more photos

Officially declaring the Family Place complete!

There are so many things I could say about this project; I could literally fill a book with stories of miracles, frustrations, despair, excitement, etc. It has been an incredible journey but we are finished and it hardly seems possible. We could never have done it without the help of our US partners: those that physically got on a plane and came to help, those that gave sacrificially of their finances and those that prayed. We are eternally indebted to all of you! Now the hard work begins as we get ready for opening our doors on January 9th. Registration will be January 4&5. We have no idea how things will go but we have been so divinely lead thus far that we cannot help but believe that great things are in store at the Family Place. Please continue to bathe this whole endeavor in prayer. To say that we're are entering this phase with fear and trepidation is an understatement. We are perhaps entrepreneurs but have never run a business before and it seems like an overwhelming task. Fortunately we have a great accountant who is walking us through everything. I'll post a few pictures here for you to get an idea of how things have come together.

chaos

There have been demonstrations and sit-ins for the past few days right at the end of our street. Today was exceptionally crazy as it's a Saturday. Traffic has been an absolute nightmare lately! There are thousands of people outside the parliament building as the parliamentarians meet to draw up the new constitution. The whole question is "what role will Islam play in the new government?" Many are against anything to do with Islam being introduced and others are cheering on the Islamic party and wanting them to take full advantage of their landslide win. Who knows what the outcome will be? Here's what it looked like this afternoon down at the circle at the end of our street.

Thankful

It's still Thanksgiving Day where most of my readers live but for me, it's already the day after and I am feeling that I would be remiss if I didn't mention some of the things I'm thankful for. To list the things in order of thankfulness might not work out too well but at the least the top 4 things are in this order and the rest are all on the same level...my heavenly Father who has seen me through so many highs and lows of life and without whom, I don't know how I would have coped. He is my rock and a refuge in times of trouble and and my joy and salvation always! I'm so thankful that I don't have to go it alone on this journey. My husband Darrell who has stuck by my side through thick and thin through more than 30 years of marriage and we have grown in so many ways together. I'm also thankful that I get to share this journey with him! We make an awesome team, if I say so myself:) My 3 children and son-in-law who have become wonderful young adults. I love them all so much and missed not having them during this holiday but will have them all around the Christmas table and I can't wait!! I'm also thankful for my wonderful parents and siblings who encourage me and cheer me on, lend a listening ear and offer advice when needed. I love them all so much! Then there are the incredible ministry partners that we have; those of you who have spent many hours in intercession for us and have given generously out of your limited resources so that our projects could prosper in the Middle East, those who have come to physically lend a hand on a short-term team and those who write encouraging notes at just the right time. You know who you are and we will never be able to adequately thank you for your partnership with us but we want you to know how thankful we are for you. I am very thankful that our present "project", which is the biggest thing we've ever taken on in our lives, is almost completed and ready for operation the first of January. There were times when we wondered if we had gone wrong by renting this huge OLD building that needed so much repair. Lately we've been putting in 12-14 hour days at the Family Place in order to get done once and for all. But we know that God led us to this building for some reason and we are thankful that he has helped us to this point and we're almost finished. Now to see what great things he will do through the relationships that will be formed there! We are truly grateful for good health and the ability to be able to work this hard at our age. Ok, we're not THAT old but getting up there and not as flexible and limber as we once were:) I'm thankful for an amazing house to live in that's warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Thankful for the opportunity and ability to get my master's in International Education Administration. The Admin. part of this will help tremendously in running the Family Place and the Education part will help in directing the preschool. Thus far I have managed to keep up with all my online courses in the midst of a very busy schedule! I thank God for helping this far and know I will be so happy when I have the diploma in my hand at the end of summer 2012. I guess I could go on and on about all the other things I'm thankful for but I won't take your time right now. Thank you for letting me share. I really should do this more than once a year! Someone told me today that he has a journal of thanks and every night before he sleeps, he writes down three things he's thankful for. He said his dreams often evolve around those things! I think I might try it. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

furniture

Here are some pictures with some of the furniture that's arrived this week. Starting to feel like a cozy place that people will want to hang out in. I'm sure I'll re-arrange this a dozen times before it stays put:) We still have a lot more coming but I wanted you to see the progression. I need Bruce to help me put it all together!!!!!

video of sheep

I tried to post this yesterday but looks like it didn't save. We'll try again!

sheep everywhere!!

