m not letting you quit either.    Happy weekend.

Mmmm…… chocolate covered pretzels.  And oh so fancy looking.  [The bizarro tint to this photo is because I took the picture while they were in the fridge.  Why I didn't just take them out for a moment is a question for the ages.]

This is my favorite Christmas treat to make. Well, that being said, I also really like the white chocolate with pieces of peppermint in it.  Really, you can combine anything with “white chocolate” and you will have my undivided attention.

I literally had to make 150 of these for Saturday, but 3 of them broke.  So I arrived at the party with only 147.  I was allowed in anyways.  Full of grace, that’s what these Nashville people are.

Seriously all you need for this recipe is three things.  Pretzels. White chocolate bark. Milk chocolate bark.  [Ok, and here is the thing.  Make this recipe your own.  Use peppermint extract, or pieces of peppermint, or sprinkles or smaller pretzels.  Whatever you want.  Here are some other options.]

I used one bag of pretzels, 1 full box of white chocolate, and only half a box of milk chocolate.

And seriously.  This is so easy.  Just melt the white chocolate in the microwave.  I use one of those big honkin’ glass measuring thingys. [Now I'm getting all technical in my terminology. Sorry.] Once the white chocolate is melted, just dip the pretzels in it and lay them on a wire cooling rack.  If you are putting piece of peppermint on them, you’ll want to do that before the chocolate completely cools.

To speed up the process, you can set them in the fridge to harden.  But I will warn you, that is when I lost the 3 pretzels.  Trying to bust them off the cooling rack after setting in the fridge was a challenge to be sure.

But once the chocolate has hardened, lay them on wax paper.  Then melt the milk chocolate.  Using a fork, dip it in the milk chocolate and start slinging it over the pretzels.  Very messy, which I tend to think is quite a joy.

[Please notice.  Broken pretzels in top left corner. DOH. And chocolate slung all over the place, including onto the knife block. DOH.]

Place these in the fridge to get all cool and tough [like me] and then they are ready to serve.  I have NO IDEA why I didn’t take a picture of the full tray of 147 pretzels because it was a MOUND O CHOCOLATE, I tell ya.  But I did snap a shot of Betsy enjoying said pretzels at the party.

Oh she is a happy party goer now, folks.  Yum.

And I also promised yesterday that I would tell you my favorite gift to give this year.  And that is THIS SHIRT.  For realz.  In fact, I placed my rather large order just yesterday.

Because not only do you give your friend/family/coworker/adopted inmate a new cool shirt, but you also get to pick which project the money supports.  And included with the shirt is a little card explaining the project.  Yeah, it is WAY awesome.

Now, if someone would just dip that tshirt in white chocolate, I could die in peace. Probably choking on a sleeve or something.

Y’all. I’m really pumped about today. REALLY. QUITE. PUMPED.

Because if you’ll recall, last week I told you why I need Africa. And all these people told you, too.

And today, I want you to read what my friend Barrett, el capitan de Mocha Club, wrote about why he needs Africa. Yeah, he lives there. Here’s the start of it….

When I think of Africa, the following images immediately come to mind: Starvation. AIDS. Child soldiers. Genocide. Sex slaves. Orphans. From there, my thoughts naturally turn to how I can help, how I can make a difference. “I am needed here,” I think. “They have so little, and I have so much.” It’s true, there are great tragedies playing out in Africa everyday. There is often a level of suffering here that is unimaginable until you have seen it, and even then it is difficult to believe. But what is even harder is reconciling the challenges that many Africans face with the joy I see in the people. It’s a joy that comes from somewhere I cannot fathom, not within the framework that has been my life to this day.

You can totally should read the rest of it HERE.

And this video. It rules.

So. Do you feel that yet? That little place in your knower that is moved by this video and this campaign and this idea? Yeah, me too. Sounds like we all could use…. a new tshirt? What? Huh?

Oh yes! And you KNOW how I feel about tshirts [love.them.]

Head over to MOCHA CLUB and check out how you can get a shirt, help this cause, and most importantly, continue the conversation.

Because it’s true. I need Africa more than Africa needs me.

And I bet you do too.

This is only the beginning……

We’ve been over this before, but Nashville?  It’s been a good decision.  Not painless, not without loss, but good.

And probably one of the highlights has been the folks at Mocha Club letting me volunteer.  I had heard of Mocha Club at Barnes and Wertz shows before, so I kinda knew what was up.  But if you are new to the ways of MC, here’s how it works-

Mocha Club is a community-based website where members [like me!] can start a team [AnnieBlogs!] and invite friends to join them in giving $7 a month – the cost of 2 mochas – to support a project in Africa.  Mocha Club’s vision is to provide a way for people who don’t have hundreds or thousands of dollars to make a difference in Africa.

[And I don't know if you have heard, but I actually have thousands of pennies, so that's why me and Mocha Club are kinda BFFs.]

So one day, a few months ago at the MC office, Marisa started telling me about this new campaign called “I NEED AFRICA MORE THAN AFRICA NEEDS ME”.

I looked up from my computer and said, “Is that true, Marisa?”  And she kinda looked at me with a blank stare.  Because sometimes a completely selfish question stuns good people into dead silence.

“Uh, yeah, it is, Annie.”  [Which was a polite reply when I probably more deserved a swift kick in the A...frica.]

And since I’ve been working on this project and really asking God to show me truth in my own life, I know it’s true.  I do need Africa.

I need Africa to remind me that my life [sadly] is not quite the center of the universe.

I need Africa to remind me that beauty has many faces and that giving has many hands.

I need Africa to show me how to love selflessly and give without concern for myself.

I need Africa to teach me how to prioritize- because in Africa, I’m pretty sure they don’t struggle to decide between GAP jeans and Old Navy jeans.  Because that is trivial when you don’t have a roof over your head.

I need Africa because I want to see beauty in it’s purest form, see people love simply but deeply, and because loving Jesus means loving this world.

I went to Africa one time and I liked it far more than I thought I would.  But now that I’ve been gone two years, I think it may be time to return.  Africa may not be as rich as us, and yes- we do need to help the people in those nations.  But when our economy is like this, and yet our culture is materialistic for realz, I need perspective.  I need simplicity.

I need Africa.

Do you?

Talk about it.  On your blog.  In the comment section.  In the car with your kids or your friends. At dinner. In your time with the Lord.

Bring it- what are your thoughts?

And then head back here on December 1st.  Cause not only do we get to talk about, we get to do something about it.