The Body in Action Again

Isaiah is getting better. We think.  He was fever free for about 4 hours today which is the longest he has gone in over four days. He played ball for a while and ate some crackers which is a good sign. Praise the Lord! We still don't have a diagnosis, but it is looking like it isn't anything serious and that the meds they are giving him are working.  Thank you for praying us through this!

I have said it before, and I will say it loudly again.  I love the Body of Christ!  Here we are in a new town a bagillion miles away from anything familiar, we have no home, we don't know the language, our babies have all but gotten over jet-lag, and our little Bug is sick in the hospital. It could be dark, lonely, stressful. And to be sure we have had those moments of stress and feelings of lostness, of loneliness.

But there She is. Brothers and sisters, children of God, members of the same Body, loving one another like crazy, bearing one another up in prayer and in real, live, practical ways. She does wild things, compelled by love her Savior and her brothers and sisters.

As we sit with our Isaiah as he fights fever and infection, I keep thinking about all that the Body of Christ here in SE Asia and around the world has done for us over the last few days. And my heart is full of thankfulness!

Sitting with our kids until late, late at night while we rush our burning hot baby to the ER. 

Bringing by bags of snacks and goodies. 

Sending texts, fb messages and calling to say, "I'm praying." 

Bringing by a delicious dinner because hospital food is bad everywhere! 

Sending homemade magically delicious coffee cake warm out of the oven. 

Keeping our Thomas so that he can play and not be cooped up in the hospital room. 

Grabbing our Kate from school, helping her with homework, and washing her clothes so that she has a uniform for school tomorrow. 

Keeping our kids over night even though it isn't really convenient, and it certainly isn't easy. But poor little Isaiah didn't have to have a screaming fit again because his beloved daddy left. He got to keep his mommy and daddy by his side tonight. 

 

And people all over the world praying for our boy to be healed and for our family to get through this.

Once again I am in awe of the Body of Christ. Y'all, those people here who are making giant sacrifices for us aren't doing these things because we have been the best of friends for years and years. They have known us for like five minutes, and yet here they are serving me and my family by stepping in where we are weak and bearing us up so that we can get through this muck and mess.  It's God's beautiful grace poured out on me yet again.  I'm so undeserving. I have never done anything like this for these families who are serving us. They aren't just paying it forward or paying me back. No, they don't owe me anything. They simply love Jesus and because of that, they love me, they consider me family and they have treated me as such. It is wild and reckless and beautiful.  And I am so thankful!  I love seeing and being a part of God's plan for His church as it is lived out in practical ways all over the world. I love that some of you have stopped dead in your tracks to intercede on our behalf. I love that some of you haven't stopped praying since you heard he was sick.  I love calling you wonderful people my brothers and sisters. Thank You for loving us so well!!!

Something New Tuesday--The Coconut

We were so excited about this one.  It was gonna be great. Our new favorite. The most delicious thing ever.  It looked glamorously tropical, exotic, and just plain fun. On every other corner, throughout the market, on the side of the road, in the night bazaar, outside the grocery store, in big giant buckets of ice they sat ready to become our favorite thing in this new land.  

Thomas and Brian ordered it. The sweet smiling man cut the top off of it and stuck a straw in it.  

And together we sipped. And yet again, we tried something new and didn't love it.  

Thomas said "It tastes dirty." I think the proper food network terminology for that is "earthy."

I suggested putting a lime in it and drinking it all up.  Thomas didn't think it would help. Thomas had the best idea, take it home and add some sugar. My boy. So we tried that too. Still, um, earthy. Sweet. But earthy.

So how do you drink these things and enjoy it?  Is it one of those "acquired tastes" or is it just something you drink when you are stranded on a desert island? Clearly people around here love it or else it wouldn't be everywhere. So maybe we will acquire a taste for it, or maybe not. 

Try Something New... Every Day

I missed Tuesday. I knew I would.  I warned you type A people. Here in SE Asia, the new continues. We still haven't gone so far as to eat snake, and we decided not to pick out our own live frog to be butchered so we could fry it up at home. Not this week. But we have done some other fun things.

