The day zucchini came

Yesterday I saw a recipe that a friend shared online that looked yummy.  I clicked on the link and then saw that it called for 4 cups of shredded zucchini. We cannot buy zucchini here, so I thought, "Well, I guess I can't make that recipe."  It's a fairly common occurrence that I don't have access to all of the ingredients in a recipe, so it wasn't that big of a deal.  

But then Kars comes home from a day of flying...and he pulls a zucchini out of his backpack!  What?!?  One of the missionary families he'd seen in the village had sent out a zucchini for me, completely unaware of my recipe dilemma that morning! I didn't even know that anyone grew zucchini here, so this was a complete shock to me.  I felt like God was smiling down on me, showing me in a very tangible way that HE sees me and HE is not limited by the things I feel limited by.  What an incredible God He is!

I spent this afternoon baking yummy things with zucchini and I'm still smiling thinking of God's amazing provision.  I wonder what we will get next time?!

(Chocolate Zucchini Cake, Zucchini Bread & Zucchini Pizza Casserole)

What Shingles Taught Me

Three weeks ago I got Shingles for the first time.  Before I experienced it personally, I knew very little about the illness.  But I have learned a lot, both about it medically, but also lessons God wanted to teach me through the experience.  I want to share some of what I learned, partly to process, but also to testify of God's goodness and faithfulness.

Lesson #1: What is Shingles?  Why did I get it?

Shingles comes from the same virus as chickenpox.  After a person has chickenpox, the varicella zoster virus chooses a nerve in the body to "hang out" in.  Then, in about 1/3 of the people who have been blessed with chickenpox, the virus "wakes up" and comes out in the form of Shingles, attacking the nerve which it was lying dormant in.  I have heard the most common place to be affected is in your back/torso.  But it can be in any nerve.  For me, it was in the nerve that supplies the left side of my face, mostly forehead, but also all the way around my eye.  Although there is common thinking that only older people get shingles, I have read that half of the cases of shingles occur in individuals under 60 years old.  Although those with a weakened immune system or higher stress are more prone to get shingles, it can just come out for no reason at all!  Personally, I think that was the case for me, as I was healthy, and not under any extra stress than normal.

Lesson #2:  Shingles is more than just an itchy, blistery rash.

Before experiencing shingles, I thought it was just a slightly worse case than chickenpox, with an itchy rash.  I had chicken pox when I was quite young, so I don't remember much, but I do remember it being itchy and using lots of calamine lotion.  Shingles, however, is extremely painful.  I believe this is because it's affecting your nerve.  Trust me, the phrase: "that's getting on my nerves" will never mean the same for me again.  The symptoms in my head mimicked a migraine, but only on the left side of my head.  My forehead, left ear and back of my head all experienced shooting pain some days and dull constant pain other days.  On the worst days, any loud noise, any sudden noise, anything that startled me (um, I have 2 young boys!!)...would each send a shooting pain through my head.  A pain where I had to stop and catch my breath.  Often it would also trigger tears immediately, but then the crying would also cause more pain!  Seriously, what kind of illness HURTS to CRY?!?  I spent a lot of time lying around, trying to relax and not cause any more pain.

Lesson #3: You can get shingles anywhere in the world, so my getting it has nothing to do with where I live.

There are quite a few tropical diseases and illnesses that we experience in our part of the world, which are uncommon in America or the Netherlands.  Shingles, however, can and will affect people regardless of where they live.  The only thing that makes you "immune" to getting Shingles: having NEVER had chickenpox! (*But a person with Shingles can spread chickenpox to anyone who hasn't had chickenpox before!)

Lesson #4: God's faithfulness to us is NOT dependent on our trust and faith in Him.

I believe that even the ability to trust and have faith is a gift from God.  Although we definitely have a part in it and God blesses our feeble steps toward Him, His character and love for us doesn't change based on how well we are believing and trusting in Him.

Psalm 25:6-7

"Remember, O Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old.

Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; 

according to your love remember me, for you are good, O Lord."