Sunday Nov 6th is the biggest feast in the Islamic year and that is when they sacrifice a sheep and give some to the neighbors and the poor who can't afford a sheep. Most have no idea what the meaning is behind the feast; they just can't wait to eat the lamb. I just heard a lot of racket out in front of the Family Place so I went out and found the kids playing with the sheep and having a ball. Schools all closed today and will be closed until next Wednesday. Yesterday Darrell went into the little shop right next door and found the sheep INside the shop and creating quite a lot of noise and a not-so-good smell:) Today they have moved him outside onto our sidewalk. (smile again)

first meal

I must say it was pretty exciting this noon for Darrell & I to have lunch in our Family Place cafe. Our furniture arrived yesterday and I've been having fun arranging and re-arranging it. We leave the house every day at 8AM and usually go home around 5 or 6PM. We always eat lunch at TFP and often invite whoever is around working. It's exciting and scary to see it all coming together. When they called and said the furniture was on the way, I had a semi panic attack thinking "wow, this is really going to happen!" The woman who did all the leg work to register our business came by to see our place for the first time today and was very encouraging. She said she never imagined anything so wonderful. This is a picture of her with us on the front steps. She's the wild motor cross lady that I wrote about once.

new addition

We had two beautiful mosaics made for our building to cover over the Islamic verses that were there. They are a wonderful addition to our cafe and so much nicer than seeing the other when you first walk in.

stench everywhere

The garbage continues to pile up everywhere in our city! The smell at times is nauseating. Yesterday I was at the grocery store and saw this pile of nasty garbage right outside the door. The smell of fresh bread, roasted chicken and garbage is just not a good one. The crazy thing is that the store workers were all taking their break right beside this pile of garbage and acting like everything was normal. I about gagged as I walked by it to get to my car. I could make a good spiritual analogy here but I leave that to you:) For the past three days we've had non-stop pouring rain and guess what happens to the garbage then? You guessed it: it starts washing down the streets and then begins to clog up all the sewers and causes water to back up and rivers literally flow everywhere. The water rushing in front of our front door is black, smelly sewer water and it seeps under our door and all the way to our front porch! The stench is something else. Ok, enough complaining. I know some of you are without power in the US from the freak Halloween snow storm. We all have our crosses to bear.

wonderful partners

The word partner is a big buzz word but we have TRUE partners here, without whom we could NOT do what we are doing. If you could see the transformation in our building since September 24th when our first short-term team arrived, it is truly a miracle. What a God-send these dear people have been. Let me try to list just a few of the tasks they have accomplished: built 4 sets of bunk beds for our guest rooms, installed an awesome music system throughout the entire ground floor, hours of puttying & fixing water-damaged walls & painting every room with beautiful bright colors, dozens of missing pieces of marble replaced, scraping windows and floors covered with old paint, more drilling, hammering, welding, and things too numerous to mention. What a huge sacrifice of love as they spent their vacation time & money and hard hard work to bless us in this way. At times I've been kept awake at night (a very rare occurrence for me)worrying about how we're going to pull this whole thing off. I can honestly say that the panicky feelings are dissipating as I see the work getting done! I will post a few photos so you can see the progress. By next month we'll have furniture and then it will really be a transformation! One is of the cafe, another of one of the preschool rooms (blue) and one of the outside of the building with our sign.

progress

Little by little, things are getting done and it is so rewarding to see the progress. Here is a picture of the kitchen before and after.

An Incredible Week!

