Home from North Carolina

Praise to the Father, I, Erin, made it home safely from North Carolina.  Though I was there during Hurricane Florence, I was sufficiently inland to only experience two days of increased rain.  Many, closer to the coast, where not as fortunate.

Though difficult to be away from my family for 10 days for the first time, my time attending a medical course specific to overseas work, was thoroughly enriching.  

We studied everyday from 8am to 5pm, then worked on case studies in the evenings to solidify all we were learning.  The course focused on issues that plague other, often developing, countries, such as diarrhea, malnutrition, dehydration, Tuberculosis, Malaria, and a variety of worm infections, all of which are rarely seen here in the States.  We were encouraged and taught practically how to capitalize on and not be hindered by the limited resources overseas.  Many practical skills were taught to us that my nursing background had not.  I learned how to stitch up a wound, pull teeth, deliver a baby (specifically in complicated births), and diagnose and treat many illnesses.  The staff worked hard to provide us with a very informative experience which was developed and fine tuned from many years of overseas work.  Through it all, they emphasized serving the whole person, especially their spiritual condition, rather than making medical aid the end goal.

Our Suturing (stitching) Instructor

Learning to Suture   

Casting

Learning about bandages, tourniquets, and injuries.

Birthing Babies

Taking Blood Pressures

Managing Emergencies

Though I really enjoy all topics associated with the human body, diseases, and health and wellness, a highlight of the time was seeing a group of people from various backgrounds who participate in different types of overseas work, all come together to learn and be equipped to further the Father's love!

A class of students eager to be equipped and go forth.

Hurricane Florence Bearing Down on Erin

You may not have heard that Erin is attending a 2-week tropical medicine course through the 20th. Well, it just so happens that the training takes place in North Carolina, at the tip of the yellow arrow in this "hurricane tracker" which I just found on ABC News' website. Thankfully she is 280 miles inland, and surrounded by medically trained personnel 😎, but that's closer than I'd want to be to the "biggest hurricane ever to hit the Carolinas," as some newscasters are currently projecting it to be.

"Real" School Has Started

Whitman starts 2nd Grade

Caedmon starts 5th Grade

   Caedmon and Whitman both began school this week, Tuesday, August 28th, at the local elementary school here in Walla Walla.  Caedmon was returning to the same school he had attended for second grade in 2015 and was quite excited from the beginning.  He became he more excited after meeting his teacher and seeing his classroom.  Whitman on the other hand had only ever attended preschool in the States.  While in Barat both boys attended a local school in the mornings and did homeschooling with me, Erin, in the afternoon.  While Whitman did have this schooling experience, I was concerned with his transition into American public school and the strict aspects of it compared with his schooling overseas.  He is the one after all that decided he wasn't going to do any writing at his local Barat elementary school.  Unsure of exactly how long this went on, we heard of it only after talking to one of his classmates.  The culture in Barat is very indirect and peace seeking, causing information to be passed through the pupil or an older sibling and the avoidance of confrontation.
   When I dropped the boys off I left in amazement at the opportunity to leave my children in a safe, clean place where they would received a good education.  Regardless of your thoughts on school safety and public education, my children were spending the greater part of their day at a school where there would be constant supervision, not only policies and procedures for safety, but also drills, designated play areas in good condition with age appropriate structures, engaging classrooms, intentional teachers, and activities throughout the day to support and encourage their learning.  And all of this free of tuition or extra fees for activities!  I was so thankful for this privilege they and I as their regular teacher could enjoy.
   When I picked Caedmon and Whitman up after the first day, they both reported very good days!  Whitman said, "That was fun!  There was more recess than I thought."  Throughout the week Whitman's enjoyment decreased slightly as the work load, specifically writing, increased, but he continued to have positive comments about the experience, making friends, PE, and his teacher.
   Caedmon too had positive things to share about his experience.  His feelings are best summed up in his disappointment that there wasn't school on Friday because of the Walla Walla Fair nor on Monday due to Labor Day.  
  I am so thankful to the Father for such a great start for both boys and this opportunity we all have!

  Over the weekend we were blessed to attend the fair.  Though we all had a great time, Caedmon's disappointment for days off from school did not diminish.

Packing, Unpacking, Driving, and Settling

I, Erin, am a planner.  For the most part I enjoy packing because it involves planning and also the problem solving of getting every piece to fit well.  But how do you pack for six months, or for the whole summer?  Having returned to the States for one home assignment already, I felt better prepared to pack for our family this past June.  Upon arriving though, we quickly repacked for our summer in Canada.  Out of our 8 weekends in Canada at least 4 were spent traveling, which was much easier to pack for.  

