What a Tuesday!!

So, last Tuesday was an incredibly awesome and bizarre day!!!

Arnett and Steve spent the day in one of the villages checking on the people there. That morning I had a doctor's appointment. So, Diane went with me, so she could translate for me. Praise the Lord, Butterbean continues to be developing normally and is a healthy baby!!! I did gain 6 pounds last month. Which is almost as much as I've gained the entire time!! I figure that makes my total gain at about 17 pounds and that's not too bad!!! The doctor did guesstimate Butterbean's birth weight to be somewhere around 8 pounds!! Boy, am I going to be in trouble if that prediction comes true!!

Here we are!! As you can see, Butterbean is really growing!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, on to the bizarre part of Tuesday!!! First, the weather here is getting hotter each day!!! We are now starting to get into the HOT season where the temperature will only get higher each day. Lately, the high has been around 100-105 each day!! Tuesday afternoon, it got really windy and cloudy. It looked like a thunderstorm was quickly approaching. Which is bizarre because we are no where near the rainy season!! However, this bizarre weather made it pleasantly cool outside!! I was sitting at the house studying and told myself, "at 4:00 you're going to go talk to the ladies you met down the street." No big deal, right? WRONG!! Ever since we moved here, I have become a huge introvert, which is so not like me!! I am scared to death to get outside of our courtyard and talk to the people around me!! Well, at 4:00, I stayed put!! As I was sitting here, I heard God saying, "I didn't make this bizarre, pleasantly cool weather for nothing!! Get out there!!" So, I got up, got dressed, and out the door I went. I went to the ladies house and they were not home!! Then I was faced with, do I run back home or go on to the market?? Well, since I had never been to the market without Arnett, I was petrified!! However, God stepped in, and off to the market I went!! Well, I greeted many ladies along the way and was able to have small conversations with several of them. Then, I saw, April*, a lady I had met the last time I was at the market. So, I greeted and chatted with her a little! I told her I needed to go greet Joan*, so I went to do that only to get stopped by Sally*. Who then invited me to sit. So, I was obliged to sit, as that is the culture here! Praise God, I was able to have a small conversation with her. It was then starting to sprinkle a little, so I told her I needed to go home. On my way home, April stopped me again and invited me to sit! So, of course, I did!! Praise the Lord, again, I was able to have a small conversation with her as well. Then it started sprinkling more and she told me to go home!! On my way home, a lady who was near April tells me, "You talked with her a long time, next time you have to talk to me!!" It was like they were fighting over me!! PRAISE GOD!!! I am starting to make friends here and am starting to get the language!! One thing, God really taught me that day, was that I have to trust Him. He'll work out all the details!! I mean, if I would have sat home, I wouldn't have gotten over my fear of going to the market alone!! I wouldn't have built a relationship with those women!!

Here's a recent picture of us. It's not that great. Guess that's because we took it ourselves with the camera timer!!

 

 

The rest of our week, was pretty uneventful. Of course, we had language class, which Praise God is going well!!

Praises:

1. Language is progressing!!
2. Butterbean is healthy!!
3. New friends at the market!!
4. Getting over my fears!!

Prayer Requests:

1. Of course, language!
2. The ladies in Susan and Diane's Bible Storing Group - they understand what it takes to be a Christian but say their husbands won't let them become believers.
3. That the local believers would be encouraged in their faith, despite any persecution they may face.

We truly thank you for your prayers!!! They are definitely being felt on this side of the ocean!! Until next time...

*Names have been changed