Bleach Me, Lord!

This is the harbor about 3 blocks from our house. It is at dusk.

Hello, all--

Had another thought from the laundry bin. (Can anybody say, family of 7 X 1 outfit per day X 7 days per week, plus an extra outfit per day for two girls who just HAVE to change at least once, which comes to, roughly, 63 outfits per week????) Is it any wonder the Lord talks to me at the laundry line---where do I spend a good deal of time?? Ha!

Any way, I was looking at a light-colored tee shirt thinking, "That looks clean enough. If I didn't know how it was supposed to look, I would think it was clean. I must say, more than a few of our clothers have taken on such characteristics. Still, I'm sure they look better than if I was beating them on a rock at the nearby harbor! A few days later, I was reading a book by Dallas Willard who pointed out how accustomed we are to sin. His point was that we need the Holy Spirit to even recognize what needs to be cleansed. We are so acclimated to the grunge of this world; the deep stains of unforgiveness and bitterness in our own hearts; the failures that we cringe away from facing; the besetting sin that we hide from in shame; the hypocrisy of the mask that we wear to conceal our real selves from others...that we forget the bright whiteness of the robe that He put on us at the cross. We have let it become just a tad tinged with smudges and dirt. We brush and spot-clean, and hope that it is unnoticeable to those around us. Or, we try to comfort ourselves that at least it's not as dingy as someone else's.

In the depth of my heart, I do not want to live like that! I want to be washed daily. I want His clothing on me to be so bright that the least streak of dirt is intolerable to me. I want the "vivid colors and the bright whites" that can only come from the heavenly bleach of God's own Son. May all your clothes be clean with the righteousness that comes from knowing Christ.

Grace and peace!

Refreshing Breezes Await!

Faith and Joy are two little blossoms that add sweet fragrance to our lives!

Hello, all--

I awoke this morning with a sense of anticipation and encouragement. Without a doubt--I feel the prayers of many!

Awhile ago, I was on our 3rd floor laundry porch to take the dry clothes off the line, hang the load just washed, and put another load in the washer. The laundry area is all concrete and tile, sun-exposed (except for a small overhang) and enclosed by a high wall for privacy in hanging out you private lingerie items. In other words, the air is very close and the temperature HOT. By the time I take clothes off the line, hang the wet load, and get the ne w load going, it is positively stifling.

But, when I step around the corner, back into the hallway of the house, invariably, I can feel a refreshing breeze. It must be the circulation of the air from the large stairwell that goes all the way down to the living room, but it is always there without fail.It remind's me of the refreshing available to you and me through the Holy Spirit. The task at hand may be mundane or monumental. No matter. Just when we need it, when circumstances, attitudes, or deadlines are closing in around us, a breeze is on the way.

You may be just around the corner from a fresh wind from the Holy Spirit! Don't give up, don't quit in frustration, don't sit down, don't back up. Just as surely as that welcome rush of air hits my face every time without fail, the Holy Spirit (your helper, comforter, teacher, friend) will bring refreshment to your bones, revitalization to your vision of the task at hand, and renewal to your resolve to see it through--it's just around the corner!

Wishing you grace, peace and a cool breeze!

Ahh, Vietnam...Part Deux

Pictured: Scientist Anna Mei Brewer in her DaLat bathtub (and YOU thought it was a bucket) shortly before completing her experiment on the removal of bristles from a brush.

We just finished a big outing to the Big C Super Center. We had a really big time--no big troubles.

It occurred to me that one huge difference in shopping here is the limits on choice and availability. For example, today we needed to buy a hairbrush. One of ours was destroyed on our trip by the hands of someone who wanted to see if the bristles could be separated from the back handle. For all those who have stayed awake at night pondering this question that speaks to the very core of our existence as human beings, let me assure you, indeed they can. Not only that, they can be separated from the handle spike by spike, in groups of 2 or 3, or the entire bristle pad can be removed with one decidedly forceful yank.

So, here we are in the hair doo-dad aisle at Big C. There are all manner of shampoos, conditioners, gels, sprays, barrettes, hairbands and bun holders (for your HAIR). I take that back--there is NO shampoo in all of Danang that advertises to add body--everybody wants silky, silky, silky. Anyhoo, I digress. There were combs aplenty. And one...yes, one (uno, un, mot, moi, 1--one in any language)...hair brush. Precisely, one. It was a piteous thing. A tiny round wisp of brush that had not enough bristles to hang on through the five heads of silky locks that need it. It would fit in a small purse. And that was that.

