Missionary-Blogs 9

Musical Endeavors

noreply@blogger.com (Ken, Christie, Camille, Caroline) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:47:00 -0800

This weekend, we were asked to drive a local Christian band and some of their instruments, to a concert in the next town. Ken wasn't quite recovered (he's better now) from his sickness last week, so I was the designated chauffeur. Cars aren't nearly as plentiful here as at home, and women driving them are even more rare. So when I showed up behind the wheel, there were some looks of trepidation. All climbed in, though, and we ladies enjoyed a wonderful night of music.

We heard everything from Guarani rap to an Argentinian Southern gospel quartet (I'm not even kidding), and all in between. One of the performers was a famous Paraguayan folklorist, who sang about his birth-city, his relationship with God, and the Christian life. During the songs, as the guitarists continued to play, he recited poetry instead of place of verses. Caroline was quite impacted and has been making up poems and reciting them quite dramatically ever since.

Both girls have decided to try their hands at musical talent. Caroline has been taking guitar lessons from one of the local youth, and Camille started drum lessons from another. They are trading those out for English lessons. Gotta love kids who know how to barter!

Thanksgiving

noreply@blogger.com (Bill and Tracy Coupe) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:21:00 -0800

I Chronicles 16:34 "Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!"

Psalm 79:13 "But we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will give thanks to you forever; from generation to generation we will recount your praise."

Psalm 105:1 "Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples!"

Psalm 107:1 "Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!"

I Corinthians 15:57 "But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

2 Corinthians 9:15 "Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!"

Philippians 4:6 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Colossians 1:3 "We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you."

Colossians 3:17 "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

I Thessalonians 1:2 "We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers"

I Thessalonians 5:18 "give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

Revelation 7:12 "saying, Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

They're HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (James and Christen) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:21:00 -0800

"This is the best day of my life!" Daniel

Gramma had to start kissing his freckles right away if she was going to get them all before she left.

They brought Jeremiah a little red wagon for his birthday.

So much fun!

First day out sight seeing - Sand Dunes

A little coconut juice to cool down

Dad couldn't believe this was as beautiful as the Caribbean.

Our Sunday was very special. Dad brought the challenge and James translated for him.

We only had Roberto with us but he really enjoyed getting to know my parents.

Our dogs just loved Dad

We went to a Fort on the island that was built in the 1700's.

The beach by the Fort was beautiful, calm and perfect for the kids to get wet.

Phil, Mary Ruth & Rindy came down for 24 hours. We headed out for a little fishing and exploring together.

Small fish but lots of fun!

Thanks Rindy for helping bring my parents down!

"Have I gotten all the freckles?"

Tchau! We love you!!!

The French Finleys' Fourth Quarter Update

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:17:37 -0800

Download the pdf file of our most recent update letter by clicking this link: 4thquarterUpdate2009 or Click on the images below to read this same 2 page update in your browser. Happy Thanksgiving ! The French Finleys are grateful for......(read more)

Slip ‘n Slide

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:58:52 -0800

To arrive at our house it is advised to have 4WD. After driving about 0.5 mi into the neighborhood (all rough dirt road) you descend into a small valley. From there, the short, steep climb up to our house is about a 300 ft increase in altitude. Remember… all dirt. And what time of the year is it? That’s right. Rainy season. Simple equation I so delightfully discovered early in my childhood: dirt + rain = MUD!!!!

About 2 weeks ago, we went to pick up our friends’ kitten to cat-sit for them while they traveled to Uganda. It began raining on our way out of the neighborhood so much to our surprise, we discovered the construction people had just graded the main road leading out. All was well in picking up the kitten and returning to the neighborhood… until the short, steep climb. Fifteen yards from the top of the first section climbing up, the back wheels lost traction. Okay. So, I thought I’d just back down to the valley and take a different route that wasn’t just graded. The mud was so soft, once I began backing up, it steered us straight into the ditch. We didn’t stop until we got to the bottom. I noticed in the rearview mirror some Tanzanians standing in a safe spot next to the road, getting what I’m sure was an entertaining sight. Well, it was those same Tanzanians who were knee deep in mud all around the car just after we finally stopped. As a matter of fact, it was well under a minute, maybe even thirty seconds, when they were already to our aid. This totally amazed us. Pouring rain. Gushing run-offs. Asher-deep (almost) mud and they still jumped right in to help us out.

An instant sharing of others burdens seems to be a given for the people here. Our getting stuck wasn’t the first example of seeing this kind of action. This is one characteristic of the lives around us for which I am definitely thankful.

(P.S. the car was SO stuck that even that many TZians couldn’t get us out. I finally got in touch with a good friend of ours with a beast of a Land Rover with differential lock and everything. He pulled us out AND all the way up the hill!)

Just for fun, I HAD to put this image here…

Calm Before the Storm

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:49:25 -0800

On Friday I had my househelp make extra loaves of bread that I will use for the stuffing. I left it sitting out to get it to stale some and today I cubed it and stuck it in the freezer.

