High Five!

In the future I would love to teach English. Everyone is always asking us to teach them, or if they have a bit of English they like to practice with us. My neighbors across the street have asked me to tutor their son, and although I get this question a lot, I feel like the Lord is prompting me to follow up on this one. I really like this family and this opportunity would give me more time with them. So I have started to do some research on how and where to start. As a language learned myself, I have a good idea on how to go about it. So I was just browsing the internet for most used words and common greetings/ phrases. This is what I learned today:

When meeting someone formally for the first time, we shake their hand and say "How do you do?" or "Pleased to meet you."

"How do you do?" isn't really a question, it just means "Hello".


When young people meet informally they sometimes say "Give me five!" and slap their hands together (high five).
Generally we do not shake hands with people we know well.



This is so funny! Um... can you say inacurate?! I am from the south, we hug everyone- from those we just met to those we have known for years!

After reading this, I feel the need to high five a bit more seeing as how it's our national gesture and all.

Slap me some skin!!

Perspective

New Dishwasher

I got a new dishwasher.




She wasn't cheap.




She's a little high maintenance.




She spills water everywhere.




But, SWEET MERCY, she is the cutest thing on this planet!!!

Stuck

So, we had some friends over for dinner tonight. Their family is leaving the country in just a few short weeks. As the wife and I were in the kitchen trying to get the dishes put away and dessert ready we heard her 1 1/2 year old start screaming. Then the kids started yelling that he was stuck in the toilet! The kid had slipped on the floor of our squatty potty and gotten his foot stuck in the hole!!! Wow! I never knew that was even possible! He came out just fine, and I am sure that with a few years of professional counseling that he will get over his newfound fear of squatty potties!

Birthday Boy

It is only fitting that two months after Noah turned 8 years old I should finally get some pictures of that cute kid up on this ole' blog! It sort of feels like the Callie show lately!

So without further ado, here is my boy!!



Our family tradition is that the birthday person gets to have the breakfast of their choice. Noah chose chocolate chip muffins. After the muffins he got to open presents. I don't have a picture of that. Maybe it was because it was pretty slim pickins this year. Because we were about to move and he was going to get his very own room he mostly got money for his birthday. He used the money to buy special things for his room. Gamma and PawPaw gave him money for a new skateboard. So he got to pick that out the day before. From Justin and I he wanted a new Nintendo game. So, Justin's parents were bringing that in a few weeks. All that adds up to very few things to open on his birthday. But, he did not care! I was so glad, I thought that he would mope a bit. Not my boy!!



I made him the cake of his request and he got to eat it at lunch time since we were going out for dinner. He chose chocolate with chocolate icing. Do you see a theme here?

Birthday parties are pretty non-existent here, especially for boys. For the girls we have invited their friends and their moms over for tea. But the thought of a bunch of boys running around my flat did not appeal to me or Noah so we did our own family thing!

The girls had school, but he didn't. His teacher had stopped coming since it was so close to the end of the school year and they had completed the material (normal here). So after we dropped the girls off we headed to a local shopping center. He got to shop at his favorite team store. He bought a jacket and a soccer ball with his birthday money.

This boy is a fanatic for his team. The locals here love how crazy he is for his team. And he can trash talk in two languages (a good thing?). We had his new room painted in the team colors, got team curtains, and as soon as it cools down we'll get his team bedspread.

After a bit of shopping he and I went to see Night at the Museum 2. It was a special treat to go to a movie- very expensive here, and choose candy and popcorn!


Justin picked the girls up from school and they met us down at the water. We took a ferry across to the other side, and then a minibus out to a really fancy mall. It has a Rainforest Cafe and we knew the kids would love it. Our waiter was super nice. He brought Noah a special limeade when he heard that it was his birthday.



My boys



My Girls



Justin and me



These monkeys loved this restaurant. It was basically empty, so they got to be a little wild without disturbing anyone (except Justin and me). There were huge aquariums everywhere, trees and vines, and life size anamatronic elephants, gorillas, alligators, and maybe others that I am forgetting. They moved and made noise, and every now and again there was a storm complete with thunder and lightening. I can see how some kids would be scared, but thank goodness ours were not.



This is Noah's volcano cake. Again, chocolate. They brought it out and sang to him. He loved being the center of attention (and being the "boss" for the day!).



A little high on sugar and excitement. This child smiled like this all night. I thought that his eyes were going to pop out of his head!



Posing with the elephants.



Not happy about posing with the elephants!



We matched! She loved the aquariums and found all of the characters from Finding Nemo.


