Catching Up with the Clarks

Our Christmas Pics, 2008

2009-01-08T03:06:00.000-08:00

HAPPY 4TH BIRTHDAY EZRA!!!

2008-06-12T22:43:00.000-07:00

ADDICTED TO SPIDERMAN..IS IT JUST OUR 4 YEAR OLD??

WELL, I CAN'T POST PICS RIGHT NOW..SO YOU WILL JUST HAVE TO IMAGINE A 4 YEAR OLD BOY WITH A SPIDERMAN OUTFIT, A SPIDERMAN MASK, AND IN "THE POSE".

Where in the world are the Clarks????

2008-06-12T22:22:00.000-07:00

It is a question that we are constantly asking ourselves too! It seems like we can't stay put and that we have a lot in common with our North African nomadic friends. It seems that the world is a big place and we intend to experience a lot of it! We are now into week #2 here in the Middle East. It is FUN to be back and we are excited about this new place we are calling home. We have yet to be settled into our own house, with our own stuff, but we know that will come in time. After a few days that were a blur of catching up on sleep, finding somewhere to eat, and attempting to keep two little kids entertained with 10 matchbox cars, 2 spiderman figurines and a few books, we are now in the "let's catch up with everyone" phase.

It has been awhile since we have had a schedule or a "normal" day. Our last few weeks in North Africa were made up of packing, selling, organizing projects, organizing our house, emailing to find a place to live here, saying goodbyes. We found our days going by quickly and by nightfall, we would slump in the chairs and look at each other with exhaustion (those were the few nights we were actually together in the evening, most nights Jeremy was off doing other "to do" things).

We are appreciating the green that is abundant here in the Middle East. We took a drive about 30 minutes outside of the city, and found a beautiful pine forest-it was quiet and peaceful. We heard birds chirping, we watched the clouds seemingly dance in the bright blue sky, we played with the kids amid rose bushes and a variety of wild plants. It was amazing, there was an overwhelming sense of beauty (remember, we just came from the Sahara desert!) and peace. After living in the desert, you begin to adapt to the harshness of the wind & sand in one of two ways: 1)you forget how much you miss green and begin to think it isn't that important to your senses or 2)you begin to think about the beauty that you are experiencing in the desert and begin to think that it is the same as that far away pine forest-in other words, you become semi-delusional! We realized after being in that pine forest that we had done both #1 and #2!

In the past two weeks we have only experienced the superficial things of the Middle East. We hope to soon become acquainted with our neighbors, find friends for the kids, become involved in an Arab church, start our schooling, and pursue other things. We intend to keep you as up to date as possible into the various aspects of our lives here. Thanks for praying for us and for joining us in our journey!

Announcing....

2008-04-01T08:22:00.000-07:00

We just wanted to let you all know that there will be an addition to the family sometime this fall....

Really, did I getcha'???

No, really, April Fools.

Wheaton College Trip

2008-04-01T08:15:00.000-07:00

We had a great time with the Wheaton College Football Team. They spent 10 days here in North Africa and were able to experience pretty much everything we experience here. Here are a few pictures of their time, although the pictures certainly don't tell the whole story. For example, there is no picture of anyone jumping on the dead, bloated camel (yeah, you read that correctly)...or drinking a liter of fresh, warm camel's milk...or being served half (and I mean, literally, half) of a goat. We enjoyed each one that came and know they did make a difference here in the desert.

2008-04-01T02:06:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter!

2008-03-24T00:33:00.001-07:00

The Phenomenon of Henna

2008-03-18T01:53:00.000-07:00

About a month ago (yeah, I know, I said a month ago), I had henna done to celebrate Jeremy's return from Lebanon. It is very customary for a wife to do henna when her husband returns from traveling. It is considered beautiful, even...sexy. So, since we are adapted (or still adapting) to North African culture, I thought it would be fun to do henna with my friends. I decided to pay the extra $4 to have the professional henna ladies come to my house. To get it done in the marketplace I am sure is a very cultural experience, but I am not brave enough. As you can see from the above picture you must twist & turn in various positions. A white woman getting henna done can be a very interesting and exciting event in the life of the marketplace (so I am told from my foreign friends). One can draw a significant crowd, therefore, I opted for a more low-key henna experience from the comfort of my own home. It takes about 4 hours from start to finish, so you must block off some time. Joy decided to join me at times, making it even more interesting to keep all of it from smearing while it was drying. The patience & time pays off because you are left with some very pretty designs on your hands & feet. Henna stays on for about 3 weeks.

Yesterday!!

2008-02-12T07:23:00.000-08:00

Do you ever have those moments when you really feel like you have made a difference?? Sometimes it feels few and far between, EVEN when you live in Africa! A lot of times here, I struggle, much like you, to make moments count, take time to notice little things, not get caught up in daily life activities, and not ALWAYS feel like I need a nap! I get discouraged over the millionth time of "saying it the wrong way" in Arabic, I get mad when I see poverty that could be averted, and, I admit, look forward to the kids going to bed for some "peace & quiet".

However, yesterday, I was encouraged. Yesterday, I made a difference. Yesterday, you made a difference. Yesterday, the Lord was glorified. Yesterday, me and the 4 ladies who work with me at Little Stars handicapp center, headed over to the handicapp school to gather 10 students to come for 2 hours and play at our center. We do this 2 times a week, and they always send one of their teachers with the kids. We try to love the kids, show them grace when they mess up, and tell the teachers that we don't hit or yell at the kids to obey us. We also spend time doing games, crafts and activities with the kids-to show the teachers that these kids CAN succeed, CAN have fun, and DON'T just have to sit in a room staring at the wall all day.