Another interesting note about Big C. To fully appreciate, you must visualize a 1960's or 70's supermarket, with two levels. The escalators are flat moving stairways, and the wheels of the cart are magnetized, so you can take them on without backing over yourself on the incline. You can check out on any level. However, if any item does not have a UPC tag with the price, they simply lay it to the side and you cannot buy it. Interesting method of doing a price check. Jillian says, "Sad, strange, but true."

Oh, and another interesting encounter today. I was buying laundry soap (to kill more roaches). Did I mention we have Tide here? However, Marissa and I both think that the Vietnamese brand has more perfume so the clothes have a stronger scent after being washed (they have a strong scent before being washed, also, but we won't talk about that). Anyhoo, there was a young lady in the detergent aisle that pointed out the Tide. It was clear she wanted me to buy it. I smiled and told her I like this one ( the "Omo" brand) because it smells better. In limited English, she told me she was a representative of Proctor & Gamble and they were having a sale. Hmmm, save money or knock myself over with the scent of "fresh fieldy flower." Well, that's a no brainer--I'm goin' for the smell. I tried to exit gracefully. Oh, yeah. Like that's gonna happen.

And now, back at home, I was doing a second load of laundry today and hanging the first load on the line. Fond memories of our trip came to me, until I pulled out a garment whose very sight will forever change the way I think of water activities. Yes, my swimsuit. Or as I now refer to it, my "tortuous-fireball sun-exposing-smolder-blister-ooze-and-peel suit." Now, that should leave a vivid little picture in your head for the rest of the day. It ain't pretty, but it's real.

And finally, speaking of real, I have toyed with my first nosy Vietnamese regarding adoption. We were at a park in DaLat and a group of four adults were following right on our heels, pointing, and discussing our family (which, is not unusual here, I must say). Presently, one of the women came to me and said, "Excuse me. Are these YOUR children?" I smiled and nodded yes. She counted and I confirmed her conclusion, "Yes. There are 5." She giggled and went back to her group, who they had a nice little conversation about it. Then, she caught up to us again, "Excuse me," she said gesturing at Jillian, Faith and Joy, "you and your husband...." she looked puzzled. "They were born in China," I said simply. She seemed to understand and returned to her group who had a nice little conflab over that portion of our conversation. We walked on. She caught up to me again. "Excuse me," she said gesturing to Elizabeth and Anna Mei, "these are your REAL children." "Oh yes," I said, "they are all real." Back to her clan for more discussion. Once more, near the exit, she grabbed my elbow again, "Excuse me," she said, "why don't they look like you?" I smiled at her and said, "I have no idea. You will have to ask the God who made them." And we left.

I have enjoyed musing like this. Jillian is sitting here with me and we have had some good laughs. Have a great day!

Grace and peace.

Ahh, Vietnam!

Okay, so this is the house I wanted Tony to get for me. Just because he would bang his head on the door every day, is that any big thing? I must be "queen of my castle!" I liked the picture, but the angle shot was too narrow and Anna Mei got cut out. :( She should be to the far left at the top. This was taken at the park in DaLat.

Hello again!

Yes...we are definitely home. We arrived last night to find that our water pump was not working. Again. Our landlord brought something to hook up to it to make it work, so we have water. However, he has to unplug the refrigerator in order to get the power supply for his gadget. Since we had left if empty for our trip, it's not a huge inconvenience at the moment. After a trip to the store later today...well, that's another matter.

We also came home to find that about ten large roaches had met their demise in our house while we were gone. Each little body on its back with legs up, absolutely sends Faith and Joy into terror. I don't get it--the dead ones scare them, but tiny live spiders are a delight. Go figure.

We received our new credit cards. Now we have to figure out how to activate them. The instructions say to call from your home phone. I have no idea what number the company has as our home phone these days...Mt. Sterling? Tony's cell phone? our Lexington office number? Oh well. We will figure it out.

Do I sound like I am griping? It is tongue in cheek. I was definitely whining in my heart as I came upstairs to put in a load of laundry and check email--only to find another dead roach in the laundry soap. Yuk! Then I looked at a calendar on the desk. Here is today's quote from Charles Spurgeon:

"Cheer up now, thou faint-hearted warrior. Not only has Christ traveled the road, but He has slain thine enemies."