Quite honestly, I did not have the faith and trust in the Lord the whole time that I wish I did.  During the height of my illness of shingles, there was fear that the virus might attack my eye.  The medical staff said that they did not think it would, but they prepped me for what to watch for (blurry vision) and told me what emergency procedures we'd have to do if we thought it was affecting my eye (5 hour commercial flight to an eye specialist with likely emergency eye surgery to protect my eye from having a detached retina).  Hearing this was a possibility and then waking up to an extremely swollen eye the following day (how can you tell if your vision is blurry when you can barely see??), led to a battle with anxiety.  I say "battle", because that is what it feels like to moment-by-moment take your anxiety to God and pray for His direction/peace/healing/protection...and then do it again 5 minutes later when the anxiety rears it's ugly head again.  Philippians 4:6-7, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."   This verse has always been one of my favorites, but I learned something new through this illness.  Sometimes when we pray and leave our burdens with the Lord, we only have to do it once and our hearts are filled with His peace and we don't have to look back again.  But sometimes this is not a one-time thing....we need to keep taking the burden back to the Lord...over and over...  And, sometimes, the peace He sends us is through another person/circumstance.  In my recent experience, the peace came through an eye doctor and his wife in America.  They wrote me and told me that with all of the eye doctor's experience with patients having shingles in their face, they did not believe the virus would attack any other nerves at that point (basically, the nerve(s) effected where already showing themselves and in this case, it did not include my optic nerve).  I truly believe that this communication was God's doing--sending me a message of peace to calm my anxious heart.  [Side note: If you ever feels God's urge to communicate with someone about something you have expertise/experience with, DO IT!]  So, all of this to say, I was not faithful to always trust God, but He was so, so faithful to me!

Lesson #5: God's timing in everything, including illness, really is perfect!

I had the first symptoms of Shingles on the Saturday before school started for my kids.  It was on a Saturday, so my husband was home and able to help.  The worst days of the illness were during the first week my kids were in school...and this is the first year of both boys being in school.  Initially, I thought this wasn't such great timing, but in hindsight, I was SO wrong!  Remember how any noise would cause shooting pain in my head?!  Well, without any kids home, I could lie in my bed in QUIET!  Amazing timing, God!  To top it off, my husband had a planned 10-day trip to another part of our country.  The day he left on his trip, I was on my last dose of medication and had improved enough that we both felt peace about him going on the trip.  If I had gotten Shingles even one or two days later, I think he might have had to cancel his trip (which turned out to be a very important trip for him: dentist appointments, passport renewed, plus helping 2 families newly arrived to serve here).  I am blown away with how perfect God's timing was in this illness.

Lesson #6: We live in a great community who serves one another!

If you had told me before that someone had Shingles, I have to be honest that I wouldn't have thought that was a big deal.  Now I know better!  I am so thankful that our community here KNEW better!  They graciously provided meals, bought groceries, drove kids to/from school and offered to help with anything.  We have been so, so blessed by them.  And, to top it off, God has blessed us with family that lives in the same town!  My wonderful mother-in-law came and stayed multiple nights with us after my husband left on his trip.  What a rich blessing and help!

Psalm 28:6

"The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace!"

My Progression of Shingles

Going to TUR

The day dawned bright and early with lots of excitement in our house.  Usually when Kars leaves on a flight early in the morning, he rises and slips out of the house without anyone else waking up.  Today was different.  The boys were up early, filled with energy, because this time we all were going on the airplane with Kars as our pilot.  Adding to the excitement was that we were going to be flying our friends, the Beck family, back into their village and staying with their family for a few days.  Although Kars and I had both been to their village home before, this was the first time for the boys to ride along and see where their friends live!

Kars left for the hangar before us, so he could prep the plane and get everything ready for our departure.  I loaded up the boys and our overnight bags in our car and we swung by the guesthouse where our friends, April and her 3 kids had been staying.   This time they had made a trip to town for the kids to do the annual testing at the school.  Ryan, their dad, had stayed in the village for the week.    He was anxious to have his wife and kids return after a week alone, taking care of their home and pets.  We loaded up their bags and supplies (they have to take in almost all of their needed supplies to live, as there are no stores in their village....think about everything you'd need to take if you couldn't go shopping for a month...or three...).  This time they didn't have tons of stuff, as they knew they'd be coming back out to town in less than a month for their annual conference.  One thing we did get to take along this time was 2 little ducklings (which once full grown, are known for protecting against snakes, a scary part of living in the jungle).

