Winter in October

The first snow dusting of the season proved to be everything I hoped and imagined. It was beautifully refreshing. Snow capped mountains, the feeling of winter in the air...oh wait. It's October.

The first snow of the season is always exciting for me. Possibly because I've been in school my entire life and the result of a snow means NO SCHOOL!! It means you get to sleep in a little, hang out in your PJs all day, wake up to a warm drink by the fire...its a feeling of cozy around the house. But here...well, if we didn't go to school every time it snowed, we would be out of school from November to April. I'm okay with that. But apparently it's not good for the whole learning thing.

This past week was Fall Break. In NC public schools, Fall Break means no school for two days. Here, we are out for an entire week.  Winning. We slept. We ate. We hung out. I sewed. We stared at each other for hours. Having no car really limits our activities. So, we asked our friends with cars to hang out. We also took advantage of down time this week to practice the taxi system here. Mom, Carlyne, Nana, Aunt ME...you should stop reading now, but if you choose to continue, remember that what I'm about to say is COMPLETELY NORMAL here.  The taxi system here is similar to hitch hiking. Actually, that's what it is. We need a ride, so we hold out our hand, someone pulls over, we hop in the car, they take us where we need to go. Boom. No-car-problem solved. If you have a car, you are a taxi. It's just what they do here. And it is way, WAY, safer than America. Promise. We have already done it three times, and look, we are still here.

The last three days we had a retreat with our team. It was refreshing. A team from NC came in and brought tons of coveted American goodies...and the only thing I really care about...Starbucks. I was so excited about good coffee that I couldn't wait to go to bed so I could wake up and drink it. I even woke up throughout the night from excitement of good coffee and fresh snow. It's the little things, y'all. 

AG was so exhausted from the retreat that she slept in until 9:00 Sunday morning, took a three hour nap, and was out by 7:00 that evening. She is such a people person. She will let anyone hold her and will play with about anything and anyone. She gets passed around so often here, most of the time I have no idea where she is...and she LOVES the attention.

Christmas Help

This year, Christmas will be different. Being in a foreign land, we have decided to take advantage of being on the other side of the big pond (the Atlantic) and explore Italy and Turkey for Christmas break.

Yes, we are excited. But it will be different. We won't be with our friends and families, so I have been brainstorming new traditions for our little family in order to make Italy feel like Christmas. I don't want it be just a vacation. Because it's not. It will be Christmas. The best time of the year. 

So I need YOUR help. What are some of your traditions that we can take with us to Venice? Brainstorm with me and help me think of new ideas to help this time of year to be just as joyful as past Christmases. 

Here's what I got so far (not much!)...

1. Stockings. 

In order to fill in the quiet space of our little apartment, I am learning how to sew while Addie naps. A woman on our team has let me borrow her sewing machine and will be giving me a few lessons. So, I have decided to use this time to sew stockings. Now, this is my first time sewing, so I'll be proud if I create something that semi-looks like a stocking and can hang on the wall. 

Since we are doing a big trip for Christmas, our gifts to each other will be to fill one another's stocking. I'm going to make mine huge. I have made one already, and here is the final product. Don't look too closely!

My first sewing project :)

2. Make Christmas cookies. 

We always did this growing up, so I think before we head out for break, I'm going to bake some to bring with us. 

3. Read the Christmas story

This is a no brainer. I hope to read about the birth of Chr-st Christmas morning then go to a fun cafe for Christmas breakfast. 

Well folks, this is all I've got so far which is why I need some help! You may be thinking it's too early to think about Christmas, but if I don't start now, then as time approaches I'll get overwhelmed and not do anything. 

We will first explore Rome, then on Christmas Eve we go to Venice, then Turkey later in the week. 

Lately at 13 months

So apparently AG likes cats. Which makes sense since Eric and I don't...of course our child would love cats. Many of our team members have cats, so when we go to their houses, AG gets so pumped to play with the kitties. 

