copaneca de corazon

^ it means: "in my heart, I'm Copaneca" or from Copan.

Yesterday we wrapped up the project with ACDIM in two of my favorite communities. It was a bittersweet day, but filled with so much happiness, so much of the "normal" ridiculousity of my co-workers, and SO. MUCH. FOOD.

In good Honduran fashion, we all shared palabras (words) reflecting on our 2 years with the women, encouraging them to keep moving forward and continue working towards their goal of having a small business. In return, they shared beautiful words of how much they appreciated our friendship, the time we spent with them every month, and the things they learned.

you know how i feel about soup. but this really was delicious.

the soup wasn't enough.
she had to buy her own chickens to take home.

one of my favorite vistas in Honduras

My heart was so full (as was my stomach). We were offered the same hospitality we have always received in these places and shared a fun day with our friends. It is hard to know I won't be going back for awhile.

And I couldn't help but think...no matter where I live in Honduras--I am Copaneca in my heart.

march meeting madness

Although March is just beginning, I feel like it is already over! Well, lets just say, there is a lot going on and continues to be a lot of meetings and commitments on the schedule in the upcoming weeks.

me, oscar and ruth

Last weekend was the annual meeting for ACDIM and so we had a lot of things to prepare. Oscar and I gave a presentation on the current project with the 4 women's groups and a financial report. A new board of directors was elected and we organized new committees for intercessory prayer, development, agricultural projects, etc. Of course, moments like this are important for any organization and it is exciting to see progress. This is the first meeting of the "general assembly" of ACDIM in a very long time. But, after almost 18 months in my assignment, my optimism is also tempered by a good dose of reality!

Why so skeptical, you ask? First of all, Hondurans love meetings! They love free food at meetings (well, who doesn't ) and they are very intense about following the legal procedures for carrying out the meeting of a given organization (whether it be church, civil society, schools, private orgs, etc). It seems that many Hondurans feel that simply by filling their schedule with meetings, they are accomplishing a lot.

My problem with this is that I fail to see the "rubber hitting the road" from all these meetings. There are books and books of minutes, committees listings, and who voted for whom as the treasurer...but who is actually making something happen? When is there time outside of the endless meetings to get things done that you decided on?

I hope that this will not be the case for the new year of ACDIM. I hope that our current work motivates people as they see we are moving forward with the project; that they understand our need for other people to be a part of what we are doing. I hope that there will be new volunteers and fresh ideas for how ACDIM can continue in this project or in other new projects.

the new board of directors for ACDIM

multiplication

My co-worker Oscar often shares with the women's groups how God is God of multiplication--not division or subtraction. He references the parable of the talents and how we are called to multiply what God has given us.

As an organization, we were able to take part in this multiplication by taking a blessing that was generously given to us and through it, bless others. And isn't that what God is all about? Blessing us, to make us a blessing, to be able to bless others, so that others bless him?

Since the beginning of the project through MCC, the women's group in Vertientes has expressed interest in having a sewing business. Their community is the most remote, and they would like to be able to make school uniforms and other basic clothing items for a small profit. We wanted to support the women in this, since it was their own idea, but for a long time thought the initial investment beyond our capacity. How would we be able to get more than a few machines for the group of 16?

Through talking with other colleagues and making some connections, I found out Proyecto MAMA (another MCC supported project of the Honduran Mennonite Church) had 6 sewing machines that were unused and collecting dust. A few phone calls later and we found out they wanted $250 for 5 treadle machines and 1 electric machine. It seemed feasible, but we didn't really have extra funds outside of the project budget.

Then (seemingly) out of nowhere a good friend said her sewing ladies at church wanted to donate the money for the machines, and she wanted to put up some extra for the repairs. What a generous gift! We were very excited and planned a trip to check out the machines and see what condition they were in.

They turned out to be very good machines, only missing a few parts that we hope will be easy to replace. When we paid the amount to the women who work for Proyecto MAMA they told us they were so excited because they never thought anyone would ever want to buy these machines and now, with this cash we gave them, they will be able to buy an industrial-size gas stove to serve bigger groups at the retreat center which generates more income for their projects in children's health and education.

