S - T - R - E - T - C - H - I - N - G I'm not sure what the Lord still has in mind for us with the training he's giving us these days. All I know is that it is just a faith- and flexibility-stretching exercise. As much as Jeremie has ever increasing training for his rowing, having to get up just about every morning at 4:45am PLUS more after school work-outs (and all of this to win regattas!), why should we escape rigorous training to win a prize far more valuable?! I have a feeling He's training us for greater challenges - maybe having to do with what he wants us to do for orphaned babies and children in Africa...???!!! Don't know. Anyways, we have 3 more days before our big move and are still not sure where we'll be moving to! We still feel quite strongly to pursue the purchase of the said home and could even move into that home IF we paid a 10% deposit and made an unconditional purchase agreement for the end of February. With the help of family, we could actually make the deposit (which is a miracle in itself!), but we would have no idea how the rest of the house would get financed. All we would need is a loan with 5% interest and we would end up paying as much in mortage repayments as we are spending in rent right now. Not bad, eh? The only challenge is to find this loan, since in NZ interest rates are 8%. We could do it, too, if somebody was to partner with us in the purchase of the home - with that part then belonging to them, including the capital gain etc. Enough said for that. Our alternative is to live at the "House of Prayer" student dormitory for some time and/or go camping. We have to bear in mind, too, that we are having long-awaited guests from Tahiti with us for Christmas... We may be crazy, but we turned down a rental opportunity last week because of the strong sense that the Lord wants to give us that home - somehow. It is stretching, to say the least., but the faith in our hearts for that home is so real that we can't imagine going into another (long-term) rental. Lord, please help us, guide us, strenghten us and provide the home that YOU have promised!!! THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS!!!

Update For those of you that haven't already given up on finding some news on my blog - here's a short update: We still haven't found a home that we can move into on Dec.8th. So keep up the prayers! After looking and looking for another rental and praying and praying, Rich felt strongly from God that we should pursue buying a certain home. If you don't receive our newsletters and would like to hear more details, let me know and I'll send you our recent newsletter. Anyways, yesterday we went to look at the house with the kids during an "Open Home" and happened to meet the owners (normally that doesn't happen during an "Open Home"). We found out that they actually go to our church!!! Interesting - - - The whole family loves the house - it seems perfect for all of our needs. We are now trying to work out how we could finance this purchase. Humanly speaking it is completely impossible - but with God, nothing is impossible. So we are pursuing this and praying hard! In the meantime, we are starting to pack - in the midst of very busy lives... Fascinating! I am so grateful that - after my initial grieving and sadness - I am walking in JOY and PEACE in this whole uncertain situation! Quite the supernatural work of God!!! As soon as we have some news I'll write more. Until then, we would appreciate your ongoing prayers! We need them!!! THANK YOU!!!

Picking flowers no more I may be just about to fall off the blogging-wagon. Just letting you know not to worry if you don't hear from me much in the next little while. Due to our life being turned upside down once again with an impeding move to who knows where - it's back to survival mode. Already without the move there was so much going on. We have a visitor arriving from Tahiti tomorrow after church (still got to get things ready). Next Sunday, Rich will be picking up friends from Germany in Auckland, a family of 5, that will spend the next 6 months or so in NZ. They are taking refuge here, since they are getting in trouble with the law in Germany for home schooling their oldest daughter who has some special learning challenges. It's a crazy - and long - story, but we've been helping them get ready and set up with a van, caravan and all the contents etc etc etc... The following week we were going to host a Thanksgiving dinner (cancelling that, sadly, it's just too much, since the German family will most likely still be with us) and then Nathalie's birthday. The next day (in 2 weeks), Rich is supposed to fly to Fiji again for 1-2 weeks - oh yea, can't forget Jeremie's rowing regatta the day before Nati's birthday (we all have to go and watch him - a whole long day event at a lake a bit over an hour from here - he'll have those about every other week-end from now til the end of March and training almost every day TWICE! - we get to drive him every time!!!) Then, we are having a family from Tahiti stay with us for Christmas plus a few days - - - and we were going to be involved in overseeing and planning (and helping run) the childrens program for a very significant camp in January http://www.malachi-4-6.com - we are not sure if we can still do this now - - - praying about it. Yes, life has once again become crazy - and I am going through some grief - dying to certain things I was hoping to be able to do which will have to be put on the back burner once again - like starting to work on the children's photo albums and putting some thought and effort into our family Christmas - this hasn't been possible in quite a few years now - back to bare bones. Lord, help us! Thanks for your prayers. I will write once we will have found our new home - until then - you know we're still looking :)

The Bomb I just came back from a meeting and will be heading off to bed shortly. I've just GOT TO tell you our BIG NEWS of the day: Ready? Ready or not - - - here we go: we will have to move again soon!!! We received the news today in a letter from the agency. At first it sent chills up and down my body (literally!). But not for long :) How good God is! He had already been preparing Rich and I. Although this is a fantastic house, we have never felt like it was "ours". As a matter of fact, we've never really felt that about any of the 16 homes we've rented - always had this feeling of a temporary home. But with this one, we were just recently talking that even if we could buy this home, we wouldn't want to. Not really any other reason but a feeling. Yesterday, for the first time since we moved in here 5 months ago, I looked out at our beautiful garden and thought to myself: "I have a feeling we'll be moving again from here soon." I didn't quite expect it to be soooo soon! But I'm sure glad the Lord prepared my heart!!! The owners had told us that they would for sure not be coming back for 1 year. And they really seemed to want to stay in the US and not come back at all. BUT - there goes the big "but" again - they are needing to return to NZ because of unforseen medical reasons. Normally, they only need to give us 42 days notice. We are glad that they are giving us a little more than that. We have to leave on January 15th. So we've got 2 months to find something else and move in. We are now praying to see if we should look for another rental or for something to buy. We would really like to buy a home at some point. Is the time now??? We don't know. All we know is that we have to find out very soon - either way. Rich is disappointed that a lot of the vegies he's been planting we will not be able to enjoy eating:) Bummer! Nathalie doesn't want to move, the other kids don't really mind. Wouldn't it be so nice if God led us to the right place without us having to spend endless hours looking around?! That is so tiring and time consuming - and our schedules are already packed as it is... The good thing is that all we need to give is 2 weeks notice. So if we find something we could move in within 2 weeks. We'd REALLY appreciate your prayers!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That we would know if we should look for a rental or believe God for our own home. AND - that the right home would open up!

Now, guess who gets to pick gorgeous flowers like those from their garden??? You guessed it!! Aren't we ever soooo blessed?!!

Paper-war We're in the paper-war again these days, like we say in Germany when we have to deal with lots of paper work. First, it was our taxes. Then we filled out HEAPS of papers for the renewal of our 2-year visas. Then we found out, or rather, remembered from last time, that the visas are very costly when you have them stamped into a German passport. If you use an American passport, they are free - go figure... Since 2 of our children's american passports have expired and the 2 other ones will not be valid until the end of the 2-year period (which they need to be), we need to get new passports for them. So, after having New Zealand passport photos taken for their visas, we had to go back and have new photos taken for their american passports (oh yes, they are different!) Now I better get filling out those papers before evening church service so that we're ready to leave tomorrow morning early to Auckland. The whole family HAS TO show up!!! Quite a hassle, having to take the kids out of school and using Rich's day off - plus it costs tons of money. But we've got to do it. It's better paying the $$ for getting the passports than for the visas, since we need the passports anyways, sooner or later.

