last weekend was quite a busy one. we went to jericho on friday to celebrate the epiphany and then had a huge bbq at a place called banana land. a seriously huge bbq. there were 3 kilos of meat for 8 people.
but the highlight of my weekend was definitely saturday. we were invited to visit hebron with haithem, who works at the house of hope. fida, one of the house parents, came with us as well. we went to visit baraa, who is no longer attending the house of hope, and to pick up hiba because her parents hadn't brought her back from vacation yet. then we went to haithems house and ate more food, even though both jason and i were still full from friday. we got a taxi back to bethlehem and then jason and i got to hang out at the house of hope for a little while before heading home.
the best part about it for me was getting to hang out with hiba. she is awesome. i want everyone to meet her, because she is the sweetest little girl. i loved seeing her at her house, because she is so "normal". she was playing with her sisters, showed me her room, pointed out the fifty posters she has of some arabic singer guy on her wall, danced around, acted very sassy, and gave me lots of hugs. she attends the house of hope because she has hearing problems and at one point her family though she had brain damage, but as she's grown it looks like she only had post-traumatic stress and she is fine now. except she can't hear.
hiba was born with no problems. well, no physical problems. she comes from a family of 11, six girls and three boys, and her parents are both unemployed. her two oldest brothers work some, but only when they can find work. their family lives in the old city of hebron, which is quite a political hot spot. her house is about five rooftops away from the ibrahim mosque. on her roof is an outpost for israeli soldiers.
when hiba was about three, she fell and hit her head. she was either running away from seeing the soldiers or scared in her bed from the soldiers. both would make a lot of sense, as her bedroom has a clear view of the roof and their house is built with on about three different levels. whatever happened, the fall caused damage to hiba's hearing, as well as traumatic stress. for years, she was very reclusive, terrified of the soldiers, not talking to people, and not thriving at all. after a few years at the house of hope, hiba has found her smile again. she is a beautiful, fun, laughing nine-year-old who loves life and has even learned to not be terrified of the soldiers on her roof.
so back to saturday. i loved it. hiba loved it. she got to be a normal kid, hanging out with grownups. she went with us to visit baraa and helped to take care of her. she was served coffee and tea and cookies wherever we went, which is huge because kids never get coffee or tea. at haithem's, she ate lunch with me and jason, fida, and haithem. then she got to sit out on the balcony with us and drink more tea. hiba had a great time because she got to hang out with the grownups. i had a great time because i had someone to talk to and entertain me. after spending a day with her, i want her to hear more than almost anything in the world, because i know she can have a full life. she is so bright, such a quick learner, such a people person. if she got her hearing fixed, i really think she will thrive. it was wonderful to see this while we were hanging out.
jason and i are in the process of trying to raise money to get her hearing aids. they will cost NIS 3500, or around $950, which is more than her family could ever think of affording. we have $700 so far. if you are interested in helping with this, email jason or i and we'll tell you how you can help out. in the meantime, pray for hiba. pray that she will continue to grow into a beautiful, confident young lady. pray that the fear that crippled the beginning of her life will not return. pray that she will continue to smile and laugh every day.
Wednesday, January 23
Thursday, January 17
beautiful day
yesterday, it was about 65* outside in the sun. unfortunately, it was still like 20* inside thanks to our stone walls and floors. so jason and i spent the afternoon on our balcony playing "ticket to ride" and drinking tea. it was so nice. we have a beautiful view and it was warm and relaxing and just an all around great afternoon.
i am 28 weeks along, which means that there are only 12 weeks until the baby comes (hopefully). that's not very long. i have a feeling that when she does arrive, relaxing afternoons of playing games and drinking tea will be few and far between. but that's ok, because we'll have a child, which is better than those afternoons. at least in the long run, or that's what they say. :-)
i am 28 weeks along, which means that there are only 12 weeks until the baby comes (hopefully). that's not very long. i have a feeling that when she does arrive, relaxing afternoons of playing games and drinking tea will be few and far between. but that's ok, because we'll have a child, which is better than those afternoons. at least in the long run, or that's what they say. :-)
Friday, January 4
Christmas Break
this break has been good. especially for me, since i have nothing to do so it's a real vacation. here's a little rundown on how the break has gone so far.
-lots of christmas parties. i think that in some ways we try to overcompensate for the lack of family and old friends around at christmas time, so we ended up doing a lot. we had a party at our house with a gift exchange that was tons of fun. rachel had a party at her house on christmas eve. we had some volunteers from the bible college and other friends over on christmas morning to have breakfast. i had two parties to go to for the bible college and we went to one dinner for the churches in bethlehem.