Now THAT makes me happy! Okay. So I guess I will be quiet and start to think on whatever is true, lovely, right, pure, of good report.... :)

I hope that this day, the Lord will speak to you so clearly. May you know that He is intimately acquainted with every detail of your life. He holds you in grief, soothes you in angst, applauds you in success, dances with you in celebration.

A Few Pictures from Recent days

Joy at the pool.

Faith on a "whale of a ride!"

Believe me, this horse is no match for Anna Mei! Below, Jillian and Elizabeth come down a waterslide!

My apologies for the hodge podge appearance--I am not skilled at manipulating pictures on the blog yet. Hope you enjoy them anyway!

Monkey Business

We are safely back in Danang (well, five of us are--but I'll get to that in a minute). One of the reasons the girls and I made this trip to DaLat and Phnom Penh with Tony is that, had we stayed in Danang, Tony would have been absent from our family for over three weeks! Up until the last 3 days when Elizabeth was sick and we were holed up in the hotel room with nursing duties, we had tried to take advantage of seeing a few of the sites together and doing some fun things with the girls.

Duc and Linh (and their baby Sally, age 2) made the trip back with me, Jillian, Elizabeth, Faith and Joy. Tony, Anna Mei, Marissa and Enoch stayed in Phnom Penh to try to recover some of the information we lost when Enoch and Marissa's computer was stolen. So, they will be working there a few days longer.

One thing we did in Phnom Penh was to visit a park-like area where there are "wild" monkeys. I say "wild" because they are not caged, or chained. However, that is about all I can say regarding them that is "wild".They are actually quite docile, towards humans though not always toward each other. Vendors at the park sell bunches of small bananas and lotus pods that you can feed the little creatures. They will take the fool right out of your hand. It was quite a treat for the girls. Just as we were leaving, I saw what I thought was a flock of birds flying to a particular tree. Upon closer inspection, I realized they were bats. Sure enough, they flew to a tree that had no foliage at the top and there they hung, upside down. Creepy, says I. Fascinating, say my five little companions.

Those monkeys got me to thinking about the devil. Sometimes I feel like he is monkeying with me! While we were in Cambodia, I had put my cellphone in a back pack because the phone doesn't work there and I didn't want to forget it when we left. Unfortunately, I forgot that it was in the backpack when I let Duc check it with the luggage at the Saigon airport. Of course, the phone was stolen enroute to Danang. It made me so angry. I almost said bad words. (not really) I just felt like that old slewfoot was trying to monkey around with my life again.

He monkeys with my attitudes.

He monkeys with the health of our children.

He monkeys with our finances, our possessions, and our tools.

The question is why? He is defeated. He cannot win. He cannot disrupt my eternal destiny. Jesus told us why--he comes to steal, kill and destroy. It's who he is and what he does. .So, at least for now, I'm not going to be his lackey and react in dismay or despair or disillusionment, or disappointment, or discouragement. No sirree! I'm getting that monkey off my back. My heart is centered, my eyes are focused, my course is set. Thanks be to God, who is our victory!

May your day be free from monkey business!

default settings

hello all--
back at my sticky keyboard at the internet cafe, so gave up on caps. hope it doesn't annoy you as much as it annoys me.

first off, i am thankful to say that elizabeth is better after 3 days of fever and vomiting. her fever is gone as of this morning! praise god! she is still puny--has eaten one cracker in the past 3 days. she is drinking, though. today she actually carried on a short conversation and wanted to do...math! i had found some workbooks for $1 at a bookstore here in phnom penh a few days ago. so today, she felt like getting started on it. enoch and marissa were laughing. they said our kids are strange--the twins choosed fruit and vegetables over ice cream and elizabeth wants to math for fun! ha! please pray for us. we are supposed to spend tomorrow traveling back to danang. we will take a 6 hour bus ride from phnom penh to saigon, then an hour's plane ride to danang. we are to arrive in danang about 9:15 pm. i am concerned about elizabeth making the trip, but think that it will be better to be back in our own place.

