Lately...

This time of year in the swamps is always quite bizzarre. We move from the heat of October/November to the west wind season beginning in December/January and lasting til March or so. It's also the time of the year where the tides are higher. I won't get into all that scientific jargon as to why (and it's definitely NOT because I don't entirely understand it) but all you need to know is that the high tides at this time of year bring the water table up so high, that our 1 foot above sea level becomes negative a few inches. It's why everyone's houses are connected by boardwalks. It's why if you're brave enough to plant anything in the ground, you better mound it up a foot or two so you don't end up like our mango and avocado trees that we planted. Spoiler: they are no more. I have mostly given up planting anything except the hearty lime trees and the robust coconut trees. Yes I could plant veggies in pots but we have to bring in better soil ($$$) and even then...is it really worth the 10 tomatoes we might get from 1 pot? 

A more recent project that Sam is working on with the guys is connecting the large second boardwalk the the government built a year or so ago to our boardwalks. Sam's been running on the new one since it's less populated than the main one and we take some exercise walks on it together. It will be much nicer to connect them than to have to walk down on packed mud and through banana groves to get to it. 

The guys insist on working barefoot, without the encumbrance of boots that stick to the mud and slow you down. They have the benefit of inch thick callouses on their feet but every other day I still have foot injuries to bandage up. This is where our host country has excelled: they make the most amazing rolls of fabric bandage that come in all different sizes and once wrapped around a foot can take days to get off. That's what we use every day and it's a game changer. They aren't exactly waterproof so I still tell them to not step in the mud or water for a couple days to which they respond with a giant eye roll or just a completely blank stare. Um ok. 

So the latest for us during this high tide season is to keep our chicken coop from drowning so our hens, who are finally starting to lay eggs!, can stay happy and dry. It's not an easy task but it's worth it for fresh eggs. 

October and the first part of November were extremely hot and humid. Up until last week actually we were battling extra weariness just due to the heat. In the states when it's hot, you duck into the house or a nearby 7 eleven and immediately have AC to cool you down. Here we were getting 90° temps INSIDE the house with only ice water and fans as our relief. Greyson and Rovan both have had terrible heat rash that's left them quite itchy and miserable. Thankfully the last couple days we've had cooling rains in the afternoon which helps so much!

Language study continues, albeit frustratingly. It's been a super duper slow journey of getting back to where we were when we left two years ago. This language continues to prove to be so difficult to understand. We think this is partially due to how different it is from any other language we know (English, Indonesian, Spanish). It stretches our minds like nothing else and we're often battling mental discouragement. Thankfully the people are gracious with us. We have to simply take it one day at a time. 

So life continues as we've finally gotten back to the routine we miss when we're gone. 

As we enter into holiday season, a time when every missionary struggles the most, we keep our eyes fixed on Him to guard and keep us. We always wish we could be in two places at once but we know this is where He has us right now. So we press on....it helps that we have some crazy cute kids here to help bring a smile to our faces ❤️