Just another day...

There are things that we see and experience on a daily basis, living in a different country, that are quite different from what we grew up with. Over time we stop noticing the differences because what is here becomes normal to us. We lose perspective on what is “our culture” versus “their culture,” and it becomes sort of a hybrid of culture in our life. I think this is a healthy place to be. I don’t think we could hope to truly contextualize if we are always thinking about how different our surroundings are. Plus, I think our local friends must get tired of hearing “well, in America we…”

However, Scott and I have recently been hit with a few differences of our life here that often make us laugh and thought that you might enjoy learning about them. First, as I’ve mentioned previously, Scott and I are both teaching for a university that is just getting started in our city as an opportunity to invest in the growing community around us. In doing so, we have encountered a little different environment than we experience in our own language center. One thing that amused me was the first time I used the rest room in the university office. I was pleased to discover that it was a “western” style bathroom, opposed to the “eastern” squattie potty that is so commonly used here. However, upon closer examination I found that there wasn’t any supplied toilet paper. This is not uncommon, so those of us that this affects tend to carry tp on us or in our bags. After I was finished I went to the other side of the bathroom to wash my hands and saw a roll of toilet paper…hung on the wall, on a toilet paper dispenser, intended to be used for drying your hands! I wonder sometimes what other uses people find for tp in this country! Another thing that commonly happens here is the electricity going on and off. This is a also known to happen during our class periods, and the students don’t even miss a beat! They just keep going with whatever they are doing, just as though the room wasn’t mostly hidden in shadows. However, something that happened the other day in my class really made me sit back and acknowledge a difference in our cultures.

We were discussing health and taking care of our bodies. One of my female students was expressing her views as a vegetarian, and how she thought meat was so bad for your body (this is not a common view here since they LOVE meat). However, one of my male students was just flabbergasted that she didn’t eat meat, and further inquired of her “if you eat so healthy, why is it that you are still so big (fat)?” I thought since this was a teenage girl he was talking to that I would have to intervene before she got too upset. However, she simply went on to explain to him about the genetic makeup of her family and how that contributed to her own size! Discussing one’s appearance and especially body types is not at all taboo here. Even to acknowledge that someone is large isn’t meant as an insult, but as a statement of fact! I found this especially funny since teenagers tend to be exceptionally sensitive about their appearance and yet this conversation could happen between two people of opposite genders without any incident! I think we may have something to learn from this since not acknowledging what is obvious can be rather awkward at times!

Another observation I made recently was in our neighborhood. When it comes to construction projects here, no one receives any warning. They just show up one day with all of their equipment and start pounding away. This occurred this last week with a project to replace some water lines. Unfortunately for us, those water lines run right in front of our house. So three days ago several men showed up with some large machinery and shovels to tear up the cement in front our house and all down both directions of our street. What they left us with was an approximately 3 foot wide and 4 foot deep trench! They also completely demolished our stairs in the front. This wouldn’t necessarily be all that big of a deal, except that we have nothing that we can use to bridge the gap and we are having to transport our children, groceries and ourselves across this thing without any idea of when it will be filled back in. When we asked them the first day when it would be finished they had told us today, but it is mid afternoon and I have yet to see any workmen. One nice thing that first day was when I walked outside and discovered the ditch I asked them what I should do, and their answer was to drive their bobcat over, put the bucket down over the hole and let me step across. Not bad as far as service goes, but I have had to cross many more times since then without their assistance!

My final story is another thing I witnessed on my street. While Scott and I were watching them demolish our front stairs, I looked over and saw one of my neighbors pull up in a taxi. I assumed she had been out shopping since her and the driver got out and popped the trunk open. However, instead of seeing bags of groceries I saw chickens! LIVE chickens! I’m sure the plan was to take them inside and slaughter them so they could have their fresh chicken dinner, but it amused me to see them all sitting in the trunk awaiting their fate, just like their pre-slaughtered frozen friends!

We will keep trying to keep “fresh eyes” so we can give you a picture of our world. So much has become familiar to us, and the new things can be sometimes frustrating, but we strive to see humor all around us and enjoy where God has us at this time. The boys are doing great and enjoying the summer. They don’t seem to mind being sweaty and smelly in this heat. Zeke only minds that he can’t go down the slides at the park because he would burn his little legs! So, we are getting creative with our family fun activities. The other week we even did a family movie night and watched Shrek 3. Zeke really enjoys the Pixar movies and we are able to enjoy them as well. We are now half way through our English course and looking forward to some fun times with friends at the end of the summer. We have had a few dusty days and one huge dust storm, but have learned over time how to deal with these things. More to come soon!

