BRUSSELS

BRUSSELS!!

Thanks to our lovely housemate Haven, we were able to take a day off together and go into Brussels for the afternoon and evening. We were stoked...and maybe slightly scared. The thought of traipsing around a foreign city we'd never seen before was exciting. But the thought of getting on a train, speaking to a conductor and purchasing tickets and working through things we'd never done before was a little daunting. As we practically ran toward the train station we skipped going inside and went around the building directly to the platform. I worried that we were doing something wrong and were going to get in trouble...something I keep worrying about-getting in trouble for doing something unintentionally wrong in a city that speaks a different language and I won't be able to explain myself and I'll look like a fool and be hanged or something. Soo obviously in this made up tragic scenario of mine, no one here speaks English or has any grace towards foreigners, and they're all living in the 19th century when wayward cowboys were hanged. Hmm.

We sat on the train, paid the conductor for our tickets (he spoke English) and waited for our stop. Twenty-ish minutes later a sign said BRUSSELS-(and something else that I unfortunately cannot remember). So we hopped up and sped out of the train. Katina left me in her dust while I fumbled down the steep and shallow stairs, twisted my ankle and fell on my butt in front of only three people all of whom acted like they didn't see me. I wasn't sure whether to be thankful or offended... Having emerged at the top of the street we weren't recognizing anything as it had been described to us that it should look. We looked at a map and saw that the station we were at was in fact the wrong station. We'd gotten off too early. (On our way home we counted 5 stops too early.) We made a phone call and found out that things weren't so bad, we could actually walk to Grand Place from where we were, but it would take at least 30 minutes and we'd have to ask people on the street for directions. Ok, cool. We can do this. It's a pretty day, the buildings are super neat-o and the people seem nice. We picked a direction and began walking. We chose a subject. He was younger and dressed in a blue suit taking a smoke break outside a very tall, long building. "Pardon, est-ce vous parle anglais?" "Oui." Oh good! We're looking for Grand Place... "Unfortunately you are walking in the wrong direction." Ha! Of course we are. :) He was very kind and gave us decent directions. We were able to follow them for some time before asking a woman, standing on the sidewalk, bottle of water in hand, friendly looking, younger, a prime subject for my do you speak English question. She actually looked excited to speak in English with me. Had I invited her to lunch with us I think she would've come. She asked me for the time, I told her and we marched on. Onward into a world of little plazas with green meadows in the middle of the streets where statues were erected in the center and patrons lounged in groups huddled around their lunches. We passed a string of black cabs, cabbies eager to help us toward our goal and take our money, but we were determined, however, not to spend any transportation money but to use our God given means of transport.

We walked.

And we walked.

And walked some more.

Finally we sat down across from a random building to take a break from asking directions and of course from walking.

We're at this intersection

Across the street from this statue on one side.

And this building on the other side.

Statue of a boy...

Where we were sitting.

Finally we worked up the nerve to get up again, picked a direction and moved on, timidly at first but with growing confidence as the budding explorers that we are. We rounded the corner and found out we had been sitting feet from a royal palace! I didn't get close enough to get a picture, but I saw with my own eyes a building of palatial grandness with guards at the entrance and everything.

A brilliant church we found in our wanderings.

Just look at that ceiling.

Gargantuan lock

Colossal door

This must be the father from Fiddler on the Roof.
Of this I am convinced.

We reached this clock archway three minutes past the hour.
So we missed the production that had to have occurred at the strike of 3 o'clock.

We followed some ACCORDION music we heard and found these guys. Accordion music. In a country that speaks French. Played by a young Belgian man. Awesome.

You should've seen the accordion players jacket.
It totally looked like something from the 90's.

We stopped for lunch at the place across from the busking Belgian men and sat outside for half a sandwich each and shared a plate of salad and frites with the best mayonnaise dipped fries I've ever had...and I've never, ever, ever had mayo on my fries. Never. Ketchup is the king of fry all condiments in my opinion, but apparently when in another country those things that I find to be odd eating habits of other people must be tried.

We had seen this structure from a mile away, thought it looked interesting
and had been heading for it this entire time.

Turns out it was this awesome plaza.

And when I say awesome...

I really do mean we were in awe.

It's a large plaza with a 360 degree view of the most amazing architecture I've seen in my life.

In the picture above you can see all the flowers being sold. In August volunteers will create a huge carpet of flowers in the center of the plaza. The carpet is made every other year and from the gorgeous pictures I've found it looks breathtaking. Apparently it takes one million begonias to complete. I'm sad we won't be here to see it. 

