Since our last update, we have moved and began our work in our new country.
It has been a really busy past 6 months and a lot has happened, but we are going to attempt a quick recap of what has been going on with us since our relocation.
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Happy Family on the ride over.
The start of a new chapter in our Overseas Adventure.
When we arrived, things looked and felt a lot different. We are in a more rural setting and so life took a little getting used to.
Typical Fruit and Veggie "WallA" (one who sells veggies)
Business here is done in an open-market type setting. The best way to describe it is to think of the movie Aladdin---- when Princess Jasmine goes out into the marketplace on her own and all the vender's are trying to get her to by their goods----that is what it is like for us every time we go to buy our daily provisions.
There are also a lot less cars on the roads here- also most of the roads in our area are unpaved. So Donkey-carts and Camel-carts are a common means of transporting goods and people. Usually, the biggest traffic jam you see is caused by water buffalo.
Where we live closely resembles Tatooine from Star Wars, but we have some trees and farms...but no droids. It is a dry heat, but it is definitely HOT! and getting hotter.
Shortly after our arrival, we encountered the Holiday Season. It was a busy first couple of months celebrating Thanksgiving and the great many things we had to be thankful for (like finally being IN COUNTRY!! YAY).
Than shortly after we celebrated the Birth of our Savior during Christmas.
Christmas looked a lot different for us as well. We had a little "Charley Brown" looking tree & the season was more focused on the true meaning of Christmas. We didn't experience any of the usual commercialism here, because Christmas is a holiday that is celebrated only by a few minority people groups. There weren't any big "holiday blow-out sales" & all the stores and government offices were all opened and conducting business as usually on Christmas day.
Also, there was no snow to be found. So we improvised and threw tiny, white, confetti all around to resemble snow. Hudson really enjoyed it! He made snow "tri-angles"...
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Upon our arrival, we encountered a housing problem. The place we are currently staying isn't available for long-term use, so we had to search for other long-term housing options. However, due to our rural environment, the 'pickings are slim'. Our best option was to undertake a renovation project of a 100+ year old building and bring it up "to code". It used to be an old Hindu wedding hall, as far as we know.
Bo and others from the Hospital are overseeing this project most days because, due to our rural location, a foreman for the project could was very difficult to obtaine.
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Baby G's celebrated her First Birthday not to long ago!
Hard to believe our little Girl is already ONE!!! She had a great little party with friends and neighbors as well some very special visitors from out of town.
Opening presents. Her favorite thing about the gifts, was the wrapping paper that they came in.
Grandma and Papa came out to visit during Birthday month!
We really cherished our time with the family. We especially enjoyed introducing them to our new home---they definitely got some great insight into how life operates out here :) (when your son lets you get Malaria on your first trip to Pakistan, you tend to get a better feel for life in the country...)
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We celebrated Easter not long ago and started the day with a traditional Easter Egg Hunt.
The kiddo's loved searching for eggs and right afterwards we attended our local churches' Sunday Easter Service.
There you have it. Our last 5/6 months in total recap. It has felt like a rush, but it is only the beginning. We are so excited to live here and get to work!
Requests
We are so thankful for all the experiences we have had and friendships we have already made in our new location.
We ask that you would continue to Lift Us Up as we continue "Doing Life" in a culture that is not our own & that we would continue to have opportunities to Share with our friends and neighbors.