i have been thinking about the verse that says, "set your mind on things above, not on the things of the earth, for you are dead and your life is hidden with christ in god". it has occurred to me that i can direct my mind to one location or the other. this verse tells me to "set"" my mind on the place of my citizenship and my king. i got to thinking about the word "set"--it reminds me of the default settings on the computer. i can change a setting to make a certain internet connection. our default setting for the internet at home is on gateway. every time i go to the internet, i have to change the setting to aol. i could take the time to reset the default to go directly to aol, but i just haven't done it. there are many other default settings, too: for the printer, the size and style of type, the way a page is laid out (single or double spacing, etc.). the default settings can be changed, so that a certain response from the computer is automatic. so, a few days ago, i asked the lord to reset my internal default settings. ï asked him to set my heart on him as a starting point--my thoughts, will, emotions, attitudes and efforts. i asked him to be my framework, my basis. then i will see things clearly and judge rightly.i think i have often reminded myself to adjust my thinking--to actively put on the mind of christ. what i seek now is for his mind to be my default setting--to be my beginning point instead of my middle point.i pray he is your basis and framework today. may all our internal settings rest on him. i have no doubt things will go better if they are.

lest you think i am sitting here thinking piously protected and outside the fray of the battle...here are a few things that have happened on our trip...
--marissa and enoch's computer was stolen
--i was the victim of a pickpocket at the market. while i lost only $16--we had to cancel our 1 credit card, which has made this trip more challenging.
--elizabeth's illness has made it impossible for our family to take part in much of the teaching meetings.
--last night i awoke at 2 am with a feeling of gloom and anxiety. nothing specific, just a feeling of darkness that i have not had in more than a year.

i share this to say...we are in a battle, brothers and sisters. proper default settings are not a nice option, they are a necessity. there is an enemy of our souls that seeks to steal, kill and destroy at every turn. may my attention and yours be turned elsewhere--set on the savior and shepherd of our souls!

bless you with his joy today!

The Stink Mobile

Left: In DaLat!

Hello, all!
We are in beautiful DaLat, Vietnam, for a few days. A team is here and we will head for Cambodia in a few days. I'll write more about that when we get to Phhom Penh.

Ahhh, yes, the delightful Stink Mobile. We took a plane from Danang to Saigon, then rented a 14-passenger van for the 6 hour drive to DaLat. Unfortunately, we found that the van we had hired also had two other passengers--men who also were going to DaLat. Our group has 14 people. The van had a very peculiar odor, a combination of old cigarette smoke, sweat, and last night's fish. Interestingly, there were decals of Mary and Jesus, but Buddha was on the dash board. I guess the driver wanted to cover all the bases. And well he should have, because he drove like a maniac! But, I'm getting ahead of myself.

Because we could not all fit in the blessed SM (Stink Mobile), Tony hired a second, smaller van for those of our group with the weakest stomachs. That left Tony, me, the twins, Anna Mei, Elizabeth, Duc, Enoch and the luggage. We had no more than started when the driver pulled off the road and waited. Turns out he was also transporting three boxes to Da Lat. Thankfully, they fit under the twins feet. Then, we were off and running. The fellow sitting behind the twins and me promptly shed his shoes, propped up his bare feet and went to sleep. Slumber was a wise choice. DaLat is in the mountains of Vietnam, so we were winding up, up, up....at a very fast rate. Tony told the driver to slow down, which he did, for a few minutes. It wasn't just the speed that had everyone queasy. The driver passed other vans, cars, buses, motorbikes, and pedestrians around corners, on hills, in city streets. At one point, he put his arm out the window, then promptly pulled it back in because it was going to be hit by the on-coming bus that shared the road with us.

About 6 hours later, we arrived safely in DaLat. The other van was not far behind and they had a similar story about the driving style of their driver.

I had to laugh. It was another opportunity for surrender...another chance to put complete trust in my Father's hands. DaLat is charming. It is MUCH cooler than Danang, usually in the 60's. Since the hotel has no heat, the nights are a little cool, but we have nice comforters on the beds. What a joy to laugh about aggravations, frustrations, and mishaps.

Now, all we have to do is figure out another way off this mountain at the end of the week--the Stink Mobile is off the list as an option. (Hey, I said we are surrendered, not stupid!)

Bless you with His grace and peace today!

A Sacred Gift

(Left: Our three oldest with good friends, the Bo family--our neighbors and landlords. My favorite chewing machines and rat killers are there, too, but wouldn't mug for the camera!)