No more nap?! What do you get when you try to get your 3-year-old to go from taking a nap and staying up til 9:00pm and later to no nap and going to sleep at 7:00pm? A miserable afternoon - - - or, like today:

This is common for some children, especially in Tahiti, NOT for Kylie. I don't think she's ever gone to sleep like that on the floor. I guess all the playing at the church nursery and then with our guests took it out of her :)

Cultural differences We are still struck by all the little cultural differences we're learning. Take, for instance, the drink MILO. I don't know if people in the US even drink it. Definitely not in Germany. In Tahiti, however - AND New Zealand - it is a favorite drink for people who don't want to drink coffee or tea. They way it is prepared, however, is quite different. Tahiti: take a bowl, put 2 heaping tablespoons of Milo powder (a bit like chocolate), 2 heaping tablespoons of sugar, 2-3 heaping tablespoons of milk powder (enough to make the equivalent of one bowl of milk) and then add hot water and mix it all. New Zealand: take a cup, put 1 teaspoon of Milo, 1 teaspoon of sugar, 1 tablespoon of fresh milk and fill up with water. When we ask our New Zealand friends if it doesn't taste too watery, they say, "No, we just don't want to use too much milk, because it is expensive." Now to us, milk in New Zealand is quite cheap at NZ$1.25/litre! In Tahiti, we never even bought fresh milk because it was over NZ$3/litre. And the milk powder wasn't much cheaper. Now what can we learn from the simple example how people make Milo ? In Tahiti, food is VERY IMPORTANT!!! There's got to be loads of it and it's got to be rich. In New Zealand, food isn't that big of a deal and most New Zealanders are quite frugal - not just when it comes to food. It is so fascinating!!! We are also still having to get used to the fact that when New Zealanders come to your house for a meal, they hardly ever stay more than a couple of hours. In Tahiti, people wouldn't leave for HOURS. I guess Kiwis don't want to impose, which is fine sometimes (like today, when I am tired), but sometimes we just miss the hanging out for hours, the laughter and fun over food. One more advantage of guests leaving soon: I get to write on the blog :) Actually, friends that used to live in Singapore told us, if you have guests over there, they rarely stay longer than 20 minutes and they spend most of that time on their cell phone. Good thing God didn't send us there! What a culture shock that would have been:)!

Embarassing... Kylie is quite the little talker - getting more and more vocal. She's been a bit behind in her speaking, since she is learning 3 languages at the same time, but she's sure catching up. Her strongest language is English, since that's our family language and - hey - we live in New Zeland :). I speak German with her one week and French the next, but when I am in public, I mostly revert to English - especially when we're with other kids, which is most mornings. She understands both of those languages but speaks them only when I prompt her - otherwise she responds in English. The other day, we were at a store waiting at the counter. A young Indian girl was next to us with her father and she started talking to him in some Indian language. Immediately, Kylie tried to imitate exactly what she'd said - to my embarrassment (they heard it loud and clear!) - it sounded pretty much like she was saying blablabla - and mocking it. I know she didn't mean to mock her, she just figured there was another language to learn :) Then today I was back with her in the same store and she pointed out to one of the people working there (also quite loud and clear): "He's lugly". Now - knowing her - I knew she meant to say ugly. Good thing her speech is not that perfected yet. I was able to say: "Oh, yes he's lucky!" (of course, he heard the whole thing.) She repeated "He's lugly" a couple more times, realizing I didn't get what she was really trying to say. And I repeated my line. I don't know what I would have said had she actually said that he was ugly. She's never done this before and I don't think any of our other kids have. HELP! Any advice out there - besides using this as a teachable moment and telling her afterwards that we do not want to say things like that about people...??? Who knows what's going to come out of her mouth next?

Family and Guests Today, we were delighted to have the visit of Hinrich and Katrina Kranzlin, the YWAM-leaders for the Pacific region, with one of their sons. We relish the rare times we get to catch up with them, since we have quite a few things in common, not the least being that we are all German(Katrina is half-German, half-English). When they arrived, Kylie - social and hospitable as always - showed Katrina the loo (she needed to use it). For Kylie, Katrina was a perfect stranger. Katrina told us later - Kylie not only showed her the loo but made sure to get inside it with her - just to make sure she's alright - she was intending to staying there with her :) When Katrina gently pointed out to her that she should wait outside, she did just that - until Katrina came out - which took quite a while, also since she wrote down the "Quote of the Week" that is in our toilet as an inspiration. After that, she proceeded to show her the whole house (which we don't normally do for all our guests :)) Then she showed her the garden and sat on her lap for the rest of the time - our social little girl! Just before leaving, Hinrich grabbed the German flag that is next to our front door (along with flags of all the countries we've lived in) and started singing the German national anthem - I joined in - it was fun! You should have seen Kylie's face - she hadn't heard that since the Soccer World Cup and was just beaming! I've been a bit concerned about Jeremie eating so little since he started rowing and working out so much. Rich pointed out to me that the protein bars I gave him on his very strenous days, were actually hunger suppressants .... o oh... I better look better what I'm buying next time :) Rich's comment to Jeremie: "You are doing exercice for the two of us - AND - I am eating for the two of us - - - " Joke of the day at the Betts-house :)

Photos after all It finally worked - here are the photos that were supposed to have been with yesterday's blog-story.

That's us at the Turkish restaurant with our kebabs

Jeremie with his mussels in tomato-sauce

More dreams... Yep, they keep on coming. Yesterday morning, both Nathalie and Leilani woke up with a dream that I was expecting/having a baby! WOW!!! This has never happened before - both the same dream in the same night! I know for sure I am not pregnant in the natural. However, there is "something" pregnant inside of me :) And it does have to do with babies. If you've been reading my blog, you know what I am talking about :) Very interesting - - - - - -

Jeremie's 15! We've had a very busy week with lots of guests, meetings, cooking, baking, cleaning and all the kind of stuff that goes along with extending hospitality. The best part was Jeremie's birthday yesterday! I love to celebrate our children and remember the day they made their entry into this world! Jeremie almost died at birth. He had the umbilical cord wrapped around him in 3 places and was blue all over! Ohhh, am I ever so grateful that God kept him alive - and well!!! He's probably had the busiest week of his life this week. His rowing practices are increasing in time and intensity. On Thursday morning, instead of the usual row at 5:45am, the coach had the boys run a surprise 17km (about 10 miles)!!!!!! After school he had to work out in the gym. When he got home at 5:00pm he mowed the neighbour's lawn. The next morning, yesterday, we celebrated his birthday for breakfast, since he wasn't going to be home all day. He wanted to have cinnamon rolls for breakfast, so you can guess what time I got to get up :) After school he and a couple of mates (friends) from school set up a beebee gun stand for the school gala. And then they ran it all evening. It was a school project for them to run a small business and I've got to say that they did really well!!! Their stand was about the only one with lights, so they had people coming through all the way to the end. We had his birthday cake when we came back home - around 10:30pm :) This morning he was up again at 6:00am to do his Saturday row and then we joined him at the club for the opening of the rowing season with different activities. We couldn't stay very long, because we had to get back to drive Nathalie to work. He didn't want a party with his friends. Instead he wanted our family to go out for dinner tonight. This is really special since we usually don't go out (unless we get invited by somebody:)) And actually a nice treat for me, too, not to have to cook! We weren't so sure if this was possible, looking at the budget, but we found this Turkish place that's got good - and affordable - food. So here you can see us having kebabs - and Jeremie a dish of mussels in tomato sauce - hmmmmm... - Bon appetit! (Sorry, the photos didn't work)

Rich, the garden and his little girl Rich is a man of the heart and the hands. He's been spending quite a bit of time in our vegetable garden, weeding and planting and caring for it. The result? We have all kinds of vegies slowly growing AND - are just having our first yummy strawberries!!! WONDERFUL!!! He had to put netting over the strawberry patches, since the birds were coming after them as soon as they were getting ripe. Kind of reminds me of what he's doing in Fiji. There's a lot of care that needs to be put into the preparation of the IWT campaign. Sowing, planting, weeding, protecting... There's a lot of work and it takes a long time until you can harvest - and sometimes there are "birds" who would like to steal the harvest. So, you've got to be vigilant and protect the harvest. Just what Nehemiah had to do when he was re-building the wall of Jerusalem. Rich's favorite Bible character is Nehemiah - I know why :) Rich just discovered two more herbs/vegies in our garden that we didn't know were there - mint leaves, which I love to eat and make tea with, and potatoes. WOW WOW WOW!!! All these hidden treasures... Who knows what he'll discover next? This is fun! I think Kylie comes after Rich. She's also got a really BIG heart and doesn't mind getting her hands dirty - I mean REAL dirty! She even loves to play with worms. Today, she came to me heart-broken that her worm had somehow ripped in half - I couldn't quite understand all her explanations:) I just had to take of picture of her (just happened to have the camera with me - you may notice her all dresesd up - she is now dressing herself and gets changed many times a day - most often she wants to be a princess)

This photo is shortly afterwards. Rich had just given her a new, big fat worm and she came to show it to me - squealing with joy! Our little princess!

Relaxing week-end It is soooooooooooooo wonderful to have my man back!!!!!!!! We had a good family time yesterday hanging out, going to the hot pool, playing cards and watching a movie (at least some of us - I went to sleep half way through). Rich and the kids also had a good "session" of rough-housing - the kind usually boys have with their Dads, but in our family the girls join in, too - except for me, it's too rough for me. The girls come to me when they need some "tenderness" afterwards - to recuperate :) This week-end is Labor Weekend in NZ - which means a day off on Monday - Youppie!!! As soon as one of the kids wake up to take care of Kylie, Rich and I will go out for breakfast - our first date in quite a few weeks. Catch-up time! Hopefully the cafes are open today! Here is a photo of one of the beautiful roses we are blessed with in our garden - with the most amazing smell!