Noah had a fun birthday. It was nice to have some time just he and I and then go on an adventure as a family. The restaurant was so much fun. The food was great, and since it was empty I was not stressed trying to keep them calm and quiet. All in all a great day!

End of School Bonanza

I have mentioned before a time or ten that Callie's teacher was rather fond of productions. She took up a collection and hired a special teacher to come weekly and teach the kids all sorts of songs and dances. I guess it was the equivalent of signing her up for a dance class. What we experienced through the year was nothing short of amazing to this Momma! Callie went from being super shy, wide eyed, unhappy on stage to a little girl who now puts on shows for us weekly. She practices, makes tickets, and talks about it constantly. It has been an interesting thing to watch.

Anyhow, her end of the year performance was fantastic. They got permission to use the small city theatre (Hello, air conditioning, nice to meet you! Can we be friends and you can come and live at my house?) which is really nice. The production was a bit more streamlined and had a very few glitches. It was only 1 1/2 hours long and Callie would love to show you her video of it (they even had a video system!!) any time you are free and feeling patient!!

Here are a few of my favorite pictures:












A few of the songs were in English and the teacher would give Callie the microphone during those. It was like she had her own concert with a lot of little backup dancers! So cute!

Here are a few snippits of my video. Can I just tell you that my girl can move! She knows how to shake it!

Bellydancing Callie from Elizabeth on Vimeo.

Callie's Time to Shine from Elizabeth on Vimeo.

End of Year Performance from Elizabeth on Vimeo.

More Callie Awesomeness from Elizabeth on Vimeo.

Bathing

A few weekends ago I finally got to do something that I have wanted to do since I moved here. My sweet friend and I went to the baths that this country is famous for. I have really wanted to go, but did not want to go by myself. Plus I was downright petrified of the nudity that was involved.

I read a lot of information, reviews, and tips on the internet. Plus, my friend had been a few times before, so she talked me through it. She found a lovely local place- not like the very lovely but very expensive places geared toward tourists on the other side.

We found it, and timidly entered through the beaded curtain. It did seem strange to me that in a culture so transfixed on modesty that a beaded curtain was the only thing shielding a room full of topless women from the world. But what do I know?

So, we enter, and fumble our way through trying to figure out what exactly to do. The room we were in was a large round domed room with small changing rooms all along the outside walls. it was the cool room- the room where you rest and relax after having been the hot bath. The lady up front gave us each thin towels that sort of look like picnic blankets to wrap ourselves in and a key to our changing room. I was relieved to see that all of the women had on bikini bottoms or underwear. It is amazing how quickly your standards of modesty change! But Iw as surprised at the wide range of ages and types of women (pretty young girls, fat, thin, ancient, etc.) that were there.

Once we were sufficiently disrobed and wrapped up in our picnic blankets we headed for the hot room. My heart was pounding- I was so nervous. We entered the hot room. It was another round room with a high domed ceiling, a large marble table in the middle, and marble basin around the walls. Like this:


It was very hot due to the hot mineral spring water taps. Each basin has a hot and cold tap like this:


You start with more cold than hot and eventually work your way to the hottest you can stand. All while sitting on a marble bench next to the basin and using a special bowl to pour the water over yourself.

I was really surprised at how quickly my nervousness melted away, and I began to enjoy the experience of being with all these women. It felt a little surreal in the since that this is a really ancient form of bathing as well as socializing. After just a short while I was totally calm and could have cared less about my lack of clothing!

After sitting for a nice long while I was sufficiently sweaty and prune-y. Then the attendant told me it was my turn. She took a large bowl of just hot water and splashed it over the part of the marble table where I would lay. It instantly heats the stone. Then I laid down and she scrubbed my ENTIRE body. Again, I was really shocked at how not weird this felt. It was a bit like getting a massage for the first time. Where it feels so good that you don't even care! It was fun to see just how much yucky dead skin she could get off. I had heard that it is a bit painful, but I didn't think so at all. This is an example:


Once she finished scrubbing me, my attendant told me to rinse off really well. She cleaned the table with a few buckets of that super hot water, and then it was time for my massage. Erase any thoughts of a massage you may have had in America. It was not like that! That's not to say that it wasn't good. It was just different. She used lather to rub and clean my skin till it really did squeak. Again, I had heard that the attendants are typically quite rough, but mine was not. I am probably just super awesome and tough!

