Yum Yum

Last night the Korean couple in our building barbecued a wonderful Korean meal for us. I can't remember what is was called something like "Chicupa" but I'm not real sure. All I know is that it tasted great. The night before last, they made Jeff and I a light snack of smoked oyster with rice wrapped in sea kelp. I must admit, I was a bit hesitant because it smelled like eating the ocean but it was quite tasty.

Anyways, here are a few pics of our Korean BBQ.

Enjoy

Shot Day

Yesterday was the first of three shot clinics. This is when everyone gets immunized against such awful and rare things as Yellow Fever, Japanese Encephalitis, Hepatitis A and B, Rabies, Meningitis, Typhoid fever, etc. Jeff and I both had four shots (two in each arm) and are scheduled for 6 or 7 more shots before we leave. Even with all those shots we still are not protected from the Flu, Malaria or Dengue Fever. Chloe just had to have one Rabies shot. I thought a rabies vaccine was only for our four-legged family members but we all got the shot.

Anyways, the med staff escort you into a room and then two nurses come from behind you and pop you in both arms with a needle at the same time. Then the first nurse, refills and pops you with a third needle while the second nurse says something like "this might sting a little." About the time the nurse is finishing her sentence, a burning, stinging pain is felt shooting through your arm. But this isn't the worst part.

The next day, I become really tired with terrible flu-like muscle aches and pains. Then, I started running a fever of at least 102 (I didn't check until I had already taken some Tylenol and was starting to feel better). But the worst part was the chills. I have had chills off and on since Saturday morning.

And we get to do it again this Friday. :)

Prayer Requests

Jeff and I would like for you to remember us in prayer for the following:
-Discernment and wisdom to remember all that we are being taught
-Good Health
-That we would be prepared for culture shock

Also, please remember Chloe's allergies and development. We have changed her formula-again but she is still very itchy with scaly skin. She is sitting up better now but her development might still be slightly delayed.

Thanks for your prayers.

One week down- only 7 more to go

This week I have been thinking a lot about our blog address- intentionally living. What does it look like to live an intentional life? What does that even mean?

A dear friend of mine gave me a great example earlier this week of what living intentionally really looks like. This friend keeps a prayer journal in which she writes all of the short-term prayer requests such as safe travel, illness, etc. in one part of the journal. In another part, she writes all the long-term requests. Jeff and I happen to be in the long-term section (for which we are thankful) until we safely return home in 2009 or 2010. The journal she keeps is small enough that she takes it with her during her walks in order to pray at the same time. That is intentional. She deliberately created an organized method to pray for others. That is impressive.

As Jeff and I embark on this adventure, we are becoming more intentional in many areas of our life. Exercise, daily Bible reading, prayer, meeting new friends and fostering those friendships are all areas that we have chosen to work on to become more intentional. We have created measurable goals and created a plan to which we are accountable either to each other or to someone else to meet. I have found that a huge part of intentionality is accountability. If you are the only one who knows your goals, you are also the only one that knows when you don't meet them.

Living on purpose gives your life purpose. Don't let life just happen to you, make it yours.

Quad Life

So, what's it like? That seems to be the million dollar question.
Answer. It's great!!
We are very busy and have a lot to learn in a short amount of time but everyone is united with a common purpose which creates unity.

Below are a few pics of our Quad.
Basically, we share a common living room with three other couples and then we each have our own apartment with two bedrooms, a bathroom, kitchen and washer/dryer. Another couple in our unit have a daughter just two months younger than Chloe.

This is our kitchen/seating area with a nice view of the lake.

This is one bedroom. Chloe has her own room with a crib.

Above is the kitchen and in the background is a laundry area.

This is our bathroom. Best room in the house. :)

So, that is our home. Our daily schedule runs something like this:

8:00am- Breakfast (

which Heather did not have to cook- yeah!!)

9:00am- noon- Meetings and classes to learn our job

noon- Lunch (again, I didn't have to cook)

1-3pm: more meetings and classes

3-5: optional meetings and classes

5pm: dinner (early bird special)

The evenings are unscheduled but there is a lot of homework and reading as well as exercising and personal/family time.

Sounds like fun, huh?

I don't WANNA get on the plane

This morning we got up at 3:00am for a 6:00am flight to Virginia for two months of training. I must admit I had been a little apprehensive this entire week. I wasn't sure how well Chloe would do and was afraid of major baby meltdown.

Here is how Chloe reacted (pictures are worth 1,000 words):





Just kidding. She was fantastic. A total angel the entire time. The trip was uneventful and we are looking forward to our next couple of months of spiritual retreat, learning and growing.

Steven King inspires me?

I ran across this article by Steven King that surprised and impressed me. To the best of my knowledge he doesn't run in Christian circles nor does he admit to it here. However, could it be possible that he has a better grasp on giving than many Christians?



A couple of years ago I found out what "you can't take it with you" means. I found out while I was lying in a ditch at the side of a country road, covered with mud and blood and with the tibia of my right leg poking out the side of my jeans like a branch of a tree taken down in a thunderstorm. I had a MasterCard in my wallet, but when you're lying in a ditch with broken glass in your hair, no one accepts MasterCard.
...We come in naked and broke. We may be dressed when we go out, but we're just as broke. Warren Buffet? Going to go out broke. Bill Gates? Going out broke. Tom Hanks? Going out broke. Steve King? Broke. Not a crying dime.
All the money you earn, all the stocks you buy, all the mutual funds you trade--all of that is mostly smoke and mirrors. It's still going to be a quarter-past getting late whether you tell the time on a Timex or a Rolex....So I want you to consider making your life one long gift to others. And why not? All you have is on loan, anyway. All that lasts is what you pass on....
Now imagine a nice little backyard, surrounded by a board fence. Dad--a pleasant fellow, a little plump--is tending the barbecue. Mom and the kids are setting the picnic table: fried chicken, coleslaw, potato salad, a chocolate cake for dessert. And standing around the fence, looking in, are emaciated men and women, starving children. They are silent. They only watch.
That family at the picnic is us; that backyard is America, and those hungry people on the other side of the fence, watching us sit down to eat, include far too much of the rest of the world: Asia and the subcontinent; countries in Central Europe, where people live on the edge from one harvest to the next; South America, where they're burning down the rain forests; and most of all, Africa, where AIDS is pandemic and starvation is a fact of life.
It's not a pretty picture, but we have the power to help, the power to change. And why should we refuse? Because we're going to take it with us? Please.
Giving isn't about the receiver or the gift but the giver. It's for the giver. One doesn't open one's wallet to improve the world, although it's nice when that happens; one does it to improve one's self....
A life of giving--not just money, but time and spirit--repays. It helps us remember that we may be going out broke, but right now we're doing O.K. Right now we have the power to do great good for others and for ourselves.
So I ask you to begin giving, and to continue as you begin. I think you'll find in the end that you got far more than you ever had, and did more good than you ever dreamed.

Cowbell

Special thanks to one Bobby Cox for providing the following link.

Follow this link to see a tribute to the best cowbell song ever recorded:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBqPHJhmFHo