Keep pressing on

Life has been crazy since the new year started so that I have struggled finding time to update this blog. In January we took over a Day Care Center and that has occupied much of our time - moving to a new location, hiring new staff, trying to SLOWLY change routines and old habits (SLOWLY is the key word in this beautiful country) and taking in new kids.
As of next week we will have 30 kids ages 0-3 which is our maximum, so that's exciting. But it has also been challenging to develop new daily routines and schedules for us as a family. We are glad that David was able to move out of English teaching. Having him gone in the evenings, well, actually almost all day on three days a week was strenous and we are thankful to have more flexibility again. Having said that, this is a huge task that we have taken on and there are many days when I wish I could just be a normal stay-at-home mom! And I'm praying for someone to come soon and take over most of the responsibility for the Day Care Center from me.
At the same time I am learning a lot about living in this country, learning new words as I do my best to train the staff and learning to rely on God's joy to be my strength for and in everything.
Elliot enjoys coming along to the Day Care Center and playing with the other kids.

Other than that we celebrated Dylan's 3rd birthday on Februrary 18th! The poor guy could not go to Pre School that week as he had conjunctivitis so after his eyes had healed up we brought cupcakes to school and celebrated his birthday with his friends there. It's been a while since I have seen such joy and delight in his face and that was special to see! He's a great kid and I can't imagine what life would be like without him. And I can't believe that three years have already passed since he entered into our lives. I am thankful for both my boys in spite of the way they manage to bring out the worst in me and in spite of the way their presence disrupts just about everything about my life - my sleep, my comforts, my conversations, my meals, my reading, my studying, my ideas about how I might like to spend my time,...You get the picture.
But their hugs and cuddles, joy and laughter totally make up for all of that and they are truly a blessing.

This month we will once again have to say goodbye to our good Korean friends who will be moving on. It's hard, having to let go of people that have become a part of your life and who have helped you view life from a totally different perspective. That leaves us with just one couple here that we consider our friends and life keeps getting lonelier.

I have struggled often this past year with living here, thinking I have given up on so much and that life anywhere else would be so much easier and more comfortable. But I know that we are in the right place and that life was never meant to be comfortable. And little things througout each day remind me of why I am here and what I love about being here. So we keep pressing on!

books read in 2008

Last year, I decided for first time to keep a list of all the books a read in a year. So here it is:

1. Cenntenial by James Michener
2. Bringing up boys by James Dobson
3. All of the Little House on the Prairie books by Laura Ingalls Wilder
4. For the Children's Sake by Susan Macaulay Schaeffer
5. The urban halo by Craig Greenfield
6. Grace - based parenting by Tim Kimmel
7. Marley and Me by John Grogan
8. Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
9. A House like a lotus by Madeleine L'Engle
10. A Severed Wasp by Madeleine L'Engle
11. A small rain by Madeleine L'Engle
12. The Signature of Jesus by Brennan Manning
13. The Edge of Tomorrow by Dr. Tom Dooley
14. Seide by Allessandro Barrico
15. You will see Hoopoes by Lenna Lidstone
16. The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver
17. The Appeal by John Grisham
18. The Shack by William P. Young
19. The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
20. Women of Silk by Gail Tsukiyama

And I started reading (but up till now haven't finished yet):

1. The Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
2. The Covenant by James Michener
3. The Persecutor by Sergei Kourdakov
4. Vita by Melania G. Mazzucco
5. The passionate Edge by Gloria Kempton
6. Wenn der Löwe brüllt by Hermann Koch

20 books in 12 months is not too bad I guess considering the two little guys that keep me on my toes! :)

Christmas

Christmas usually passes in a flurry of activities but this year was even more different than any Christmas I have experienced so far.
David was still working on December 24th, which is our main holiday, and didn't come home till 10pm that evening. I had spent all of the 23rd shopping in the city and picking up my Parents-in-law with Elliot. We got back at 1 pm on the 24th. I think I have never felt so unprepared for Christmas. I didn't even decide what we were going to eat for our Christmas Dinner till the morning of the 25th and then it all took a lot longer to prepare then I had anticipated.
Plus, I was sick, we all were, and so everything was a lot more tiring and exhausting than usual.

Nevertheless, this Christmas was special in other ways.

I found it ironic to suddenly be bombarded with Christmas decorations, trees, Santa Clauses and music in all of the shopping malls in the city of our neighboring country where I went shopping. A Buddhist country with many devout Buddhist believers and a monarchy in which the King and Queen are regarded with the utmost respect, almost worshiped, it was weird to hear "Joy to the world" playing in the department store:
"Joy to the world, the Lord has come. Let earth receive her KING."

Then coming back home to another Buddhist country where people think that Christmas and New Year are synonyms and where they put up Christmas trees after Christmas. Sunday evening we were invited to some friends' house. They had invited all their Buddhist friends for a Christmas party and some local believers put on a nativity play. It was fun to see how people responded with laughter to the anguish that Mary and Joseph must have gone through when Mary was told that she would be with child and Joseph discovered that Mary was pregnant. Maybe, because many could relate?

But what really touched me was seeing the believers doing a dance to "O come all ye faithful", to see them worshiping Jesus, the risen Christ, the King of Kings, Immanuel in difficult circumstances where their faith could really cost them their lives was amazing.

I hope and pray that many more will receive Christ as their King this coming year, here as well as next door!

On a lighter note, I've been amazed to realize how big my boys have become. Elliot is walking now, still a bit unstable but he's determined and gets back up on his feet whenever he falls over. And Dylan is a real boy now. Recently, I cut his toe nails and finger nails and was astounded at how big they have become...

This is the first year that Dylan consciously celebrated Christmas. He learned a few Christmas songs at school and loved receiving gifts. He wishes that would continue on so now he's looking forward to his birthday and more gifts. :)

So even though Christmas was hectic and exhausting and tiring, I'm thankful for the gift of Jesus and that we have reason to celebrate!

powercuts and puking boys

We've had 13 hour power cuts these last days and whenever the lights come back on in the evening I am so excited! And grateful that we have electricity almost all the time with just random cuts every once in a while. It's amazing how dependent I am on electricity for so many little things and how my daily life gets so disrupted when the power goes off.

Other than that we have been dealing with queasy tummys since Sunday. We assume it must be something we ate. The boys started threw up all Monday evening and into the night. David camped out on a mattress on the floor of the boys' room with Dylan while I camped out on the floor of our living room with Elliot. David and I both just had queasy stomachs and I am so glad we did not have to vomit ourselves. That would have been a lot worse.

Dylan was much better on Tuesday and went back to Pre School today though he did complain of a tummy ache this evening. Just hope we don't have another night like Monday. And Elliot has had a temperature and been whiny all day. But maybe it's just due to more teeth coming. I'm glad I feel lots better.

Tomorrow David leaves for meetings and will be gone till Sunday afternoon. I'm bracing myselfs for these days without him though I'll have support this time round as our intern will be staying with me and helping me with the boys. This, too, I am thankful for.

The weather has gotten REAL cold and with our Christmas tree and Christmas decorations up it does feel Christmasy, at least at home. I still marvel when I meet people who have never even heard of Christmas, even in our touristy town. A few weeks ago I went to the paper shop to buy some paper to cut out starts and the shopkeeper asked me what I was using it for. I said "Christmas" and he said "Oh, birthday." And I said "No, for Christmas!". And he said "Oh, happy new year". So that's what we settled on...

David's parents and sister are coming for Christmas which will be fun. And I get to go on a trip with Elliot to pick them up from the airport and that, too, I am looking forward to.

So there are many things to be thankful for. Even though I've had my usual ups and down these past few weeks I feel I am nevertheless content with life at the moment. Sure, there are areas in which I am not completely satisfied and that I wish I could change. But all in all I am thankful to be where I am even if it means spending an uncomfortable night with two puking boys.

This must be my third attempt at writing. I'm either interrupted by my boys needing something or waking up from naps or from my scattered thoughts that I can't seem to gather and get a hold of these days...

