Fretting

My nephew just got a new bass guitar yesterday. He's exploring its potential. I interviewed him for a few seconds and here it is. I find it interesting that "fret" can mean a couple different things. His frets are good. In the midst of our move, I must not fret.

So, we're officially taking off in one week and two days. Next week will be my final packing time. What to take? What to leave? Of course, that process has been started, but until we actually pack those bags into the van, I'm sure they'll get unpacked and repacked a few times. I've already decided to unpack some of my clothing so I can take a couple more books (not sure if I can wear books, but maybe....); and I'm also deciding what food items if any should be taken (after all, they'll just get eaten up, right?). Chocolate seems to be a good choice to take (at least a pound or two of Dove and Ghiardelli) and a pound of Panera coffee. Today, I hope to get a silicone muffin pan which can be squished into a corner of a bag (they have them in Ulaanbaatar, but to the tune of $17 USD). So, as I finish my packing lists, may I REST and not FRET!

Open the Red Sea!

Yesterday, I was talking to the Father: "Please give us a good renter." All of our renter situations have not been working out. About an hour later I found out a woman who had looked at our place about 2-3 weeks ago had left a message that she was interested. Previously, she had said that she wouldn't be available to move in until June. Now she's available April 1! If her application all checks out, she's in! I'm so happy to have one more renter other than our daughter! Then, a few minutes after hanging up with her, we got a call from someone we know who's interested in buying our car. They're checking out financing today. Then, our daughter came home from work at 10 last night and said she had talked to a friend who is really interested in moving in! So, what a day!

I've been reading Exodus and have wondered:

Lord, will you "rescue" our situation right before the Red Sea opens...just as the Israelites got to cross on dry land at the last moment before the Egyptians came down on them. (I was thinking of how close we're getting to leaving the country and all the "stuff" that needs to happen is bearing down on us!)

OR....

Will You have us making bricks without straw...and we'll be gathering our own straw...to learn to depend on You even more?

I'm sure both will be happening throughout all of this process, but we had a Red Sea day yesterday!

He is teaching me to trust in Him during the dry days as well as the days where the manna comes falling down. He is in them all!

Language Barrier

Isn't it easy to take for granted that we can communicate with one another? I've been thinking A LOT about the language barrier we are about to encounter. I'm so glad we will have many people around us who: A. speak English, and B. want to learn English. However, we are still needing to learn Mongolian. We won't begin learning it until the first week of March once we get there. Hmmm...the first phrase I want to learn? "Please speak more slowly" which looks like this in the Mongolian cyrillic alphabet: Илүү удаан ярина уу. And, this is the phonetic pronunciation we will learn: Iluu udaan yarina uu. Double vowels sound different than single ones. We have yet to learn that. And, we must learn some fun sounds that aren't even found in the English language...the gutteral sounds and fun little trills that happen with the tongue and the top of the mouth (at least, that's what it feels like when I've tried to copy it).