This picture says it all...there were three cats, and she got so excited about all three, she didn't know which one to go to:

Kisses for kitty

Last week, AG and I went to one of the soccer games with some people from our team. AG loved playing in the grass

Last weekend, our school had Fall Festival where the little kids got to dress up. We didn't pack any costumes so the best we could come up with was a little cupcake...which turned out adorable! The Fall Festival was a blast! There were different types of foods, candy, cotton candy, popcorn, face painting, games, talent show, and the popular Air Band competition.

She loved her pet balloon dog. She popped it in less than 5 minutes...

CA Happenings

This blog is inspired by exaggerated true events, real thoughts and feelings.

So let me tell you. LET ME TELL YOU, I say, fingers snapping in the air. 

There are some interesting happenings around this part of town. Here are a few I want to remember...

I've been honked at, multiple time and it ain't because I'm flauntin' myself down the street in my stilettos. Nope not even close. I'm in my tshirt, jeans, hair in a bun, casually walking to get some fruit and veggies. Seems innocent enough right? But if I'm an inch, AN INCH, too close to a car driving by me, I'm apparently in the way. Maybe I should wear my mini skirt and high heels out to the fruit stand. Because then I'll fit right in. Oh, but wait. I don't own a mini skirt, nor did I pack any of my fancy shoes. 

Someone should've told me girls like it flaunt it here, I might have packed accordingly. Kidding. 

I've also seen a fight. In the street. Two men bumped each other in their cars, couldn't agree, got out, yelled, and then started fighting. And now I know that if I get into an altercation between either two men, I most certainly would win the battle.

Yesterday, I saw a man carrying a LIVE sheep, upside down, by its legs, across the street. Don't know where he was going. I was too distracted figuring out how to actually pick up a sheep like that (lamb? sheep? He was carrying ONE, so correct if you may, grammar police).

Remember that movie where there is a really cool girl, and an overly chipper younger girl who tries too hard to be BFF's with the cool girl? I don't know what movie that is, but I am sure there is one out there. Well that happened to me. I had a young teenage girl chase me down the street in order to walk and talk with me. I was the cool girl. THE COOL GIRL!!...by default, it was only because I am American. She kept talking in her incorrect, broken English, trying to tell me how she thinks America is so amazing.

Oh, have you been there? I ask.
"No, but I want to so bad!!!!"
How do you know it's amazing?
"Movies!!!"
Oh perfect. That's a great way to discover the true America. No, no I actually didn't say this, but it kinda scares me that she feels this way based on movies.

We continued chatting, for a little bit longer. She told me she is wanting to practice English so she can go to America. I told her I would love to help her. She was super cute, and I wouldn't mind being her BFF :).

We have a nanny that keeps AG while we are working. She also cleans and cooks too...I'm thinking about packing her when we come back. For real...I'm going to be spoiled when we come back to America. She is amazing and AG loves her. She recommended that we get a house helper too...house helpers clean and cook. But she cleans and cooks. Is she saying that it's obvious we need tons of help?! So far I have come home from work to: homemade pizza, homemade tortillas, homemade tortilla chips, homemade french fries, a taco bar...I'm thinking she knows us Americans pretty well, don't ya think?

Things are going well over here y'all! Feel free to personally catch up with us by shooting us an email!

AND GOOD NEWS...today is slushie day!!!

Romanticism Shattered

The idea of serving overseas was one I romanticized. One I thought was a noble choice. A choice that revealed the depths of servitude in ones heart, a heart longing for people to know the Go-pel. Therefore, this romantic longing was pursued, and once it came to fruition, I thought my relationship with our Creator would flourish deeper than ever. I dreamed it would  grow leaps and bounds into a kind of relationship that many cease to experience, only those who have been stretched by culture shock, language barriers, living in constant uncomforts, and being in a foreign land far from family and friends. I just knew my time spent in the Word would be endless. I would be saturated in Go-spel truths and community in a way that fulfilled the deepest longings of my hearts, all because I chose to sacrifice everything to serve in a foreign place. I wouldn't struggle for time in the Word, because the only reason we are here is to serve in a way that all people from every tribe, nation and tongue would know Him and worship Him. Therefore reading would become as natural as breathing. The thing is, I'm not sure I even realized I romanticized serving overseas, until now. Until these truths hit me in the face...

