Happy Father's Day to Dan the Man!

World's Greatest Dad - June 9, 1983 . . .

Now the World's Greatest Granddad (or "Dumpy" as the first grandchild calls him), June 9th, 2011!

I love you Dad - 28 years later, you are my and two tiny Hall girls' hero!

*Promotional thanks given to my rock-star sister in law for having my newest niece ON my birthday. Seriously Beth, you're too much - a gift card would have done the trick! : ) Love you!!

Besties

Recently we had dinner with some of our dear friends, who we realized we have celebrated every American & local holiday with. Spencer and his girlfriend Mary (not their given names), have been friends of ours since the very first weeks we moved here, and we love sharing our lives with them.

As we were wrapping up a wonderfully fun evening together and exchanging good bye pleasantries, another dear friend who was present happily proclaimed in English that we were all "BFF's". Spencer scratched his head and thought. Even having studied English for a number of years, he was stumped.

He slowly sounded it out "Best . . . Friends . . . hmmm", and then suddenly and proudly proclaimed "Oh! I know - Best Foreign  Friends!" We all of course died laughing, and decided that although not the original idea, his assessment was perhaps an even better description of our friendship.

I am so, so happy to have such fun and hilarious BFF's!!

Recently I have been meditating on the passage in Matthew, where Peter walks on the water to meet Jesus. I have been reading through Matthew for the past several weeks, but for some reason I haven't been able to move past this passage for the past several days.

I love this story for many reasons, probably because of how easy it is to relate to Peter's bold and yet quickly evaporating faith. I think it's so easy to identify with his sincere desire to meet with the Lord, and probably even more easy to identify with his literally sinking doubt. So often I find myself in the same position, so eager to be near to Jesus, but yet overcome by the questions or uncertainties around me.

I think it's easy to get lost in the swells of our circumstances, or for me, the never ending tide in my own mind. The "what ifs" lurk around every corner, and as a recovering perfectionist, the questions of "is it/I enough?" are ever present. But this morning, as I sat again meditating over these words, this particular verse grabbed me:

"Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" Matthew 13:31

I think in my experience, this particular verse is used to illustrate for the nine millionth time our inevitably lacking faith. Sure, I get it. My attitude and actions so often say that I simply don't trust Him. But the past few days, what has really captured me was how Jesus immediately reached out and took hold of Peter. This is so reassuring to me, that in light of his doubt and despair, Jesus moved immediately. The loving Father, tenderly near, and eager to rescue.

But this morning, it dawned on me that Jesus moved to be neared to Peter before He calmed the storm. It's as if Jesus was more concerned about communicating his presence and protection than He was about the raging storm around them. What a word for my heart today! So often I find myself wrapped up in worry, questions, or prayer about the storms around me . . . overlooking that Jesus is more concerned about our intimacy first. How often have I looked past His reach to the waves, wailing even louder about how, when, and will He move to still them. And yet, as I see here with Peter, Jesus is more concerned that we take His hand in trust first.

He is, was, and will be Lord of our storms. He is always faithful, and in a word brings peace to our chaos.

But first, He desires to be our salvation, intimate friend, and sweetest assurance.What tenderness, that in the midst of all we create, imagine, and fear, He desires that first we would look away from what threatens to overcome us, and see His hand. He is first concerned that we might intimately know and trust Him, and safely in His arms, we might say with the awed disciples "Truly you are the Son of God!"

They Make My Heart Smile

My Conversation Class

This past week we taught our last normal classes of the semester in the hotter than Hades town we travel to teach in once a month. I found myself getting sentimental as my first class ended as I realized how these students have been a significant part of our life and journey this first year. From the first few classes where our language was next to non-existent, these students have been patient, encouraging, and just overall fun. In the frequently gut-wrenching process of language and cultural acquisition, these students have been a place of joy and purpose for me. I am so grateful for their sweet smiles and open hearts - they have been such a blessing to me this year!!

Grade One Students (10th Grade equivalent)
Don't worry about ole Fang Fang on the far left, she's not high or sleeping, promise!

My Grade Two class (Junior equivalent)
Are those gang signs over my right shoulder?
If that little bit didn't giggle every time she opened her mouth I might be worried!

I just love these kiddos to pieces, and am thankful I still have a week of fun with them during our upcoming English camp. There will be 20+ foreigners on their campus for a week - hopefully after a year of hard work they will have the courage and confidence to say more than "Hoaw ah you?!"

Girl's Night Out

Last night I met up with some American friends who live in our city for a night on the town. There's just something about not having to use a second language to communicate that makes the time together a little more carefree!

First, pedicures! These are my friends modeling the books you can choose your design from. I opted against "Phat Asian" being spelled across my toes. 

The finished glittery products!

Next was a delicious dinner of fresh juices and crepes! Thankfully the few foreigners in our town are for the most part entrepreneurial, this particular Dutch fella makes a mean crepe!

And then . . . karaoke baby! Karaoke is a BIG deal here, and it is A-L-L kinds of fun! As you can see, it's an intense experience that demands the fullest facial and dance expressions possible!

And yes, the tambourine was absolutely necessary when singing Justin Beiber. 

 

 It was a great night, and I'm so thankful for my girlfriends of all nationalities!

We're Kind of a Big Deal

About two weeks ago, Baxter and I underwent another step in planting our lives here - getting our driver's licenses. In the U.S. this is no big deal; class when your sixteen, drive for a few hours with some disgruntled state employee, take a test, renew every now and again = done-skies. Here, it's similar, but in the words of my dear husband "anything is possible, but nothing is easy". This absolutely proved to be true.

Many foreigners hire an "interpreter" (read: someone they pay to study and take the test with/for them), or are able to get their hands on a copy of the answers to memorize. As luck would have it, we had to go to our provincial capital to take the test where glory be (SARCASM), they had an English version. We realized this meant actually studying for the thing, and I about fainted when Baxter said the review booklet was 300 pages. And of course foreigners could only go on Thursdays and attempt to take the test twice, and the only driver's license on our team was leaving the country the following week. No pressure, right? However, I did get a kick out of many of the questions on the test. Here are a few of my favorites: 

 

When encountering a flock of sheep crossing a road, the driver should _______.

A. Honk continuously to drive away the flock

B. Speed up and bypass the flock

C. Drive slowly and use the vehicle to scare away the flock

D. Reduce speed and go slowly, or stop to yield when necessary

When a vehicle encounters an old man riding bike on the road, the driver should ______.

A. Honk to indicate him to yield when approaching him

B. Honk in advance, reduce speed and evade

C. Swiftly bypass

              D. Follow closely
 

 When the engine catches fire, the wrong measure is to _____.

A. Swiftly turn off the engine

B. Extinguish the fire by covering

C. Open the bonnet to extinguish the fire

D. Use the fire extinguisher to put out the fire

When a motorized vehicle breaks down on the expressway, the persons on board should swiftly move to the front of the vehicle for hiding.   (Answer:WRONG)

My favorite part however, was the especially awesome/clear portion of the test involving traffic signals:

 

   Obviously, this means turn left sharply. 

Where as this means yield to the vehicle behind you. 

Per usual, Baxter studied a lot and made a 99 on the first try (knowing exactly which one he missed of course), and I studied what I considered to be enough, and "failed" with an 86 on the first try, and squeaked out a passing 92 on the second try. After giving myself nerve-induced sweat rings the entire length of my shirt and nearly crying with relief in the computer lab with 100+ people, we were THRILLED to leave with these bad boys proudly in hand: 

Now as for actually driving amidst the aforementioned wandering sheep and old men to be evaded . . . that's another story!

When the World Changes

June 2010

This week a bit of my world changed, as the dear man on the far left of the photo, my Uncle Al, went home to be with the Father. As an adult I now realize our relationship was a bit unusual, but growing up, I never thought it to be anything less than perfect.

Al is my mom's elder brother by twenty years, so by the time mom came along, Al was already married with a baby. So, this meant that growing up, "Uncle" Jerry, "Aunt" Deana, "Uncle" Scott, were really my cousins, and their children (technically second cousins) were all my playmates. By the time I was nine years old both of mom's parents had already passed away, and while I of course missed getting to know them, I never once felt the absence of grandparents in my life.

As long as I can remember, Uncle Al and his wife Jackie just counted my brother and I as one of the brood. We got the same gifts as the other grandkids at Christmas, they came to our school performances or games when they could, I even remember them coming to a "Grandparent's Day" or two at my elementary school.  For years our family had a cabin (read:trailer on the "classy" side of the river) in a small valley in the Ouachita mountains of Arkansas, and it was Al who introduced each new generation and family member to the ins and outs of the Bear Cave, the Swimming Hole, and the intricacies of crawdaddin' around Garfield rock.  To me, he was Albert Pike; wonderfully fun and simply unforgettable.

Looking back, the way Al cared for me and our entire family was so typical of who he was as a person. Generous, loving, and always laughing . . . I don't know that there was a single person in their small East Texas town who didn't know and respect my Uncle Al.

While moments like this can't help but remind me of the perpetually and inevitably changing world, I will remember Al as so much more than just a figure in my life, or his passing as a marker in my adulthood. Al wasn't just a man who sat idly by as the world changed around him, but was a man who in his own subtle ways, changed the world. I am so grateful for the legacy of his life, and am blessed to count myself as part of his heritage.

 ¹ Hear my cry, O God;

   listen to my prayer.

 ² From the ends of the earth I call to you,
   I call as my heart grows faint;
   lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
³ For you have been my refuge,
   a strong tower against the foe.

 ⁴ I long to dwell in your tent forever
   and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.^[b]
5 For you, God, have heard my vows;
   you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name. 

Psalm 61:1-5