(pictured below was a huge dust storm that lasted several hours...this isn't the sepia camera feature, it really looked like this!)

Life is heating up!

Over this past week or so the weather has really started to heat up. Because of the increase in temperature, people have been running their air conditioners more and putting more stress on the electrical system, therefore we have had very poor electric coverage in our house...if that makes any sense! Also, our local neighborhood generator has broken down so in the midst of 110 degree heat (of which around 100 remains inside) we have been sweating it out with only about 14 hours of electricity a day. However, we are grateful that we have any at all! Not too many years ago people here only had a couple hours a day. So, we continue to praise God in the big and small things.

Other areas of life are also starting to pick up. Just this week Scott and I both started teaching English classes in partnership with a new university that is just getting up and running. This is another way for us to invest in the people and community that we have grown to love so much. It is a somewhat intensive course running 12 hours a week of class time plus our preparation. This is in addition to continuing to build the relationships around us, our family time and just getting anything done as part of our normal routine. So, we see some very busy times ahead of us and are enjoying getting into the thick of things post language study.

We also had a very crazy experience just last night. A trip to the emergency room! We have a woman from Nepal who helps us with child care and cleaning and she came down with a very nasty bacterial infection. I will spare you all of the gory details, but suffice it to say it was absolutely necessary for her to be checked into the hospital. After consulting with a doctor friend of ours we decided that last night the time had arrived to bring her in. So, both Scott and I, plus this woman and her friend loaded into our car about 9:00 at night. After meandering our way through the dark streets we arrived at the front of the hospital, which was full of people standing around. Now we have experienced this hospital a couple of times in different circumstances, but somehow at night it took on a whole different feel. As we approached the entrance there were two security men that were screening those who were allowed in. I did not make the cut! We had to move quickly with all of the people and commotion so I was left by myself to wait while Scott took the two Nepali women in to get settled. While Scott met with nurses in air conditioned offices, I tried my best to hang by groups of other women and be inconspicuous. Not an easy task for a tall, blond-haired, fair skinned person like myself among all of the people here! As I suspected I might, I was not successful in staying out of the lime light. An older woman noticed me and took me in, but she appeared to be from a village, which made her language that much more difficult for me to understand. However, her and her daughter were very patient as I fumbled through communication with them and they even found a nice place for us all to sit and wait. I'm not sure why, but after a little while security guards came and shooed us away from this spot and made us sit across the street from the hospital entrance. This really made my goal of being unnoticed more impossible. I am not sure exactly what was going on, but the buzz of the crowd began to rise and apparently it was over me! After some confusing questioning from the security guards about what I was doing there, a man suddenly showed up, speaking English, and escorting me through the crowds, into the hospital and right to where Scott was sitting! I'm still not sure all what was going on, but I can say that was definitely a time that I have felt the most nervous in my entire life! Scott felt terrible afterward because we had had to make such a hasty decision to leave me by myself. However, I am still here and now have another interesting story in my repertoire!

We continue to try and learn more about this place and culture and to understand how we fit into it all. As a woman this can be exceptionally difficult! I have come to a place where I can accept (for the most part) that I have limitations on my freedom here and have learned to work within these new guidelines. We also take refuge in knowing that God is here with us and in control at all times, even when things seem crazy! So be thinking of us over these coming weeks as we continue on this journey!

when it seems darkness prevails...

As I come to the end of my second year of service overseas I am struck by the way the Lord has worked in my life and how he has grown me in such a short period of time. My years leading up until now have certainly been riddled with lessons and purifying trials, but these past few years have been more of a “pressure cooker” experience of lessons. First, in dealing with all of the emotions, struggles and trials of leaving everything I’ve ever know and felt confident doing, as well as the feeling of knowing who I am, and exchanging all of that for a feeling of helplessness, dependence and frustration in not being able to accomplish tasks that even a child in my new culture can do; coming through all of that and finding a place again where I feel normal, where I feel like me again. Then, in this time, also coming to a place where I figure out how to be who I am within this new culture and context. Finally, after all of this, I have to deal with the purifying fire that God has for me to walk through so that He can make me more like Himself. This is where I am finding myself chafing the most.