We started language. This is why there are no blogs. Every minute of free time... let's just go ahead and laugh at that little phrase. Free time! I have three wee little screaming, pulling eggs out of the fridge to see what will happen when they drop them, "mommy watch this" all the day, dirty, stinky beautiful, amazing people running around this place. Free time is but a dream. So I sleep with my language notes by my bed hoping that some will absorb into my brain while I sleep, but then Thing 1 and Thing 2 crawl into bed with us and kick the study notes onto the floor, and my plans for midnight osmosis are ruined while I'm simultaneously being head-butted and kicked in the ribs. So no sleep. No free time. No genuine language practice and study time. So just stop. Stop right now and pray that by God's great grace and mercy I will miraculously learn this language and that no children will be harmed in the process. 

Carry-on...

We have walked the night bazaar a couple of times. The night bazaar is blazing with culture and hand-made traditional beauties around every corner. It's probably my favorite place so far. Like any market in any culture, it's where the people are and y'all, I just love the people!

Kate tried out a new hair pin that doubles as a weapon. We had to bring one home because she is just darling!

Thomas started soccer.

His head is always in the game! Our little champ.

Isaiah tried out an old rickshaw.

Brian tried and succeeded in getting his hair cut after he went to two or three places where they told him, "We only do la-dy."  He found this place where they spoke no English, but 'they do man.' So he figured out some way to tell them how he wanted his hair cut, and it didn't turn out bad at all. I, however, will not be venturing out to get my haircut until at least month 4 of language.

We discovered more seafood. I think this is the lobster's asian cousin.

Isaiah looked through the seafood at the market. We decided we'd pass on it for now.

And our accidental 'try something new' was this.

Looks like normal toothpaste to the non-Asian language reading person. I had finally remembered to grab grown-up toothpaste at the store and was super excited to brush my teeth with something that didn't have a cartoon character on it. A little blue sparkly dab on the brush and....

Salt!!!! A mouthful of slightly minty salt that exploded in my mouth! It was awful! Awful! Awful! And there it is right there on the dang box. In English! UGH! So whenever you visit our neck of the woods and you are in the market for some toothpaste, make sure you turn the box over and look for the English to make sure it doesn't say salt fresh! There is nothing fresh about it. New certainly isn't always fun, but I never expected it to creep into my toothpaste! 

Can I have some sort of normalcy please?! 

The answer is no for now. Different is the new normal.  And it is ok.  His grace is sufficient. His power made perfect in our weaknesses.  

Please keep praying as we are looking to sign on a house soon. Pray that it goes through and that furniture, appliance and all-the-other-stuff-that-goes-into-a-house shopping goes well with minimal stress.

Try Something New Tuesday

I've decided to make an effort every week, together with my kids (if it's not life threatening), to try something completely new and then share it with you. We're gonna call it "Try Something New Tuesday," but some weeks it may be "Try Something New Tuesday... on a Friday" because life is crazy and next Tuesday I may just want to eat my stash of American peanut butter out of the jar and roll my eyes at all of this new stuff. So dear Type A people-- those of you who pointed out I needed to change the name of the blog 17 times, I love you. You make the world go 'round, and I really want to do this every Tuesday for you, but let's just all learn to be flexible together.

We're starting light today. No cow uterus for at least a few months. 

The Dragon Fruit.

I didn't even know what this little beauty was called. For those of you who did know what it was, you are geniuses and you should go on Jeopardy. The kids and I grabbed the computer, a knife and cutting board and then did a little research to see what it is and how it is eaten.   

We chopped this baby open and lookie there. It's just so pretty with lots of little black seeds kind of like a kiwi fruit.

I wish we could say that we loved its taste as much as we loved its bright red color. It's not horrible, but we are not huge dragon fruit fans. We are, however, fans of all the healthy goodness packed into one of these things. So we may be mixing it into some fruit salads or dousing it in chocolate so that we can enjoy its healthy benefits.

What have you tried that is new and out of the box lately?

New Kid, New Stuff

The worst of jet-lag is over, but I reserve all rights to use jet-lag as an excuse for any and all mis-communications and/or mid-afternoon coffee breaks for the next month. Kate started school on Wednesday and has adjusted and adapted beautifully.  She has made lots of new friends and started playing soccer. She loves it, and we are so very thankful.  Her transition could not have gone smoother, and while we don't foresee any problems with school and friends in the future, we ask that you continue to pray for her.  She is still the new kid, and if you went have ever gone to school, you know life can be tough as the new kid.  