After arriving at the hangar and unloading the car, we took the kids up to the bathroom (no bathrooms in little planes!) and then waited for Kars to give the signal that he was ready for us to load in the plane.

Finally it was time to go!  We loaded into the plane.  Our youngest had the privilege of sitting up next to his Papa, as the "co-pilot".

April and I sat in the back with the other 4 kiddos around us.  Everyone was excited for the trip, including the Beck kids, who were excited for visitors to come to their house and village.  I know that there are so many things that I take advantage of having, as a resident of a town, as opposed to a remote village.  We have the privilege of having friends over for dinner or for playdates whenever we want...but living in a remote village that is only accessible by small airplane does not allow this luxury.

My husband started up the plane and we taxied to the end of the runway.  Maybe it's because I am the daughter (and now wife) of a pilot, but whenever I take off in an airplane, whether it be a small plane or a big airliner crossing the ocean, I get emotional. Today was no exception.

As we took off and I looked out over our beautiful tropical town tucked next to "our" mountain, I felt the tears coming.

In that moment, all those years of schooling and training, all the years of working hard to help pay for Kars' expensive flight school, all the steps it took to get our family from America to the opposite side of the world...all of that came into focus...

THIS is why we did it!

So that the moms, dads, kids, families, single missionaries, all those who have dedicated their lives to bringing the gospel to every people group, even in the most remote, inaccessible locations on the edge of the world...CAN GO!  So that they can serve here.  So that they can live in remote locations, with the assurance that although there is no hospital nearby, the airplane can get in and pick up their families, in case of an emergency. So that they are able to come out to town for school testing, supply buying and much deserved breaks.  Having access to an airplane and having trustworthy, safe pilots reduces the stress of their lives here.  Hopefully our service to them increases their longevity and therefore the potential for God's Word to be brought to all the people groups where they serve.  What an honor it is to serve these fellow workers for Christ, helping do our part in building God's kingdom, even here on our remote island in South East Asia!

The airstrip in TUR.
The red roof on the left of center is the Beck's house.

Coming in to land

Where the plane sat during our 2-day stay
(Note that the biggest cleared space is the airstrip: also perfect for playing soccer!)

Some of the precious kids

TUR church

Kars sharing in church

These two have been buds since before they were 2!

We all had fun visiting our friends

Saying goodbye when we headed home

Who are we following?

John 10:3b-4

He calls his own sheep BY NAME and leads them out.

When he has brought out all his own,

            HE GOES ON AHEAD  OF THEM,

And his sheep follow him,

            BECAUSE THEY KNOW HIS VOICE.

From the world’s perspective, what we are doing does not make sense.  But we are not following the world.  Jesus has sacrificed all He had to win our souls.  Out of love, He paid the ransom that we needed.  So now, it only makes sense that we would follow where He leads.

The analogy of the sheep following the shepherd really stands out to me.  I don’t think I had noticed before how the shepherd is going out in front of the sheep.  The picture in my mind was usually the shepherd behind or beside the sheep…herding them in the direction he wants them to go.  But, thinking of the shepherd bravely walking in front and all the sheep following him, because they know His voice-that is such a comforting image.  We are not walking into some unknown territory or future as the leader.  Jesus is already there, in front of us, guiding us with His words of truth.  Sometimes it might feel like we are blindly walking into something…yet if we are following His leading and direction, we can be comforted to know that HE is AHEAD of us.

I want to follow my shepherd.  I trust that He knows what is best for me.  I want to know His voice well, so that when I am tempted to doubt, I can recognize His Truth and stand firm on it. 