I feel like I could come through the other challenges still coasting on my own strength. Now, having to walk through the fire I have had to shed my own abilities, my strengths, my education, and my confidence for whole dependence upon God and His plan. This is an area where, although I am usually eager to have God grow and teach me, I am finding myself really feeling the rub of discomfort. God has been assuring me through various means of His control and work in these areas, yet I keep looking back within myself to try and find answers. I analyze and struggle; agonize and hurt; finally I come to a place where I feel like I hit a wall, over and over again. Then I finally let go, and I find that it is only at this juncture that I can finally feel the Holy Spirit begin to lift my burden. It is here where I realize that I am playing the role of Peter, whom Jesus has asked to step out into the water. He is urging me to look at Him and Him only. In all of this I have moments where I lock eyes with Him and feel His strength and assurance, but then I turn my eyes to the waves and the darkness around me and feel myself start to sink. I allow the hopelessness of what I see with my fleshly eyes to dominate my emotions and thoughts and I lose sight of why God has me in this place. Although doubt and faithlessness seem to permeate my life right now, I still hear the Lord’s consistent, loving, accepting voice calling to me, pleading for me to look only at Him and to trust in Him. His voice reminds me that He is in control and is the Healer and continues to do the miraculous today, just as He did in Peter’s time.

The waves in my life right now may be big, and dark and seem insurmountable, but that is exactly where God is shown powerful and more than able. There is no hopelessness in God who is able to do all things for His glory. We trust in the one true God who is able to accomplish far more than we could ever hope or dream. This is the God I serve and in whom I put my trust and hope. He will never let me down. And through putting my hope and trust in Him, I can find the strength to love others and to serve them even when I receive nothing in return. This is why I am here and this is what God wants to teach me through these trials. God is good above all now and forever. And it is in this place where I can actually thank God and praise Him for what is going on in my life. It is amazing how God can make anything beautiful, no matter how bleak it might look. In trusting in Him, I can find rest…

A moment in time...

I am currently experiencing a rare moment in the life of a young mother...it is one of those few precious moments when both of my kids are sleeping and I'm not crashing myself! So, I will try to use this time productively and give you a quick update on our life.

I know many would think we were crazy for the amount of things we have taken on over these past couple months, but God is giving us endurance and teaching us contentedness in all that He brings our way. My dad came out to visit for 10 days and we had a wonderful time with him, even getting to drive over to the capitol city of this region and visit with some friends. The spring time here is exceptionally beautiful, so we have also been enjoying lots of time in the mountains on picnics. Also, about two weeks ago we moved to a new house, so we have been working slowly, but steadily on getting our house set up and our family all settled in. Moves are always tough, but setting things up here in a new house really takes the cake! I'll make a long story short by saying that on top of all of the usual things you would expect to set up in a new place, Scott installed a bathtub and a shower! He is quite the handy man!

Zeke and Ethan are doing great. We have lots of energy in our house with Zeke running around! He plays 4 days a week with a friend that lives nearby and he is having to learn a lot about sharing and being kind..BIG lessons for a 2 year old! Ethan is just over 2 months now and we feel like we can see the light at the end of the tunnel with this newborn stage. He is such a sweet little guy and we really enjoy him, but newborns are so tiring! We're looking forward to finding some semblance of a routine once he is sleeping better.

Also, in about a month Scott and I will both be teaching classes as part of a preparatory course for a new university being established in our city. It will be a sort of partnership with our language center and another way to serve this community. I am excited to start teaching and meeting new people. This class will be different than our center classes since it is aimed at late high school aged people, so once again Scott and I will be getting to work with teenagers...a role that we have missed since moving here.

Well, that is all for now since I can hear Zeke starting to wake up! I will do my best to keep you posted as we have lots of exciting things happening over the coming months! Until next time...

Yes, we are alive!

February 14th was a special day for many. For most of you it was VERY special, obviously not because of love, but because it was the day of our last blog. And now you've been waiting all this time for us to update! Good news, today is your lucky day.

