It's The Small Things...

It's the small things that sometimes make me so excited here! One day, I successfully bought paper clips, and I felt I had a productive day. :-) Well, this small thing has made me more excited that any other small thing lately (other than Corinth, who isn't so small anymore!):

 

We're having a baby!!! Yay!!!

 

 

Bhoht Jantu- That Means Many Animals!

We are in our new home! We moved into our flat on October 12th, and have been working like little ants scurrying about to make it a home...  tora tora, which means little by little! Speaking of ants, good grief there are lots of bugs here. And by here, I mean inside our flat (and outside, too, of course!). I have literally found a different kind of bug every day. My mom says that it is 'toughening me up.' ...okay... There are also TONS of animals here. It seems that there are some parts of the city where different animals tend to congregate, but our area of town is home to pretty much all of them! Within a 3 minute walking distance, we see these animals on a very regular basis: dogs, cows, goats, squirrels, water buffalo, wild hogs, butterflies, parrots, donkeys, chickens, and of course monkeys. So. Many. Monkeys. Our flat is on the trail that the monkeys take every day from wherever they start their day to wherever they end their day, so we can (and do) sit at our window and watch the monkeys for very long periods of time each day. Corinth loves watching them! :-) We also have a mongoose that lives in a thicket/trash area outside our window. And, last week was a Hindu festival, and during those few days, they were giving camel rides around our neighborhood. So, pretty much we live in a zoo.
We both (and I'm sure Corinth feels the same) feel like we ARE the zoo almost always when we go out. We are always talked to by strangers, Corinth's cheeks are always pinched, and someone almost always comes up to us and tries to take Corinth from us without asking so they can take a picture with her. You'd think it would be flattering, but I now feel very sorry for movie stars all over the world. Every time I go out, I feel like Julia Roberts. (Yes, I know I look nothing like her, she's just the movie star that always pops into my head!)
It is going to take a long time to get used to living here, but there are so many things that will always remain strange. You can pray for us that we would be at peace and find joy in simple things every day. Also, you can pray that we would learn Hindi quickly so that we can converse more with people than just "Hello. How are you? What is your name?" We have been doing language class with our tutors every weekday, and so far that is going well. Also, big shout out to Rosetta Stone- it's awesome!
Thank you for praying for us, for responding to our updates, and for your messages on Facebook and Viber. Hearing from you guys is encouragement that we really need, so if you ever even think about us, send us a message, even if it's just to say hi or to tell us what you had for dinner. We love you and want to be in your lives still, and vice versa! I'll leave you with a few pictures of our last few weeks, with a promise to get more pictures of our neighborhood and the environment in which we live! Love you!

Corinth's new friends, the workers at one of our favorite local restaurants!

 

Corinth and her baby doll calling her Grandma!

 

Racing girls in "our park." :-)

 

Corinth the movie star, mobbed by adoring fans!

 

Corinth watching the monkeys out the window!

 

Our (Second) First Week Here

A friend of ours who recently landed in our country sent out an email about his first days here. In this email, he very appropriately wrote what I have been feeling as well. I asked him if I could post his thoughts here. Here they are:

 "Ugh, we're here. Right now, you are probably thinking, "These are the ones we sent out? Shouldn't they be excited? Is it too late to find someone better to take their place?" Well, you may be able to find someone better, but the truth is that we are excited about why we are here. That reaction was directed more to the negative aspects of this country that came flooding back to our memories all at once. There is a misconception out there that all sent out ones really enjoy (even prefer) living where they live. The reality is that this place is dirty and smelly and polluted beyond belief. It's crowded and noisy and full of prejudice. It is a dark land full of blatant idolatry that provides a daily assault upon the senses and emotions. Sure, when you first come to South Asia, it can be new and exciting, but unfortunately, we skipped the honeymoon phase. There are some things we do genuinely enjoy about our country, but I'd much rather be in the Deep South, for sure. So, no, we don't particularly enjoy daily life here in many ways, but there is greater joy in telling someone about the Way when they have never heard it before. You can ask that we continue adjusting to life here and become comfortable in the culture. Ask that we would be granted a love for the people that overshadows our dislike for the rest of it."

Please pray for me, as I (again) am having a difficult time transitioning to a very different everything. We also have been living out of a suitcase for 11 months, and want to move into our apartment, but there are still many things that need to be done before we can do that. Please pray that those things are finished quickly and that we can happily settle into our new home. One more request is that my stomach will settle. The roads are terrible here, and every time we ride in a rickshaw I feel awful. Pray that we all adapt well to living here. Thank you for your support and encouragement. It is very helpful! We love you, and I'll write more soon!

A Life Without Fences

This entry is titled for the chapter in which the following quote is found. It is in the book A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael by Elisabeth Elliot. I finished reading this book last week, and it was fantastic. Amy Carmichael was a missionary to India in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Her life was such an example to others of how to live wholeheartedly for Christ. While the whole book was great, this short excerpt really stood out to me, and I wanted to share it with you. 

My vow. Whatsoever Thou sayest unto me, by Thy grace I will do it.
My constraint. Thy love, O Christ, my Lord.
My confidence. Thou are able to keep that which I have committed until Thee. 
My joy. To do Thy will, I God.
My discipline. That which I would not choose, but which Thy love appoints.
My prayer. Conform my will to Thine.
My motto. Love to live, live to love.
My portion. The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance. 

