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

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

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

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

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

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

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.