Christmas 2009

Christmas 2009

Well, it’s that time of the year again. Once again we find ourselves busy with decorating, family visits, and shopping for gifts while trying to keep the focus on the reason for it all – the birth of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

This year has just flown by. My how time flies when you are having fun and boy have we had some fun and adventure this year. Here is a quick recap. We spent the first 5 months of the year living with Jeneson’s parents in India. We left the frigid Illinois weather for the warmth of Mumbai the beginning of January and really were not sad to miss the bone chilling weather that those in the Midwest experienced during this past winter. We had a great time living with Jeneson’s parents and the kids got to know their Appachan & Ammachi (Grandpa & Grandma), Minie Aunty and cousins Jenny & Jonnathan. Jeneson also had a wonderful time spending time and catching up with his family; he hadn’t spent this much time with them in more than 20 years. While there were some difficult times, overall it was an amazing experience. We got to do a little travelling while in India. We spent some time in Kerala, which is in southwest India where Jeneson’s parents are originally from and where Jeneson was born. Despite all four of us sleeping in a double bed and lots of time driving, we enjoyed meeting all the relatives and the beautiful scenery and backwaters of Kerala. We also took a family vacation, just the four of us, to Goa, a sunny beach tourist area. It was incredibly relaxing playing in the sand and taking sunset walks on the beach every day.

We returned to reality the end of May. God is awesome and provided in every way for us. When Jeneson left for India, he had told his practice that he was quitting, but they value him and wanted to treat January – May as a leave of absence. He restarted working for Metro Infectious Disease Consultants on June 1st. He was very grateful to not have to start a job search and has been quite busy at work recently.

June also brought us more clarity to what God has for our future. Jeneson and I spent a couple of days in Buffalo, NY with the staff of Global Outreach Mission (www.missiongo.org) and were officially accepted as missionary candidates to Sierra Leone. We are excited about where God is taking us and are currently support raising with a goal to be there in about a year. Hopefully, you have received a support letter that details where we are going and why, but if you haven’t please let us know and we will be happy to get one to you.

The rest of this year has been fairly uneventful. The kids are growing like weeds; Josiah celebrated his 3rd birthday and Lydia had her 1st birthday in September. We had a cozy party at my parent’s house on what seemed to be the last 70 degree day of the year. Josiah talks nonstop and has more questions in a day than I can answer. Lydia runs and climbs all over the place and is trying to keep up with her big brother in the talking category. My goal for this winter is to keep my sanity while staying warm inside with 2 very active kids. We might have to start Josiah in Awana and see what classes the park district offers as a way to burn off some of their abundant energy.

We know that God will show Himself faithful in the upcoming year and are anxious to see what He will reveal for our future as we know there are many more adventures ahead. We pray as this year comes to a close that all is well with everybody and would love to hear from you all.

Blessed,
Jeneson, Sandy, Josiah, & Lydia Abraham
missionpa@sbcglobal.net missionnp@sbcglobal.net
708-214-3643 708-214-3655
7449 Washington St #307
Forest Park, IL 60130
http://abrahamadventures.blogspot.com

Missions

OK, so I will try not to ramble or switch topics too much since it has been almost a month since I last blogged. God is really working in our lives here in some great and anxiety-provoking ways.

As I have mentioned before, we are in the process of support raising to go over to Sierra Leone, West Africa to help start a hospital. While Jeneson and I have gone on several short-term medical mission trips, we have felt God leading us toward long-term missions. God has amazingly orchestrated connecting us to a great organization (Global Outreach Mission; www.missiongo.org) who is starting a hospital in the middle of Sierra Leone. We are excited to say that the first construction team will be going out the end of this year. They will be working on a small corner of the existing hospital building to make a clinic work area. Prayerfully, by the end of the year a well digger will also be on the ground in Sierra Leone!

One thing we have learned is patience (and God is still working on us also!). In the past it was relatively easy to support raise for our short-term trips. However, we have discovered that raising money for long-term missions is a totally different beast. God has been showing his sovereignty here also. Just when I am getting down and depressed about the pace of the support-raising, He gives me a glimmer of hope and confirmation that this IS what He has for our future. God could have us in Sierra Leone in the next week if that were His plan, however, He wants to make sure that we are prepared for our next adventure.

I am trying to learn to TOTALLY trust God for safety and provisions for our family as I know that is I will have to do that in Africa. If you have received a support letter and have some questions, please contact us. If you did not receive a letter and are interested in learn more, let me know and I will gladly get a letter in your hands. In the meanwhile, seeking and praying..........

180/182

180th out of 182 countries.
That is where Sierra Leone is situated on the United Nations Development Programme’s 2009 Human Development Report (http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/); Afghanistan and Niger are the only countries ranked lower than Sierra Leone. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the UN’s global development network; they advocate for change and connect countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people better their lives. The Human Development Report comes out annually and is commonly viewed as listing the best and worst places to live. In fact, the most recent headline involving this report was that the US had dropped and is now ranked the 13th best country to live in.

