catching up

I'm going to skip a few days journal that I've already written to update all at once. We've been without internet for a few days but I hadn't blogged before then for a multitude of reasons. I guess the first one is that I was simply too tired to put down my thoughts. The work day is long and constant with a few breaks here and there, and there are so many new experiences and things to think about that I couldn't capture them all if I tried. I wouldn't be living my days, I'd just be thinking and writing!

We've been getting a lot done. The guys have completed blocking up two whole buildings, are starting the third and are coming right along with it. Chuck, Stuart, and Chester went home on Saturday night and tomorrow night, Joyce, Kathy, and Steve will arrive and stay and work until we all come home the following weekend. We'll be so glad to see them and have them here to help us along.

I celebrated my 59th birthday here in Malabo and it was a good day. Dinner was meat loaf, mashed potatoes, green beans, carrots, salad, corn bread, with chocolate cake topped with a dark chocolate glaze and homemade whipped cream. Yes, I made my own birthday cake but it was tasty and we all enjoyed it. We didn't have regular candles so Gayle found the one she used for her granddaughter's 3rd birthday. I guess each year can stand for 20 years for me---almost...

We've been having some good produce and nice meats so the meals have been good. I've made French toast for the first time and also BBQ sauce from scratch. They were both good. There aren't a lot of prepared foods in the stores so I look through Gayle's recipe books or go online and research simple recipes that can be made with basic ingredients and stuff turns out nicely. I think I may try to do more scratch cooking when I get home. It really isn't that difficult and it tastes good! I'll bet it even costs less, too.

The worst thing that's happened since we got here, at least for Byron and me, was that my dearest friend's husband, Jerry, died suddenly on Monday, Oct 10, 2011. Jerry had been recuperating from recent surgery when he began having problems and died in the night at home. I can't tell you how helpless I felt knowing that my friend was hurting and I couldn't go to her. If we'd been home, Byron and I would have flown out immediately to be with Alice and her children, but it wasn't the case. We prayed, individually and as a team, for her and depended upon the Holy Spirit to comfort her in ways we never could--even if we'd been right beside her. It's in the times where we have absolutely no control over a situation that we find out just how good the Lord is. I was able to talk with her via Skype a couple of times and email her a few more times, along with our other best friend, and together we supported her long distance in the Lord. It may not have been what we wanted most of all, but the Lord guides our steps, and I have to believe that He knows better than I do what best for us all. I'm so thankful that our internet loss didn't happen in the middle of her crisis.

I miss my home, I miss my pups, I miss my friends and I miss my family, but I will say without a doubt that my heart is content to see this task though that we've been called by the Lord to do. Malabo is not home but we are comfortable, well fed and have good friends and most of all, we have the Lord, with us. The tasks God calls us to are not always comfortable. They are not always easy. They cost us something, but in return for obeying, for working, for going, the Lord gives peace and contentment that are unfathomable.

So, it's a good day here in Malabo. Tonight's menu is Homemade Chili, Coleslaw and Saltines and Dark Chocolate Cinnamon Brownies with the last of Benny's walnuts! Sounds yummy to me:)

Father, thank you that there's no distance in prayer. Thank you for comforting my friend Alice and her children when we couldn't be there with them. Thank you for tasks given and strength to do them. I love you!

Suz