Back-Tracking: World's Best Parents

In a nut shell: We decided to take a mini-break for the Holiday Season, leaving our African life for a month to R&R with some supporter friends in FL. We asked Jess' parents to come out to join us for a week; we'd meet somewhere and be able to reconnect for a few days. We decided on Orlando... and my parents tried as best they could to get there. We were blessed throughout the process, as Jess' dad got a free trip, mom had miles to get rid of and dad had connections for free lodging- a beautiful Townhome!

We had a fabulous time together! It's rare that one gets to spend time with their family and really connect- and that's what happened. Disney provided plenty of entertainment and activities and turned out to be the perfect back drop for a mini-reunion. It seemed to go by far too fast, but we so greatly enjoyed seeing them.

We're back in FL now after our 2 week venture to DC, VA, and NC... it was a fun, sight-seeing trip with the Carvalho family. Blessings seemed to follow us wherever we went... Our hotel in DC was a block from the Capital and cost $45 a night... We asked about the breakfast buffet- it was $20 a person; We said thank you, but no thank you- so they gave it to us for free... And our car rental- free upgrade! We can only praise God for the blessings that he has poured out over us!We have a week left before heading back to Africa... We have been loaned a phone and will be making many much-needed phone calls to all our family and friends... thanks for your patience!!


Photos: Us and my parents go crazy at the Disney Store... Our favorite ride- Toy Story shooting game- being attacked by Evil Lord ???... Visiting Norway in Epcot- Vikings at their best... It's tough to be a bug- what good-sports my parents are!... My Mom and I... While geocaching in FL- saw this 'coon taking cover up a palm tree... Car trouble- good thing we renewed our insurance for this rental (ours is the SUV)!!!

East Coast Christmas

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We've been traveling around the East Coast these past few weeks and the internet coverage has been spotty at best... sorry for the delay in updates! We arrived in Florida about 2 weeks ago and headed north to Orlando to spend some time with Jess' parents, who flew out for the week. Our time with them was truly precious- and made us both wish we could have more time with our families...Probably the one thing we truly struggle with when overseas.

Afterward, we reunited with our host family, some supproter friends (the Carvalho family) and headed up to Washington DC by train... We spent a couple days there, freezing, walking the Mall, touring the sites and museums, then headed south to Virginia. We stopped there for a couple days to take in Historic Williamsburg and Jamestown- quite educational and entertaining (how did those pioneers do it? Strong people). And now, here we are, in a quaint little cabin in North Carolina, finally stopping for a week to truly rest. We have been so grateful to the Carvalho's for inviting us into their family vacation- a cheaper option than flying to Brazil or Hawaii.

We'll be heading back down to Florida after the beginning of the year... with one week left before heading back to the Land of Sand. There's a lot of preparing, packing and errands to get done before we leave... Doctors appointments, eye exams, taxes... But this time here in the states has been SO refreshing and renewing. While we aren't necessarily eager to run back to life in Africa, we are, in a sense, ready to get back to "work". Much love to all our family and friends, who we miss terribly and wish we could be with... Blessings and joy to you in the new year!

Photos: (Pictures of time with Jess' parents are in the other computer, to be uploaded later) Us in Washington DC, Union Station (I called myself "Babushka"... it was ridiculously cold)... Walking the Mall with the Carvalho's... Historic Williamsburg, Virginia... The Smoky Mountains, North Carolina/Tennessee...

Leaving On A Jet Plane...

Eddy and I haven't been able to sleep the past few nights- not necessarily out of excitement. It's a strange process this "culture adaptation" and we're not quick to think that re-entering our "home" culture will be a cake walk. While we haven't been here that long, we've been here long enough to become at least partially adapted to a third-world, developing, corrupt, relationship-based, HOT climate culture. Our thoughts and emotions vary depending on the day, hour or minute and whether we're having a "good" day or a "bad" one. And of course, the reality/question that looms in our near future, how will it be when we come back?

Exhaustion seems to have taken over our lives, permeating every aspect- to the point that some students make encouraging comments, like: "Are you sleepy or something...? Cause your eyes look really tired...". (Gotta love the innocent honesty...) We have to remind ourselves that while we have developed a routine for daily living, we are still attempting to live and adapt in a culture completely opposite of our own. This takes time, effort, energy- just living--- Let alone being teachers and examples to people here!

So we frequently try to remind ourselves to relax, take our time and give ourselves grace. We are eager to have a break and look forward to being "free" to relax and be ourselves for a few weeks. We will be checking our email frequently and will be posting updates throughout our time. Thanks to all for your support and encouragement these past 7 months!

Photos: Eddy and a peddler in one of the largest outdoor markets (suuq) bartering for some souvenirs-it was ridiculously crowded due to the upcoming Eid holiday... A morning glory vine we planted on our lanai... Dogs are EVERYWHERE- neglected, and occasionally vicious and territorial...

Our Anniversary!

November 26, 2006... One of the most joyful days of our lives! We tied the knot in Carlsbad, CA, in the presence of family and friends... a beautiful service and a fabulous reception... we only wish the festivities could have gone on for hours, days, forever!

We've had our ups and downs, even in just two years; That's to be expected with a cross-cultural marriage, when we moved 21 times in our first 12 months! But, we have adapted and softened, and grown to cherish each other even more than on that romantic day in 2006. So, in a way, the "festivities" have continued on... and will!

Thank you to all our family and friends that have supported and encouraged us during these past 2 years. We eagerly look forward to the years ahead and all that God has in store for us!

Photos: We went to an Ethiopian restaurant to celebrate- the food was a bit hot, but the atmosphere was great! We had a bit of fun trying to take a photo of ourselves... Eddy started it- surprised?? : )

The "Four Bridges" Half Marathon

As we said in our last update- we completed the long-trained-for 13.1 miles on Saturday... whew! While we never dreamed of starting a running regime prior to our arrival, once here, it proved to be one activity that was "normal" for us. It helped us to stay fit in a rather sedentary life-style, calmed our stress and bonded us closer together. We plan on continuing with the running and are shooting for a full marathon later next year... Insha Allah! ** Which would mean training in the spring/summer- the "hot" season here... um... so we'll see how that goes!

Pictures: The pre-race photo: Chelsie, Mike, Eddy and Jess around 6:15 am at Mike's House, the start of our race... Heading off into the dark... After water stop #1, back at Mike's house, 6 miles into it... Arriving & departing water stop #2 along the Nile at mile 9... Crossing the "finish line", made out of toilet paper courtesy of Mike's wife, Suzanne... The team post-race, feeling and looking good! : )

NVA Sports and A Nile Adventure

Basketball season is almost over... Lucky for our U11 girls team, the powers-that-be scheduled another game for them this weekend, bringing them up to a 3-game season- wow! They're beyond excited... The U11 boys will also finish up this weekend with a final round-robin tournament. It's been a fun season and we have all learned a lot!
In the meantime, Eddy quickly formed a soccer team for a U11 pre-season tournament. Armed with one 30 min practice, the NVA crocs came in fighting, with their new Brazilian coach and took home 2nd place out of 7 teams! It was their first time making into the finals... Yay Crocs!

Soccer try-outs will be this week... at some point... It looks like Eddy and I will be the coaches for the U11 teams. The season starts right after Christmas break and as soon as Jess figures out how to coach a sport she last officially played when she was seven.

We were invited by some friends for a speed boat trip up the Nile to a sand bar for a picnic... we jumped at the opportunity! It was a wonderfully relaxing time of snacking, reading, napping and swimming.

Jess' News: I just finished a seminar on Health and Development... It focused mainly on redefining relief and development, the pros and cons of each, when they should be implemented and how to implement a self-sustaining development plan into a community. Should be helpful for the future... Eddy will get my notes as he was handling all our school committments!

Visas: We are in the process of getting exit/re-entry visas for our trip in early December. We realize how much we take for granted just being able to get on a plane when we want to go somewhere. Here, for foreigners and nationals alike, you must have permission from the government to leave... and it always takes longer and requires more effort than originally anticipated. Insha Allah, we will have them tomorrow!

Half-Marathon: We did it!! Exhausted from having to get up before the crack of dawn to keep up with the training, we opted to complete our run before the official race date (in December sometime...). We managed to convice two of our friends (Mike and Chelsie) to run too, creating a nice, safe foursome jogging through the streets and over the bridges of this bustling city. It was actually quite enjoyable- save for Eddy's nagging knee pain and Jess' side stitch lasting the final 3 miles. Mike's wife, Suzanne met us along the route with water- at mile 6 and 9, and fashioned a finish line out of toilet paper! We celebrated our finish with a brunch and a LONG nap. And best yet- we feel pretty good today!
Photos: Us... The U11 girls team... Me strongly encouraging the girls at Half-time... The U11 boys soccer team... Eddy consoling the boys after their one loss... Picnic on the Nile... Nile life...

Fall Festival Festivities

Well it was a huge success! Fortunate to have a warmer autumn night, we would guess some 250 people crammed onto the NVA school campus for games, bake sales, pictures, t-shirts and so much more... Eddy and Jeff took on the "Soak the Teacher" Booth with charisma and good cheer, leading the events in popularity, by far. The onlookers never seemed to tire of watching 30 gallons of water gush down on the guys anxiously waiting below. I perused the crowd taking snap shots, greeting families and entertaining the masses with my lil' ukulele. It was a pleasant night, spending time with kids and their families.

Basketball: Under 11 girls play tomorrow! Photos and videos to be posted- you must take part in the hilarity and chaos!

Visa/Taxes: In order to leave the country, we are in the process of deciphering/declaring our taxes for our non-income gaining year...so we can pay taxes on what we should have earned... Does that seem odd to anyone else?Half-Marathon: We tackled our 10 mile run on Friday- a huge success! After some fairly miserable runs the week leading up to it, we were wary. But with our intentional slow pace came smooth sailing all the way through... right up until we stopped and had to hobble in on our lactic acid filled limbs... Note to selves: drink water on the run.

Soccer: Eddy will be taking a Under 11 team to a tournament this next week. It's pre-season just for the fun of it. We'll have to start try-outs this next week or so...

Photos: Pretty self-explanatory... : )

Soak The Teachers

As a preview for upcoming events, the school did a trial run of the "Soak The Teacher" Booth on Eddy this morning at School Line-Up. All the classes form lines, usually go over announcements and then are dismissed to their rooms. Today, however, there was a little entertainment... Coach Eddy experiencing the full force of the home-made "soaker"... priceless. It was a bit chilly... poor guy!Photos: The pre-event excitement, Teachers explaining the "soaker" to the students... The basketball is tossed up... A perfect hit... Down comes the water... *note the paper Eddy is holding in the beginning frames... : )

Women's & Fishing Retreats

Last weekend was packed full... I got to attend a retreat for women held south of the city at a farm owned by one of our students. It was a large, well maintained fenced farm with ostriches, antelope and assorted random large birds located right on the Nile. Some 50 women gathered for a few days of relaxing, wearing casual western clothes (yikes, I haven't seen that much skin in a LONG time!) and sharing. It was a wonderful weekend- so many like minded people encouraging each other in their endeavors.

Whilst I was away, Eddy busied himself with a rousing game of Risk one night and fishing on the Nile the next day. Unable to find worms, Eddy sought the advice of locals who told him to use the trimmings off beef. After visiting the butcher and armed with borrowed poles, three of them made their way to the western banks of the Nile to test out their luck. It was a long, rather uneventful day of NO fish.

Half-Marathon: We both had to run alone as the other was MIA... and we both agreed that running alone was a dreadfully lonely experience.

Basketball: The season is winding down, our 2nd and last Under 11 girls game and the Under 14 tournie is next week. Phew, except that the soccer season starts in January, pretty much the day we step off the plane from our mini-furlough in December... so try-outs will be held in the next few weeks... Insha Allah!

Mini-Furlough: We will be heading to Florida for some R & R in the beginning of December. Leaving this place takes a little more effort than just hopping on a plane. We have to apply for an exit/re-entry visa and show proof of taxation for our business "Eddy Ice Creem". More offices, bureaucracy and red tape... But we have found favor so far and grace has been poured out in abundance. Insha Allah these tasks will get done quickly!

