PhoenicieKonnection

3 weeks already-can it be?

2012-01-29T10:20:00.000-08:00

I was so anxious to have the first week over and feel like we were in some kind of groove and now it's been 3 weeks and we've survived! After 2 weeks I had to fire the kitchen helper because he was stressing me out to the max. I was proud of how I was able to handle it very calmly and not get emotional at all. We had a huge show-down the day before and I knew he was furious at me. I became very bold and would not let him intimidate me:) He left and a huge burden was lifted. A few days later I got a wonderful young girl that I just love. We've already had some great conversations in the kitchen and I look forward to the day she will accept our message. Over all, I would have to declare that it's been a good 3 weeks. We spend an average of 69 hours a week at The Family Place. That's 13 hours Monday-Friday and 4 hours on Saturday. That's the minimum that we spend; usually a bit more than that! It is demanding to be sure but not overwhelming. There are hours during the day when we have no one and I can work on the jigsaw puzzle or write papers for my online courses or sit and read. Saturday mornings are proving to be very popular with our American breakfasts served from 8-11AM. You should have seen three of us flying around the kitchen this week, doing an amazing job of multitasking. At one time I had all five burners goings with pancakes, french toast and 2 omelets. Quite a few local friends came this week and that makes it a lot more fun. Our short-term couple is really a huge help and we couldn't do this without them. Sure wish someone else would step up to the plate and come help us out through July until our team arrives here. We have one single gal coming but she will not be able to handle everything. We're just taking a day at a time and know that God will provide in the nick of time. The preschool is going so well and I hope to train my kitchen help well enough that she can keep things going in the cafe during the morning hours and I can help up there with the kids. I'll attach a couple of pictures of the preschool. I wanted to take some on Saturday when the place was packed for breakfast but I couldn't leave the stove for a minute. The Fitness Center is hopping and that is our weakest link as far as people to sit up there and keep track of who comes and goes. We're getting a hidden camera added up there this week which will help a little. It's a lot for just a few of us to handle but we do what we can and have to leave the rest. We know this is just for a season so we press on, looking forward to the day when we're not so tied down! An older couple with prophetic gifts came by The Family Place this week and were very encouraging about what they believe God is going to do through this place. Just after they told me that the name God gave them for our place was "the Shalom Zone", a neighbor lady came by to use the internet and have a cup of coffee. As she was leaving, 3 other women came in and she said "you've never been in such a peaceful place; you're going to love it." Bring it on!!

adding things, one by one

2012-01-13T09:34:00.001-08:00

We decided to stagger some of the activities so that we weren't totally overwhelmed all at once. Yesterday we began our preschool program and the first 2 days have been awesome! Our short-term gal has done a wonderful job heading it up. Not sure what we'll do once she leaves but I know God will provide! Here are some pics of the kids...

The Day is HERE!

2012-01-09T00:38:00.000-08:00

Yup, the day we looked forward to and dreaded at the same time, has come! Our doors are open for business and we're scared to death that no one will come and at the same time, scared that too many will come and we won't be able to handle them. These have been stressful days, if you haven't heard me say that yet:) One morning, after I'd been awake most of the night thinking about the enormity of this project and wondering why we got ourselves into it, I was overcome with panic and wanted to run away from it all. I didn't like the thought that we are slaves now to The Family Place and can't ever leave (until we get some more help). But then I began thinking about all of you, our partners. YOU go to jobs every day and are "slaves" to them, in that you can't just stay home or go on a trip whenever you want. Why do I think that my time should be totally mine and that I should be able to sleep in or stay in my nice, warm house whenever I feel like it? Well, let's just say that I began to get perspective on things and it didn't seem so desperate anymore. God has very clearly been leading us through this process of registering, renovating and opening the Family Place and we have to believe that he has big plans for us. He knows what we can handle and he has entrusted us with this huge business so I'm going to just relax and rest in Him. I'm sure glad you all are with us in this!! Couldn't do it without you. Here are some new pics that were taken with my son's wide angle lens.

more photos

2011-12-08T21:27:00.001-08:00

Officially declaring the Family Place complete!

2011-12-08T21:09:00.000-08:00

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

2011-12-03T10:56:00.000-08:00

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

2011-11-24T21:29:00.000-08:00

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

2011-11-04T08:54:00.000-07:00

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

2011-11-04T02:09:00.000-07:00

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

sheep everywhere!!

2011-11-03T05:41:00.000-07:00

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

2011-11-02T06:24:00.000-07:00

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

2011-11-01T06:21:00.001-07:00

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

2011-11-01T06:07:00.000-07:00

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

2011-10-23T03:16:00.000-07:00

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

2011-10-06T10:23:00.001-07:00

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!

2011-10-02T10:36:00.000-07:00

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

2011-09-14T23:28:00.000-07:00

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...

2011-09-12T10:22:00.001-07:00

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!

2011-09-09T09:45:00.000-07:00

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

2011-09-04T09:15:00.000-07:00

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

2011-09-02T09:11:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-29T12:41:00.000-07:00

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!

2011-08-29T12:09:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-23T09:11:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-23T08:52:00.000-07:00

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!!

2011-07-10T08:28:00.001-07:00

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

2011-06-24T20:30:00.000-07:00

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

2011-06-24T10:13:00.000-07:00

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

2011-06-22T23:19:00.000-07:00

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

2011-06-12T23:30:00.000-07:00

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

2011-06-11T03:23:00.000-07:00

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

2011-05-22T05:33:00.000-07:00

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.

Tuesday babies

2011-05-10T09:18:00.000-07:00

I know I keep using the word "hopeless" to describe the situation with these babies but that is the word that constantly comes to my mind as I care for them each Tuesday. Today I arrived early and 2 of the babies were crying. 4 were the same as last week and 3 of them were new. The others had gone on to an orphanage to live out their lives there. I thought I'd go up to the other floor and try to get the bottles early but they weren't ready yet. So I wandered around and looked at the huge nurseries full of preemies. I counted 20+ teeny, weeny babies in incubators in the one room and only one nurse caring for them. I actually felt a deep sadness, remembering my tiny little baby who died 28 years ago, knowing that had she been born today, she probably would have lived. These babies were so tiny that it was unimagineable that they could survive and yet they were fighting away for their lives. On the other side of the hall, were slightly larger babies with an equal ratio of baby to nurse. Another "hopeless" situation it seemed to me. The bottles were finally ready for my babies and I went back downstairs to begin feeding them. I was alone at first and had to prop a couple bottles up for the crying babies while I fed one at a time. Soon 2 other Italian nuns came to help and then we were fine. I love bathing and clothing the babies even more than feeding them. I cover their bodies with lotion and massage them and brush their hair. I wish I had nice, pretty clothes to put on them but the grungy sleepers that they provide will have to do. Then I change their crib sheets and tuck them all in, clean and fed. As I was leaving today, there was one baby that wasn't settled and I knew he'd be cryiing in no time so I picked him up and tried to settle him before I left. I thought to myself how silly that was because those babies are probably left to cry much of the day. I just had to lock my emotions in a box and walk out. I must say that it takes a couple of days for their faces to disappear from before my eyes. Until next Tuesday...

Just another Saturday

2011-05-07T12:10:00.000-07:00

Saturday is our day to go to church here. We always leave plenty early because it can take up to an hour to get there, depending on what we run into traffic-wise. Today we decided to take the Metro downtown. We can literally step outside our door, walk a couple meters and get on the train. It was packed right to the doors as usual but we managed to squeeze our bodies on also. Last week a friend had his wallet stolen on the Metro so we both held on tight to ours today. We went 2 stops down the line on our way to our destination. Everyone started pouring out of the train and we couldn't figure out what was going on. Then the conductor came and got in the opposite end of the train and started going back where we had just come from! We asked someone and they said we needed to get off and get on another one. They re-opened the doors and we jumped off. We waited forever and were going to be very late for church but finally asked again and someone told us to get on #3 and we'd have to get out and walk the rest of the way. We were totally confused by this point but got on the train and starting talking to a very nice university student. He told us that all the lines were closed below a certain station because there was teargas and police and all kinds of lawlessness. He got out with us and walked a long ways until we came to riot police and teargas and the whole bit. Young kids throwing rocks, fires burning in the streets, all storefronts closed and general chaos. We tried several different ways but kept getting turned back by teargas and mobs running away from it. We finally gave up and headed back to the Metro station to go home. You can see 2 guys riding on the back of the train in one of the photos. These were older guys but every train has someone on the back and some are 5 or 6 years old. It is really dangerous! I must say, it was good to come back to the safety of our beautiful home. Fridays & Saturdays have been crazy here for the last few weeks.

update

2011-05-04T12:28:00.000-07:00

I know some of you are waiting to hear what the next day brought forth for me at the hospital. It ended up that my friend was able to get back from her trip and go with me so I wasn't alone after all. The second day we had 9 babies. I can't believe how I began to get attached to certain ones after just two days. The situation with the clothes is so desperate. When we first get there, we scavenger around and try to get together a few clean pieces of clothing. The snaps are all rusted and don't close so they wrap gauze around the baby's waist to keep the sleepers on them! Rarely is there a pair of socks that match. Several of the babies end up with just an undershirt and diaper because there are no more clothes. They're all stained with the red dye from the medicine they put on the babies' bottoms. It doesn't help to take clothes in because they all get stolen and the babies never see them. People have tried before. We do have our own little bag of Desitin, eye ointment, lotion and other items that we might need and we hide that. When we give the babies a bath, we hold them in one hand under a running faucet and have to constantly keep our hand under the water and adjust it because the water becomes scalding in a second. So dangerous! It's just really a hopeless situation and we do the best we can but it's so sad to think of what happens to those little guys when we're not there. They drink their bottles as if there's no tomorrow, so ravenously hungry. It seems that even at their young age, they know that if they don't eat when it's offered to them, they may not get anything for a looooong time. We pick each baby up, usually in a deep sleep, and they immediately start sucking like crazy when the bottle hits their lips. You know how hard it is to get a sleeping baby to eat normally! Not with these little cherubs. I'll be back in the hospital next Tuesday and hopefully update you again then. No luck getting pictures.

unwanted treasures

2011-05-02T03:20:00.000-07:00

This morning I accompanied a friend of mine to the government hospital where she goes regularly to feed babies who are abandoned and unwanted by their families. Since I adore newborn babies & just the whole hospital environment, I was excited to get involved in this ministry. Upon arrival, she began to give me the tour and show me how things ran. On one side of the small room, there were probably 10 babies in small cribs and these are ones that have mothers and will be going home. On the other side, there were 7 babies and these were ones that were abandoned by their mothers for a variety of reasons: some mothers were unwed, some babies had birth defects, some were simply abandoned because the mother had too many kids & could not afford to raise another. The job at hand was to feed, bathe & clothe these 7 babies. I asked what would happen if there was no one to do this and they said these babies would wait until all other work was done & then they'd be tended to. My friend said that sometimes they go hours without being fed because there simply aren't enough hands. We began to feed the babies that were crying. One scary thing was getting the right baby back into the right crib. I guess they've had mix ups before! If we weren't finished feeding the baby in our arms, we'd have to go prop a bottle up for the other crying babies. After they were all fed, we began giving them all baths and changing the sheets in their cribs. There was an extreme shortage of baby clothes and by the end, we were simply putting on an undershirt & socks (2 different colors). The babies that were being born (seemed like every few minutes they were bringing in a newborn)had absolutely no clothes and were simply wrapped in a blanket with a diaper. We had to go to another floor to get the bottles for the babies and it was interesting watching them wash them! Very unsterile technique! They used tap water to make the bottles. We later would pass the bottles around to different crying babies with no thought of who they belonged to. One thing that was glaring was the horrible diaper rash that every baby had. They pour red Mercurochrome all over their raw little bottoms. It's so awful to see. We have a large tube of Desitin that we plaster their bottoms with. It's really a hopeless situation but somehow fulfilling to just hold these little guys and love them a bit and meet some of their basic needs. After giving a bath, we even brushed their hair and put cologne on them. At the end of the time, they asked what I was doing tomorrow? I found out that neither volunteer could come tomorrow and they asked if I'd come do the whole thing?? How could I say NO? I'll let you know how it goes. I wish I could post a picture but my friend told me it's forbidden to take photos. I might still try and sneak one tomorrow if I'm there alone.

