Squatty Potty...

Neighborhood street

Our Squatty Potty

Countryside house

Our hotel

Our Room, My bed

OUR HOMESTUDY HAS BEEN APPROVED!! Yea!! That means that we need to raise the rest of the $18,000 ASAP!! I know that God knows. This is by His design. These are His children. He is capable of providing this in one lump sum! Will you pray with me? They don’t have the referral ready yet, but they are already drawing up the invoice. WE MAY HAVE OUR BABIES SOON! I am so excited, yet not trusting. Will you pray with me? I sit and see, I taste, I feel, and still I am weak, will you pray with me?

This is a place rich in culture, several different ones combined. I love how the people just switch languages, to accommodate others. One sentence one language the very next minute another. Ask me how I know?? Again, I don’t really but I can pick out the Russian thanks to my daughter.

There is a professional football team in town that is European Football not American. The cost for us to attend is about $1.00, so we will be doing that tonight. It will be great fun to experience this in a different country. So far every kid we have run into has wanted to talk football in a language we don’t understand, but we can understand the names of teams and their team players.

Today we moved from the Mountain City to the Mountain Country. Great fun!! We are not far from the city, but definitely not in the 4 star we were in. This little hotel when we first arrived had two rooms adjoined with a common area that had a sofa and some tables and chairs. It had one bathroom, both rooms shared with a western toilet. I don’t know what happened in 3 nights, but today we checked out of our first hotel, which was almost $100 per night, and came to this one which is only $15 per night, there were not those same rooms left.

So, let me color commentate for you now. Really Bry should be the one doing this, cuz he color commentates so well, but I will give it my best shot, what I will describe is NOT negative, just different. Where we are now, cows walk right in the middle of the street, and chickens are loose. There are several dogs that roam the property that are very afraid of humans, but I have managed to make friends with them. I asked the lady what the dogs name was and she laughed and told me dog (of course in her language). I told her that in America we name our animals, and then she really laughed and waved her hand at me. Remember to Muslims dogs are not pets, they are nuisances. Muslims believe that dogs are dirty, not clean. So, when I called a little doggie, and lowered myself to pet one, boy did I get the stares, more great fun. Our rooms are nice, but we have two twin beds, which are made out of, I don’t know. They are very rickety and have like a pad on them not a mattress. Oh, not to mention that the floor is on a slant so at least our heads are up hill. We don’t have a bathroom in our room, but down the hall is a shared bathroom with two squatty potties and a shower in it. Now, this isn’t really suffering for the Lord, but I must share because it is just so much fun, bundled into one day.

Our first clue should have been the $ difference for one. Not to mention the cows, chickens and dogs. When we saw the toilets, I thought not so bad so we decided to stay here, because it is cute after all. Now, after drinking several glasses of Cya (Chai) and some water, using the toilet is unavoidable, one can only hold it so long, know what I mean?

Off to the squat pot, we go. Hmm….I think to my self, what is this watering can for? Oh..there is no toilet paper!!! So we pull out the translation dictionary for the word for toilet paper, and they don’t have any! After awhile the care taker rustled some up and gave it to us, that was nice of her. I also learned while flushing the squatty potty, one must back up from the toilet or ones shoes get wet when all the water rushes out of the sides, more great fun, and a change of socks!!

So the lesson for today: We are very blessed to be in America. Even though I have lived in Middle Eastern culture before for 2 years, I have forgotten the small little things that are such a convenience to us, like toilet paper lets say, or soap for our hands or toilets for that matter. When we go to eat we are very conscious of how much food we order or eat. These people don’t really do left overs, why, because, they don’t do Tupperware, or have preservatives in their food so they eat all that is put out, they don’t waste. I think in some instances they may take our left over food and feed it to their families. Although they don’t have much, they are very hospitable and giving. They demonstrate great community together, just like we are supposed to do! Since we are blessed, what shall we do with that blessing?? I hope by now we automatically think SHARE!! We should SHARE our blessings with others. In what form you may be asking yourself? Well, I know the one who knows the answer. He alone knows what you ought to be doing, and what He would like you to do, ASK HIM!! Be prepared for an answer that does not fit your own, but be sure to obey Him once you hear Him, it is more great fun!!

Will you pray with me?