I looked at this list with great interest as to where our future home country falls in the rankings. As most who read this blog know, Jeneson and I (and yes, the kids too) are currently support raising to go to Sierra Leone, Africa to help start a hospital. We are extremely excited about this newest chapter in our lives and have a great burden for the people of Africa in general and specifically Sierra Leone. So, life in Sierra Leone is rough, people are still struggling 7 years after the end of the civil war. The infrastructure of the country is still in shambles, jobs are scarce, clean water is hard to find, people are struggling to rebuild their lives, their homes and provide for their families. But, with Christ, there is hope.
Global Outreach Mission (www.missiongo.org) oversees over 50 churches and 14 Christian schools. Now, they are reaching out to help provide means for clean water and health care. Prayerfully, in the next month a well digger will be put on a container ship destined for Sierra Leone and in December the first work team will depart for Sierra Leone to start work on rebuilding the hospital. Lord willing, our personal goal is to be in Sierra Leone next fall, but that is dependent on our level of support raised. We recently mailed out support letters and prayer cards and are praying that God works in the hearts of those who received them. This is hard for us, we don’t like asking for money, but are convinced that this is what God has planned for us.

Please do us a favor? If you have received a letter and card, prayerfully consider supporting us. And, if you have not received one, but are interested in support the Lord’s work in Sierra Leone, contact us and we will gladly send one out. As always, if you have any questions about us or the work in Sierra Leone let us know and we will surely talk your ear off as we are passionate about this new endeavor.

Summer 2009 support letter

USA Box 2010, Buffalo, NY 14231-2010
(716) 688 - 5048
CANADA Box 1210, St. Catharines, ON L2R 7A7
(905) 684 – 1401
gom@globaloutreachmission.org
www.missiongo.org




Summer 2009

Dear Friends,

In 2006 God captured our hearts for Africa, but God had been working in both of our hearts since we were little. When he was a young boy, Jeneson read a book about the African missionary, Dr. David Livingstone and often dreamed of becoming a medical missionary just like him. Sandy envisioned helping others, but until she came to Christ in 2000, she was unsure of the direction to take. Our journey toward missions started in 2002 when we took our first mission trip as a couple to Honduras. Ever since that first trip we have felt God leading us toward a life of missionary work. We then started to prepare ourselves more professionally. Jeneson was already working as a Medical Technologist, but had the desire to work in medicine in more of a clinical role and God opened the doors for him to go back to school to become a Physician Assistant. While Jeneson was pursuing his degree, Sandy also returned to school to become a Family Nurse Practitioner.

Since 2002, we have gone on several other trips with a medical focus. Our first trip to Africa in 2006 was a medical mission trip sponsored by our local church to the small West African country of Benin. We were then blessed to go back to minister to the people of Benin in 2007 and again in 2008. Since those trips, God’s call on our lives has been stronger and has pointed us toward Africa. God is also leading us to focus more on the future and become long term missionaries. Through God’s orchestration we have partnered with Global Outreach Mission.

We now have the amazing opportunity to work as missionaries with Global Outreach Mission (GOM) in the West African country of Sierra Leone. God is at work in Sierra Leone. GOM has facilitated the start of 50 local churches and 14 Christian schools. Recently, God orchestrated the giving of some buildings and land by some local Muslim chiefs to GOM. Before the civil war in Sierra Leone, this property housed one of the premier hospitals outside of the capital, but war stripped the buildings of anything usable. The Site Plan for the hospital has been approved and GOM is beginning to raise funds and plan for work teams to begin rehabilitation. The vision is for the clinic portion of the hospital to be nearing completion in about one year, when we prayerfully hope to be in Sierra Leone.

We would like to share with you some facts about Sierra Leone:

 Despite the relatively low incidence of HIV/AIDS, Sierra Leone has the 4th highest death rate and the 2nd highest infant mortality rate in the world.

 The average life expectancy is 41 years.

Educating people on sanitation and infection control, providing health care and prenatal care has the potential to save many. Our goal is that while saving lives by providing health education and basic health care, we can also teach them how Christ can give them eternal life.

As we prepare for this next season of our lives, we are writing for your support. Most importantly we need prayer warriors. Please pray for:

1) Our spiritual, personal and professional preparation.

2) Start-up of the reconstruction on the Mokanji hospital and clinic.

3) Financial provision.

We need to raise funding for personal support, and for our initial outfitting and air tickets.

Would you please consider standing with us in prayer and financial support? Please use the enclosed prayer card to indicate your willingness to support us and mail it back to GOM. If you have any questions or want to know more about how God is leading us, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Blessed,
Jeneson and Sandy Abraham
Josiah and Lydia

God doesn't disappoint, people do.

We went to our former church in Batavia this past weekend and heard a wonderful sermon by Pastor Keith. That, coupled with some struggles that friends are going through have struck a cord with me. God is not the one that causes our disappointments, we either cause them or contribute to them ourselves or other people cause them or contribute to them.

What causes disappointments....unmet expectations. Sometimes our expectations are just too high. I experience this quite regularly when dealing with our son, I have to consistently remind myself that he is not even 3 years old yet and readjust my expectations of his behavior and attitude. Other times, people through their own failings and the work of the devil, fall far short of our realistic expectations.

So what's a person to do? We need to set realistic expectations and remember what is important to God. The airwaves abound with prosperity gospel teaching and while God promised a lot of things (both good and bad), He did NOT promise us an easy life of continual spiritual bliss. The struggles WILL come and God may not deliver us OUT of struggles and persecution, but He WILL give us strength and endurance in our times of need.

Remember, God doesn't disappoint, people do.

Holy Smokes! Has it been that long since the last blog...

I just adore it when my almost 3 year old roams around the condo singing an off key 'hallelujah for the cross' chorus. The memory of this kid astounds me which is why I love having some Scripture memory CD's playing in the van and in the house and it helps me with my Scripture memory too!. I desire to instill God's Word in him at an early age. I think it is starting to take hold. For some reason Josiah has a fear of thunder and lightening, I guess it is not unusual for kids to be scared of the lights and noise. But, when I put a God perspective on it, he seems to calm down. Yesterday when it started to rain heavily and storm while we at a friends house he started to freak out. After much talking with him by myself and others (thanks Jo Anna!!) he calmed down and then this morning when the rain woke him up, he wasn't crying and recalled that the rain was God's way of cleaning things and giving the plants and trees a drink. He also remembered that God will protect him. I pray that he always remember that.