John finished his two courses in Canada on August 10th.  Both courses were directly related to our work in Barat and very helpful to John as he envisions the next steps for 2019 in Barat.  After John finished, we packed up all we had brought and acquired while in Canada, more than I realized, and headed south.  As we spent the week in Seattle and Portland visiting family and friends I decided to pack a small bag to limit what had to come out of the car.  During this time, Caedmon had the incredible opportunity to attend a summer camp where John's cousin was a counselor.  Caedmon had a wonderful time, but to send Caedmon to camp with clothes, he needed something to put them it.  On the way from Seattle to camp outside of Portland we stopped in a McDonald's parking lot so I could put Caedmon's camp necessities in our small bag and all of our clothes in whatever plastic or brown bag I could find in the car.  

We are thrilled to now be in Walla Walla and mostly unpacked.  After arriving, we did wash and repack one suitcase to head to Salt Lake City for my brother's wedding.  We had a wonderful summer, full of out door activities and visiting with people, but we all are glad to be out of the car and have a place for out clothes other than a suitcase.  

Fishing to celebrate Caedmon's Birthday

Picnic breakfast while fishing

Checking out the ducks

Feeding the ducks

Caedmon turned 10!

We were blessed to stay at a place with a pool while in Canada.

All ready to swim!

Dropping off the cool kid at camp.

Enjoying ice cream with grandparents

Caedmon and Whitman rehearsing for the wedding.

Prior to the rehearsal both boys were nervous to walk down the isle with girls.  After meeting the girls, the four kids didn't stop rehearsing until pulled away for bedtime.  

Ready and Waiting

Evangeline got dressed to match the flower girls.  

Waiting for the rest of the wedding party.

The boys did great!  

Evangeline walked down the isle, trailing the ring bearer and holding it together until she met me at the front

 where she fell to tears.  

 

Exhausted

Affected

Everyone would likely agree we are affected by our experiences, whether they be small encounters with a stranger at the store or larger frequent interactions with a differing culture while working overseas.  Most would hope to be positively affected by their experiences in a way that produces growth and improvement.  Being back in the States has revealed ways, sometimes surprising, in which we have been affected by our host culture overseas in Barat. 

A few examples of areas in which we've been affected are I, Erin, did not think (initially) to include cards with the presents we've recently taken to birthday parties.  

We still think twice about drinking water from any given tap.  This goes hand and hand with wanting to make sure every dish used is completely dry (to decrease chances of ingesting infected water) or cringing when it is not.  

We are thrilled with the endless options for shopping, but it seems to take me forever as I try to navigate through various supermarkets and decided between the endless options.  

All is well in the car, unless your playmate falls asleep.

Caedmon and Evangeline both experience car sickness overseas, yet since our time stateside, thankfully, neither has experienced any sickness in the car, and we have spent a great deal of time in the car. 

Wherever we go, we all take our shoes off when entering a house, the boys often right before stepping across the threshold.  

Some of these things have become so automatic for us we don't often notice.  One example of this was the other day we all walked our visitors out the door when they left.  Our visitors lovingly mentioned it struck them as something different.  We all laughed as it is a custom we picked up from overseas yet hadn't even realized.  

Skipping Stones

We have been spending a great deal of time out doors, though the summer brings hot weather and mosquitos.  The weather has been so enjoyable to us as there isn't what feels like any humidity and we all freeze in highly airconditioned environments.  I have found the mosquitos here creating only a slight annoyance in me rather than borderline fear as when in Barat because they may carry Dengue Fever.  There are so many wonderfully kept hiking trails and playgrounds we can't get enough of either. 

Camping

Hiking

Enjoying a Park

Learning about Gold Panning

while visiting a museum

Eating Butter

Though slightly surprised and grossed out, I didn't worry about our (personally instituted) monthly butter ration as I could run to the store and have more in a matter of minutes rather than a six hour trip from Barat to the nearest butter selling store.  

Climbing Pine Trees and Seeing Racoons

(middle, above horizontal branches)

Loving Playgrounds

Evangeline calls slides "wee"..."more wee please"

Learning to Swing

Evangeline thought this bed looked perfect for herself.  

It seems as if everyone has a dog and they are everywhere we go, which is due to the fact the only dogs we see in Barat are the occasional wild dogs which we try to stay away from.  

Evangeline and the boys can't get enough and all want a dog of their own.