Like I said, we walked into the school and there was a group of the kids sitting outside playing-first of all, that was unique. They are hardly ever outside in a group playing, especially the more difficult ones. As we watched them, we realized they were playing "Duck, Duck, Goose"-a game we had taught them at the center!! Of course, they call it "CAT, CAT, Bird" One of the teachers had remembered the game and was doing it with the kids.

Now, you may think, wow, big deal. But, to us, it is. We are seeing our work, our dedication, our love for these kids coming back around to them from their own teachers. We are seeing something we have never seen there before!!! To us, Yesterday, was a great day. Yesterday was a day to be excited about. Never, ever did I think that the game, "Cat, Cat, Bird" would take one so much meaning for me.

Sayings of a 3 year old...Viewer Discretion Advised

2008-01-03T00:45:00.000-08:00

What I hear from Ezra's bedroom where he is playing:
"Horn Horn...Horn Horn!" (Ezra's interpretation of the usual sound, "beep beep")

Then,
Ezra: "Mommy, hurry, come here!"
Me: "What is wrong, Ezra?"
Ezra: "Hurry, mommy, come look at Percy & Thomas (his toy trains)...they are horny!"
Me: "They are horny!!?"
Ezra: "Yes, all the trains and cars are horny!"
Me: "Well, I have never seen horny trains and cars! (leading him on-terrible mother)
Ezra: "Yes, mommy, we always see horny cars when we go to the store!"

It was too funny to resist posting-sorry for those of you who are offended...

How to carry your babydoll...

2008-01-03T00:36:00.000-08:00

Like Habsa..
Or like Mama!

Attempt at a Family Christmas Picture

2008-01-03T00:31:00.000-08:00

What does it say about our family that the only decent family picture is in front of FOOD!!

Joy's introduction to Santa Claus

2007-12-24T00:43:00.000-08:00

"Who are you leaving me with, mom?"
"No, please, I don't deserve this!"
"It isn't worth the bag of candy!"
"There better be something good in that bag of yours..."

Our Mini Christmas party!

2007-12-24T00:13:00.000-08:00

Playing with some friends in our "play area".
All the kids enjoyed our toys
Habsa helps me around the house, and these are her kids, and nieces & nephews.
We frosted Christmas cookies together-the kids loved that!
Swinging outside

Ezra's Christmas Program at School

2007-12-23T23:42:00.000-08:00

Ezra & his friend, Joseph-the 2 blondies!

Outside the door to his classroom
One of his teachers, and you can see his classroom in the background.

The Christmas program consisted of each class singing some songs in French-you can see Ezra in the corner holding the post. He DID NOT want to go up there, but was bribed by mom to have cake and juice afterwards...he ended up mouthing the words of the song!

Little Stars Update

2007-12-23T23:26:00.000-08:00

I published some pictures of our first few days in "Little Stars". Wow, and whew! That explains in 3 words how it is going! We opened with a bang and after our first day, I think all 3 of us women that work there, looked at each other and thought, "what did we get ourselves into??"
None of us are specifically trained in this area, other than volunteer time, interest and love for kids. Our first day was a bit challenging, the director of the school that we are partnering with gave us his "hardest" kids. I am not sure if it was a challenge to us to see if we would return, or what. We managed to have a fun time and I am pretty sure the kids had a blast. The school sends over one teacher with the kids each time-probably to watch over our curriculum and the kids. She LOVED what we did and kept making comments about the kind of games and crafts we did, and how we interacted with the kids. We hope that we are indirectly doing "teacher training" also. There are a few kids the teachers keep telling us are too stupid to do anything and "just leave them in the corner." Of course, we don't do that. And, I think the teachers are noticing that there is potential in some of the kids to progress.

We finished our first few days each time with a "wow, that went well!" followed by a "whew, I am exhausted!" Not only is working with these kids challenging, but we face other challenges too-trying to talk with them their uneducated, street Arabic dialect, non handicap-accessible rooms, stairs, sand roads, no doors on the kitchen (which is proven to be quite a popular room for the kids, unfortunately), and the art of squatty potties for the kids with physical handicaps.
All in all, though, we are praising the Lord for this opportunity! It is so rewarding for us and we will keep you updated in the future. We have been able to rent some land next door to open up for outdoor activities, we just need to clean it up a bit...hopefully, in the next few weeks we can use it.

Here are some pictures from Little Stars!

2007-12-23T23:03:00.000-08:00

We made a Christmas tree for craft time!
We play games like tossing bean bags & limbo...
..to "red light, green light."
Here is our craft room, we decorated picture frames and took a polaroid picture of each child.
Starting the frames with the kids.

Say "cheese!"

2007-11-27T01:08:00.000-08:00

I am pretty!

Having fun with the camera!

Our Thanksgiving

2007-11-27T00:55:00.000-08:00

Eating a nice meal with our team
Ezra enjoyed painting his arms, but then freaked out a few seconds later

Both kids enjoyed painting turkey placemats for our thanksgiving team dinner

A few pics of our city from downtown

2007-11-27T00:32:00.000-08:00

Looking into town and out to the Atlantic Ocean
If you look in the distance beyond town, you can see the outline of the shanty town in the dunes

The largest mosque in downtown.

