Double Email

Dear Friends and Family,

Today is Thursday, June 15. It has been a very busy
last few days. I have not even been in the office
until today. Here are the two emails that I composed
on my computer previously. I will update you more
later, after I get some work done. :)

Note: Expectations in head are falser than they appear

Dear Friends and Family, 06/10/06 (I think)

*written from Heathrow airport*

Expectations, it seems, are all the rage. Since
highschool, Iíve been getting the ìwhat are you going
to do whenÖî question from more people than I care to
number. Sometimes, I have to admit that the most
accurate answer to that overasked question is ìI donít
know.î Not that the questioner will be content with
that answer; sometimes I just wish I didnít have to
try to think of a satisfactory answer.

When I started packing, I expected to be able to fit
all of my belongings into my one large suitcase and my
backpack. I had forgotten about the weight limits. So,
to conserve weight we spread our weight (a total of
198 lbs: 2 lbs shy of the limit for checked luggage)
out between 4 large bagsóbut my large bag wasnít as
large as I had expected, so we had to buy a larger
bag. I found a blazing pink bag on wheels to match my
pink id tags. Iíll take no chances of missing my
luggage on the conveyor belt! :)

On the 9 hour trip from the States to the UK, I
expected to be able to sleep a little, eat a little,
and write a little, not in that order. I slept a lot
and ate a little.

In London, I expected to be able to understand all the
signs (isnít England where they invented English?),
but their phraseology often throws me off (ìQueue
begins hereî = ìLine begins hereî), and the directions
somehow seem complicated and confusing. If only I
could put the airport into book fashion, with a table
of contents, index, cross-references, and marked tabs!
I also expected to be able to use the 8 hour layover
to take a lazy tour of England (ie, go see Big Ben, a
local park, and a local eatery); after probably 20
minutes of wheeling my blazing pink luggage and its
accompanists underneath all the complicated standard
English signs, we discovered that we canít check our
bags until 5:40 local time.

Can anyone say flexibility?

I am glad for the respite. I can sit outside the
little Italian CafÈ Nero and breathe fresh (ha!) air
while people watching. Ahh, people watching: the
universal pastime!

Well, Mom wants a frappecino, so Iíll sign off for
now.

Much love
And thanks
For your prayers,

Amanda & Mom


Dear Friends and Family,

*written 06-14-06, Wednesday, at the Karina Guest
house*

It has been 4 days since I last composed an email.
Iíve had to save my computerís energy, since I do not
have the correct adapter for it. Tomorrow I will be in
the office, and I will be able to send this and the
other email out.

Mom and I have in the last 3 days visited 2 schools
and met with some of the mamas of the First Baptist
Church of Eastleigh. The first school is run by the
Pastorís wife, Cate, and the second by a lady in the
church, Monica. Both schools are full of children and
lacking in space. One of the few things that the
children do have in abundance is love from their
teachers. Mom and I had no idea that each teacher had
one or two of her own children with the others: they
loved them all as their own. There is much to tell,
and not enough battery power to tell it. It has been a
long 3 days.

Today we had the opportunity to meet with a few of the
women from the church. What a blessing. I listened as
the stories were exchanged and Godís name was praised.
The experience was very refreshing.

Mom is doing remarkably well with her claustrophobia,
thank you for praying. But now she is fighting her
sinuses, so please pray that she is better soon.

I have been struggling with jet lag, culture shock,
shyness, and the inevitable spontaneity of mission
work. Praise God, He gives me just the strength that I
need to make it through the dayóand then I come back
to the guest house and fall asleep. :) Please pray for
the practicum part of this trip: I am a little nervous
about how I am going to get all of my requirements in
with such aÖspontaneous atmosphere.

All for now, I must conserve my power in case I need
the computer later.


Much love
And thanks
For your prayers,

Amanda & Mom