To Wedded Bliss

Im flying solo right now because Jared at the moment is hard at work building our house in the tribe. So this means I need to put my procrastinating tendency aside and attempt being organized. I planned plenty of time to get myself and the kids ready for a friends wedding. Despite my best efforts little did I know Israel would spill juice all over his clothes seconds before walking out the door. Our dog would decide to chase a pig when I opened our gate to leave. Which translates me running up our street in heels with a baby strapped to me trying to catch him. And a motor bike that wouldn't work. Granted I did leave the keys in the ignition the night before. Moving on, it was a crazy day and I need my husband back home! 

All the stress was worth it because tonight I got to see a beautiful couple commit their lives to each other in front of family and friends. Gloria and Andy have dated for eight years and dare I say somewhat the modern day Romeo and Juliet. You see Gloria is Papuan and Andy is Indonesian. While I realize this statement probably means very little to you. You have to understand that saying this entails  so much more than what appears on the surface. Underneath it lies decades of warfare, death, and fierce opposition.

Its frowned upon by both cultures to intermarry. But despite family disputes and cultural differences tonight they stood side by side and devoted their lives to each other. It was a sweet moment that I felt privileged to share and be a part of their special day.

Im not sure who is having more fun;) 

Israel telling him he has a lizard in his pocket named hairball.

Welcome to the World of Blogging

OK, so I totally feel intimidated to be blogging. But after alot of pressure from ahem Jared :) And having amazing missionary coworkers who blog every week. I feel the time has appropriately come upon me to take this challenge. (Yes I consider blogging a challenge) All I can say is thank God for spell check! 

I have been thinking through how I wanted to start off the blog. What topics to talk about, I mean its my first blog post. Its got to be good, it has to be eye catching, and draw the reader. (This was my check list) But here is the thing; we have not begun anything exceptionally exciting. We are still in the language learning phase of missions. The mundane life of learning language is not exactly sexy or eye catching. 

 I also made a list of what I wanted to accomplish in communicating our life to you the reader. I hope to be honest, living in a third world country is hard. Its not always glamorous and upbeat. I think there is a stigma and expectation that missionaries feel when it comes to talking with supporters and churches back home. That our outreach has to be generating tons of success or that it needs to feel and sound dynamic.  While I pray this is true in the future its not always realistic. 

I hope to give a little glimpse of our life and what we encounter on a daily basis. By showing pictures of the food we eat, or describing how I get grocery's by driving a moped with two kids strapped to me. You will get to see this crazy life of living in a different country. 

Lastly, I hope to convey our heart. The reason why we moved our family to the other side of the world. Why we left all that was familiar to face a world of constant change. It was so that we could give HOPE, TRUTH, and FREEDOM to a tribe that has never heard the name Jesus. They live and die without ever knowing the Creator and his utmost love for them. Man, I hope we can be a part of seeing lives changed. And one day greeting the Dem people as brothers and sisters in Christ!