lushomo

i've just returned to the deep-freeze of regina after spending a week in florida. i'll share more on that later, but first i just wanted to show everyone my new favourite thing hanging on my wall! a while ago, i commissioned a friend in regina, kelli, to paint a picture for me. i gave her the photo, a quote and a basic idea of what i was looking for, and gave her freedom to use her artistic abilities to do the rest. aside from being an amazing artist, kelli also has a heart for africa just like i do, so i knew that she would do an amazing job painting something that is so close to my heart. i received the painting from her yesterday ... and the result is stunning! so, so beautiful!


the words say:
if i've learned anything from my time in africa, it's that though the suffering is overwhelming, so too is the hope.

the words are taken from one of my favourite books, 'hope in the dark'. it is a book with beautiful quotes, and stunning pictures from africa. the other word on the painting is 'lushomo', which means 'hope' in tonga, the language from the area in zambia where we have spent time. the picture of the boy was taken in zambia when i travelled there in 2007 on my own. he lived at simakakata, a blind community, and i instantly fell in love with him when we arrived to deliver blankets and food. he had the sweetest smile. and his name is 'lushomo'.

i look forward to having this hang on my wall for years to come! thank you kelli!

and just because he is so cute, here's a couple more pictures of lushomo. the first picture is the one that the painting was taken from.