Container

Well, we got word today that our container has arrived in country! Yahoo! It's a funny feeling knowing that our worldly possessions are now so close to us. It could well be equally as long to get our belongings to our door, as it was to get it across the ocean and around a super typhoon. We are so thankful that the typhoon didn't claim all those boxes :) God has been more than gracious in supplying what we have needed for the time being.

Funny, but I think one of the things that I am looking forward to are my covers for my bed. I am continuously shaking my head at myself regarding this. You see...there is a fine art in getting the temperature just right at night. It's either hot with a fan blowing on you, or it's cold with the air-conditioner going. Now, I have, after two months, begun to figure the precise location the two dials need to be set at in order to not wake up chilling at 3 am digging through the closet for a sweater. Don't think for a moment that I am not supremely grateful for that air conditioner. It has been something that has really helped with a large chunk of the culture shock that I have been dealing with. Also, because our precious little girl believes that there is no better place to be than in front of the cold, blowing, air, I have been able to maintain some sanity.

It will also be so nice to have my own pots and pans. It's quite surprising, but it does alter the level of comfort and simplicity in cooking when you are using equipment that you know and trust. Now, that doesn't mean that I will be doing a lot more cooking, because the temperature in the kitchen is still....you guessed it...hot.

The kids have been dreaming about their belongings that are so carefully tucked away in boxes. They really have been troupers here without their toys and books. The number of times I have been asked when the container will arrive have been increasing steadily. They keep commenting on the fact that when their stuff gets here they won't feel so cooped up in the city. Hmmm...we'll have to see.

I know all this sounds so terribly shallow. Simply put, it is. I am continuously amazed at how the enemy uses the simple things like temperature and convenience to get us off track. The trick is all in the attitude. I know that God cares about the little things like cooking utensils, and temperature, and He understands how the enemy blows them out of proportion. Fortunately He is beyond that, and has conquered the enemy already. I have thought many times how I would react if I never got my "stuff," and I know that it would be a bummer, but that God has supplied all of our needs thus far, and promises to always do so. It's just "stuff," and I've already forgotten a lot of what is packed away in those boxes :)

Please pray for the details of getting our shipment through customs and at our doorstep, for not only is our "stuff" in there, but several other people have miscellaneous items, along with the necessary equipment for our work.

Here is our "stuff" before it was loaded into the container (left) and our "stuff" during the loading process (right). Millions of thanks to those of you who offered your sweat and muscle to load up all those boxes!!!!

Language Study

We have now had our first two language class. Our teacher has been teaching for 24 years and has had many, many students. There are not only new sounds and tones we have to learn to use, but there are also new parts of speech that we are not familiar with. It is a hoot listening to us trying to make the new sounds and form our mouths and lips in new ways. We spend quite a lot of time so far laughing. It is a really pleasant experience and I am very eager to learn the language. Most people have a grasp of English, but it's not their heart language. Please be praying with us that we can eagerly and quickly get a grasp on the language. We have to work extra hard on it because we are not immersed in the language...we can get by with English. However, none of us want to just get by. Our eldest son is also studying it in school, so we continually challenge one another to learn and study. It is fun.

Connecting

It's great to be able to easily give you something to read from us. We have been dealing with trying to get newsletters out with no Internet connection, with only part of our computer programs, and with me as the operator :) I am quite happy to finally have a way to say HI and to tell you what's up.

This past week has been really quite a great week. We have been here now for over two months, and just last week, we opened our bank account, got cable (can you even believe that we have cable? It's actually the first time our life we have purchased it), and we got our Internet connection. It is a wireless connection, and I hear rumor that when there is a big storm, we'll lose it for several days, but it's better than not at all. It only took two months to get all those things finalized :) I felt like I really put down some roots last week. The other fun thing that happened is that we got mirrors for our bathrooms :) Silly I know, but our bathrooms were completely redone before we arrived and in an attempt to allow us to make this our home and not someone else's, they left the choosing of mirrors and towel hangers to us. So, we chose all those things, and our mirrors actually just came. We have already installed two of the three. Sometimes I think it's been a blessing not having mirrors. I suppose now we'll have to face the reality of what our hot sweaty faces really look like :)

Yesterday my friend "Liza" (I don't even know if that is really her name) came by to see me. She is what we call a "squatter." They are people who do not have any ownership of the land they live on, they just move in and take possession. She came with a golf-ball size abscess on the back of her leg, asking me for money to buy the antibiotics she held the prescription to. She frequently comes to see me asking for money (typically for medication) and food. Each time she comes I have an opportunity to pray with her and she is very open to that. I cannot communicate with her because she doesn't speak any English. Every time she comes I wrestle with the fact that she very well could be totally lying to me, and taking advantage of me, but at the same time, what if she isn't. We have dealt with this before in other places, so it's not terribly new to me, but it is very frustrating to me that I cannot communicate with her. She will even bring her friends to see me, and then tells them that they have to stay for prayer. It's really funny. One day she was asking for a large amount of money and I offered her to do some yard work outside our gate/fence, and much to my surprise, she came and worked very hard for a whole day. Please pray for "Liza." She is a divorced woman with four children and has no income. The whole "squatter" lifestyle really traps people into that road. One generation that comes to the city to find work and ends up a "squatter" begets children that do not know how to farm, and consequently can never go back to that lifestyle. It is quite a predicament. Please pray for us also as we try to direct these people to the proper ones who can help them, and pray for us to have very clear discernment as to what God needs us to do for them.

We sure do miss all of you, and love to hear from you. Thanks for your posts, those of you who have. It'll be fun seing how this works for us!

School and Rain

The exciting news in our house is that we now have access to internet here at home. That means that now I can remain connected and not have to go all over town to get to a connection :) Are you appreciating your internet connection today? I sure am.

The boys started school last week and already had one day called off because of the rain. When I went to school, we looked forward to "snow days." Those were the days that you woke up and found that beautiful white powder dusting the trees, grass and driveway. Here, we have "rain days." That is when you look out your window and think you've suddenly gone swimming and are wondering where your goggles are. Really, there are some very impressive rivers that quickly come up out nowhere and just as quickly leave.

Just yesterday, Luke was taking the "activity van" home from school, after an activity, and one of those tremendous downpours happened. I knew they were going to let him off at the gate of the subdivision, so I headed there an hour early to pick him up because the rain was coming down so hard and fast that I was concerned I might get stuck on this side of the "river." As it was, I drove through 12" of water in one particular intersection, knowing that I had to get to my boy. It was pretty funny...the mama bear came out in me.

Here is a picture of our driveway after one such river rose...

Anyway, the boys are still settling into school and getting used to the routine here. The haven't complained too much about wearing uniforms, except that the shirts are hot. They sure do look handsome in their school duds.

We had "back to school afternoon" last week and were able to meet most of their teachers. Having one child in high school, middle school, and elementary, it was a little tricky being in three different places all at the same time. However, we did divide and mostly conquered :)

Up and Running

August 23



We are hopefully now up and running :)



Stay tuned for more info!