A team of 6 strong, hard-working men showed up from New Jersey for a solid week of work at the Family Place. The transformation that took place in one week was truly amazing. We were so blessed to have this wonderful group of guys help us in this way. They worked long, hot hours and were always joyful and full of fun. On their last day, our signs arrived and they were able to help put them up. The building is really starting to take shape and I don't have such a hopeless feeling anymore. There's plenty of work still to do for the next two teams that will arrive on the 10th and 18th of this month. Now I just worry about the people that will help us staff all the different facets of the business; cafe, preschool, fitness center, ESL teachers. I know God will provide in his perfect time and every time I start to panic, I am reminded of what a miracle it is that we have come this far in just a few months. God will continue to complete what he has started. I can't wait to see what he's gonna do! Here are some photos of the last week's team.

update

The Family Place is becoming a very noisy place these days. The air conditioners are being installed and because of the thick, old stone walls, it is proving to be quite a challenge! Take a look at that drill bit; it took hours to get through the wall with that thing.
The noise from the mega drill is deafening and it vibrates the whole building. As I have mentioned, our building is very old so replacing missing tiles is proving to be a challenge also. We were sent to a huge tile factory where we were told we might find some of the old patterns. We dug through 1000's of tiles and came up with something that matches slightly. Since we do not own the building (YET) we don't want to tear out all the old tiles and put in new. The owner told us today that the fireplace in our cafe is close to 200 years old. How cool is that? Darrell has a project a minute and he works long hours over at the building. The fact is that he cannot leave the workers there alone so he has to be there anyways. Today, at one point, we had 2 foreigners meeting with their language helper in our office, 3 painters, 2 electricians, our business partner, the landlord and Darrell and me all at the center at the same time. It's fun to see activity around and know that things are slowly getting knocked off the list. When our US teams arrive we will really see some huge leaps forward. Can't wait!!

moving right along...

The outside of our building is totally painted and looks so much better! When we get all the iron painted black and our sign up on top, it's going to be a sharp-looking building. The method of scaffolding is a bit scary & watching these guys come down the sides of the building on this plank was heart-stopping! Everything is old and rusty; look what Darrell found when he took the guts out of this water heater. The piles of wood are waiting for our first team that will arrive in about 10 days. So exciting to see things starting to take shape slowly.

A loooong trip, well worth it!

Left my house at 6AM to pick up 3 other young women and head south for a 2-day follow-up trip. I have so much on my plate these days that I really was dreading this long trip but I knew that God probably had something amazing in store for us and sure enough, he did. The first day I drove 700 km. stopping only one time to go to the bathroom and get a drink. My poor back was screaming for mercy by the end of the day! We arrived in a southern city where our first contact was. A woman and her family who had fled the atrocities of the neighboring country to find refuge here. They had lost all of their possessions back home, everything looted and destroyed. But her husband, having worked in Dubai for many years, was able to get out his life savings before the banks collapsed. Before leaving her home, a friend said to her “when you get there, try to find a certain Christian channel on TV and I’m sure your life will be changed”. She found it and watched it with her 2 girls (8 & 13). There was a number to call if you wanted to know more about Jesus. She called the number and our visit was the result of that call. She told her husband that she had called and he said “no one ever answers those calls. The Mus. Sheikhs don’t answer you; you think the Christians will??” The woman and her husband came and met us at a certain point and lead us back to their place. Both sat riveted as we explained the gospel from beginning to end. When one of the women asked her what she knew about Christianity she said “I know nothing. That’s why I called you. I want to know everything and I want to follow in that way.” The great thing is that her husband sat there the whole time listening to everything also. At one point the couple went upstairs to get something and later the woman told us that she had told her husband that she was ready to follow this way and wanted to pray for salvation. He said “please wait and let’s read the Bible together and learn more and then we’ll both make this decision.” After we explained what they had to do to believe in Jesus, the woman asked “ok, we pray and ask him into our lives and then what comes next?” She was absolutely starved and her heart totally prepared for this encounter. It was amazing and so exciting to watch. She later told us that there are many in her country who would love to make a decision like this. They hate their religion and know that Jesus is the true way. She wanted to make the decision right then but said out of respect for her husband she would wait. We told her she did not need us there to make the decision but should call on the phone and tell us when she does. She later texted one of the girls and said “be waiting for my call tonight or tomorrow”. She said, “after I believe and I get baptized, then how can I grow and learn everything there is to know? They are actually thinking seriously of moving up to the capital and that would afford a great opportunity for them to be discipled well in the early days of their faith. At one point the man went out and brought in food and we sat and ate lunch with them and continued our conversation. The 2 girls joined the conversation at one point and were very engaged and interested. The mother said they have been watching the Christian TV channel and begging her for the family to change their religion. I am sure that the entire family will come to faith in the coming days and that they will be a catalyst to bring many more of their fellow countrymen to faith in Christ. We left them with 2 Bibles, a commentary & several DVD’s. They couldn’t wait to start watching them and I am quite sure they will be devouring the Bible in these coming days. I’ve never seen anyone so hungry and so ready. Who knows the prayers that were lifted up on behalf of these people; maybe we will know one day when we get to heaven!

