plans...

I thought I'd wait and blog about our Christmas but will catch you all up on our latest news so you know what our plans are as of now. Darrell's brother will not be needing a transplant immediately as first thought, so we are going ahead with our plans to leave on January 11th. That means less than 3 weeks from now! When I first came to the realization that time was so short and in between there is Christmas and a trip to see Nathan (our oldest), I began to panic. I proceeded to make my lists and have been consistently crossing things off as I finish them. Looks like we'll make it after all. We arrived home a few days ago from a wonderful visit to Dakar, Senegal where we attended a regional conference & also got to spend 10 days with my two sisters and husbands. It was so fun to get up early and have coffee together and just talk for hours. What a wonderful gift from the Lord. Leaving Dakar at 85 degrees F and arriving in Chicago at 24 degrees was quite a shock to the system. Now we'll be going to a place that is more moderate certainly than Chicago. Last I looked, it was about 65 degrees. We are very excited about what God has in store for us in this new chapter of our lives. We also feel incredibly fortunate that we still have new challenges like this at our age. I'll be back in a few days to tell you about our Christmas. Here's our tree & the view from our front yard. Merry Christmas to all...

"home is where you hang your hat"

I never gave much thought to this old saying but I'm discovering that it's absolutely true! As I travel around, one of the recurring questions that I'm asked is "where did you like the best?" (out of the dozens of places I've lived) I honestly cannot answer that question fully because I have loved everywhere that I've lived. Another question that is repeatedly asked is "where's home for you"? I now know without question, that home is "wherever I hang my hat" at that moment. As I get older, I find myself longing for "home". It's not as easy for me as it once was, to move from town to town and bed to bed. Yesterday was my last time speaking for this home assignment. I tried to "stay in the moment" as much as I could but found myself saying to myself all day "I just want to be home." I don't know when I've experienced such joy walking into my own home and sleeping in my own bed. It seems kind of silly since I will only be in this house for another 7 weeks and then will move on to another country and set up yet another home. But I am quite sure that I will feel the exact same way about my new place, because that's where I'll hang my hat.

An undeserved honor!

Friday, October 8th was a day I never thought would really arrive. I had known for 5 years that the Nyack College School of Nursing was to have my name on it. But as time went by and permits were refused or delayed, I really didn't give it much thought, assuming that it would never really come to pass. When I received word that everything was in place and that the first class had already begun at the college, it still didn't seem real to me. I was asked to be the Founder's Day speaker which was a huge honor and quite scary! When a guy came and pinned a corsage on me, I began to feel like this was really happening. Speaking in front of over 1,000 college students was a challenge but I got good feedback and felt God's enabling. Then I had to rush up to the nursing center to cut the ribbon. I was standing with really important people and realized a bit more what a big deal this was. When I went into the nursing center and saw my name and picture on the wall, that's when it hit me that this was for real. I felt so humbled and unworthy. The attention felt uncomfortable. A beautiful luncheon was held for all the attendees of the dedication. I was presented with a beautiful plaque and asked to give another speech! It was all very overwhelming and now seems like somewhat of a dream. Many of my family members were present for the occasion: my mom & dad, both brothers and wives and kids, daughter & son-in-law, oldest son & girlfriend. It was fun to share the day with them. It is an unbelievable honor to have something named after you while you're alive; you're usually not living to receive such an honor. I certainly know that I am not worthy of this but I also know that most of what we receive from our loving heavenly father is totally undeserved. I just hope that somehow, he will get all the glory and that many young nurses will feel the call of God to go out into this hurting world and be the hands & feet of Jesus in a very tangible way.