Such a simple statement, but with profound implications that even I cannot grasp at times: That God will protect us and provide for us. As many of you know, we are embarking on a new season of our lives, that of missionary candidates. We have been accepted as missionary candidates to Sierra Leone, West Africa by Global Outreach Mission (www.missiongo.org) and are starting our support raising efforts. If you go to the website there is a great YouTube video about Maknoji hospital where Jeneson and I hope to be in a year or so. We are both excited and nervous about this new adventure. While it will be amazing to be there when the clinic and hospital open and be an integral part of getting it up and running, there is so much unknown about the future. We have never done this before, and will be the only ones on the field doing the work. While I know we will have plenty of prayer support, the task is still a bit daunting. The life expectancy is 42 years and the maternal/fetal death rates are abysmal. It seems like such a big task, but we must realize that we are not in this alone and cannot save the whole world (God is the only one who has that ability!). Thankfully, we have a God who cares and regardless of the circumstances, whether they be trial or tribulation, He is there for us, protecting us and providing for us.

We have also been seeking out a new local church to become our new church home. We went this past week to Pathway in Elmhurst and the message was on missional living (living a mission focused life, not just looking overseas, but across the street and office as well). The worship was great and included one of my favorite mission themed songs, as well as one I had not heard before. If you are interested, I found one them on YouTube and here is the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6k-knvCWUA God Of Justice (we must go) Tim Hughes

We are praying that the support letters and prayer cards go out by the end of August, so let us know if you want to be on our list and we can make sure you get one. Pray that God will 'fill us up and send us out.'

Well here I am on a beautiful Sunday morning sitting at home with a sleeping baby and a sick toddler when I would much rather be in church. Oh, the perils of motherhood! The 4th was pretty uneventful for us, after a nice cookout at friends house we came home to put the kiddos to sleep. Josiah did not want to go to the fireworks and actually slept through most of the firework noise. However, when the finale woke him up he felt feverish. After 2 doses of Motrin throughout the night we decided to look in his throat this morning. Despite not complaining of any sore throat or neck pain or ear pain it appears that he has strep throat! I know I comment a lot on how active Josiah is, so it is really weird to see him just laying on the couch resting or sitting still and not talking through a 30 minute video(yes, I let him watch videos when he is sick).
Another thing I have noticed about him this past week is that although he is in the 'why' stage of development, he doesn't has why. This smarty does not ask why we ask him to do or not do something, instead he infers an answer and then phrases it in a question. For example, when I tell him not to throw blocks at Lydia he does not ask 'why', but instead says 'because it could hurt her?' What kind of kid does this!! I also counted a 14 word sentence the other day! Lydia is crawling fast as lightening and is on the verge of standing by herself. It is only a matter of time before I have two children to run after!

Adjustments

Many people have asked about how our trip went, so here is a quick snapshot. The trip as a whole was great, while we had our stressful times, overall a positive experience for Jeneson and I as a couple and for us as a family. Are we glad that we did it? Certainly!!! Would we do it again? Yes, but not for that length of time. It was a good length of time for the first trip because we felt that we really needed it to be that long so that we could transition from that 'guest here for a couple of weeks' mode to truly being a part of the whole family. The first 6 weeks were pretty rough and a couple of times one or both of us wanted to throw in the towel and come back home, airline penalties be dammed! We also learned that we both are stubborn and can persevere. I am praying that this experience will help us out in the future on the mission field.

We have been back at home for about 1 month now and are pretty much back to our normal level of craziness. The kids have adjusted better than we had anticipated and they are both back on a regular sleep schedule and sleeping through the night. Josiah now has a big boy bed (a twin bed) and Lydia is in the crib. They are still trying to work out all the kinks of the two of them sleeping in the same room, or should I say one trying to sleep while the other is protesting sleep. We are loving going for walks and to the park almost every day, although it would be nice if it wouldn't rain so much.

Jeneson was really blessed to be able to go back to his old job without any problems and started back on June 1st. I think he is glad to be working again and getting out of the house on a daily basis. I'm still staying at home with the kids and debating on going back to work. I would love to work, because I like what I do, want to keep up my skills and could use some time away from the house, but the logistics of childcare keep my feet dragging. Ideally, I would like to work in an urgent care or one of the clinics in Walgreens/CVS but trying to find child care for two kids on an irregular basis by someone whom I trust will be difficult. So, for the time being I am at home and working on mission stuff in my spare time.

The first week in June we travelled to Buffalo, NY to meet with the mission board who accepted us as missionary candidates. At this time everything is pointing us to Sierra Leone with the goal of being there in 1 to 1 1/2 years. Now for the not so fun part of support raising. The numbers that were discussed while we were in NY were daunting to say the least, but I know that God will provide for us whether it is $1 or a million dollars. The CIA factbook (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/SL.html) gives a great, although depressing, snapshot of Sierra Leone. I will share more about SL and what Global Outreach Missions is doing there in future posts. Now onto other work while the kids are asleep.

We're baaaaaack!!!

Yeah, after 20+ hours of travel time we are finally back on US soil. We got home on Wednesday afternoon and since then have been catching up with family, unpacking and trying to overcome jet lag and an almost 12 hour time difference from what we were used to. The kids did OK on the planes except Lydia not wanting to sleep on the flight from London to Chicago, but all that does not matter now because we are home. I'm going to keep this one short and sweet b/c I am posting it from the local library as our internet has not become reactivated yet. Feel free to drop us a line on e-mail or give us a call, we would love to hear from you. Maybe by next week we will be up for visiting all our friends who we greatly missed.

16 (almost 15) days and counting

The countdown begins again. As you can tell by the title, both Jeneson and I are very anxious to finally get back home. It has been great being here and a wonderful experience for all of us on so many different levels, but now we are in the home stretch (pun intended). I am so glad that Jeneson has gotten to spend some good quality time with his parents and that they have really gotten to know the kids. I am sooo grateful for the time that I have been able to spend with my family here and with Minie and Mom in the kitchen and learning how to cook some good Indian food. Josiah will certainly miss his Appachin and Ammachi along with Minie Aunty, Jenny & Jonnathan. Our goal this last couple of weeks is to get some video of the kids, especially Lydia, with all the family. In these last two weeks we just have some last minute shopping to do and to get some family photos taken. we look forward to seeing you all when we return. HOpe you all enjoyed all the pics of Goa.

Goa pictures

Beach bums

Well, we have been beach bums for the past week and a half during our vacation to Goa. The resort has been beautiful and they did not even give us any hassle for changing our room after 3 days. Our first room was beautiful, but it was pool side and they have entertainment every night from 7:30pm - 10:30 pm. Not the most ideal when you have 2 kiddos that go to bed between 7 & 8. Our new room is away from the pool, nice and quite and on the second floor, so we can open our curtains to a beautiful field area with coconut trees and birds.

We have developed a good routine here. After waking up at about 6:30 we go to breakfast at 7:30; the omelet station is delicious. Then we head back to the room for the sun screen application and one of us heads to either the pool or beach with Josiah while the other one hangs out in the room while Lydia takes her nap. Josiah loves swimming in the pool and at the beach will spend a couple of hours playing in the sand and jumping in the waves. After playtime comes a lunch of PB sandwiches and bananas; some would call us cheap, but I just say that we like peanut butter. I try to coordinate so that we can all get an afternoon nap together, it is absolute bliss when it all works out. Then we head out to the beach for dinner at one of the many delicious (and cheap) beach shacks and a nice walk before heading home for bed. Ah, the life of the unemployed on vacation in Goa. We head back to Mumbai on Wednesday and then just 3 short weeks until we are back on US soil. We have had a great time in India, but are looking forward to getting back home. I think we will be in for a shock when we have to get back into the routine of work and stuff. More later, including pics.

Newest pictures

Happy Easter

Happy Easter as we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, He is Risen indeed!! We had a nice Easter here. First on Thursday evening we had a communion service celebrating the Last Supper, then came Good Friday service and Easter service today. I will up load the album that has some pics from church. It was great to be able to celebrate this year with Jeneson's family and all the church members. Not too much new here, which is good. We are getting ready to leave for Goa on Tuesday for what we pray will be a nice relaxing vacation at the beach.

The newest thing here in Ghatkopar is the mall. Yes, I typed correctly. It is actually only a 5 minute rickshaw ride away. This is apparently the biggest mall in Mumbai, although most of the stores have not opened yet. They have a few of their main stores open, including one called Big Bazaar which is kind of like a Super Walmart on a smaller scale. Another store is like a Kohl's type store with clothes, jewelry, furniture, household stuff and more. It is like walking around a mall in the States. It certainly is quite a shock to go there. It is not shocking that you can get this stuff in Mumbai, but the location is a bit odd. For those familiar with Chicago think of a Yorktown mall in the middle of the Austin or Lawndale neighborhoods, but more extreme. I think I have mentioned previously what living here is like and some of the conditions that people here live with. You literally walk out of the mall and are visually assaulted with the reality of poverty of people living in 10' x 10' shacks, kids running around naked, and garbage bins overflowing with refuse. It certainly makes one think about the items in the bag that you are carrying, the ease of affordability and their necessity. I thank God many times a day for all the blessing that He has given us.

Ho Hum

Not much new here which I guess means that we have settled into a routine and are doing fine. Josiah is still loving school, it is sad that he only has two more weeks left. He is doing great on the potty training and we have even ventured out on short outings in just underwear. Lydia is now officially crawling, but is still slow and methodical about it, she loves to go after paper and crawls to the kitchen to visit the ladies. I'm getting more comfortable and independent in the kitchen and have now started to write down some recipes. I'll be happy to share them with others when I get home as long as you are comfortable with approximate measurements and adding spices according to your tastes. Jeneson and I are currently planning for a vacation to Goa (relaxation and beaches) for just the 4 of us for the end of April. Then just a few more weeks and we will be home (according to Jeneson's FB page, there are only 53 more days). While we are settling in here, we both miss home and the comforts of our own place and routine. I personally miss watching Josiah play at the playground and am thankful that it will be warm enough when we get back to start hitting the playgrounds. That's all for now. We would love to get e-mails from you guys who read this to keep us connected to you all.

Holi pictures and more

Happy Holi

Hey all, Things have been going well here. Josiah is almost completely potty trained except for night and the occasional accident during the day. I guess bribing him with ice cream if he goes 'poo poo in the potty' has worked. He also loves his play school that he goes to everyday. Lydia is growing like a weed and is much more content when she is sitting up or being held standing. She rolls all over the place and gets up on all fours and rocks back and forth. It is only a matter of time before she figures out how to move her knees and hands. I, for one, am not looking forward to that day as the flat is really not child proofed for a crawler. It is amazing how fast they grow up.

