Hotlanta?

An old adage says March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. Here in the deep South, March 1 arrived amid the roll of thunder and a blinding blizzard. Does Atlanta even have snowplows?Early morning rain had turned to snow by the time church let out this morning. Andrei, Tim, Kelly and I went to Vikhyat -- our favorite Indian restaurant -- for lunch. When we stepped outside, we hardly recognized Atlanta! Andrei loves snow. He'd been feeling pretty grumpy about living in such a warm city. Not anymore!Here's the bench he usually sits on to wait for us to pick him up . . .the magnolia tree outside his door . . .and the pansy bed nearby!As we drove into Clarkston, we wondered how our refugee friends would react to the snow.These Bhutanese kids were building a snowman.Shorts, flipflops, and umbrellas in the snow? Yep! Excuse me . . . umbrellas in the snow? Many of them!The Mission Year team taught refugees from Bhutan, Somalia, Turkey, and Congo how to play in the snow. Step 1: Grab a bunch of snow and hide behind a tree.Step 2: Outsmart the Americans by shoveling up a bigger pile of snow!Step 3: Let 'em have it!This pretty Somali girl in her Muslim headwrap enjoyed her very first snowfall. A sweet little Congolese fellow stood under a tree. Frozen in place, his eyes wide, he stared as if in total shock at what he was seeing. So THIS is America? When my sister Libby and I -- who grew up in Bangladesh and Kenya -- saw our first snow, we were stunned, too. I remember we came running inside and exclaimed to our parents, "But it's so cold! And people are always stepping in it!"
!This tree stands right beside our apartment.
Hey, who's that in the shrubberies?Tim called out "Merry Christmas" to several refugees as we drove by. They gaped at him as if he were nuts. Actually, we were all a little nutty today.

So Merry Christmas, Happy March, and Welcome to America!