Greetings One and All

Lost in Translation

A couple letters can make a difference.  This week I received a translated draft plan on providing food following an earthquake.  The plan was titled: "Earthquack Response Plan for Food Cluster."

Cold

Winter got a slow start this year but now, at the end of November, we know for sure, no doubt about it that winter is here to stay for the next 3, 4, 5, 6, even 7 months.  2010 is our 3^rd winter in this land. I’ve written such a list before, but the cold is bitter enough that I deem it deserves another diatribe.

So, here goes:

You Know It’s Cold When:

Your forehead is numb.

Your thumb & pinky are cold inside down mittens.

The air is so smoky; you’d swear it’s a foggy day.

Hot, red ear lobes remind you that your hat did not sufficiently cover.

The aquarium seems warm and snuggly to the touch by comparison.

Talk around the table is about how long a bag of coal costs and lasts.

Inside flannel, under wool, you’re cold at night.

The most important purpose for drinking tea is to warm your hands.

30 minutes after entering a warm room, your legs are still tingling (under 2 layers)

It takes 10 minutes to get ready to go out the door.

You can tell exactly where your boots end and your coat begins.

Helping?

How do you know if you are really helping? Perhaps we are messing up lives more than helping them.  What is love? When does the giver ( vs the recipient ) get to define love? When do boundaries and expectations become part of the definition? Throw in miscommunication, language confusion, culture differences, personalities, emotions, woundedness, family backgrounds, and poverty into the mix and things get messy. Perhaps I’m not helping, maybe I’m the one being helped.

Still No News

We will be inspected again, so they say. Every knock at the door puts us on edge.

No News

We still have not heard one way or the other about whether Liz's organization will have to close. We were told a decision would be made by last Monday or Tuesday. Waiting.

Liz's 1/2 Birthday!

Today we had a surprise 1/2 birthday celebration with 10 friends who could join us on short notice.  Our language teachers, tutors, ELI and JCS friends celebrated another 1/2 year with Liz.  We prayed for the Streams registration hearing tomorrow and shared the blessings of Liz's friendship with us.

Not as Open as it Appears

Some groups do their thing in a temple. Others do good work among people. We are really strange for appearing to do both in the same place. Some societies just can't get that. And volunteerism is totally beyond understanding. Our organisation has been called to the carpet for pronouncing that we do both. They are saying we need to choose to be one or the other. A panel of 9 will make the final decision next Monday or Tuesday, Nov. 8 or 9, to close us down or not.

Something we didn't see every day - on telephone lines

My Dad was a electrical utility director and I was a safety manager for 20+ years.  So when I look out my window and see a man swinging from the utility lines with no barricades under him, I get a little nervous.

My wife would say, "Remember what country you live in?"

Lookie Here!

Its cute. They have about 4 demo bedrooms and a warehouse-like room with real Ikea brand products. We think someone shops south, imports a load, and then marks the goods up, like waay up! They have one couch style, one or 2 tables and one chair, and a couple of bed styles, some dishes and a light. But they are trying. They even have a line of poles out front flying a few dirty tattered flags. UB is coming up in the world!