the details

Let me set the scene for you. We had been here for just over a week at a retreat center. After the retreat, we needed to start getting things set up. The city we were in at first was put on a curfew because of some problems in the area (none near us, but the whole city was only allowed "out" for 6 hours - chaos is an understatement). We went with our supervisors and got some chips (french fries) at a nice restaurant. Very delicious chips :) And then we decided to start our cell phone hunt. Did I mention it's also rainy season?

So, we walk across the "4-lane highway" wherever we find an opening in the traffic and head towards the part of town that sells cell phones. Trey knew he wanted a blackberry type phone, so he told our supervisor. Our supervisor did not know where to start to find that phone or even what price range would be reasonable for that. And at this point, I've already had one man rub my arm and say, "Ooh, I like." To which I just kept walking, staying a little closer to Trey :) We began to get overwhelmed trying to find the phone he wanted and explaining it. We didn't know that we needed to know the exact model. After going into a couple of the "stores" (I use that term loosely), we didn't know what to do. We turn around and see our supervisor's wife walking up with a national, saying, "Look who I found!" She introduces us to him and tells us this was one of their sons best friends. Isn't it just like the Lord to provide a national who is very trusted to show up at the very moment that I thought we'd never get a cell phone.

Trey told him what he wanted and since he knew some of the people working he began to search out. We found the blackberry's, but all of the were used - even had the AT&T logo on them :) and they were rather pricey. He took us into other stores and found a similar phone, even better I think, for a decent price. He took care of all the wheeling and dealing for us. And then took us to get our phone numbers back across the road. As we're buying those at a plastic picnic table on the side of the "4-lane highway" under a umbrella, the skies open up! It's a downpour. We still had one more thing to get our phone activated and it was 2 umbrellas down. We waited under a store front while our new friend went back and forth seeing what number we were in line to have our phones activated. Eventually, we ran out in the rain, under our second umbrella, and got it all taken care of.

I truly believe God intervened in our overwhelming moment. He sent the perfect person in our path to help us with this little detail. It's not a huge thing having a cell phone. We can get by without them, however, we've learned to live with them. And we could have gotten a cell phone without His help. But God chose to help us in our very time of need. I'm so thankful we serve One who cares about the little details.

week one

Well, as of 5:00 am last Monday, we landed safely in our new home. We've spent the last week at a retreat with other co-workers. It's been a great time to meet everyone and get somewhat acclimated to our new culture. It's also been good to get adjusted to our new time zone. The scenery is absolutely beautiful and the birds are very different - and very noisy in the early hours :)

We're spending this next week getting all our things set up. We're beginning to adjust to the power "cycle" and speed of internet - or lack thereof. Lots of new things to adjust to, but we're thankful to have people here to help us in all the changes.

We'll be doing our best to keep updating here. We have some great pictures from our final days in Vancouver, layover in London, and our first week here. Looking forward to settling in and making our life here.