My outlet for stress was running...until a stranger asked me for my phone number and probably yelled in my window that afternoon (we aren't sure, but it's likely). So now, I just try to tell myself that I'm not totally stressed out. Well, my body is saying otherwise. I've heard that some people express their stress through headaches, ulcers, not eating, or other things like that. I'm not having those symptoms, but my skin will break out into itchy rashes. I was praying yesterday and thanked God for my "warning singal" that let's me know that my stress level was too high. I'm not sure how to de-stress. There aren't many forms of entertainment things to do, and I'm finding that I don't have hobbies. So I'm up for ideas on ways to de-stress. I tried to treat myself to a trip to a nice salon. It was wonderful, until I backed into someone's car that wasn't parked all the way in their spot. That is taken care of (Praise the Lord!). Please pray that I would find a way to de-stress, be less anxious, not worry... all those things. God and I are on a journey together trying to figure out this thing called life.
In other news, last week was a crazy week for Josh too. Monday was a holiday, so we went to a friend's house to play games and have dinner. When we got home he started running a fever that eventually lasted almost all week. Tuesday I took his blood slides to a couple different pharmacies to check for malaria. One came back positive for the type that enters your bloodstream and will eventually kill you if not treated, and the other came back negative for malaria. I called the nurses, and they said,"Treat it as a cold because many cases from that certain pharmacy are coming with the same result, and that's just not that likely!" So, the next day I took another slide to one final pharmacy. That result came back negative for malaria. On Friday, we went to the clinic. They looked at him, listened to his symptoms, and said,"You probably have the type of malaria that goes into your liver." So, his started taking medicine this past Friday. His symptoms are now gone, and Monday he worked a half day. Today he decided to go back into the hangar. He still is low on energy, but God has restored His health. We know that it was God who healed Josh, and it's Him who will (and is already) restore His strength.
One less thing to wait on is the work visa! As of yesterday , the visa that will allow me to teach is waiting for pick up in Singapore. We have half our plane tickets, we have information on a place to stay, and we're excited for a "mini-vacation". It will be nice to eat a nice meal at a nice restaurant. In Papua, the place you go for a nice date is the same place you go after church on Sunday. I'm looking forward to going to a movie theatre and book stores that stock English books. We hope to celebrate our anniversary (June 23) and my birthday (Sept. 3). We had a nice dinner at home and split a dr.pepper (thanks marilu!) for our anniversary. Still, we're looking forward to it.
We think we have places to stay through August. We're hoping to have a more permanent place, so we don't have to continue in our (unwanted) nomadic ways. We're praying that we can settle down, begin a routine, and feel more at home here.
Josh is hoping to start his ground school training at the end of September. He's hoping to start his flight training sometime soon after that. We're praying that he can get in the air soon. He's been on the ground too long!
I hope this gives you some ideas of more specific ways to pray for us. God is, has been, and will continue to be so good to us. We're thankful for the ways He has provided. It's hard to sit back and wait. Pray that we can focus on now and leave tomorrow's worries to itself. If any of us try to carry the regrets of yesterday, the agenda for today, and the worries for tomorrow surely we'll all collapse. We love you, miss you, and wish we could see your faces.
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord,"Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to bring you hope and future."
