Orchids. God's latest lesson on growth....

Finally!!!  Took me almost a week to figure out how to get back into my blog......somehow I was locked out but now am back and good to go.

Over this past week we went to the schools to help again with the crafts.  It is such a pleasure to work with these kids as they enjoy being creative.  Even the teachers get involved sometimes and create and take their crafts home.

Now that it is winter here and much cooler the times at the schools are even more enjoyable.....We will continue going for the next two weeks and then we will break because there are not enough of the women here to be able to help at the schools.  Most of the classes have 35 to 45 students so we need a minimum of 4 women and 4 drivers to be able to help the kids and be finished within the hour time we have.  I will miss these outings.

Still no word about the possibility of hospice or working in the hospital.  I tell you this because I want you to know that the dream stays alive and hope continues.  In preparation for the hope to become a reality, I have begun language study again.  I am doing a lesson a day and this program that I now have is really user friendly.....and I must say I'm enjoying it.  I do not like living in a country and not being able to communicate easily to people I meet and it is an imperative to speak Portuguese to do any serious work here.  I find even the school interactions are frustrating since I cannot really communicate with the children or teachers.

Our garden is actually becoming amazing!!!  We have beans that we harvested today....our first crop!!!!  So exciting!  The corn is almost ready to harvest.  The squash and watermelon are growing and the spinach and gimboa are both growing as well.  Soon we will be able to actually eat out of the garden and that is the goal.  This is the first time I have had a garden.....and I have to admit that most of the reason it is growing so well is the wonderful gardener we have.

Today Bryan and I spent several hours working on the orchids.  We took the remaining baby ones from the bottle in which we transported them from Thailand.  This means we needed the husks from coconuts and then took each little plant and secured it inside a part of the husk and then tied them to our ladder to grow.  We will be looking for some sort of tree stump to attach them to when they are more mature......which might be difficult since there aren't many trees near our home.....hmmmmm

Living here is helping me focus my understanding of what is actual need in my life rather than all the wants......I believe it is helping me grow as a person and be much more thankful for what we have.....and I am amazed at how exciting it is to watch the garden and orchids grow.....God is revealing simple truths to me such as finding joy in seeing how He produces growth in everything......in plants, vegetables, and fruit as well as in my life.

Now if we could just get Ms Kitty to potty train.........