Lately we've been trying to find a place for Aisa to spend her mornings, a place where she can meet some friends and play. With both Ariel and Samson going to school at a friend's house Aisa gets quite lonely. We tried a school just a street over from our house, but it was too loud and obnoxious for her taste. Last week we found another much smaller school not too far from where we live with only 15-20 kids. Aisa seems to enjoy it a lot. It's also an excellent way for her to continue learning to speak the language. Each Monday morning they have a flag ceremony, replete with marching, saluting, and singing.
We just took a few new family photos, these are the current members of the Gammelsaeter household, nine in all.
In dealing with death the cultural differences between here and home become very obvious. Lusiana took her last breath early morning the 6th of November. Within a few hours after hearing the tragic news friends and family gathered at the house where Jesi and Eli were staying. We had been there for about 30 minutes when Jesi returned from the hospital with Lusiana. As she was carried inside any attempt at keeping the tears at bay was useless. She was laid in a crib in the middle of the room for all to see. The men slowly migrated to the porch outside the house, while the ladies stayed inside. Many people took pictures of the body, for what reason is completely lost on me. Jesi and Eli decided that they would like to return to their village to bury the child. The next morning a few people gathered at the hangar to say goodbye and to pray for the family.
Jesi and Eli have been part of the Lauje team for several years, and were due to get their stage 3 language evaluation in the next couple of weeks. It is uncertain when they will be returning to their ministry. Please continue to pray for them and the team here. Jessi called me this morning to let me know that his little girl had died. We're heartbroken and confused, but trusting that God will give the family strength to get through. Jessi and Eli have lost their second child in as many years and are left childless once again, please continue to pray for them, we can only imagine their pain right now. Pray also that the Lord would show us how to help and encourage them through this awful time.
The 29th of October our dear friends Jessi and Eli got a little daughter. After a few hours it became evident that she had trouble breathing. Now nearly a week later she still isn't better and they doctors don't really know what the problem is. We're hoping for some answers tomorrow as she's scheduled to have an x-ray taken of her chest. Please join us in prayer for this little girl and her parents. Only about a year ago Eli had a miscarriage at 7months, so they are both very scared.
...I usually whine about it. I'm not sure if whining about my (not so terrible) circumstances is an aspect of my culture or if it's just a personality thing. Either way, it is like therapy for me. When things are rough, brewing myself a nice cup of coffee to go along with my serving of self pity really gets me going. If I'm joined by a fellow complainer all is bliss. Getting all the negativity out in the open and being honest about the things that upset me keeps the frustration from festering. Once it's been expressed, I can once again focus on the more important things in life......like putting on a second brew. This time to be enjoyed with a slice of thankfulness while pondering on all things bright and wonderful. *This posts is completely lacking in scriptural support.
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