Elliot is now one year and 9 days old and is gradually outgrowing his Babyphase. Even though he still refuses to walk or even stand (even though he could) he has become increasingly mobile, climbing on and over furniture, up and down stairs, trying to climb out of his high chair or get on and off our bed. It's fun to see how he communicates and mimicks all we say and do. Like Dylan, he loves to dance and whenever there's music - a CD playing, a cellphone jingling, on TV or someone playing the guitar - he immediatley starts bobbing his head and moving his body to the beat. Dylan and Elliot have started dancing together and it's so much fun watching the two of them and the joy they have in music. Maybe we'll be able to start a family band some day. :)

Dylan is enjoying Pre School and learning new things daily. It's fun to hear him sing songs he's learned at school and recently he told me the story of Goldilocks and the three bears. Both he and I were excited when I finally understood what he was telling me about! And the funniest thing on Elliot's birthday was Dylan who started singing "Happy Birthday" the way they do it here with lots of clapping of hands! He didn't know the song before so he must have learned it at school, too.

Last week, I had some days of self doubt as I was confronted with some of my weaknesses in dealing with people. For a few days I felt like a total failure concerning my people skills and withdrew into my own little world, not daring to venture forth into community again. But a date with my husband helped me see it all from a different perspective and that gave me the courage to try it once again. There's nothing like people to help us face up to the truth about ourselves - both the good and bad.

happy birthday Elliot

Elliot just a few days old with my mom (Sorry, can't turn the picture..)

Dylan and Elliot looking at Elliot's new book

His first taste of birthday cake

I'm one!

My Baby turned one last Monday! I can't believe how quickly this year has gone by! It seems like yesterday that he was just a few days old and now he's almost walking and climbing all over the place. Happy Birthday, my little guy!

what's up?

It's been a while since I've had the time to update this blog. We were gone for about 10 days in October and attended a conference in the neighboring country. To save money, we decided to drive South to the capital and then take a budget airline to our final destination. The trip usually takes about 8 hours but we always seem to end up taking that much longer!
We had planned to leave at 4 am but David took three attempts to really wake up so we left 45 minutes later. The drive is beautiful along mountain roads, through villages and I'm always amazed at the huge diversity of this country. Somewhere along the way, our car started overheating though and we had to stop numerous times to let the engine cool down and to refill the water. We are so thankful that the car never stopped in the middle of nowhere but wherever there was water and helpers nearby.
After 16 1/2 hours we finally arrived and were looking forward to a bed. But the boys, after spending all day in a car, went berserk and had a wild round of wrestling and jumping around our bed. :)
The conference was encouraging and I was reminded once again why I am here and that our presence is vital. The speaker shared the story of a lady in Central Asia who stayed with a local family as her husband was out of town. The daughter of the family came running up to her and said: "Last night I dreamed of Jesus." And so they spent the rest of the evening talking about Jesus. The next morning the father said:"You didn't know you'd be coming to our house, we didn't know you were coming but Jesus knew and so he sent the dream to my daughter." Would the dream have come without the messenger? What do you think?
Our presence is vital.
The trip back took longer than 8 hours, too, as we passed a family we knew on the way who had just had an accident. So we stopped to help. By the time we resumed our journey it was already growing dark so the last few hours were spent in total darkness along windy mountain roads...Not the best conditions. But we stopped on the way to look at a brilliant sky full of stars. Amazingly clear view of the Milky Way. So beautiful!

Now we're back to our routine of teaching English and Pre School and daily ordinary life. Trying to save all the neighborhood chickens that stray into our yard from Jacob, our dog. Trying to keep the boys happy. And trying to dry our laundry even though it's been raining on and off for days again.

Elliot turns one next week. He has grown so much and is in that inbetween stage - not a Baby anymore but not quite a Toddler. He took his first small steps last Friday and has become increasingly assertive, leaving us no doubt just what he wants at any given time.

Even though life here is challenging I am thankful for the constant reminders, even in little things, that God is here, taking care of me and has a purpose.