It gives you a feeling of greatness and smallness simultaneously. 

Built in 1699
Ahem.
1699.

This was built in the 1400's.

The detail and precision and grandeur...I wish these pictures could capture them and the feeling we both had. Katina took a video of the view which captures it better than flat pictures. Maybe she'll upload it for you.

At this point my camera battery died.
:(

After looking around and feeling a sense of amazement, we went inside an information center and found out that this was indeed Grand-Place. We'd made it! :)

The rest of our afternoon and evening was spent wandering and discovering more of the fine area. We were enchanted. At dusk we grabbed some ice cream and followed our noses wherever we desired to go.We came to a beautiful arched shopping and restaurant area, followed the long open hallway for a while until it intersected and opened up to a street. We turned left and were so glad we did. Upon turning left we felt that we had entered into another world. It was a small passageway with restaurants on either side. The sky had turned dark and each restaurant was lit up with lanterns and twinkly lights. All the restaurants had patios and the waiters were all dressed in fancy outfits, standing at attention in the streets. We licked our ice cream as we walked down this enchanting avenue, came to the end of it and wanted to walk through again. "Are we back on earth?!" was Katina's response. We continued following the crowd to random streets, and when we were tired, decided to head back through Grand Place which was just as gorgeous and slightly more magical in the twilight.

Loved. It.

I wish I could communicate to you just how magical everything felt and how much it communicates to my heart an even greater desire to be with all things international. This desire was already there, but it continues to grow. People and relationships. Travel. Experience. Building a broader world view of what's out there. How people think. How they live, etc. I'm excited to see what comes of this adventure.

Midnight Shift

As the caregiver on call during the night I probably have the hard task of seeing Rebecca in the most pain. Since R can't move her body and lying in a bed flat all the time can have all sorts of repercussions we try to eliminate some of those issues by placing a body pillow on one side of her body so that she's tilted removing it when she's awake, and then at bed time we place the pillow under her body on the opposite side. One of the first tasks during mid-night turn is to take the pillow out and lay her flat again. Because of this shift in her position the rest of her body has to be physically moved by the caregiver so that it's in correct alignment. This can be a little difficult with the thousands of blankets we pile on top of her so that she's warm (imagine if you couldn't move in the night and pull the covers up closer to your head, or change positions, you'd probably be more apt to have a cold body temperature as well), but with Rebecca's help, if she's slightly awake, she can tell you if something's wrong so that she can be moved correctly. Most of the time it means pulling out a hip so that she's not laying on it, aligning her shoulders, moving the bolster to a different position under her knees, etc.

There was one particular evening that she was in a lot of pain. I wrote this in my journal about the incident:
Last night I was only called by Rebecca once (I keep a buzzer beside my bed at night so she can call if she needs me) and it was right before I was going down to turn her so it worked out fine. I had been sleeping, so I woke with a start and couldn't find my shoes. She kept ringing, so I knew I needed to hurry, but I didn't want to slip down the stairs. She was moaning when I came in, so I knew she was in pain. It really hurts my heart when she's in pain. For someone who's suffered much, to continue suffering in the way she does brings my eyes to tears. I rubbed her leg and ankle for a while. She took 5 Aleve and a big sleeping pill and 3/4 of another. As she was slowly reaching for her pile of sleeping pills next to her alarm clock (we keep a pile of already chopped up pills on a table that we place next to her bed so that if she needs them she can reach down and bring one up to her mouth) she said, 'this is so painful'. She went on to say that it didn't hurt, it's just painstakingly difficult. To work that hard to reach for a pill and then slowly and difficulty bring it up to my mouth is something I've never had to do. It brought that familiar liquid to my eyes as I watched her. I told her as I was about to leave that I'd be praying for her and she said, "Oh! Yes, come, let's pray...are you going to have a hard time falling asleep after this?" Oh! What grace and love the Father has given her to share with others. She then prayed and thanked God for pain and prayed that we would both be able to sleep well through the rest of the night. Aside from me lying awake thinking about it all, we both slept well. She never rang for me again and in the morning she'd forgotten about having any pain. I guess that's one of God's graces towards her.