Sunday Train Ride

We decided to take the train today and go down to a city 2 hours south of here and attend the church service. Just when we think this country is so advanced & runs so well, we are reminded of just how third world it really is. We bought first class tickets and found two empty seats. We took off right on time which was impressive. Immediately we started hearing loud clanking noises and every time we stopped and started again, the same noises were deafening. We could hear water running somewhere and discovered it was coming from the ceiling. (they told us the air conditioner pipes were clogged?) Our feet were soon in an inch of water as the river ran all over the floor of the train. The windows would not open and the shades were all broken and filthy dirty. I could not believe this was actually first class! The seats were broken in a reclined position so we were lying way back the whole way. Quite an experience, it was. Wouldn't you know, a couple hours later when we got on the train to head back home, we got on the exact same train and repeated the whole process over again. I think we might drive next time:)

slowly but surely

My dear husband insists that he can't do what he used to do and is slowing down a bit. I cannot see any difference in what he used to do and what he's doing these days but perhaps the aches and pains are greater when he comes home in the evening. He is chiseling away at the small jobs that are too numerous to count and getting things ready for our 3 short-term teams that will be coming this fall. We have a wonderful local guy doing all the outside patching of walls and painting and things are going to start looking a lot better at the Family Place real soon. Here are a few photos showing some of the work going on right now; ripping old, rusted water pipes off the side of the building and installing new plumbing in the kitchen. (yes, that's Darrell lying on his back under the sink) The building has the first coat of paint on it and two more to go!

miserable

Saturday afternoon we took the Metro downtown as usual to attend the ch*ch service. It is always crowded but even more so now in the heat. I wore a long-sleeve shirt and high heels because the walk from the train to ch*ch is very short. Afterward, we shoved our way through the mobs to get back on the Metro to head home. Halfway home, the train started to slow way down and came to a screeching halt. The guy came over the loud speaker and informed us that the electricity that powers the train had been cut and everyone should get off and take a bus or walk. The buses were beyond crowded and every taxi was full and/or racing to get home for the evening meal. We had at least 1/2 hour to walk home but didn't have much choice. The sun was blazing hot and the sweat drenching us. My high heels began to give me serious blisters on my feet and I knew there was no way I could make it home. Darrell was desperately trying to flag a taxi but they all went whizzing by. Finally, a dear old man stopped and took me the rest of the way home. I was never so thankful for a ride! Just one of those miserable experiences that you're so happy you can talk about in the past! That evening we thought we'd take a ride out to see an area of town we hadn't seen before. Wouldn't you know, our car was as dead as could be when we went to get in it. We waited until the next day and a guy came and helped Darrell go buy a new battery. Good thing that happened before the Ramadan holiday because everything is now closed for the rest of the week.

Ramadan is over!

