Some Snapshots

A Typical Day?
The night before: "Tomorrow we want to leave for the market at 10am sharp"
9am the next day: The plumber shows up to fix the leaky sink and to figure out why we haven't had water if 4 days. Praise God! Now we don't have to worry about the bucket under there anymore, and maybe I can take a shower tonight!
10am: "Pastor needs the car for a quick errand, but he will be back in an hour"
1pm: Pastor still isn't back
5pm: Pastor finally returns. We can depart for town
5:30pm: We should be in town by now, but the rain and mud and oncoming traffic that refuse to turn off their brights make the going a little slow
6:15pm: We finally make it to the supermarket in town, pack the car with seven carts full of food and supplies for the upcoming conference, get some take-away cheeseburgers to eat when we get home, and get back on the road
10pm: Arrive at home to find 3 inches of water covering the kitchen floor, the leaky pipe spraying even more than it was before the plumber came. Water must be turned off until the plumber can come again. So much for that shower.
10:45pm: finish mopping the floor, heat up cold cheeseburger and fries, eat them while listening to the rain on the roof
11:30pm: Head for bed, thanking God for windshield wipers, microwaves and baby wipes.

It's the simple things.

Fun times in Church:
Last Sunday, I'd been warned that since it was my first time, I would probably be asked to get up and say something, so I was prepared and not at all surprised when I was brought up to the front to greet the congregation. After my short introduction and greeting, just as I was about to take my seat, the woman who was translating turned to the church and said in English: "And now our new friend will sing a song for us". uh, ok. think think think, a song? I wasn't prepared to sing a song. Lord, what should I sing? Oh dear, everyone is staring at me, just sing something! Somehow, praise the Lord, I thought of a song, it was over as quickly as I could manage and I finally made it back to my plastic lawn chair.

This week, I was surprised to be again introduced to the church. I found out later that it was because last week I was wearing my glasses, and this week I was not, so I was not recognized to be the same person. Thankfully, I didn't have to sing this week.

 I think next week I'll wear my hair differently and see if I can  throw anyone else off...


During a visit with the kids on Monday:
"Maredeeth, is it your birthday?"
"Maybe..."
"It is! It is! Now we will throw water on you. You need to come with a cake so we can celebrate your birthday"
"Oh? I didn't make a cake"
"But why not? Ruth brought us a cake for her birthday, and we had a celebration"
 "Ok, I'll make you a deal: You promise not to throw water on me, and I will bring you a cake on Saturday"
" Ok, but if you don't bring us a cake on Saturday, we will throw water on you"
"deal"

Clever ones, these kids.

A Few Prayer Requests:

• Because of the upcoming conference, my orientation and training has been put on hold. Please pray that the Lord will help me to manage my time well while I'm in this ambiguous stage.
• Please continue to pray that I will be able to form positive, meanigful relationships with the kids and staff here
• Everything is new. Please pray for strength, discernment and grace as I adjust to all the newness.
• Praise God for his faithfulness to me over the past few weeks! Without Him, I am nothing. With Him, I can do everything He asks of me.