Our whole family is walking in the shoes of the new kid. We are the new kids of the block, but we got the right stuff, baby.... Anybody???

Anyway, we are out and about discovering new things every day. We have discovered snake heads on a stick, seafood that I didn't even know existed, fried bugs, exotic fruits and veggies, and even cow uterus for sale. I have finally driven on the left side of the road but only to the store, and I made Brian drive us back. We have been exploring the city like the ugly loud American tourists that we are. 

 

I got a little over-excited when I found these bananas.  Aren't they are the cutest bunch of bananas you have ever seen?!  They taste like their bigger and longer banana cousins, though perhaps a tad more pulpy and maybe a little sweeter. Isaiah is loving them. He downs two or three at a time.  

We also found and enjoyed a chicken-leg on a stick.  Thomas ate it down to the bone.

She didn't finish hers, but said it was good. We have noticed that grilled meat seems to be on every corner.  Who needs a snack?  Have some grilled chicken or better yet grilled snake. Mmmm.

Ok. These little cups of yumminess. It's tea, with ice and wait for it... sweetened condensed milk. Yes, people, you read right. Sweetened condensed milk swimming around with the already yummy tea and of course it's served over ice because it's hotter than ten blazes out here, and it's like the perfect accompaniment to any meal. And I mean, Bojangles we love your sweet tea, but until you start putting sweetened condensed milk in it, yours can't even compare.

And the food.  Well, we haven't the slightest idea what we are ordering or eating.  We figured out rice cause well, it's pretty much just rice, but as for all of this other stuff.  We. Don't. Know. 

I ate a bowl of something with noodles and chives and broth and meat. I don't know what kind of meat. There was definitely a piece of liver in one bite (blah!), but I only know that cause my momma used to make liver and onions when I was growing up and "You have to try one bite...." Let me tell you something, it's as bad today in SE Asia as it was 25 years ago in Locust, NC.  Why?! Why do people eat liver??? Other than that little gem, we had a delicious, albeit mysterious, meal.

Pause for a picture...

 This lady just sat down beside our littlest and started taking selfies with him. People told us, "Your kids are going to be a hit." We had no idea. It started on the plane, and it hasn't stopped.  Whether they speak english or not, there are "HEeellOoos" and pointing and waving and laughing. We're really cool with it. We just wave, smile back and figure this must be how Angelina Jolie and her pack feel. Just our five minutes of fame living in the flash of the paparazzi. 

I am not sure what this flower is, but I am almost positive that it is the reason I had to figure out where the drugstore was. My head has been a clogged mess for days. I was able to walk in and buy some allergy meds which have been helping me enjoy this little beauty instead of wanting to chop it down and burn it. Yay for OTC allergy meds that wouldn't be OTC in the States.

This! They are everywhere. Slushy anyone?

Let's face it. Life as the new kid isn't always fun, but then there are slushies. We are trying to make the most of every new day and every new moment to learn something, well,  new. It's fun and wild and crazy, and we are so very thankful for every prayer you have prayed for us the last few days and weeks and months. We have lived on them. We are still looking for a place to plant some roots in this hot soil. So please be praying that our eyes will be wide-open to see where the Father would have us live. And if this post was crazy and hard to read, I blame jet-lag....

A Goodbye, A Hello and Some Stuff In Between

We did it. We got on the plane and made our way all the way to warm and sunny SE Asia. The last few days in cold and cloudy Ohrid were every bit of cold and cloudy. It was tough.  We spent every minute we could with the people we love there. It was precious and sweet. Hard, but sweet.

We packed and packed and packed. And this is our junk that we felt like had to come with us.  It's no joke leaving a place you have lived for 9 years and having no where, like your parents' attic, to store anything. EVERYthing had to either be given away or get packed in our 3 cubic meters (100 cubic feet).  It was tedious, and I'm telling you, if you are looking for a good way to organize and downsize your life, this is the way. Just move to another continent. That'll do it. And we did it. We got 9 years worth of baby blankets and sweet baby clothes and souvenirs from Europe and books and toys and toys and toys and shoes and purses and more junk than I ever thought we could possibly own... down to this. It was every bit as icky and awful as it sounds. Praise God it is over!!!

