Anyone?

I don't believe that anyone still reads this blog. If you do, you should let me know. In the mean time, "poop, fart, weiner!"

Stuart: "Grandma, you have a doctor's appointment today." Margaret: "What is he going to tell me... that I'm old!?"

Life has been interesting with my 94 year-old grandma living with us.  We are in the process of moving her into an assisted living facility.  She is very witty and loving and pleasant to be with, but she is also very confused.  I woke her up the other day and she thought I was her deceased husband.  It is difficult to see her slowly fade, but she tells us very plainly that she is not afraid to die.  She says she's lived a long life and done the best with what she's had.  Pray for us as we make this transition.  Pray that we lose our fear of death like my grandma has.  

1 day, 19 hours, 33 minutes, 12 seconds... and counting

Back to Wisconsin soon.  I have loved my time in Cyprus, Jordan and India, BUTT I'm really excited to come back home.  Plus, I get to see Carrie.  I can't believe I'm getting married!!!  But that's exciting too.  A little scary, but mostly just exciting.  See y'all soon!

FYI...

Just thought that all of you in WI should know that it's a pleasant 72 degrees fahrenheit here in Pune, India and by the beginning of next week it's supposed to be over 100.  I've heard that it's been cold there.  Is this true?

WHAT UP? from the opposite side of planet Earth!

Well, the classroom (lecture) phase of our school has ended and we are now in the outreach (in-the-field) phase.

RECENTLY... We were just in Jordan for 12 days helping out a few churches and visiting several orphanages. It was really interesting to be in the Holy land, where the dominant religion is now Islam. The people in Jordan are very friendly and easy to befriend. We ate SOOO much food while we were there. It was delicious! I just want to affirm that arabs are not all terrorists, despite popular belief in America. I was treated with great hospitality and respect by both Muslim and Christian middle-easterners.

CURRENTLY... Now, we are in India for a little over a month. We had 36 hours of travel. Going to the Airport in Jordan, 6 hour flight, taking a 6 hour taxi to Pune. Waiting 6 hours for our bus to Goa. 10 hour bus ride to Goa WITH A CRAZY BUS DRIVER WHO PASSED EVERYBODY AT NIGHT ON MOUNTAIN ROADS. Although at the same time, I was impressed with his driving skills. I was NOT impressed with the Bollywood movies that played the ENTIRE 10 hours. The driving is CRAZY here. It's a whole different world here from the middle east, where I'd been for the last 3 months. AND CERTAINLY a different world from the US.

We drive past slums all over the place. People living in tents and make-shift shanties in fields or in forests or on the side of hills. Hygiene is terrible and the water they use for daily stuff is not good. My heart breaks as I see the way they live. It also breaks as I learn about the caste system of Hindu society, where people of the lowest caste are called "untouchables" because touching them is said to defile members of higher castes. Also, they are said to be in the lower caste because of sins in past lives, so it is supposedly their own fault. This division of Hindu society into castes runs SO deep that even when churches are planted they have not been able to mix castes. They have only found success in planting single-caste churches. I guess thousands of years of tradition will take a little time to overcome, even inside the church. In the slums you find people picking through garbage, pooping/peeing everywhere. Not all places are like this... there are tourist places and also cities that look just like American cities (except ALL the people are Indian and everything is cheaper and the cars/motorcycles are crazy). SOOO interesting! Also, there are only like 7 fat people in the whole country of 1.2 billion people. Everyone is so skinny and they eat rice and curry ALL THE TIME. I write this having had curry and rice for the past 4 meals.

A COUPLE CYPRUS TIDBITS... I had the opportunity to pray with a cameroonian man named victor who was orphaned as a child, and later kicked out of his country for political reasons (he didn't elaborate). He poured out his heart and longing for his country. His only hope truly is the Lord and he doesn't know when/if he will be able to return to his country, but in spite of that, he trusts in God. Amazing faith.