I think most of you get our monthly newsletter so you've heard the news and seen our pictures of our new son, Ethan! In case you didn't hear, he was born in Amman, Jordan, on Feb 23, and was 7lbs 5oz and 21" long (3.31 kg and 53cm for you metric nuts). The delivery was quite speedy and the nurses told Katie it was amazing he came with such little pain for her. Yeah right! I watched them put the contraction-o-meter on her and during the height of labor it was only registering 35 out of 100. Before she was taken to the delivery room, she was hitting 60. I think they might have not put it on properly the second time.

Praise God I was able to get all the paper necessary for Ethan's passport. In Jordan that meant getting the hospital birth certificate, then getting our marriage license and passports translated, then taking those papers to a gov't office for issuance of the Jordanian birth certificate. That had to be stamped by 3 offices, then translated to English, and the translation stamped. Then we filled out the U.S. Passport application and took all the papers to our embassy. After being in the middle east for nearly 2 years it was refreshing how easy the U.S. embassy is to deal with. Kudos to the State Department! We waited no less than 5 minutes to put in the paperwork. Everyone was amazed to see a 2 day old baby there! After week we were able to pick up his passport and "notice of birth abroad." Praise God without any extra cost we were able leave 5 days earlier than we had planned; we arrived back at home on March 9. Ethan and mom are doing great; Ethan's gaining weight and getting on a good routine.

We got settled in, and then starting the following Monday we had 3 days of team meetings, moderated by our good friend from Salem, OR. These were long, draining, but ultimately good, days. We came away with a stronger sense of direction and of our individual roles as 3 of the 4 couples finish studying language next month.

That Tuesday Katie's mom and aunt arrived for 10 days. We had a great time together despite our being exhausted! We saw the bazar, local museums, and enjoyed the beauty of God's creation. And they enjoyed seeing Ethan and Zeke too, I think.

They were here for the local new year celebration, which coincides with the spring equinox. The legend goes that an evil king once demanded that a child a day be sacrificed in homage to him, until a hero rose up and slew the evil king. Signal fires were lit on mountain tops, like in Lord of the Rings, to spread the good news. In memory of this event and the rise to prominence of this people group, bonfires are still lit on the local new year's eve.

The local new year's kicks off the picnicking season, which lasts until June when it becomes too hot and dusty to do so. Spring is beautiful and is a mix of nice temperatures, sunny days and plenty of rain too (it's raining for the second straight day as I write). With Katie's mom and aunt, some short-term teachers and a good local friend, we by chance found a beautiful spot with several beautiful waterfalls and an incredible view! We could easily see the mountains that form the border of our country.





Another key fixture of new year's is the stroll down the local main street. Many dress up in their traditional clothes (locals will find ANY excuse to wear them) and crowd the road that is closed to traffic for the special occasion.
Zeke was given a set of clothes by some good friends and proudly wore them with a new Dwight-Schrute-mustard-yellow shirt. If I do say so myself, we were pretty cute. A strange sensation was having men come up from behind and without warning grab the pishteyn, the 10 foot long sash that covers the seam between the baggy pants and jacket. Evidently it wasn't on straight and they felt compelled to fix it. Just another adjustment we've adjusted our adjustments to.






Thousands of people crowd the street, walking, dancing, watching the big bonfire, and at sundown launching fireworks. Unrelated to the new year's stuff, celebrating the local political party's electoral victory, people set off fireworks a few nights ago. They kind they were using made M80's look like popcorn popping. Our neighbors dishearteningly broke out their AK-47 and shot a few rounds "towards the mountains." Remember we live in a crowded neighborhood! I suppose it was inevitable that we'd eventually be able to tell the difference between pistol and automatic rifle shots.

Last week the team began registering students for the next round of classes at the LIFE Center. It looks to be a full semester with 6 class and pushing maybe 80 students. We're forming a small agreement with a new university to teach English. I'm impressed by the charter of U; rather than offer an English program so students can pass the TOEFL and perhaps immigrate, they strictly will not offer the test. Instead they will bring in professors from the States to teach in English so that students can get a quality education to serve their country without the lingering temptation to study (and then stay) abroad.



So there you go, now you know our crazy life from the last several weeks; Katie's mom and aunt have left and now we're gearing up for her dad's arrival next week. We will continue our last few weeks of formal language study and take up our new roles on May 1.

