Month: September 2010

  • like i said

    sometimes when we're asked to send prayer requests to the church or The Messenger i feel rather sheepish always listing the same things over and over. And, i wonder sometimes whether my need to ask for prayer for our health and safety is mostly due to my paranoia. But, recently two out of 3 (not counting Rhonda, she's leaving tomorrow) MAF wives have broken bones. Our Program Manager's wife just fell 2 meters off a ladder this past week and broke a bone in her left foot and chipped a piece off her right knee... she's immobilized for the next 8 weeks. She cant even walk herself to the loo just now! She's got 3 boys and has been in charge of teams coming out to do medical safaris in the bush - there's a team coming out in a few weeks time, but i dont know how that's going to work out now. They did take her to a hospital here, and they did operate on her foot. She had the choice to medevac out, but they decided to stay. The first MAF wife to break her arm (the day after they arrived back from furlough!) went out of country for the operation - although it was a more difficult break to mend. She's still wearing her removable cast.

    All this to say, i'm not terribly impressed at this current trend. "These things happen in threes", as someone pointed out to me jokingly. Ha. I'm not laughing. So, like i said, please continue to pray for our health and safety. Somehow those sorts of things are just a bit (lot) more stressful in a foreign country with iffy health care.

  • Motivation

    This last week Josh and i were requested to fill out an online survey put out by a friend of a friend doing research at a university in the States. He's looking into the "motivation of nonprofit organization workers for accepting international assignments" and is collecting a thousand or so responses from people who are currently working abroad for NGOs. As for other online surveys we've done... (actually, only one other, the one we had to do for the Missionary Health Institute for our end-of-term physical, emotional, and mental health check) it's interesting to notice the questions they ask and guess at what they're fishing for And they always seem to be a great source of conversation between Josh and i (Which is fantastic because we think we know each other so well that conversation is often necessary LOL). For this particular questionnaire i found it notable that there are many different reasons people leave for international work with non profit organizations... and some of them are quite obviously non-religious. ha.

    Are we here, for example, because we're after career advancement? (ha. no!) Because we want to get away from a difficult and/or bad situation at home? (hm, maybe the overabundance of Christmas family gatherings. Haha) Financial gain? (amused snort) Prestige? Some of the ones i marked down as things i agreed with were the benefits of cultural adventure, interacting with people of different countries, serving others, benefits for my children and spouse of living in a cross cultural environment, getting away from negative aspects of my home country, a sense of calling (ok, these are in no particular order of importance f.y.i).

    To be sure, except for the fact that we dislike being away from family (or, more specifically - are sad about the fact that our children are not growing up with the same experience of family as they grow up like Josh and i did) and that the transient lifestyle sucks (most notably in relation to friends coming and going at high frequency) the lifestyle we lead here is difficult to compare with anything we could be doing in Canada. Granted, both of us are - or have become - the kind of people for whom 'the usual' is unbearable. We remind ourselves of this often when we find that we're whinging about missing 'the usual'. But as far as, for example, the amount of time Josh can spend with his boys - there's no way we'd find a similarly awesome situation in Canada. And, we're quick to confess that the climate is pretty tough to beat. I didnt really mind Manitoban winters before i moved away, and i do still find myself missing them... but the thought of 9-10 months of really cold weather as opposed to 9-10 months of really hot weather is rather difficult to swallow by now. Call us wussy. We know it. So, unfortunately for some, we're still happier here.

  • i say goodbye and you say hello... hello, hello.


    This last Saturday we went to Au Bois Vert for another MAF family farewell. I'm sad to say though that we forgot to take a group family photo like we 'always' do. Shame. But i did think to take a pic of the food platters. Miam, miam!! The genius behind Au Bois Vert's success with the MAF team is that they put our big group out in the front garden, right beside the HUGE BOUNCY CASTLE. Which means we dont see our kids except when we drag them off to eat their lunch, and then they're right back at it. It makes for a (mostly) relaxing and leisurely luncheon with adults. (i say mostly because Asher still isnt big enough to go on the bouncy castle ) I'm hoping Josh and i can go on a mini holiday to this hotel for a night or two while the Reimer family is in the country. Would be lovely to relax by the pool sans enfants.

    Asher stats:
    -the 4th tooth is finally cutting through, after a week or two of looking like it's about to burst out.
    -he's slept now 4 nights in a row through the night without waking up. it qualifies for the 'sleeps through the night' sticker in the baby book (i'm not one of those sticker happy moms who pastes one in on 'fluke' or random events like gas-smiles, or saying 'mom' in amidst babbling. ) We're thinking this is a real stage milestone... which might -last for a week or so.
    -he's finally grasped the benefits of going feet first down stairs.
    -is excessively attached to his bottle(s), for which i am excessively grateful.
    - can go down for morning and afternoon naps and usually also at night without fuss if clutching said bottle. i can usually just make up a warm drink, pop him in the bed, leave the room and voila! sleeping baby. (dont mind my smug boasting, this great phase too shall pass, i'm sure).
    - eats 'big boy food' exclusively.
    - can stand alone for 5 seconds. (this has not yet qualified for baby calendar sticker).
    - can really motor on bi-peds if holding on with one hand
    - can really throw a ball.
    - can point at objects.
    - says his first malagasy word which sounds something like "n-day", meaning, "lets go".

