Update

We are now leaving for Chennai, India on Monday. Tomorrow (Friday) we are going to Nuwara Eliya, which is in the middle of the Island, for a short trip. It will be nice to decompress from all the craziness that has been going on in our lives the past week. We will be back Sunday, finish packing, and fly out Monday evening.

Not sure what our situation will be once we arrive in Chennai. But hopefully we can get settled in quickly. We will update you all as soon as we can.

Wafflers

We went to a waffle house yesterday for lunch. But it is like no waffle house you have ever been to! For one thing it is not open for breakfast, only lunch & dinner. Then you get the menu. Instead of putting normal things on a waffle like butter, syrup, even fruit, you put meat....yes you read right meat.


I was very skeptical, but hey sometimes you just got to try things. So Jesse got a BBQ beef & I got a curry chicken. And believe it or not, it was actually pretty good. They did have great waffle desserts too. (Jesse was in heaven)


---this is a picture of Jesse, his assistant John, Jesse's boss Mike, & Mike's assistant Aleshia (who has been staying with us this past week).---

Mt. Lavinia

Jesse's boss is here this week, so we spent the day yesterday at a really nice hotel just south of here called Mt. Lavinia. They have a great pool, & the beach is pretty nice, although the waves are a little too rough to swim in. It was a great day to be out in the sun. (sometimes I can't believe we really live here in this paradise!)


There was a beautiful sunset, (this picture doesn't do it justice) and then we went to dinner at this seafood restaurant on the beach. It was great...although a little weird to see them fix your dinner right there in front of you. : )

We are moving to India

So we were told by IJM on Sunday that we are to leave Sri Lanka and move to Chennai, India by next Wednesday. I guess they are worried about the situation over here, and don't want to take any risks. They want us to go to Chennai b/c they already have an office there, and it's only 1 hour plane ride from Colombo to there. That way Jesse can get back to Colombo if he needs to set up any meetings.

Jesse & I are very sad about leaving. It was a shock to hear that they want us to leave so soon. We still feel very safe here, and don't feel it necessary to leave. Jesse has also just hired some locals to help out with researching & setting up the office, so it's hard for him to now have to leave them without really having the chance to work closely with them.

The one good thing about going to India, is that most of our friends that we have here, are all leaving or have already left. & there are two families with small children already in Chennai, so we would already have some what of a community once we got there.

It's just very hard to have to pack everything up, and move again. Especially since we now feel quite comfortable with Sri Lanka. We know where the grocery store is, how much things cost, where to find mac & cheese, etc. : ) Please pray for this transition for us, or even that it might be able to be avoided. Jesse's boss is coming into town tomorrow for a week, so we will be getting more information then. We'll keep you posted.

Technical Difficulties

Okay so I've been trying to post some pictures on the blog, but it's not working. I have no idea why not. Hopefully it will fix itself...wishful thinking, I know. : ) I will try again tomorrow. But we are all okay. Jesse is in Mumbai, India this week for another training confrence. We miss him. Not much else going on. I'll post more w/ pics hopefully soon.

Natural History Museum

Today Rachel & I went to the Natural History museum. It was....well...interesting. Maybe we have just been spoiled since we live in D.C. and have great, free, museums so close?! (but I don't think that's it) ; )

I think the museum was put together in the 70's, and hasn't been touched yet. But we did learn some new things. Like: "Easy ways to make all agricultural chemicals safe for you and everyone else." Very important thing to know!



They had lots of birds on display. & learned that eyes are sometimes optional.



And Rachel even learned about why the leopard was eating that "red ball" that was inside that deer.


And One of the guides was very excited to show Rachel all the snakes & lizards & then went on to tell her how they could bite her. So overall, it was a very educational day. : )

Close to Home

On our way home from the train station (just getting back from Kandy), one of the cross streets that we live on was closed. We could see a badly destroyed car, but nothing else b/c of the crowd. When we arrived at our place, we asked the security guard what happened, and he said that a bomb had gone off 3 hours earlier. We went upstairs and immediatley got on the internet to find out what happened. Jesse went back down to the scene to see what he could find out.

We are fine. I am very glad that we were not home when it happened. Again it was a very targeted attack, but it still so weird to have it happen so close to home. I am copying an article from BBC...but some of their facts are wrong (such as it was a little girl not boy), but it will give you an idea.

Again, like we've said before this isn't to scare you all, but we just want to let you know everything that is going on, especially since we know many of you are praying for us, and want to know specifics of what to pray for. Thank you for your prayers & support!

'Car bomb' hits Sri Lanka capital

The blast came as people were leaving work. At least two people, one of them a three-year-old boy, have been killed by a car bomb in the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo, police and witnesses say. The bomb went off near a girls' school in a residential area of the city.

A Tamil government minister opposed to the Tamil Tigers told the BBC the target was one of his party colleagues.

The blast comes as the Tigers and military continue heavy fighting in the Trincomalee district in the north-east of the island.

'Going home'

Douglas Devananda, the leader of the Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) which opposes the Tamil Tigers' armed separatist campaign told the BBC that the target was his colleague S Sivathasan.

Police say the bomb was attached to the van that Mr Sivathasan was travelling in.

Mr Devananda told the BBC's Sinhala service that Mr Sivathasan was in intensive care in a Colombo hospital but that his life was not in danger.

The grandfather of the boy killed in the blast said: "The child is three-years-old. His mother is working as a maid here. We were going home after work when it exploded," Reuters reports.

A number of other people were injured in the blast.

Kandy

We've been up in Kandy the last couple of days for the yearly festival called the Perahera. The festival lasts for 10 days, we just went up for two nights. The festival is in celebration of Buddha's tooth. Not kidding. They say they have one of his cannine teeth, which they keep in a temple. Once a year they bring it out, and parade it around. (they don't actually bring it out anymore, in fear of something happening to it...but they still have the parade)


The parade was great. Lots of dancers, music, & elephants. There were probably at least 70 elephants in the parade, all in costume. It was great fun.

We also were able to go to an elephant park, where we got to wash them & then take a ride. Rachel enjoyed it, but said it was a little bumpy.


Here we are in front of the Temple of the Tooth.


Kandy was beautiful. We went with the family from Scotland and had a great time. It was so nice to get a little break from daily life.

My Aunt

I received terrible news last night. My Aunt Kathy, my mom's younger sister, passed away in her sleep. This was very unexpected and is obviously hard on everyone. My parents were able to find flights out of Austria and are on their way there now. The viewing will be Friday and the funeral on Saturday. It has been very hard being so far away. I have searched frantically for flights to get back, but they are all full & by the time I can get on a flight I won't arrive till Sunday evening. Jesse is still in Thailand & was just waiting to see if we could find something. So needless to say I am very sad that I will not be able to be there with my family during this time.

Please pray for my family during this difficult time. My aunt is leaving behind her husband, Ron; her two kids, Matthew & Katie; Matthew's wife Melissa & their two kids; my grandmother, and my mom. She will be sorely missed. If you've ever met her you know her energy for life was contagious. The only comfort we hold on to is knowing that she is with the Lord. Thank you for your prayers.

Internet Woes

So we were without internet for the entire week...and boy was it hard! There was an investigator here from IJM working with Jesse, so Jesse was having to work long, late hours. And when our internet is down that means that our vonage phone doesn't work either....so I felt very detached from everyone. It's amazing how the internet, for some strange reason, makes me feel connected to home. So sorry that there haven't been too many updates this past week. Unfortunately this upcoming week wont be much different. Jesse leaves tomorrow morning for Tailand. He will be gone for a week & is taking his computer with him. So I will try to get over to the internet cafe, but can't make any promises that I will be able to update much. But the vonage phone is up a running, so I can always update you that way too! : )

Music Class

Rachel & I have been going to a music class on Thursday afternoons. We have been going with our new found friends, Lynette & Alesha Joe (from Scotland). I think the girls enjoy just being together and could really care less about the music, but it's fun for all anyway. Unfortunatly they are taking a month long break, so we will have to wait till September to go back.

Bath Time

Since we don't have a bath tub in our place, but Rachel loves to take baths, we had to get a little creative. John had brought over a big tupperware tub as one of his "bags", and is graciouslly letting us use it for Rachel's new tub. It is quite small for Rachel, but she doesn't seem to mind. She especially loves pouring the water out all over the floor. Although whenever we have been to a hotel & they have a full size tub she gets very excited about having all the room to play. Good thing she is only 3!

