Friday, 26 January

It's good to know that eventhough we can be thousands of miles from home, some things don't change. Yep, Kristin forgot my birthday... again... for the 4th out of 8 years of marriage.
Praise God, things have settled down here to an easy routine. We get up in the morning, take things slowly around the apartment, go out for a morning excursion, eat lunch either on the excursion or back at the apartment, take an afternoon siesta (that was Sam's routine at the orphanage), then an afternoon excursion, then supper either on the excursion or back at the apartment. We then have slow evening at the apartment.
In some ways it's kind of unexciting, but in more important ways it gives us the opportunity to get to know Sam and for Sam to get to know us. He's obviously feeling more comfortable around us in that he showed a stubborn (typical kid) streak last night: as we turned out the lights for bed, he refused to give up the gum he'd been chewing for hours. Thank the Lord, K is an expert at these situations. She took away his books, and she and I went back to reading, ignoring him all the while. In a few minutes he handed her the gum. Much better way to handle things than yanking the gum out of his mouth, which was my initial reaction. Typical kid.
He continues to prove to be much more verbal than we thought. We were anticipating a shy, quiet boy, and he may yet be that when we get to the States, but not right now. We went to the big mall here (called the Acropolis); he's quick to order from the wait staff, talk to our guide, and tell the cab driver where to go and how to drive - which is interesting since Sam has no clue how to get to the mall and has only rarely been in a car. When we have our afternoon siesta he never naps (I don't know what those caregivers at the orphanage did, but obviously K and I aren't doing it), but instead goes to an imaginary world and keeps up a running dialogue, along with motions, thoughout the entire 2 hours.
So, as you can see, we seem to have passed the most exciting point of this venture. Ahead lies a lot of joyful, but hard, work. That hard work will begin with the trip home. The difficulty factor is increased by my bad back which has chosen this time as an opportunity to flair up. That puts a tremendous amount of pressure on Kristin. So, we ask your prayers for us as we prepare to return home: that my back will heal and strengthen and/or that we'll figure out ways to work around the problem. We'll just have to trust God with this issue.
Thanks, as always, for your prayers and support. God continues to provide.
Grace and Peace,
Chip