Teach us, good Lord, to serve Thee as Thou deservest; to give and not to count the cost; to fight and not to heed the wounds; to toil and not to seek for rest; to labor and not to ask for any reward save that of knowing that we do Thy will, O Lord our God.

My favorite line, and perhaps new life motto: Love to live, live to love. Thanks, Amy!

Another Life Update!

Hopefully soon we'll have more to say than we went swimming and we went to the park. (Don't get me wrong, I love these things, but I'm pretty sure you're not reading my blog because the fact that WE went to the park excites you!) Kyle has medical approval and is working on getting his visa this week. Here's what we've been up to lately!

She loves the kettle corn at the Wichita Farmer's Market!

 We went on a surprise date to Strataca- the underground salt mines!

Our surprise date also included camping on the river's beach and kayaking. It was a very fun overnight getaway!

 We enjoyed several outdoor concerts in Wichita! Corinth and Mimi were dancing during this song!

 We spent time with GG in OKC! She LOVES her GG, which is so special to me, because my Grandma is a very special person in my life!

She also loves her Great-Grandpa Billy!

 We had all the family over for Labor Day, and Corinth enjoyed kicking around the soccer ball with Tara!

Some of the family enjoying time together on a beautiful Oklahoma day. Love my OK family!

 

Thanks for reading! See you soon!

Life Update via Photos

I know I haven't updated on family life lately, but here are some of our fun happenings recently! Enjoy!

She loves playing in her pool!

Swinging at the playground with Gran. I am so thankful for playgrounds!

Fourth of July!

Celebrating my sister's birthday!

Playing in the fountains at a park in...

Big D! 

Imagination play at Indoor Safari Park! So fun!

Riding an elephant! 

LOTS and LOTS of phone conversations. Let's just say that by the time Corinth is in high school, we are DEFINITELY going to need an unlimited minutes plan!

Playing dress-up, one of my favorite pasttimes! 

More swimming! She loves jumping in, but hates going underwater. Go figure!

 

Kyle and I have even gone on a few dates! 

We are LOVING our time with family and friends!

Following the Lord

I have been doing a women’s Bible study over Gideon lately. Honestly, I didn’t know much about Gideon before the study, and I’ve learned a few lessons during my time in this study. I saw many similarities between Gideon and Jonah, and then realized that those same similarities were shared between not only these two great prophets, but me as well. 

Now, you probably know more about Jonah, so we’ll start with him first. He was a guy who loved God and wanted to serve God, but was anything but excited about where God was sending him. I am a woman who loves God and wants to serve him, but am having a hard time about where God has sent me. (No, this is not a pity party; this is my life, good and bad.) Why there God? Why not this other place over here? They need to know your truth also. Can I go there instead? Jonah and I were both thinking this, knowing that God’s calling is clear. Jonah actually ran away from God. Well… tried to. I’m not sure what he was thinking with that one. I’ve had a few people tell me along this process that it must be nice that our family has such a clear calling from God for our lives. Yes, it is great that we know we are following His will, but that doesn’t mean that it’s butterflies and rainbows every day. How would you like to be Jonah and go tell a huge group of people, the Ninevites, that God was displeased with them and was ordering them to turn from their evil ways? Jonah did it though. Did he have a good attitude? Absolutely not. Terrible attitude actually. But, he still did what the Lord called him to do.

 Gideon was a little different. God came to Gideon while he was hiding from the Midianites, a huge army inching in on Gideon’s town. Gideon was threshing wheat inside a winepress rather than out on the threshing floor. He did this because the Midianites were taking everything they could from Israel. In simpler terms, Midian is the bully and Israel is the kid getting his lunch taken every day. God came to Gideon and told him that he was going to lead the army of Israelites that was going to overtake Midian. Gideon asked God how that could happen, reminding God how strong and evil the Midianites were. Gideon tested God several times, asking God to prove to him that He was who He said He was, and that He was faithful. God, though He didn’t have to, appeased Gideon and proved Himself in every one of Gideon’s tests. So, reluctantly, Gideon agreed to lead Israel. He started with 32,000 men and ended up with 300. As God weaned the number of the army smaller and smaller, Gideon continued to be faithful. He went to battle for the Lord and was victorious. God followed through with the promises that He made to Gideon- to protect, provide, and bring victory. 

As my family goes back to Spesterra, my hope is that I may have faith like Gideon had. God didn’t tell Him everything at the beginning, but Gideon walked forward each time God asked him to take another step. God was able to use Gideon to show His faithfulness to His people, Israel, and to all the other tribes and peoples that were watching in expectation. I hope that I am faithful enough to God for Hms to use me. As Gideon began His journey with the Lord, he was found hiding because he was so afraid of His enemy. God saw a faithful follower and chose him in his weakness to bring glory to His name. My hope is that we will all be faithful enough to the Lord to be able to walk forward each time God asks us to take another step. And my hope for myself is that, while it may be incredibly difficult some days, that I would not have an attitude like Jonah, and that I would not test God like Gideon did, but that I would be faithful to what God has called me, and, as 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, that I would “rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances.”