It was such a joyful moment! We took a monetary blessing that was given to ACDIM and invested in something to bless the women's group and their future business while tangentially blessing Proyecto MAMA with funds to buy something that serves their needs and generates income for the children and families they work with. I couldn't have dreamed up a better chain of multiplication, but I guess God knew he had it all covered.

christmas parties

As promised, here are some pictures of our holiday parties with the women's groups. We shared a cake, Coca-Cola (of course) and some candy for the kids. We were also able to give each group some kitchen utensils and equipment for their businesses. We hope they will be put to good use!

glimpse of advent

Trying new things can be scary for anyone. I myself can testify to this when it comes to high ropes!

But learning new things, trying something you've never done before, and being adventurous for the sake of adventure are so highly valued in North American culture.

When I found myself surrounded by a group of women who were so afraid to learn a new skill, I was reminded again of this cultural difference. Although subtle, I think speaks a lot to why change is so hard to come by in this culture and country.

We were pleased to present one of our community groups with an industrial mixer this week as part of the year-end Christmas celebration (pictures/post to come later). It was an exciting moment, presenting the micro-enterprise with their first significant piece of equipment to increase production, and of course, revenues!

Being the only one with a basic knowledge of how a stand mixer works (thanks to my mom & sisters!) I was nominated to lead the training in how to operate the machine. I did my best, but every 3rd or 4th time, the mixer would not work. I was frustrated, under a bit of pressure (15 pairs of eyes, plus my boss, co-worker, church member, and a TV camera!) and unsure of what was going wrong.

Thankfully, a moment of insight led me to deduce that all security checks had to be in place or the paddle would not move. With that figured out, we wanted to have 3 or 4 women practice using the mixer from start to finish to ensure they knew how to use it.

It was like pulling teeth!
No one wanted to step up, and no one wanted to try it out.
They lady who lives where the mixer was going to be stationed was in the bathroom for about 15 minutes!

I marveled at how intimidating this process was for these women. Women who have known me and Ruth and Oscar for 2 years! Women who have invited us into their homes for coffee, snacks, and conversation. Women who have purchased their very own piece of land--from a bank account that started with 0 lempiras! I couldn't even compute why they were so scared to learn a new process that would help advance their business.

But I had to step back and recognize that it's not so easy for them. As much as they want to move forward, the new and unknown is exactly that--unknown--and it overwhelms them. While I was taught from a young age that the sky is the limit, they are raised with a stark reality that there are limits in life. The very geography of where they live limits them. The economic situation they are born into limits them. Their access to education has been limiting for them.

And I was brought back to why this process of formation is so important for the women we work with. You can't just throw money at them and expect things to change. It requires a lot of learning, re-learning, and learning from mistakes. Its a long, slow, often frustrating process of little baby steps.

But then one day...
you see a little spark of change.
It lets you know there is hope.
Hope that maybe these women will mark a difference in their lives and those of their children.

And that is a sweet glimpse of advent.
Right here, in all the darkness, the spark of hope that foretells of good things to come.

bright spots

Last week was another roller-coaster ride of ups and downs in my work, but as I reflected on where I started  more than a year ago and where the women's groups are today, I can't help but be thankful for where God has brought us and what he is teaching me.

In 2 different communities I led another session on how to avoid losing money in your business, and why selling on credit is bad for your business. It was a lesson adapted from the material I wrote in my first year in Teguc, and it went over better than I thought. It was pretty interactive with lots of stories and discussion questions, and the women in both groups participated enthusiastically with plenty of personal experiences to beef up my simple examples. I loved it! It is always so fun for me to interact with the women and feel like they are learning something, but also that they can recognize how much  they already know and can apply to their fledgling enterprises.

Other exciting moments...
In one group, the women took seeds that ACDIM gave them a few weeks ago and they are already seeing sprouts in their small garden plots at the municipal office where they meet (yay for year round growing season!).

In the second group we visited, they were ready to purchase a piece of property where they can build a small structure for their bread-making business and other ventures. It was such a proud moment to see the women hand over 25,000 Lempiras (about $1250) of their own hard-earned, hard-fought money to pay the neighbor for a small plot of land. For them, it is a huge amount of money, and the fact that ACDIM did not give them one cent of it is pretty exciting. I told them they need to be proud of themselves for where they have come, and it's because of their own hard work and determination. To see the group start with 60 and work its way down to 14 or 15 faithful workers, to sit through trainings month after month, and now finally see some forward motion for their dedication--it's pretty awesome.