This past week Josiah and I (Jeneson is a party pooper and Lydia is too small) got to participate in Holi (pronounced holy) celebrations here. Holi is the Hindu festival of colors. The day before Holi some people have large fires and burn 'old/bad memories' then the day of Holi they don white clothes and adorn themselves with 'new colors'. While we did not see any of the fires, we did get 'colored'. On Monday, Josiah's play school had a small, tame celebration and then on Wednesday (the actual holiday) we dared to venture outside. The idea of the holiday is great, but as often happens in every part of the world, sometimes people get a little out of hand. Some use this holiday as an excuse to get drunk and others become vicious and use oil paints or fill the small bags of water (that are thrown like water balloons) with chili powder, rocks, sewer water and other nasty stuff. Thankfully, we were spared all that and people from the building were gentle with us and only colored us a little bit and did not get Josiah and I too wet. I am working on uploading a few pictures of the Holi celebrations along with some other recent pics.

Night construction, cold showers, & potty training

I know, quite the conglomeration of topics this time. The first of note is road construction at night. Now I know that most of you are thinking, big deal, they work on the interstates at night all the time. Yes, that is true, but do they ever work on the road right outside your bedroom window during the night? Dad & Mom's building is a couple of hundred of yards away from a fairly busy turnaround intersection that also is home to quite a few bus stops. The rationale is that b/c this is a busy intersection, traffic cannot be disrupted during the day with construction. So, therefore, the construction vehicles start rolling in around 11pm and work until about 5am. We are talking about backhoes digging up asphalt and loudly dropping it into dump trucks! This has been going on for almost 2 weeks now and it does not look like they are going to be done anytime soon. Just because of this we have started using the AC in our room b/c we have to keep the window closed and the room becomes a sauna with the body heat of 4 people and no air circulation.

Talking about AC, we are starting to enter the season of cold showers here in India. It has been getting increasingly hotter here and even the papers have been commenting that it is a warmer March than usual. Daytime highs have been around 94 degrees and it is only getting down to about 75 degrees at night. This is about 6-7 degrees warmer than usual and it is only going to get worse from here as May is the pinnacle of the heat before the rainy season starts in June.

Now for some great news...Josiah is almost completely potty trained. For about the last week, he has been about 95% potty trained and has even stayed dry during his naps the last several days. He still wears a diaper at night, but we can work on that later. Jeneson and I are so very proud of him and his reward for doing good all day is to get a little treat of ice cream. Josiah is also loving his school. He goes everyday from 11:30am-1:30pm which provides him with some good playtime and gives us a little break. Lydia is growing, growing, growing. She is now rolling all over the floor, likes to be sitting up and held in a standing position. She is even getting up on all fours and rocking back and forth. I am really hoping that she does not start crawling soon as I don't want to chase two little ones around the flat! Well, time for a few minutes of sleep before the construction starts!

Kerala photos

Control issues

Guess what? I am a control freak! I know that this is quite the revelation for those who don't really know me, but my need for control has got to stop. I think that God is using this trip to India to help me let go of my need to control. The past two weeks have continued to be a struggle. Finally, Jeneson and I had a brutally honest 'talk'. Basically, I often want to control what others do, how they react, what they say, etc... and reality is that I cannot. I have to just let it all go. I can barely control myself at times, what makes me think that I can control others. I also need to let go of my expectations. As Jeneson said, 'I'm not even sure if you know what to expect of yourself'. Oh, the things God is teaching me during this trip!

These past couple of days has been a little better. In addition to my revised expectations, Josiah has started playschool. He goes everyday for 2 hours and gets to play with kids his own age. He seems to really like it as he only cried the first day that we dropped him off. Still working on those photos.

Thanks for the prayers

Thanks for all your prayers. Josiah is feeling back to his normal self. Lydia loves her new bed and slept well last night and today for her naps. My foot still hurts, but the x-rays don't show any fractures. Jeneson and I had a breakthrough this morning. I was yelling at Jeneson that we cannot yell at Josiah anymore after we both yelled at him this morning. So Jeneson declared at least a 24 hour moratorium on yelling. Today has been much better. I have found myself being more gentle with Josiah and in turn he seemed to be more gentle with Lydia today. Please continue to pray that God gives Josiah an obedient, gentle heart and gives Jeneson and I hearts of gratitude, gentleness, patience, and understanding.

I'm still working on those Kerala pictures. I have downloaded, organized, and tagged all 400 some photos and put about 75 of them in a blog folder. I figured that nobody would want to see all 400+ photos. Now if I can only get shutterfly to cooperate. I know that many are keeping up with our blog to keep up with our adventures, but we would also love to get updated from you all. We sometimes feel a little isolated and are missing our friends and family, so if you get a chance, send us an e-mail letting us know how you and your families are doing.

Not exactly routine

Ok, so since coming back from Kerala, we have not exactly been able to fall back into a routine like I had hoped. Right now we need prayers for health and perseverance. For the last 48 hours Josiah has been sick with vomiting and diarrhea, we started him on medicine and he seems to be doing a little better. I hurt my foot while we were in Kerala and it is just getting worse, so tomorrow I will go and get an x-ray done. Jeneson thinks that it is a stress fracture, I am praying that it will get miraculously better overnight. One thing, it is certainly nice to have a father-in-law who is a doctor. It certainly makes getting medicine and x-rays and seeing an ortho doc much easier.