Cool breezes are blowing

As we set out on our walk this morning, I realized quickly that I should have worn a jacket! It was actually quite cold. As I look at the temps of the place where we last lived, I see they are still over 100 degrees F and I look at the temps of where we're headed, it's still in the mid-90's. So, I'm trying to tell myself that this cold weather is a blessing and I should enjoy it while it lasts! But somehow it doesn't work like that; I am just a miserable person when I'm cold. Really though, today is unbelievably gorgeous with temps in the 60's and bright sunshine. I do want to enjoy it while it lasts because I know cold rain & snow are coming. Starting this Tuesday, we will be embarking on a busy fall tour. We will be home together once in awhile during the week which is a special treat. Mostly though, we will be flying separately, to churches all over the country. The task seems daunting; to engage & excite people about places they've never heard of & people who are worlds away from anything they can imagine. To motivate people who are extremely busy with their lives, financially stretched and weary of trying to get ahead and always feeling behind. Why can I expect that anyone would be interested in what I have to say?? Honestly, it blows my mind when I see people who become passionate about what I'm passionate about. I am completely flabbergasted when I receive a large check for my ministry and I know the sender struggles to make ends meet in his own life. It all comes down to one thing: God is up to something big in the part of the world where we live; his spirit is stirring up the hearts of believers in this country and my job is simply to present what I've seen & heard firsthand and let God do the rest. I need to get out of the way. He must increase and I must decrease! So, I give the Holy Spirit permission to use me as he'd like. May my messages not be so scripted that there is little room left for him to say what he wants! Ahhh, here we go once again on this thing called TOUR, the thing we love & the thing we hate. Trusting that our simple thoughts & words will bring much glory to God and fruit for his kingdom. That will make it all worthwhile! I plan to enjoy the cool fall breezes, the apple orchards & pumpkin patches & spice candles.

blessed!

I am feeling particularly blessed these days. We've moved into our son's beautiful home and are enjoying all the comforts of living in this land! Darrell has been working non-stop fixing up things around here. He does it with great joy since it's kind of an anchor for our family and a feeling of having a place we can call a "permanent residence". We've never had that in all our years of marriage & ministry! The car parked in our driveway was given to us to use for this 6 months by the men's group in our district. Yes, we are very blessed indeed. I recently celebrated another birthday and received about 100 greetings on Facebook from friends all over the world. We went out to a wonderful Thai restaurant and my son brought me flowers; carried them all the way from downtown Chicago on the train. What a sweetheart he is:) We feel totally unworthy of all God's goodness in our lives these days. Looking forward to a week at the beach with our daughter and son-in-law is another great blessing. All I can say is life lived with God is amazing and I feel sorry for those who haven't figured that out yet. I know friends and loved ones who are suffering right now and believe me, I've been around long enough to know that it's not all fun and games in this life! As the song says "He gives and takes away, my heart will choose to say, blessed be the name of the Lord."

Parents' visit

It's been a couple of weeks since my parents returned back to the US but I thought some of you would like to know about their visit to Kurdistan. We were all holding our breath, wondering how my mom would make the trip since she has had some major battles with her health in the recent past. Their itinerary called for long flights & layovers in airports but they made it through with little difficulty and we were so happy to see them walk out the door of the Sulaymaniyah International Airport. They were able to keep up a busy schedule the whole time they were here! The first week was spent joining in the activities of the LIFE Center, both in the classroom and at the coffee shop. The students loved them and quickly found their way into their hearts. They are still corresponding with some of them via e-mail, chat, etc. They experienced a one-of-a-kind Kurdish picnic, complete with a big pot of "yaprakh" (stuffed vegetables), grilled meat, watermelon and other snacks. The neighbors became quick friends and before it was all over, Mom was praying for the woman & dancing with the man! The second week was spent in a village about an hour from here where both Mom & Dad each taught a theology course to 14 students from 3 Iraqi cities. Again the students were overjoyed to have them as their teachers and loved sharing their lives and stories with them. Even with eating Kurdish food all week & having their sleep disturbed by noisy people in the halls at midnight, they made it through with flying colors and were sad to say goodbye. So many great memories & new friendships were made. They were heroes everywhere they went. Strangers would stop Mom to ask if they could touch her hair and see if it was real. It was a great 2 weeks and again, we were all relieved when we heard they touched down in Atlanta after more than 24 hours of travel back.