These moments help me remember why I am here and why I do this work. I care so much about these 4 groups of women and their well-being in the short and long term. They are up against a lot--don't get me wrong--and every week brings new obstacles. They need lots of things to keep their small businesses going, and we are doing the best we can with the little bit we have. We can't give them seed capital, or build them a building from the ground up.They face issues of division, pressure from other organizations who wish them ill, and any number of things that drag them down. But we are present with them, walking alongside them; not to pull or push (though sometimes, its hard not to!) but to encourage them, support them and offer what we have that may be of use to them. I never know what each week will bring, but it's the bright spots like this that help us keeping moving forward.

in print

This just in: my face can be found in the "On Assignment" corner of MCC's quarterly magazine A Common Place.

I am still waiting to get my copy in print (the mail is a bit slow in these parts...) and Oscar is eagerly awaiting to see my face in the magazine. I will have to translate the article for him, so of course I will make it sounds much more fantastic...and perhaps leave out the "challenges" part. Someone joked that I could have just listed him as my challenge ;)

Here is the online version if you want to check it out.

I'm excited that MCC Honduras got represented in the magazine, and that the work of ACDIM can be highlighted in this small way.

Women’s development worker

I love seeing women take initiative and leadership . . . — Charissa Zehr

Assignment: I work in Santa Rosa de Copán, Honduras, with the Christian Association for the Integral Develop­ment of Women, a small organization that provides capacity-building workshops and small business development for women’s groups in four rural communities.

See the full thing here:  http://acommonplace.mcc.org/acp/2012/10_12/on_assignment.html

in a small town

It has been a pretty good week. Lots of ups and downs...of course, nothing new to my faithful readers and friends, but some pretty sweet stuff happened.

First, I was visited by a new MCC Honduras colleague, Elizabeth, who came to see the life in Santa Rosa (and some new parts of Honduras). E is the new regional disaster coordinator for all of Central America & Haiti, and we are excited to have her here in Honduras.

Not only did these 4 days together give me a chance to get to know E a bit better, but it gave me an excuse to take some time to relax, enjoy the scenery of where I am privileged to call home, and process lots of things about my work and life in Honduras.

We made some delicious meals together (quiche-mania as we both discovered that pie pastry isn't so intimidating after all) and we even got a chance to take a dip in the nearby hot springs.

Yesterday E went with us on a short visit to one of the communities where I work, Plan Grande. The point of the meeting was to have the women's group meet with the Caja Rural (like a community co-op that lends money to members) and ask them for some space/land/use of their building for their bread-making business.

My co-worker O took the lead and told the men of the Caja what our organization is all about, what we have been doing with the women for the last 18 months, and why we were asking for their help.

Then, the president of the women's group, Dona Rosaura, stood up to explain to the Caja why we were all there. She began to talk about the process they have gone through with ACDIM and why this small business means so much to them.

Only a few short months ago, Dona Rosaura was so shy, she would barely speak in front of the other women in the group. Little by little she has been taking part in the trainings and sharing her opinions. And in this moment, I saw how far she has come. That she wasn't afraid to stand by herself in front of 35 community members and tell them that she wanted a change. That she hadn't gone through this 2 year process of organization and training for nothing. That she is confident her small group of neighbors and friends will start this business, and they want to see it grow into something beneficial for the community. Hearing her speak her piece almost brought me to tears.

And right there,
In that moment,
Sitting on that bench in a small cinder block community center,
in small-town Honduras (Plan Grande to be exact),
surrounded by the rolling green hills,
I knew what moment I never want to forget.

And in that moment,
I knew why I do what I do.

It helps me live with some of the frustration and discouragement I feel
because I can see that it is making a difference in the lives of these women.
It may not seem like a lot to you, but to me, it is enough.

And some days, that is all that you need.

new heights

Every day brings new adventures.

Today's adventure involved driving...

...to the most remote community.

...on the worst road.

...up up and more up

...without either my co-worker or my boss!

Day 2 of our cooking class in Vertientes, my co-worker was called away last minute (kind of an unnecessary phrase in this culture) to accompany the pastor to San Pedro. This left me as the only driver.

I have driven half way to where we were heading today, but the 2nd half is definitely more complicated. Only made worse by rainy season and a truck without 4 wheel-drive.

But God is good. I went well-covered in prayer (from my boss and the cooking teacher who is the sweetest lady I know) and we made it safe and sound! Praise the Lord. I was SO nervous. And just to let you know, I really love driving, so for me to be nervous indicates the complication of my task at hand.