After I was all clean and done I went back to my basin and rinsed off, washed my hair, etc. Then it was my friend's turn. After we were both sufficiently clean we went out to the cool room to change and relax. I could not stop sweating. But, if you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that that is a constant problem except in maybe January! I tried my best to cool down, we got ready, and then we headed out to go shopping.

My skin has never felt batter. It was such a fun and interesting experience. And the be frank, not nearly as weird as it sounds. I can't wait to go back.

Driving Around in my Automobile

Our company is having their world-wide international conference in Southeast Asia. There will be about 2 thousand workers from various fields around the world gathered together for an entire week of teaching, encouragement, and worship. We were too poor to go, but received an unexpected benefit from it. Some co-workers from another city in this country had to fly out of our city but did not want to pay the hundreds of lira to park their car at the airport. So, they left their car with us for 2 weeks!!!

I was really nervous about driving again after 2 years of not being behind the wheel- in a humongous city to boot. So, Justin took me over to a large parking lot where I could practice, get used to the clutch, etc. And I am pleased to say that I am doing great. It is so fun just to load the kids up and run errands! Probably shortly after my 16th birthday the awe and excitement of FREEDOM that a car brings wore off. Well, its back and this time I will never take it for granted again!!! I'll probably start picking up passengers soon just so I have an excuse to drive around!

Here are some things overheard while in the car that first night:

*Does this car have a barf bag?
*Do a loopty-loo!
*What did the taco say to the mayo?
*What do you do when a mother drives? People shiver with fear!
*Do you follow the lines or the cars?
*Mom, don't hit that horse!! (gypsy) ...but if you did, who would win?

SAD

We went to our old neighborhood yesterday to visit with friends. It was really nice to feel "missed" and be greeted so heartily! Everyone was really excited to see us again.

But, as I sat with the women drinking tea one of the women began to tell the story of how her cell phone was broken. Her husband bashed her across the head with it! No one was shocked but me. And then they all began telling similar horrific stories of abuse. At one point I had to go out of the room to "check on the kids" and gather myself a bit.

One of my particularly religious friends was quiet, and so I turned to her and asked if her husband treated her this way. Yes, that's how all men here are she said. "My husband's father was like that. My father was like that. And our sons will act like that." So then I turned to one of my closest friends whose husband is (in my opinion) a total scum bag and asked am I understanding this correctly? All of their husbands act like yours?!?! They sort of chuckled and affirmed that I was understanding things correctly. I was appalled!!

I had heard the statistic that somewhere around 80% of women here are abused, and likely more than that, but the others will not talk about it. But when you hear it from the lips of your friends and see their scars it becomes all too real!

Then ladies began to praise my husband and go on and on about how they wanted a husband like mine- a man who loved his wife and family, and treats us and others with respect and kindness.

I couldn't handle it any more! I just had to tell them how shocked and upset I was. That I could not understand how their husbands could say they fear God (Allah), show their faces in the mosque, even, and then act in such a sinful manner. I went on to tell them that the reason my husband treats us and other the way he does is because he truly fears God and follows Scripture.

What I wish I had said- and was fully able to say- is that God loves them so much and considers each one of them as His precious treasure. He cares for them as a beloved daughter and fumes at the way they are being treated. No human deserves such abuse! He counts the hairs on their heads and deeply desires to be in close relationship with each one of them. That is why he sent Jesus. Jesus died to pay for our sin and bridge the gap between the unholy (us) and the Most Holy (God). Because of Jesus anyone who believes is able to approach the throne of the Most High God- not as a dirty sinful creature but as a beautiful, redeemed bride- pure and lovely.

Oh Lord, let your truth be known here, and these women that you deeply love come to know it and abide in it.

Greatest News EVAHHH

That is not too dramatic of a title for what I am about to tell you...

Take a breath...

Get ready for it...


I FOUND SOME CHEETOS THAT I LIKE!!!!!


I know you are excited with me.

Calm down...

What?!?! You're not excited?

Really you should have been doing a happy dance for me! I am ashamed of you!

Let me just tell you about the Cheeto situation up until this fateful day:

There are no crunchy Cheetos to be found in this country. I cannot explain it. Perhaps they have never tasted the chip of the gods (or the meat of the gods- PORK- for that matter!), but for some reason only puffy Cheetos have made their way into the hearts of the people. Now, I am not one to discriminate against puffiness- being on the puffy side myself. But, when the puffiness comes in such tasty flavors as old shoe, spicy butt-crack, and roadside garbage [disclaimer: not actual chip names] I do not much care for them.

