We have
safely returned to Barat. Aside from the
usual exhaustion and jet lag from transcontinental flying, the trip went
well. Evangeline showed the most trouble
sleeping on the plane as she woke up multiple times crying until she was walked
back to sleep.
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| In an Airport |
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| Oh, the places we sleep. |
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| We had a stop over in mainland Asia. |
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| We Arrived |
When we arrived
back to our ‘newly’ built house the evening of January 28th, we were
pleasantly surprised by the state of things inside. We were unsure how the house would fare
closing it up and leaving it unattended for seven months in a humid
climate. Thankfully we found only a light
layer of dust, what seemed like a hundred cockroaches, and interior doors that
no longer fit well in their frames. The
cleaning that night was quick and simple.
We even still had bug spray in the cupboard! Throughout that first week we found other unexpected,
but small, items needing tending. Our
LPG hook up to our stove wasn’t working, our water pump to bring water to the
house from our tank was being temperamental, and our screen doors had some
massive holes. Thankfully the interior
doors and gas connection have been fixed.
On top of that we have been blessed to have consistent city water
running meaning we have not had a need to use our pump at all, which has been
looked at twice. We have even purchased
a motorcycle, giving us personal, consistent, and reliable transportation.
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| Evangeline's first helmet. She loves it! |
As our
house is in great condition, we have returned to our main work here in
Barat. As we adjust to being back, we
are trying a new schedule to enable me, Erin, to hit language learning a bit
harder. So far this consists of John watching
Evangeline and overseeing Caedmon and Whitman in their independent school work
during the mornings. I then spend the
morning hours out in the community observing and interacting with the local
culture and meeting with language helpers for more formal learning. In the afternoon we switch. I teach the boys their new homeschool material,
and care for Evangeline while John takes care of foundation business or participates
in language and culture learning. Two weeks into this new schedule we all seem to be adjusting well, though Evangeline is
still learning that though the boys are home, during homeschool they cannot
play. One disappoint in this area is
local schooling for the boys. We
intended to have them both attend the local elementary school here, but only
half time as their homeschool load is increasing. The school principal did not consent to half
time participation for the boys. As
Whitman’s second grade class gets out at 10:30am, we decided to keep him at the
school but pull Caedmon out completely.
Neighbors
have been very accepting and accommodating of me as I spend time with or
observing them doing daily chores. I
also have been given a great attitude in this, which is a huge praise as
language learning is not my favorite pastime.
John has been busy applying for the foundation he works for to have
status with the local Education Office in hopes of enabling additional visa
options in the future. He has also begun
holding scrimmages for the Foundation’s Soccer School and added a second
location for the literacy program. We
are excited to see these programs grow and very thankful to have great local
employees to give many responsibilities to.
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| One afternoon we heard a bunch of yelling. Upon looking out the kitchen window, we saw a house being moved. |
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We went down to join in.
The men helped move the house, while all the women and kids stood by watching and hollering.
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Though I
recognize life continues while we are away it still surprises me to see the
changes upon returning. Many neighbors
had babies, a few new homes have been built, and one close neighbor was on
her death bed when we returned. John took time the night
of our arrival to visit the ill neighbor.
Sadly, she passed away the next morning.
She was a grandmother of two and a mother of five, one of whom is still
in elementary school. Two days later her
third grandchild was born. It was a very
sad thing to see upon our arrival, a reminder of our reason for being here
and the urgency of the task.