I remember being afraid that her pain was a result of me positioning her wrong during bed time. I have fears that something I do will result in her pain, but she's assured me that her life (and death) are not in our hands but in the hands of our loving Father. As Rebecca said 'Thank you Lord for pain" in her prayer, my thoughts were, Uh, what? Thank you Lord for pain? My heart was hurting to watch her in this pain and she's thanking God for it? As I rested on my pillow that night I asked the Lord wasn't it enough that she was in so much pain when the accident initially happened? Wasn't pain through recovery enough? Why must she continue to be in pain? My thoughts in my journal the next day read like this: Lord, it hurts to see her in pain. I know it must hurt you too. It must pain you to see your own children suffer, and yet, You know there is more to it than just physical pain. Paul was able to say that all his troubles and afflictions were temporary, fleeting and nothing compared to the coming glory. Nothing. They don't compare. They don't hold a candle to all that will be better. The pains here, prepare us for the coming glory. God's given her so much joy and she's touched so many lives as a result of the pain she's been through and the pain she continues to go through. (Had she not experienced this pain I would not be here.) She's experienced God's love, grace, comfort and strength to a greater extent than I have. Her fellowship in His suffering is more mature than my own. She sits quietly before God's throne in confidence that He takes care of her, giving thanks in everything. This is a thankful heart. Without these pains she would not be the person she is today. And because God allows her this pain, I see it and others see it, and He is glorified and worshiped in our hearts because of it.

I think God does some of His finest work through pain. No, I don't think He enjoys inflicting pain upon His children, He's not malicious, but His concern is that His children are shaped in His image, refined to His glory so that we might better behold Him. His grace and His mercies and His power are seen in a new light amidst and after pain. We can praise the God of sovereignty, power and creation along with Job. Even when circumstances aren't understood, we can understand that the God who is sovereign over all of them has acted in love, for His glory and our good. Think about it...His biggest act of love for His people (equally an act of power and glory) was an act that caused His own Son the most pain imaginable...

Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant? If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, he who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying.           

2 Corinthians 11:24-31

Therefore we do not despair, but even if our physical body is wearing away, our inner person is being renewed day by day. For our momentary, light suffering is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison because we are not looking at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen. For what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

First Day Off!

March 15, 2012

Since it was my day off I chose to wear one of my favorite new shirts. It's a slightly silky button down shirt and has blue and yellow birds all over it. Super cute. I paired it with one of my skinny jeans, my cute walking shoes from REI, and I have my hair pulled to the side in a side pony tail. By all means I look pretty cute, (if I do say so myself) but I am a stark contrast to all these people here in Chateau du Lac. Everyone is nicely dressed in suit pants, button down shirts and ties, and they're all dressed in dark colors--my usual colors of choice, black, grey and white. But, today I'm the canary among penguins. I'm actually slightly amused. I've ordered something with vegetables and pasta...I think... and I asked them to add chicken.

The view is lovely. To my right are arched windows and outside the windows the lake is glittering in the sunlight. The first whole day of sun we've had in almost two weeks! And God has blessed me with the sun on my day off. :) Today I am joyful. Today, I am thankful.

I was worried to go into the chateau. Worried that I wasn't dressed well enough and worried that I wouldn't be able to understand them, or they me. However, so far it's worked out! No one seems to be staring at me too much. Whether or not they're talking about me, however, I can't tell. ;)

I snuck a picture while no one was looking.
With lunch eaten, I am consuming bread hot out of the oven.
The dish did *not* have pasta...in case you were wondering. 

Delicious! I've been reading A Gospel Primer, by Milton Vincent as I've been waiting. I love this book! Right now I'm on page 20-21, "Resting in Christ's Righteousness" and "Enslaved by Christ's Righteousness".

"The gospel encourages me to rest in my righteous standing with God, a standing which Christ Himself has accomplished and always maintains for me. I never have to do a moment's labor to gain or maintain my justified status before God! Freed from the burden of such a task, I now can put my energies into enjoying God, pursuing holiness, and ministering God's amazing grace to others.

The gospel also reminds me that my righteous standing with God always holds firm regardless of my performance, because my standing is based solely on the work of Jesus and not mine. On my worst days of sin and failure, the gospel encourages me with God's unrelenting grace toward me. On my best days of victory and usefulness, the gospel keeps me relating to God solely on the basis of Jesus' righteousness and not mine." --Milton Vincent

Good stuff. Page 21 is equally as good.

I couldn't eat all of it, it was so rich. 

Now I'm having chocolate mousse. So. Yummy. I can't help wondering what the waiters think of me! If feels somewhat comical, though I am now quite comfortable and don't feel as awkward. They're sweet and seem kind. I'm pretty sure that was an almost $50 dinner...