10 Stories Up

2007-11-20T06:02:00.000-08:00

I found it today..that one place where you can go and "get away" from it all. It has taken awhile here, in fact, about 2 years. Those of you who have lived/traveled to another culture know what I am talking about. That place where you can go and reflect, where you don't feel like the tall, blond, foreign-speaking, wealthy woman amid those so different from yourself. Where you aren't constantly being stared at or listened to while you sit down and drink a cup of coffee...which happens to be fascinating if your skin is white. I hope this doesn't sound too cynical or ethnocentric, because I don't mean to be. I just mean that every once in awhile it is nice to not be the focus. There is another reason why it took me awhile to find that place here. Because it is brand new! It is a gorgeous new building that is 10 stories tall, which is the tallest building by far in our city (except I think the Saudi mosque minarets might be a little taller). You can ride an elevator to the top floor and in the mornings it is a coffee shop. Jeremy & I arrived there at around 9:30am and we were told that it wasn't quite open yet, just a few more minutes. So, I guess by "open in the mornings" I actually mean mid-morning by American standards.

There is a great view of the city, which we have never seen. When you live in the desert and there are no mountains or tall buildings, you aren't really sure what the actual city looks like. It was incredible to be able to see different parts of town...the presidential palace, the slums of basra all the way to the ocean and beyond town towards the open desert dunes. It was quiet too, with the hum of the usual city noises; car horns, merchants selling things, donkeys braying (ok, not all cities have that). There was even a balcony where the wind was gently blowing. It was calm, it was peaceful and it was deserted. There was no one there. It was refreshing. And there was new perspective gained. When I was looking at the city from high above, I saw how limited my perspective is when I am in the thick of things. Jeremy pointed to a section of town called "Marche Capital" where it is known to have the worst traffic; it didn't look so bad from 10 stories up. We saw a lot of trees around the city, granted, most of them around the embassies. The people down below scurried about their business...you know, they looked just like people from the top of the Hancock building in Chicago or the Empire State building in New York. Of course, physically they looked different but that isn't what I am talking about. I mean, they were all going about their lives, doing what needed to be done at that moment in time. Worried about their families, working at their jobs, talking to their friends; being human.

It is good to be reminded of humanity. It is good to be reminded to gain new perspective every once in while. It is refreshing to take time out and see things anew. The time looking out on the city from 10 stories up not only gave me some time to "get away" but also made me realize that inner refreshment doesn't need to be 10 stories up, it can be in a quiet place reflecting on the Lord. Do you ever forget that? Are you ever like me and go about your days doing "good" and being busy and forget about that needed inner refreshment? Does the little daily chores sometimes make you feel like you are drowning? Is there a place you can go "10 stories up" and gain new perspective? Believe me, it is well worth it.

Of course, we can't stay 10 stories up forever. I came back down, walked out the door and was again transformed into the tall, blond, white-skinned lady. The traffic looked bad again, the hawkers went to work on me with their merchandise, and it seemed like there was a lot of trash and sand again. However, with a new perspective and some inner peace, I am taking it in stride.
At least for today.

Ezra's Exclamations

2007-11-15T14:04:00.000-08:00

'Spiderman' helping mommy with the cupcakes.

After driving by "The Candy Shop" and realizing that is was closed (after I had promised some candy to the kids..oops) Ezra says to me; "Mommy, I wish the candy shop was in Ezra's house."

Don't we all, Ezra, don't we all...

Our Two New Projects have started!!

2007-11-12T11:48:00.000-08:00

Talking through strategy and working on the design.

Jeremy and some of his workers at the Trike Workshop

Our new place for "Little Stars".

En Route

2007-11-05T11:50:00.000-08:00

Ezra reluctantly trudging back to the car.

Ezra teaches Joy the right way to drink a Pepsi.

Our kids stretching their legs while taking a break from the 6 hour car ride.

Joy looking for some shells/rocks to eat.

Our Trip to Senegal

2007-11-03T05:17:00.000-07:00

We swam on average 5 hours a day!!

Ezra & Joy took a swim break to eat some yummy french fries.

Some of our team members

Steph & Ezra playing together

Jeremy & Joy watching the sunset

The Sun setting over the Atlantic ocean.

It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas!

2007-10-19T07:41:00.000-07:00

Why is it looking a lot like Christmas here in North Africa, you ask? Is it the cold, damp nights that have descended upon the Sahara desert? Is it the hint of tinsel and Christmas tree ornaments already making their way int0 the seasonal section of the stores? Is it posters put up in the mall about when Santa will arrive for pictures? Nope, although I am sure that some of you are already experiencing that!

Although we are having cooler days and nights here than the summertime highs, there are no snowflakes falling or blustery winds! And, for better or worse (I can't decide which is better) Christmas consumerism and obsession does not hit this country where only foreigners celebrate the holiday. The closest we have ever had to "jolly old saint nick" is....well....hmmm.....I know there must be some sort of comparison here, but I can't think of it off the top of my head. Anyone reading this blog who has been or lived here, please help me come up with it! So, you ask again, "please tell me why you counted the days until Christmas yesterday" (which I actually did, do you know we ONLY have 67 more days).

Well, we received a package yesterday. One of our teammates gave us a package slip. We were excited, because receiving packages here is a little like college. Remember that? The slip you received from grandma with banana bread and cookies that came just after your not-so-hot chemistry test..that didn't actually happen to ME, but to my roommate once. Anyways. So, we went to the post office to pick up our package and realized it was from our church in FL. I opened it up in the car on the way home. This was too exciting to wait the whole 10 minutes to our house. Inside were a whole bunch of wrapped Christmas presents!! WOW!!! Now, you are thinking EXACTLY the same thing I was thinking-who in their right mind is really that organized to have gathered presents, wrapped them, and sent them to Africa MONTHS before Christmas. Then, I saw a letter and realized that our pastor's wife had sent us their Christmas newsletter and family picture. WHAT?? "They've already written their newsletter and taken their family picture!!!!", I thought. Seriously?! That is what I secretly thought too, although I am sure they are reading this blog, so I will be careful not to write how truly crazy and type A I thought they were.

So, I read their newsletter and think to myself, "Hmm, some of this information seems older than a year-I thought their kids were older than that. I just saw them this summer!" I looked at their family picture and noticed it said merrily "Christmas 2006". One of the gifts was unwrapped and it a baby rattle for a 3m old. I thought to myself, "well, it is a little too young for Joy, but it is the thought that counts." Now, it took me a few more minutes than it has probably taken you to figure out what happened. I turned over the box to look at the stamps and realize that the customs receipt and stamp in the corner say Dec 2006. This package was mailed last year!! 11 months later. No explanations, no reasons, except that we think it sat in a post office in a neighboring country for awhile.

My first two reactions were to laugh and say "whew". The laugh is because every day I find a situation where I am able to mutter, "TIA-This is Africa" and the arrival of this package certainly fits. The "whew" is because NO ONE actually is crazy enough to send something that early and be that organized...my whole worldview is back to normal again and I know I am not required to start worrying about Christmas newsletters and family pictures yet!

However, it did get me thinking about Christmas. Only 67 more days....maybe if I start worrying about it now instead of December, you will get a Christmas newsletter actually around Christmas! It also made me realize that in the following weeks (can I say weeks now, or do I need to still say months) nothing much will change here. There is no holiday to mark the celebration of the birth of our saviour here, no churches to begin singing Christmas hymns like "what child is this" or "hark the herald angels sing, glory to our newborn king", nothing to announce the arrival of our messiah; the one who has cleansed us from all unrighteousness. I guess that isn't completely true-there will be at least one house singing "Away in the Manger" here in the North African desert. Can I start now?

Sayings of a 3 yr old!

2007-10-04T01:32:00.000-07:00

Me: "Ezra, why are you waiting in the carport?"
Ezra: " I am waiting for daddy to come back." (from work)
Me: "Why?"
Ezra: "I am going to go byebye in the car with daddy and buy french fries, a haircut and orange."
Me: "french fries, haircut and orange-just those 3?"
Ezra: "um, yep-frenchfries, haircut and orange."

Aah, to be 3.
____

On Potty Training:

After a whole day of wearing only underwear and making it to the potty MOST of the time, at bath time when Jeremy came home from work, I told Ezra to tell daddy about going in the potty. His response (with a huge smile and animation):

"Daddy, I went poopoo in my pants!!!"

________

After story time, when I tucked him into bed

ME: "Goodnight Ezra, I love you."

Ezra: "Goodnight honey, I love you bugger."

Hot, Humid and Ramadan-Welcome Home!

2007-09-22T01:45:00.000-07:00

We have made it back home...after 36 hour transit starting in Chicago and ending here in our city. Everytime we travel, we ask ourselves "why?" And by "why", I mean "why are we traveling this far, this long, with a 1 yr old and a 3 yr old?" I consider both Jeremy and I to be fairly intelligent people. But everytime we travel I question that assumption. No one in their right minds would travel with so young of kids for so long of a trip. The "why" question continues into the first week of arriving back. We arrived to our house about 5am local time and found out that we were having electricity issues so that no ACs worked and the power kept going off. It is hot season now and Ramadan which basically means everyone is hot and grumpy. Those first couple of days I also was hot and grumpy. Now I am just hot! Our first week has gone by quickly trying to settle back in. Settling means fixing things here. We are now feeling settled and ready to resume our normal lives here.

Yesterday I asked Jeremy if he was happy to be back. He responded with some insights into why living in Africa is so unique and why living here is a blessing:
When we left Chicago we had MAJOR luggage issues at the counter. It is a big, long story which basically came down to 3 things: One, we were overweight on our luggage weight allowance (not our fault, we were given faulty information from our friendly Delta phone service) and we had excess baggage (things for the trike and Little Stars). Secondly, we had to pay for all of it down to the last dollar. Third, there was absolutely nothing they could do-that was the rule. It was a very frustrating hour or so of arguing in which we lost to the rule handbook that is floating around somewhere at Delta headquarters which no one can produce to actually show us the rule and prove there are no exceptions. You ask, what does this have to do with living in Africa?? Well, when we arrived here, we didn't receive one bag. After a few days we received a phone call (actually they called and hung up so Jeremy would call the airport back using HIS cell phone minutes instead of their minutes) that our bag had arrived and we could come and pick it up! Yeah! Jeremy went to the airport 3 or 4 times before we could actually get it-why? Well, even though it was the middle of the day and the man had JUST called, no one knew anything about it! It was hot, they were fasting, and everyone seemed confused that Jeremy had been called. When he finally received his bag, he just points to it and they vaguely look for ID or some sort of baggage sticker and hand him his bag-just like that. So simple. No rules. No times of day. No idea when a good time to go to the airport is. Just come. Talk. Joke. And maybe you will get your bag today. If not today, ok, then, inshallah (hopefully), tomorrow. Simplicity. Easygoingness. No rule handbook, no levels of bureacracy, no complications.
What else is a blessing? Being yourself. In the U.S. there are so many standards that are impossible to live up to-what to look like, what to wear, your job, your income level, your house, your stuff. We are bombarded with how inadequate we are and how to make yourself look better, feel better, better job, more money, more more more, better better better.... Here, in Africa. You are you. Be happy, be confident. No impossible expectations of who you should be or look like. God made you the way you are. There is something natural about that thought.
Another blessing about being here is time. You have time. Time to talk with someone, time to just hang out. Schedules aren't overloaded and too busy. There is very little multi-tasking. If your phone rings, you stop what you are doing-even if you are selling something, and talk to that person. If someone comes to visit, they are welcomed in. You are never too busy to see someone. I forget to implement this in my life at times and sometimes I am irritated by it, but, overall it is a blessing.

So, are we happy to be back? Yes. And sometimes No. I have already had some down moments and tears. And we will. But, there is something fun about Africa. Something different. Something wild. Something carefree and natural. Something to embrace and love.

2007-08-20T13:25:00.000-07:00

In spite of the face Ezra is making here, he actually LOVED riding the train at our family vacation with Jeremy's parents!

Mommy & me enjoying the waterpark!

The two of us with Steph's parents, Sandy & Jim

2007-08-20T13:18:00.000-07:00

Our beautiful family-the best shot we could get with a 1yr old and 3 yrd old!

Here is Ezra as the ring bearer-too bad he never made it down the isle!!

2007-08-17T05:09:00.000-07:00

The rehearsal diner was a tropical theme for the wedding!!

What have WE been up to?????

2007-08-17T04:56:00.000-07:00

WOW, I just logged on our blog for the first time in ages...actually since May 9!! I can't believe it has been that long since I added anything to our blog. I have a dozen of excuses for you, but won't bore you with the details!! Here is what is happening in the Clark family!

June: we left hot North Africa to come to hot FL. My (Steph) brother was married. It was a crazy week just coming from Africa, but it was also fun to be able to see all of my family. Ezra was the ring bearer and didn't even make it down the isle, totally broke down when he saw all the people. (See above)

July: We spent a month in Wheaton, IL with Jeremy's parents and had a great time! Ezra loves hanging out with his Nana & Baba and he had a lot of fun with two of his neighborhood friends, Tate & Caleb. We were able to travel and visit some churches on the weekends and we had a great time at a BBQ in Wheaton with friends.

August: We came back down to Fl to help out my mom who is going through chemotherapy right now. She is 2/3rds of the way done with her treatments. We are so glad to be able to help out a little and be around Nana & Pops. Both kids are enjoying the endless opportunities to swim here in FL. VBS out at LifeQuest was a highlight for Ezra, he is still singing the songs he learned. We also were able to see some good friends at our BBQ here.

We will be in the States until Sept 12 and then we travel back to North Africa. I will try to update you more often the next few weeks and tell some fun stories...sorry for not updating sooner!!

Love is in the air, along with a lot of sand!

2007-05-09T01:19:00.000-07:00

It happened last week, I was invited to my first wedding here in North Africa. I was excited, although sceptical, about attending. Weddings here are all night deals. And, for anyone who knows anything about me, I am NOT a night owl. When the sun goes down, so does my energy level. Obviously now you know that it is I, Steph, who is writing this blog. So, I drank some coffee about 5pm and geared up for a late night. I was determined to try to leave by midnight. Often, these parties can last until 4 or 5am. I was determined, but also knew that one doesn't leave until it is socially acceptable. We arrived at the house of the bride to find somewhere between 30-40 women lounging around in their bright mulaffas, chatting and waiting for the bride. It was 10pm, the bride was finishing preparing herself and had told friends earlier that she would make her appearance around 9pm. So, we were all waiting...10:30, 11, 11:15. Around 11:30 we heard cars honking and loud voices and everyone started to get excited. The bride was coming!! This being my first wedding, I had no idea what to expect. Now, in this culture, there is usually 2 parties in the traditional wedding-one for the groom and one for the bride. Everyone started whispering and standing up to see the bride come in. Here she came!! Wait a second, she is totally covered and we can't see any part of her, not her face, not her hands, not her feet...she is being led by her friends and family. They whisk her into the back room, where I am informed that her closest friends can take a peak at her face, jewlery and henna (a kind of temporary tatoo). All of her preparation took days and even weeks for some of it. And, according to local custom, she is not allowed to show herself to the public during the wedding. So, there she was..I was bummed. All this waiting, all this anticipation for a cultural experience and it seemed like nothing more than sitting in a waiting room or airport lounge. I told my friend that unless something big was going to happen, I would probably leave soon. We were told that the groom would come, see her in the back room for a moment and then everyone would leave for the party in another part of town. All of the sudden, the mother of the bride was motioning for me and my friend to come to the back room. We fought our way through the crowd of women all standing by the back door, hoping to be invited in. We were able to see the bride and take pictures for them, since they had no camera. It was an amazing privilege to be able to be invited into the inner circle, even if it was only for our cameras and a brief moment. She was so beautiful and happy. I went home excited, although tired. The next morning, as I rubbed my sleepy eyes, drank my coffee to get that jolt of energy and played with my kids, I realized how blessed I am to be a part of something so different from my culture, to experience these events and see other traditions around the world.

Trip To Dakar

2007-04-27T03:54:00.000-07:00

Last week we took a trip to Dakar to pick up some things for the gym. Here is our trip in pictures- enjoy!

We stopped for camels...

We stopped for roadside picnics and sometimes just to let Ezra run...

We swam a lot once we got there...

Sometimes the kids were happy...

Sometimes they were not...

But, all that swimming made us all tired!

We ate lots of good food...

And overall, we had a great trip!

Happy Easter!

2007-04-12T01:20:00.000-07:00

Easter morning with Ezra and Joy

Easter dinner was chicken alfredo with bacon, fresh broccoli, and fresh mushrooms. Yum!

Ezra hunting for his candy-filled Easter eggs in our front yard.

Ezra painting Easter eggs with some of our American friends.

2007-03-25T02:45:00.000-07:00

"Little Stars" Activity Center for cognitively impaired kids is almost official! We have rented the facility and are starting to paint, clean, organize and remodel it. We are aiming for a May 1st opening, although we are not sure if that will happen,remember-TIA (This Is Africa)! Here are some before pictures, I will post some after pics in a few weeks!

2007-03-25T02:42:00.000-07:00

2007-03-25T02:39:00.000-07:00

2007-03-25T02:35:00.000-07:00

2007-03-25T02:31:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, some kids came to help paint the center. It was a fun morning and we were able to finish one whole room!

2007-03-25T02:18:00.000-07:00

Recently, Jeremy was able to finish the swingset for Ezra & Joy. They LOVE swinging and Ezra really enjoys his "fort".

Elections!

2007-03-10T07:18:00.000-08:00

Sunday is an important day for us. It is the first democratic presidential elections in the country's history. Campaigning has a distinct nomadic, Saharan feel to it, as all of the candidates have erected large tents all over town to promote themselves. We have been listening to loud music late into the night, and are enjoying the tangible excitement of the people as they anticipate this historic day.

Truckboarding...

2007-03-10T07:05:00.000-08:00

What do you do if you enjoy wakeboarding, but don't have a boat? You go "truckboarding"! We have recently been introduced to the sport and love it! You hook the 120ft rope to a pole mounted on the top of a Land Cruiser, wade on out past the waves and take off! If you look closely, you can see the rider just past the breakers.

Take me out to the ballgame...

2007-02-20T09:55:00.000-08:00

In case any of you thought that Jeremy's life is all work and no play (really? nobody thinks that?), here he is pictured with his softball team that competed last weekend in the West African Invitational Softball Tournament in Dakar, Senegal. They were sponsored by the local Mexican restaurant in town, and did pretty well, only barely missing the playoffs.

Happy Valentines Day!

2007-02-14T01:00:00.000-08:00

Some call the desert romantic, but it definitely isn't in the Hallmark sense of the word. There are no flower shops, gift stores or supermarkets selling specialty items to mark the day. Someone imported roses last year, but as of yesterday afternoon, there were no roses in sight. So, on this day of love, I decided to make an oversized cookie for my Valentine, like I did on our first Valentines Day in Papua New Guinea in 1995. I love you Steph!

Still Working...

2007-02-13T00:27:00.000-08:00

I still haven't finished the playset that was started back before Christmas. But, I was able to work some this week on it, with my trusty laborer Ezra. He enjoyed working with me and "driving" some nails with his plastic hammer! It should be really fun for the kids when it is all done.

POWERGYM UPDATE:

2007-02-08T02:15:00.000-08:00

It has been awhile since we have updated all of you on the Power Gym. We have switched women's hours to 3 times a week in the evening. After only one week, it seems to be a good move. The locals are not "morning people" by any stretch of the imagination, and no women were coming in the mornings. Already, we have around 10 new women! I (Steph) am teaching an aerobics class. We hope that this change will help bring in more women and give me more opportunities to develop relationships. The gym is becoming quite popular among men now. Jeremy has had 60 new memberships/renewals last month alone! He continues to enjoy the relationships he has there.

Happy Birthday Steph!

2007-02-01T00:19:00.000-08:00

Today (February 1) is Steph's birthday! I thank the Lord for blessing me with such a beautiful, compassionate and selfless wife. Happy birthday!

Happy Birthday Jeremy!

2007-01-26T04:34:00.000-08:00

The 24th was Jeremy's birthday. Most of the day seemed to revolve around good food, which is just the way he likes it, including grilled bacon-wrapped shrimp for dinner! I made him a cake, and Ezra and Joy decorated the tablecloth under my supervision. I also had a local calligrapher write out one of Jeremy's favorite Bible verses (Lamentations 3:22,23) in fancy Arabic script for his birthday gift.

Taste Test

2007-01-19T17:34:00.000-08:00

My motorcycle battery needed re-charging, so I headed down to the part of town that deals with that sort of thing. I found a place quickly, but right away I found myself in a disagreement on what liquid was needed to top off the battery. I argued that distilled water was necessary, while the mechanic at the shop insisted that it needed battery acid. The mechanic seeing that we were at an impasse, opened one of the battery terminals poured some of its contents onto his finger, and then licked his finger. He then looked at me confidently and said "it's acid". Hard to argue with that...

Sandstorm!

2007-01-17T04:13:00.000-08:00

Upon our return to North Africa, we were greeted with one of the worst sandstorms we have had since we arrived.

Algeria

2007-01-17T04:02:00.000-08:00

We got a chance to spent about three days in Algeria on the way to and from Tunisia. Air Algeria even paid for our three nights in a nice hotel with meals, so it became a very cheap way to see a new country! Highlights of the trip included a trip to Tipaza (Roman ruins), a delicious dinner at an Indian restaurant, as well as enjoying the beautiful Algerian countryside. We took this night shot of Algiers with the Martyr's monument in the background.

Tipaza, Algeria

2007-01-17T03:46:00.000-08:00

While in Algeria, we got to visit Tipaza, the ruins of an ancient Roman town built right on the Mediterranean Sea. It was a beautiful day, and we had a great time climbing around and seeing the ruins of churches, temples, roads, baths and houses.

Fun in Tunisia

2007-01-17T03:38:00.000-08:00

We rented ATVs one day for a few hours and did some off-roading in the hills behind Sousse. Check out our helmets! :)

Happy New Year!

2007-01-17T03:18:00.000-08:00

We celebrated New Year's Eve in our hotel room with some friends at the conference in Tunisia. We stayed up eating good food and playing cards, and then watched fireworks on the TV.

Trip to Tunisia

2007-01-17T03:06:00.000-08:00

We spent about 10 days in Tunisia for a conference in the city of Sousse. We got to do some fun things along the way, including this trip to do some shopping in the old city.

A Series of Unfortunate Events...

2006-12-26T17:55:00.000-08:00

The following all happened in a little over 24 hours...

1. Jeremy was doing a simple adjustment on the water pump that we have for our house, when a slight bump burst a water line. Three hours later, he finally finished repairing it.

2. While running to the grocery store at 8:00PM (both kids bedtime), Jeremy locked the keys to our house and car inside the vehicle. Almost three hours and two very tired and grumpy kids later, we got back to our house.

3. Jeremy was out in the front yard with Joy, when our telephone line landed on the ground in front of him. Upon investigation, he found that the phone company didn't realize that our line was in use, and cut it in an effort to clean up the telephone pole. As a result we lost our internet connection and landline for three days (including Christmas day!).

4. We were running late to an evening appointment when Ezra stuck a piece of really hard candy up his nose. After an hour of both of us holding him down and doing everything we could to get it out of his nose, he snorted it up into his nasal cavity never to be seen again. We were told there was nothing else we could do, and went very late to our appointment.

We hope it is a while before we have another 24 hours like that!

Christmas in the Desert #5- Christmas Day!

2006-12-26T16:53:00.000-08:00

Well, that was our Christmas! Not too bad for the first Christmas that we have celebrated without someone from our extended families. And we didn't even include pictures of our Christmas dinner with our Canadian teammates, and the two parties with North African friends that we attended. So, it was a busy and fun Christmas, and we rejoice in the fact that the celebration of the coming of Christ can be remembered anywhere in the world. We hope you enjoyed seeing our "Christmas in the Desert". As you can see we were even able to take a family Christmas photo (on timer!) by the tree- notice the cute Christmas pajamas that Steph got for Ezra and Joy. Merry Christmas!

Presents were then followed by a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs, waffles, hash browns and even bacon!

Ezra opening one of his favorite gifts- a box full of toy cars, trucks, helicopters, etc. Thank you Nana and Pops Simpson!

Christmas in the Desert #4- Christmas Eve

2006-12-26T16:09:00.000-08:00

We then made a gingerbread house from a kit that Nana and Baba Clark sent to us. Ezra was very happy eating all of the icing and candy while it was being built!

Jeremy then made some yummy peppermint ice cream- closely supervised by Joy!

We got to hear Christmas songs and skits in French and English at the International Church service on Christmas Eve morning.

Christmas in the Desert #3

2006-12-26T14:33:00.000-08:00

We even had Christmas carolers stop by and sing us a great selection of songs!

Christmas in the Desert #2

2006-12-26T14:21:00.000-08:00

On the Saturday before Christmas, many from the American community decided to have coffee and French pastries at the beach. We enjoyed a cool breezy few hours at the beach, and Ezra even had a few close encounters with a huge pelican!

Christmas in the Desert

2006-12-26T14:04:00.000-08:00

Many of you might be wondering what Christmas is like in an Islamic Republic! Well, we decided to chronicle our Christmas activities to show you that it was probably very similar to yours!

A few days before Christmas we had some American friends over, and we all frosted Christmas cookies that Steph had made. Ezra especially loved the sprinkles!

Pre-Christmas Happenings...

2006-12-22T07:30:00.000-08:00

It has been an eventful last 10 days since I posted something. Here is what has been going on....

1. We had visitors from the Wheaton College football program- my former defensive line coach Jeff Peltz, Gary LaVanchy- a guy I played with and who is now a coach at Wheaton, at Rodney Duttweiler- a former player who works in Dakar, Senegal. We had a great time together, and enjoyed fun times at the beach, in the gym and at the dunes, and had really good times of fellowship. We even got most of the playset finished that we brought over for Ezra!

2. We finalized our plans for our trip to Tunisia in late-December and early-January for an IDEAS conference. We were able to schedule it in such a way that we get to visit Algeria along the way! We are excited about seeing a new North African country. Our stay will be about three days total, and the best part is that our hotel and food will be provided by Air Algeria! Since we are in transit to Tunis, they are supposedly going to put us up in a five star hotel with food for free! I guess we will believe that when we see it! :)

3. The 19th was our 8th anniversary! We didn't really celebrate it on the day, since we still had visitors, but we are planning to celebrate it in Algeria when we travel there next week.

4. Ezra is finally feeling better! After almost two weeks of stomach issues, he is back to his happy self. What a difference that makes! Unfortunately, Steph has now come down with something (fever, stomach issues, etc.), and is resting even as I write.

Winterfest in the Sahara

2006-12-11T02:34:00.000-08:00

The American School here in town put on a carnival this weekend called "Winterfest". Even though Ezra wasn't feeling so good, he was distracted by all of the games and candy! Joy even got her first taste of cotton candy, although it is obvious from the picture that she wasn't so sure she liked it.

Ezra finally gets sick...

