Cari's First Entry

Hello friends and family!
Andy's been getting on my case about doing one of these, but I don't think he understands how hard it is to concentrate long enough to write coherently when I have a two year old who is finding all sorts of cool things in the game closet behind where the computer is! But I finally figured out that I could get an email in after the boys are in bed if I do it before 10 (after that, the ants and cockroaches come out to play in the computer area which really kind of grosses me out). So I have a little peace now...

How are we doing - the boys and myself? (I think Andy does a good job of showing you his life) Well - we are doing very well. As Andy has mentioned, the boys have already made friends - both human and animal. It turns out our friends Jeremie and Elise (from our last trip) are living nearby in Tsiko, so their boy, Jean, and their nephew, Papi, come over nearly every day for about 2 hours of fun. Papi speaks great French which really helps me and the boys all seem to understand each other well enough to play. So far the food has been great and neither boy has trouble getting enough to eat. Drew is sleeping well, but Tony is struggling a bit. I would like for him to get more than 8 hours of sleep at night - and have it be good sleep (he tends to wake up crying several times a night) We are working on a few adjustments hoping it will help him to be well rested.

I have not been working with the teachers in training this year, which is a little difficult for me. I really enjoyed that last time, but having Tony is even more important, so I have been looking for ways I can help even with a 2 year old. It turns out that one of the Missionary Kids (MK) here is in a British Literature home school course. Since it is not his mother's forte, I have most readily jumped in. I have also been helping with the kids' club every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. It is a real challenge since I mostly work with the younger ones who only speak Ewe - not French. But they enjoy the attention and we sing lots of songs and play games. Drew and Tony look forward to kids' club, as well. Otherwise, I have been doing what I would deem "servant"tasks - cleaning, organizing, babysitting. Those things that can be done behind the scenes, and can also end up meaning a lot. So I feel good about what God has given me so far.

Thank you for your prayers. We certainly appreciate it! And if you could, please add a hospital worker to your list who was poked by an HIV contaminated needle today and will have to take some fairly intensive preventative drugs for the next four weeks. I cannot imagine the stress of it on him or his family.

I will end with my Ewe greeting which means "Have a nice day

ngkeke nyuie yowo
Cari