We arrived here about a week and a half ago and the climate here has been something to adjust to - much hotter and much more humid than we were used to at our language study location! We are settled into temporary quarters for 9 weeks and then move again into our "more permanent" home. We received the first of two shipments of our things already and have repacked most of it for unpacking later, as the home we're in now is already furnished. *Please pray that the other shipment would arrive in a timely fashion - we sent it via the post office!
Some things we're adjusting to right now:
1. Josh going back to work - in language study he was at school with me, or at home with the family, unless he was out talking with people, buying fruit, or on his bicycle. Now he's in the office daily with regular hours and I'm home schooling the kids and keeping Julia busy, so that's a switch. *Please pray that Josh will catch on to his new duties quickly.
2. Tribal church - during our last month of study we mostly learned about the local church and "spiritual terminology" and vocabulary so that we could be comfortable joining the church body here in town. We attended our second service in all local language this morning and we definitely still have some studying to do before we can fully participate. *Please pray that we will continue to make the effort to study language and interface with local people deliberately to not lose the ground we've already gained in the language.
3. Temperature/Electricity - we are thankful for air conditioners in our bedrooms as we would have a hard time sleeping if we didn't have them. The power is off and on depending on the day (sometimes a few times in a day) so a/c is not a given. There are scheduled power-off days and unscheduled power-off days. Today the power went off in the morning (unscheduled) and just came back on about 15 minutes ago. (We have a generator that can support us running fans so that is a total blessing!) It was 86 degrees F /30 degrees C in the bedroom that felt the coolest. We try to drink a lot so as not to get dehydrated. We could change clothes several times a day here to stay dry.
4. Mosquitos - there are a lot here, and there were no bugs at our last place. The mosquitos here can carry dengue fever in the daytime and the nighttime kind can carry malaria though neither are a HUGE risk. It's taking some self-discipline to remember to put bug spray on the kids when they're playing outside. *Please pray for health for us as we settle in.
5. People - there are people around all the time - both English-speaking and local language-speaking. The guest house has been full every day since we got here. That changes the dynamics of our lifestyle. *Please pray for wisdom for us as parents that we'd be aware of our kids and what they're doing with all that's going on!
6. New place, new roads, new stores, getting around
We've already had 6 hours of orientation and more to come (a little every day). We're learning about our region, our country, our org and the history of it in this region, about our sponsoring board and more exciting things like that. Josh obviously is learning all sorts of things I have no clue about. 
My training for the guest house is still a few weeks away so I'm taking the time to (hopefully) finish home school with Spencer before that starts.
My training for the guest house is still a few weeks away so I'm taking the time to (hopefully) finish home school with Spencer before that starts.
Some highlights:
- I drove a car for the first time since July 31st 2006 - on Friday. It was stick shift - not new to me - and on the "wrong" side of the car. On the up side, everything was where it should be otherwise, except for the blinker and the windshield wiper controls!! (Yes, just picture it! :) ) I intend to practise a bit more before I actually consider myself a driver here. It's kind of hard to gauge where the left front corner of the car is. Thankfully people don't really care if you drive slowly and honking is not an offense here so that doesn't bother me. Mostly they just drive around you. Even so, I'd hate to hit a motorbike. *Please pray for safety while we drive here.
-We have had the opportunity to have dinner with almost all of our new co-workers, so that's been a treat. The kids will have a number of little friends here. *Please pray that we would develop good relationships with our co-workers as they will also be family to us.
-Better internet - we've had more contact with family since we got here - we're thankful!
-God is good all the time and He keeps taking such good care of us here. Nothing has been TOO bad (except the smell of the fish Josh grilled last night - phew!) and most things have been really good. 
Thanks so much for praying with us! We truly could not be here without you, many of our faithful friends and supporters, lifting us up in prayer every day. (The picture here on the bottom is the boys showing off BandAids sent in a care package from our home church's women's group! Thanks, ladies!)
Late one afternoon as part of our orientation, we took a ride on a boat.
Laundry time and bath time all in one.
Look, Mom!
Check out the structure on the right - not sure what hit it but it's seen better days.
Check out how thin this man's wrists are.
The river is their life, this is their sidewalk!
Two boys happy to be out on the (relatively cooler) river.
The white building is a place of worship.
Laundry time and bath time all in one.
Look, Mom!
Check out the structure on the right - not sure what hit it but it's seen better days.
Check out how thin this man's wrists are.
The river is their life, this is their sidewalk!
Two boys happy to be out on the (relatively cooler) river.
The white building is a place of worship.
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