-christmas eve at manger square. there were tons of people there. we stayed to watch the bible college choir sing and then left because it was so crowded. it was good to see so many tourists. jason and i thought that there were a lot of people last year, just because there were the most people we had seen in once place since we had come to bethlehem, but this year was insane.
-two christmas dinners. one was on christmas day at alex and jamie's (friends from our church in jerusalem). i made scalloped potatoes and found my calling for what to make when for potlucks or dinners where we bring a side dish. they were really good. the day after christmas, we had a dinner at our church in jerusalem. it was a lot of fun. and my scalloped potatoes were just as good as the first batch.
-new years eve party. we had our neighbors over, along with two other couples from bethlehem and played ticket to ride, settlers of catan and dance dance revolution all night.
-lots of games of settlers and ticket to ride. me, jason, rachel, salim, and munther have played more games than i can even begin to count.
-laying around and relaxing. it's been a good time to take a break, catch up on sleep, and do not much of anything.
so that's the short version of all the festivities. pictures will follow shortly.
-lots of christmas parties. i think that in some ways we try to overcompensate for the lack of family and old friends around at christmas time, so we ended up doing a lot. we had a party at our house with a gift exchange that was tons of fun. rachel had a party at her house on christmas eve. we had some volunteers from the bible college and other friends over on christmas morning to have breakfast. i had two parties to go to for the bible college and we went to one dinner for the churches in bethlehem.
-christmas eve at manger square. there were tons of people there. we stayed to watch the bible college choir sing and then left because it was so crowded. it was good to see so many tourists. jason and i thought that there were a lot of people last year, just because there were the most people we had seen in once place since we had come to bethlehem, but this year was insane.
-two christmas dinners. one was on christmas day at alex and jamie's (friends from our church in jerusalem). i made scalloped potatoes and found my calling for what to make when for potlucks or dinners where we bring a side dish. they were really good. the day after christmas, we had a dinner at our church in jerusalem. it was a lot of fun. and my scalloped potatoes were just as good as the first batch.
-new years eve party. we had our neighbors over, along with two other couples from bethlehem and played ticket to ride, settlers of catan and dance dance revolution all night.
-lots of games of settlers and ticket to ride. me, jason, rachel, salim, and munther have played more games than i can even begin to count.
-laying around and relaxing. it's been a good time to take a break, catch up on sleep, and do not much of anything.
so that's the short version of all the festivities. pictures will follow shortly.
Monday, December 31
we are kind of crazy
saturday night, we got up at 3 am (so i guess really sunday morning) to watch the patriots play football.
last night, jason and i stayed up till the wee hours of the morning playing cards because neither one of us wanted to forfeit.
it's been fun though. i really like vacation time.
on another note, we got some goodies from my parents via some friends visiting bethlehem. 2 lbs. of cheddar cheese and five packages of freeze dried bacon, plus other little goodies. i'm trying not to eat all of the cheese in one day. we had scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese and bacon for breakfast this morning and it was divine.
last night, jason and i stayed up till the wee hours of the morning playing cards because neither one of us wanted to forfeit.
it's been fun though. i really like vacation time.
on another note, we got some goodies from my parents via some friends visiting bethlehem. 2 lbs. of cheddar cheese and five packages of freeze dried bacon, plus other little goodies. i'm trying not to eat all of the cheese in one day. we had scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese and bacon for breakfast this morning and it was divine.
Thursday, December 27
blessings and provisions
so i don't really understand why i always stress out about money, but i do. and every time that i am convinced that we didn't plan well enough or save enough or raise enough or whatever, God provides for us in a way that is beyond what i ever thought.
the last few weeks have been pretty tough financially. we realized how much stuff we are going to have to get for our baby, and while some of it will be gifts, some of it won't and it will be expensive. plus, having another member of the family will cost more money that we were expecting to be spending when we so carefully constructed our budget last year. our car keeps having problems that are getting progressively more expensive to fix. my phone is broken and cell phones are ridiculously over-priced here. the holiday season came with presents to buy and parties to throw and attend. so, i was getting pretty stressed out.