I then spent two to three hours roaming the town. I'm pretty sure I covered most of Genval.

There's a pottery painting store on the left
and a clothing store with Levi's, Lee's, etc on the right.

I actually went in one of these stores and was told it was exclusive
and I needed an invitation by someone to get in.
Fine. Phhhhbbbt.
Rebecca told me later that I could've used her name to get in. 

So I went to the grocery store next door where I was pretty sure
I couldn't be kicked out. This, dear friends is the chocolate aisle. So many to choose from. 

I like the packaging on these the best.

But it's easier to understand what they actually are
when there are pictures...

I may end up going here simply because there's a word
I very well understand, advertising what they sell.
Sandwiches. I like those. 

At home with my chocolate.
I made an educated guess that this was milk chocolate
with possibly --I was hoping-- almonds in it. 

SCORE!!!!!!

I'd gotten so sweaty on my walk that I had to remove my bird shirt upon coming back to my room. (Don't worry...I had another shirt on underneath!)

I've adapted so completely to life in New Mexico that I am no longer used to humidity. 

Savoring my chocolate! 

Today I felt very much like a foreigner. I speak hardly any French and roaming around in a French speaking town without a native or someone who knows the language can be somewhat difficult. (But, because of our earlier failed attempts to find the lake I knew the main streets and how to get back to them.) I found myself thinking that what I was experiencing might be in some ways how international students feel when they come to our cities to study. They have no car, often don't know anyone and must find their way alone. I found myself wishing a few times to just have a friend to talk to. Or even for someone along the sidewalk to stop and have a conversation. It definitely strengthened my love for 'foreigners' to our own country. (I've made a few really lovely friends that I cherish by mingling with international students.) Today, I was the foreigner.

Other than my misuse of a few French words today, I really had a lovely time!

I'm glad for my chocolate, the lovely walk, the exercise, the sunshine, the can of coke I bought at the bookstore across from the train station, the flower shop I passed, the ducks at the lake, the sweet waiters at Chateau du Lac, my delicious lunch, and for coming back to a home of people excited to see me after a day on the town.

A Struggle to be Thankful

Praise be to God, the Most High God who knows all things and has created all things. By Him and to Him and through Him are all things. He has answered prayer and given us both a great love for both Rebecca and Paul. Rebecca now kisses us goodnight on the cheek every night before bed. At the end of three months our relationship will be very strong.

That said, I'm struggling today. The tasks are now becoming more routine and they aren't as hard as they used to be (praise God!). God has made us quick to learn and we've done some things we never thought we'd be able to do. However, now that the tasks are a little easier, the schedule is still tiring and I'm failing at being thankful. 

I have this thing we often call cabin fever; in my family we say we're 'stir crazy'.. I hate being in one place for several days. When I'm out and about all day, every day of the week, (going back and forth between work and home, then back to church for events and such) it's nice to come home and stay home one day and not leave ALL day. But when I'm stuck at home for more than a day and a half (or less) I go crazy and get antsy. I want to be outside. I want to go...

We're not often out of the house much here, and when we are it's for a very short time. We've had three, one hour long outings so far. --And actually, I ought to be thankful for those quick opportunities to be out of the house, so, thank you Lord for giving me three undeserved opportunities to be outside--All three we were aiming for the local lake--Lac du Genval. On our  first 'adventures' we ended up going the opposite way we should've gone and ended up confused and irritated...but at least we were out. 

On our first intended lake outing, we went the exact opposite direction we needed to go and ended up in the next village over fairly close to another lake, but didn't have time to get all the way there and be back in time. We passed by a lovely soccer field, some lovely Belgian men and stopped to take a pic or two to show that we'd done something in Belgium. ;) Apart from the disappointment of not going where we'd intended we kept our spirits up and had a good time. At least we were in Belgium, right?

We made it to a soccer field! Yay!

On our seconded outing destined for the lake we found our way to the town center, found a map, picked a street and ended up going 30 minutes the wrong way...again. Then it started raining. And we kept walking. And looking. We'd packed our lunches so that we could be picturesque by the lake: cute Americans trying to disguise that fact that we were foreigners, blend in, look pretty of course, maybe meet some people (when at which point we could of course no longer disguise our non-Belgian-ness) and just have a lovely time. But...we didn't. We'd gone the wrong way and were wandering in the rain, both of us being lightly soaked as neither of us had an umbrella or were smart enough for some reason to put on our jackets when it first started raining.

Wet hair. Not happy.