Easter 2011

2011-04-26T07:19:00.000-07:00

It was a great weekend. Friday we went to church at 3PM for the Good Friday service. It was a moving time of remembering the death of Jesus and all he suffered in order to purchase our salvation. Two women read the story from the New Testament. At one point, one of the woman broke down and cried as she read of the suffering of Jesus. The sermon was given by a man who has been under tremendous persecution and even had his life threatened. It was a privilege to worship with brothers and sisters who have paid so much to follow Christ. Saturday we celebrated the resurrection of Christ and it was a packed out service. Believers from the north and south of the country came for the occasion. A man that was sitting in front of us was asked to stand up and everyone clapped and cheered as the pastor told us that this was his first Easter & the first time he has been with other believers. Two months ago, a really neat guy that we liked a lot (kind of like the asst. pastor) left the church because of differences with the pastor. At this service, the 2 men stood in front of the congregation and asked for forgiveness from each other & from the congregation. In 28 years in the Middle East we have never seen anything like this! The humility & transparency on their part was really amazing. They cried in front of 200 people and asked for forgiveness. It was truly one of the most moving things we've ever witnessed. The guy that preached was fantastic and we left after 2 hours feeling like we'd tasted a bit of heaven. On Sunday, we figured we could skip church as they were having a joint service with the French & Arabic congregations and we knew it would be packed. We also had had such a great time celebrating the resurrection of Christ on Saturday that we didn't feel we needed more! And we were hosting an Easter dinner for 18 people Sunday evening so I needed to get ready for that. It turned out to be a very nice evening with a beautiful spread of food (everyone brought something), worship time with communion & games afterward. A great Easter weekend! The people around the table here are only part of the gang that was here!

frustrating day!

2011-04-12T09:18:00.000-07:00

I had a long list of things to get accomplished today. Little did I know that on the day when you pay your electric bill, you should not plan much else! I walked about 15 minutes to the electric company. I took a number which was 77. They were on 23. The place was absolutely packed with people. There was a woman screaming behind a glass partition and I could hardly understand a word she was saying. I asked the man next to me what was happening. He said they had cut her electricity because she hadn't paid for 3 months. She was yelling so loud in that tiny room, I couldn't believe they put up with it. I'm not kidding, it went on for 30 minutes! She would calm down a bit and then start screaming again. I have no idea what the final outcome was but out walked this tiny little covered woman, still mumbling to herself as she went out the door. The man next to me kept saying things like "this is what democracy does" and "these people don't deserve democracy; they're animals". If nothing else, the 1 1/2 hours that I spent there was a great cultural lesson. I don't know if it was different before, but everyone is on nerve's edge these days. No one obeys the laws of the land. A taxi driver told me "we have to accept everything right now & keep our mouths shut" because there is no government & no law enforcement. If you get out and yell at someone in traffic, he may just shoot you with a gun. We've lived in that kind of situation before in Lebanon during the war years. After finally getting my bill paid, it was already 11AM and things would start closing down before long for lunch so I hurried to the municipality where I needed to get 10 copies of a "Power of Attorney" signed & stamped. I first of all walked a long ways to the wrong municipality and was redirected to another one, at least a 30-minute walk away. I couldn't find my passport anywhere but I had a copy and figured that would suffice. WRONG!! I waited (more like shoved & pushed)for one hour in a line that was 4 deep and culminated at one single window with a very grouchy lady. When I finally got up there, her first words were "where's your passport"? I said I'd brought a copy of it and she threw my papers back at me and told me to bring my passport next time. At that point, I had been walking or standing on my feet for 3 1/2 hours and I was beat. I thought I'd take a taxi home but they were all full (since it was lunchtime), so I walked. I was trying to think of things to be thankful for as I was near tears of exhaustion. I thought of quite a few actually & was home in no time at all, relaxing in my beautiful, comfortable home. One thing is for sure and that is that "all things work together for good to those who love God" and that's ME. I will go back tomorrow with my passport and try again. At least now I know the system.

interesting encounter

2011-04-12T09:01:00.000-07:00

We have recently changed our business consultant due to incompetency on the part of the other group. I have met this new lady once at a coffee shop; I learned that she was the one and only female cross-bike rider from this country but she was driving a 4X4 vehicle that day. She was very pleasant and confident in her work and we decided to go with her. Yesterday I met with her again to actually start drawing up the statutes for our business & beginning serious work. I dressed up for the occasion, wanting to look the part of the business woman that I'm supposed to be. When we arrived at her office (which turned out to be the basement of her house), she was dressed in sweatpants, T-shirt and a bandanna on her head. Her large orange motorcycle was sitting in the driveway & she informed me that she not only loved her bike but she adored it. We had a very pleasant meeting and accomplished a lot. She told us about how she loves to ride through the desert on her bike and often stops to take pictures & enjoy the beauty. She doesn't care if she comes in first place in the competition. (I thought there was a good message in there)When it was time to leave, she said she would lead us out to the main road as it was a bit complicated. She jumped on her bike and flew out of the driveway, motor roaring and dirt flying! I laughed so hard as she did "wheelies" up over the speed bumps and swerved in and out of traffic. It was such a funny experience. The bottom line is that the woman is FUN and knows her job and will get us registered it seems, with little effort. She's invited us to one of her competitions down in the southern desert someday soon. Can't wait!

Plan B

2011-04-01T14:02:00.001-07:00

This afternoon we had a meeting, kind of an orientation, for all the new folks who have come in the last year. After our meeting, we planned to go to a nice restaurant in the middle of town. We all walked downtown and were almost to the restaurant when we began feeling the effects of tear gas! Then we saw riot police and people running. We had to turn around because we obviously couldn't continue toward the tear gas. A few went to a local pizza place and ordered pizza while the rest of us went back to the meeting place. We sat around and ate pizza instead of the restaurant meal we were looking forward to. All in a day...

a little break

2011-04-01T01:19:00.000-07:00

Although we've only been here less than 3 months and hardly needed a break, we were invited to attend the prayer conference of the Senegal field and gladly accepted! Of course, having a sister & brother-in-law & 2 nieces there was an extra pull. The setting for the conference was a "tropical paradise" right on the ocean. Wild monkeys would often visit us at mealtime and once swooped down on our table and grabbed a banana right off someone's plate. Another time, a monkey got up on the dessert table and filled both fists with crepes. While sitting at the pool, one came up beside me and starting digging in a woman's bag, looking to see if there was anything he wanted in there. In the dining area, there were numerous bats hanging down from the netting area but they never bothered us. Each couple or family was housed in a little individual "hut". It was truly a restful time of spiritual refreshment & physical renewal, except that we ate way too much food with three buffets served everyday!! The time with our family in Dakar was also fun; never can have too much of that! My nieces enjoyed helping Uncle Darrell with his French lessons. There were often loud outbursts of laughter when his tongue refused to make the right sounds:) Life in West Africa is certainly more primitive than the Africa we live in. I realize that our life is a lot easier in many ways. It was good to get home and I hope to soon get into a rhythm of life here which we definitely don't have yet. Now Darrell has had to leave for 17 days to be with his very ill mother so I guess that rhythm won't get going anytime soon. We press on, seeing what God has for us each day and walking faithfully in what he calls us to do.

Our house

2011-03-12T22:27:00.000-08:00

We have been blessed with an awesome house! Here are a few pictures to give you an idea of where we live. God has been so good to us; we feel unworthy. The 9-passenger gray van is also ours! It is a wonderful blessing except when trying to pull it into our narrow garage. I scraped the side of it the first time! My husband was very gracious but I felt sick. Oh well...I guess a small thing when thinking of all the pain and sorrow in our world today.

sippy cups and cheerios

2011-03-04T08:59:00.000-08:00

I'm sure that title left you scratching your heads and wondering "what on earth?" We just moved into our new house. The people that lived here before us were in the same line of work as we are. They had 3 small children, spread apart about like my 3 children, 2 boys and a girl. Before we moved into this house, we spent a couple days cleaning up and reorganizing things to get ready for our move. As I swept up cheerios from the floor and found sippy cups under the table and toy cars and puzzle pieces behind the beds, I unexpectedly began to cry! At first I couldn't understand why I was so overcome with sadness; sadness that lasted much of the day as I cleaned away all the little fingerprints from the cupboards and erased the crayon marks on the walls. My mind wandered back many years in time. I remembered all the dozens of times we moved with our 3 young children, leaving behind toys & pets & friends. I'm sure there were people who cleaned up cheerios & sippy cups belonging to my children. I thought long and hard about the cost of following this Call. It is not an easy life, in a lot of ways. Many times I have felt like giving it up, especially as my children got older and now an ocean separates us. When they were young, it didn't seem to matter how much we moved as long as they had Mom & Dad close by. Living in a part of the world where spiritual fruit comes very slowly and sometimes at great cost, we don't even have that to keep us going. Although there are sacrifices in this life (what life doesn't have sacrifice??) I have seen over & over that the sacrifice is worth it. I certainly don't want to dwell on the sacrifices because that would be defeating! There are so many promises that are bright & hopeful and I choose to dwell on those. "My strength is made perfect in weakness", "those that sow in tears will come forth rejoicing", "nothing is impossible with God" and "He will keep us in perfect peace if our minds are fixed on him" are just a few! So, all in all, I love my life and couldn't imagine doing anything else, but the cheerios & sippy cups got me thinking & evaluating & reminiscing...