ramblings

It is somewhat dangerous for one to begin writing without having properly thought out what one wants to write. But I feel like writing, so I'll begin and see where it takes us! These past weeks have been incredibly busy with absolutely no margin in our lives. We really need to work on that! At times we are good at making time for rest and restoration but right now life's demands are causing us to run in 10 different directions at once. I am so looking forward to our plane landing in Chicago on June 10th and longing for time with our kids, our families and friends. Rest is on the way and I know it will arrive none too soon. In the meantime, we want to finish strong in this place that we've come to love. It breaks my heart to think of leaving some of my Kurdish friends, especially those who have come to call me "Mom". But we know our job is done here. We know capable people will take up the mantle and carry on what we have started. Yet we've learned that you can't pass on your relationships to someone else. The deep bond that we've developed with so many will be left broken and that is hard to deal with. Just as our hearts are broken, we will be breaking others' hearts too. This has been our life for the past 27 years and it doesn't get any easier. It's impossible to carry on relationships from 5 countries and numerous cities where we've lived & served. I live with a sense of loss at the deep friendships that have gone by the wayside because of distance and years of separation. Facebook has helped to alleviate that somewhat!! We will soon be setting our eyes on a new place and start all over again. Each time we start over, I wonder if my heart has enough room for any more love. It has to be something divine because humanly speaking, I am empty & dry. But God keeps imparting an incredible love for people into my heart. I pray this love will never run dry and that I will always have room for more love & more relationships.

Our second Kurdish New Year

This was our 2nd year of experiencing the excitement of the New Year here in this country. It seems like everything throughout the entire year culminates in the 3-day celebration of this important event in the Kurdish calendar. From the beautiful, shimmering women's clothing to the dancing & picnics covering the mountainside, it is a festive occasion and one that we have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of. The first day we were invited to an indoor party where we basically danced for 4 hours, taking breaks now and then to eat & drink and then dance some more. With sore feet & sore backs (speaking of myself), we finally left a little after midnight. The next day the main street was blocked off and 100's of 1000's of people in their Kurdish clothing walked for hours up and down this street, stopping to greet friends, drink tea and dance! The third day we took to the mountains for a picnic with Kurdish friends. We ended up near the spot where we were last year but even more beautiful overlooking the lake on one side and the beautiful green mountains on the other. We enjoyed a relaxing day with lots of eating, some dancing, a boat ride and more eating. Because everyone in the city was heading out for a picnic, it took us 2 hours each way to reach our site which should ordinarily have taken just 45 minutes. People were stopped all along the highway, dancing on the side of the road, firing up their grills and pitching their tents. Many had gone the night before to find a good spot. Ours had been saved by 2 friends since 5AM that day. It was a wonderful time of celebration! The coming of the New Year begins the picnic season here and every Friday the city empties out into the mountains for a picnic. These picnics are always the same; tons of food (we had breakfast at 9:30 with a huge pot of stuffed vegetables, grilled meat at 11 and never stopped until we left at 4), dancing also is an essential part of every picnic; swings, kites & fires are also included. Basically it's eating & dancing. We sometimes take games along and our Kurdish friends enjoy playing them. We've also introduced the American football which they enjoy throwing. Spring is just a wonderful time of year in this country, when everything comes alive. The mountains break forth in color with poppies & daisies covering them like a blanket. The color in the women's clothing is so beautiful, cool breezes and warm sunshine. Ahhh for it to stay spring forever. But summer is coming... We'll enjoy it while it lasts.

A wonderful retreat

6 women came from Salem, OR to bless the women of the Arab Lands field with a 3-day retreat. The setting was a secluded convent among vineyards and olive groves. It was a perfect place for our time together! It was evident that much preparation and prayer had gone into this retreat. We were overwhelmed by the love and care of these women for us. Our souls were richly blessed with wonderful messages from God's word. Worship times were special with a talented worship leader who lead us into incredible communion with God. A table laden with snacks & drinks from America, card-making materials galore, manicures & pedicures, gift bags with books & CD's... so many ways they loved on us. A memorable evening going through the 7 stations of the cross and another time of praying around all our locations & each team member was so meaningful. We couldn't believe that these women would pour so much of themselves into this retreat and give so selflessly to make sure our needs were met. We were truly blessed and will never forget what they did for us. We returned to our places of service feeling refreshed & renewed.

impending elections

These days our city is alive with activity, flags flying on every car, horns honking, young people hanging out cars, screaming...Our street in particular is wild with activity, especially as the sun starts to set. The Iraqi elections will be held on March 7th and the entire country is gearing up for it. Banners are everywhere & huge, life-size posters adorn every bridge. We've heard that it can actually be dangerous to go to a certain part of town in the evening because the rivaling parties are all there daring one another & acting very foolishly. People have been attacked and hurt. Sometimes at night the noise can be so deafening that we can't sleep! Politics is definitely a big part of life here and many are ruled by their "party". Although we try and keep out of politics, it's difficult to ignore it totally when so many of our friends are deeply involved. In fact, one of my best friends is running for parliament. Pray for peace to reign in the election process!

