Very Full Weeks

     Our past weeks have been very full and yet as I have a moment to type this afternoon, I'm having a hard time remembering everything.  I'll let the few pictures we have taken stir my memory a bit...

     A couple of weeks ago I got a call from a lady I met at the market this summer.  We've become friends over the months, and she was stuck in the village, doing whatever you do with dozens of pigs while her mom was stuck in the city with her two small children and no money or food.  The hired hands that were supposed to help with the pigs got drunk and ditched them.  And the pigs had gotten out through a hole in the fence and were attacked my some hunters' dogs.  All to say, my friend was needed in the village, but her mom needed help, too!  I was so happy to have the chance to bring her family groceries a couple of times and get to know her mom better.  They were so grateful and gave me this chunk of meat that was in their freezer.  (I'm so glad I have a crockpot... I just threw it in there with some spices and it came out really yummy!)  When my friend found out that I'd gone there by bus (about an hour ride) with little Ike, she said that we'd shown them more love than relatives would have shown.  I praise God for this, and hope that they continue to see how much God loves them!

     We've had lots and lots of guests over the past few weeks.  And most times I totally didn't get out my camera!  This time we helped feed people who helped the Blakers move.  This week we had our team over to plan out our goals for this next year.  Once a year we have this kind of long meeting.  It takes a lot of time, but it's really good and important stuff.  And it's also encouraging to thank God for all that He's done over the past year!

     Another time, we hosted a baby shower for Natasha.  It was a good turnout and many people gave of their talents and time to make the shower extra special for Natasha.  I think she felt very loved.  In this picture, two teams were in competition to make diapers out of toilet paper.  The kids laughed, as this was a funny sight to see a diaper on a babushka!

    Isn't this little guy so sweet?!  His parents are a part of our home group.  This last week we had two new people come... and one was my friend who gave us the meat.  We gave her a Bible, and I'm praying that God will use His words to really speak to her heart.  Another lady wants to invite one of her friends who doesn't know much about Christianity to come.  We're going through the book of Mark, so it's a perfect study to introduce the Bible and Christianity to people.

     Last week at English club a couple of new people came.  And two of my friends that I've met outside have expressed interest in coming.  A lady called Leif just last night who is interested in coming with her college-aged son.  Pray for this club, as it truly is way that we're sharing God's good news.

     So far it's been going well with being in charge of the little ones at church.  The lessons are so simple and organized that I don't have to do a lot of prep work.  I've found that if I capitalize on their short attention spans at the very beginning and then stuff them full of snacks that they stay quite happy!

     And now I've run out of pictures, so my brain is not working to remember anything else.  We know that the nature of our lives here is to have really busy times and then not as busy times.  Right now is a busy time.  We are thankful for all that God is doing and trusting Him for a little reprieve soon, too!