All this has made both Jeneson and I stressed out. Thankfully we seem to alternate days. On the days that I am frustrated with Josiah and am just wanting to go home, Jeneson has patience with Josiah and is able to put everything into perspective. Likewise, when he is having a bad day, I am able to work better with Josiah and keep perspective. We do have to remind ourselves that we are not here for us, but for the kids and for Dad & Mom. It has been great seeing them interact with the kids, especially Lydia. And, although I do not understand any of the conversation, it has been great seeing Jeneson have some good conversations with his parents. I often remind myself that time, even 24 hours, will give me new perspective on the frustration moments/days.

Today I did go out and get a few things. We bought a little bed for Lydia as she was starting to out grow the suitcase. I also got a little desk with chair for Josiah in the hopes that we will be able to do school time. I have high hopes for getting back in a routine next week. I am also working on getting the Kerala photos together and hope to have them up on the blog in the next week.

Kerala

First, I want to express my sadness on the death of my cousin, Dwayne Magers. The day before we left for Kerala I called my parents and learned of the car accident that claimed his life earlier that week. Needless to say, I was shocked and saddened. My heart goes out to his wife, Dawn, and kids (Troy, Chad, & Emma) and I think about and pray for them often. It is when something like this happens that we are confronted with our own mortality. How ironic that people were worried for our safety here and the reality is it that accidents and tragedy can happen here, there, or anywhere.

Also, an explanation regarding a comment from a previous post about the penguins in the background of the Handing Gardens pictures. They are actually garbage cans. It is India's attempt to keep the country clean, we have also seen kangaroo and panda bear trash cans.

Well, after a whirlwind tour of Kerala (the southwestern Indian state that Jeneson’s family is from) and a 31 hour train ride, it is good to be back ‘home.’ We stayed with one of Jeneson’s aunts (Shantamama) on his Mom’s side and her son, daughter-in-law, and grandson. We visited several relatives on both sides. The hospitality here is amazing, despite the fact that they have not seen Jeneson in more than 30 years, it was like he was never gone. I will certainly not lose any weight while I am here as they show their love with food. I did not dare put more than a small spoonful of anything on my plate because I knew that regardless of how much I served myself, they would most certainly serve me at least one spoonful of every dish (and there were usually 5-6 dishes). If we visited someplace and it was not during a mealtime we were at least served chai (tea) and some sort of snack.

We also got to see some of the sites of Kerala, which they call ‘God’s own country’. It is warm, beautiful, lush and green there with coconut trees, banana plants, pineapple bushes, papaya trees, and a dozen other delicious fruits that I had never before seen or heard of. We even took a houseboat tour for 5 hours in the backwaters. The beaches were clean and the sand nice and soft. Josiah had a blast running in the ocean and getting wet and Lydia even got to dip her toes in the Indian Ocean.

Don’t get me wrong, unfortunately the trip was not all good food and chai, it certainly had its challenges. Despite all the good memories, we said more than once that this trip to Kerala was not one of the smartest decisions we have made. I think it all was a little much for the kids. If it were just Jeneson and I we would have been just fine. One big challenge was the accommodations. The four of us slept on a twin sized bed and the mosquitoes were more prevalent. Shantamama’s grandson, Chackochi is only 6 months older than Josiah and initially we thought ‘great, somebody for Josiah to play with.’ Unfortunately, he is not around other kids much, is aggressive and not really disciplined. Needless to say, we were grateful when he did not go sightseeing with us. Because it was such a whirlwind trip, we spent a lot of time in the truck. Poor Josiah, we always seemed to be telling him ‘no’ and ‘don’t touch’ when we stopped at all the houses. Poor Lydia got so used to sleeping in my arms in a moving vehicle that she now has to readjust to sleeping in a stationary suitcase/bed.

It is amazing how just 48 hours can give you such a different perspective things. Several times during the trip I was on the verge of tears or tearing my hair out from frustration. Looking back, overall I am glad that Jeneson had this opportunity to visit his relatives. His Malayalam (his native language) has improved considerably and it is fun to hear him talk with his parents and sister and all the stories he can now take in and understand better. We will have to get together with our friends Joe & Anne (our only friends who speak Malayalam) regularly once we get back in the States so he can keep it fresh in his mind. We have some great pictures that I am going to have to work on posting in the near future. I now have 2 new goals for this trip. I want to work with Minie on a family tree; a challenge when Dad is the youngest of 10 siblings and Mom is in the middle of 8 siblings. I also want to get some copies of family pictures for us to take back to the States. I think this is a long enough posting for now. I will have more in the near future.

Pictures

Going native

Well, I think I am starting to blend in a little here. It's that or I'm becoming immune to the looks of disbelief that seem to follow me. I think it helps that when I go out I rarely wear 'Western clothes'. It has also given Mom some direction for when we go shopping, otherwise she will just buy a lot of stuff that I really won't wear. Monday was Republic Day here (think Flag Day) so my niece and nephew did not have any classes. So, the four of us along with Minie (sister-in-law) and Johnathan and Jennifer went to the Hanging Gardens, which is actually not hanging. It is basically a large grassy/garden like area that also has a playground. The weather was beautiful and sunny, but not too hot and there was a nice breeze. Josiah had a grand time running around and loved climbing with his cousins on the playground. And I actually saw some Caucasians for the first time since arriving. I thought it quite ironic that I would find myself staring at them as much as the Indians stare at me!! Does this mean that I am starting to feel at home and comfortable here?