Five days before we left, we threw a massive party and invited nearly everyone we had ever gotten semi-close to. 

We danced the Oro, shared our hearts, and gave out a lot of Bibles and giant hugs.  

We spoke words of truth and words of love, words that probably offended many, but words that give life to all.  It was good.

Brian told stories of our early days there when we learning language and culture, and he had the crowd laughing over some of our early mistakes.  

Bless this child who by some miracle made it through the whole party but only because lots of people who adore him took turns chasing him and feeding him and giving him lots of attention. 

Kate and Thomas had lots of friends to dance and run around with.  

 They had a blast. 

 We all had a blast.  It was sweet. 

We said goodbye to some of our favorite people and places in the world and to a view like this. We cried with our sweet Kate who asked if we could stop saving money for Disney World and start saving money to come back to Ohrid for vacation.  Bless her heart.

We drew closer as a family as all our hearts broke together.  

We said goodbye to these precious people and many more like them--people who took us in as their own, people who loved us and laughed with us and cried with us. People who taught us about their culture, people who let us in, people we did life with day in and day out. We're gonna miss them!

Our sweet church in Ohrid had a special service for us with words of encouragement and thankfulness from its members and members from other churches in Macedonia.  We sang our favorite songs to Jesus in the heart language of those precious people and I praised God for allowing me to hear that sweet sound in Ohrid, a place that didn't ring with His praises when we arrived. 

I kept telling Brian "I don't think I can do this." And we both felt like we were walking through some sort of awful dream for days, but we did it.  We felt the presence of our Lord in very real ways.  As we drove out of Ohrid, there was peace in the pain.  It was a peace that can only come from God.  Sweet all-surpassing peace knowing that He was with us. The One who called us is indeed faithful! I checked my fb on the trip out of Ohrid, and realized that our good and kind God was waking people in America up, out of sleep, to pray for us, to intercede for us and to battle for us. Y'all He is SO GOOD! And some of you got up and prayed, and then let me know you were praying. It was balm to my heart! Thank you!!!    

We made it through a delicious lunch with our team--our second family--with laughter. We didn't touch the topic that it would probably be the last lunch all together at the same table before heaven. We just enjoyed one another around a beautiful feast.  And then we cried as we held hands and prayed together.  Tight hugs and bitter tears, but tears that I am so thankful for. OH! I am thankful for the deep love we have for one another.  I am thankful that it was hard to say goodbye. It is only proof of our bond and anchored love in Christ. To God be the glory for those deep relationships that taught me so much about the Body or Christ and that reflected Him to others in Macedonia.  

And we did the thing I didn't think we could do because His grace is sufficient, His power perfected in our weakness. With smiles and excited hearts, we got on the plane--in our snow boots. The kids did great on the plane.  They slept good on the 10-plus hour flight and sat like little angels on the shorter flights. Some of you were praying, weren't you?! Thank you!

From snow boots to flip-flops and goosebumps to beads of sweat, we arrived in our new home.

There was a stocked fridge and cabinets, a goody basket and a homemade cake waiting for us. The people here have loved on us and fed us delicious meals and spent time showing us around.  B is doing a great job of driving on the left-hand side of the road, and I am doing a good job of keeping my mouth shut as he drives. The kids are loving their new summer wardrobe. K starts school in two days. She met her teacher today and she can't wait to get started.  

I have learned so much through this process. I could write a novel (I guess I kinda have), but the one thing that remains here or there is that He is good, and He knows how to give good gifts to his children. 

Sirenje, Baklava, Kebabi, and More

So really, I have absolutely no time to sit around and write blogs these days. NONE!  And yet, here I am writing a blog because the babies must sleep, and I can do nothing while they are sleeping for fear of waking them. I could sleep. Sleeping would be good. Oh, sleeping would be great!!! But with the amount of coffee I have had over the last couple of days, I may never sleep again. So I will write and show you more things that I love here in Ohrid.  