But today... or sweet halelujah... TODAY. ALL. THAT. CHANGED!!! I took the kids to the market, and when the whining and begging reached its pinnacle of annoyance (see life in the Middle East isn't so different from life at your local Walmarts) I caved. The Cheetos had glow in the dark tattoos!!

Moment of silence and reverence for the joy that is temporary tattoos that glow in the dark. They will be in Heaven.

Let's continue... I bought the danged Cheetos and huffed home. It was past lunch time and I was hungry so we opened the bag, and I grabbed a few. They were puffy, but something was different. They tasted good. Real GOOD!!

The Hallelujah Chorus started and my tastebuds sprung to life. I think the sun was also shining through the windows, birds were singing, and the plants were smiling. The kids were probably still fighting, but I was in my happy place! I may or may not have proceeded to eat almost the entire bag. In my defense it was a smallish bag and it was past lunch and they tasted FAB-U-LOUS!!!!

After I stockpile 478 or so bags of this deliciousness I should probably get on to the less important things in life like serving the poor, loving Jesus, and taking care of my family. Today it will be done with a smile on my face and Cheeto crumbs on my shirt. Maybe even an orange finger print somewhere!!!



Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Ephesians 3:20-21


They will come home and sing songs of joy on the heights of Jerusalem.
They will be radiant because of the Lord’s good gifts—
the abundant crops of grain, new wine,[Cheetos], and olive oil,
and the healthy flocks and herds.
Their life will be like a watered garden,
and all their sorrows will be gone.
The young women will dance for joy,
and the men—old and young—will join in the celebration.
He will turn their mourning into joy.
He will comfort them and exchange their sorrow for rejoicing.
Jeremiah 31:12-13

Ponderings

*Why when I am doing laundry from the day there are 5 pairs of panties from Lucy and no underwear from Noah?

*Why must my children strip stark naked to go #2... even in public restrooms?

Being a Butt...

of jokes is so much fun.

Here is my story of stupidity for today...

A young girl came to watch the kids so I could get out of the house and study a bit. So I flagged down a minibus. Minibuses are about the size of the short school buses, with flat fronts and seats down only one side and the other side is standing room. They go along a set route, but you can get on and off anywhere. They should carry about 25 people and therefore usually carry 40-45! Ummm... closeness. The summer is my favorite- our sweat runneth over and into a river down the aisle.

I digress...

So, I was on the minibus right next to the door, riding happily along enjoying my brief taste of freedom. A man came up behind me and yelled, "where are you from?". Startled, I turned and said "I am American!" sort of loudly. Everyone looked at me like I was crazy. Then the minibus stopped and the man got off.

At that point I realized he didn't ask me where I was from, he was telling the driver to let him him off "where ever." And then some crazy lady [me] turned around and shouted, "I am an American!" at him. No wonder people were staring at me! Language learning is so fun!!!

I do not care what language someone speaks, if they don't have any teeth it is nearly impossible to understand them!

F-L-E-X-I-B-L-E

UGH!!! I am learning to be flexible. I knew coming into this line of work that the #1 thing I needed was love for the Lord, and the #2 thing was flexibility. That is super hard for someone as ...um... particular as me. I like things a certain way. I think through my day and schedule things in a way that will best suit the kids. In other words, I plan, plan, plan! So when things don't go according to plan I try my best to be calm, but it is hard. Yes, ask my family, it is HARD to live with me!!

Anyhow, we have new team members arriving tonight. A family that has been in another part of the country for 2 years, and is now transitioning onto our team and into working with the poor. They have two young girls. One is Lucy's age and the other is 3 months old.

They are arriving tonight on a plane and staying with us until their flat is set up. Just a few days. So, I have spent the day cleaning. I was almost finished, except for the kitchen because I wanted to wait until after I fed the kids lunch. Just as we finished lunch the doorbell rang. It was our downstairs neighbors coming up for a visit. Now, in my head I had quite a list of things to do before they arrived, but in reality NOTHING in this country comes before guests. So I invited them in, and we visited for 3 hours!

Once the mother, grandmother, and baby left (the fourth grader stayed to play) I surveyed the damage. Oh those kids!!! They can reverse a hard days work in a wink! So out the mop comes, and I am back to work. Hopefully I handled the visit with grace and joy even if my mind was preoccupied!!!

F-L-E-X-I-B-I-L-I-T-Y

Photo Shoot

My mom asked for pictures of the kids for her birthday. The pictures that she had in frames were a bit dated! Since I wasn't too pleased with our last photo shoot I decided to take the pictures myself.

We bought new clothes and headed over to a local park known for its beautiful flowers and natural settings. Here's what I ended up with: