Gift of Language

Sometimes it's hard to find out exactly what gifts and talents we have. There are so many websites and books dedicated to this topic. I can't say that I know all my gifts and talents, but I can tell you one that the Father decided NOT to give me, language. I didn't do so hot in Spanish in high school. Sure I got an A, but I'm not sure I can speak two words now!

The sad thing is, I think I know more of the Spanish language than I do Hindi. It's terrible. It wasn't always terrible. This time last year we were up in the cool beautiful mountains studying 24/7, and I was actually getting it. I mean, sure I introduced Joe as my wife instead of my husband, but that's not a big deal, right?

Last year, up in the mountains, with our teachers.

After our 6 week crunch course, I've been losing it ever since. I find it's hard to practice it in our city. My Hindi is so poor and everyone else is working on their English, so we usually end up saving time and effort by going with English.

But that's all changing now that we are back on student visas. We start our official classes this week, but I've been meeting with a tutor for the last month.

Devanagri [Hindi] Script

My tutor has a hard time understanding that I don't have this gift for language! She was a bit disappointed in me when I couldn't read perfectly after 20 minutes of 'learning' the hindi script. And let's just say the Hindi word for Orange (Santra) apparently does NOT sound the same coming from my mouth as it does from my tutors. Sad thing is, I think it's just as frustrating for her as it is for me.

my language helper

But after a little encouragement and some wisdom from my hubby, I've been using my time with my tutor to share stories from the Word. (Did I mention that my hubby HAS the gift of language. He says it's just a math problem to him. I loved Algebra, but I'm not seeing the relation here!) Anyway, I will tell her a story, in English. We will look at it in the Word, in English. And then she'll help me interpret the story into kindergarten level Hindi. It's been really good. Not necessarily for my Hindi, although it is improving, but for us to be able to talk about the Father openly.

ps. if you ever need someone to share the story of the demon possessed man to your kindergartner, I'm your woman! I also know the story involving Peter walking on the water... that one may be a little more age appropriate for Kindergartners.

Futt Flat

We've been in our new flat for over a month now. It's still a work in progress though. (mainly because we still need to get our inverter hooked up so when the power goes out we'll still have fans to cool us off.)

Here's a snapshot of the Futt Flat.

the dining room.

The "master" bedroom.

the new curtains hiding the new air conditioner.

the new curtains up close.

the book tower and rickshaw.

the living room.

the view from our roof.

"And God will generously provide all you need...." 2 Cor. 9:8

Refresh

After a week of test proctoring two sweet 1st grade girls and 15 rowdy boys (poor Joe), We are back home. When I say home, I mean our beautifully colorful flat in this very colorful country. This is not to be confused with the place in the States that will always be home, even if we don't have a house there.... I mean really, doesn't that count for something that our permanent mailing address is listed for somewhere in Arkansas?)

Our prayer, during our time in Goa, was to be refreshed, relaxed, and rested. The air conditioned hotel room and the beach both helped with the refreshing part of that prayer. The relaxing part came during the weekend, after the official meetings were over. And the rested part came with a smile every morning that I didn't have to get up at 5:30 and turn on the water pump to get our daily supply. The Father really did answer our prayers!

Good "vacations" always make it hard to get back in the swing of the day-to-day life! It seems like any time we are encouraged we take two steps forward the enemy tries to steal our joy and we end up taking a step back. It's so frustrating that our joy can be taken so easily! Whether it's by the lack of electricity periodically throughout the day, the refrigerator going out, the repair man not coming, the unreturned text messages and phone calls to new friends, etc. It all just zaps my joy!

But we are determined that our Father is faithful and sovereign, and that somehow even in what may feel like "joyless" days... the Father can receive glory! If for no other reason than to get us on our knees and to get us begging for "less of me and more of you, Lord!"

"The Lord says, ' I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you." Psalm 32:8

"...God has made everything beautiful for its own time." Ecc. 3:11

I Have Learned...

"I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstance." Philippians 4:11-13

I'd like to say that after a year of living overseas I've learned true contentment. But I'm afraid that I'm going to have to save that for a future blog post. Sure I have found that I can be content having to live out of 6 suitcases, not having a dryer for my clothes, and having to make everything for dinner from scratch - including rotel. But I have yet to become truly content in all things. I pray someday I will.

Thankfully, I was directed toward a truth that I have so often over-looked.  Paul, the co-author of the book of Philippians, used the key word "learned" in this verse. Praise the Lord, contentment.... true contentment can be learned!

 
Last month, while we were nagotiating our lease agreement, the Father began to show me some areas of my life where I need to learn contentment with my circumstances. You see, our landlord wanted us to sign a lease agreement saying that we'd pay for all eleven months of the lease even if we don't stay the full time. We tried to share with him that we wanted to stay the full time, we have no plans of leaving before next January, but we couldn't sign the agreement with that clause. What if something happened to Joe tomorrow? What if something happens to a family memeber back in America? What if the water in our new flat never works? What if.... What if... What if...

 
How many times a day do I play the what if game with our heavenly Father? The truth is though, that He says:

   "...Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things." Philippians 4:8

After spending some time today in the Word and meditating on this verse, I'm choosing to think about the things right now in my life that are praiseworthy. Like the blessing of our new niece, Olivia Tonette, on Saturday.  Even while we were in Goa, and completely removed from the world, our Father allowed us to find internet in a hotel lobby. We were able to see our sweet little niece just moments before her first bath!