Sovereign over all

Being in America and having a schedule that would be considered "insane" by most people (i.e. in the past 4 weeks we have interacted with over 40 different families or groups of people) creates unique opportunities to trust in the Sovereignty of God.  It doesn't really matter how great my organizational and communication skills are...with that many different "events" to schedule, it would be impossible for it to all work out perfectly.  And yet, God has been so faithful in helping orchestrate many of the details in a way that proves He is truly the One in charge and He is very trustworthy.

I believe many times we can't even see how God has worked or orchestrated events/timing in our lives.  However, last weekend, we caught a glimpse of His handiwork, which was SO humbling and encouraging.  I think He just might have planned it all, to remind me (trust me, I need LOTS of reminding) that He is Sovereign AND I can trust Him completely.

We were driving from northwest Oklahoma up to Colorado Springs.  The trip, without any stops, was supposed to take 8.5 hours.  We usually add at least 30 minutes for a stop every 3-4 hours, so our estimate was that it would be 10 hours.  Most of our trips have been 7 hours or less, so we anticipated the day to be long and potentially more difficult for the boys.  When we have a long drive ahead of us, our family has found the best plan is to get up super early in the morning and hit the road ASAP.  Our goal is to get a couple hours of driving under our belt before we stop for breakfast.  This usually works well with our boys, as they often fall back asleep in their carseats, creating a peaceful drive for the first several hours.  This particular day proved this plan to be true, and we had a quiet, uneventful couple hours in the van.

Another factor we were adding to this particular trip was the forecast of snow at our destination.  We were tracking the weather for the day, but unable to see when we would first encounter the snow storm on our drive.  As we drove through the panhandle of Texas, the weather was clear and mild.  But as we approached the northeast corner of New Mexico, we could see clouds in the distance.  As we drove into the winter area, we initially only saw small patches of snow alongside the road.  Of course, as we ascended into the mountains of southern CO, the amount of snow increased and eventually we were driving through big, swirly flakes.  We planned our next stop for gas and lunch, wanting to press on as far as we could before stopping.  As our tank crept toward empty, we decided to stop in Trinidad, CO.  The snow was falling fairly heavily at this point.  We bundled up in the van and made a dash into the gas station to use the restrooms.  Of course...the restrooms at that station were accessible only from the outside!  We carefully made our way around the building, stepping through snow, as wet flakes blew into our eyes.  Ten minutes later, with a full tank and empty bladders, we headed to the nearest fast food restaurant.  I was leaning toward taking our time at lunch and seeing if the weather would improve at all.  But my wise husband said we should eat quickly and continue on slowly and steadily.

Amazingly, the nearest restaurant had an indoor playground!  The boys climbed around on it while we ordered our food.  We ate quickly and headed back to our seats in the van.  The next leg of the trip was slower.  Our van, shaped like a box, has a windshield that almost goes up at a 90 degree angle from the ground.  We discovered quickly that this does not work well when driving through snow and ice.  Our windshield wipers collected ice at an amazing rate, which would not allow them to clear our windshield at all.  We pulled over multiple times for K to scrape the ice away and improve visibility drastically, if only for the next 5 minutes!  We were amazed at the multiple cars that sped past us, with completely clear windshields and visibly much less stress than we were experiencing in our van!  We slowly continued, stopping as needed to clear the windshield and wipers.