At this point we were both very grumbly, cranky, and mean  to each other. Finally, I began praying out loud just as I was...grumbly and irritated and...wet. I began acknowledging that though our plan had been to get to the lake, it wasn't our Father's. We asked Him to lead our steps. We thanked God that He knew our way and was in control of the situation. By the time we'd gotten back to the map we had just enough time to get back to the house. But we'd decided to make the way back home kinda fun so we took notice of the architecture around us and took a few pics.
(You can see more pics on Katina's blog here.)

I liked this wall

Strollin the streets

Checking the map to see what we'd done wrong

We came back to the house kind of defeated, but glad we'd taken the opportunity to work at being thankful.

Today we went out again. We had less than an hour and we were determined that this was going to be the day that we made it to the lake. We did! But unfortunately the whole way there I was very ungrateful. I had planned on more time than we ended up having, but we did have to rush. I feel like every time we've been able to get out we've had to rush. I wanted to savor and enjoy, instead we're practically at a canter trying to reach our destination, see it, and go back. I saw everything with a veil of discontentment. The sky is grey. It's not that pretty. We have to hurry. Can we slow down. Why do you (Katina) get to take pictures and slow down when you want and I just have to hurry to keep up with you...Oh, that's the chateau? Huh. (I bet it's more exciting to go inside and is probably prettier in the spring.) Let's go a little further, oh no, we can't we have to turn around to make it back in time. Ugh. Discontentment is so exhausting. (And so is idealism... :/ )

But so is working at being thankful. That means taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. Every. Thought. Examining every motive. Examining every thought. The past two days I've been writing down verses in the Bible that have to do with thankfulness. I get so frustrated because I feel like it's not sinking in...not changing me immediately. ;) Why can't I read a verse and be automatically changed?! Ha. That's silly. Because it's a journey! A journey and a relationship with Christ, who does the work, who moves and changes my heart. Yes, submitting is hard. But it's His blood that makes a change in me even a possibility.

Here are a few of my favorites of the verses I gleaned on thankfulness:

Let them thank the Lord for His steadfast love, 

for His wondrous works to the children of man! 

For He satisfies the longing soul, 

and the hungry soul He fills with good things.

 Psalm 107:8-9

The Lord is good to all and His mercy is over all that He has made.

All your works shall give thanks to You, O LORD,

and all Your saints shall bless You!

Psalm 145:9-10

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances,

for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord,

knowing that in the Lord,  your labor is not in vain.

1 Corinthians 15:57-58

And as I was looking through these and more I spotted a few on weakness/strength and works:

I will praise the name of God with a song;

I will magnify Him with thanksgiving.

This will please Him more than an ox or a bull with horns and hoofs.

Psalm 69:30-31

...His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor His pleasure in the legs of a man,

but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him,

in those who hope in His steadfast love.

Psalm 147:10-11

Would you pray for me that I would work by Christ's strength to be more thankful? That even when I am not able to do the things that God has recently revealed to me I see as rights (exercising daily, having time by myself [I tell you what, I often feel like a new mother having to adjust to giving her time solely to others], having freedom to get out of the house, finishing whatever I'm doing at the time, having my own room, etc.) and I feel a little crazy when I don't have them, pray that I would have contentment, and I would have joy and that I would mentally think through whatever I'm feeling, pinpoint my sinful thoughts and submit them under Christ's Lordship.

This week will be our first week with a day off. I'm taking Thursday and Sister's taking Friday. We'll be roaming the city by ourselves, I guess. It may feel  lonely or it may be exactly what we need. (Time alone for a long while sounds really nice right now.) ;)

Until later, love you all. Thanks for keeping up with us. Let us know how you're doing!

Kayla

My Time is Not My Own

I believe today is our 4th whole day in Belgium. Quite honestly it feels like it's been an eternity....it has been tres difficile. This is the most rigid schedule we've ever been on and we're hardly getting any sleep because of jet-lag. Last night was the first time Sis and I really had a conversation since we've been here. Since we both have different tasks, or are doing them at the same time, we are hardly alone, and when in our room we're so tired that we're trying our best to sleep.

 We are realizing that our time is not our own. We cannot do whatever we want to do, whenever we want to do it. As Katina said, "We have to do only what we have to do". It's a very difficult thing to come to terms with. I must admit, sometimes I"m not happy about it in my heart. I want more sleep, to eat whatever the heck I want (Chick-fil-A y'all) I want to be alone, to be with my sister, I don't always want to get up when I'm called, I want to exercise, I want to go outside and I want to see the city. (Stop complaining, is what the Lord said to me as I was writing this in my journal.)