1. I'm still the same person. 

I'm not sure if I thought I would morph into a different human being once we stepped foot into our country, but it didn't happen. I still have anxieties and frustrations, although they may differ from before, they are still there. I'm still just as undisciplined as I was before I came. Instead of choosing to meet friends or busy myself around the house instead of reading the Word, I just do it differently here. I "busy" myself in other ways, sacrificing my time with my Savior. It doesn't change now that I'm in an uncomfortable situation. It's still a choice. A choice we have to make whether we feel like it or not. 

2. I'm still a sinner. 

The affections for G-d still doesn't infiltrate my heart by my own doing. It didn't back home either. Imagine that. I'm still prone to wander, and only He can allow my heart to love Him. The same things still make me angry and annoyed, and peace and harmony still doesn't fill our home every waking moment. I'm not baking from scratch every single day with my hair in a bun, music blaring through the house, and large smile on my face (although this does happen, not everyday ;)). Our house isn't full of locals every night, gathered around the dinner table sharing B-blical truths and winning souls to J-sus...although I wish this was the case. Reality check: we don't know the language and we've been here for a little over a month. I do get frustrated when I want to communicate something and we can't understand each other...and sometimes I do start speaking in really loud English at them, thinking the louder I get then they will eventually understand. I didn't morph into a better version of myself because we chose a "more noble" path of hardship. In fact, I'm pretty sure this move has revealed the true conditions of my heart, and it isn't a better side. The evil within me has revealed itself in ways to which I was blind beforehand. I am not good. I am not noble. I am still a sinner in need of a Savior to change my heart and bring me to Himself, and this is why we were called here. Not because our resume tells us we are qualified by our works and actions, but simply because we have Good News to share. That's it. 

3. Only being in Heaven with J-sus can fulfill our deepest longings. 

People are the same everywhere. I know I am. I'm still the same girl, with a sensitive heart, who gets too passionate about certain issues, who struggles with fear of man and spending time in the Word. A girl who can be too hard on her husband, who sometimes struggles to give grace, and who is really selfish with her time. I am the same at home and I am the same here. It is only by the grace of G-d that can change us to be more like Him whether we live in the suburbs of Raleigh or in a third world country. My desire to have my deepest longings of my heart fulfilled are desires that only a perfect Heaven and a perfect J-sus can fulfill. We will have that, one day. But it won't be here or it won't be in Raleigh. We can strive for community that honors Him while we are here on earth, but the expectations of having perfect community will never exist as long as sin is in this world. The community here is amazing, and I believe it is different here. It has to be. We are all each other has, but it isn't perfect. There is a longing in all of hearts for J-sus to come back, and to take His bride to be forever with Him in Glory. 

4. Our calling is the same everywhere. 

If you are in Chr-st, your calling is the same as mine whether or not you are in a foreign country. Our calling is to love people well, love the Ch-rch, and make disciples...which means sharing the G-spel and helping others grow to be followers. Being at home and working 9-5 jobs doesn't give us an excuse to be exempt from this calling. This is our responsibility that He entrusted to us. This calling is our first priority no matter where life takes us. Being called overseas isn't a more noble choice, it's just a different location in which we have been placed to fulfill our ultimate calling. 

I do believe that He wants to place us in uncomfortable situations to help us grow in Him. I do believe that although my romanticism has been shattered (which is good, I need reality checks), I grow in ways that are different here. Not better, but different. I need Him differently and I have to trust him differently. We have such Good News to share but can't because of the language barrier. So, what will this year look like for us when it comes to our ultimate calling? We must trust Him to show us how, a different "how" then ever before. 

My Friend, My Driver

Every afternoon I have a driver take me home after school. My driver speaks very little English, but the English he does know, well, he likes to say it to me. And then gets excited about the words he knows and ends every sentence with loud cackling laughter. I can't help but join him.