never a dull moment

2011-02-26T09:13:00.000-08:00

This afternoon we left an hour early for ch'ch. Saturday afternoon traffic is usually extra bad so we wanted to leave plenty of time. After one hour in a taxi, we decided to get out and walk because we were at a complete standstill. We weaved in an out of crowded streets and at one point a very nice man stopped us and warned us that there were gangs up ahead and lots of demonstrations. He didn't tell us that there was tear gas! All of a sudden we saw mobs of people running toward us with their mouths covered, some choking and others vomiting. We immediately began to feel the effects of the tear gas and our eyes and throat were on fire. I could hardly see and had to hold on tight to Darrell, lest I fall over. We started running and stopped to ask a policeman if we were running toward the trouble or far enough away from it. He said if we stayed on a specific street, we should be OK. The gas was just awful and we walked as fast as we could toward the ch'ch. I was so afraid after all that, that the service would be canceled. Thankfully it wasn't. It was like a refuge as we ran in there and were free from the tear gas & mobs outside. We had a lovely service with communion and then everyone left really quickly. Some offered us a ride but we declined and said we'd take a taxi. A young girl from the congregation walked with us. We were only 2 minutes out and saw huge crowds of people screaming and running toward us. We darted into a doorway and about 10 people piled in with us. They said that an old man had been beaten up. When we went out, it started all over again and a guy told us not to go down a certain street because there was a dead person down there. Oh my goodness. We were turned away from 3 different streets that we tried to go down. It was freezing cold and there were NO taxis anywhere. We finally got our friend delivered to her ride and found a taxi, only to get out immediately when he told us it would cost us 20 dinars! (5 X what it should) We walked some more and eventually found an honest taxi who took us home. What a wild afternoon!! I wish I could have stopped to get some pictures but it was too dangerous and we were running. I did grab one which I'll post here. It just shows rocks everywhere and how they dug them up from the railroad tracks. The streets were strewn with trash and piles of burning garbage and broken glass everywhere. What a mess. Things are definitely not settled here but we feel in no danger at all. Life goes on. Just never want to get caught in tear gas again!

where push comes to shove

2011-02-20T00:41:00.000-08:00

Our weekly Saturday afternoon walk to church is always a challenge since the open market shares the streets with cars and 1000's of pedestrians. Yesterday however, added even more fun as the demonstrations continue & people are out in mass to participate in the ongoing revolution. We literally had to push with both arms through the crowd and shove our way to our destination. It was unbelievable. I had my purse around my neck and clutched it tight. You can see from the video clip how ridiculous it is to think of driving a car through that, but many do! The wonderful time of worship with fellow believers was well worth the fight to get there!

spaghetti with octopus??

2011-02-17T08:51:00.000-08:00

The video clip is just a taste of what downtown looks like these days. We met friends there for lunch today and stopped to see what all the protests were about. Those young people can get really loud & rambunctious. They spontaneously spring up all over the boulevard downtown and it's kind of fun to watch it all happening. We went to an Italian restaurant and our local friend ordered octopus. Darrell was ready to order whatever he did but quickly changed his mind when he heard his order! I had spaghetti with "fruit of the sea" thinking it would be shrimp, fish, scallops?? Wrong. My spaghetti was covered with tentacles of octopuses (?) and squid; very hard to chew, by the way:) The appetizers are usually a plate of olives and a plate of mayonnaise & hot pepper paste which they dip French bread in. Very different but I'm sure we'll be getting used to it and loving it after awhile. I love hot stuff so I don't mind the food here. The French bread and pastries are wonderful and available on every corner. Yikes. Danger. This is certainly a different country & culture from the other Middle Eastern countries we've lived in. And with this new revolution, it is changing drastically by the day! Fun to be here and watch it evolve before our own eyes.

A Saturday afternoon stroll

2011-02-12T23:25:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Darrell's birthday. We began the day with a brunch with friends here at our little apartment. In the early afternoon we headed downtown to attend the weekly Arabic ch'ch service. It was a great blessing as always and growing in number weekly as people's fear subside and they begin to venture back to their routines. After the 2-hour service, we headed out to walk down the main boulevard and see what what going on there. The crowds are just incredible; so thick you can hardly push through. People sell their wares along both sides of the streets. On the main street, there are still large crowds that spring up spontaneously and huge shouts & cheers as speeches are made. We stopped by a restaurant to have cous cous for dinner and enjoyed watching the crowds down below. We ended up walking for over an hour after dinner toward our home since the taxis were scarce and the weather was nice and we needed the exercise! This city went wild the other night when Egypt's president stepped down; the horns honked late into the night and people cheered & waved flags & danced in the streets. The atmosphere around here is just one huge celebration. The region certainly is in flux and everyone is nervous about what the future holds. Meanwhile, we are forging ahead with our language studies and enjoying the beautiful weather. Most days are sunny and in the 60's. Soon we should be able to show you pictures of our new van!

sweet fellowship

2011-02-06T09:32:00.000-08:00

Here in Long Beach, we attend the Saturday afternoon gathering of believers. Yesterday I went alone because Darrell was sick. Sat. afternoon traffic is awful and it took me more than an hour to get there in a taxi. Then I had to get out and walk another 10 minutes. Even though I was 15 minutes late, they still hadn't started so that was good. It was an amazing experience to worship with these people who have suffered so much for their faith. The service began with a woman playing the Oud (Arab guitar-like instrument) and singing a solo that sounded almost like a funeral dirge. It was eery and beautiful at the same time. She had written the words about her country and the fear that has gripped people's hearts and the blood that has been spilled to buy freedom. From that they exploded into vibrant worship that was so wonderful. The leader was overwhelmed and started dancing down the side isle, grabbing first an old woman and dancing with her and then a young man. There was a drum, guitars and keyboard. The songs are all familiar ones to us so we can join in the worship and it is a rich experience. After almost an hour of singing & prayer, they preached for another hour, then had communion. Everyone stood along the walls in a big circle and they served us there. At the end, people began breaking out in song and finally had to stop as the worship team for the Sunday service was arriving to set up and practice. Everyone goes to the back porch area afterward to drink coffee and talk. It is a sweet time of fellowship. We are privileged to be welcomed into this fellowship.

more blessings

2011-02-04T23:09:00.000-08:00

A line of an old song says it well. "If it keeps getting better & better O Lord, I don't know what I'm gonna do"! I know that the Lord gives and he takes away and I hope my heart would choose to say Blessed be His Name in both situations but right now he is just giving and giving and we are overwhelmed at his goodness. Another Divine appointment...we stopped by the kids' AWANA club on Wednesday to meet up with some friends and go out for coffee. The director of the program mentioned that there was a family leaving the country and wanting to rent their house and sell all their furniture. We called the family and went the next day to meet them & see the house. Everything was perfect about the situation; we couldn't pass it up! The only piece of furniture we'll have to buy is a stove. We took everything else in their house and the best thing is that we were a huge answer to THEIR prayers. Imagine how much easier their move is now that they don't have to take apart wardrobes and empty out kitchen cupboards and have a dozen people coming through their house buying random pieces. We bought it all! The house has a garage, a beautiful yard (they even had a gas grill)full of fruit trees, (I have my very own bay leaf tree), a swimming pool (which we may or may not use), large entryway, living/dining room, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, large eat-in kitchen. It is just wonderful in every way. The people are leaving the internet in their name for us so we can avoid the hassle of re-applying for a new line as that can take 4-6 weeks. Although this house is a huge answer to prayer for us, I also love it when we're a huge answer to prayer for someone else. There's still more!! This group rented office space right around the corner from their house which they use for small group sessions, for meeting language tutors, for all kinds of things. We could just imagine how God could use this place and the rent was very affordable so we also took that on. It is 2 rooms, a reception area, small kitchen and bathroom. After thinking that this house-hunting thing was going to take weeks of looking at different places and then buying all the furniture and having it delivered by truck, we now have a house and all the needed furniture and it just kind of dropped in our lap. The location of this house is wonderful; right next to the Metro station and right near a large grocery store and open market. We will now keep our eyes & ears open for a place to start our business! I know all of this was the direct result of YOUR prayers. We can take no credit. Ultimately, God gets all the credit & glory and that's where it belongs. Thank you, God!

all in a day

2011-02-02T21:01:00.000-08:00

I'm realizing that my thinking about blogs has been wrong. I don't have to wait until I have something big to write about and pictures to go with it; I can just write a short blurb about my day and some of my closest friends and family would enjoy that. Why should the constant feeling of guilt be associated with a blog?? I shall change that and write little bits more often! Yesterday was another rainy day here and I hate taking taxis by myself anyway, but standing in the rain for 15 minutes waiting for one, is just the pits. I don;t know my way around this city yet so I never know if the guy is taking me way out of the way to get to my destination or not. My fare to get to my language class is usually 4,000 dinar. Yesterday, when I saw that the meter was more than 5,000 I started to get worried. I had no idea where I was and the taxi dropped me off and said the school was right "over there". I started walking down obscure alleyways and finally asked someone. I was going in the completely wrong direction! I can't wait until I know my way around and everything is familiar! I am going to switch to an afternoon class because the morning one was not suitable for my needs. I'll be glad not to have to fight the 8AM traffic. In the afternoon, we met up with our friends and went to a coffee shop and visited for a couple hours. After consuming a chocolate/almond crepe, we decided we should walk home! Today we are going to look at a house that will be vacated in March. They even have all their furniture for sale! If that works out, it will be an incredible blessing. Darrell has moved closer to actually ordering our van and hopefully before too long, we'll be taxi-free! More later...

Our new life

2011-01-31T22:32:00.000-08:00

Every day I go to my Google Reader to see which of my friends have posted a blog. I'm sure some of you also check to see if I have recently blogged! I can't say that busyness has kept me from it; just haven't had the inspiration. But let me take a stab at portraying for you what our new life looks like. I must say that it is strange to never have my phone ring, never have anyone stop by for coffee. No one really needs me here right now and I am a person that likes to be needed! So this is a challenging time for me in a lot of ways. I am trying to make the most of it and realize that it is only for a short season and soon we'll be back in the thick of it. Since coming here, life has never been 100% normal I guess since we still have curfew every night. But I have nowhere to go anyway so it really doesn't affect me. Things seem to be pretty normal now in the country after an incredible week of demonstrations, shooting, looting, burning, etc. The only topic of conversation with every taxi driver is about their new-found freedom. People openly blast the government and the late president. In every country we've lived in overseas, we have always been very careful not to photograph anything having to do with military; in fact it's illegal. These days around here, you can walk right up to the tanks and soldiers and have your picture taken with them. People even climb up onto the tanks and photograph each other. It's really unbelievable! Walking down the main street of town, you can see thousands of people milling around, drinking coffee and taking lots of pictures. Randomly, a group of people will form and one will get up with a loudspeaker and start giving a speech. The atmosphere is full of excitement & hope for a new future of freedom. We are comfortably settled into our small, one-bedroom apartment on the 6th floor overlooking a very busy street. (there is an elevator & we have 24-hour electricity:)When the weather is warm enough, I love to sit out on the balcony with a cup of coffee and watch the world go by down below. We have a large grocery store (Monoprix) right up the street from us and every other convenience we could want or need. It's really perfect for our needs right now. Still, I guess every woman longs to have her own place and fix it up and feel like she's HOME. I've already started looking at houses for rent in the newspaper:) We feel like God led us to this place and I don't want to complain about His provision! It is just small and we're both in the living room all day long; no place else to go! It will be sweet when I have my own little corner where I can listen to my music & work on my projects. But until then, I am determined to make the most of this season!! We have begun language programs and that is proving to be more challenging than I thought it would be. Even though I speak Arabic quite fluently, I feel like a baby trying to pronounce this dialect! It's SO different. My French comes in very handy all the time and it's fun to be able to use it again. Our big project for the moment is trying to get a car. The process is unbelievable. Darrell's already been to multiple gov't offices and we haven't really started yet! The car we've picked out is a dark gray 9-passenger Citroen van called a Jumpy. So, there you have a bit of our news. We sure appreciate all of friends & loved ones back home and around the world. We are blessed, to say the least!