The women were all surprised when I showed up with only the instructor. "And Don Oscar?" they all asked. Only after a time did it come out that I did the driving. Apparently they thought we must have come with some chauffeur. Hahaha...made me laugh. I enjoy more literal lessons of female empowerment for our beneficiaries. Girl power, ladies!

It was a great day. I had a fun time observing, tasting, learning, and chatting with the women. Successful day of cooking, successful day of driving.



Grateful for continued safety and the chance to rise to the challenge each and every day!

bread!

I'm jumping ahead of myself in my blog sequence, as I should be writing about the end of my vacation at home with my family and the crazy trip from Orrville, Ohio to my apartment door in Santa Rosa in 13 hours.

 

But, you're going to have to wait because my first day back to work was awesome.

"What is this?" you must be thinking, faithful blog reader. And it is weird coming from me. But it was a really good day! My coworker, Oscar, missed me like crazy (his words, not mine) and we filled the morning catching up on what is going on--and we have a lot going on at ACDIM. Between training in bread-making and basic cooking classes for our women's groups, coordinating with USAID and starting some garden projects, scheduling all of our visits, a site visit with Heifer Project, meeting with contacts at the tech school in Santa Rosa...well, its all pretty exciting and keeping us on our toes.

We had a visit to Plan Grande scheduled in the afternoon (news to me) so after running around town, I grabbed a bite to eat (it's slim pickin' when you live alone and just got back from 3 weeks of travel!) and we headed to the campo.

A bit of back story--the group of women we visited today had received a 2 day intensive training in bread-making about 3 weeks ago when I was in Teguc for MCC stuff. I meant to post about that, but haven't gotten pictures up yet. You can check it out on ACDIM's Facebook page if you'd like (and "Like" us :). So, Oscar and I have been talking extensively about how we will get these micro-businesses up and running and how much we are going to have to encourage the women to commit to working hard.

The meeting started slow and we spent lots of time handing out the diplomas from the bread-making workshop. We made announcements about the next class they will receive in basic cooking and moved into the main topic for the day. The whole time the women are shuffling around and getting the snack ready for after the meeting. What they did not tell us until the very end is that we were going to enjoy bread they had made and that the rest of the bread on the table was for sale at 20 Lempiras per bag ($1). Then they told us this was the second week they had made bread to sell and they are using the profits each week to buy ingredients for the next. 2 women will be in charge each week so everyone shares equally the responsibility.

We were blown away! And so excited! We have been working hard to coordinate training and resources for our groups. The bread workshop was the first step, but we honestly thought it would be like pulling teeth to get them actually working together as a small business. Without a word to us they just...started! And the bread is delicious! And they have had no trouble selling (at least from what we know so far).

the bread! it is really tasty.

hamming it up with the diplomas

 If you know me at all, you know that this is what I get really passionate about. I can't begin to tell you how proud I am of these women. I know its a small start, just a drop in the bucket, really. But to see them take initiative and just jump in is really exciting for me and our organization. My hope and prayer is that this will be the start of something good for them. That they will be successful, one small step at a time. They are so humble, and many of them very shy, but you can see how proud they were to hold their diplomas and show off the bread they were selling. Gives me goosebumps!

Also, very randomly, as most things in Honduran life are, there was a man from a TV channel and his camera woman wandering around outside our meeting (we are in the boonies, ok...this is not common). And he ended up interviewing Oscar about our organization and what we are doing with the women in this community. I posed for a picture with their bread (ridiculous, I know...but at least I sold the man their last bag!!) Of course, ideally we would have loved the president of the group to be the one interviewed, but we are taking things one step at a time. A little publicity can't hurt their new enterprise, right??

for the birds...

The last week of March I had a good friend who works for MCC in Tegucigalpa, Kathy Troyer, come to Santa Rosa to live with me for a week. Kathy has a lot of experience in gardening projects and worm-composting so we invited her to come and share her knowledge with ACDIM's women's groups.

 We planned a whole week of time to prep the training, do a demonstration with me and my coworker, and then visit the 4 community groups to teach them how to create worm composting beds in old tires.




It was a busy busy week with lots to do and lots going on. Kathy and I had quite a time wrestling old tires and trying to turn them inside-out...lets just say, we decided the difference in "space" wasn't worth our time!

