Running in Place

Did you ever have one of those days when you worked hard to accomplish something, but nothing seemed to change? Today was one of those days, except that all our effort was in the form of mental/emotional energy (aka: stress). Our hands are tied until we get the passport, now promised to come tomorrow, supposedly between 11am and 4pm. It will be a miracle if we get everything done before it’s time to leave.

We are required to leave from Kigali, Rwanda. The flight goes next to Nairobi, and we were hoping to fly directly from Kinshasa to Nairobi, but Northwest Airline won’t allow Paul (my ticket is changeable) to pick up the flight except in Rwanda, which means they have to leave Kinshasa the day before (Monday) in order to make the connection. The only progress since last night is that we found a ticket for Miriam on Paul’s flight for $2,700. It seemed pretty reasonable compared to $5,000. With all this in mind, and the feeling that we’re standing still, my faith tells me that there are things happening behind the scenes that I cannot see. It’s in God’s hands.

Here are some prayer ideas:
***The passport comes early enough for us to be able to make the medical exam tomorrow.

***The medical examiner speeds up the results

***The results arrive at the embassy in time for Paul and Miriam to leave on Monday

Here is more about Miriam:
Each day she opens up more and more. This morning she was still planning on leaving today. She told Paul to call her mom on her cell phone (everyone, almost literally, has one here). Later when a woman we were visiting left her cell phone on the couch, she asked, “Is my mama’s phone number in your phone.” The woman, not knowing our story, was very confused. We ended up calling her mom and letting Miriam talk to her. It was a short conversation, but it pulled Miriam out of talking about going home.

We realized last night that a little physical activity could go a long way toward contentedness. We’ve been doing the “Hokey Pokey” and “Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes” (from Barney), and a goofy counting/jumping game that I made up. Before today she mostly watched us do it, with very little expression (probably thinking, “who are these crazy people my mother gave me to?”). Today she asked me to do the H P with her—she told me by dancing it herself, then taking me into our room and closing the door so no-one could see. After the HP, we did the jumping thing. I had forgotten “HSKT,” but she reminded me by doing the actions. We did it several times, speeding it up as we started over, and for the first time, she laughed with me. It was good

Have you got any other goofy songs like that? We’re having a hard time remembering any others (except “Father Abraham,” which didn’t hold her interest yet). Post on the blog if you do.