I am certainly getting used to the traffic and crowds. I can risk life and limb and cross the street with the best of them. I confidently walk down the street by myself or with the kids, to the little medical store to buy diapers (which I have to do every couple of days as they only come in packages of 2, 5, or 10), and no longer clench my teeth when riding in a car or rickshaw. It is quite unnerving to have 2 lanes of traffic each way on a road with absolutely no lane markers!! The rickshaw drivers are amazing in that they come within inches of pedestrians, motorcycles, buses and trucks without batting an eye and know the turn around radius of their rickshaw down to the millimeter. On the road at the same intersection you can see bicycles, motorcycles, 3 wheeled rickshaws and small trucks, taxis, buses, big lorry (delivery) trucks, dogs, cows, push carts piled high with banana, garlic, onions, and the like. Certainly a sight to see!

Josiah is slowly getting better and I am thankful to God for providing me with more patience to deal with him. On Saturday we fly down south to Kerala for about 2 weeks and I'm not sure if we are going to be able to get online and blog or not. So, please pray for our continued patience with the kids, safe journeys and a fun and relaxing time.

Faith & Patience

This week has been a little rougher than I was hoping that it would be. I seem to be severely lacking in patience when dealing with my 2 year old son and I have to say that I take much of the blame. I need to keep reminding myself that he is ONLY 2 and just 2 weeks ago we were at home, in a familiar environment with lots to keep us busy. Ghatkopar is not the best place to be an active 2 year old as there are no sidewalks, no real grassy areas to run around in and no playgrounds. So, needless to say, he tries to keep himself busy, but not exactly using the best methods. We do get out a couple of times a day, but there is not much to do. However, he does like saying 'good morning' to the watchmen and shaking their hands

I finally figured out this morning that the real reason that my patience is lacking is that my priorities have not been in order and I have not been spending time with God and His Word. Additionally, I have not been taking time out for myself either. So, I started a new routine this morning (we will see how long it lasts). After getting up, Josiah and I will do devotions and then he will read his Bible, while I read mine. Then comes my time to go for a walk and become the focal staring point in the area. The road that Dad & Mom live on is not crazy busy in the morning, so many people from the area use it as their walking path. It is about a city block long with a center divider, so there I am (with Lydia in a front carrier, not sure if they are staring at me or Lydia in her carrier more) walking up one side and down the other while Jeneson and Josiah are out on the balcony keeping an eye out for me. It was great to be outside and getting some exercise, I'll have to try it again tomorrow.

Next Saturday we will be taking a vacation from our vacation as we will be going down south to Kerala to a wedding, to meet some family, and most of all to relax and enjoy what I hear are beautiful beaches. Josiah and I have some really cool Indian duds to wear and will certainly post some of those photos. We fly down there and I think we will be down there for about 2 weeks and then take a train back so we can see some of the countryside. I have had a couple of requests for more pictures on the blog, which means that I have to take some more. I'll try to take some of church tomorrow and get those posted soon. We appreciate everybody's prayers and please continue to pray for our transition as we are truly blessed to have this opportunity and want to take full advantage of it.

Church

Right now I am sitting near the balcony window sipping on a cup of Indian tea lovingly prepared for me by my niece (like she does almost every morning). It is Sunday morning and in a couple of hours we will be leaving for church. It is amazing to worship God in other countries. During our mission trips to Benin and Central America we had the opportunity to participate in worshiping our One True God in other languages. It gives us just a glimpse of what heaven will be like. Too often we think of church and heaven as an extension of what we are familiar with in our home churchs in America. In Africa the worship was loud and vibrant with singing, dancing with hands raised and boisterous preaching. In India we go to Dad's church.

My father-in-law preaches at his church in one of the upscale slum areas of Ghatkopar West (Mumbai is divided into areas like the neighborhoods of Chicago; Austin, Little Village, Lincoln Park, etc...). I say upscale slum area because the homes are constructed of solid material like concrete and not sheetmetal or tarps and rags held up by sticks. The houses are small (a large house would be about 10 feet x 10 feet, housing 4 -10 people in each house) and his church building is about 10 x 12 feet. Every Sunday about 30 men, women and children gather there to sing, learn about Jesus and read the Bible. While Harvest is great and we miss our church back home our God is an awesome God. Our God does not need a big fancy church building. Our God does not need an interpreter to hear us praising him. Our God does not need us to be literate, but to keep His Word in our hearts with memorization. Our God needs us to submit ourselves before Him and to His will. Church is about relationship with God, not the details of when, where, and how.

The sights and sounds of Mumbai

OK, so you all will just have to forgive the bad formatting on this one, because I have never posted pics on the blog yet and am too tired to try to figure out how to make it look better. The first picture is of Josiah with his Ammachi and Minie Aunty helping to sift wheat kernels out on the balcony. The second is of the daring Mumbai fire brigade who just finished rescuing a pigeon suspended in midair by kite string right outside our window. OK, that one needs a little further explanation. There is an annual kite flying festival going on and often birds get caught up and injured in the kite line. There was even an article in the paper about a man who received a deep cut on his neck from a kite string while riding his motorcycle. To make it even more dangerous for birds and people there is manja (kite string) that has crushed glass glued to it for use in kite wars. The intended purpose of this 'glass string' is to cut loose other kites during kite wars. And the third picture is of our sweet Lydia sleeping soundly in her suitcase bassinet.
Things are going well here outside of the Josiah sleeping/eating struggles. We try to get out at least once or twice a day and Josiah is starting to get comfortable with some of the guards. The noise level here is amazing, but I have already gotten used to it and just tune it out as background noise. The kids have even gotten used to sleeping through it. The neatest thing is waking up early in the morning (OK the waking up part is not all that fun) and hearing almost total silence. Then slowly, slowly, slowly the sounds start. First it is just the occasional rickshaw or lorry truck delivering goods, then more rickshaws join in the chorus. Along with all these vehicles (bikes, cars, taxis, rickshaws, buses, trucks, tractors) comes their engine noise, bells, and horns. Horn use here is completely unlike horn use in the States. Back home, the horn is generally used to say "hey you idiot, the light is green or you almost ran me over". Over here there is constant honking, essentially saying "hey man, here I come or I am about ready to pass you". Then a little after six you can hear the Muslim call to prayer over the mosque's loud speaker. The chorus quickly builds as shops open and people go about their daily business. Right now it is 10:40pm and I don't expect the noise level to fall until at least midnight, but that is not going to stop me from going to sleep!!