Rich is coming back soon! I am so excited! Rich is in the plane right now, flying back from Fiji! After 3 of the last 4 weeks without him, I am so ready to have him back home!!!!! God was gracious to me and really helped me through these weeks of separation, in spite of sickness and not the best of circumstances when he left. As much as I have had a lot of extra work being a "single" Mom, I also had extra time while Rich was gone - the time it normally takes to keep up our relationship :) So I was even able to catch up on a few things that needed to get done around the house. What was nice was that we were able to talk on the phone through SKYPE about every other day. It was wonderful not to have to rush conversations, because it is completely FREE to call from computer to computer! What a difference to times past!!! I remember, when we first arrived in Tahiti, and I was really homesick, I was not able to call home AT ALL for the first year. We had no computer and no phone line (couldn't afford it). That was tough! Thank God for computers and the internet!!! Makes it soooo much easier to stay in touch!!! Kylie has been asking for her Daddy. I guess she is getting pretty desperate to see him again, too. She usually doesn't ask for him when he is gone for a short time. Today, she told Leilani: "Daddy is coming back and he is bringing me something - - - his big ears!" LOL! Now, let the reader understand: Kylie has a very peculiar habit - when she needs comfort or is tired, she sucks her thumb and plays with an ear. She LOVES to play with Rich's ears - they are her favorite! She also takes other people's ears (sometimes even unsuspecting visitors') or her own if nobody else is available. She sure is glad her favorite ears are coming back soon!!!

Pregnancy Counseling Center in Tahiti 14 years ago, God put on my heart to start a Pregnancy Counseling Center in Tahiti. 4 years ago, while I was pregnant with Kylie and sick, I was granted the privilege to help initiate this ministry that I really felt needed to be interdenominational (a pretty radical idea at the time). I just found out that - after another training that just finished - it will FINALLY open in January of 2007 - and it will be run by people from several churches! This is a great victory!!! A dream coming about!!! PRAISE JESUS!!! 14 years ago, I thought I would be hands-on involved in it, but I guess that was not to be. I couldn't be happier that it is finally happening! I knew 4 years ago that my only role was to get things going in the initial stages. And see what God has done - with some wonderful people and a LOT of patience and perseverance in the face of many obstacles and delays! I am so thrilled!!! May MANY desperate women find all the love, help and support they need through the body of Christ reaching out in unity!!!

D r e a m s D r e a m s D r e a m s I love dreams! I guess I've had a fair share of them in my life (who would have thought?!)... There are the dreams when I am sleeping: the random ones... silly ones... scary ones... stressful ones. Did you ever wonder what a missionary dreams of? I don't know about others, but I dream quite a bit about traveling to foreign places. Like the dream I had a couple of nights ago. It was soooo cool! I'll spare you the details, but Rich and I were on some trip with a stop-over in China, and it became an unexpected long stay with a Chinese family. The dream was so vivid and I really enjoyed learning all kinds of things about Chinese culture (including the fact that the whole family was wearing exactly the same shoes, just in different sizes - funny!). The main frustration of course was the communication - or lack of it :) Now, how exciting is that? A trip to China (never been there, only Taiwan and Hong Kong for a couple of days - 20 years ago) - all in a dream? Pretty time-efficient and good for the budget, too:) And no, there was absolutely nothing triggering that dream, like something I'd seen on TV or read. It was a blast and I didn't want to wake up from it. Now have a guess at what my stressful dreams are usually about??? Very hard to guess - - - NOT! They are about moving, selling or giving away our bigger belongings and trying to fit the rest into a few suitcases - and then trying to clean a home and catch a plane on time - with the kids in tow! Oh, I don't even want to go there - - - you may be able to imagine the literal nightmares :) Besides the night dreams - which have, at times, even been messages from God, I have one other MAJOR dream for my life - a dream of my heart. I am not sure if and how and when it'll come about, but I figure it may be when I am a grandma. Have you ever met anybody who was looking forward to getting old? Well, you're meeting one now :)! If that dream may only come about when I'm old (I mean REALLY old - some teenagers think I'm old already :)) - I am actually looking forward to that stage of my life - VERY MUCH SO!! This week I came across an article about a ministry in South Africa, called Door of Hope at http://www.holeinthewall.org.za THIS is exactly what my dream is all about - caring for abandoned babies. If it won't happen any time soon, I am willing to wait until I am old. After crying my heart out - once again - about the abandoned babies and orphaned children - I was sooooooooooooooooooooooooo excited when I read about this ministry - even to the point of it disturbing my sleep:) I have carried this dream in my heart since I was a little girl. Even as a teenager I was trying to find an orphanage to help care for the little ones, but there wasn't one. So far, in all the places I've lived at, there has never been a need in that area and I know it hasn't been time yet. To find out that in Johannesburg alone there are 40-50 newborn babies abandoned every month just about tears my heart out - and puts such a strong desire in my heart to do something about this! I know that the needs are pretty much the same all over Africa - Rich's and my desire is to do something - one day - in French Africa. We'll see - - - For now, I am kept busy with my own tribe, but I would so love to start doing something besides praying - - - God knows - - -

Thank God for flowers! This has been one of those evenings with the kids, where I felt that I was getting on their cases non-stop for their non-stop mis-behaviour - yuck. Not my favorite! I know why God created beautiful flowers! After dinner, I took a walk through the garden and just enjoyed discovering a bunch of gorgeous new roses here and there - the colours - and smells - it's therapeutical after a rough time with the kiddos :)! The fun thing about moving into a new home in winter is discovering all the plants and flowers when spring comes around. It seems like every day, I discover some new flower, colour and smell. When it was winter you could never tell all the beauty that was hidden there - yet the potential was there all along! Hmmmm... Jeremie has got the flu now - and a bad head- and earache. Also Rich is coughing along in Fiji and lost his voice today. I was so hoping that they'd escaped the germs!!! Speaking of Fiji, we asked Kylie tonight where Daddy was and she said, in "Fridge-freeze", or something of that sort. LOL! Well, I'd better get that wheat ground and the ingredients for fresh bread tomorrow morning thrown into the break-maker, before I drop into bed.

Agricultural Day All the country schools in New Zealand seem to have a yearly Agricultural Day, where kids get to show off all kinds of things, like flower arrangements, art with recycled materials and --- hand-raised pigs, calves, lambs and other pets. It's actually a really fun fair! I wished we could have stayed longer, but we had to whizz through, because Kylie was invited to Flynn's birthday party. Kylie LOVED petting the lamb!

How exciting to hold a little piglet!This was the competition for the longest eel and heaviest opposum - Leilani seems "thrilled" by the presentation:)! By the way, Leilani won first prize with Spotty! I bet it was really hard for the judges, because there were lots of beautifully decorated cakes!

Presenting SPOTTY, the dog No, this is not our newest pet! This is one of Leilani's school projects for the "Agricultural Day" on Saturday, where the kids have to make all kinds of things. Quite impressive, if you ask the proud Momma, for a first decorated cake. Leilani pretty much did it completely by herself! On another note: my friend Kristi http://www.kristiwalsh.blogspot.com has put some interesting info about New Zealand History on her blog. You may want to check it out! There is even a map of the South Pacific! Kristi and her husband Aaron are the ones leading the internship of the "House of Prayer". Ok, I better get going and help the troops get ready for school. They are all back at school now and we're getting better! Feels sooooo good!!!

Rich in Fiji Here is a photo I received of Rich teaching in the "Impact Evangelism School" in Fiji.

It warms the heart (at least mine!) to see him via internet:)!

I had a really nice treat the day before yesterday. Jeremie needed some shoes and when I took him to the store, I happened to see some winter boots for myself! I have gone through 2 and 1/2 winters now with just one pair of shoes and no boots. So here was my "divine appointment" with some nice boots - on sale from NZ$90 to NZ$10 (about US$6). Now THAT was worth the wait!!!

And the wonderful thing about living a bit more of a settled lifestyle is that you can buy things on sale for the following year! I don't have to think of packing up our belongings into a few suitcases:) I can't tell you what a fabulous feeling that is - and what money we saved there:)!