I put the giblets into the fridge to thaw then started working on the gingerbread cookies (shaped like turkeys). I made the dough for those on Saturday and cooked them today. Once again my househelp was using the oven all day so I couldn’t do them until this evening but they weren’t as much work as I thought they’d be so they turned out fine. I am now debating whether to freeze them or not. Will they stay good for 4 days? I’ll decide tomorrow. My freezer is getting quite full!

I do have pics of my cookies but don’t know where the cord is that goes from the camera to the computer so they are trapped with no way to be presented online. When I get that sorted I’ll post those and pictures of our new kittens too. There’s a little teaser for ya…

WHY WE LOVE WINTER #1

czechitout_2006@yahoo.com (Wes & Michelle Robinson) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:49:00 -0800

The stores behind the bus consist of 4 bars. They aren't suppose to be 24 hours, but they more or less are and will serve to any aged kid. (BTW this is an old picture and we don't currently have any snow on the ground.)

Refer to yesterday's blog entree if you don't know why we're posting this weeks "WHY WE LOVE WINTER".

WHY WE LOVE WINTER IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC #1:

We sleep better at night because it's too cold to keep the windows open so we can't hear the drunken parties that occur in front of our apartment building every night and last until morning.

Speaking of sleeping . . . This picture has nothing to do with why we love winter but EVERYTHING to do with why we love our little man. He fell asleep on the couch today while drinking his milk. He's sick and has managed to now pass it onto mom.

Untitled

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 08:13:00 -0800

This is a photo of my wonderful wife, standing next to two new friends from the wonderful land of Finland. Nancy and I spoke at a conference on the issue of trafficking, and Nancy fell in love with all her ancestors. Walking into the room of Finns for the first time was surreal, like seeing all of Nancy's long-lost relatives.

No Condemnation

noreply@blogger.com (DrsMyhre) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 06:50:00 -0800

Coming home was NOT EASY, though I'm glad to be here, the relief of the two days away seems elusive. Tears are coming easily. Holding on is coming, but not so easily. I missed Luke's first-ever-concert, singing in the RVA choir on Saturday, which he thoroughly enjoyed. We're dialoguing daily about college apps. Parenting from afar feels hard. Sarah and the Pierces begin to count down their last weeks and months, and the end-of-year events mount. Last night we attended the CSB staff party, which was a pleasant outdoor affair with the requisite speeches, malfunctioning sound system, stunning dresses, and good bountiful Ugandan food. Team calendars are out, planning ahead, and the reality of change looms. Assusi, who has lived in our guest room the last few months, moved down to hospital housing on Sunday, good for her and good for us as we prepare for more guests ourselves, but still another grief and change. I noticed a good bit of anxiety in the parents of a patient I was discharging today, then noticed that he had a traditional twin name . . . only to learn that these two parents before me had brought TWO babies to be admitted late last week, but one twin died within the first few hours. No wonder they were worried about taking the remaining twin home. My easy tears almost flooded again.

I had our team pray for me last week, as we process the year behind us, and I recognize my failure to make people feel as loved and affirmed as I would like. My analogy was the poisoned ice cream I distributed last month: I was trying to bless our team and ended up sending everyone into spasms of deathly diarrhea! In the same way I have come to face my relational poison ice cream, words that are not well-chosen, or interactions that are too rushed, that communicate pain. I have grieved that, and struggle how to be Jesus-like in speaking the truth in love, with everyone from my own kids to the nurse who did not show up for work on Saturday. I thought about staying home from church yesterday, but went on faith that God meets us in the community of believers.

The second reading was from Romans 8: who can bring any charge? There is therefore now no condemnation. . . . Once again the words brought me up short, because I've been feeling a LOT of condemnation. Grace, a nice word, a pleasant concept to talk about, when you don't feel like you need it. But the whole point of grace is that I DO need it. Making mistakes, speaking too quickly, failing to love, missing choir concerts, saying goodbyes, looking ahead to a year with huge question marks, in all of these things God's grace covers me, and all of us here.

Six still standing

noreply@blogger.com (DrsMyhre) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 06:50:00 -0800

Last week I posted pictures of a handful of kids "standing in the need" of prayer. I'm sure many people ARE praying, and deserve an update. From top to bottom: Baluku's grandmother is smiling, as he's put on a whopping 300 grams which is a 10% increase in body weight on the formula we buy with BundiNutrition donations, AND the first drops of breast milk are appearing in her breasts in response to his starvation-eager sucking. in spite of the fact that the last and only baby she nursed was 14 years ago, the teenage mom who just died. Bhitigale just left my house a few minutes ago, we were able to get him a slot for surgical drainage of his infected knee joints, and he's on his way to Bundibugyo. Nyangoma and Kato both reached their target weights today (!!) but are still weak and floppy-toned, and need a major social-work plan for discharge. The preemie went home today with her delighted mom, the smallest baby yet to survive in our care. Spice, and her colleague Birungi Chris, are smiling and drinking their milk and taking their medicines, inching their way towards a longer survival in spite of their eventually-fatal disease (maybe they'll outlive some of us). And ScottWill shouldered at least half the burden of the day, and Nathan got a kid to at least NOT CRY when we examined him by giving him a car, so all in all many signs of mercy.