Our first week!

2011-01-18T03:34:00.001-08:00

One week ago today we left snowy, frigid Chicago and after a very pleasant trip, arrived in our new city, right on time and with all our luggage. We walked out of the airport and started across the parking lot with all our loot just as the skies burst open and poured down on us. We were soaked to the skin by the time we reached the car! Rain is usually a sign of God’s blessings, so we took it as that I have a friend who I’ve known for more than 30 years who lives in this city with her family. They met us and we’re staying with them until we can find our own place. When Dave met us, he had bags of groceries in the car, saying that things were getting bad in the country and they were told to stock up just in case. Sure enough, just 2 days after we arrived, the president of this country was ousted from power and things went crazy here. The night that everything exploded we happened to have 12 adults and 3 children here in this house and because of a strict curfew put into place; no one could leave so they all spent the night. We first of all had a lovely dinner together, then a long time of prayer, then played a game of Settler’s, then watched a movie until midnight. As the helicopters roared overhead and gunfire burst all around us, we were all together having a great time of fellowship. When things quieted down in the morning, they all went home. Every day the curfew has begun at 5PM and lasted until 7AM. The pattern has been that things seem to be quite normal in the morning and people are out and about trying to get food, gas and other essentials. Darrell waited for over an hour in line to get bread yesterday. We have been getting creative in our meal preparation as we don’t have everything we’re used to! By mid-afternoon, things start to close up and the neighborhood “watchdogs” come out, wearing white shirts and carrying all sorts of weapons such as sticks, shovels, axes, shock absorbers, golf clubs, crutches, and an assortment of other strange things. The first afternoon when the government asked all citizens to do this in order to guard their neighborhoods from thugs that were going around randomly destroying & robbing people’s homes, our guys decided to get in on the action and put on their white shirts and joined them. They had a good time hanging out with the men & finding out what the talk on the street was. We haven’t been able to look for a house or do much of anything since getting here. One of the large, beautiful supermarkets here in town was burned down so we are disappointed not to be able to shop there now. Things have slowly started to open back up again but the lines to buy anything right now are very long. Nightly curfews are still in place and fighting down in the center of the city continues so who knows how long this siege will last? For the first time last night, we had a very quiet night. It was not so in other parts of the city evidently. Hopefully at the end of week #2 we’ll be able to report that we are settled into our own place. Stay tuned for more of our adventure!

Christmas & New Year's

2011-01-05T04:04:00.000-08:00

Seeing as we only have 5 days until we board a plane for our new home in Long Beach (and that's not California!) I decided I'd better get this blog updated. Christmas has come & gone and more memories were made. Our son Glenn came home on the 22nd of Dec and daughter Rachel + husband Josh arrived on Christmas day. They were all home for a week and we spent lots of time playing games, watching movies, talking and eating. We went downtown Chicago early in the day on New Year's Even and visited Glenn in his studio apartment on Dearborn St. We walked to a lovely restaurant to eat lunch and on our way home we all got soaked in the the rain. We warmed up with a cup of Starbucks coffee and decided to get out of the city before the mobs of people arrived for the evening celebrations. We knew it was the right decision when we encountered thousands of cars entering the city as we were leaving! We spent a quiet evening at home with our daughter (her husband was visiting friends). Rachel & Darrell stayed up until after midnight but I crashed at 10:30. Early on the morning of January 2nd, we all headed for the airport and went our separate ways; they, back home to Philadelphia and we, to visit our son Nathan in the Caribbean for 4 days. We were met by Nate & his girlfriend (who was visiting form Chicago)and taken to the island on a private boat that Nate had rented. It was one of the funnest things I've ever done! The island is beautiful and the laid-back lifestyle is charming. As I write this, we are still here for another day. We have been wined and dined by many of Nate's friends, had a picnic on the beach with steaks on the grill, coffee on the porch, gone swimming in the pool and lots of other fun stuff. Tomorrow we will head back to the frigid north and begin the last-minute marathon to get ready for departure on Jan. 11th. Stay tuned for details of our new adventure.

plans...

2010-12-22T14:11:00.000-08:00

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"

2010-11-22T15:05:00.000-08:00

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!

2010-10-19T17:17:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-04T12:10:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-07-17T08:45:00.001-07:00

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."

"real" life

2010-07-01T18:24:00.000-07:00

Since coming to America a few weeks ago, I have had the very keen sense that this is not "real" life. This is play; this is fun; this is very temporary. I'm trying to enjoy it as much as I can but I have the ever-nagging thought that I was made for something else, another kind of life. I realize that for many of my dear friends who live in this country year 'round, this IS real life for them; this is all they've ever known and it's everything to them. But for those of us who have had the privilege of living in another culture and among a very different people from ourselves, it doesn't quite "fit". I heard from a friend recently who said, upon returning to Sulaymaniyah after several months' absence, that it "fit like an old shoe". As I sit here on my deck, in 70-degree weather, watching rabbits and squirrels run in the backyard and listening to children playing ball and hide n seek in the streets, I can't help but think of far away places where I've lived for the past 28 years and how much I miss the sights and sounds and smells of those places. Most of all, I miss the close friendships that have come about, many who were just starting down the road to discover the source of true joy & peace. I can only hope and pray that someone else will cross their path and help them to keep walking. Yes, a restful break from hard work is always good. Restoration of ones' soul is absolutely necessary if we are to be effective at all. I want to embrace this life, as unreal as it feels. I want to experience everything God has for me during these 6 months. I am loving re-connecting with my adult children and realize they still want and need me in many ways. I guess it really boils down to this: life with Jesus, no matter where it is lived, is real and it's good.

Parents' visit

2010-05-23T03:17:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-24T07:59:00.000-07:00

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

2010-03-30T08:17:00.000-07:00

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

2010-03-30T07:58:00.000-07:00

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

2010-02-16T10:28:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-14T04:15:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-14T03:35:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-20T05:30:00.001-08:00

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!)

unexpected turnout!

2009-12-23T18:18:00.001-08:00

It is 5AM and I can't sleep because I'm worried about my son, Glenn getting on the plane in Chicago since there's a sheet of ice on top of the snow and freezing temps! It looks like he might make it on time to Istanbul to catch his flight with his sister & husband to see us for Christmas. The older brother will follow in a couple of days. What a wonderful feeling of anticipation as we await our children's arrival. God sure loves to give us good gifts.
Last Saturday night was our Christmas program at our church. We had put a lot of work into it and planned & practiced like we should. We all invited friends and hoped that some of them would come. Everyone in the congregation was asked to bring cookies for the occasion. Our normal attendance has been running around 50. We put out 80 chairs thinking that our faith was huge and we'd never fill them. The people kept coming long after the play had begun and we ended up with about 110 people at the end. It was so thrilling to hear many people say that it was the first time they'd ever heard the Christmas story. After the play, Darrell closed with a short message on the Light of the world and everyone lit the candle they had received when they arrived. The funny thing was that so many people had cigarette lighters, that they all started lighting their own candles so there was instant light instead of a slow lighting of the room. Oh well. The fellowship afterward was wonderful and people stayed around forever. God multiplied the cookies and there were plenty for everyone. Someone was able to sneak a picture which I will include here. Also the cast of the play minus our two Kurds and 1 Arab wisemen. They were awesome.

Christmas musings

2009-12-17T06:54:00.000-08:00

This may be the only blog I get to this month since my children will be arriving in exactly one week and then I will be all theirs until they leave! I'm sure I'll have lots to blog about when they leave and hopefully some family pictures. This season is so different overseas than in the US. Although I sometimes wish I could stroll in a mall all decorated with Santa, lights & Christmas music, I do rather enjoy the calmness of our Christmas here; hardly a decoration to be found and the scrawny trees & Santas hardly remind me of the "season to be jolly"! We put our tree up early this year and I love the lights & gifts under the tree, candles burning and music playing. But the focus is so much more on Jesus and the real reason we celebrate this holiday. We are putting on a performance of the Christmas story at our church this Saturday and it promises to be a great event. Many who come will never once have heard the story. Even I, after having heard it maybe hundreds of times, actually cried when I read the play script the first time. It is an amazing story that we never tire of. Our week is packed full of activity: girls' Christmas party tonight at one of our teammates' houses, team Christmas party tomorrow with a few extras invited, our Christmas program at church on Saturday, baking & cooking & freezing for the arrival of my kids next week and then celebrating twice as my older son arrives the 29th. What a wonderful time of year! I read a blog this morning from a friend suffering with cancer. His attitude and character is so God-honoring. He admonishes us to enjoy and love our families as never before because we never know how long we'll have with them. They are truly God's most wonderful gift to us after Jesus! I pray that we will all remember this as we gather with loved ones this Christmas season. The other night at our prayer meeting, we sang just about every Christmas Carol in the book. Before we chose a song, we had to tell why we liked it. I really love all the carols and the concept of Immanuel is so special; to think that God left heaven and became a man so that he could be with us on this earth and show us how to live, is just mind-boggling. If only we could explain this very complex truth to our friends here. Only the Holy Spirit can open their eyes and help them to understand! Have a wonderful Christmas and a joyous time of celebrating the greatest gift of all time: JESUS.

Never a dull moment

2009-11-24T22:18:00.000-08:00

As we prepared to leave for our English classes the other night, we began hearing loud noises and crackling sounds outside our window. We looked out to see flashes of light and sparks flying everywhere. By the time we all ran out onto the lawn, there were flames leaping up the side of the house and neighbors were running from all over. We happened to have 4 visitors from the States with us plus the 7 people that always live in our house. There was quite a crowd that gathered to watch. A neighbor ran with a fire extinguisher and they stopped a taxi to get another one since the flames kept coming back. Black smoke was pouring through the neighborhood and into our house. When all was said and done, our electric box and all the wires were burned to a crisp and of course we had no power. Fortunately we know people in the electric company who came running to our rescue and before we returned from English class, we had temporary power hooked up. It is a thin wire that won't carry our heaters but at least we have lights and hot water. We are just entering 4 days of the Muslim holiday so everything will be closed. Hopefully we'll get straightened out by next Monday. Recently our electricity has been extra terrible and we've spent many nights with only candles. We've been told this is temporary while they change all the old wiring in our area? Who knows?

continued...

2009-11-18T06:42:00.000-08:00

I was in the middle of my story when the power went out and I lost the rest of it! Let me see if I can reconstruct it. After watching surgery for quite awhile, I asked my doctor/student friend if I could go over to the burn unit and get an update on the women we had visited a few days ago. He went with me and I was impressed with his level of compassion for the women. We both gowned up and went into the ward to find one woman walking around (the one whose 17 year-old daughter was burned to death trying to rescue her). Another young girl who was 6 months pregnant was breathing her last breaths. Her baby had already died and she was not far behind. The fire had not only burned her on the outside but completely destroyed her lungs and internal organs. It was so sad to see her family standing outside her window waiting and weeping. While we were there, they wheeled in the woman who had just undergone surgery for skin grafts and she was writhing and screaming in pain. A very ironic note is that this woman's name is "happy heart". Nothing could be further from reality! It took me a couple hours to get rid of the sick feeling in my stomach. There's nothing more difficult than to observe human suffering and not be able to do anything about it. One thing is for sure, it made me more determined than ever to learn this language so that I can share the love of Jesus with these women.

No words to describe...

2009-11-18T04:23:00.000-08:00

I was utterly unprepared for what I experienced today. One of my English students is a plastic surgeon at the burn hospital where I went the other day. He mentioned that he often does skin grafts on these women and I said I'd love to watch him do that one day. Last night he asked if I'd be ready to go with him today? Of course there is nowhere I love to be more than in the hospital and especially the operating room so I agreed to go this morning. My student called at 9AM to tell me that I should hurry as the patient was already under general anesthesia and being prepped for surgery. I arrived and quickly changed my clothes into hospital scrubs and went right into the operating theater. I didn't think there was anything that could shock me or take me by surprise in a hospital setting; I've really seen a LOT in my lifetime. But what I saw this morning pretty much took my breath away and left me speechless. I wanted to say "forget it, I change my mind, I can't do this" & run out of the room. I was disturbed to think that I no longer had the guts to face such gruesome sights. But I quickly gained composure and tuned into what was going on in the room. The woman on the table looked like a huge slab of raw meat; the sight was repulsive to say the least. I began to imagine the frightened, lonely woman inside that body and my heart went out to her. What circumstances could be so desperate that a human being would douse themselves with kerosene and light a match? I became engrossed in the whole skin graft process. Thin layers of skin were shaved off her only unburned leg and put through a process of stretching and "meshing" and then laid carefully on her severely burned torso. From her neck to her thighs, there was not an inch of healthy tissue. It all had to be removed and replaced with this new thin layer of skin. I was impressed with the skill of the doctors and told them so. They seemed very happy for the encouragement, something I'm sure they rarely get in this culture. The chief surgeon put both arms up like Superman because I called him a hero. After watching the skin grafts for awhile, we went to another room where I observed a major operation underway. That one didn't bother me near as much. Perhaps it's because I had talked to these burn victims a few days ago and knew their stories; their life of pain has just begun and will never end until they die.

Crying for help

2009-11-15T05:30:00.000-08:00

This morning I visited the emergency hospital where all burn victims are sent. I accompanied a journalist friend who is visiting from the US. She wants to set up a website where Kurdish stories can be told. One of her passions (and mine) is to document the plight of women in this country and the desperate measures they go to in order to get out of their miserable circumstances in life. I had heard that many women here commit suicide by burning themselves. The sad thing is that many of them do not die! We visited 8 of those women today and their stories are heart-breaking. Because of huge family shame, they all have a story of how it happened but everyone knows the truth. The first woman we met was swollen beyond recognition and wrapped in bandages from head to foot. We learned that her 17 year-old daughter had tried to rescue her as her body was enveloped in flames; she was also severely burned and had just died this morning of her wounds. Doctors told us that every day they carry away 3-4 women who succumb to their severe burns. Those that are more than 60% burned have about a 100% chance of dying. For 3 hours we went from room to room, listening to lies & fabricated stories, trying to piece things together to get to the REAL story. At times I would stay outside with the family member, usually a mother or a sister of the victim, while the journalist and translator (who's my best friend)went inside and talked to the patient. Often the story I got from the mother was totally different from what the burned woman was telling. By the end of the morning, we learned the questions to ask that would bring out the truth. Rejected, lonely, helpless & without hope, these women feel they have no other recourse than to end their lives. One mother told me that her daughter lived in her husband's family's house. He was an only boy and adored by his mother. They hated her because she wore pants and refused to cover her head. Right there, I could imagine the whole scenario and how awful her life must be. She is only 21 and has 2 children, married when she was 14. Her mother asked me if the scars would go away. When I told her NO, big tears welled up in her eyes. Her poor daughter is covered from the waist up with huge, oozing bandages and she thinks she's going to avoid having scars for the rest of her life. Someone told her there's a cream that will make them disappear! Another young girl, 6 months pregnant and burned over 48% of her body. The baby survived but it's still not known if the mother will make it. Another very young girl, 2 months pregnant...she was itching all over as her wounds began to heal. I told her she should put cream on her stomach to keep from itching so badly. She said they told her the baby would be deformed if she put cream on her stomach! I gave her a tube of lotion that I had in my purse and told her to cover herself with lotion and nothing would happen to her baby! Oh the lies and old wives' tales that they feed one another; it makes me crazy. The statistics are daunting; 90% of burn victims are women. In the past 10 months, there have been over 200 women who have been admitted to this one hospital with severe burns and the doctors all know they are suicide cases, though the truth is never voiced because of FEAR. One lady told us that they once had 3 women admit to trying to kill themselves and when they went back the next day, they were all dead. We were told that the family most likely poisoned them because they brought shame to them. It is truly a hopeless situation because those that survive are kept hidden in the home for the rest of their lives; never allowed to be seen in public with their scars lest someone find out the truth and mar the family name. If only we could go to those women, shut away forever, and tell them that there IS hope. If only we could put our arms around them and let them know that they are loved & still beautiful in God's sight. I pray that the loving heavenly Father will come to them in a dream and let them know how much he loves them. I pray that somehow they will reach out to Him and find the hope they so desperately need! I dare not include photos here as they are too gruesome for most eyes to behold. Just PRAY for these women.

A perfect day!

2009-11-06T23:51:00.000-08:00

After a week of much-needed rain, we were very happy to see the temperatures rising again and bright sunshine covering our land. Friday we had 3 visitors here from the US and they joined us on a picnic to the Kurdish countryside. It was an absolutely picture-perfect day; mid-70's and warm sunshine. With young men along to do the barbecue and make the tea, I mostly sat and watched and relaxed. After setting up "camp", we noticed that we had front row seats to a Kurdish wedding that was about to begin. After climbing the high mountains behind us, our group decided to go down and check out the wedding. Before long, I noticed from afar that Elise was in the group dancing, then I saw Sarah also & DJ leading the dance procession! The people were overjoyed that these Americans had crashed their wedding party and joined them in their celebration. It was such a fun, relaxing day in every way. It may have been the last of this season but you never know; last year we were picnicking into December.

busy days

2009-11-04T18:47:00.000-08:00

I really thought I'd be a great blogger but I'm finding out that I stink at it! Almost every day I find a blog from my sister-in-law Katie or my colleague Rachel and I'm lucky if I get out one a month. I'm pretty sure all those that have followed me in the past have now given up and quit checking. I would say that I'll promise to do better but I don't dare say that! Anyway, it's not that I'm sitting around with nothing to do these days. Adding to my already-busy schedule has been a non-stop stream of short-term teams from America. While we love having these visitors with us, all the help they give & the goodies they bring, it does add a whole new dimension to our busyness. We also have 3 one-year interns living with us and a 13 year-old boy and our Napali house helper so always 7 people to feed. The empty nest didn't last long for us! I like living life in the fast lane but once in awhile one must take time out to reflect in solitude. That is what I plan to do on Monday! I'm heading for the mountains all alone and spending a quiet day with God. I am SO looking forward to this day. I've been planning it for a awhile. It's been too long in coming. This is the only window of opportunity I have before the next visitors arrive. I have blocked this day off on my calendar and am determined that nothing will interfere with it. The coming months will be just as busy as the past have been; I don't want to go through them in my own strength - I need His strength and help. I want to "run and not grow weary". I want my youth to be renewed (now there's asking for a miracle!)so that I can serve my King for many years to come. I pray that the spirit of Mary will come upon this Martha and give me a heart to worship and to sit at my savior's feet for awhile. There I will find rest for my soul and be renewed to run the race.
Always a heart-felt thank you to those of you who have run with us all these years. We couldn't do it if we didn't have you by our side! What a winning team.

entertaining Kurdish style

2009-10-07T11:07:00.000-07:00

We've been told that it's rude to turn off your TV when a guest comes for a visit. Something about it makes him feel unwelcome?? Tonight we went for dinner to a Kurdish home in the mountains. When we arrived, there was some kind of music video station on and the women were wearing little to nothing. Everyone in the room was watching! It was kind of strange but it definitely kept there from being any silent moments since the music was so loud we could hardly hear one another talk. This was one of those homes where we sat on the floor, ate on the floor, etc. It was just a big empty room with 2 mats and a huge flat screen TV with naked women on it! When the meal was set before us on a plastic tablecloth we continued to watch MTV while we ate our rice & chicken. Then of course we had the tea with 1 inch of sugar in the bottom. I didn't stir mine one bit and it was still like syrup! This guy was an English student of Darrell's and speaks pretty good English but his wife doesn't speak a word, thus making things a little awkward. We really needed MTV to fill in the silent places:)
Funny how different cultures think about things; we'd think it pretty rude to keep the TV going at top volume with X-rated pictures on it while our guests have come to visit us. Here, guests would think it rude if we turned off our TV when they walked in. Just a different perspective!

Put to shame

2009-09-22T10:24:00.000-07:00

Last week we held a 5-day training course here for leaders in the Iraqi Church. The 14 men and women came from 3 different cities in Iraq. Two teachers came from the US to give 2 courses. The students were full of excitement and anticipation as they began the course. I noticed one man with his arm in a sling and seemingly in a lot of pain. I asked about his story and this is what I was told: This guy has been a believer in Jesus for 2 years and has suffered terribly for his faith. Two days prior to coming for the course, he was beaten and his arm crushed by an AK-47. The doctors were unable to do anything with his arm because it was so badly injured. He lived on strong pain killers. He ran away from the village and arranged to meet the pastor on the highway to come to the course. I also found out that his group of 6/7 believers meets in a van because it would be extremely dangerous for them if they were known to be worshiping Jesus. In the nice weather they meet up on the mountain. It was moving to watch this man during worship time as he sang and praised Jesus with his one good arm uplifted. He was told that if he returned to his village he would be killed! While at the conference he received a phone call from his older brother who's in the gov't and he promised to come and settle things and warn the villagers not to bother him. I thought over and over about the price some people pay to follow Jesus. My faith doesn't really cost me anything; this man's faith costs him everything. I'm sure when he wakes up in the morning he often wonders if this will be his last day on earth. I can't say I've had that thought very often!!