He points. "Butterfly! Flower!" Cackle. 

He opens the car door for me. "Please?" 

One day he wants to try out a conversation. "America,  lots of Mexicans?"

Yes, yes we have many from Mexico who come to our country, I reply. 

"Mexican, crim-i-nal?" 

Um not everyone, but I'm sure some. 

Cackle. 

Every Friday I have talked him into stopping to get me a slushie. He says, "slushieee? America?"

Yes, slushie. Yes, I love America. Let's pretend we are in America and eat slushies. 

Cackle.  

Today he says, "See yooo leeeter."

So today I decide to enhance his life a little and teach him English with a southern accent. 

It's see you layder. LAY-DER. LAYDER. 

Not only do I have the joy of teaching him southern style English, but I also get to ride a roller coaster...  Every. Single. Day. And think nice thoughts so I don't vomit all over his backseat. We go fast then bam. Screeeeech. Break. Swerve to miss a pedestrian.  Repeat for 40 more minutes. 

Meanwhile I slightly crack open the window to allow fresh air to calm my ever rising stomach. Breeeeathe. Never mind. That's worse. Exhaust, gas, and other pollutants in the air. So I do what any normal person would do. I bury my senses in skittles and m&ms. 

Or a slushie on Friday. Glory. Tomorrow is Friday. 

We have this unspoken deal. He helps me with "hello" in Russian (every day, and I still can't get it) and I teach him southern style English. He doesn't really know that I'm helping him, but I'm here to serve so I don't mind.

                                                     MY CARSICK MEDICINE:

MY FRIEND, MY DRIVER. (Just give us a little more time together, and I'll take one with him when he is actually aware that I'm taking his picture) 

A Normal Fiasco

The other night. Oh man.

We have been told that someone might knock on our door, aggressively, until we open it to show our "papers." So, the other night around 1:30 AM, someone knocked.

And rang the doorbell. 

And knocked again. And Again.

I decided I wasn't going to answer it, but just wanted to peek through the hole to see who was out there. As I stepped out of our bedroom, my feet were immediately covered in water. Water was everywhere, an inch deep. 

 I swim through the water to see who was at the door and there was a lady in her robe. She begins speaking gibberish, and I speak back English. 

Water. WaaaaTer. WATERRRR. She understands.

"Yes, eeez eet yu?" 

No, not me!

"May I see?"

She proceeds to walk into our flat to see from where the water was flowing and then sprints out our door and up the stairs. We don't see her again.

I go and wake Eric up. 

ERIC!!! Water! Water everywhere!! We have a flood in our house!!

It takes a minute for Eric to fully wake up (as usual), and naturally, his reaction was very startled. 

"Huh? What?! Water, where?! Where is it coming from??"

I call our logistics guy here to tell him our situation, and he said he will send a guy over in the morning to have a look. We then proceed for the next HOUR to soak up all the water in towels and squeeze it into buckets. Finally, when all the water was up, we crawled back into bed...around 2:30 AM.

3:00 AM- Doorbell. Knock. Doorbell AND knocks.

People here are do not have much patience when ringing the bell and knocking. They don't give the person much time to get to the door before deciding to ring the bell hundreds of times.

I tell Eric to go to the door, so he answers it. And then comes back to our room.

Who was it? I ask.

"Two homeless men, I don't know what they wanted, they spoke Russian."

Oh, okay.

We finally doze back off to sleep.

3:45AM- My phone rings. SERIOUSLY? It was our maintenance guy telling us he was sending a couple of guys over to check out the flooding. "They are there," he says, "So let them in."

You send them over NOW? Can this not wait until the morning? I think.

Eric goes to the door, lets the men in, they walk around til 4AM then leaves.

Eric comes back to bed.

So, were they the "homeless men?" I ask.

"Yep." 

We end our night...well, morning at this point, in laughter and finally doze off until our alarm clock went off an hour later. 

Apparently, these types of situations are very "normal" for our part of the world. And sometimes, all you can do is laugh.