Approximately 30 minutes after our lunch break, after multiple short stops to regain our vision, the van stuttered.  Uh oh.  We pressed on a little farther and then the engine died completely.  We coasted to the shoulder off the road.  Miraculously (and here was the first instance of our recognizing the Sovereign One in this story), we were at the end of an entrance ramp for an exit off the interstate.  I checked my phone (yay for smart phones with internet!) and found there were 2 gas stations at that exit!  K called my dad and they discussed the problem.  Determining it was possibly moisture in the gas lines that had frozen in the below-zero temps, K headed back to the gas station on foot to buy some "Heet".  Only gone 10 minutes, he returned with 2 bottles and dumped them in our gas tank (later I found out that not every gas station carries this product...which is yet another sign of God caring for our every need).  We waited a bit for it to work and started the van again.  Yay!  It was running.  We continued down the road.  Five minutes later, the engine died again...we coasted to the shoulder again.  We waited another 10 minutes and then restarted the van.  This time we made it almost 10 minutes down the road.  Then, the engine died again!  Hmm, we began wondering if there might be another problem?  K did some research online, while I texted friends and family to be praying.  I noticed that it was not snowing anymore.  By this point we were approaching a small city and began to look into car shops.  As it was Saturday (and Saturday before Easter), almost all of them were closed.  We recruited my dad to do some research and locate a shop that was open.  We restarted the van and continued down the road.  By then, we were anticipating when the next "engine quit" would happen, so we watched for an exit with a gas station.  Most of the exits seemed to only be to residential neighborhoods, so we continued.  Amazingly, the van didn't quit and we drove for over 15 minutes before seeing an exit with a gas station.  We pulled into the station and left the van running.  K got on the phone and called the people at our destination for the day.  He explained our situation and asked if they thought we should look for a car shop in the city we are in OR if we should continue to try and make it to their place.  Would their be a car shop/mechanic nearby if we had another problem and couldn't get there?  They said to keep coming (at that point we were 45 minutes away).  The van continued to run while we sat in the gas station, passing the 25 minute mark since the last engine quit.  We prayed it was just moisture in the line and that it was resolved now.  I bought a few groceries at the gas station, so we wouldn't have to make another stop for the day. We continued on.  Miraculously, we made it the rest of the way without any more problems!  The weather had cleared, so not only was the van running normally, we could also see out of the windshield without stopping to knock off ice!  We pulled into our destination 12 hours after we had left that morning.

We were thankful that we had made it.  But the reality of how God had protected us and provided for us didn't fully sink in until later that evening.  A friend in the area, knowing some of what we'd been through, sent us a link to a news article.  The interstate that we had been traveling on had been closed near the location we had stopped for lunch!  Although I never saw an exact time of when it closed, it seemed that it was within an hour or two of us passing through.  The reason for closure was the weather and multiple accidents (we thought back to the many cars speeding past us, seemingly comfortable in the snow and ice).  I recalled my instinct to stay and wait it out a bit, but how wise it had been for K to recommend we continue slowly.  God protected us from getting stuck and from being in an accident.  He orchestrated the exact location our van would initially quit (within 5 minute walking distance of a gas station carrying the product we needed!).  Although it was frustrating to keep having to pull off to the side to clear our windshield, we might not ever know how the timing of those stops/the vehicles that passed us, etc. protected us from going off the side of the road or being in an accident with another vehicle.  God's hand over the entire day is very evident to me, a great reminder that I can trust in His Sovereignty.

The view just coming into the snow-area

The view when we needed to clean ice off the windshield wipers

The van after engine quit #2

At our final destination, lots of snow to play in!

Easter sunrise, full of hope

J's first time to sled and he LOVES it!

B's first time to sled, also. 

He's thrilled!

So fun!

Another sledder enjoying himself!

Visitors that came within 5 feet of our cottage

Beautiful view of Pikes Peak

His Way

God sent me on, when I would stay

('Twas cool within the wood);

I did not know the reason why.

I heard a boulder crashing by

'Cross the path where I had stood.

He had me stay when I would go;

"Your will be done," I said.

They found one day at early dawn,

Across the path I would have gone, 

A serpent with a mangled head.

I ask no more the reason why,

Although I may not see

The path ahead, His way I go;

For though I know not, He does know,

And He will choose safe paths for me.

[From Sunday School Times, March 30 in "Streams in the Desert"]

Reflections on ONE year!!

Oct. 17, 2013: we arrived in our new home, exhausted from international travel with 2 small children, yet thrilled to finally be arriving at the "end-goal" of our previous 8-year journey.

Now, one year later, I want to reflect on God's continued faithfulness to our family.  He is the One who clearly brought us here (seriously, there were many miracles leading up to our arrival) and I know, without Him, we would not be celebrating our first year in our new home.