Sacrificial love

2009-08-25T23:07:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went to the children's hospital to visit a friend whose baby is in the neonatal ward. This young girl just had a C-section 4 days ago but insists on sitting by her baby's bed all day long so that she can feed her when she awakens. The nurses are nowhere to be found; the mothers do all the care of their tiny premature babies. My friend's baby looked very good & I have high hopes that she will come home soon. The father was an English student and has become a good friend. In the incubator next to my friend's baby, there was a baby born at 7 months. His arms and legs were maybe 3/4" in diameter. He gasped for every breath as his mother sat by his side. I watched her as she expressed her own milk by hand into a little cup, then poured it into a syringe and gave it to her baby through a tiny tube running from his nose down into his stomach. She does this every 2 hours all day long. I have not been able to get this picture out of my mind; the unbelievable sacrifice that a mother is willing to give for her child. There are few things in life so powerful. I recently heard of God's love referred to as a mother's love and that took on a new meaning today as I was reminded of what lengths a mother is willing to go to in order to save her child.

Silly in Suli

2009-08-23T04:45:00.000-07:00

The younger members of our team finally convinced these oldies to go to the amusement park with them after our Sat. night meeting. Usually we're just too tired and would rather go home and crash than go on silly rides & play cheesy games:) Last night we decided to join in the "fun" and a group of us headed for the park. I have to admit I was skeptical that I would enjoy it at all since I was so tired & had a sore back. But it turned out to be a crazy, fun, silly night of acting like kids; riding bumper cars, playing air hockey, basketball, boxing game, riding the Ferris wheel, etc. The best part was discovering a delicious black cherry popsicle that tasted so good on a very warm evening. Kirsten reminded me that it didn't take much to make me happy; just a cherry popsicle. I guess it is nice to revert to children once in awhile and enjoy the simple things of life. It was also very nice hanging out with 3 guys that we've come to love, one of them having already joined the family and another definitely on the road. As I've said before, there's just nothing to do in this city for fun so we have to make our own and we definitely did last night!

This and That

2009-08-13T21:47:00.000-07:00

An overview of the last few weeks:
- 7 short term workers joined us & kept a very busy schedule of teaching both
children & adult classes, morning and evening
- occupation of the new LIFE center
- renovation of this center, with the help of 3 men from Salem, OR
- vacated our old, rented facility
- left for Jordan and our annual field retreat - great refreshment & relaxation
after a grueling summer
- visited our old stomping ground in Aqaba; good to see old friends
- a few days in Amman & then back home!
- this year we'll have 4 young people living with us and helping with teaching &
other aspects of ministry; 2 guys & 2 girls.
*I hope to post pictures soon of our new center all set up and ready to go

2009-07-25T01:25:00.000-07:00

This summer has been a whirlwind of activity as we've been 10-11 people at all times in our home. Mostly it's been a blast and I've thoroughly enjoyed it all. In fact, last night as I was falling asleep (which comes very easy these days), my last thoughts were "I love the sound of young people talking and laughing in my living room". I can't wait for Christmas when it'll be my OWN children here!!
These days here in this country have been consumed with everything politics as they've geared up for the elections. Banners & posters are plastered everywhere, every conversation seems to center around what might or might not happen. There is tension in the air as people await the results of today's election. Thus far, we have not seen or heard of any trouble and we pray it stays that way.
Right now we have 3 men from Salem Church in Oregon who have come for 2 weeks to help finish up the work in our new LIFE Center. They are truly a gift from God and we don't know what we would have done without them! Darrell has seen true miracles happen as he's gone from office to office trying to get more electricity for the building & numerous other things that people said were impossible. (especially the speed with which he obtained important documents) Yesterday, with the help of some of our guys, our sign went up on our building and it was exciting. All the neighbors were on their balconies watching and passing cars slowed down to see what this building was going to be. From the main highway that circles the city, our sign can be seen clearly. What a location God gave us. We are overwhelmed and amazed at his goodness.

Happy 4th of July

2009-07-04T06:44:00.000-07:00

Last night we had some friends over and had a fun night making homemade pizza & playing games. I'm so thankful for my big living room that can seat so many people.
Today is the 4th of July and just another dusty day in this part of the world. No grassy parks or backyard decks, no flags flying or patriotic songs sung, but we did have a party and made the most of our humble circumstances. We had grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, potato salad, baked beans, jello salad and apple pie. Can't get anymore American than that! (I did have to go to the butcher this morning and order the meat for the burgers. It was freshly killed and still hanging on the hoof)
The men took care of the grilling. I felt so bad for them out in that awful heat and dust. We're experiencing one of the worst dust storms since we've been here; our friends down south say they can hardly see their hand in front of their face. Our big generator also broke down today and Darrell spent half the afternoon working with the repairman trying to get it fixed. Then it was off to our Int'l Ch Fellowship and a pot luck dinner afterward. Another great evening with a large attendance and wonderful spirit. Made us forget all about our electricity woes & the thick dust covering everything (until we walked back outside!) God is good, all the time.

Day at the LIFE Center

2009-07-02T02:41:00.000-07:00

Our summer course is off to a great start with about 125 students registered, including adults and children. Yesterday our day began at 8:30 when we arrived at the center to get ready for kids' club. There were already 6-8 children there waiting in a little patch of shade, trying to avoid the intense sun. Within minutes, the children began pouring in, so excited about their English lessons. All went as planned and the kids were well-behaved for the most part. They all come with money to buy snacks at break time even though we provide snacks for free. They just love to spend their money. When the parents arrive to pick them up, they are eager to tell them what they've learned. After lunch, an afternoon nap & lesson prep, it's back again to the LIFE Center for two back-to-back classes in the evening. Last night, halfway through the first class, we heard a huge BOOM that shook the building. And we were plunged into darkness. We discovered it was our government electric box that had overloaded and blown up. We had been having electrical problems for a couple days which culminated in this! We lit every candle we could find and the students had fun sitting around talking with our short-termers by candlelight. The second class of students arrived while the first was still there so there was quite a crowd at one time. It was getting stifling hot by this time and we wondered if we'd make it until the neighborhood generator was turned on. There were electricians and all kinds of people coming up and down the stairs, trying to figure out the problem. We made it through until the motor came on and continued our classes until 10PM. Today Darrell has spent hours running from office to office in beastly hot temps, trying to get a new meter box assigned to us. It is a process that normally would take 2 weeks but because he knows someone, will hopefully get done today. Oh the joys of life in these parts...never a dull moment.
Here are some pictures of our kids' club.

A late summer day outing

2009-06-26T12:25:00.000-07:00

We have quite a house full of people this summer and there is always lots of activity around. I love the sound of laughter & music & discussions going on all around the house. I love having a big table full of people, sitting around talking after a meal. I love all the extra help with housework and teaching and shopping. It looks like it's going to be a great summer! We have finished our registration for our English classes and will begin our full program starting this Sunday. Thus far, we've had a great response and are excited to see who God is bringing to our center during this summer intensive course. This afternoon after 4PM we decided to head to a spot in the mountains that we were told would be very cool. That sounded awfully good since it was 107 degrees here in the city today. When we got to the mountain spot, it was 82 degrees and just beautiful. Even though the green of springtime is gone, the mountains still hold one in awe with their splendor & beauty. We enjoyed eating, talking, playing games and just relaxing. At 8PM we arrived back in the city to 100 degree temps; so thankful for air conditioning and a comfortable home:)

contemplating sobering thoughts

2009-06-25T12:00:00.000-07:00

A fellow worker just wrote along similar lines and got me thinking too...After the news of a worker being killed in North Africa this week (leaving behind 4 children) and having thought SO many times over the years about my friend Bonnie who was killed, I have pondered the question of "is this worth it" more often than I care to admit. At times negative thoughts are given full reign in my mind and that is a dangerous thing! I begin to think of all I've given up to serve God, of the darkness in the places I've been called to and I wonder if I'm living my life in a manner worthy of this calling. Because these places are dark, we tend to make all kinds of excuses for NOT sharing the great news that we've come with. I've heard myself say more than once "if I get kicked out, what good am I doing for the people?" But when I think of the ultimate sacrifice of laying down ones life for the sake of Christ, it seems to me a great honor and if I were called to martyrdom, I would not want it to be in vain. I am not enduring this hard lifestyle just to be known as a great English teacher or even a kind person. If I am not making a difference in people's lives for eternity, then this life is certainly not worth it. I didn't give up my children & my comfortable life & Walmart & much more to come to this far away place and just survive; going through the motions of daily routines & obligations. My God is worthy of so much more than that! This is a high calling; one that requires taking up the cross and following closely behind the Master. Come to think of it, every single one of us is called to the very same thing. My calling isn't any higher than any of yours. We all bear the name of Christ and as such, should be willing and ready at any moment to live for him or die for him.

blog blahs

2009-06-22T06:22:00.000-07:00

Realizing how I love to open my "Google Reader" and read other people's blogs, it is apparent to me that I have let MY readers down greatly in recent weeks, or dare I say months?? It's not that there hasn't been plenty going on in my life to write about; just doesn't seem like stuff that YOU would be interested in. I will attempt to bring you up to speed on happenings around here. As you probably know, we were in the US for Council & extra time to see our children. It was wonderful and refreshing in every way. One quickly forgets the refreshing part after experiencing the trek back to this part of the world. Darrell came back a week ahead of me as I was attending a seminar at Ashland Seminary. I left Chicago and flew 8 hours to London, waited there 3 hours then got a flight to Istanbul where I waited another 7 hours. I then boarded a plane to the capital city instead of our city because the flight was changed. Upon arriving there at 1AM, I got on a bus with my 2 huge suitcases & 2 heavy handbags and was taken to a taxi place where I could catch a taxi to my city. Yes, I got into a taxi with a total stranger at 1:30AM and came all the way home, arriving at my house at 4:30AM. The jet lag has been worse this time than ever! It didn't help that the next night we had 4 short-termer's arrive at 3AM and got to bed again at 4:30. Oh well, I know this too shall pass...
If you receive our monthly update, you know that we have purchased our dream building for the LIFE Center here. The thought of all the work involved to clean it, paint & remodel & furnish it is quite daunting. We do have all the furniture from our present rented building that we will be moving over come August (when our rent is up). But there are many more rooms and possibilities in the new building; such as guest rooms,clinic,offices ... these will all need to be newly furnished. Praise God for lots of short-term help this summer; it will make the job so much easier.
We have begun the registration process for our summer English program. That will run for 4 nights and then we will begin classes on Sunday, the 28th. We are also doing 2 mornings of children's classes which is always a challenge. Pray for a great summer of new relationships being formed and old ones strengthened!