I had another few kisses from heaven yesterday: I had to do quite a few errands and was really weak. Every time I needed a parking space, somebody JUST pulled out to leave me theirs - in JUST the right spot! That was SUCH a blessing and made everything so much easier!!! Thank you, Father!!!

Singing again... When I find myself singing again, it means that I am better!!! My voice still sounds "terrible", according to what people say that hear me on the phone and I am still weak, coughing and sniffling, but I'm singing:) Thank you, Jesus! Kylie is also doing better, full of mischief and needing a lot of attention. Nathalie and Leilani are coughing now, but we believe firmly they won't get worse! Rich left yesterday at 3:45am for 2 weeks in Fiji. Leilani started school again today, Nathalie and Jeremie are starting tomorrow for their last term of this school year. Poor Rich - he was so stressed before he left. There were so many things to do before his departure. It was one of those times where things really weren't in place and he didn't want to leave - also knowing how I was. BUT - he had to go and so we are both leaning on our beloved:)

Some more ramblings Today, while resting, I was listening some to a Christian TV channel. A couple of quotes stuck with me: A happy person is not one with a certain set of circumstances, but with a certain set of attitudes. So true!!! Maturity is moving from having soft skin and a tough heart to tough skin and a soft heart. I liked that one - guess I'm getting more mature :)! I decided to see our doctor today with Kylie and it proved to be a good decision. Kylie has an ear infection and pneumonia and I've got bronchitis - now we're both taking antibiotics. I've got to be on my feet again soon. Rich is leaving for Fiji in 3 days and I'm gonna have to "run the show", including all the early morning runs to Jeremie's rowing practice. Here is Kylie, asleep on the couch - NOT a normal occurence.

Thank you Billy!!! What a blessing that Billy (from Tahiti) is here right now. He is taking the 3 older children every day to do some fun stuff. Last night, he treated us to a most delicious dinner that I enjoyed as much as I haven't enjoyed food in a loooooooooong time: Shashimi - tahitian style! He bought really fresh raw tuna (VERY expensive here!) which Rich cut up in very thin slices. With rice, cabbage and a special sauce this is our family's favorite (except Leilani). Oh, the fish just melted in your mouth! So very very very very good!!!!! I hadn't eaten a real meal for a week and can't tell you how much I enjoyed it!!! Today he and the kids are in Rotorua, a touristy town about an hour from here. They all love him to bits, there's a lot of history in that relationship! We've known Billy for over 10 years - from the time we first started King's Kids in Tahiti and he was only15 ... and there's a lot of laughter - and food - and coke! in the house when he is around:)!

Sleyd is gone Sleyd got picked up yesterday afternoon. As much as I wanted to keep him with us when he first arrived, I was really relieved when he was picked up. Don't get me wrong - he was absolutely adorable, but when you're sick, anything is too much and I was coming to the end of my grace - just in time :) GOD IS GOOD!

As every child his age, he was very busy every minute of the day, trying to discover the contents of every drawer, cupboard, plant, electrical plug and other item he could find "laying around". The house looked like a tornado had gone through it at any given time - as soon as 30 min. after it was cleaned up. He also threw tantrums every time he didn't get his will. I basically had to devote almost all of my time to him while he was awake and had a lot of fun with him, too! Sleyd LOVED anything with wheels, particularly this little car that Kylie got from her grandma for her 2nd birthday! During the days when it wasn't raining, he spent a lot of time in this car! I am so grateful to God that he slept through the nights after the 2nd night! Quite amazing, according to his caretaker. When she picked him up she told me that so far, every time he's gone with somebody other than her, he got really sick. Last time he had pneumonia. I know that God touched his heart and body while he was with us, as he directed me to pray specifically for areas of needed healing etc. Kylie was so cute. After he left (she actually thought he was taking a nap, I found out later), I just spent time cuddling with her and she kept telling me over and over again:"I love you, Mommy - sooooo much!!!" I thought she must be relieved that he was gone and she finally gets a bit more attention again. But when we went to our bedroom later and she saw all of his stuff and him gone, she was very upset and started crying.... When I asked her if she loved him, she sobbed "Yes" and "It's not fair that he left!" It was actually only the first couple of days that she was jealous of him, after that she had been fine. Anyway, I am so grateful that he was able to go back with his caregiver and I am starting to get some more rest. Kylie and I spent a good part of the night coughing and this morning I was feeling worse than ever... I am so grateful I can just rest today!

Promised photo Here is a photo of our little darling Sleyd - finally! I think that Kylie and I are over the worst with the flu. I can still barely talk and have a bad sore throat and cough, but at least we are without fever and regaining our strength. Thank you, if you prayed for us! I think the last few days were the worst I've had in a long time - taking care of Sleyd and Kylie while being sick...

Beautiful New Zealand! Rich and Jeremie had a couple of highlights during their trip to pick up the van and caravan. One was visiting Mount Cook, a glacier, and one visiting a seal colony.

Needing HEALING! Thought of just sending you a short update. Kylie and myself are quite sick and miserable - since yesterday - must have caught Sleyd's cold/flu. Rich and Jeremie were only supposed to come back from the South Island today, but I literally begged them to make it for last night. I really didn't think I could leave 2 sick children with Leilani for 30min.+ while picking up Nathalie from her work at 10:30pm. And so they powered through and arrived just in time! Ouf!!! They drove about 1800km in the last few days and saw some neat stuff. More on that, plus photos, another time:) I am so grateful Rich is back! I am not sure how happy he is to be back, cause I am putting lots of things on him:), like cleaning up the house with the kids before our guest from Tahiti arrived today and making dinner, holding sick Kylie... We've really had enough of all the sickness!!!!!!!!! Lord, we claim your healing power in our family! Ok, Kylie needs me now. Would appreciate your prayers!

Sleyd is with us! Just a short note tonight before going to bed. Little Sleyd has now been with us for a couple of days. He is the most delightful, cute, gorgeous, precious little boy you could imagine (photos to come after Sunday)! During the days, he is very easygoing and happy. The nights are another story :) But the second night was already way better than the first, so I expect tonight to be even better. It would be so hard for any baby to just be dropped off at a family of total strangers! Some of his crying the first night seemed so hard-breaking and intense. Poor little fellow! If I think about all that he has been through already in his short 16 months of life... And it is also so sad that he doesn't even say "Mom" or "Dad" yet - cause he doesn't have any... The people that have been taking care of him most of the time are good people, but they don't want him to call them Mom and Dad, because he will eventually have different parents. It's in the courts right now and a family has been waiting to care for him permanently. Lucky them! I wish we could keep him!!! BUT - it is not meant to be (even though Rich and I would still like to adopt) - and Kylie will probably be glad about this. As much as she loves Sleyd, she is also quite jealous of him. This is the first time she is acting this way - and acting up quite a bit, too. Maybe it is his age??? She was fine with a newborn and with another one her own age... hmm, interesting. I am totally enjoying this time with him, although it is full of challenges - and it is hard to find the time to eat - or go to the toilet :) But I wouldn't trade it for anything! When I spend my time mostly playing with the two little ones, watching them outside in the beautiful sunshine, with the dog, cats, ducks and since today - 10 guinea pigs (that we are taking care of for friends for a few days) - and all of this in our beautiful garden - it just thrills me! To pour my love, affection and prayers into this little boy is so fulfilling! Today, we went to the hot thermal pools. I am hoping that it will help decongest him, since his breathing is very heavy and he needs to take a lot of medication to help him breathe. I was also hoping for some relief for myself, since he came with a cold and cough and has already passed them to me. I was told it was part of his asthma and basically cronic - for some reason I thought that meant that it wasn't contagious... He also has a cronic runny nose. It is especially bad all morning. You have to wipe his nose every 2 minutes! Anyway, I am fine despite it all, and happy! It feels like an ENORMOUS GIFT to me to be able to care for him these few days! And his happy smiles and affecionate cuddles make up for anything:)! OK. I could go on and on - - - but I'd better get a few hours of sleep going.