This is the last night of Ramadan and I will be so happy when life gets back to normal. Nothing works like it's supposed to during this month of fasting from sunrise to sunset. People sleep most of the day (or sit in a cool place and try not to move too much)and eat and party into the wee hours of the morning. Most nights we go to sleep to the sound of drums & loud music all around us. Everything is backwards and upside down. The stores are jammed with crowds of people buying an overabundance of food. Everyone is on nerve's edge and a brawl will break out at the smallest disagreement. The bad breath is what really gets me; I was told that people are proud to have bad breath because it tells everyone around that they're fasting. Yuck! The driving is treacherous. One takes his life into his hands going out during this month. Everyone is in a hurry to get to where they're going & the patience level is very low. For us that are not participating in the fast, we take advantage of the hour when everyone is eating and venture out to do our shopping then. The stores are completely empty and we have the isles to ourselves. There have been workers coming to the Family Place to "work" everyday but their energy level is sadly lacking and we're getting about 2 hours of work out of their 8 hour day I'm afraid. They choose to work only in the shady spots which I can't totally blame them for; after all it is 100+ degrees in the sun and no water allowed. I love it when they try and convince me that this is the best month of the year and they hate to see it end. They could sure fool me with their pained faces and lethargic shuffle. Doesn't look like a lot of fun to me! Well, it's over for another year & I for one couldn't be happier. I'm also so happy that it is not my suffering or giving up things that gains me access into heaven!

A grueling day

We were asked if we'd be willing to drive to a city about 3 hours south of us with a group of people to hold a service for some very beleaguered believers. Although we were tired and looking forward to a day off, we felt we couldn't turn them down and wanted to find out about the condition of the ch*ch in the south. Evidently since the revolution there has been great fear on the part of the believers all over the country because there is no police protection anymore and general chaos exists. We heard that there used to be 30 that met together in this city. We arrived at 10AM thinking that we were barely making the service and realized that we got there just as the French service was starting. With worshipers from all over West Africa, the singing was electrifying and a great spirit was felt in that place. The Rwandan pastor gave a wonderful message and 2 1/2 hours later the service ended. The Arabic service was to start immediately afterward. After waiting for more than 30 minutes, one couple showed up and we waited some more. Finally it was obvious that no one else was coming so we went ahead and sang 4 songs and heard a message by one of the men who came with us. There was a worker couple who received us very graciously and invited us to their home afterward, along with the one couple who had attended the service. It is Ramadan and there are no restaurants open in the day and difficult to find anything to eat. We were very happy to have sandwiches at their house before we got on our way. True to form, we had planned on having another service in a different city on our way north. When we called the people to tell them we were coming, they said it didn't suit them that day! It had already been arranged ahead of time but again, fear won over and there were evidently people at the house or something and we couldn't go. I was just as happy because by then it was getting late and we were exhausted. 600 kilometers and 12 hours after we left the house, we arrived home. All I could think is that Jesus would have done all of that for the one couple. We saw once again the fierce battle for the souls of men. It is really an uphill battle in this country. With all the prayer that is going up, we should be seeing a breakthrough soon!!

A familiar song sung in a different way

I won't even try to catch you up on our life; i'll just dive in where we are today and take you from here. Saturday is our day to go to ch*ch here. It's always an uplifting experience as we witness brother Moh'd and Ahmad and Hussein leading the worship and preaching the word. There are stories every week of dramatic conversions. This week we were introduced to 2 handsome young men who had been Satan worshipers just a month ago and Saturday went forward to take communion with their new brothers & sisters. In all of the ch*chs I've been in in the M.E. they always sing the song "I have decided to follow Jesus" like somewhat of a funeral dirge during baptismal services. On Saturday, the congregation broke out in this song with drums & keyboard & dancing and great joy. They meant every word of it; they live it daily and have paid dearly to follow Jesus. It was an incredible experience to watch and listen as they sang "if they lead me, even to death, still I will follow. No turning back". I especially love it when they ask those who have been persecuted for their faith during the week to stand up and everyone claps for them. I guess it does say "Blessed are those who are persecuted for my sake..." I am humbled to be part of this family of believers.

halfway through!!