Valentine's in true Kurdish style

Well, today is February 14th so Darrell wanted to take me out for dinner. We had heard about a Chinese restaurant in town and decided to try it out. First of all, the road leading to the restaurant was totally torn up so we had to climb over all kinds of debris just to reach the entrance. We climbed the stairs to find a very plain restaurant with filthy tablecloths (covered with thick plastic), zero atmosphere, men drinking lots of beer & liquor and loud Chinese music. We sat down and looked at the view outside our window; empty fruit boxes, laundry hanging, paint cans, stale bread. I just couldn't believe what I was experiencing. I tried to pull the soy sauce out of its holder but it was so crusty that I had to pry it out! So much for a romantic dinner but the food was actually quite good; better than any other we've tasted here. The owners of the restaurant all put out their own dinner and sat down to eat. When we were ready to go, we got up and stood at the counter waiting for someone to come and give us our bill. The whole experience was just so "Kurdish-like" and we laughed all the way home. Here's a picture of our table. It actually looks a lot nicer on the photo than in real life!

Romantic evening at the LIFE Center

Friday night, February 12th, we decided to have a romantic dinner for couples at our center in celebration of Valentine's Day. We ended up being 14 couples, American and Kurdish, and a wonderful time was had by all. As usual, the comments that we received afterward were "it was the best time we've ever had", "we never experienced anything like this before" and so on...Our interns outdid themselves decorating the coffee shop with flowers, candles and beautiful table settings. Our evening started out with a sit-down dinner, beginning with 4 kinds of salads, followed by roasted chicken, curried rice & vegetable medley. Heart-shaped, pink frosted cookies were at each place along with their names printed on a cute place card. Romantic music, door prizes, the Newlywed game, silly skit by Darrell & I, Kurdish dancing & American slow-dancing...all made for an unforgettable evening of LOVE. It was fun to bless our Kurdish friends with this special evening and they were truly overwhelmed with gratitude. We were amused at how they blushed when asked certain questions! (for example, "when & where did you first kiss your wife"?) There was great commotion and laughter over this; many had their first kiss the day they were engaged. We were told that it is rare to ever have a fun, romantic evening with your spouse like this. They loved it!

this and that

So many things have happened since I last wrote! Not even sure where to start but at least I'll give you a summary view of the last month. Most of you know that our children all came to Iraq for Christmas. That was a huge treat and we enjoyed every minute of their visit although it went by way too fast. We ate tons of Kurdish food and enjoyed the bazaar on several occasions. Mostly we just sat around the house and played games & talked. It's hard not to dream about June when we will all be together again! Two days after the last ones left, the folks from Baghdad, Mosul and Duhok (14)came rolling in for 5 days of pastoral training. Although these are great times of encouragement & learning for them, they are very busy days for us as we cook for everyone and make sure there is enough water, blankets, heaters, etc. This time we had a guest from the US come to give the course. Several more are planned before we go on HA. If you get our monthly update, you have read about our desperate need for land to build a church on. We have been hesitant to actually look at land because we don't have the cash on hand but two days ago we went out with our blind real estate agent & saw the perfect piece of property! It was a hoot to ride in the car with this guy as he pointed to turn left, then right, the second turn to the left and mentioned all the landmarks along the way. I always get such a kick out of him. He has memorized this entire city it seems! I'm including a picture of the land that we are dreaming about buying. Our lawyer is asking about the probability of permission being granted for a church in this location. It is open on three sides and can never be closed in; right on a major road that leads to the airport. Please PRAY! The property is quite small but we have an architect who has drawn up some brilliant plans that will help us to use the building to the max. Although property is coming down in price all over the world, it is sky-rocketing in this country because everyone is flocking here to invest since it is considered a very secure area. Meanwhile, we have begun a new semester at the LIFE Center with a record enrollment of students. With 5 classes running simultaneously 3 nights a week + a women's class 3 mornings a week + coffee shop once a week, our center is being put to good use. Our coffee shops have been packed out; you'll always find our team members surrounded by students. We continue to thank God for this wonderful facility that he's provided for us. (sorry I posted the pictures backward!)