A wonderful day - North and South I knew it! As soon as I hung up the phone, I just had this feeling that I was going to get another call today - about the baby or some other little one that we were being asked to care for. A friend had just called from Tahiti, asking if it would be alright for him to visit us, as he had a plane ticket that needed to get used tonight or it would be lost. I said, sure, since I really didn't have much else going on in the next week or so and with the kids on vacation, it seemed perfect timing. I am still waiting for his phone call to confirm his coming tomorrow. He would be flying into Christchurch, get picked up by Rich and Jeremie who will be there tomorrow and then accompany them on their way back north with the caravan. After they get back, he'd stay another week with us here. And sure enough, not long after this phone call, the phone rang again and - yes - it was "the call"! We were told that the baby still hadn't been found but that another little one needed care for a week. And so - 16-month old Sleyd (Maori) will be coming with us tomorrow. I am so excited and looking forward to him! He has been with another caregiver since birth and the other caregiver is going on vacation for a week - hence the need for respite care. Seems like he's a pretty easy going little fellow. The only challenge seems to be that he has astma and usually wakes up several times a night (not looking forward to that part). So if I don't write for a few days, don't be surprised. Unfortunately there won't be any photos either until Rich comes back with the camera. Speaking of which - he and Jeremie had a wonderful day today hiking for 3 hours just to touch snow and have a snow ball fight (Jeremie is absolutely crazy about snow - LOVES it!!!). They saw some most beautiful scenery and Jeremie took about 200 photos! After trying - unsuccessfully - to catch some fish for dinner they called me while eating some canned pork and beans - no fish today. Rich said he was completely exhausted during their hike, while Jeremie pretty much ran the whole way. I guess his rowing training is paying off. He was supposed to run 10km today and Rich was confident that he did it! Seems like father and son are having some memorable moments together :)! I - on the other end - or rather, the other island (North Island) took Leilani, a couple of friends and Kylie to the beach. Even Toffee, our dog, came along, after Kylie insisited and made her get into the car. It was almost like a summer day and the kids all got wet - although they weren't supposed to swim - it's just a bit too cold for that yet. We were soooo blessed to see a whole bunch of dolphins swim by close to the beach! Had never happened before or at least we had never seen them! The kids claimed to have sighted a killer whale, too, and later a seal. I can't confirm that - but that doesn't mean they weren't there - I still don't have my contact lenses yet:) (they are ordered, though). We also picked up Andrea (the German girl) again and she is staying with us. Tomorrow at noon, we will have a German "party". I invited 2 young German girls I met at the store. They have only been here a little over and week and already miss the German bread. So I thought it to be a good opportunity to reach out to them and share some home-made "German bread" with whole wheat and grains - yumm - and hopefully also the "real bread":). Thank you, Jesus, for a wonderful day! Got to go to sleep now...

Pet Day Today was "Bring a pet"- day at Sunday school after learning all term about different animals and how we are like them or should be like them (like the busy ant). Kylie won the prize for the skinniest pet. Guess what she took? A worm! She LOVES worms - and all other creepy/crawlies and other animals - for that matter. She cries when I kill an ant. Toffee, our Golden Retriever, won the prize for the biggest animal. Jeremie took her - after he gave her a thorough clean yesterday. (He's in Sunday School as a helper/leader.) Good thing we didn't come in the first service this morning, 'cause Toffee wouldn't have won her prize. Some of the kids brought their calves :) What a pet! Yep, this is New Zealand, folks! Of course there were also lambs and the usual pets, like rabbits, guinea pigs, cats and dogs.

Full Week Even though we still don't have the little girl with us (they still haven't found her), this week has been full - so full, that I didn't get around to blogging. We had an unexpected visitor from Fiji: Andrea from Germany. Confusing? Well, she actually is Romanian by birth but immigrated to Germany as a child and grew up there. Now she is serving with YWAM in Fiji. Due to a visa problem, she suddendly had to leave the country - and came to Tauranga! She is staying with one of the interns right now but will be back with us next week when there's a bit more room in the house. Kylie adopted her right away as her friend (as she does with anybody walking through our front door) and gladly let her sleep in her bed. It's good to have a bit more German spoken around here, since Kylie doesn't speak much in German. She understands well, but always speaks back in English. Same with French. The kids started a two week vacation today - YOUPPIE!!! Rich and Jeremie will fly to Christchurch in the South Island next week and pick up a van and a caravan that friends of ours from Germany have bought via internet. (They will come to NZ in November for 6 months.) Should be some good father/son time with all those hours of driving (around 30).

Update Our guest has just left and before heading off to bed, I just want to let you know that - NO - there's no baby YET in the Betts-house. You never know what tomorrow will bring, though... :)

More waiting Another day has gone by and the mother and babies have still not been found. One thing is good: it is settled that we will for sure NOT have both children. I really didn't have peace about it and let the social worker know today. So, unless another family is found that will take both of them, we will take care of the little baby girl - once she is found. I know that it would be better for the children to stay together, but at the moment, all we can offer is loving care for one baby - without putting stress on our family. And who knows what's really going to happen... Lord, please put your arms of love around this mother and her children. Protect them from any harm, neglect or abuse. And help the mother make good choices.

Comments Just a short note to let ya know that you can now leave comments on my blog. I was told by a friend (thanks, Trena!) that my settings didn't allow any comments. I didn't really know what I was doing when I was setting it up. Well, it is fixed now(I think) and you're all more than welcome to leave your comments :)!

Ramblings I've just got to share something else with you. I have found that when I write, it is partly to share with you, my friends and family. Another part is that I ENJOY writing things down - it helps me "digest" what is going on inside of me. A bit like some people who actually learn by talking... or rather it helps them work through an issue or come to a decision when they talk, talk, talk... :) I am like that sometimes - poor Rich :) - what a blessing that he is a good listener (most of the time!) So here I go again: Yesterday when I was driving home from Hamilton, Nathalie's music blaring in the car, all of a sudden, this Scripture popped into my mind - very clearly - "I have set the Lord always before me. Because HE is at my right hand, I will not be shaken."(Psalm 16,8) I kept thinking about it the rest of the trip home. This is really beautiful! When I am driving the car, I always have to "set the road before me", be focused and not look around to the right or the left - at least not too much (as I wrote I did enjoy the landscape around me!). Same with life - God has to be always before me - I need to be continually focused on him, in every little and big thing that comes along. That's the way to go! Because HE is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. What a comforting picture! NO OTHER REASON but the fact that I know he is at my right hand gives me CONFIDENCE, ASSURANCE and PEACE - no matter what happens in life! That is so true, and how often have I experienced this throughout the years - through all kinds of very difficult situations. I will not be shaken, I can stand my ground and go through whatever it is - not without pain - but I can stand and not be shaken. Here are some more verses from that Psalm - oh, do I enjoy the Word of God! FOOOOD for my soul :)!!! "I will praise the Lord, who counsels me, even at night my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. THEREFORE - my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand."

Kylie's first animal drawing Can you guess what animal Kylie drew? Her very first one - totally her own initiative? No, it was NOT a cow, a dog, a bird or a sheep. It was a KIWI bird - THE New Zealand icon! Now I was definitely quite impressed! It was not so much the actual drawing (looked like a person's face, just with a very long nose and she said it was a kiwi), but the fact that this little American/German girl is actually growing up as a real Kiwi, (another word for New Zealander, in case you didn't know). After raising 3 islanders, we're now raising a kiwi - - - funny thought :)

Spring is definitely here! Oh oh oh - - - HOW I LOVE SPRING! The trip to Hamilton today was just fantastic! I LOVED driving through the most beautiful scenery, with lush, green rolling hills dotted with sheep and little lambs. Seeing different colours starting to bud through trees - some green, and then all kinds of other colours, was so amazing!!! The green is sooo fresh and lush and the variety of LIFE that comes to seemingly dead trees mind-boggling! And then the daffodils everywhere - WOW!!! I don't remember enjoying God's creation so much when I was younger. As a matter of fact, I remember one elderly lady telling me once - after we'd been in Tahiti a couple of years (she was receiving our newsletters) that I needed to learn to "stop and smell the roses" (which obviously I wasn't doing). Maybe it's that I am getting older - or maybe just that my heart is getting more tender - I wish to think it's the latter :) - but all this BEAUTY deeply touches my heart to the point of crying (for joy). It is like God speaks directly to me through nature. Spring to me speaks of HOPE and LIFE! No matter how dead. barren and impossible a situation seems, there CAN BE HOPE, NEW LIFE and indescribable BEAUTY!!!!!!!!!!! AWESOME GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!! By the way, we didn't get lost today - thanks to Nathalie :) - and the school looks great! I really liked what I saw of Hamilton and wish we'd had more time. The shopping there is definitely WAY better than here in Tauranga :) I guess we've got to go back there some time.