Week 1

Well, we are almost through our first week here in India. It has been quite a week of adjustment. Mostly, I think, for Josiah & Jeneson (the two people who need structure). Josiah has taken to his Appachan and Ammachi (Grandpa & Grandma), Minie Aunty, and cousins Johnathan & Jennifer quite well. In fact, one of the first things he says in the morning is "where's Johnathan?" I am waiting for him to fall into a sleep routine, he goes to sleep fairly easily if I lay down next to him until he is asleep, but he tends to wake up about 4 hours later and doesn't want to go back to sleep for about 3 hours. We are trying to keep him in the bed so that he doesn't get used to getting up and playing in the middle of the night. Oh ya, that is the other thing...the four of us are in the same room. Josiah is sleeping on his own little bed (a mattress on an underbed storage unit) and we fixed up (i.e. padded with blankets) a suitcase for Lydia. We had her in the bed with us for the first couple of days, but that got old real quick. Eating is another issue. So far he has survived on about 3-4 bananas a day (his eyes just light up at their mention), an apple a day, eggs, toast, and oatmeal. I cannot even really get him to eat rice (usually one of his favorites). He is not tired and listless and seems to have plenty of energy, so I am not going to break out the emergency jar of peanut butter just yet.

Jeneson, on the other hand, is not working or in school for the first time in many, many years. His comment the other day: "If this is what being rich is like, I would have tried to become rich earlier!" So far he has read two entire books completely for leisure, the first time in 10 years he has read a book for enjoyment.

My goal this week was to start the little preschool program I had put together for Josiah, but with the sleep deprivation I just don't have the patience for it right now. Maybe next week. We have not had a chance to call home yet, but will try out Skype tomorrow. I cannot wait to see Josiah's reaction to seeing and hearing his Grandpa, Grandma, Aunt Katy & Uncle Kurt. Seeing as I am falling asleep as I type this, I should probably go to bed in anticipation of being up with Josiah in about 2 hours. Please continue to pray for our transition and would love to hear from you with comments or e-mails.

Hello from India!

Well, after a 48 hour frenzy of packing, shifting luggage around, weighting, unpacking and redistributing packed contents along with some last minute errands we finally boarded the airplane on Wednesday afternoon. Thankfully the weather cooperated and we took off shortly after our scheduled time. Again God/motherhood/sleep deprivation/jet lag amnesia has set and looking back the kids did quite well. Of course, we did have moments when our active 2 year old was not happy about his small area of space on the plane and wanted to get out.

After 2 long flights (about 7 ½ and then 8 hours) along with a 4 hour layover in London we finally arrived in Mumbai at 12:45am on Friday morning. Of course, just as the plane was taxiing to the gate Josiah fell asleep for long enough to recharge and was a spitball of energy for the next 5-6 hours. By the time we retrieved our 4 bags (we almost lost one), went through passport clearance, customs, found Dad, Minie & Jonathan, found the van and driver and got home it was almost 4am!! Talk about being tired.

It has been an adjustment over the last 36 hours, but we are all healthy, happy and just a bit tired yet. Last night just as one child fell asleep, the other one would wake up! I have realized that I need to relax my expectations right now and use a little more TLC. This slapped me in the face our first night. Josiah did not want to go to bed, even though I was laying right next to him and he was exhausted. I have to say I was getting quite frustrated and was not the most patient or nice mom. It was not until I finally took my little boy into my arms and rocked him to sleep in about 5 minutes flat that I realized he was just freaking out a little with all the newness and activities and wanted some loving reassurrance from his Mommy. I have to keep reminding myself that he is only 2 years old and we have just brought him half way around the world to a place he does not yet know with people he knows only in pictures. Please pray that the kids adjust quickly to being 12 hours ahead and that we are able to relax and enjoy our time here. At the very least, it is nice and warm here (~80 degrees). Sorry to our family/friends in Chicago, didn’t mean to rub it in your face. Will try to blog in a couple of days when I have caught up on some more sleep! Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we start our adventure and adjust to living in Mumbai.

Less than 3 days

The countdown continues. Those lists in my head and paper continue to flow as we prepare for our new adventure. Thankfully when we went to church today, I was reminded of a few things: God is our constant, consistent companion. We cannot rely on others to our providers, whether it be provision of shelter, food, love, money, security, safety, material things, the list could go on. The Lord is my strength, shelter and provider of all.

After church today, we were pleasantly surprised by an out pouring of love and support by some of our brothers and sisters in Christ. We thought we were going for a relaxed lunch with friends but walked into a living room filled with people wanting to pray with us and send us off to India with love. We were so touched to have so many praying over us and know that they will also be praying for us while we are away. While our objective for this trip is to spend time with family, we are anxious to see if God will use us in other ways.

Ok, now off to make more lists. I think we will actually start to pack tomorrow.