Moving

You know when you get ready to move, how you rally all your closest friends and call in all favors and blackmail whoever you can think of to come help you get all your junk out of one house and move it to the next...then you buy everyone pizza and give them high fives and I.O.Us and they go home and you enjoy living in you knew home?

Yeah, well this is nothing like that.

We have to ask our fellow-missionary-friends to come out of their parts of the jungle or town, fly into our part of the jungle and not only help us move, but actually help us build the house first...then put all our junk into it.

This process takes days-almost two weeks, in fact.

And there is no Pizza Hut.

So how do you show your appreciation and keep nine men energized and motivated to help your family?

You cook. A LOT.

This is my main job during the house building phase. I cook 3 meals a day, and clean up those meals, and I try my best to get their clothes clean everyday, so their wives do not die from the toxic fumes that would radiate from their bags when they got home if I didn't.

It really doesn't seem like enough does it? Thankfully, these guys don't do it for us, but for the Lord and the passion to see His word spread through every corner of this planet. It is a relief to know that He offers the best rewards and nothing I can do can top that!

Anyway, so in order for things to run smoothly I am doing a lot of cooking in advance. I will use my co-workers stove for each meal and she only has that-a stove- as her oven has been broken for years because rats chewed on the wiring when they were on a break. Fun.

So. Even though it is against every fiber of my Southern being, I cannot make any casseroles and have to only do stove top stuff which has forced me to think creatively a little, but it's at least better than having to cook over an open fire (which is exactly what Susan did back in March when the guys moved their house to our current village- she is a hardcore tribal wife). 

 I cook and transfer the meals into a ziploc bag and freeze them flat, so they won't take up to much space in Susan's freezer. I will have to use hers until my fridge and freezer get set up and working. Thankfully, I have some sweet missionary ladies who are helping me cook, since these 4 ziploc bags represent 3 hours and only two... that's right...TWO meals out of 30.

Here is a picture of my fridge and freezer...(ok so it is only one, but they are both exactly the same, you just change the temperature to make it a fridge or a freezer)

Yes, my fridge will be a chest style which is kind of a pain, but it runs on 98 percent less energy than a stand-up, so it is great for my solar/battery situation.
*And I did crop myself out of this photo because it was a very long, hot and sweaty day and my makeup just melted right off my face and my hair was soaked with sweat, so I looked way too much like this guy to post it on the internet for the world to see*

So there you go. A tiny peek into my part of the house building process. I know you are disappointed that I am not running a chainsaw or digging a septic hole, but if you saw me in the kitchen, then you would know it is just as dangerous and exciting!

Please pray that the airstrip we need to land on gets opened and the weather is good for all our flights in with our stuff next week! That's right, in ONE WEEK I will be an official tribal wife! Woo-hoo!