What Next?

Already September... where did the summer go? Time seems to flying by and, funny, we're still here... Stateside... waiting. It has definitely been a time of gracious refinement. While we do have some tentative plans, nothing has been finalized, as we want to ensure that our Care Team and sending church are with us and "on board" with these plans. As of yet, I, Jess, have no visa with which I can return to the Sand Box with. And we as a family, we have been feeling not quite as peaceful about heading back- with uncertainty looming in the country's future, a big move to a much more remote location mixed with our desire to have another child... Something is leaving us with a nagging caution. We are praying and waiting. We know where we want to be and what we'd like to be doing; it's just a matter of timing. As soon as we have some confirmation and clarification about our thoughts, we'll fill you all in.

Otherwise, Eddy has been painting for a friend and feels exhausted and spent- which equals "awesome" in his mind! He loves providing for his family in a practical way- and we do too!

Benjamin is fast approaching his first birthday. We can't believe it-- one year-- so fast... too fast! He's hardly our "baby" anymore, more like our little toddler, minus the "little", weighing in at 27#... yikes! It's time for you to start walking, kiddo!

And me, well, I'm taking care of said toddler and our house, and trying to prepare our family for what's next... And if Eddy stops painting, then I'll start looking for some temp nursing jobs.

Photos: Our one day at a MN lake- "Lake Riley Beach", which, by the way, had officially "closed" for the season the day before- um, seriously??? ... Ben's first Fishing With Dad experience- not a big fan of the slippery lil' fella... And Ben's first boating excursion, and yes, that life jacket totally fit... And last, but most definitely not least, Ben's first MN State Fair Experience! (And probably his last, as it costs so much to get in... ugh!)

Out West

We've been in MT & WY visiting family and friends for the past few weeks. It's been overall very refreshing to be away from the city and surrounded by fields, mountains and wildlife. There's something about the beauty of nature that puts our minds at ease. *sigh*

But reality does coming crashing in occasionally... We got word a few days ago that my (Jess) visa through the community development organization was not approved by the government. This was difficult news to receive. We were hoping that there would be no problems and we'd be back in the Land-o-Sand in just 2-4 months. Unfortunately, this was not the case. No reason was given for my visa refusal. The Organization will try again in a few weeks.

This leaves us a bit more uncertain. We're not sure if it will ever be approved or when. We're not sure when they will re-apply and for how long it will take. We're not sure where we should go in the meantime, hoping it will be approved, but wondering if it won't. Do we stay in MN? Do we road-trip more, focusing more specifically on support raising? Do we take this time to visit Eddy's family and try to get me a different visa from the consulate there? Do we get jobs as a form of tent-making while we're waiting?

There are a lot of questions, and for right now, not a lot of answers. Eddy and Ben still have visas to return, and will have to before Dec. 1st, or risk losing them. We are trusting God implicitly to guide us during this uncertain time. We know that he has a plan and it's a good one! We just need to be reminded, often daily, that this is truth and worrying about the unknowns will profit us nothing... sometimes easier said than done!

Please continue to pray for us, as the nebulousness of it all is a bit exhausting. I think I never realized just how stressful it is to live in complete uncertainty or just how peaceful it is to have some stability. It's definitely taking a toll on our sanity!

Photos: The road-trip thus far... Red Lodge, MT with my brother's family, Yellowstone with my mom and family time with my mom and dad...

Second of the Day

Is all about the big guy of the house... BEN!He is 9 and 1/2 months and so cute!!! We are working on crawling, but seems like he is not ready yet! he can do a "military crawl" but not on his knees... He goes around a little but not that far... as soon as he gets tired (which doesn't take long) he lay his head on the floor and take a little rest...When we go get him after his naps or in the morning, he is normally on his bailey looking at the door. As soon as he see us, he put his head down and try to show us that he didn't know we were coming.
What adorable child!!!The waving is another thing that we are trying to get out of him. He can wave to himself but not to others yet. He is eating quite a bit and sometimes the bottle is not his favorite... he wants FOOD!

Standing is fun, when we go down on the floor with him, he can "climb" on us wanting to look what is on behind us...And he loves the soccer ball, plays and wants to eat it at all costs....
The best is with other kids around, he just loves child... always laughing and giggles to them.
We love our Benjamin!!!!

Wedding West

What a beautiful day for a wedding and what a sweet couple. I went to Oregon to be a part of Jason's and Melissa wedding.

What a fun time....

And I had a chance of seeing some supporters, Church and some most dear friends!!!

Jess stayed in MN wit her Mom and Ben. The Bachelor's party was a ride on the dunes on the Oregon Coast. A BLAST!!!!

Funny is that it was the first time that I stayed a part from Ben and I never felt that way... I missed him so much!!!

On the wedding party had a little baby and ev ery time I look at the baby I just wanted to hold her... I just couldn't wait to get home.

As soon as i got home, I went and held him... He was almost sleeping, but I just didn't care... He grew up in 5 days...