I am in Switzerland, high up in the Alps, taking 4 Master's courses. It has been challenging and fun at the same time. I'm so glad I decided to do this now before our team arrives next summer. It's really perfect timing. My class is made up of 16 students from all over the world, most of them teachers/administrators at International Schools. Although few or none of them share my same faith, we have bonded together as a group like I've rarely experienced. We have the European Gold Medalist in Ice Hockey (from Latvia), an African-American woman who started her own school in Ethiopia, a gay English teacher from South Africa, a wild young woman from Sierra Leone (American), an English horseback rider whose name is Beryl and they have coined us as the "Beryl & Cheryl show", 2 young Russians who keep us laughing with their funny accents & way of expressing things, a couple from the Int'l School in Ouagadougou and more! It has been a rich experience. The beauty of this country is beyond imagination and the coolness of the mountains is so refreshing. If we want to buy even a bottle of water, we have to walk down a steep hill (with dozens of stairs)and then of course back up. The first day I thought I was going to die before I reached the top but it's amazing how your body adjusts after just a couple of weeks. Now I can climb it like a mountain goat. Saturday we went to a wine festival in a nearby city and it was a beautiful day, picnic by the lake and walking through markets and just relaxing. I promise I only drank one tiny glass of wine all day:) Can't say that for the rest of the group!!

video clip

I have no idea where the video clip went! I spent a long time downloading it. I'll try again! In case it doesn't work, I'll add a couple photos.

a beautiful evening

Before too much time gets away from me, I wanted to tell you about an amazing evening exactly one week ago. We were invited to a children's concert put on by a private school that we know well and also a large institute for handicapped children. Our friend directed the entire thing and played the keyboard. It was so moving to see these children performing together, helping each other and just making a joyful noise. The image is forever engraved in my mind of a father going up on stage afterward and picking up his son who was a grown man and carrying him down the isle and all the way out to his car. There were many scenes that brought tears to my eyes that evening. It was beautiful in every way. Here's a short video clip of one song they sang. The choir of the Africa Development Bank also performed along with the children.

a trip through the desert

We left for our long trek to the south of the country right on time at 7AM. We thought there were 8 people going but when they all showed up, we were 9 so every seat in our 9 passenger van was taken. The goal of our trip was to meet with and follow-up people along the way who had shown interest in the good news; some had had several visits and others just one or none. As is the case with most things here, there was not a clear plan and we kind of “flew by the seat of our pants” most of the time. The first stop was after about 5 hours. We pulled up to a literal hole in the wall and one of the guys said “this is a great restaurant”. It was right by the side of the road, very dusty and dirty but they served huge chicken sandwiches that were pretty good and very cheap. After lunch the guys met with a man who had been waiting for 3 years for a visit (he’s a very influential man in the place of worship & extremely fearful of anyone finding out about his interest) and the women met with a young mother and her 2 year old son. Her story was heart-breaking and so much like others I have heard over the years; abuse and mistreatment of the worst kind and all in front of her young son. She firmly believes in our message and says she would have lost her mind or committed suicide had she not had this faith. She cannot leave the situation, though she has every right to, because she would lose her son. We had a good time of encouraging her and praying for her. We didn’t leave that town until after 5PM and wanted to make the ferry before dark to get to an island we were going to. We arrived just in time, took the ferry across and drove another hour to a town where we would spend the night. The hotel was about a 2-Star and very clean. Breakfast was pretty good, though the coffee was like black car oil! We went next door to a coffee shop and got delicious coffee later. By the time we got around to eating dinner it was about 9PM. In this town, there’s a guy who’s made a decision and gone under the water and growing. He joined us and brought a friend. He was so happy we were there; starved for fellowship. The next morning he showed up at the hotel and took us around town. The day seemed kind of without purpose and wasted because the other 2 contacts who knew we were coming had closed their telephones, obviously not wanting to meet with us. They say this happens all the time! They sometimes drive for 4-5 hours to make a visit and the person closes their phone. The day was redeemed when our friend showed up with 4 other friends and we went out to the beach (yes, 13 in our van) to sit and talk and drink coffee. It turned into an incredible time of sharing our message from beginning to end with these young guys. The 13 of us were crowded into a small area of the coffee shop, talking in whispered tones for almost 3 hours! Finally at 10PM we said we could continue our conversation around dinner. We found a nice fast-food place and ordered our food. I really hate eating at 11PM but what could we do? It was well after midnight when we finally got back to the hotel. If all these young men would come to faith, there would be a nice nucleus on that island to work with. It is a very dark place and just a handful of workers. The next morning after breakfast we went on to the next stop which was 2 hours further south. This hotel was a minus 1-Star hotel. It cost $7/person/night so we couldn’t complain. We got settled and went over to visit a center where they buy & distribute food to refugees from the country next door where all the fighting is. There are 40,000 of them in this little town. We pooled our money and gave them a donation to buy more food. (actually the guys went with them and bought the food) The people of this town have all opened their homes and are keeping 6-10 people as they have no money and no place to go. They come to this center every day and get bread & basic foods. They were thinking it would be for a month but now it has stretched into 4! While sitting around the center, all 9 of us, big bowls of food started appearing and we realized they were serving us lunch. They put out a beautiful spread of food and invited us all to sit around a table right in the middle of the warehouse, surrounded by cases of oil, milk, macaroni, etc. I think they were honored that we came to visit and encourage them in the great work they’re doing. We went home and had a rest in the afternoon as it was well over 100 degrees and the town was kind of shut down. It came back to life again around 6PM and we went out to walk around. The guys went back to the center and we girls went for a walk to find a coffee shop and see who we might be able to talk to. We walked for ages and finally stopped a young girl to ask where we might find a “mixed” coffee shop. (most are just for men) She started to explain and then said “I’ll walk with you”. We literally walked a couple of miles and then came to an outdoor place where there were tables to sit at and moms & children at a playground. This girl that came with us stayed and we enjoyed getting to know her. She said she believed that it was a “divine encounter” that she met us. We found out her house was nowhere near the coffee shop but she had walked all that way to be with us. This town has absolutely NO witness of any kind and is incredibly dark. It was overwhelming to think of the needs there. We went up on the mountain overlooking the city and had coffee at sunset, then went back down to the town and ate dinner at 8. Sleep was hard to come by with our saggy mattresses, bright street lights and no air-conditioning! Breakfast the next morning was a piece of pound cake wrapped in foil (some of which were moldy) and a cup of tea. We again went and found a coffee shop next door. We left for our long trip home at 8AM. The highways are SO dangerous and it was stressful driving (Darrell and I split the driving). 1,350 km later, we arrived home at 4:30PM, praising God for his protection and help. The needs are huge and way too few workers. But we serve a very BIG God and we have to believe that he can multiply our efforts and prayers to fulfill his purposes.
Photos: the entrance to our -1 star hotel. an old village remade into a tourist spot