More Suspense... Those of you who have been following my blog faithfully are probably anxious to hear what is happening with our potential foster children. SO ARE WE! :) Today's news is that they have not been able to find Mom and babies. They have also not been able to find another foster family yet - - - which leaves us wondering what is going to happen tomorrow. It is exciting and nerve wrecking all at the same time to be in this state of just waiting to see if your life is going to be turned upside down :) - but I love it! Watch this space - - -

Suspense... Well, we don't know yet what is going to happen with the two darlings. After praying and wrestling through all kinds of thoughts we came to a decision: we told the social worker this morning that we would prefer it if another family was found for the children. We would, however, be willing to take them if no other family was found. And - we could for sure take just the baby. Our concern is having a baby PLUS a 2-year-old, PLUS a 3-year-old. Especially, since our garden is not really safe for a smaller toddler. Kylie knows where she can go etc. and quite often just goes outside by herself for a while. But if I was busy feeding or changing the baby, it could be a challenge to keep a 2-year-old safe. Not to speak of the nights - who knows what they have been through and how much they will miss their Mommy - - - Anyway, the latest news is that the social worker was so overwhelmed with work and another situation that came up today that she had no time to even call another foster family. Also, it seems that the mother has gone into hiding with her children, so that they cannot be taken from her. Isn't this such a horrible situation?! So sad - it must be awful for her to have to give up her children - even just for a time - and let them be taken care of by total strangers that she doesn't even get to meet. It seems that she is quite young and normally a good mother, just having a hard time right now and going through depression. All we can do now is pray - and wait - - - Tomorrow, I will be gone most of the day. It will be a mother-daughter time - Nathalie and me. YEAH! We will go to Hamilton (a good hour drive from here) and look at a potential school for her for next year. She only has a couple of months of "High School" left and then will go on to new things. For now, her plans are to get a full-time job and earn money so that she can then do a DTS (Discipleship Training School) with YWAM. After that, she would like to be trained in tourism and event managing, hence the school we're looking at. So, it should be an interesting day tomorrow... I have never driven to Hamilton and don't know my way around at all. I also have a reputation for having a horrible sense of direction. Good thing we're not in Los Angeles or Hong Kong :)! I told the social worker, if they find (the mother and) the children and need a home immediately (and haven't found another family), that they can bring them as soon as we are back home - hopefully around 4pm. In the evening, we're supposed to be at Leilani's school at 5:30pm for a special event. Never a dull moment :) I am grateful that I am starting to feel better in my body. Thank you, Jesus! Your will be done about this situation with the children!!!!!

Decisions Decisions... While Rich is out on a father-son "date" and Leilani taking a bath with Kylie (bless her heart, she does this almost every time Kylie needs a bath!), I am turning the question in my heart and mind: "Shall we say yes - or no???" We got a call from the social worker today asking if we would be willing to take care of 2 little ones for a month or 2, starting Friday. A little 8-month-old girl and her 2-year old brother - half Maori, half Indian. Normally, we would definitely do this! But I am still not 100% in my health and haven't had a good night's sleep in a long time. Kylie is also just getting better from another bout of flu that "hit" her on Saturday night. It's really a hard call. Part of me would LOVE to say yes and really doesn't like to refuse these little ones. Another part of me thinks it just may not be wise. I was about to call the social worker this afternoon and and tell her that we can't do it. But then, I've learned not to take rushed decisions, especially when I am exhausted. I had been cleaning up the whole house for our house inspection (which we have every 3 month with the rental agency) and was soooo tired. I'll sleep over it and together with the rest of the family, keep pondering and praying... Another thought that comes in is that Rich will be going to Fiji in less than a month for 2 weeks... Lord, please give us your mind. You know all things and see the big picture. You know if we are the right family to help out with these precious little ones or if there is a better family for them, if it would be too much for me or if your grace will be there.

Isn't God good?!! Today, I was reminded of something I heard many years ago. Somebody told me "God is no man's debtor", and "You can't outgive God". When I was playing today with Flynn and Kylie with the duplos, I was filled with thankfulness. We have a ton of duplos! In the past, there were quite a few times when our family had to move and leave behind just about all the kids' toys. I used to be sad about this (as were the kids), but we couldn't change it. It was just one of those sacrifices that came with our calling. One of the things we had left behind were our duplos. When we were in Germany last time, a family came up to us and offered us all of their duplos - for Kylie. They were even shipped to New Zealand free of charge and now Kylie and many other kids enjoy them! The amazing thing is that we now have WAY MORE duplos than we ever left behind!!! Another sacrifice about raising children on the mission field was that there were virtually no playgrounds. Growing up in a Western nation, you look forward to playing on playgrounds with your kids, pushing them on the swing etc. We pretty much only got to do that when we were on furlough. Well, guess how God has outgiven us NOW? Nathalie started a new part-time job at "Lollipops Playland" just 5 min. from our home, It is a newly opened indoor playground and not just a little one - a wonderful one where you can easily have HOURS of fun! She was told today that her immediate family gets to go there any time for FREE!!! YAHOO!!! I know where our new favorite spot is going to be - Kylie's (and Leilani's, until she turns 12 and can't go anymore) anyways - and probably mine, since I will get to take them :)! Thanks, God!!! And thanks, Nathalie!

A good laugh! It's Friday night. The two toddlers (Kylie and Flynn) have just fallen asleep after a busy day, Rich is at the prayer house, Nathalie and Jeremie at youth group and Leilani at her friend's house overnight. Which leaves me with - - - the dinner dishes. So before attacking them and the rest of the necessary tidy up in the house, I enjoy a few minutes of blogging away. When Flynn arrived, he brought a big book about dogs with him. So we looked at it this morning, page after page, admiring all the different varieties of dogs there are. Kylie was unusually quiet during that time and all of a sudden blurted out, "I love hot-dogs!" - LOL Another one that had me literally on the floor and in tears with laughter was during dinner time. Flynn was getting down from the table and Rich wanted to know if he was finished. "Are you finished, Flynnished?" - - - oops :) I received a rather nice compliment today when I brought a meal to a family that has recently lost the husband/Dad and the Mom is expecting her 4th child very soon, "Angel in disguise" - wish my family ever called me that for preparing dinner each night - - - :) I hadn't seen Vanessa since we moved (they live 30 min. away) and knew nothing of her day, but both the 8-year-old daughter and the Mom had tears in their eyes when I arrived... Still don't know more because I couldn't stay long (had 3 kids in the car), but I guess it is good to follow those promptings when they come. So life continues to be fun - and challenging - especially with my body still fighting the flu. I am so grateful I can do all I need to do and don't have to stay in bed or rest much (although that would probably help :))

Warming up Signs of spring are definitely in the air: daffodils, new lambs (so cute!) and warmer temperatures. Unfortunately, we are still battling the winter colds. Rich and Kylie were sick again last week, I am battling this week. I was trying to put a couple of photos of Kylie doing artwork outside today, but it doesn't seem to work today... She was getting so hot around noon that she started peeling off her layers of warm clothes. Before I knew it, she was sitting naked on the little wooden swing she got for her birthday - in full view of cars driving by our yard - oops! This evening, we had a young man come to our house. He wanted to sell us a vacuum cleaner and stayed for a while explaining everything to us (we didn't buy it). Since I was getting dinner ready and told the kids that we were ready to eat, she went up to him as he was packing up his gear and told him: "We're eating dinner, guy!", motioning for him to come and join us :)

Funny Contrasts It just hit me the other day when we had the interns from the "House of Prayer" over for brunch what a HUGE contrast it is ministering to them as compared to the youth in Tahiti! We love all of these young people, but - oh - what a pleasure it is to hang out with the interns! They are young but so sold out to God and already amazingly mature in spirit and just fun - and even inspiring - people. The precious Tahitian youth were the opposite - it just makes me want to cry when I remember them. Such broken lives with so many insecurities and hurts and often unable to receive love. We would have crisis quite regularly - rescuing some from suicide or breaking up terrible fist fights between them, having rocks thrown on our ministry building while having a meeting because we didn't invite all of them for dinner to our house (only the ones that had helped clean the "Refuge" in preparation for a DTS team) etc. A couple of times, I almost got beaten up ... but thank God it never came to that. And the stories just go on... May you shower them with your love, Lord, and restore their lives!!! As for us, this is soooooooooo much easier. Thank you, Lord, for the break you are giving us! We better enjoy it while it lasts! Who knows what assignments are around the corner :)?!! Speaking of assignment, I better get going with my housework. I've got to get the house ready. Flynn is coming again tomorrow while his Mom is having her surgery. We don't know for how many days he will be with us, I just know that I don't get much housework done when he is here :).

