Container Arrival

WOW!!! I wish you could have all been here to just observe the process of unloading the container! We got a phone call telling us that our container would be arriving on the seminary campus between 12 and 1pm. The crazy thing was that Eric had numerous appointments that day and he couldn't be involved in the process at all. Enter Linda :) I arrived at the campus and waited for the container to do the same. In the mean time, the sky is getting darker and darker, and I'm thinking it looks a little bit like rain. At 3pm, they pulled in just a few minutes after the sky let loose of several gallons of water. The pastor who was the contact man didn't let the rain get in the way. The next thing I know is the truck is backing up to the office building, and the maintenance crew has all the necessary things to put a tarp up between the building and the container. It worked wonderfully. Then the moving team set to work, and in two hours, the container was empty and the truck was pulling out.

The most noteworthy thing that happened was when the five computer racks had to be carried up the stairs into the computer room. It took about ten guys to carry them. They certainly earned their pay that day.

We loaded all of our belongings into another truck and it was delivered to our house the following day. The maintenance crew had all of our stuff in our house in 30 minutes. They were great. Enjoy the pictures...

Many hands make light work.



Yes, all the way up those stairs, and up to the second floor of the building.

Even in the midst of grunts and groans, they could still smile.


Pastor Tommy and the maintenance crew that helped move our boxes in the house.

Mari was quite excited to find a box with her toys in it :)

Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you!!!

Dear friends and family,

We would like to give you all a very special "Thank-you!"

We were able purchase a car last week (that "we" includes ALL of you). Thank you so much for giving to our deputation fund so that we could have transportation. I am continually overwhelmed by the number of people who have joined with us in this journey. We have been told that we got a really great deal on our car, and that it is in great condition. It is a 2003 Mitsubishi Adventure, and it seats between six and 10, depending on the size of the passengers :) We are also thankful to Virgil, who located the car for us. We are grateful for your ministry Virgil!

We are truly blessed to be part of your team. Thank you so much for enabling us to be here, and thank you so much for your continued prayers!

God bless you today as you serve in your field.

Bunk Beds and Farewell Crib

I have told some of you about the adventure of getting bunk beds, and thought it was about time I showed you the pictures. For those of you who haven't heard the story, there really isn't too much to it. We drove down the road and went to a furniture store along the side of the road, specialty...beds. Here is the picture...

We took a local pastor with us who could speak both English and Tagalog. We told them what we wanted, and they told us they would be done in three days. Great!!! On Saturday, they phoned us and said they were ready to deliver the beds (which we didn't know they would do, so we were quite pleased!) They brought them to the house, took them into the room and finished assembly. Here is the finished product with the contractors...

One of the requests we made on this particular bunk bed was to make the bottom safe for Mari to sleep in. They put side rails on all sides so she can't roll out. So, Mari has officially made the move from crib to bed. Ouch...milestones are great, except when they hit you :) It was probably good I had a little shove making the transition, because I might have drawn the inevetible out. She does love her big girl bed.

Thoughts

Today is my dear brother's birthday! Happy Birthday Bryan!!! We love you! Give yourself a big birthday hug from us :)

Today is also Sunday...we had a wonderful morning in church. The church we have been attending is very focused on young people. It is alive with the Spirit and we have thoroughly enjoyed going there. Our third Sunday here, our neighbors asked to go with us, and they have been going with us ever since. It's really been fun! The Pastor, Pastora Luz is a woman who has been widowed for several years now. Her husband was the pastor, and a district superintendent. He was killed in a car accident and one of their three boys was severely injured and in a coma for a short period of time. After Luz's husbands death, she felt called to take over the pulpit. Their son who was in the coma was fully recovered and currently leads the music in the church. Their journey has been a tough one, but has deepened not only their lives, but also the church members. We have only experienced one other church since we've been here, but believe that until we have different direction with our neighbors, we will continue there.



We have gotten the word that our container has cleared customs, they have closed it all up and hopefully we will have access to it either Mon or Tues this week. We have been tossing around some interesting emotions knowing that it is soon to be here. One of them is excitement to have our things...things that just make us feel a little more like "home." The second thing we have been processing is that we feel ashamed for the things we will be unpacking. It seems like we have just handled life without it fine, even though the dishes etc., have been on loan to us. What does all our "stuff" communicate to others? The third thing that I have been dealing with is fear. I have just realized that it means I'm staying here. This isn't some short vacation that will be over in a few days. Ouch! Today that is a harder thing to process than other days. There is an overwhelming ache that is never really gone. Maybe it is like the thorn in Paul's side. Despite the crazy mix of emotions, we have peace in our heart that we are exactly where we are supposed to be.

Emotions are a strange thing...I'm glad for them though, because if I never experienced the sorrow, I wouldn't understand the blessing of the joy. May you find the joy of the Lord today as you walk your journey.

Let's go for a drive!

I thought I would take you on a little drive with me. I went to the grocery store, and snapped pictures along the way...this way you can see the sights around me and get a feel for the traffic :) And don't worry, I didn't crash while taking pictures. Actually, I just held the camera on the top of the steering wheel. Unfortunately, I never took a picture of the grocery store once I got there. Once I did take a picture inside the grocery store and the security guard told me that I wasn't allowed to do that and made me delete the picture. Now I'm a little shy.

Here we go, out the driveway...

This is the main street through our subdivision. The bicycles with side cars are called pedicabs and are always taking people here and there.

Now we are pulling out onto the main street...not lights, just go. I just get right on the bumper of the car in front of me and go for it...people are very polite and that is the way it's done. I've heard it said...today it's your turn, tomorrow it will be my turn. As initially crazy as it seemed, the traffic really has a polite flow. Whew! Made it onto the main road...always a huge relief!

This is the next major intersection. It is actually a three way intersection with no light or stop signs. Occasionally there is a police officer directing traffic...once again...just get right on the bumper of the car in front of you and you'll be okay. The other saying here is...any space is free space.

These two pictures show the commonly found parking in the right lane.

A bakery that also sells donuts.

If you would like, you can purchase a door along the road. There are also stores like this to purchase beds (of which we did), mufflers, chairs and other furniture, and a sundry of other things.

Here is the last intersection....with a stop light. Notice the fellow is coming to my window to see if I want to purchase towels, steering wheel covers, or feather dusters.....not a good picture, but considering I was taking photos through my windshield, it's ok. :)

Well, the grocery store is just to my left and I need to procur some food.

Hope you had fun!