Sirenje--white feta-like cheese on everything.

On fries, and with bread, and with ajvar, and with beans, and with cabbage and with anything you can possibly think to pair with it.  And let me be clear. It is better than feta!!! 

And then there's this...

The fish and stuffed cabbage rolls and even the way they make mashed potatoes.  This is "slava" food. You go from house to house mainly for St. Nikolas day eating this, and you would think it would get old. Nope. It's good, y'all. Yes, that fish still has his head and tail, and every one of his bones, and even his eye balls. You have to work for every bite and sometimes even when you think you have picked out all of the bones, you almost die as one slides ever so painfully down your throat. But every bite is worth it! And those little round balls are stuffed cabbage leaves, sarma, and yum! Just yum. Sometimes they are filled with meat and rice. Other times, just rice.  And even the tators are good, full of butter or oil or some other form of delicious fat and salt, salt, salt. Mmm, Tators!

Baklava (sorry for the awful picture). Ok, the variations of baklava that are in existence are almost endless.  And every good Macedonian woman might make hers a little different than the lady next door, but every one is rich and SO sweet--almost too sweet, though my husband tells me no such thing exists. He loves it. I can handle it for the first few bites, but then I need a gallon of water to wash it down because really, it is sweet!!! Baklava may be the hardest dessert to eat with a small little dessert fork. Good manners seem to be lost on me trying to eat it. They are hard little boogers and have been known to fly right off the plate when you try and cut into them. I say, let's throw caution and good manners to the wind and just pick 'em up with our hands. It would be much more enjoyable.  

In yet another blurry picture, we have, Kebabi. It's hamburger-fingers or we could call them cow-fingers, but we are pretty sure we are dealing with more than one kind of meat. Pork, beef and some spices.  It's our kids' meal of choice when we are out. 

 

Palachinki--Crepes, pancakes-- filled with nutella and bananas and smothered in whipped cream. Y'all!!!

Pizza with bacon and eggs. It really is good.

Proja--It's cornbread, but, if possible, it's better.  They throw all kinds of goodness inside it--sirenje (see above), spinach, leeks, and sometimes olives. 

I'm not saying this is a favorite, but I can't not post it. This is pacha. It's gelled pig parts--we're not just talking meat, here. We're talking... parts. In gel. J-e-l-l-o. I've had it once. I survived but it wasn't pretty. I've managed to dodge it every other time. It's a specialty served only at Christmas.  And so we will say that my favorite thing about this is the tradition. That's all I've got.

My girl and her art. I love her. I love her heart! Translation: "Jesus, most beautiful name. Lord in glory. Jesus Arose. I love Jesus with my whole heart."  There's not a whole lot better than that!

SO GOOD! We love this Bible, especially for Kate. It's like a step up from the "Jesus Storybook Bible," and it gets to the Gospel in every single story.  

Out at coffee with the family. Dear God, please don't let Kate turn into a KISS groupie.

Our beautiful Ohrid. It's beautiful from every corner.

The Macedonian flag. Isn't it so pretty?!

I also love how this view never gets old!

I want to post pictures of people whom I LOVE here, but I fear I will leave someone out. So just know that while there is a lot of food (yes, I love food) and a lot of things in these pictures, the faces that are missing are our most favorite. The people here. We love them!!!

A sweet friend reminded me the other day that, yes, while I should remember all of the great things about Ohrid and our time here, it would be wrong to not remember that there were some really dark and hard days. There were days when driving through town made me want to hurt someone. Driving here is not one of my favorites.  There were days when the language and the differences were just too heavy. There were times when I was so tired of having the same conversation over and over. There were days when tears flowed and the darkness would not lift. It hasn't always been fun and great and wonderful. But man, the Lord has grown me. He has been to me a dear friend, a good and faithful Father and He has shown me over and over that it is His work. HIS! That has been consistent and it has been sweet. We never walked alone. On the dark days, He was near. On the bright days, He was near. He was always faithful even when I was a ridiculous mess. And this I know, He will continue to be. He will be faithful to draw people to Himself, whether we are here or not. He will be faithful to grow His church here, whether we are here or not. He will be faithful to walk with us where he has led us. "Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him..."