People People People It's amazing how many lonely, needy and hurting people live among us. You could never tell - well, let's say, most of the time :) - until you start talking with them. I've had the privilege of meeting several ladies in the last few days that really need help or just a listening ear and some kindness. I LOVE PEOPLE!!! When I was just a teenager and grasped by the love of God, I kept walking the streets of my town in Germany, looking at PEOPLE, feeling God's love for them and wishing I could spend my life reaching out to them. I said to God, "Wouldn't it be great if it could be my job to do this - to have the time just to stop and sit on a bench with somebody - being a friend and talk to them about YOU?!" Well, God granted me my desire and I love it!!! Just this week, I met this single Mom with 2 little ones under 2 that is exhausted and needs help and a friend. Then I met another young Mom with a very busy husband and 2 little ones under 3. She is pregnant, too, and feeling horrible - just the way I felt when I was pregnant with Kylie. Only that she has no help at all... and her 14-month old is very active and into everything. Her doctor had just diagnosed her with severe depression... Then today, I had a sad and lonely widow over for morning tea and in the afternoon was able to take home an elderly lady who had been waiting for a bus for an hour and was getting desperate. She knocked on my car window as I was getting ready to leave the parking lot (after going to the optometrist for my contact lenses! By the way, we found my glasses!). It was funny, she kept talking the whole way - and not always nicely - about different politicians and problems with the traffic. When I dropped her off, I said "God bless you" and she got really excited and said: "Oh, God bless you, too! I am a Christian, too!" :) I love it how God directs me day by day! I've had another few guests at the house this week and will have the interns over again tomorrow. Sometimes I wish I could do so much more. But I have learned that I am not the answer to every need :). I need to be sensitive to God and find out when to do what. And then, of course, I've got to make sure I take good care of my family, too! Not to mention catching up on correspondence and our family finances (tends to get pushed to the end of the "to do" list).

Time for New Contact Lenses This is it! I am going to have to get new contact lenses really soon! My optician in Germany told me 2 years ago that my contact lenses were done and I needed new ones. Well, he said, they could maybe hold out for one more year but after that I really needed new ones. A few weeks ago, one of my contact lenses disappeared mysteriously while I thought I had put it into my eye. Since then I went without and just put on my glasses when I was driving the car. My glasses are 19 years old and terribly out of fashion. I've got to confess that I even took them off before I arrived at Leilani's school every day - didn't want to scare the kids - or - more honestly - vanity got the better of me :) Well, today, my glasses also disappeared mysteriously, I had them with me one minute and the family saw them and the next minute they were gone - nowhere to be found! This doesn't happen normally! I have had contact lenses for 19 years now and have only had to replace them once, and my glasses never! The only conclusion I can come up with is that it must be God's way to encourage me strongly to get those new contact lenses. I guess, he is going to provide for them, too! Thank you, Daddy!!! :)

Feeling awkward One morning a week, I am going to a ladies' cell group of our church, where we do crafts - mostly Christmas decorations and gifts. Yes, we're only August, but the weather sure is more Christmassy now than it'll be in December so it's quite fitting! Look at this view from our home this morning at 7:30 with frost - oh, it was so beautiful, but colder than ever - only 45degrees Fahrenheit, 8degrees Celcius - in our bedroom this morning - brrrr. I felt to joing this group because I am starting to befriend the lady who runs it, Deborah. She is just a couple years older than me, has got 8 kids from 19-4, was a pastor's wife and has home schooled for years - just the funnest person to be around and very inspiring! Of course, preparing "stuff" for Christmas comes in handy too and I haven't done crafts in YYYEEAAARRRSSS. I used to love it. Just never seemed to get around to anything more than the essentials. Even now, I really have to fight for this time every Wednesday, but I am loving it. Well, sort of. Let me explain: I do LOVE getting into crafts again, and the feeling of actually getting some little gifts made - and so early - leaves me feeling pretty good. On the other hand, spending time with these ladies makes me realize how "out of it" and "different" I am... Once again. Don't get me wrong! They are very nice people! Every time I change countries and cultures, I feel like a dumb little kid once again that knows nothing and has to learn everything. Sure, there is the advantage of at least speaking some of the language. I stress the "some", because the English I learnt hanging around Rich all these years is quite different to the English they speak here... I was told that there are 40,000 words different between American and New Zealand English - I believe it - and am still learning. The language is actually just a minor in the feeling awkward. Of course, there are all the fine differences in humour and just the "feel" of life that I am learning - and feeling quite out of it most of the time. The biggest gap I find is the vastly different life we have lived. Having lived in Tahiti all these years and then coming here really makes me feel like I am from a different planet! The kind of things the ladies talk about - and it's all the little things of running families and living life - I just can't relate to. For instance when it comes to Christmas and all the decorations, gifts, food, activities etc. - I have never had or done any of it. Life was so much simpler in Tahiti! And they think it strange that we don't have Christmas stockings for our kids and specially "themed" birthday cakes, just to give you a couple of examples. Of course they're too polite to say it out loud, but you can just feel the awkward silence. As a matter of fact, I have learned that the best thing is to listen and stay silent, at least most of the time. How does that saying go? "Even a fool when he is quiet, people will think he's wise." Of course, I do want to join in sometimes, like today when they were talking of birthdays and how the kids can choose their favorite food. They all said what their kids' favorite foods were (like hamburgers etc) and were REALLY quiet when I mentioned what my kids want as special food on their birthday - raw fish... Get the picture? So, I am on a journey again to learn the ways of a new culture. It's always good to eat a bit of humble pie - - - maybe part of God's plan to answer my prayers for killing my pride. Yeah! And - at the end of the day - I can honestly say that all the learning of the past has enriched me greatly! And - who knows - maybe God will allow me to enrich the other ladies too, with some of the experiences I've had! Better stop rambling. All that said, I really do enjoy learning and getting to know these new people and their culture! Thank you Jesus for the awesome privilege we have of living in beautiful New Zealand!

A great catch! Look what Rich and Jeremie brought home tonight! They went out on a nearby river (just 10 min. from here) in the late afternoon/early evening and caught this beautiful trout! Rich LOVES to fish and it makes his day when he gets to go out and do it - the fish is just an added bonus and we'll enjoy eating it, too :)!

Sweet! (typical NZ expression) I forgot to mention that we had the first cell group with the interns yesterday. What beautiful and precious young people!!! What a privilege to be able to accompany them on part of their journey! They've got hearts of gold and such an earnest desire to go radically after God! I already love them and am looking forward to getting to know them better!!! The funny thing is that they could be our kids! (are we that old already??!) Somehow I mentioned about some experience I had in the Philippines and one of them asked me when that was. Well, when I told him it was 22 years ago, he chuckled - he hadn't even been born yet :) Seems like just yesterday when I started my incredible journey into God's heart and my hunger and desire to know him better is just growing!!! By the way, Rich is also having a fabulous time and coming home every day sharing new revelation from the Word - oh, the presence of God!!! It is not easy for him, who thrives on lots of "action", to quiet down for hours in God's presence, but he knows that this is the right thing for him at this time. The action will come again soon enough - looks like he'll be going to Fiji 2 or 3 times before Christmas...

Sooo beautiful! I don't know about you - but when I see beautiful things in nature, it just MELTS MY HEART and fills me with thanksgiving to our INCREDIBLE CREATOR! This morning when I took Jeremie to rowing practice, I saw quite a few trees in bloom - and the most gorgeous colours: pink, burgundy, yellow, red! This blows my mind, because we are still in the middle of winter! We actually had the coldest night in the whole winter so far this week, of course with frost! Growing up in Germany, it was usually springtime, when those colours would come out. Not here! Last week, a friend told me that she knew a family that came to NZ a few years ago with the goal "to experience the cold". Now those people came from Canada, where it is extremely cold winter for 6 months of the year! And it seems that they did experience the cold when they were here! In Canada, everything is insulated and heated very well. Here, because the winter is only about 2-3 months, this is not the case and, as I wrote before, New Zealanders just rough it - often in shorts and bare feet... I am still sitting here with woolen underwear and the warmest jerseys (or sweaters, for the Americans). I better get going with my housework now and I am sure I will be able to peel off a layer or two very soon :)

What a character! I thought I couldn't believe my ears yesterday when I was doing my weekly grocery shopping with Kylie. She kept asking for me to buy this and that and finally - when we arrived at the check-out counter and I still refused to get her what she wanted (in that case it was gum), she argued that it was her birthday (her biggest birthday wishes had been gum and lipstick!). It didn't take much to convince her that her birthday was now finished - she knew. So she pulled her last string and in desperation let out a cry, "Well, then it's Christmas time!" I couldn't believe this! I didn't even think she knew the word "Christmas", let alone the idea that you get gifts for Christmas... Where did she get this from? I have no idea!!! Now, did she really just turn 3 - and not 13?!!