Biding Time...

We are coming up on the 3 week mark of our time in Jordan. This will complete about half of our time here so far. It has been a big transition for us, but a good one. Zeke has transitioned like a champ, but also has been taking advantage of special "out of our normal environment" priviledges, like climbing in bed with mom and dad every night at some point! Its always a challenge being out of your context and I think we have done a good job of planning out our days enough with the things we have to do in order to not get cabin fever.

We are also under 2 weeks in our wait to meet our new little guy. We have had 3 appointments with our doctor here and even had a chance to tour the hospital. Everything is looking good and on track for us. I am very ready to have the baby and would welcome the surprise at any time, day or night! Scott's mom will be coming out here to help us with Zeke in a week, so we are all looking forward to that. Zeke has been playing lots with all of the kids on this side of our team and having a blast. There are also great play areas for kids in the city so we have been frequenting those and allowing Zeke to blow off some steam.

So, overall we are doing well. Please continue to pray for us as we wait and also as we are away from home and there is alot happening in our absence. We have really enjoyed hearing from many recently and definitely covet your prayers over our family. Hopefully, the next time I write we will have an announcement for everyone...until then!

Ready.....Set...Go!

We are just days away from preparing for the journey that will change us from a family of three to a family of four. Our baby boy is due in under 5 weeks, so on Tuesday we will head out to Jordan where the baby will be delivered. We are leaving country for two primary reasons: 1) there is an embassy in Jordan that can prepare our baby's passport in about two weeks and 2) because the health care in Jordan is comparable to what is available in the States. We are both excited for the time we will spend in a new context as well as nervous for the changes ahead of us. Over the past few weeks we have been planning and preparing since packing for a 6-week trip is very different than a week long vacation. In between preparing we have continued to study this language and to try and find ways to keep Zeke busy.

Zeke is a very active little boy and some days can be a challenge trying to help him get out as much energy as possible. The winter here, so far, has been much warmer than expected, so we have been taking advantage of playing outside and checking out new parks. Also, several days a week Zeke has a little friend that comes over and plays for the morning and it has been so cute seeing how these guys interact more and more with each other since they are exactly the same age.
Zeke has been going through some new stages as he gets older and discovers more of his own will and how to exert it! One thing that hasn't changed is his taking advantage of every situation he can. Below is a picture of us at a local restaurant. Everything in front of him was gifted to him by the restaurant staff and other patrons. We cannot take this kid out without the people getting him all sugared up and full of hugs and kisses!

We know that Zeke doesn't fully grasp the idea that he will soon be a big brother. We also know it will be a be a big transition for him and that we all will have our lives changed by our new little addition. As we wait Zeke has been "testing" out his baby brother's things and making sure they are all in working order!
Please be thinking of us over this next month. I will do my best to try and blog some on our comings and goings, but my main focus will be on our family for this time. Feel free to contact us as we will be keeping up with our email and it is always wonderful hearing from everyone back home. So, here we go!

party like its 2009...

New years eve this year was more fun now that we knew a bit more of what to expect. We went to a party very similar to last years, but it was a tad more organized this time. Once again we brought a bunch of food to share with our group, got to connect with many of our friends from here, and danced the night away.

Both Scott and I were able to get in on the dancing this year since we had someone to watch Zeke at home. We even made it to midnight! It was an absolute blast with there being a huge dance floor and most everyone getting in on the fun for the whole evening! I had to take a few breathers so as not to put myself into early labor! It was definitely worth the pain though!

One thing I love about parties here is that they are great for all generations! Everyone from the time they can walk to the elderly gets down and has a great time. These girls in the picture above even set off a spray can of fake snow, but no one scolded them, they just danced right on through the mess and enjoyed it! Also, even if you can't keep a beat no one gives you a hard time about it, they just keep dragging you back into the throng of people and giving you another chance to try!

At midnight they dj played a fun version of happy birthday (not sure what inspired it!) and afterwards we all gathered in the center of the dance floor and counted down into 2010! There was a huge cake and lots of sparklers. We didn't make it much past that since we were completely exhausted, but I would have to say this was the best party we've been to yet! These times are great opportunities for relationship building and just doing life with each other...plus, what memories we make! Happy New Year!!!