Family Fun in America

2009-06-09T17:39:00.000-07:00

We have been in the States for 3 weeks and have enjoyed some wonderful times with our family. We arrived home in time to attend Rachel's graduation from Trinity University. She was our last child to graduate from college and the only graduation we were able to attend. Nathan flew in and spent a week with us. Besides spending lots of time with my sister Elin & her family in Wheaton, we also saw many other members of our family at council in KY. My parents were there as well as brother John and Mark & his wife and 4 kids. So we had a wonderful time of connecting with everyone and feel blessed beyond words for all of God's wonderful provisions.

Pool party on the roof

2009-04-21T05:28:00.000-07:00

Today was a glorious spring day and Bruce decided to invite us to the roof for a pool party. He blew up the pool and filled it with water and we all showed up with pizza & soda & ice cream for a wild party on the roof. Only Bruce and Olyvia enjoyed the rather cold water but the rest of us had fun sitting in the sun and sharing the beautiful day together. I think we do a pretty good job of making our own fun around here.

This is what you get when you pay money!

2009-04-21T04:49:00.000-07:00

I was recently introduced to a very nice, upper-class, well-known family here in our city. They own a huge supermarket & apartment complex. Their son & wife were expecting their first baby and a friend from another company asked if I'd be willing to help this young girl deliver her first baby. I met her last week and went over the basics of natural childbirth. She was a sweet 24 year-old girl without a clue as to what she was getting into. I figured I'd meet with her once a week from now until she delivered. I was surprised to get a call yesterday saying that she'd gone into labor and asking me to come quickly. I got dressed and flew out the door to their house. Upon arrival at the house, I knew the girl was nowhere near ready to deliver so we sat and talked for awhile and I kept a close eye on her progress. It was 9AM when I arrived at the house. That stretched into quite a few hours of sitting at the house, having lunch, many cups of tea and coffee and finally about 3PM I deemed that she was getting close. We went to the private "luxurious" hospital where you actually pay for their services. I was anxious to see what that would be like compared to the gov't hospital. Wow! As soon as we arrived, the mother gave the cleaning ladies some money so they'd take good care of us and make sure things were clean. At one point I mentioned about the squeaky delivery room door and within minutes someone was there putting Vaseline on all the hinges and no more squeak! I guess the main advantage is that there was only one woman in the delivery room and as many family members as wanted to could come in. At times it was an absolute zoo; I even had to chase everyone out at one point because I could tell my patient was getting very annoyed. I was especially excited because I succeeded in getting the father to attend the delivery, something I was told has NEVER happened in all of history here! He thanked me today for making him go in and take part. He was a huge support and really beautiful to watch him with his wife. The labor & delivery itself went like clockwork, sometimes intense at the end as this was a first baby and we'd only had one lesson together in breathing and pushing techniques. Fortunately the girl spoke a bit of Arabic and some English so we were able to communicate quite well. As usual, I was exhilarated by being in the delivery room. The facilities were absolutely wretched. No lights in the bathroom, a wrinkled doctor's coat thrown over the table for a sheet, no stirrups, no frills of any kind, but very competent midwives and everything came out just fine. In fact, 2 hours after she delivered she was home in her own bed. And I still had an hour to run home and get a shower and make it to my English class! Amazing what you can pack into a day.

Does it look like all we do is party?

2009-04-19T03:56:00.000-07:00

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm always up for a party. I believe the success of a strong team is not only to work hard together but also to play hard together. Our rather fun-filled weekend started on Thursday with a team dinner to our favorite (and only) Italian restaurant in town. It was Bruce's birthday and since he is SO special to all of our team, we decided to do it up big for his special day. Part of the team arrived early and put up banners and balloons. I had sent along a cake also and the restaurant owners even got in on the party and went out and bought other decorations! By the time we arrived with Bruce, everything was ready and the fun began. After a wonderful meal we came home to get ready for our "movie night" at the LIFE Center coffee shop. The next day was Friday and we continued our fun by going bowling. We invited several friends from here to join us and really had a very fun afternoon. We even took in the "Scary Cinema" where you wear 3D glasses and the objects jump out at you. It wasn't very scary but we sure made the most of it! Can you believe how dorky we look with those glasses on?? By the time we got out of the scary movie it was pouring rain so the party moved to our house. More snacks, sandwiches, drinks & fun. Saturday is our normal "church" day and afterward many stayed and played games, some of us until 10PM. Don't know when I've laughed so hard! If laughter is the best medicine, we should be a pretty healthy team because we do a lot of it together!!

what's so hard about painting ONE wall brown??

2009-04-10T05:24:00.000-07:00

I just moved my living room into the former classroom and the dining room into the former living room. I was excited to paint, decorate and fix things up a bit since it looks like we'll be staying in this house another year. My dear husband offered to go and get me chocolate brown paint to paint ONE wall of the living room. He came back with a gallon of paint that said "chocolate" on it and we all trusted that the label was correct. (first dumb mistake) I woke up early this morning to start painting. When I opened the can it looked very red to me but I figured that's the best they can do here and I'd just have to be satisfied. I "cut in" all the edges and was quite proud of how much I'd gotten done by 7:30 this morning. When Darrell got up and inspected, he realized it was oil-based paint, although he'd been very careful to ask several times if it was water-based. By then, the tray, brush and everything had to be thrown out because nothing would remove the dark red oil paint. When the stores opened up, he went downtown to another store to see if he could find true water-based, dark brown paint. He came home with a bucket of salmon-colored paint! I was horrified and said it was unusable. He said that's the darkest they had. The second trip downtown, I went with him (which is what I should have done in the first place)and chose another dark brown that looked more like what I wanted. After mixing it, the guy opened the lid and it was purple! Come on, this was becoming a comedy show. Then Darrell asked if he'd mix some brown into the salmon-colored paint and see how it looked. After adding brown three times, it came out quite dark and somewhat to my liking. Now I discovered that I'm going to need another gallon because it didn't cover very well. The guy gave me his number and told me to call him and he'll have another gallon ready for me. He wrote down what he did with the first batch and I'm holding my breath that he'll get the second right! Only problem is that it's Friday and everything closed at noon so I'll have to wait til tomorrow. Maybe I'll post a picture of the finished product when it's done.

A hero of mine...

2009-04-08T07:26:00.000-07:00

Many reading this blog may know a man named John Stumbo. I have always admired him for so many reasons. Over the past 2 decades that I have known John, I have often been awe-struck by his brilliant mind and his deep spirituality and humility. I love to listen to John preach. Recently John was struck with a strange & brutal disease that has wracked his body and left him weak and unable to function in so many ways. A team from his church were visiting our home this week and showed a video of John talking to his church, his wife by his side. I would hardly have recognized him if I hadn't been told it was him. This cruel disease has robbed him of so much including the ability to swallow. Subtitles were included in the DVD because his speech was sometimes so slurred you couldn't understand. But every word that he spoke was like gold. I can't stop thinking about it. How can a man in such agony have such profound things to say? The things he writes in his blog are so rich; I have truly been blessed & challenged by what he's written. In all of this, his theme is the goodness of God. Yes, he has wrestled with God and cried out in despair to him but he always ends by saying that God is good and he does all things well. I'm not sure, in fact I'm pretty unsure, that I could ever respond with such dignity and grace in the face of what John has had to deal with. His wife has to feed him through a tube in his stomach, he carries around a machine that cleans a large wound in his thigh and he can't even swallow his own saliva. Yet he writes the most incredible things...I'm including a poem he wrote recently, called "The Dance".

Dance upon my window

Dance upon my soul

Dance throughout my spirit

Come to make me whole.

Darkness stalks about me

Weakness lurks within

Sadness lies in shadows

Wearing resolve thin.

Holiness holds position

Forgiveness stands in place

Passion still arises

Calling out for grace.

Come, Delightful Healer

Come, Mysterious Dove

Come, Maker of Music

Dance your song of love.

As you read this blog, will you take a moment to cry out to God on behalf of John Stumbo, a hero of mine? And as I pray for John, I pray for myself, that if God would ever call me to suffer even a portion of what John has, that I would allow him to use the suffering, as John has, to bring much glory to Himself.

A new kind of normal

2009-03-31T11:24:00.000-07:00

A week ago someone called me and asked if I'd do an ultrasound on a worker who was new in the country and seemed to be having a miscarriage. The young girl came to my house and after checking her, I saw evidence that she was indeed still pregnant. I didn't want to get her hopes up since she was bleeding pretty heavily and cramping too. A few more days went by and things weren't much better so I checked her again. The gestational sac had doubled in size so I was really stumped but still couldn't see a clear fetus. I decided to take her to a "private" hospital to see my friends' sister who is a doctor. The doctor was insistent that no one would come in the room with her but I insisted and pushed my way in. There were no fewer than 10 women in the room with a woman in labor, yelling loudly. They told this girl to take her clothes off and get up on the table. (the table was way across the room) We looked at her like "right here, in front of everyone?" Of course, it's normal. She dutifully undressed and walked across the room in front of all those women. She checked her and was pretty sure she had miscarried and said she would need a D&C. Praise the Lord she let her wait a few more days to see what would happen. The girl laid in bed pretty much for 5 days, the bleeding stopped and she began feeling very nauseous. Tonight I went over to her house with my portable machine and did another ultrasound on her. Funny side note is that there is only one plug in the bedroom and it couldn't reach the machine so we had to do the ultrasound on the floor. Normal. Sure enough, there was a baby, big as life with a strong heartbeat! How exciting for this young couple, far away from home in a rather primitive place. The thought that that doctor was ready to do a D&C is pretty scary! I believe that she could have been carrying twins and miscarried one of them. Praise the Lord for my portable ultrasound machine which was bought many years ago with Alliance Women's money. It has been a blessing to so many women and continues to be. Thank you!

The real Kurd'sh New Year

2009-03-21T22:55:00.000-07:00

Here, Dec. 31st is considered Christmas and March 21 is New Year's. So this was the weekend for huge celebrations. We had no idea what we were in for but were told that everyone wears traditional Kurd'sh clothes so we dutifully went to the bazaar & bought them. Friday we got dressed up in our garb and went downtown to a certain street that was blocked from traffic and where the party would happen. When we arrived, we were shocked to see literally hundreds of thousands of people walking the street in their beautiful, colorful clothes. The party basically consisted of walking for 3 hours or more, up and down the street. At certain points we could not even move one inch because of the crowds. Surprisingly, in those mobs of people we saw quite a few that we knew. In fact, we started out with just 3 of us and by the time friends started joining our group, we were more than 10. There were random groups of people dancing all over the streets with loud music, food & drink stands,and just an incredible air of celebration everywhere. We even saw a large group of US soldiers and they greeted us warmly. I actually forgot that I was wearing high heels until after about 3 hours and then my feet started killing me. It also started raining so we were walking very fast to get somewhere out of the rain! We finally decided to go back to a friends' workplace and eat at the cafeteria there. It was a perfect end to a fun day as we sat around and relaxed, ate a delicious meal and drank tea. We arrived home exhausted but so happy. Little did we know what lay in store the following day...
Saturday morning we awoke to pouring rain and dark, cloudy skies. We had a picnic planned with lots of friends in the mountains. It seemed our plans would be ruined but we delayed an hour and decided to go for it; the internet said sunny & 68 degrees so, although we don't always believe the internet we hoped they were right. By the time we arrived at our destination, the sun was beginning to peek through and it actually became hot after a few hours. We found a gorgeous place, overlooking a lake and set up camp. The scenery was breath-taking. The hills were alive with people covering just about every square meter but we had lots of room to spread out. It was a picture-perfect day and so much fun to enjoy God's nature after a long winter. We are truly blessed with wonderful friends here and we long for them all to someday join our family. From the time we left our house until we got home at night, it was 13 hours; a pretty long day but oh so much fun. I'll include a short video here of some of us singing around the traditional New Year's fire! There was dancing going on from the first hour until the last and it got wilder as the night went on. These people know how to have fun! We look forward to lots more picnics this Spring as we've been told that every Friday we'll be heading to the mountains with our friends. Let the good times roll..