a few days ago, i had a small breakdown. i was so annoyed with God. i guess i thought that we had planned pretty well. and we had worked pretty hard to raise the support we need, budgeted wisely, saved where we could, spent where we needed to and we were running out. we were not to the point of wondering where our next meal was going to come from, but i felt like it was getting close to that. our savings was almost dry. we didn't have money to pay to fix our car, and while our mechanic was being so gracious by fixing it and saying we could pay him when we could, i had no idea when we would be able to pay him. we had already spent a good chunk of our emergency fund on things like buying a car and insurance and visas, so we didn't have money saved to pay for the delivery of our baby. and i was just sure that none of this would be provided. or at least not in the way that i thought was the best way. i always have this entitlement attitude, like i am "missionary" so whenever i am stressed, God should just snap his fingers to take care of the problem. and they way i saw it, His fingers were not snapping fast enough.
lucky for me, God is patient. i know, and always do know, that He will take care of us. He always has. last year when we were in a financial crunch, the same thing happened. i'm sure next year will be the same. and the year after that. every time that i feel like God is maybe forgetting about us or not keeping his end of the deal, He blesses us beyond what i was even asking for. we have received more money that i was even asking God to provide right now. our car is paid for. our savings is replenished. we got christmas money that can buy a lot baby stuff. we can continue saving for things like a plane ticket home this summer since immediate needs are now taken care of.
i wish that i wasn't so stubborn or hard headed or whatever and would just learn to really know that God will never leave us and will always take care of us. it sure would save me a lot of stress. as i've been pregnant, i've stated to think more and more about the father-child relationship that we have with Him. when our daughter is born, i will do every thing in my power to take care of her and to protect and provide for her. lucky for me, my heavenly Father has way more power to protect and provide for me than i could ever even think of having. not just financially either. that is the hardship that i've have been facing, but there have been so many times this year that He has provided emotionally or spiritually just when i have needed it and just when i felt like i was on my own.
so that's just some thoughts that i've been thinking a lot lately. i serve an amazing God. i serve a God who loves me more than i can know and who will always be with me. even when i forget his goodness, even when i get mad at him for really dumb reasons, even when i have such little faith, he chooses to bless me and to show me love. He is my Father and i am his child.
the last few weeks have been pretty tough financially. we realized how much stuff we are going to have to get for our baby, and while some of it will be gifts, some of it won't and it will be expensive. plus, having another member of the family will cost more money that we were expecting to be spending when we so carefully constructed our budget last year. our car keeps having problems that are getting progressively more expensive to fix. my phone is broken and cell phones are ridiculously over-priced here. the holiday season came with presents to buy and parties to throw and attend. so, i was getting pretty stressed out.
a few days ago, i had a small breakdown. i was so annoyed with God. i guess i thought that we had planned pretty well. and we had worked pretty hard to raise the support we need, budgeted wisely, saved where we could, spent where we needed to and we were running out. we were not to the point of wondering where our next meal was going to come from, but i felt like it was getting close to that. our savings was almost dry. we didn't have money to pay to fix our car, and while our mechanic was being so gracious by fixing it and saying we could pay him when we could, i had no idea when we would be able to pay him. we had already spent a good chunk of our emergency fund on things like buying a car and insurance and visas, so we didn't have money saved to pay for the delivery of our baby. and i was just sure that none of this would be provided. or at least not in the way that i thought was the best way. i always have this entitlement attitude, like i am "missionary" so whenever i am stressed, God should just snap his fingers to take care of the problem. and they way i saw it, His fingers were not snapping fast enough.
lucky for me, God is patient. i know, and always do know, that He will take care of us. He always has. last year when we were in a financial crunch, the same thing happened. i'm sure next year will be the same. and the year after that. every time that i feel like God is maybe forgetting about us or not keeping his end of the deal, He blesses us beyond what i was even asking for. we have received more money that i was even asking God to provide right now. our car is paid for. our savings is replenished. we got christmas money that can buy a lot baby stuff. we can continue saving for things like a plane ticket home this summer since immediate needs are now taken care of.
i wish that i wasn't so stubborn or hard headed or whatever and would just learn to really know that God will never leave us and will always take care of us. it sure would save me a lot of stress. as i've been pregnant, i've stated to think more and more about the father-child relationship that we have with Him. when our daughter is born, i will do every thing in my power to take care of her and to protect and provide for her. lucky for me, my heavenly Father has way more power to protect and provide for me than i could ever even think of having. not just financially either. that is the hardship that i've have been facing, but there have been so many times this year that He has provided emotionally or spiritually just when i have needed it and just when i felt like i was on my own.
so that's just some thoughts that i've been thinking a lot lately. i serve an amazing God. i serve a God who loves me more than i can know and who will always be with me. even when i forget his goodness, even when i get mad at him for really dumb reasons, even when i have such little faith, he chooses to bless me and to show me love. He is my Father and i am his child.
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