I am soooooo satisfied in Jesus - sometimes I feel that I will BURST with JOY and FULFILLMENT! No wonder we are going to need new bodies when we get to heaven. I'm sure our earthly ones just wouldn't be able to contain all the unspeakable joy and "out-of-this-world"- ecstatic experiences we will have! I can't wait for that time :) It's gonna be sssssoooooooooooooo AWESOME!!! I have 3 sick children at home again today - - - Just a couple of days ago, when I was praying for Leilani on the way to school (as I always do) I was thanking God for her good health and how she is the only one in the family not to have gotten the flu. Guess what? When I picked her up from school, she was sick to her stomach and we just barely made it home in time for her to empty the contents of her stomach in a "safe" place - rather than the car! Now don't ask me why that happened - ugghh... She is getting better now, but obviously passed the bug on to Kylie, who was sick last night with the stomach flu. Yes, she did end up in our bed and yes, she did vomit - in a bucket next to our bed - thanks to my quick reaction :) And Nathalie is still struggling to get the remainders of the flu out of her system. Now I am praying against that bug to get me - can't help Kylie breathing on me ... I am so glad that I didn't have to cancel my planned "morning tea" with a distant neighbour/friend this morning. It was an important divine appointment - thank you, Jesus!!! She didn't mind the germs in the house - I did warn her:)

Can you believe it?!! Yesterday I had a great prayer time for our children and the children of the land with a couple of ladies. After they left, I was inspired to dance to the Lord while listening to some worship music from IHOP in Kansas City. Yes, I do that - I love to dance to Him! I may have to learn to be a bit more graceful, though... I was in such a hurry to throw off my house shoes and start dancing, that I started to move my feet before the shoes were all the way off. The result? I sprained my ankle. Ouch, that hurt! No more dancing, but laying on the floor crying out for Jesus to heal me! After a little while I felt good enough to walk around again and thought I was healed. In the evening, the pain got worse and worse and became really bad. After prayer and some pain killer I went to bed and when I woke up this morning I was able to walk and even clean the house, go to "Mainly Music" with Kylie as if nothing had happened. THANK YOU JESUS!!! I also started to sand down our coffee table, that we got really cheap at an auction. It needs to be revarnished. This is the first time I ever do anything like this, but - hey - why not try something new? It's fun!

Just thinking... Having Flynn here for the last few days kept making me think of Rich - - - when he was about Flynn's age he was dropped off at a neighbour's house by his mom for the week-end with his little brother Bob. Their mom had asked the neighbour to watch the boys while she was moving and she was going to pick them up after the week-end. She never came back - - - and the neighbours ended up being Rich's and Bob's foster family for the next 6 years. I can't even begin to imagine what must have happened to Rich's heart at that time... He was so disturbed that he needed to be strapped into his bed just so that he would sleep and had to have medication to calm down. Poor little guy - - - Am I ever grateful for God's intervention in his life and HIS power to redeem and heal the broken-hearted!

Guess who turned 3 today? What a day it has been! Our little princess had her birthday and it's hard to believe that it's been 3 years since she was born!!! She had a great day with lots of attention, friends and gifts and drifted off to sleep at 6:30pm, which is very unusual. Can you see Kylie's black eye? She hurt herself this week, running, slipping and hitting the kitchen drawer - ouch!

Flynn's back Flynn, our little respite foster boy, came again last night for 3 days with us. I had still been feeling sick every evening (better during the days) and was wondering how I would be able to cope. But - guess what? - last night was the first time I was feeling decent again - after 2 weeks! Thank you Jesus! What a difference! This morning, Flynn, Kylie and I went to "Playcentre"- a parent-run alternative to preschool. We had lots of fun, playing on the swings, playground, dressing up, painting, clay, playdough, face painting and heaps of other fun activities. What a great service for parents!

I love my husband! This is gonna have to be short - I am still not feeling great and really tired... But I have to tell you what a wonderful husband I have! When I can't stand the back pain of the flu, he massages me with tiger balm, when I can't do the shopping and cooking, he takes over, when I have to get to bed early, he puts all the kids to bed (actually Nathalie insists on him putting on her blankets every night and tucking her in - still - yes!!!) and today, he brought me a beautiful bouquet of orchids - my favorite flowers!!! It's amazing how much cheaper they are here than in Tahiti - hard to believe! What would have cost US$30 in Tahiti, cost him US$3 today! Enjoy the photo! Rich has got way more qualities than those, but just wanted to share how much he has blessed me the last few days! Thank you honey, I love you!!!

A little about Jeremie This is my 40th blog entrance since I started about 6 weeks ago! - and I've got to admit that I love writing it! I used to keep a journal yyeeeeaars ago - before babies came into my life. After that, it just didn't fit in anymore - hardly ever. And I usually did it a bit differently, writing to God. So - for my readers' sake - all couple of you out there - I adjusted it abit. Typing goes so much faster than handwriting and it is even more fun adding photos! Speaking of photos, here is one I took last night. I thought Jeremie had gone to sleep at his usual bedtime (9:30pm during the week) when I walked past his room and saw light on just before 10:00pm. When I peeked in, this is what I saw: He had fallen asleep reading his Bible - he'd probably protest and say that he actually didn't sleep but - hey - it sure seemed like it to me :) Reminded me of home schooling time when he'd sometimes fall asleep doing his math - and he even protests til this day saying that he just faked it then. Only difference being that I had him do maths, whereas the Bible he is reading totally on his own - way to go, boy! Keep it up!!! I am so proud of him and love him so much - as, of course, all my children!!! He's a really good kid. Got a great report card from school recently and is much praised by his teachers. He is very diligent, conscientious, patient, helpful, courteous, kind and - as he remarked himself the other day when we asked the children if they knew their strengths - humble :)! Of course, he is not perfect and if you want to know how, just ask Nathalie ;) He's got a tough few days ahead of him, having to catch up on all kinds of school work that he missed in the last couple of weeks being sick. Next Tuesday, he will have to be at school at 6:00am (!) for rowing practice and then in his first period (that's how they call it here) - English - he will have to deliver the speech he is preparing right now, next period write a science test, next period write an algebra test and I'm not sure if I forgot another test. Poor guy... I guess he's got his week-end cut out for him, studying and preparing. He's also recently started drumming lessons at school and was able to buy himself a used drum set. We discovered his talent with rythm when he was beating the tahitian drums as a 2-year-old - and weren't surprised when he wanted to take drum lessons!

Too cute! At the dinner table tonight, Kylie was learning the difference between boys and girls. You should have seen her when Rich told her that girls get to have breasts when they grow up and so will she! She was ecstatic!!! More than if you had told her she was getting ice-cream --- which is pretty hard to beat!!! It was too precious!!!

About Lizards A couple of days ago, Nathalie shared very enthusiastically that she had read in the Bible that lizards were unclean. She was so thrilled to find that her strong dislike for these animals was shared by the Bible! Now, to help you understand, there is a little history of lizards in our family. Having lived in Tahiti for most of our family life, lizards were just part of life. You can't get away from them, they live in every house. Mostly they stay on the walls and ceilings. But every so often they make their way to other places and that's how come that one day - Nathalie must have been around 5 or 6 - she accidentally stepped on one - yuck!!! - and the lizard's tail fell off while the lizard, half alive, half dead, kept running to safety. She may still need some inner healing from that experience one day, but that was the beginning of her very strong dislike for lizards. One house we lived in had sooooo many lizards and they were getting fatter and fatter (they had an excellent diet living in the thatched roof!) and more numerous that we had to do something about it. So Rich went hunting every night before we went to sleep and killed a few of them with a pole with metal spikes on the end (normally used to pick shrimp in the river). I could never watch it, but definitely appreciated the effects of keeping the little critters' population under control. We also had an issue with rats, but I'll spare you that story for now, maybe another time:) Anyway, coming back to lizards, besides Nathalie's thrill of reading about their being unclean in the Bible, I suddenly had a flashback to our last home in Tahiti - - - I don't think there was one dinner where we didn't have some lizard droppings on our table or in our plates. Sometimes, as 2 of them would fight on the ceiling, they would suddenly drop onto our table/plates. I've got to admit that that is one thing I definitely do not miss about living in Tahiti!!! It is such a pleasure to look up at the ceiling and walls, and there is nothing on them, just pure, clean ceilings!