One of the great blessings of our journey to Vietnam is reconnecting and developing friendships with many people who had somehow "gotten away" from us as far as daily contact and "up to date" communication. The other day, I was reminded again through several avenues of the sacred gift of friendship. It is a trust to be held, appreciated, and yielded to the Lordship of Jesus.

First, I was once again reading Dennis Kinlaw's devotional "This Day With The Master." Here are some excerpts from the August 7 reading:

"God bestows on His creatures the gift of friendship as an expression of His love. The relationships we possess are not something we create. They are gifts God gives as a symbol of His own nature, which is the communion love of three Persons. Wo would want to live in a world without the gifts of God. Those precious gifts will atrophy and disappear if we try to hold them separately from Him."

Later that same day, I received emails from two "long lost" friends--what an absolute joy! Since then, three more people that I had lost touch with, but who have meant so much to me when we lived near each other, have checked in. I am bubbling over with happiness!

Another gift...last night we took an outing to Big C--exciting on a Friday night, eh? Any way, when we returned, the Bo's were watching the opening ceremonies of the Olympics and they invited us in to watch with them. It was so nice of them. They admired all the countries. They cheered with us for USA. I was reminded what a gift it is that the Lord brought us here to this house. Their friendship has made our way easier.

And now, just a few minutes ago, Bee called me to the kitchen with a "hush hush" motion. The girls were upstairs and on my way down, I thought, "Oh no. I wonder if she found a rat or a spider or a snake or a.... " Any way, she took my hand and led me to the kitchen where she had just finished preparing lunch (which we will consume in about 5 minutes). There on all our plates, were grilled ham sandwiches--something we have not had since we arrived. They look beautiful. Bee noticed that I had a BLT at the western restaurant where we celebrated Marissa's birthday (we had invited Bee to join us). She observed how it was made, and today, we're having grilled sandwiches. My heart is so full of humble thankfulness that this sweet woman would care so much what we (specifically I) like and then work to duplicate it. It is such a gift of her friendship. We are blessed (and, specifically again, I am blessed).

May the thoughts of your friends bring you happy memories and thankfulness today!

Love, grace and peace to you all!

The Bike Park

Tonight we had a little excursion to a "bike park" along the river. It is a place that rents bikes of all sizes and descriptions on a plaza--it costs about $1.20 per person for an hour. There are bikes with training wheels, big bikes, bikes with a seat for a passenger on the front, even two-seater bikes. Once you start to ride, you can trade bikes as many times as you like during the hour. The girls love it.

The pictures are actually from our last outing to the park, because Tony has the camera with him in China.By the way, cotton candy is about 25 cents a bag at the Bike Park. But, if you want to sit down, you have to pay for a plastic chair--about 15 cents for the hour.It's a fun thing to do in the evening when it cools down.

Grace and peace!

Early morning swims and Clipped wings

(From left to right: Elizabeth, Jillian and Anna Mei on a recent trip to the countryside.) Ever since she turned 9 last December, Jillian has been telling us that she is a pre-teen. A total "first-born" child, she has always been mature for her age. Lately she has been spending a fair amount of time with Nguyen (pronounced "Gwen", sort of), the teenage daughter of Mr. Bo. Gwen speaks pretty good English, so they are able to communicate for the most part. Two nights this week, Gwen has asked Jillian to spend the night so they can all get up at 4:30 am and go to the beach to swim at 5:00 am (yep, the sun is up here at that time). Mr. and Mrs. Bo and Gwen go swim every morning. They put Jillian in the middle of all of them and away they go. They usually return home about 7:00 am, eat breakfast and take a nap or just rest for about 30-45 minutes. This has turned out to be an answer to prayer, since Jillian feels that she is able to have a little freedom and she is developing a friendship outside the household. It is a temporary fix, since Gwen will return to school in a few weeks, but still, I am thankful.

And so, my "worry" prayers have turned to Anna Mei. Our "can-do", fearless eight year-old is grounded. Up until recently, she had enjoyed many trips to Duc and Linh's house, to play, to spend the night, to go to the markets and beach with them, etc. However, when she returned a couple days ago, Linh told me that Anna Mei had left their house on her own with no word to anyone, and walked to the local market ALONE. She had not been gone long when Linh noticed her missing, but without knowing what direction she had taken off, it took awhile for a terrified Linh to find her. Anna Mei, of course, can't understand the fuss. She calmly told me she wasn't lost, no one bothered her, and she felt that she looked "Vietnamese." So, for a LONG time, unless Tony or I go with her, she is confined to our house and courtyard.

One other praise today. I was making a pitcher of iced tea and the lid of the tea kettle fell off while I was pouring the boiling water over the teabags. The steam burned my wrist and thumb, but only slightly. It is not hurting now and the redness is confined to two areas, a place on my wrist about 3 inches in diameter, and the side of my thumb. Praise God--it made me so thankful for all the near misses that I am sure we have experienced of which I am unaware.

We had a large spider sighting the other night. Outside on our "laundry patio" there was a huge, tarantula-sized spider (the body is smaller, but the legs thinner and longer). Any way, Enoch finally bravely approached the thing and gave it a snoot-full of Raid. The next day, we told Duc about the experience. The spiders are not poisonous, but quite common (this is the 4th one of seen here, but without a doubt, the largest). He also said it is good that we didn't step on it because they often carry egg sacs and if you step on them the sacs break and spiders go running everywhere. Lovely.

Tony and our guest, Myrna Middleton, are traveling to western China today to visit and pray over the children at the orphanage there.

The other day I was reading Revelation 1--and I was struck by the bold simplicity of John's first verse:

"The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must shortly take place; and he sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-John, who bore witness ..." (itallics mine) Can you imagine any preacher today telling any group of believers that he had received his message directly from an angel? He would be ridiculed, reviled, scoffed at, maligned...you name it. Yet we read John's words all the time without blinking an eye. I had never even noticed that before. But I want to live like that. I want to be a vessel so accepting, so prepared, that my Father can communicate to me anytime, anyplace through any means and I receive it. I want to have a sensitivity that notices the events and circumstances that He brings to my life and an ear that hears His whisper. I feel it is the only way to discern what He is doing and make appropriate decisions. God help me, keep me from being a scoffer, a doubter, jaded and skeptical. I want to look at life from a view of possibility, not with human blinders that decide from the outset what God "can" or "cannot" do.

Graceto us all to see with the eyes of our spirits!

Beautiful

(Left: Beautiful Anna Mei--missing a front tooth that fell out a couple of weeks ago!) Today has been such a mixed bag. The girls have been alternately sweet and caring to each other, then arguing, pinching, screaming at each other. Just when I think all is lost, Anna Mei brings me her first song composition. It is entitled, appropriately, "Beautiful."

Beautiful God

You are so beautiful

You made us beautifully like You, Lord

You are more beautiful than anything in the world

You are so mighty and strong

I'm going to praise You for every day of my life

You are so beautiful

How could a mother ask for anything more? The answers to my prayer are just...is there any other word?

Beautiful!

On the roller coaster of daily life!

disAppointments and Surprising Moments

(Left: Anna Mei and Elizabeth eat "pineapple on a stick"--er, stem, that is!) Hello, everyone! Once again, we attended church at the Danang International Fellowship today. What a precious group of people! Today, one of the Australian members shared the message. He talked from 1 Samuel 13 and 14, and his focus was on dealing with disappointments. He pointed out that our disappointments are often God's appointments in our lives. Like any "appointment", it is a designated event that lasts for a set period of time, but we are not meant to live there forever. He likened to a visit to the doctor--we have an appointment, we are there at a set time, but we never expect to move in to the doctor's office. Moreover, with divine "appointments" there is purpose and benefit involved. He also pointed out that Saul and Jonathan faced the same disappoinment, but their way of responding to it was totally different. Disappointment is not necessarily good or bad, it is our opportunity to choose how to respond. Saul responded by doing nothing initially, and then by taking matters into his own hands in a panic. The result was that he lost his kingdom. Jonathan strengthened himself in the Lord, shared with one other likeminded person, looked for the Lord's confirmation, moved forward and saw miraculous deliverance!

