Picture of the Week: Something Like Lilacs

Here's a Mandy factoid: my favorite flowers are lilacs. I love them. I love the smell, the tiny bunches of flowers. I carried white ones on my wedding day. I planted pink and lavender ones in our yard in Cartersville. I feel nostalgic thinking of the huge bushes outside the first home I can remember, on a military base in Minot, ND. That bush was where the Easter eggs were hidden, where my sister and I played "store" and where I once attempted to dig a hole to China (I got about 18 inches).

Here in the tropics we are surrounded by amazing flowers...beautiful colors and intricate designs. And they are everywhere. I'm serious...there are even government workers who go around each morning and sweep up flower petals from the sidewalks. Alas, though, no lilacs.

Imagine my joy when I was loading (another!!) load of laundry in the washer and I spotted these little beauties on my neighbors awning. There are not lilacs, but they reminded me of them. And that reminded me of God's grace and how He generously gives us so many things to bring us joy even when it's not quite home.

Do you think my neighbors would let me play "store" under their tree?

An open letter to some friends

We got a huge surprise this week. A friend flew through our city on his way to work in other parts of the country. He brought a 50 pound bag of goodies, a surprise, from so many of our friends. Here's what I emailed to them.

To Jonathan and Jennifer, Daniel and Greta, John and Andrea, Jeff and Jen, Chris and Sarah, Ben and Erika, Tommy and Stacey, Larry and Ruth, Tim and Becky, Brent and Melissa, Zack and Tennyson, Micah and Lisa, Billy and Rebekkah (and all the respective kids!),

THANK YOU.

Jim delivered our surprise suitcase yesterday. We were just stunned. I still am. Lydia has gobs of princess stuff and craft supplies and homeschooling material and new coloring books! Thank you. I put some of it away so we can bring it out in stages (she was a bit overwhelmed). You know here all the coloring books are actually already printed in color. It’s a very weird phenomenon. Coloring books that you can’t really color in. She wore her apron today helping me make desserts for our team meeting. She told Molly about the Cheerios so many times I think that may be Molly’s first word. I have started a baking drawer in our kitchen full of the much appreciated cocoa, choc chips, brown sugar, etc. Brian, I think, wants to build something just to use his new gloves!

We look forward to hanging our beautiful Greta-original works of art. Wow! Sarah: I thought it was a little weird that you sent a 31 catalogue, but then I read the note on the back! Thank you! All the packing in Ziplocs and Tupperware…you wouldn’t think that would matter so much, but I am just beaming at all the new storage we have for our food! (I will still wash and reuse the Ziplocs…till they die but it is good to know I have many!) We had grits this morning. Even let Jim eat some. J

A family on our team is away this week. I will cook them mac and cheese (they have two small boys) when they return. You guys are ministering to our team. I plan on making cookies to deliver to our neighbors very soon. You guys are helping us reach our neighbors. (Here, delivering goodies always ends up with getting invited to tea, to discuss religion, to start a relationship…no kidding, we have already been invited to a wedding, to a movie night, to discussions on personal stuff.) Brownies, choc chips…well, let’s just say you are making me a better helpmate for my sweet husband!

All those little coloring books and stickers and perfect for attending churches in different languages without childcare. Thank you for helping Lydia adjust to this new (long, church service….) life. Molly will have something fun for her birthday (August 2!!) dessert…brownies? Cookies? Something with brown sugar!!!? She will be happy I’m sure, but also we are going to “use” her birthday to invite our neighbors. First birthdays are really big here (like weddings) so this will be a great way to open our home. And while a cake mix doesn’t seem all that spiritual or exciting, you have made it easier for me to be a good hostess, not stressed out mommy! Thank you (from Molly…the little evangelist!) J

We love the kids’ drawings. I can’t believe they can all do that well. I’m just seeing Lydia make people (big head, little sticks coming out of them for limbs, etc) and I look at your kids’ artwork and just get excited for my girls to be able to grow in their little expressions of art and I feel so at home with their sweet drawings on the wall.

In short, we feel incredibly loved. We are overwhelmed. I just want to be able to convey how much this stuff means to us, but more…how much you mean to us. We are very very blessed to have such friends alongside us on this journey. It is hard to live without a car, a/c, brown sugar, a crockpot, good crayons…but as I was thinking last night as I fell asleep…it is extremely hard to live away from you, our church, our friends. That’s my culture shock. It truly is. We are making new friends, We are loving our work. We are sure and firm and joyful in this calling. It is a hard calling though. And a giant suitcase of stuff has been divided up in my cabinets and when all of it runs out, it will still be a reminder in our hearts of love and partnership we have with you all. Life with you is half as hard and twice as good.

Much love and much gratitude,

Mandy (for the Stock Household)

Picture of the Week: Grandma

Lydia is getting better at drawing. Here is grandma. Notice the 4 limbs, the curly short hair and earrings. (I can never figure out how to rotate iphone pictures...sorry she's on her side).

I suppose this is not unique to living here overseas. If we were in the States, Lydia would be drawing grandma just about the same. But that's the point. Many (MANY!) things here are different. But some things just aren't. Molly is crawling, clapping, teething. Lydia is learning how to dress herself, cut paper, and draw grandma.

We got all those questions as we were moving here. "You are moving where?! And you are taking your children?!" For moments, yes I too worried that my kids might be growing up deprived, playing with sticks and constantly in danger of disease. Ok...well, that's kind of true. But there are good things here. Normal life is happening. The girls are growing, learning and having fun. They don't worry about not having TV because we have "Family Movie Night" on our laptop. A cardboard box serves as a little play house. Grandma and Nana read stories over FaceTime.

We know children adapt quickly. God is gracious in this way to parents. More pictures of our normal life to come. Some drawn, some taken but all part of the Stock Household's normal life. 

Picture(s) of the Week: Care Package

Molly with her new teething ring. Just in time for tooth #5! 

I honestly never thought I'd appreciate care packages so much. My mom has made it her new hobby to shop for, pack and mail boxes full of goodies to us. We are averaging one "Nana Package" a week thus far!Friends have spend much time and many dollars on shipping to send us good things like cereal, magazines and Twizzlers.

But really it's not so much what is in the package that makes us feel loved (although we really do value the fruit snacks and Crayola crayons) but the effort we know it takes to send a package, the love put into action and the joy we get from a tangible reminder of people who love us, support the work we are doing and have not forgotten us.

I stayed full till 2pm. My first bowl of granola (my favorite!!) in 3 months. 

We have pictures that the Falkins kids colored for us and photos of grandparents. We are savoring honey straws and Cheerios. Even today, Lydia pointed up to our picture wall to a photo of the Andersons..."They sent us a package!!". Thank you friends and family. You are making us feel appreciated, included, cared for and loved.

Her new favorite thing. Cutting with her new scissors (both scissors and Pottery Barn mag from Nana!)

Picture of the Week: Conference

We knew where we were going. It's just a kilometer or so from our apartment. But try to tell that to the auto driver.

Brian hailed one down (while the girls and I stood to the side). He told him where we'd like to go. The driver seemed convinced Brian meant another road. Our apartment security guard, Robert Alex, got involved. They start speaking in another language and bring security guard #2, Renke, over. A guy carrying a hose is walking by. He joins the conversation.

Every few seconds Brian asserts he knows the place and can direct the driver. After a few minutes, fares are negotiated, Brian has made them all believe he knows the way and we get in.

Here, you can have an address. You can have a map. You can even have your iphone tell you where to go. None of that really matters though if you 1) are white, 2) can't come up with enough landmarks or 3) don't put the emPHAsis on the right sylLABle. Sometimes that means you get ripped off, overcharged or taken the long way. Sometimes it means you have help from every and any person within earshot of your American accent.

Today it was quite funny.