Rachel's Birthday Party

For Rachel's 3rd Birthday she wanted a "Cinderella Party". Since we don't know too many people here yet, we just had a small get together. A couple from church & their two daughters, the couple from Scotland with their two kids, and Jesse's assistant John & his girlfriend (who had just arrived from the states). But it was nice. Rachel had fun playing with her friends & loved her Castle cake. Wish you all could have been here too though! Here are some pics...

Our Pastor

So our pastor and his wife invited us over to lunch last Sunday. When we got to there place he went up to change, & came down with a Nebraska Husker shirt on. He sure did know how to make Jesse's day.


They are leaving in a couple of weeks to head to the states for 3 months. She is from Washington State & hasn't been back for 4 years! We are bummed that they are leaving for our sake, but know that it is a trip that will be a much needed break from all they do here. (They also run that home called Lotus Buds--so they have 21 kids to take care of.) Right now they are looking for a young couple to take over for the next generation...if you are interested let us know. : )

Our First Package

Last Friday we got our first package! What a wonderful treat! Rachel was so excited to get some Dora fruit snacks...she screamed and then jumped around for about 5 minutes.


It's crazy how much you miss food when you’re in another country. The food here is actually not bad, but cooking for me has been hard. I'm not much of cook to begin with, and I don't have an oven, & when I go to the store and don't really recognize much on the shelves, it makes it that much worse for me. So to get some easy to make meals is wonderful!


P.S. Rachel loved the bubble wrap too! : )

Our Place

So I've just realized that I never put up pictures of our place....so sorry that these have taken so long to get up but here is our "home sweet home".

This is our dining room & living room:


This is the kitchen-with wash machine (you can also see the big jug of bottled water--only $2.50):


This is Rachel's room:


Our room:


Here is a view from our balcony:



So there you have it... we would love to have you over for dinner! Just let us know when you can make it! : )

Playing In the Rain

We went to dinner with a couple & their two kids on Monday night. They just arrived in Sri Lanka from Scotland & are here till the end of August. They have a little girl who is 1 month younger than Rachel & a 1 year old little boy. Rachel & her new little friend had so much fun together. Durning our meal it started to rain, and Rachel & her new little friend decided to that it would be fun to go play in the rain. They had a blast.

Pinnewala Elephant Orphanage

For Rachel's BIG reward for potty training we took her to the elephant orphanage yesterday. It turned into a long day, but was fun none the less. We were going to rent a car for the day, but when we found out it would cost about $60 we decided to go by train instead. Our train tickets round trip cost about $2.30 for all of us for a 2 1/2 hour trip. I'm still in awe of how cheap public transportation is.

We got to see them feed some of the younger elephants, and then they bring all the elephants to the river to bathe. So we got to see that too. The elephant you see us by is pregnant. We were there for about 2 hours & then back on the train for another 2 1/2 hours. Although our train ended up being late so it took us more then 3 1/2 hours. Needless to say we were beat once we got home. But it was neat to see the elephants up close.

Volunteering

I was able to meet with Therese (she heads up all the volunteers at CCS) on Thursday. It went pretty good. I have a couple of forms I have to fill out, but I think that by next week I might be able to start to help out. They are going to have me assist in the preschool class. That way Rachel can come too. I'm not a teacher, so I’m a little nervous, so any good suggestions would be greatly appreciated. The kids don't speak English, so I think my role would be of one, of thinking of crafts to do with them, and also teaching them a little English through songs. So please if you can give me some ideas! : )

Jesse's Awesome Day

So I can't write anything specific here, but I just wanted to let you know that Jesse had a great day on Tuesday. I wish that I could go into details, but for security reasons I can't. But there were about 4 huge things that worked out perfectly for IJM. It was so amazing to see God at work. Jesse has often said that he often feels like Moses, completely inept to be doing what he is doing, but completely awed by what God can. It was also neat to hear from IJM's D.C. office that night, b/c they said that during their prayer time that day, they had specifically been praying for Sri Lanka. We want to say thanks to all of you too who are praying for us & IJM's work. We feel so blessed to have so many people praying for us. Thanks!