The sermon touched my heart in a special way. Years ago, when Tony first told me that he felt called by the Lord to attend law school, that I was less than excited. As I prayed, the Lord brought me to this same passage in 1 Samuel 14, where Jonathan speaks to his armor bearer. The armor bearer's response is "Do all that is within your heart to do, and here am I with you." Fifteen years after law school, the Lord used those same verses again as Tony and I prayed about this move to Asia. I feel that it is no accident that the speaker this morning had this text. It is a great encouragement to me to reject fear, and look for the divine in my (dis)appointments.

After church, we went to the Big C Super Center. There is a restaurant there (called Lotteria) that serves Asian and American food. I also needed to pick up a few things for supper tonight since today is Bee's day off. Any way, I made a stop at the ladies' room, which had a line (what else is new?). But while I was in line, one of the female employees who watches the restrooms motioned for me and another gal in the line to go into the men's room! I was hesitant, but it seemed quite normal to everyone in the line--so, off we went. The men's room was empty when I closed the door of the stall, and unfortunately was not empty when I came out. I made a hasty exit!Also, while shopping I finally found...bottled ketchup!!!!! Oh happy day!!!! The biggest bottle to buy holds about 8 ounces--it's about the size of the old individual coca cola bottles. But...it is ketchup!

The girls have found a new amusement. Outside the office on the third floor, there is a patio balcony. Mr. Bo has some hanging baskets and there is a spicket and hose for watering. The girls have learned that by flooding the patio floor, they have a very effective "slip and slide"--and slip and slide they do! Of course, they have to slide on their knees, seats or tummies. There is a drain in the floor, but the water always just dries up anyway--I think the heat takes care of it. One advantage to this activity is that they can "slip and slide" and they are fully visible from the office. The patio is covered, so we have no worry of sunburn.

That's it for now. It's almost time for me to prepare supper.

Love to all, grace and peace be yours,

Turning Towels and Dodging Lizards

A normal day here in Danang. After breakfast, I trudged up the 42 stairs(trudging is the best I can do at 8:20 am) to the laundry porch on the third floor to remove the clothes from last night's washing from the clothes line and hang at the new load that I put in at 7:30 this morning. With 9 of us in the house, we have one line for the wet clothes, about 10 feet long. To make space, we hang the wet clothes on hangers. Of course, terry cloth towels don't dry so well when folded, so most of the time, they have to be turned over on the hanger to dry the underside. For some reason, turning the towels always makes me think of my old laundry room at our former house, and the laundromat I used just before we moved to Vietnam. I loved taking the hot towels out of the dryer. Here, the fragrance is just as strong, even though the towel is partially damp. It reminds me that things are good in both places--just different.

One difference that is not so welcome is the bugs. The ants don't just march two by two. Even Faith and Joy refer to any sighting as "a bunchee ants." Then, of course, there are other flying varieties, along with spiders of all sizes. Thankfully, I am learning not to be so squeamish about things. And, the girls now appreciate the importance of keeping food in the kitchen, picking up trash, and rinsing dishes.

Tony was preparing to leave for China today. He will visit a couple of orphanages, and meet a lady who is coming on a prayer mission. She will remain here long enough to teach at a couple of conferences for church leaders. We will all travel with the teaching team to Cambodia in about a week. It will be Elizabeth and Jillian's first trip to Cambodia, and they are excited about it.

While I was helping Tony pack, I reached in the top of the armoire in our room to remove a shaving kit. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something falling toward my face and I jerked my head to the right. I looked on the floor to see a lizard scurry under the armoire. I had to laugh--a few months ago, I probably would have screamed like a little girl, now I barely flinched. Of course, had the thing actually landed on my cheek, I probably would have brought the whole household running.

It is days like this that I love my tea kettle most. It is nothing special really. Just a plain, ordinary, useful tea kettle. It is not ornate or decorative. But of all the kitchen items, I use it the most. It holds hot water for my coffee, tea-brewing and dish washing. It is homey, and comforting in a way. I like the feel of its wooden handle in my hand. I always think of the utensils the Bible talks about in 2 Timothy 20, 21--

"In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work."

If I keep my heart close to the Lord by walking with Him daily, He will make me an "instrument for noble purposes...holy...useful...and prepared to do any good work." I don't have to be the best instrument, the most ornate, the most costly. I just have to be like my tea kettle--ready to serve, faithful in fulfilling my purpose, available. Oh, that my Father would think of me as I do that tea kettle, with warm affection, comfortable, at home, and that my heart would fit well into His hand that He can pour me out as He chooses.