Mid-October Report

Autumn has officially rolled into Tucson although it is not quite the same without the changing of colors. Everything is still green and brown and the sun still shines but the temperatures are significantly cooler. I, Bethany, have actually been cold outside and it was only 66 degrees in our apartment when we came home yesterday and that was without the air on.

Anyway, it's hard to believe that it is already mid-October and we have been here for about 2 months. We are almost done with our second round of respites and looking forward to the break that we will have at the end of the month. We continue to face various challenges as we work with these kids but nothing has caused us to resign yet! When we returned to Splash 4 at the beginning of the month, we were faced with quite an array of attitudes that, at times, took the wind out of our sails but God was faithful to help keep us going.

Yesterday we finished up at Splash 3 with two 6 years olds and two 8 year olds who keep us on our toes all the time: throwing cereal, punching each other and spraying chemicals on Eric's breakfast! We tried the strategy of letting them stay up late so they would sleep in but one of them got up at 7:00 a.m. without fail so that didn't work in our favor. Despite the bountiful harvest of consequences we had to dish out during the respite, we also got to do some fun things with the kids and the nice thing about this group is the positive responses we got from the activities. They have vacation from school for the whole week so we had lots of free time to fill up. There is a movie theater around here that has $2 tickets so we got to see WALL-E and Kung Fu Panda this weekend. We also went to a roller skating rink and the kids had a blast learning to roller skate with us. Another bonus was having a blow up jumping castle at the house that was left over from a party. Just plug it in and it inflates and provides entertainment for hours while the kids jump around on the inside just like at a carnival. They loved all the stuff that we did with them so it was rewarding to hear their thanks even for the food that we made them! Bethany even convinced the kids to wash our car!

Let me take this time to warn you all about the importance of backing up the data that is on your computer. Eric's hard drive failed on us without any warning so all of the files on his computer that aren't backed up will cost us a lot if we want to retrieve them. Sadly, we have lost the pictures from our honeymoon. So, learn from our mistake and find a place to continually back up your data in case of hard drive failure.

We can and often do walk to Wal-Mart to get groceries we have forgotten to get from the GAP pantry. This beautiful map, courtesy of Google, shows the exact path we walk to get to the mall and Wal-Mart.

We continue to learn lots about marriage, love, serving and other Christ-like qualities as we work in this job. It is definitely not a picnic and my weaknesses and failures show up quickly in an environment that demands all of me without much time for rejuvenation. Eric has been very patient and he does a great job with the kids, especially when they are somewhat out of control and not listening very well. I am learning not to take it so personally if they have a bad attitude or if they aren't listening and although progress seems slow right now, I hope to keep persevering so that I can grow in learning to love.

"For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance; godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." 2 Peter 1:7-8

We are continually thankful for the ways God has provided for us, including our nice little home with a hot-tub that we enjoyed last night in the cold, autumn air.

Praises: We are continuing to build relationships with the kids and their parents and are learning a lot from this experience.

Prayers: Strength and endurance for each respite. At the end of the month we hope to purchase a new laptop. Cheap plane tickets to come home for Christmas. For our marriage to be strengthened as we work together.