Making life interesting

My life here in Afghanistan is pretty good considering I am in the middle of a war-torn country thousands of miles away from Rachel and the kids.  However, it can get awfully monotinous.  In an effort to break the monotony, we'll do just about anything!  Here are some examples with some respective remedies:

1. The meals are served on a 21-day menu; we have the same meals offered exactly every 21 days.
- Add pineapple to my cheeseburger at lunch every now and then; a little BBQ sauce and it's something totally new!
2. A typical workday is from 8:00 to 5:00 (of course we'll go back to the office after dinner to check on issues, but not to spend much time); this is our workday six days of the week (when we are on camp).
- Sleep-in without warning, miss the showers before they start getting cleaned at 9:30, and amble into the office 30 minutes before lunch starts!  End the day by working 'til 10:00.
3. Armed Forces Network (AFN) plays the same commercials over and over again.  We have four T.V.s in our dining facility and it's completely feasible to see the same commercial on two T.V.s turned to two different channels at the same time.
- Stop watching T.V. and bring up a completely untouched subject with friends at the table.
4. Mission briefs, convoy movements, and radio calls follow a specific pattern - every time.
- Use different voices over the radio, mimicking other team members or famous actors.
5. Phone calls to home can even become like a broken record sometimes asking a lot of the same questions and giving the same responses.
- Call at odd hours and ask to speak with the kids - they always have something new to talk about!

Well, that's just a flavor of the monotony that we face over here.   Thankfully God provides breaks for us as well with seasonal changes, occasional rain, and the few earthquakes we've had! 

In Him,

oh, everything

I've had lots to blog about, really, I have. Today, I am blogging on my adorable new mini laptop. David gave it to me for our anniversary a little over a week ago. I'm really enjoying it so far, but there are a lot of things to update, a lot of files to move, a lot of problems to overcome in the old desktop as well as on getting this up to where I need it to be to use it to the fullest.
I've had quite a few other problems to overcome and so many blessings to co-ordinate! It's been a little tough at times, but God just keeps causing people to bless us! Even today, God is still putting it on dear friend's hearts to call and see how we're doing for some reason, completely not knowing all we've been through in the last 3 weeks (delivering a child stillborn to be with Jesus, house flooding, city flooding, brakes failing). I have hardly had a moment to catch up and breathe before the next event to handle. But, though exhausted, there is peace. God is speaking to us and growing us always more into His likeness.
I want to leave you with some Scriptures that the Lord showed me this morning. This is all from 2 Cor. 1. "God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others(vs.3-4). " "We think you ought to know...about the trouble we went through...We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it...But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely on God...(vs.8-9).
I don't like suffering any more than anybody else, but God has changed my perspective of it. I hate to even acknowledge it at all...I naturally minimize things as a coping mechanism. Yet, God is saying to me to allow myself to feel to the fullest so I can rely on Him to the fullest and that others in the Body need to know about our struggles. It's been kind of difficult for me to continue to receive all the blessings we have, but I just keep taking a deep breath and trusting that all in all, my small sufferings are actually giving the Body a chance to be like Jesus and grow in His likeness! It's really quite miraculous, isn't it? "And you are helping us by praying for us. Then many peoppe will give thanks because God has graciously answered so many prayers for our safety (vs.11)."
So thankful,
Rachel