I love my son!!! !

We still waiting for Jes's visa to come

through... We will be leaving to MT and WY this week to visit Jes's family that are there for vacation.

July 4th and World Cup Final

It is incredible to be in a Country with freedom and be able to be around with friends and see that most of the things around us are well cared for.
So, we were with some friends here in Minnesota for a dinner and fireworks after. Ben did great with both. He loved the fireworks and they didn't scared him at all. I think he got a little bored after almost 15 minutes of lights and "boom" sounds though!

After a month of soccer, 32 teams and 64 games the World Cup came for its end. For Jess a relief of sports watching in home. For Eddy, 4 years will be a long wait for the next World Cup (in Brazil). For Ben... well he didn't understand much of what was going on and most of the time he was taking his naps... but anyway, for Ben it was something new.

We have Jess's Mom here with us for a couple of weeks, which is such a blessing to have her! She has been traveling on the "main land" since April and will go back to Hawaii at the end of August.
Eddy will be going to a wedding in Salem on July 15th than at the en of July we will be going to Montana and Wyoming to visit family, Churches and friends.

We are just waiting for our approval of the visa to come through and then we will be returning to the Sand Box as soon as we have the permit for Jess. She will start working with an Aid Organization managing projects with wells and dam construction in a remote area of the country.
Eddy will be looking for opportunities of opening the ice cream shop and connecting with the tribe. Our commitment with the Aid Organization is for two years.

Blessings to you all!!!!

Summer!

This is just a quick post to say that we.... LOVE SUMMER HERE! At least "here", in the states, where we can walk out our front door dressed in any manner of clothing... Where we have a park located not even a 1/8 of a mile away...

Where there are soccer fields, baseball diamonds, water fountains, playgrounds, restrooms... and families and kids playing together in this incredibly green and gorgeous place! And Ben loves it too...

Otherwise we are working on our newsletter, planning the rest of our time here with meetings and church visits and somehow preparing for our quickly approaching return to the Sand Box... although that date is still uncertain- most likely Aug/Sept. And, of course, we're trying our best to keep up with the World Cup... Go Brazil!!

Back in Minnesota and waiting for visas...

After a 6 days trip to Turkey and over 30 hours of traveling, we are back in Minnesota. Turkey was great!!! What a great place to go and visit. So much of history and so much to see around. We stayed in Istanbul only(the Golden Horn) but, from there we could go around and the old city walls. Palace,Market, Blue Mosque, Sofia Church(Mosque, Museum), Black Sea, Bosphorus Straight and so much more.

I was sick for too days with a horrible bug in my guts, so it wasn't fun at all!! After I went to the hospital and got a IV the rain started to come. So we had few less days than we planned.

Now in MN, we are just re adjusting to time (we just did that 2 months ago). Ben

is doing great, wakes up around 3:30am and he

is ready to go. We are trying to keep him in bed but he know that noise calls our attention. And sleep with a "Dah dah dah" next room is not fun.

He is almost 8 months and we just counted how many flights he has been on.WOW, 21 flight he too on this short life of his. What a trooper!!!.

Now, we are waiting for Jess' visa approval for

we go back to the Land of Sand. Because she will be work

ing with the NGO, the visa has to be under them and not Eddy Ice Cream. As soon as

it is approved, we have a month to go back. Got our tickets, we will have just to adjust the date, close the house here in MN and pack again. (Sometimes we get a little tired of packing and un-packing... but it is part of life!).

We are excited about what God is going to do in the new city that we are moving too in Africa. It is where the majority of the tribe is located and coordinated well buildings and dams for people that have no water is just amazing. With that the opportunity to start some health programs and be more influential in the Community. Our commitment with this NGO is 2 years.

Blessings to you all and thank you for all of your prayers!

Back from the East

Here are a few pics from our time out east... Eddy's passport was finally issued and then his visas were miraculously approved- literally within a few days. Some friends had gone out before us and were unexpectedly asked to leave the area, as they apparently did not have the right permits. This actually allowed us some extra time to acquire the right permits and get Eddy's visa... And finally, we, along with a khawaja friend and our Vancouver duo, made our way out to the Red Sea.

Ben on the plane... trying to "fit-in" a bit...

I'm hoping to write more later, when I've had time to really ponder all that has happened, all that God has done. It was a great time and we consider it a huge success. Ben was an absolute champ, coming with us in some of the most severe heat and humidity we've experienced! What a blessing to us!

We'll be leaving the sand-box here in a couple days, traveling through Turkey for some random sight-seeing and arriving in MN around the 8th. We thank you all for your prayers and support- we have had an incredible and miraculous time these past few months and are eager to see how God will continue to lead us into his perfect will, back here in the fall.

Visiting some ruins of the old port, formerly one of the largest slave-trade ports in Africa... Ben has eaten and napped in some interesting places!

We had our morning tea, jabana (coffee, locally made with roasted ginger) and zalabia (doughnut balls) down the street from our hotel... this was our friendly tea lady.

On the road outside of town- different nomadic tribes...

Drinking jabana one night with a local friend, a teacher from the public school overheard us and asked us to come teach an English class... Heng-zi is a French teacher in Canada and did a great job! The flash cards they used are made out of glue and sand/dirt... use what you have!

The local jabana spot... you remove your shoes, sit on large woven mats and sip scalding, spicy-sweet coffee... We were the only women patrons... it didn't take long for crowds to gather...

Ben was quite the attraction... or at least the stroller was! We were stopped constantly and when we did take a moment to look at things, large crowds gathered and gazed at Ben. We think they thought he was sick and that the stroller was some sort of gurney...?

I came out of one stall and had no trouble finding Eddy and Ben...

Passport Fun!

Coming to Africa, we knew that Eddy would need to renew his soon-to-be expired Brazilian passport. We made the decision to wait until here, our thinking being that the embassy here would be more adept and perhaps faster on issuing a new one than an embassy in the states... as there are only about 45 Brazilians in this country. Well, unfortunately, we were very wrong. The passport system has changed and the new system isn't working correctly. Surprise! After multiple calls, visits and "sit-ins", of sorts, there is "nothing more we can do". What?! Correct us if we are wrong, but isn't that one of the whole points of having an embassy in a foreign country?

So, Eddy's business visa process is on hold, as the government here will not re-issue his visa in an expiring passport. Eddy's passport apparently "cannot be renewed"- as the system, in place since the beginning of April, is not functioning. Eddy cannot travel anywhere in or out of the country until said passport is renewed. Hmmmm... quite the predicament!

Our "plans", held extremely loosely at this point, were to go out East for some planning this next week, after some friends from Canada arrive. It looks like I, Jess, will be going without Eddy and Benjamin. We were also "planning" on flying out of the sand box on June 2nd. And ultimately, I will have to leave the country as my visa has changed and I must leave by June 10. Leaving Eddy and Benjamin here? Hmmmm... interesting...

As I write this, Eddy is participating in another "sit-in" at the Embassy, having done a bit more research on the role of Embassies and emergency procedures for passports. It "seems" like he's making an impact as the ambassador said he "never wants to see him again". Issue him a passport, Mr. Ambassador, and you won't!

Please Pray!

Photos: Benjamin!... And buddy, Hudson... Dad and Ben taking our new wheels for a spin (seat belt laws don't really exist here)... At the pool with wonderful Khawaja friends...

Welcome Joy!

We had the opportunity a few nights ago to visit some local friends who had recently had a little baby girl. (She is just 3 days old here in these photos- just a tiny little one!) We were eager to meet her and congratulate the parents, friends with a similar passion working hard to plow up this hard desert ground.

Her name is Joy and we made sure she got some time with the other babies in our life. They all welcomed her and we shared some time holding this precious little gift.

A few days after this visit, little Joy came down with a high fever and stopped eating. Here in the land of sand, it is estimated that the infant mortality rate is 1:4. This is one of the highest mortality rates in the world. With extreme temperatures, poor medical facilities and the presence of many deadly diseases, newborns and infants are up against some incredibly powerful adversaries. Ensuring their health is of the utmost importance these first few weeks and months of life.

But even then, with all the good intentions and careful monitoring, sometimes the basic health care just isn't available. This is an incredibly frustrating and grave reality that as westerners we can't even fully comprehend. Even with our supposedly "flawed" health care system, you and I can walk into any hospital in any city and receive some of the best medical treatment in the world... pretty much no matter what. Here, even the simplest care is just not available. We were reminded of this painful reality last year when this amazing couple lost their first-born son, after only a few precious months of life.

With this painful history, the parents, Aboud and Nani, did their best to find a decent clinic where Joy was examined and admitted to receive IV fluids and antibiotics. Eddy and I stopped by several times to ensure she was being properly treated, but she ended up being "discharged" the next day. This was a bit premature in our opinions, and showing some concern, found a doctor friend who volunteered to make a house call for them. Long story short, Joy seems to have rounded the corner and is doing much better. The fever has gone and she is eating and sleeping well. We praise God for his provision and protection in this circumstance and continue to pray that Joy grows and develops well!

Visa News: We got a call a few days ago from our visa guy, Mohammed, who said that our visas were almost ready... still no word yet, but it looks promising!

NGO Update: For those of you who haven't heard, I, Jess, have accepted an offer to work with an NGO here. They have projects started in our focus area, with our focus people and are looking for someone to manage these and other development projects. I have tentatively accepted the offer and am now waiting for the government approval and eventual change in visa-- oh joy! As soon as our business visas are approved, I then do a final "exit visa", to terminate it. Then re-apply under the new NGO visa... ahhhh... the visa saga never ends! We'll let you know more details about the NGO as things develop!

Photos: Visiting Joy and her family... Babies!... Eddy and Mike, a good friend, and kids!... Ben and Aboud, Joy's father... Ben and Eddy playing...