Life in the Big City

We're still loving life in the big city. There have been some adjustments, for sure. Walking everywhere with the kids has been fun, interesting, and at times down right disgusting. From living in a cabin in the middle of nowhere to living surrounded by tons of people, stores and vehicles, the kids have had to adjust from rolling around in nature's playground to not being able to touch anything. Don't mistake me for a germ-a-phobe. I had to give up that lifestyle a long long time ago, but when you walk by a group of men and one of them turns his back on the group and literally just blows his nose into the air, you take a little more caution with what you allow your kiddos to touch and where you allow them to breath. We keep saying things like "Don't touch. Don't lay on the sidewalk. Don't put your mouth on it. Pee. Poop. Snot. Trash." I know this is awful and kind of vulgar and unpleasant to read, but this is our life... just keeping our kids from getting hepatitis... I keep thinking they are like Buddy the Elf during his first days in the Big Apple. Our kids are doing a pretty good job of not licking the handrails (most days) and I am doing a pretty good job of continually committing their safety and well-being to Jesus. Because really, we love this city. We are so thrilled to be here. We love scenes like these:

This little gem sits right in the middle of the concrete jungle, and it's a reminder of beauty, of peace. As my children played on the playground strategically placed overlooking this, all I could think about was Jesus being our living water, our life, our strength, our sustainer. And y'all this is a reminder that I need every day, all day and especially these days when we are still without a home and are growing weary of living out of suitcases. But He is with us, sustaining us and sovereign over us. 

Our babies love naming the pigeons. Somewhere outside there is Rocky, Vanilla, and Joe. We see them everywhere, because well, they all kind of look the same. But what's better than naming them is chasing them around making them fly away in fear. Our children are mini-pigeon terrorists. 

The open markets are always my favorite places in every city. Because they are affordable for the average citizens, they are better than the farmer's markets in the states, bar none. 

And would you look at that beautiful fruit?! So delicious. My day walking through the market made me realize that these are a people so in need of grace, kindness and love. The vendors are tough as nails. I didn't get a smile out of a one of them, and normally, I am quite the charmer. Nope, they weren't having it. I saw several altercations with other shoppers. So I just kept my head down and I prayed grace and peace over them in my heart, bought my beautiful delicious fruit and walked away hoping for opportunities to share the Prince of Peace with them one day. 

For now, we are still house hunting, trying to figure out the language differences between this and Macedonian (they are quite similar, but just different enough to make us crazy), and trying to find our way around without google maps. We can't wait to start engaging the people in whatever neighborhood the Lord places us.