Going with the flow

Sunday morning at 9:00 we were supposed to show up at a certain place for a bap. service and dinner together with our brothers & sisters here. Of course, we showed up right on time and there wasn't a soul there. We received a call from a friend, asking us if we could pick her up at a nearby Metro stop which we did. We got back to find a few people arriving. The place is a huge house with a beautiful yard where they set up a blow-up pool which would be the bap. pool. With a hose and a trickle of water, they began to fill this enormous pool with ice cold water! There was a flurry of activity trying to find someone with the key for the house (where the service was to be held) but they never were able to track it down. Plans quickly changed. About 50 people crowded under a fig tree, sitting on bricks, logs, the ground and began to worship the Lord. Only minutes into the service, they called me over and asked if I would be willing to drive our van to pick up some people who were getting bap. I went with another girl and we got stuck in an awful traffic jam and 1 1/2 hours later returned with the 5 people we'd gone to pick up! A Lib. family was among the group and the mom was getting bap so it was well worth it to me to be able to bring her. The service was still going when we got back! (I think they were stalling so the pool would have time to fill!) There must have been some sore behinds sitting on those rocks! It was thrilling to listen to the testimonies of the 8 candidates. Some have suffered greatly to follow our Lord. The clapping and cheering and tears as each one went under the water was so moving. Almost 4 hours after arriving, we were ready to have our meal together. Many had planned on the ovens in the house to heat their food but of course that didn't happen since they never found the key! It all turned out just fine and we had a wonderful time of fellowship with everyone. We were asked to take a bunch of people home in our van afterward (10 to be exact). We drove way out into the country to take two families home. It was pretty amazing to realize what they have to go through to get to ch'ch every week; some take 2 or 3 buses and then walk a long distance. Kind of embarrassing to think what keeps us from going to ch'ch sometimes. A full 6 hours after leaving the house, we arrived home exhausted but happy to have witnessed such a wonderful occasion. Several times during the day we found ourselves saying "if I were doing this, I would have..." But we weren't in charge and just had to go with the flow, as unorganized and crazy as it seemed at times. We were blessed beyond words.

Our romantic getaway

On May 30th we celebrated 30 years of marriage. We planned a trip to Italy for the occasion. It truly was a trip of a lifetime. We had never done anything like this before and felt a bit guilty spending all that money on ourselves! Even besides the airplane tickets and hotels, everything was so expensive but we decided that 30 years was worth every penny so we tried to forget and enjoy! Darrell and I are not very good tourists. I guess we've seen so many ancient ruins and sites over the past 30 years, that we weren't really that enthralled with the Roman ruins. We also don't have an artistic bone in our bodies so looking at hundreds of paintings did not thrill us either. We did pay money to see the Vatican/Sistine Chapel and the Colosseum but other than that we decided not to waste our money on museums, especially after we paid 10 Euro each to visit a museum we had been told was the most famous in the world. They told us it would take 3-4 hours to see it all. We were done in less than 30 minutes:)
The thing we enjoyed most was sitting at sidewalk cafes watching the crowds go by, walking all over the cities of Rome & Florence on cobblestone streets and looking in small shops, eating yummy pizza and lots of Gelato (wonderful Italian ice cream). We also enjoyed sitting in the beautiful hotel lounges, reading and relaxing. A few things that stood out about Italy were the huge number of motorbikes everywhere, people walking their dogs of every size and breed, huge ancient churches on every corner. In fact everything was just huge and old! The train ride from Rome to Florence went through beautiful countryside. It was simply a little bit of paradise and we enjoyed every minute. Thinking back on where life's path has taken us, we certainly do have much to celebrate as we remember God's amazing grace and goodness in our lives! Here's to another 30 years.

The tale of the Olive Tree

We had an olive tree in our yard that was left to grow way too tall and the leaves were all at the top. Olives trees are supposed to be short and spread wide. The olive tree leaned over our pool and whenever a slight wind came along, it would dump all kinds of leaves, blossoms and dirt into the water. Daily I cleaned the pool (even though it's still too cold to go in!)and daily I had to scoop tons of stuff off the top and vacuum more off the bottom. Today Darrell decided that he'd like to cut off all the branches from the tree. With a very short ladder leaning precariously against the tree, he climbed up and started cutting. I watched occasionally from the window but just about had a heart attack every time his feet would leave the tree and he'd hang off a branch. He is one that never does half a job; it's all or nothing with my husband. He attacks a project and will not stop until it's done. I guess anyone that's ever worked with him will vouch for the truth of that statement:)I did retrieve his blade a few times as it fell to the ground. He cut most of it with a tiny saber saw blade + a manual tree saw. Then the massive job of cutting it all up and bundling it for the garbage men who will come pick it up. One thing is for sure, we will have way less clean-up in our yard from now on. It was such a messy tree! The olive tree has been cut off from the top and hopefully will start sprouting new shoots much lower next time.