Bittersweet visit

2009-03-10T22:40:00.000-07:00

I'm afraid I'm losing my readers since you probably check so often here and find nothing new! Sorry about that but I really have been crazy busy, being away from home for 3 weeks in Thailand and then Jordan. Now it's back to real life and I must say I've had a hard time getting back into the swing of things.
I want to tell you about a visit I had to Aqaba. Of course it was nostalgic for us as we drove into that city (where, by the way, we were sure we'd stay until we retired!). Within a short time of our arrival the phone began to ring with friends wanting to see us. A beach party was planned to get several of our friends together in one place for us to see. It was wonderful to reconnect with so many and to see some BIG changes in the hearts of some. It was also very wonderful to be able to communicate freely in the language I love. I didn't realize how frustrated I've been not to be able to talk to people about meaningful things! (It made me more determined to learn this new language) Sitting on the beach at sunset talking about my best friend to a group of people who are hungry for truth was so rewarding. I spent other times with different friends and had some incredible conversations, talks I can't imagine happening just a year ago. There are so many opportunities in this city and so many open people that I felt a bit sad that we weren't still there. The good thing is that as we boarded the plane in Jordan and headed back to this place, I felt like I was coming home. I had a deep sense of THIS being where God wants me right now. I also know that I give my heart away very easily and find that anywhere God puts me I quickly put down roots & fall in love with the people and culture. It is good to be at peace.

Morning with a friend

2009-02-23T01:35:00.000-08:00

Today is the usual day for my Kurdish lesson but instead I asked my language helper if she'd be willing to go with me to the bazaar. I really don't like going down there because I don't know my way around but I needed to buy a Kurdish outfit for the upcoming New Years' celebration in March. On this day, everyone wears their traditional clothes to show pride in their culture and history. We drove down and parked the car and then walked through mud and filth to get to the "fabric bazaar". It was a beautiful sunny day today but yesterday was rainy and thus the mud. I have never seen so many fabric stores and colors & glitter as I saw today. I was so sad to find that I only had room for one photo on my camera but let me describe our morning for you. We went from shop to shop, looking at dozens of patterns. After seeing the color that I wanted, we began to bargain for the price. My friend was a master at it and I didn't have to say a word. I wasn't aware of all the other things that go with this outfit. After buying the fabric, we headed for the accessories' bazaar. It is the oldest bazaar in our city and I wish I had a picture. You enter through a narrow opening and head down tiny little alleyways lined with shops that have so much gold and glitter that you can't see anything. Most prefer to make their own necklaces and there are 1000's of little cups full of beads that women choose from and carry off in little white envelopes. I chose 2 necklaces to go with my outfit and paid about $3.00 for both. Then I needed a belt I was told. My friend insisted on buying the belt as a gift. It was more expensive ($20) and really nice. I then needed special open-toed shoes to go with the outfit. Unfortunately they didn't have my size so I'll have to look elsewhere. I was very pleased with my purchases and we headed back to the car to go and visit her sister where a seamstress friend would be waiting for us. As we unpacked our wares and showed them the fabric and accessories, they were thrilled with my choice and congratulated me on buying my first Kurdish clothing. After taking my measurements, we sat and had tea and cookies, then left for home after a long morning out. I'm sure I learned way more language being out with people all morning than I would have with my notebook & pen in hand. It was a wonderful experience and I bonded even more with these people and their rich culture. You'll be hearing lots about our No Roz celebration on March 21st and many more pictures to follow. This one is of my tutor and friend, Hanna, in front of the accessory booth where I bought some of my things.

another morning in the hospital:)

2009-02-08T06:12:00.000-08:00

This morning when I arrived at the maternity hospital, it seemed quiet and not as many patients as usual. I thought it would be a slow, rather boring day but all of a sudden women starting coming out of the woodwork and just about every delivery bed was full! At one point during the morning there were 3 women delivering in the same room, side by side and all screaming at the top of their lungs. The nurses started laughing because they couldn't hear each other talk. Because there is only one examining table for the newborns, all babies from the 3 delivery rooms are whisked into the one room to be examined. There are usually at least two babies on the bed at the same time and sometimes more. This morning there was no one with the midwife to help so I grabbed the baby and wrapped him in a cloth and took him to be examined. One of the women had no one to care for her, to bring the baby's clothes or anything. After delivery her baby lay on the examining table for almost an hour wrapped in a doctor's gown. The mother also had no clothes or supplies so they literally taped 2 baby diapers to her! Oh my heart. I can just imagine how painful it will be to peel that stuff off afterward. Someone finally came and we got the baby changed into his own clothes and everything squared away. Another woman had "placenta previa" at 31 weeks and was in a lot of pain. Come to find out, her husband had died suddenly a month ago. They planned to observe her and possibly do a C-section if she bled anymore. I never saw the woman shed a tear; you'd think that someone who lost her husband and now was in danger of losing his child would be totally grief-stricken but everything here is "God's will" and they just accept it as that. I had my camera with me today so I snapped a couple pictures to show you the labor room (notice the rusty delivery table) and the baby bed with 2 babies being examined. I probably assisted in no fewer than 10 deliveries this morning! My body feels so beaten up and bruised. But I love every minute of it and can't wait to go back in a few days.

The Art of Entertaining, Kurdish style

2009-02-06T22:51:00.000-08:00

For some time I have wanted to invite friends and have a big dinner party. But recently I lost my house helper and realized that this would be a huge job to do by myself. Still, I decided to take the plunge and started inviting...We ended up with 20 guests + 2 toddlers. I cooked for 2 days and still felt like I didn't have enough food. When one entertains in this culture, one is expected to have an abundance of food to show people how much you honor & love them. Thus, I had 6 main dishes, 4 salads, 4 desserts and fruit to finish off the evening. Of course at least 2 rounds of tea also. The trick was to come up with a menu that I thought they might actually eat. I was pleasantly surprised at the positive comments I received about the food! We began the evening by standing in a huge circle in the kitchen and giving thanks to God for the food and our friendship. Some commented on what a nice thing this was. After eating the main course, tea was served and awhile later the desserts, then more tea. When it looks like people are getting ready to leave, the fruit should come out. This is the last thing served in any gathering. Even after being in this part of the world for a long time, I still feel intimidated by the process of offering hospitality because they do it so much better & with seemingly little effort. There definitely is a protocol that they expect & I'm always afraid I'll mess up. When I came out with the fruit at the end, one guy said "now, I'm really impressed!" As if I had passed the test of proper hospitality etiquette. During the course of the evening, it was fun to watch all the camaraderie as some played a game in the kitchen, some sat and talked in the living room and others played with the babies in the classroom. (which opens onto the living room) It was a fun evening and though a lot of work, well worth it. I had help from a couple gals on our team and Darrell helped a ton with cleaning the house & washing dishes. All of the people that we had for dinner are on our "hit list" and we would love to see them join the family. Here is a picture of some of our guests playing a game at the kitchen table.

No country for the feeble hearted. by D.P.

2009-01-30T08:52:00.000-08:00

Going to the Dentist is scary enough in a country with the best trained dentists with the latest equipment. So in a country where everyone warns you against the medical care, the last thing you want is a toothache. The last thing we did before leaving the States was to go to the Dentist and take care of our dental needs.
So it was no fun to wake up here one day with flu symptoms AND my teeth aching on one side. Of course I hoped that the aching teeth were caused by the flu and that when the flu went away my teeth would be fine. Nonetheless, I asked a 8 year veteran here who the best dentist was. He said his was trained in Germany but DID NOT have an x-ray machine. He told me the name of an Arab dentist from the capital and trained there who had an x-ray machine.
What to do? The known guy or the unknown with an x-ray machine?
When the flu cleared up and I knew I had a serious toothache,-I went with the x-ray machine. This guy's clinic is in his house. In the 3-week process of helping me,
he disclosed that his equipment was from the 80's but top notch stuff.
On the first visit I learned that he did not have the alleged x-ray machine, but he told me he could send me to the university for them or MAYBE he could pinpoint the problem without one. Cheryl had started me on antibiotics because I had swelling around my gums. The dentist and I thought we probably had found the problem tooth, but I still thought we were going for the university x-ray options to make sure, when he started drilling! Well, I hope he got this one right. No shots or anything. He said the tooth turned out to be dead. He drilled out an old filling and began the first step of a root canal. Now I thought that because this was just an "inspection", he had skilled some of the niceties of dentistry.
But obviously, he was going far beyond "inspecting." It was when he told me to "rinse" that I realized what was missing. There was no drainage tube hooked over my teeth and into the bottom of my mouth, nor even a bib.
Another strange thing is that he packed the "root canal" with a disinfectant that smelled like detol or pinesol. Not only could I not stand it; no one I talked to could either! It was on cotton down the root canal and then he blocked it in with another piece of cotton. He instructed me to replace the "retainer" cotton regularly with another pick of cotton, using a toothpick or a match stick.
In 2 days, I replaced it just once.
Now the story has a great ending. After 4 visits (all with no bib, no drainage suction hose, and no anesthetics) I went home with a good root canal and filling for $83.
The dentist had a very interesting story. He was kidnapped from his home down in the capital and ransomed with money. He came here looking for safety but found the housing too expensive, so he went back to the capital and continued working. Friends told him he would not be kidnapped again. But one day at his office, while changing the oil in the generator, 3 men came in and asked for the doctor. He knew they were kidnappers. He told me this is the ONLY lie he ever told in his life.
He said, "He's out to lunch. I'm the secretary." They left and he immediately moved here.
Back here at home during that time we had our pipes freeze. Now you know how in the States, this is no small problem. But here everyone's solution is, "Just wait till 11 am and the sun will thaw them out." Strangely, with no water due to frozen pipes, I go into our kitchen and find flies on the window and ants on the counter! What a place: the inconveniences of winter do not even spare you from the inconveniences of summer.
At one time, each of our teams' 4 houses had problems:
ours: water leading from inside the concrete bathroom floor down to the first floor.
another: no hot water. another: generator not starting, and the last: wires burned up so no electricity could come to the house. Like he said: "In America, wires don't burn up: breakers are flipped."
Such is life here. Never a dull moment.