I found this little guy in our bedroom yesterday. Their bite is extremely painful, in fact the locals claim that it's much worse than a scorpion sting. They can get quite large, I think this one would be considered small at roughly 6cm.
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Yesterday we moved out of the guesthouse and into our new house. As much as we enjoyed our time in the guesthouse, we're psyched to have our own space again. The house we're "borrowing" belongs to a family who are currently back in America to prepare for the birth of their third child. We'll be able to stay here for at least six months.
Esther is still unable to walk, mainly due to her knees. Having to rely on others for everything is a very draining experience for her. She's not used to sitting still for more than two minutes at a time, so laying in bed all day is nothing short of torture. Thanks to those who are thinking about us at this time,it's much appreciated. It's been a good experience for me, as I've had to learn what it's like to serve others even when it's not convenient. Trying to cover for Esther is an impossible task, it seems that no matter how much effort I put in I can't do half of the things she would do every day. If I wasn't impressed already, I definitely am now. Life in Palu has kept us very busy so far, with little or no time for the culture and language acquisition we thought we'd be doing at this stage. Esther has now been sick for two weeks, and although she's feeling much better she's still isn't able to walk. We're learning to take one day at a time, trying not to get discouraged by the lack of progress. On our way back from grocery shopping we often drive past this beautiful mosque down by the bay. Yesterday, as I stopped to take a few pictures I was reminded of why we're here in the first place, to have a positive impact on those around us. Times of struggle have an ugly tendency to turn our focus inwards instead of upwards. As we get more concerned with our own situation we lose sight of those around us. Our challenge now is to refocus, we're here for the long haul, and how we as a family handle difficult situations has the potential to greatly encourage those around us. Drawing upon the strength freely offered, we encourage others to do likewise. And the one who carries us through gets the credit He deserves. After the double rainbow video went viral on YouTube a few years back, I laugh every time I see one. It just so happens that double rainbows are quite ordinary here in Palu. Kids got excited though, so I promised I'd show the folks at home how beautiful it was.
Esther's condition has improved these last two days. She hash't had a fever, and the rash is looking a lot better. She still isn't able to get around by herself due to the pain in her joints. She's in good spirits, and enjoys being carried around by her Hulk-like husband. She's been able to get out of her room to eat a couple of meals with the rest of us, but can't sit upright for very long. Thanks to all of you who have been thinking about us at this time. It's much appreciated
"...and another one bites the dust" I suppose it was bound to happen sooner or later. It's a harsh world for little kittens. Between an overly affectionate Aisa and an very playful puppy we're not sure what caused this tragedy. Either way, we're starting to see a disturbing pattern when it comes to our family and pets.
Esther has been getting worse and worse these last few days. At this stage she's completely unable to get out of bed, and needs to be carried if she wants to go anywhere. Her fever has been very high and quite constant. She's in a lot of pain, especially in her joints. One of the local laboratories does house calls, so a guy came around and tested her for dengue fever and other potential threats, thankfully they all came back negative. It's likely she has something known as Chikungunya, which is a virus that has some similarities to Dengue, at least as far as the symptoms are concerned (but is not as dangerous). We would have to get another test to know for sure, but it takes a few days to get the results and we're not really sure it's worth the effort. She's able to retain food and drink, which is the only reason we haven't taken her to the hospital. I guess the biggest danger is dehydration. There's no medicine for Chikungunya, only painkillers to deal with the symptoms. We're just waiting and hoping things will get better.
On a more lighthearted note, we've been making two sand volleyball pitches near our hangar. So once or twice a week we play volleyball with some of the local churches. It's a lot of fun, and there's tons of space for the kids to run around and play too. Below are a few slightly random photos taken these last few days. Things have slowed down a bit for us here in Palu. The first couple weeks of our "honeymoon stage culture-shock" have ended, and we're beginning to experience "normal life" to the degree possible while still living in the guest-house. Unfortunately normal life for us usually involves getting sick and being very tired. This week Aisa, Esther, myself, and now Samson have all been sick. We heard about some close friends of ours being pregnant, and it was enough to give Esther morning (and afternoon) sickness for three days. We probably have about another two weeks here in the guesthouse before we can move into "our" house. We wanted to get going on language study, but it's turned out to be even more difficult than we thought. For now we're trying to concentrate on the kid's schooling, hoping that getting into some proper routines with them will help us get more time for CLA later. We're also looking into the possibilities of having someone come over to help us with homeschooling. We've got some friends here who have had a lot of experience with volunteer teachers, and we think it'd really be a great help for Esther. Because we're a bit late in applying chances are quite slim that anyone will come over in 2014. Suppose that's it for now, will keep posting as things come up.
These last few days I've been learning how to use Photoshop via tutorials on Youtube. It's been really fun, I can't believe I didn't do this years ago. I've been too overwhelmed by the task to even start. It takes a lot of time, and I'm just starting to scratch the surface of what the program can do. Here's what I learned to do in today's lesson....
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