Other areas in which we see ourselves having been affected are in certain areas of our home culture.  There are certain things that feel like 'coming home' to.  Running has been one of these areas for me, as it is not just 'normal' here, but is a very common and popular activity.  But there are other areas that have become almost strange to us.  In Barat presents brought to an event, such as a birthday, are opened only after all the guests have left.  This was strange at first, but now I feel so awkward watching this part of parties here in the States.  I just don't see it with the same eyes.  Another area is how individualistic our culture is.  In Barat we have a hard time getting away from people as they are out and about, ready to interact with anyone in the vicinity.  Here in the States I have found myself ready to talk to any random stranger at the park, store, or running down the street in the mornings.  I find that being back I now have to think about how to interact with others as it seems to take more intentionality to actually cross paths or even just begin a conversation in an appropriate, not strange way.  (In Barat people are so friendly that it isn't a big deal for strangers on a bus, in a restaurant, or on the street to just start up a conversation with one another)

Though this is our 'home culture' we have been affected by living overseas. 

State Side

We were seen off by our neighbors...

  Traveled in the car for 7 hours...

Rode on five different airplanes...

The kids slept relatively well on the flights and we avoided any major melt downs!

Spent many hours in 4 different airports...

Evangeline carrying her baby doll.

Wow, what amazing amenities...a place for Evangeline while the parent uses the toilet!

Bringing us all to our arrival stateside!  

And Evangeline's first steps in her passport country.

Our flight across Washington State.

We were blessed to spend 4 days in Walla Walla with family, then 3 in Portland.  Afterwards we headed north to Canada.  We are spending the summer in British Columbia for John to attended two classes that are directly related to our work overseas and taught by people who have gone before in the same type of work.  

We are already enjoying our time in this hemisphere (layering up not to freeze), speaking English outside the home (though we are learning some uniquely Canadian vocabulary), and taking advantage of all the outside activities and food options.  Hopefully we can keep the last two well balanced so as to not gain the 'furlough forty.' 

Life in Community

Living closely in community with others enables a great deal of living life on life with one another.  In addition to our houses being physically close to one another, the majority of our neighbors do laundry and bathe at out door wells, along with grill and smoke fish outside.  This results in people being around all the time and a great deal of awareness of what is going on with one another.  For example, we often hear small children throwing tantrums, usually in the morning when they don't want to bathe.  Conversely, our neighbors hear when the boys are running around the house or when we took Evangeline outside the other night because she had croup.  The next morning one neighbor confessed she thought it was a cat making the noise.  

As we continue in language and culture study, living in close community with others is very beneficial.  John and I have probably been to more weddings during our five years here than we have during the whole rest of our lives.  Weddings are a big deal and the guest list is usually quite extensive.  Though most weddings look pretty similar to us, I recently had to the chance to see some of the preparations first hand. 

Preparations often begin four days to a week before hand.  Aside from decorating the house, food preparation and invitation delivery are the main tasks for the week before the event.  

Whitman and Evangeline standing against a decorated wall at the groom's house.

This living room area will be used to host and serve guests a meal before the ceremony.

Invitations are usually printed at a shop, but stuffed and addressed at home.  All invitations, when possible, are hand delivered by at least one male relative in traditional dress.  (above right)

 I visited the groom's home a couple times prior to the wedding to see all that was taking place.  Relatives and a couple skilled cooks were, like usual, asked to come help.  Though I stayed only for an hour, the main task of the day was to prepare the ingredients for the sweet and spicy fried cassava.  

Women peeling shallots.  

There must have been close to 10 pounds of shallots.

Once they were peeled, they were sliced, all by hand.

Preparing the sweet and spicy coating for the fried cassava.  

The coating consists of shallots, chilies, garlic, and palm sugar.

Mixing

After shredded cassava and peanuts are fried, it is placed on a large tarp to mix with the boiling hot coating.

It was amazing to the see the mass quantity of ingredients being prepared.  The finished product was then stored at the groom's house.  And I only witnessed one menu item among many being prepared.  

At the end of the week we attended the wedding together as a family.

The groom being accompanied by all his guests to the bride's house,

 middle in green and under an umbrella.

The wedding ceremony takes place at the bride's house.

It was a clear and sunny day, so the umbrellas were used for shade as most people fear any kind of tanning of the skin.

In other news...

Evangeline

"Pack my toys! I'm going to Grandma's."

For the first time in her life...

It is nearing the time our almost two-year-old will set foot in her "passport" country (or country of citizenship) for the first time in her life.  Yes, we are returning to the States at the end of this week for about a six month stay.  We are looking forward to many things about our time, but mostly the opportunity to connect with the dear people in our lives that though far away by distance, have been closely involved in all going on here in Barat.  

We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible!