Two Weeks In

It is hard to believe we are just a few days away from the start of February. Our past few weeks have gone by very quickly. It is quite amusing when we sit and think about how different our life looks these days. Right now, we have Ziploc bags cleaned, rinsed, and hanging on our drapes with clothespins to dry so that they can be reused. One of the many things that is "new" to us. I have come to gain a new appreciation for my dad's upbringing on his family's farm in Arkansas with little access to grocery stores. Or, I should probably say I have a whole new appreciation for my grandmother who raised five kids with few resources available to her! Memaw, I know you'll appreciate the fact that I am reusing my Ziploc bags now. :).

So, in the past two weeks I have learned how to make two different kinds of bread and flour tortillas, hand wash clothes, clean and grind my own beef (with the help of an electric meat grinder), cloth diaper a baby, and make yogurt. I'm sure I forgot some things, but I think you get the picture. Recently, I have been thinking back to the summers I spent as a camp counselor. There have been so many similarities for me to camp life that our new home has almost felt familiar in a way. Lots of spiders, no hot water, feeling dirty or sweaty several times a day, cooling off by the fan, working really hard all day long, drinking lots of water, looking forward to siesta time, and the list goes on and on and on. Who would have ever thought that God would use that time to help prepare me for this??? I am thankful the Lord is continuing to weave my life together in ways I could not have planned or imagined.

This is how our chicken arrived the other night! A sweet local woman cooks and delivers some things door to door. We ordered a few cooked chickens from her. The chickens must be skinny little things around here. When I went to debone my first one I actually thought someone had already cut the breasts out of it. :) I eventually figured out they were there (just tiny) and managed to find enough meat to use in some chicken and bean enchiladas that were pretty yummy.

Although life has been very different, it has also been so good and rewarding. I really enjoy getting to be in my home all day long with my children. I love seeking out one on one time with each of them. One of my favorite parts of the day is when Eli wakes up and crawls in bed with me in the morning after Marc has gone to the hospital. We just talk and talk and talk until we finally hear Hailey. The other day he snuck in bed beside me before I woke up. I opened my eyes to find him staring at me. He held his arm up to mine to compare and said, "Look mommy, we are the same (meaning the same skin color. Ha!)." He obviously has taken note that we are now in the minority in regards to our color. :) He also tells me many mornings how special we both are to God. He is such a sweet boy and I am so very thankful that I get to see more of him now (and sweet Hailey!) throughout the day.

Eli helped me roll out our dough for our French bread the other day. He loves helping in the kitchen.

(You might just notice the crock pot and microwave in the background! Those were wonderful things to find in our house when we arrived. :))

Marc is steadily working towards understanding more on the medical realm. The complexity of the medical needs here along with the language barrier have left him feeling inadequate on many days. He is often not sure how to help many of his patients. Continue to pray that he would find joy and satisfaction in his work even if the outcome is not always good from a medical perspective. The most common diseases that he is seeing and treating currently are malaria, malnutrition, gastroenteritis, and pneumonia. He also sees many more patients who have complaints that he can't put a diagnosis to. There are also a lot of patients in the hospital with tuberculosis and HIV, and a few each day with tetanus. We are so blessed to live in a country where vaccines are readily available to us. We have now seen how serious many of these diseases are. We can prevent many of these infections in our kids and others' kids by choosing adequate vaccination. It is unfortunate that many times in underdeveloped countries vaccinations are not readily available. I will share more this week about a recent trip Marc took with some nurses and doctors into the nearby villages to help vaccinate children.

We love having this screened in porch. It is a huge help having a place that is contained and in the shade to take the kids when they get a little stir crazy inside the house.

A few people have asked what we might find useful during our time here. We really don't expect to receive any items (except from our parents... ha!) because it is quite expensive to ship a flat rate box (around $50-60 for up to 20 pounds I think) and it takes about 3-4 weeks to arrive. However, if you had already planned on sending us a care package here are a few things we brought with us and are finding very helpful. We really appreciate your prayers more than anything. We can tell that you are lifting us up in prayer in so many ways so thank you!

Foil sealed packets of chicken or tuna/albacore
Bacon Bits

Jif peanut butter
Hershey's baking cocoa powder

Marshmallows

Wheat thins, triscuits, Goldfish, or Keebler crackers
Pretzels

Cheerios
Taco seasoning packets

Craisins, raisins, or any other dried fruits

Nuts (Walnuts, pecans, almonds, sunflower kernels)

Dried beans that we can't find here (black, pinto, lentil, split pea)

Powdered gatorade drink mix
Crystal Light mix

Jello pudding