Kathy gave us lots of great resources for learning more about worm composting and other gardening techniques. Together we put together a 10 page lesson covering the basics of worm composting, organic fertilizer, what the worms need to produce the organic fertilizer, and how to create a pleasant atmosphere for them in a tire. As we went to each of the women's groups, Kathy took the lead on the training and I was there to back her up and fill in some of the blanks.

After each lesson in "theory" we did a demonstration and left some starter worms in each community.

they were not to sure about touching poop with bare hands, like Kathy does :)

I learned A LOT more than I ever wanted to know about worms in this week and saw the passion Kathy has for her own worms :)  More importantly, I learned how they can really make a difference in the lives of women who care for them and reap the benefits of a nicely fertilized garden plot. Kathy has witnessed the change this kind of project has made in the lives of her friends and neighbors, and we are hopeful the women we work with with get excited about the possibility of family gardens as well.

Oscar...he is one of a kind

What I did not anticipate was having to care for my own crew of worms. The idea is to have a supply  for when women in the groups want more worms...and I thought for sure my co-worker (who purports to be expert in all things related to agriculture) would jump at the chance to take ownership of the worms--boy, was I mistaken!

I now have my own pets, living it up in collected excrement and coffee pulp. Not only did Kathy leave behind her beloved worms, but also a healthy fear of needing to protect them from the elements and predators (even fishermen who want to steal them for their hobby!). It has gotten to the point that I have found myself running around in thunderstorms with flashlight in hand to protect the rain-soaked worm bin from flooding...and wondering "what the heck have I gotten myself into?"

Overall, it was a productive week and a great chance to spend time with Kathy before her time with MCC wraps up this summer. It was good to show her my life here and share a week together, the ups and downs of life at ACDIM, living in a tiny apartment, and sharing some good laughs too.

the indirectness of it all...

There are days when I wonder how I will ever adjust to working in a North American office setting ever again...
...where you don't get to take breaks for baleadas whenever the urge strikes
...where friends don't stop by to plan the next soccer game or discuss church happenings, never concerned with what "work" they might be interrupting
...where delivery trucks and their fumes don't give you a headache on a regular basis
...where stray dogs can't just wander inside
...where women selling lorocco and tamales pass by several times a day
...where people can speak directly to one another and not beat around the bush.

Some days, I don't know how much more of the indirectness I can handle.
Here is a transcription of one small example of my life in the office of ACDIM:

(O is my co-worker, I am C)

O: "charissa i think i need to buy an envelope. do you think I might be able to find an envelope around here? ...i think i need an envelope."

(C produces envelope from drawer)

O: this is a good envelope. exactly what i needed.

O: "but i mean i mean do you think we can put the name on it, or i mean...how...? no you probably can't use the printer, right? i mean, how will we put his name on it?"

(2 minutes of hmmm, what can we do...how will i do this, etc...)

O:"i guess we should just write the name on it, no?"

C: "yep."

(2 more minutes of personal debate, aloud)

O:"maybe you have better writing than me, don't you think?"

C: "...yes. do you want me to do it? i will do it. tell me how you want it."
(proceed with 3 more minutes of directing my exact placement of the words on the envelope, questioning how it should be addressed, then when i give my suggestion changing it anyway...then telling me my capital letters aren't capital letters and maybe we should re-do it.)

I think after 15 minutes, we had a simple white enevelope, with a very complicated title, that some municipal officer will not even notice, and probably not even read the letter inside. awesome.

some days...I just can't take it. so I have to blog-it-out :)

working girl

It has been awhile since I've blogged, mostly because I haven't felt like there is much to tell. I have been struggling to find my way at work, don't have much of a social life to speak of, and generally have been up and down with being sick. Exciting stuff, right?

Also, I don't have any new pictures. I really want to show you the beauty of the countryside where I've been working and show you my town, but the camera has been collecting dust of late and I'm falling behind on the photo-documentation of life.

But for all the stuff that's been getting me down, there are some bright spots. So I guess it's better to focus on that.

This week at work was our week of community visits. About every 3 weeks we visit 4 different rural communities and lead a training on various topics for the women's groups that meet. It takes about an hour on the motorcycle to get to each town, though some are a bit further than others. I do not drive the moto yet, but Oscar would like to teach me!

Our topic this week was domestic violence and how the law protects women in Honduras. Overall the visits went really well. Up to this point, I had only been to 2 of the 4 communities, but now I have met each group. The women are always gracious and hospitable and it is fun to see the personality of each group.

On Friday my coworker Oscar and I did 2 visits in one day. About 5 minutes before the training, he asked me if I wanted to lead it. I felt there weren't too many options, so I took a deep breath and said "sure!"

I was pretty nervous, but overall it went well. In fact, Oscar was convinced the women participated much more with me than they ever do when he is leading the training. I've always had my doubts about being a teacher, but everyone in the group was very affirming of my ability to lead and teach the session. I only made a few blunders with my Spanish, but it seemed to hold their attention, so I decided to make it part of my routine :)

We were at the second town by 12:30 and were able to wait out the daily rain storm at someone's house (much better than being on the moto!). I led the session again, but with a bit less participation from the crowd this time. All in all, it was a good day and I'm glad to have a some practice leading the trainings.

Although I said at the beginning that I don't have much of a social life, the church youth group has become my main social outlet. There is hang-out night on Friday evenings, youth service on Saturday night at the church, regular church service on Sunday evening and we usually go out to eat after the service. So far, they have been gracious in accepting me and inviting me along. I'm trying to take advantage of their interest while I'm still novel and interesting...it's only a matter of time before they decide I'm not really that cool ;)

So, things are moving along. It's not always easy to be living on my own, but I am slowly making friends and learning my way around, figuring things out as I go. Thank you for your prayers as I continue to settle in.

better late than never...

Hello friends and family. I know you have been waiting with bated breath for a blog update from yours truly...I apologize for keeping you waiting so long. The past few weeks have been a lot of transition, living out of suitcases and moving all around (well, also, standing very still while fighting some gross illness...). Here is the quick run down:

Sept 5: left Orrville, OH for San Pedro Sula, Honduras. Arrived about 1130 am and was welcomed by my MCC Reps. Spent the next few days sweating it out in San Pedro til it was time to go to Teguc!

Sept 7-11: MCC team meeting in my beloved former home of Tegucigalpa...where the air is cooler, the sun is not so harsh, the birds chirp pleasantly, well, you can tell where my loyalties lie ;)

Sept 12-20ish: Spent a week in Nueva Suyapa, visiting my host family, former co-workers, hanging out with friends and generally enjoying the familiarity of life there. Had the chance to attend my very first futbol (soccer) game in the national stadium w the fam! what fun.
On Friday I started feeling rather sick and proceeded to be down for the count (with all the other mcc-ers) for the next 3 days.

So, even though I was supposed to be in Santa Rosa de Copan on Monday, I didnt get here til Wednesday. But, all was well. My boss was very laid back about the whole thing.

And here I am in my new hometown, blogging for the first from an internet cafe in Santa Rosa de Copan! Its a rather strange feeling, being here, living on my own and figuring it out all over again.

I will be posting pictures soon of where I am living, but so far its great. I rent a small apartment (with my own kitchen and bathroom) from a very friendly lady who rents rooms to lots of university and high school students who come to the big city to study. It was much nicer than I could have imagined, and it seems like I will have the benefit of still being close to a family while having my own privacy too.

Oh, and I havent even told you about my first day of work yesterday. It was crazy. We (my one coworker) and I rode the moto for about 45 minutes outside of the city. We parked it. Then proceeded to hike for another hour straight up and straight down til we got to the community meeting.

Oh. my. word. I was not sure I was going to make it. I would also like to point out that this was after he warned me it would be "10 or 15 minutes" of walking the day before. Yeah. Awesome.

So after a 2.5 hour meeting with the women of Aguasarcas and my coworker making lots of promises about how i was going to impart all this business knowledge to them, we walked back to where the moto was. Thankfully it was a little less "up" on the way back. We still had another meeting at the house where we parked, so didnt return to the city til about 230. I promptly went home, showered and slept for 2 hours! It was exhausting.

Unfortunately I dont have more to tell you about work yet. It seems my stomach illness from last week made a comeback this morning, so I took the day off. I feel badly about it, but just cant hike to wherever without knowing there is a bathroom nearby.

So, at risk of boring you anymore, I will wrap this up. I would appreciate prayers for improved health and also as I settle in to living on my own in a strange new place. And that this city girl could quickly adapt to life in the country :)

Pictures coming soon of where I live!
love
c