August, 28, 2006

Antananarivo, Madagascar

Hi again,

I've been wanting to update you as to what has been happening in the last week or so but it has been extremely hectic so there has not been much time for writing, or doing all the catch-up on emails I'd been hoping to accomplish after arriving.

First, the suitcases; all 8 pieces of luggage managed to get here within a week of our arrival. Doug had to make three trips to the airport to get all of them, but we're very thankful they're all here!! One came several days after the others so for awhile we were wondering if it would make it at all. With them in addition to the other things we had stored in one of the guest houses here before going to America, we now have plenty of clothes to wear, but have way too many things to keep in our rooms. We have boxes and suitcases piled against the walls. But we still don't have access to everything that was stored in a sea container, which means we're still discovering we need things that we can't get at.

And we don't have any idea yet when we'll be moving into a house. You may have heard that we had made arrangements to get a house from an Italian family since they assured us they were moving away this year. We weren't sure exactly what part of the year they would be leaving, so didn't know if we'd have to wait until November or if we'd luck out and be able to move in right away. So that was one of the first things on our agenda after getting back; to find out about that house. We tried calling, stopped by, but got no information, until the first day of school when the Italian girl was at the boys' school. I tried to hide my shock and disappointment, hoping to look excited as she told me they were going to live here two more years. So much for our plans to live in that house!! For 7 months, we had been looking forward to the yard, the house, and the play space in the garage for the boys. We even decided what furniture to bring from Diego based on the understanding we'd get that house, so it was disappointing, to say the least! But it was also good to know what we were dealing with so we could move on and start making other plans. It had also served another purpose. It had been helpful to think we were getting that house all that time so that we wouldn't be in a panic about not having a house when we got back.

We weren't sure how or when to start looking again since neither of us were very eager for the tiring process of looking at houses that are either too expensive, too small, too dumpy, or had no yard. Been there. Done that. But still we had to try again. It helped that a teacher at the boys' school offered to take us around to see houses she had found out about when she was looking for a new house. It was very sweet of her and we got excited again about "the hunt." Unfortunately the hunt didn't prove very successful as we went to house after house that had "just been taken." Every house in our price range had been taken except for one, which was a real dump. As we were looking at that one, the guard told us about a house across the street for twice our price range. We decided to be silly and look at it. We fell in love with it. It wasn't quite twice our budget, but still significantly more. The teacher who was with us at the time though said they were charging way too much and that we should be able to get it for significantly less. Since then we've looked at several other houses as well. None of them were within our price range. As a result, the administrator of the mission here offered to increase the budget for our rent. We immediately went back to that owner and made an offer according to our budget. He said he would talk to his wife. The next day they asked us to come back. We saw that as a hopeful sign. We found out though that they couldn't come down as low as we asked, but cut off a good chunk from their price. They said they would rather have Christians in their house and get less rent, than have someone else and get more rent, but they still had a bottom line. It left $50 a month between their lowest offer and our budget. We decided to ask the mission if they would agree to that amount. We're still waiting on their answer before we set out on more house hunting. We trust that God has the right house for us and it will come in time. We're just not sure when that time will be. Doug will be leaving on September 5 for several weeks up in Diego. We're doubtful now that we'll be able to move into (or even find) a new house before that, so that will mean October before we can figure it out. Anything can happen though!

Fortunately Doug figured out how to take care of our dog, Fred, until we get a house. Fred will be flying down from Diego tomorrow and I'll have to pick him up at the airport. From there I'll take him to a kennel until we figure out where we'll be living. Doug had to arrange to rent a cage, send it up to Diego, and have friends get Fred drugged up for the ride.

The best news we have to report though, is that both boys are enjoying school. Ben still says that he'd rather be in Diego and misses the school and friends there. It is hard changing schools! But we were very thankful that he found a friend the very first day of school! A boy named Nicholas is in his class, whose dad is from Wisconsin and his mom is from Norway. They've been living in Ethiopia for three years so Nick is also going through similar adjustments and grieving. He seems very similar to Ben in his interests and personality. Nick already came over to play on Saturday and the boys had a great time. Nick has two younger brothers as well, ages 6 and 3 so we might have lots of fun boy play time together. Jeremiah was not so fortunate his first day of school and we wondered whether we had made the right decision about his placement. There were no other kids in his class who spoke English except one boy who has major behavior/learning issues. Miah was not at all excited about school and not eager to go back the second day. God provided on the third day though. A new boy started that day named Zach and the two of them hit it off!! Zach took to Miah right away and asked if he was Miah's friend. Miah's response was, "Well, not yet, but I'm sure you will be." I do believe it has happened. Once we are living out there closer to the other families from the school, I hope we can have Zach come over to play as well. Jeremiah is only attending half days so gets lots of "mom and dad time." We have lunch as a three-some and then he accompanies us doing chores or work or whatever we happen to be doing. It reminds us of having only one child five years ago who was also 4 years old at the time.

It has been very exciting for me to discover that Manna for Madagascar carried on very well without me. Lova took care of placing all the Bazaar Kit orders by herself and did a much better job than I would have done. It is wonderful to see that she is working hard to make Manna sustainable even after we head home for good. We all keep praying that it will happen!

Like I said, Doug will be heading up to Diego for most of the month of September for meetings and trips and reconnecting with folks up there. He's eager to see everyone again and see how things are going. There was bad news, however, about the motorcycle he thought had all been arranged for his Malagasy boss. Some of the paperwork was not in order so they were not able to get it after all. Now they start over from square one to try to find him an affordable motorcycle so he can continue his work without Doug living up there to take him along on trips.

I guess that's it for now. I better close and wish you all a great day and week!

We'll keep you posted on how things are going and where we are living.

Love,
Monica