   (Owen with his new baby sister.)

Thank you Lord for the blessings you pour out on us daily.

Go Goa

Tomorrow morning we are leaving the big city for a week. We are heading to the beach for work. That's right... the beach for work.
We are always getting crazy opportunities, and we definitely didn't want to pass this one up. We are going to be giving the homeschool children their standardized tests, specifically I think we've been assigned the 3-4 graders. I'm also going to be taking my scissors along to give some worn out momma's a new do!
Super excited about the opportunity to escape our 106 degree days!

"Please do not begin until I have finished reading all the instructions."
I've been practicing....

Will you cut my hair?

It's always fun to tell people about being a hairstylist. Of course everyone's immediate response is, "Will you cut my hair?"
I love it! Even though my set up is my extra bedroom and not in a beautiful salon, I'm getting to do exactly what I love to do which is to make people feel better about themselves.... inside and out!



Here is a video of me getting my eyebrows threaded the other day. It's way better than wax! No one in India waxes. They all use the threading method to remove hair. I'm in the process of finding someone to teach me this unique technique before returning to the states. I know there are a few places that offer this service in America, but I can't wait to introduce it to all my clients someday!

Wedding Day

Joe, the photographer, was hard a work on Tuesday night.

A friend of ours asked if he would be willing to help shoot a wedding here in town. We have actually spent a little bit of time with the bride and groom, so thought it would be a neat experience. 

(a bridesmaid showing off her mahindi while holding the rings)

It was such a unique and beautiful ceremony, combining two different cultures. The bride is an American and the groom is Indian. The bride comes from a believing background, while the groom is a first generation Hindu background believer. Some of the music would have sounded familiar to the Western ear, while most was in Hindi. Some of the ceremony was in English, while the vows were in Hindi. The bride wore traditional Indian attire with a beautiful white veil.  It was just really neat to see the merging of two cultures we love so dearly.

We enjoyed the ceremony and the reception that followed with lots of yummy Indian food.

Another memory made in this colorful place.

(The newly introduced Bride and Groom)

One Year Later...

I think I speak for all the family when I say that the goodbyes on April 6, 2009 will never be forgotten. The emotions of excitement for what was to come, the sadness of the goodbyes, and the fear of the unknowns were overwhelming. I'll never forget that feeling of sitting on the plane in Little Rock, thinking that I wouldn't see home or family for another 22 months! (As you know, my tears and fears at that moment were relieved by a surprise trip home for the holidays.) The only way we made it through those initial hard days were because of the grace of our Father! He was so close and so real with His promises of a hope and a future. We even did it with smiles on our faces!

(not to bad after 24+ hours of traveling)

Now a year later, I can say that our God is faithful, even during the past year of constant transition and change, He is faithful!
*He has been faithful to provide direction.
*He has been faithful to provide friends, old and new.
*He has been faithful to provide good health.
*He has been faithful to provide a love that continues to grow for my husband, even when we are together 24/7. I just can't get tired of my man, amazing isn't it?!
*He has been faithful to his promises of Habakkuk 1:5
 "The Lord replied, "Look around at the nations; look and be amazed! For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn't believe even if someone told you about it."

Happy 1 year to all our friends who have embarked on this adventure with us!

Oh and I have to add this funny example of the cultural difference we experience daily.
I asked our friends that dyed Easter eggs with us what they did with them later. They were quick to tell me that they had made the best egg curry!

What did we make out of our Easter eggs? Egg salad sandwiches. hehehe. It made me laugh. We love Indian food, but I just haven't mastered it in the kitchen yet. So you gotta love the ole faithful of American egg salad sandwiches.

He has Risen!

Matthew 28:6 "He isn't here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen."

We had a wonderful weekend with our friends.

On Saturday, 15 of us colored Easter eggs. I was expecting around 5 so I didn't quite have as many eggs as I was hoping to have available, but they were more than excited when I told them they could color 2 eggs. They were thinking they'd only get to have one. Joe and I were the only ones who had ever done this fun little project before, so our friends asked for a demonstration.

Joe showed them how to color the eggs, and then, with confidence, they all began coloring the eggs. They were done in a matter of seconds and they all looked very similar to Joe's egg. Maybe next time we should show them a variety before they begin coloring.

Oh well, they still loved it. I had made some sugar cookies too so we had fun decorating them. (Minus the fact that I forgot the ingredients for the icing. oops!)

Sunday was a beautiful, warm day! The perfect day for us to gather with other believers and celebrate our Savior's resurrection. We spent time singing, praying, and reflecting on the true meaning of Easter. It brought a huge smile to my face when our friends began sharing how the cross made all the difference for them. The cross and the resurrection has set our Father apart from any other.

(Easter 2009)

We also had a fun time reflecting on last years Easter. Our first holiday to celebrate in this country.  This Wednesday we will be celebrating our 1 year in country!

(2010)

I think we've started an Easter tradition of shaving Joe's hair off. 

Happy Easter!

Every Day Normality

We see Elephants all the time in our city. I love them. They are usually always painted so beauitfully. And usually they are walking down the 8 lanes of traffic....no big deal. I still can't get over these massive creatures though!
This video was taken yesterday, right after leaving our house on the way to the mall. He's getting a bath!