FUNdraiser Day: Our school is putting on a "fair" of sorts to raise funds (didn't know we needed it...) this Friday. There will be the usual booth-type games for kids to play with an assortment of well-loved favorites like: The Bean Bag Toss, Fishing Hole, Ping Pong Ball Race, Hole in One... There will be some sort of stage area where Eddy and I will entertain people with our musical talents- little ukulele interludes and jambe solos- irrisistible! But the highlight will surely be.... drum roll please... the Soak The Teacher Booth! As we are in a Muslim country, only the male teachers are at risk for this event. And as we all know, teaching tends to be a female dominated vocation... Our school has only three male teachers: Coach Eddy, Coach Jeff and our computer teacher Johannes. Johannes got out of it by being "too techy". Which leaves the the infamous coaching duo!! Coach Eddy will be demonstrating the full scope of this homemade bucket-dumping contraption tomorrow at the start of school. He's thrilled.

Photos: Some ladies enjoying the cookout at the Nile during the womens retreat... a wall in the farm compound... The Basketball Under 14 boys catch a ride to the game- 12 boys in an Amjud (hold 5 normally, and these are not small boys by any means!)... Coach Jess and Coach Stef pre-game talk... Coach Eddy talks with a parent...

Finally the visa!!

And it came, feels like Christmas... something that we were waiting for a long time... The Visa was issued!!! Sure all the wait wasn't easy and the time wasn't given to us on the visa but, God is faithful!!!
Now we can travel East to start the Ice "CREEM" shop and see how we are going to do all of this!
Yesterday we had a great time with the basketball teams. The girls won the first game 20 to 14. The guys, unfortunately got "killed" by the giants in the other team... 54 to 11. ...ouch... But they run and run and run!!! It was a much better presentation than last week, even with a loss.

We are getting ready to got to the States for a little time away from here. on December 7th we are going to Florida for a month. Jessica's parents are planning to come and visit for a week. Than with some supporters/mentors we are going to Washington DC and North Carolina. Than we will be back for another week in Florida. The school here resumes on Jan 11.

The school schedulle is filling up out time quite a bit. With the basketball season, we have practices 2 times a week and games, sometimes 3 games/week. Arabic classes on Mon and Wed, and team meeting on Mon late afternoon. Another meeting on Thurs about the people group. We praise the Lord for the car and health. Normally we get home around 6pm and go to bed at 8pm... long days but rewarding!!
We are so glad to be doing what we are doing now. Bring the Xtian influence to the kids lifes is great and we always try to tell them bible histories... David and Goliath, Jonah, 40 years in the desert and so on. so much fun!!!
Jessica is going to a womans retreat this weekend and we as "single for the weekend" guys are planning to play some Risk (one American, one German, one British and the Brazilian). May be we will go fishing on the Nile too, this are just plans.

Pictures. The women around here and the Market close to our home.

Night Life: Picnic in the Park

We had planned on a quiet supper at our flat to pray and talk, but were invited to an impromptu picnic by some friends. Excited to introduce our visitors from the states, we eagerly accepted the invite and started packing for the feast at the park.

There are numerous parks spread throughout the city- some developed with entrance fees and carnival-style rides (correction: VERY sketchy looking rides... um, safety checks??), while others are little patches of grass with a few benches scattered about. While on the whole they all look a bit rundown and uninviting, at night, these places are "hot spots" crawling with people- families with kids, blankets of friends, men, women, children, all sprawled out across the ground until all hours of the night.

We met at a rather developed park, with a ridiculous amount of life-risking kiddy rides, where parents would stuff their kids in frighteningly old _________ (Fill in the blank with any form of transport: planes/boats/cars, etc) without a second thought. We opted to steer clear of said rides and joined the countless number of families gathered on the grass. After spreading out some sheets, we lounged about, enjoying the cool night air and munching on typical American potluck food: potato salad, pasta salad, egg/tuna salad sandwiches, watermelon and cookies. It was a wonderfully pleasant night of connecting with friends.

Half-Marathon Update: We ran 9 miles on Friday... it was hot, we were tired and our legs felt like millstones. Otherwise it was a GREAT time! (note sarcasm) We are, however, enjoying being in "better shape", but our schedules and the mileage are beginning to wear on us... We're trying to hang in there!

Visa Update: Jess' passport was dropped off at the visa office yesterday. While the official said it would be ready in sa'a'een(2 hours); Eddy decided to forgo the wait and check back today. InshaAllah!

Photos: Our crew at the park... A close up of the tastey eats at our picnic... Us, a relaxing night with friends... Eddy, Mike and Peter... Uncle Eddy had little Hudson, Mike's 1 year old, during the eating time-- nothing like wet jeans covered with partially chewed food...