FINALLY!!

Well, it took forever, but I'm finally back online. I didn't realize how much I use the internet until I had it taken away from me. I am very thankful to be connected again. There's no way that I will be able to mention everything that's happened in the past 3 1/2 weeks, but I'll try to fill you in on the big stuff. We finally received our first shipment last week. This was our express shipment that went by air but was stuck in Tel Aviv on a technicality. This shipment had to be "light" so it was only the necessities. A lot of kitchen items, linens, clothes, and a few toys. Only a few things were broken, and only one of them to the point where it is unusable. That was a coffee mug, so there's no real loss there. My dishes all made it safely -- all 12 place settings, so I was thankful for that. Putting everything away only took up one day, so I've had to find other hobbies to fill my days. None of us like the bread here very much, so I've taken up making home made bread. I'm getting quite good at it, if I do say so myself, and I'm enjoying it as well. We've ordered a bread maker that will take another 1-2 months to get here, but I'm almost regretting that purchase. Making bread from scratch is not as hard as I thought it would be and I am enjoying it. But, once school starts, I probably won't have as much free time on my hands. I've never been a strong cook, but the Lord is giving me this opportunity to hone my skills. A lot of the foods that we like to eat are just not the same here, so I'm learning to make them from scratch. Cooking this way is really making me regret that I didn't pay more attention to my Grandma when I visited her for the summer. She made everything from scratch, right down to the noodles for her soup. I am remembering some of the things she tried to teach me all those years ago, but oh...if I had only listened. I'm sure I would have a wealth of knowledge today. I am very thankful that my kids enjoy cooking with me and helping as much as they can. I would like to send my children off into adulthood someday with at least a basic culinary knowledge.
We have joined the church that I last told about. Some of you were asking if this is the same church that I was interested in before we came here. Yes, it is the same church. We were accepted into their fellowship unanimously -- that is, both families voted yes! Yes, besides the pastor, our family makes the 3rd one there. The week we joined they had asked us to stay after the service for lunch. I can't remember the name of the dish that was made, but it means upside down in Arabic. It was rice, lamb, eggplant and carrots all cooked together in a pressure cooker. It's called upside down because they turn the cooking pot upside down onto a serving tray. It was very good -- even the kids enjoyed it. One of the families has 5 children who all attend an American school, so we had no trouble with communication. One of the daughters, a teenager, asked to take my kids to a nearby store to buy them some candy. I decided to go along for safety's sake. She let them pick out the candy they wanted and we all walked back to the church. We came inside to a room of laughing men. My husband was teaching all of the other men how to properly tie a neck tie. They all seemed to be enjoying themselves. After lunch and some time of fellowship, was a time of organized soulwinning. We were able to give a tract to a man in the fabric store (even though I wouldn't buy his fabric). Soulwinning is much trickier out here and you have to be very careful, but I was glad to find out that it is not illegal.
We've been enjoying the local produce more lately. Our pastor introduced us to a local cucumber they call an "Esau" cucumber. These vegetables have hair all over the skin (think peach or kiwi), hence the name Esau. The cucumbers we're used to are called "Jacob" because they have a smooth skin. Now we've discovered fresh figs. These taste nothing like the dried variety that you find in the states. If you can ever get your hands on a fresh one, you've got to try it. They're delicious!
I'm sure there is much more for me to update about, but my time is up for now. I hope to hear from all of you soon!