Here are some random thoughts (in no particular order) about our past year and things I/we have learned and lived:

• As much as I enjoy cooking and baking, making things from scratch ALL the time can be incredibly exhausting.  I can't tell you how many times I've longed for a nearby fast-food joint to just take a break, or even just a grocery store with some almost "instant" meals or how about just a grocery store that carries ALL the ingredients I need, so I don't have to run around town to 4 stores!  Just imagine...when I make enchiladas (which our family loves), the process includes: buying all ingredients (usually at 4 different stores, since no one carries all of them), washing and soaking in bleach: the tomatoes, green peppers, etc, chopping veggies, grating cheese (no store-bought grated cheese here!), making tortillas from scratch (at least I've gotten this down to a 45 minute process!), boiling whole chicken and then separating the meat from the bones and skin, making enchilada sauce from scratch (no canned sauce here!), assembling enchiladas and baking. And then, if I want tortilla chips (which I always do!), I make my own chips from the tortillas I made.  This entire process is usually spread out across 2 or 3 days, because if I leave it all for the day of, I won't have time to do anything else!!  And then...we can eat all of said dinner in less than 30 minutes (which is why I almost always double my recipes, so we can eat my hard-work for at least 2 days).  Whew.  Quick meals here?  Right now my list includes eggs, pancakes, sandwiches, fried noodles....uh, yeah, that's about it. :)

Making tortillas....and the benefits of having a large stove!

Assembling Green Enchiladas

Homemade sweet pickles

• We are privileged to live in an absolutely beautiful place.  With tropical climates, we enjoy lush, green plants, flowers and trees year-round.  A breath-taking mountain towers behind our house and still causes me to praise God and His Magnificence each time we drive up the hill.  A beautiful lake is just beyond the airport K flies in and out of.  And multiple beaches are an hour's drive away!

Mountain behind our house

Lake is in left back corner...airport is in the center.

• Roads, although some could be ranked "third-world" with dirt, potholes, loose rocks and extreme narrowness, others are very impressive and we are often seeing improvements.  Currently, the road to our house, which is notoriously rough, is being re-paved (after 15 years!).  Maybe due to my growing up in Nairobi, I am so impressed to see long-term improvements to the roads!  I thought that rough, pot-holed roads would always be that way.

Although I didn't take this picture to show the road (note the dog on the motorcycle!),
it shows part of our pot-holed road which is being re-paved!

• Although we miss lots of amazing fruits from America (peaches, grapes, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, cantaloupe, plums....ah, now I'm drooling), we get some pretty amazing tropical fruits here! SWEET, delicious pineapple (all year), papaya, passion fruit, manggis, rambutan, bananas (in hundreds of varieties), watermelon (including yellow watermelon, which I'd never had before, but is SO yummy), jeruk bali and the list goes on.  Our family loves fruit, so this is a highlight of living here.

Yellow Watermelon (sweet and juicy!) 

This may not be a fruit....but J wanted to show you our pumpkin.  :)

• Life for me as a wife and mom looks fairly similar to what it would look like other places in the world.  My time is spent playing with my boys, dressing them, feeding them, teaching them, disciplining them, watching them grow (sometimes) too fast....cooking, cleaning, laundry (thankfully I get some outside help with those last 2, as we have NO dryer or dishwasher), spending time with my husband (after his long days at work), shopping (that looks pretty different here!), play dates, playing sports with friends, attending church, ladies prayer group and occasionally teaching Sunday School or volunteering in the nursery. K's life looks quite different (& that's the reason we live here and not somewhere else).  Keep your eyes open for a new blogpost from him, entitled "A Day in the Life of a Pilot" :)

Is there anything cuter than little boys and puppies??

This kid is a M-onkey
 (despite appearances, he is not in distress...haha)

Backpacks, helmets, flip-flops and shirtless....the attire of choice. 

This guy loves bikes.