    Judah is going to his 3rd day of school this year tomorrow. He hasnt complained yet about anything other than this afternoon he announced that he didnt like it when people liked him so much. We have to send 4 photos of Judah in for admin/labeling purposes so this morning before the 'bus' came to pick him up i took a few to choose from... uh. so i think none of them actually look like him, but for the sake of expediency i chose the most "normal" looking one. Any guesses as to which one that is?


    What a goof.

  • Ca sent beau!

    The scent of jasmine meets me as i move from the backyard to the front. Josh's arbor by the garage door is frothing with the petite white blooms, like stars against their dark green leaves. The aroma follows me around the garden as i water the plants. In the back i've just cleaned out the 'deck bed' of pine needles, there still are a lot of them lying about despite the plethora of branches that were cut down a few weeks ago. I love to work there because as i brush past the rosemary her perfume clings to me and i catch a whiff of it every now and again - while i wash my hands to prepare lunch for Ash and i, while i sit down for a quick write at the desk. Spring may just be here for good now, that's what Fanja said this afternoon when she came - Asher hearing her voice and looking this way and that to see where she was. I do hope so, because i'm itching to get back into the pleasures that the warmer months bring: sitting outdoors with a cuppa, spending leisure time puttering in the garden, watching the ferns uncurl their fronds and fill our garden with their image of rain-forest abundance.

    Judah is at school for his first full day. We went to drop off the heavy basket of school supplies and meet the teacher yesterday morning. His teacher is a man this year, a pleasant surprise, and mostly boys in this class, also a good thing. Although Larissa is gone from his class (a change that will undoubtedly increase his French acquisition!) he's in a split classroom again, which means that 2 of his MK friends will be in the same room, although not under the same teacher. It is indeed an answer to prayer because Josh and I were somewhat concerned that with all the changes going on, with all his friends leaving the school (and the country), school would become a strange place again. The LORD does indeed provide for his children and we are very grateful!


    Judah and his school supplies on the first day of school/meet the teacher day.


    The boys playing in the cushions.

  • Flexibility (by Josh!!)

    For various reasons, this article (below) written by Josh will not be appearing in our September newsletter, so i thought, since he put such hard work into writing it (and because Josh doesnt write much and therefore what he does write should be treated like gold!) i thought you might enjoy reading it. Despite our struggles i do hope you read our posts with the knowledge that we trust the LORD to bring us into a new phase of hope and blessing, as he is already showing himself to be doing. Missionary life is by no means smooth sailing all the time - this is simply a difficult time of transition for us - which will undoubtedly be followed by a new phase of new friends, new blessings, new good things.

    We were told 5 years ago that MAF is actually the acronym for Move Again Friend. No, we are not moving, but are learning flexibility in other just as demanding ways as others move.

    We pointed out in our last letter of friends/colleagues who have left or are leaving and in two weeks we will see the last movement of the year as our dear neighbors depart for Canada.  This has all been a lot to adjust to but one thing I was not quite prepared for was the “slack” that would need to be taken up and vacancies that would need to be filled in their absences.

    June, July and August have been stressful times for me as I have been trying to adjust to the new roles that have been asked of me.  Where as prior to our furlough I was a pilot/safety officer, I am now a pilot/operations manager/deputy program manager/ deputy ground ops/ facility maintenance guy….I can say thankfully in many ways the slow flying of our winter months has helped me cope with these added responsibilities but I always long to be in the air. 

    Taking over operations has been a handful at times, especially when my Malagasy counter part is on vacation.  I then become the sole person in the office doing flight scheduling, booking, invoicing and at times needing to fly.  August has been particularly hectic as our second pilot was asked to fill in in Chad for three weeks, while our program manager is on vacation and Matthew is packing house to head back to Canada.  That leaves me as the only expat staff in the office who can make any decision of any kind.  This has meant a barrage of questions that need answers quickly without the knowledge of what I am really answering, this while still doing the operations, piloting and coordinating the re-construction of a runway built 4 years ago.

    Thankfully the end of this season is in sight.  Patrick is back from Chad as I write this, Matthew is so kindly flying whenever I need him to and everything else, well let’s just say it’s slowly working itself out.

    I am looking forward again to this new term that we have here in Madagascar.  I look forward to the new responsibilities despite my fears of inadequacy, God is teaching me that He is sufficient and that through me He will accomplish what He needs to and that will not be based on my strengths or skills but on Him alone.