During our weekly outreach/evangelism we talked with several Bangladeshi Muslims on the streets of Cyprus. I learned that their name for Jesus sounds like "Jeezu". They believe in Jesus, but only what is written about him in the Koran. It is also very difficult to hold conversations, because their english is only okay. It's also interesting to note that almost all of the Bangladeshi's we've met are in university for hotel management. We have had several conversations with a group of them. Some of them have even come to our open meetings. They are very proud of their country and love their country, but they are also aware of its problems. In Cyprus, I have met so many refugees and asylum-seekers and immigrants and people on the street that would love to come to America. It is their dream to go to "the land of the free."

List of things I loved about Cyprus:
traditional Greek and Cypriot food made well (you will find a lot of lousy traditional food as well)
the amount of international people (i.e. people not from Cyprus) you meet in the street and at church
the weather
the history
the beaches
the easy-going nature of the Cypriot people
ASKING MY GIRLFRIEND TO MARRY ME THERE!!! And having her say "YES!"

List of things I missed from home while in Cyprus:
YOU GUYS!
free refills
large meals
cheap food
central heating
efficiency
reliable electricity
reliable internet
reliable plumbing (in many places around the world, including Cyprus, Jordan and India, people put used toilet paper in garbage bins next to the toilets, rather than in the toilets. weird, eh?)

SHE SAID YES!!!! In your face single life!

Carrie arrived in Cyprus Saturday afternoon at 4:30. We toured around Larnaka in the evening, visiting the downtown area, an ancient medieval fort, and enjoyed a traditional Cyprus dinner before finally ending the night back at the school. It was wonderful to be reunited.
I told Carrie that I had an exciting date planned the next day so she had to get to bed, catch up on sleep, and be ready for an early morning. We headed out Sunday morning in a rental car to the city of Agia Napa, a beautiful coastal city on the south western side of Cyprus. After a day of beautiful beaches, vibrant blue water, huge caves, and tall cliffs, we ended up in the perfect secluded area on the edge of a cliff just as the sun was setting. We had just gotten to the spot when Carrie asked if I had locked the car doors. I found this to be the perfect excuse to leave her where she was and head back to the car to get a bouquet of flowers, my guitar I hid from her in the trunk, and a ring . After returning with everything, I got out my guitar and played for Carrie the song that I wrote just for her (I know, I'm SO romantic!). My crazed nerves along with Carrie's happy tears, made it almost impossible to sing and play, but somehow I finished the song. So then I kissed Carrie, put the guitar away and told her there was one more thing I wanted to do. I made her stand up and I got down on one knee. After some touching words I will spare you from (Yes, I can be serious and mushy), a few tears from both of us, I asked her if she would be my wife. She said YES! WOO HOO!

Carrie will be with me until the 27th, and we have lots of fun things planned to do and see on the island, as well as celebrating our engagement, and just enjoying time together.

Happy Jesus' Birthday,
Stuart AND CARRIE

An Iraqi Refugee in Cyprus

A few weeks ago, during our weekly outreach into the community, I met an Iraqi refugee named Joad. He was very friendly and very talkative. When I told him I was an American, I said, but it's OK, we can still be friends. He agreed, saying that it's all political and that the governments and the media of both of our countries practically try to make us hate each other. So, we had a really good chat for over an hour in the street. He told me and my other friend that it was really good just to be able to talk with someone about all the hard things that are going on in his life and have someone to listen to. Foreigners to Cyprus from the middle east are usually not treated well and not given equal status to natives. This man was very intelligent, friendly and his english was quite good. He told us he believes in God, because of the amazing intelligence and beauty and design he sees in nature. However, he said he was not a muslim nor a christian, because he says that religion has caused SO much hurt and pain and destruction in the world. He mentioned all the civil wars between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims as well as Christianity and the Crusades. He poured out his heart about the deaths of family and friends and the terrible destruction that has ravaged his homeland. He was lucky/smart enough to get out of Iraq before the war.
Pray that we meet him again and have a chance to hear more of his story and introduce him to Jesus, not a religion.