• Satan is alive and well.  Spiritual warfare is a very real thing.  Our enemy is prowling around, seeking whom he can devour (1 Peter 5:8), especially those who are threatening his work and promoting God's agenda instead.  Those in our line of work go through a lot of battles and many of them can be tied directly to spiritual warfare.  I have personally experienced some of my toughest spiritual battles (at least thus far!) in the last year and a half.  But, through it all, I can say: GOD is faithful.  He has never left me.  He has shown His never-ending love to me.  He has spoken to my heart, many times through His Word or through songs about His Word.  I have found I need to go back to the basics: the amazingly Good News that Jesus showed His love for me when He died for me, while I was still a sinner and that it has nothing to do with me. I could never be good enough on my own.  I still mess up, all the time.  But that is why His grace is so amazing.  I don't deserve it.  I can't earn it.  Nothing I can do will change it.  And nothing that happens to me will change it.  

• Our co-workers, with both our organization and others that work here, are amazing.  We have been blessed with many friends.  Our kids have been blessed with many friends.  We couldn't be here without them and wouldn't want to be.  When they leave on furlough or move away for good, parts of our heart goes with them.  But we wouldn't trade having these precious friends for anything.  When we have our kids call them "aunt" and "uncle", it really is because we become like family.  And then we have the amazing blessing of also having (blood) family here as well!  K's parents live in the same town, a mere 10-minute drive away.  We are beyond thankful for this amazing gift! Having both grown-up without grandparents nearby, we are so thankful for this gift our boys (& we) have!

Playing duck-duck-goose with our friends, who will be moving away in a month :(

With K's mom

J's 2nd birthday party!

The boys with their Opa and Oma!

A night out with friends

• It's very hot and humid here.  ALL YEAR LONG.  Sure, we have "rainy" season, "dry" season, "hot" season and "hotter" season.  Ha!  Most of the time I don't mind any of this, as I hate winter and being cold.  However, some of the aspects of this climate, which I didn't anticipate, include: candy/cough drops/gum from America all turn gooey and mushy (yuck), unless you keep them in the fridge.  Actually, almost everything should be stored in the fridge or freezer: spices (they clump, mold and lose their spicy-ness), bread (it goes moldy FAST), uncooked rice & pasta (it's the best way to keep bugs out!), and pretty much anything that you aren't planning to use within 2 days.  Also, being so hot and muggy (note: we have air-conditioning in 2 of our bedrooms, but not the rest of the house), you lose energy quickly and need to drink lots.  I know when I'm getting dehydrated, as I'll get a headache and start to feel exhausted. Drinking water and rehydrating drinks is so important here!  Houses here do not have carpet, but are all tile floors.  This is great for keeping cooler (sometimes I just lie on the tile to cool off :), but not so great for little foreheads/knees that trip and fall. Our ice-packs are well used. :)

• Those in our line of work, including us, are not super-spiritual or any more "holy" than anyone else (can I get an "Amen"?!).  Spending time in the Word is so important.  Staying connected to the Vine is essential.  We need time to worship God (in our own heart language) each week.  This might seem like a "duh" point, but in my naivety, I didn't realize how important it was going to be for me.  When we first arrived in this country, we attended a local worship service every week.  While this certainly was good for us in some aspects (language, culture and relationally), one thing God taught me through the experience was that it was OK for me to attend a church in my own language.  In fact, for me personally (at least, at this point in my journey), it is essential that I do.  I need that time to worship with fellow believers, in a language that speaks to my heart.  God had to guide us through this decision, showing me that guilt over not attending a local church was not from Him.  And judging other co-workers in this area is also not pleasing to Him. Each family, in each situation, has to make this decision for themselves, asking for God's direction.  

• Going along with the tropical climate and lush surroundings...we get our share of interesting insects and not-so-welcome guests: snakes & spiders!

"Leaf" bug outside our house

First snake in our yard...thankfully was already dead when I found it,
 thinking one of the neighbor's dogs killed it?

The second snake in our yard wasn't dead...but thankfully
the neighbor used our machete to take care of it.  Ugh, I HATE snakes!

A large moth on our porch door

• What a blessing and privilege it is to be where we know God wants us to be.  Watching my husband thrive in his job as a pilot, seeing our boys grow to love their home & experiencing God's work in my own (stubborn) heart with an amazing community around us.  There is no place I would rather be.

In front of one of the planes K flies