And yet, the Lord is still with me. He gives grace for every moment. He gives me strength when I am tired and feel like I can't do anything else. He keeps me from fainting, and I mean that quite literally! He's helped me to handle emptying a pee bag, to help change a diaper, to endure the smells, etc. (I've yet to do the actual changing. They're being kind and letting us work up to that.) He's sustained me and given me life and breath, strength enough for each day.

"Why do you say, O Jacob and speak, O Israel, 'My way is hidden from the LORD, and my right is disregarded by my God'? Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might He increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they that wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not be faint."

Isaiah 40:27-31

Ok, let's be frank here. We Americans are very protective of our rights. We have expectations that must be met and our lives, boy, are our lives all about ourselves. But the time we're given on this earth was not meant for our pleasure in of ourselves. That pleasure fades. That pleasure dies and brings about our own death. The Creator of time has given me a small chunk of time on this earth. The time He's given me belongs solely to Him. I am to be about His work. As Jesus' time on earth was for a purpose, just as His words were not His own, but the Father's, so it should be in my own life. This truth is hard to surrender to. This truth makes me sacrifice my own wants and "my" time, in order to do as I'm told. I do serve a master either way and only one Master leads to life. 

Right now, this is what I've been asked to do. It is for my good. 

Father, change me. 

When Overwhelmed, Grace Abounds

We're here! In Belgium. Holy cow.
(At this point Mom would say cows aren't holy. Indeed, they are not.)

Yesterday and today we've been getting the low down on the schedule and all the tiny yet numerous details that go into this "job". There's sooooo much to learn. Today when one of the nurses came, I jumped right in to help and felt so overwhelmed (and the tasks aren't that hard...it's just so detailed and completely foreign to us and FAR out of our comfort zones that it is really, really taxing) that I began crying when finished. I was told we were doing a great job, but while doing it, when uncertain of a new thing, I felt so timid, so wrong.

Everything is different here. The food (some of you would love the cheese; it's very french, very rich and smells oh my gosh it smells-I can't stand it), the smells, the toilets and bathrooms, houses, language, people, just blasted everything. Part of that is beginning to appeal to me. I think once the shock is over, I'll really enjoy it here. It truly is beautiful. But for now, often, I miss home, my family, my friends.

Yesterday Jordan took us to the larger grocery store in Waterloo. (Yup, the very place where Napoleon was defeated.) It's called Carre Four. French, everywhere. (I so wish I knew more French.) Nothing is in logical (to us) order. The cheese aisle stinks so badly. ;) BUT one of the beauties of the grocery store is the wonderfully delightful BREAD AISLE! Fresh loaves lined up in bins, baked daily. Oh my goodness. The glory. The aroma. The FRESHNESS!

Shoppers choose their bread, then take it to a slicer, bag it and take it home. 

I have hope that things will get better. Already I feel slightly less overwhelmed. The people are kind and patient and have done this a million other times with other caregivers. God is so gracious and gives strength when we are so so weak. I crave His word and His grace.

Until next time here are a few pictures:

On our first plane ride this was the curtain separating us from first class.
Our feet were in first class the entire trip, however.
Stickin' it to the man.

The Petrie's house

                                                   

The steep stairs where Rebecca fell

I was slightly superstitious about the stairs when we first got here. I had a fear of falling down them myself, but that's all been taken care of as I accomplished that the first day  here...I was wearing socks and slipped on the last four stairs. Don't worry. I'm ok. :)

The views on our street.

Until later, much love and thank you! for your prayers. :) Pray that the Lord helps us to learn quickly and that He would develop sweet love and fellowship between us and Rebecca. I don't think it will be too hard to develop.

This morning at 7 when I helped get her up and ready for breakfast she invited me to watch the birds with her. In the morning she is raised from her bed into her chair. She then has us feed the birds by putting seed on the window sill and the feeder just outside the window so they can eat while she has her Quiet Time with the Father. The Petrie's have a beautiful garden (backyard) where everything is green and the birds dwell in abundance. Rebecca has a few that stay around all day and feed from her window. Rebecca can already tell that I love being outside. She said that every time the garden is spoken of my eyes light up, so she invited me to stay a few minutes to watch the birds feed. Only one was brave enough to come as I stood there. He was a beautiful, small bird with black and white feathers. Rebecca calls him Charlie.

She has such a tender heart. I'm very much looking forward to getting to know her.