2006-12-10T03:23:00.000-08:00

Well, it was bound to happen. Ezra finally got sick from something he ate. We have been amazed that he hadn't gotten sick so far considering all of the crazy stuff he has put in his mouth. But, it finally happened. He has been going through lots of diapers the last few days, has been very grumpy and mainly just wants to watch his favorite movie "Cars".

2006-12-09T01:52:00.000-08:00

We went to pet the camels and take some pictures in the dunes. Of course, this is the best picture of all of us-Ezra would not look at the camera

2006-12-09T01:41:00.000-08:00

OK, OK, I will FINALLY blog something! For those of you who have informed me what a blog should actually be, enjoy this update. We are feeling quite settled now here. Life is becoming normal-if indeed, there is normalcy with 2 young kids! We had a great Thanksgiving with Nikki, Steph's brother's fiance, and her friend Amber. A few significant milestones in Joy's life this month-she has 2 teeth, rolled over and ate her first solid food.

Yesterday I decorated our house for Christmas, and Ezra is in the process of "undecorating" it for me. We are looking forward to this month. We have a few visitors next week along with our anniversary and then Christmas. At the end of the month, we will be traveling to Tunis for a conference via Algeria. Those of you who know us well, know that we LOVE to visit new countries, so we are looking forward to this trip to Algeria.

Our gym is running well. We are working on improving it along with providing more hours for women. It is attracting more people and we hope that it will continue to be a place for people to come.

Ezra is having his first taste of overseas stomach issues. We think he has amoeba or something like that-we will find out this afternoon. I don't know who is more miserable-him or his parents who are attempting to keep him happy!

Joy- Our Cute Pumpkin!

2006-11-09T09:12:00.000-08:00

Our family out "trick or treating"

2006-11-09T09:10:00.000-08:00

Daddy's Girl

2006-11-09T09:08:00.000-08:00

Steph with "Thomas"

2006-11-09T09:06:00.000-08:00

Yum! I love CANDY!!

2006-11-09T08:58:00.000-08:00

Joy's Dedication Day

2006-09-28T07:23:00.000-07:00

Joy is Here!!!

2006-08-07T18:17:00.000-07:00

ANNOUNCING-JOY ABIGAIL CLARK. Born July 11, 2006, 4 1/2 weeks early and weighing in at 7 lbs, 140z. She surprised us all and came in with a bang! She is healthy now and doing great. We love having her and feel blessed to be given this little girl to raise. Check out the new pics of her on our link.

Our sign-Power Gym

2006-02-21T14:03:00.000-08:00

Our gym is up and running!! People are trickling in-some just to check it out and some to register as members. We have a wide variety of people-westerners, people from other Arab countries, and locals. It has separate men's and women's hours to keep in line with local culture, so that keeps us both busy. We are excited about this, and hope that it will produce many new opportunities for us. Thanks for your prayers!!

Our new gym!!

2006-02-21T13:53:00.000-08:00

Our aerobic, boxing and bike room

2006-02-21T13:42:00.000-08:00

Jeremy's receptionist-Hussein

2006-02-21T13:33:00.000-08:00

Men working out

2006-02-21T13:21:00.000-08:00

NEW PRAISES FOR 2006

2006-01-21T02:14:00.000-08:00

Friends & Family!

We just want to update our website with 2 new praises! The most exciting one is that we are expecting #2 in mid-August. We just went to the doctor and have confirmation that the baby is healthy and very active. We are excited and praise the Lord for this gift. Steph is feeling great considering she is pregnant, although she is craving taco bell and root beer floats! Any suggestions???! We will be coming back to the States to deliver this one, since there is no reliable health care service here.

Secondly, we have found our gym location! It is a great price, great location and great building. We are in the process of getting it ready-all the details. Pray that things will go smoothly and we will be able to open the beginning of next month.

Thanks for rejoicing with us in these two new opportunities!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

2005-12-26T01:27:00.000-08:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS!! Here we are with our "sand" man for Christmas. We have had a great holiday time with Jeremy's parents visiting us and a trip down to Senegal. We hope you had a great holiday season!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

2005-12-09T01:21:00.001-08:00

Sorry it has been so long since I wrote, every time I started to update this page something came up! Also, it probably seems funny to write this, but I have been wondering what new news we have! Life is going here-sometimes a mile a minute, sometimes a day feels like a million years. Those of you who have moved to a new place-city, state or country, know what I mean. Some days are exciting-observing the people, the culture and the language. And some days, I don't feel like learning one more new thing!! Moving here has definitely stretched us. Especially with a 1 1/2 year old, who is bursting with unlimited amounts of energy. As I write, Ezra is on the desk trying to type on the computer, while getting the camera and CDs out of the drawer!
We had a great Thanksgiving, spending it with our team. We cooked chickens (next best thing to turkey) and even had pumpkin pie courteousy of a team member who had one of those cans from the U.S. And we are now, like most people, anticipating Christmas. We are once again in the land that doesn't celebrate Christmas. No commercials reminding us to SPEND SPEND SPEND, no Christmas lights appearing on our neighbor's houses. No Santa at the store, or special candlelight services. It is an interesting time of year to be in this part of the world. Although I have decorated our house, with a small plastic Christmas tree and some other decorations, it seems so small in comparison to what I am used to. Even a nativity set, which we are so used to seeing, becomes something unique here. And it is with these kind of decorations that we can remember the true meaning of Christmas and share it with others.
We wish you a happy holidays! This is a picture of Jeremy & Ezra with the "tea guy" in Morocco.

Adjusting to life in North Africa!

2005-09-11T06:59:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our new website! We have been thinking about setting one up for some time, but are only now getting around to do it! We are excited to be able to post our thoughts, tell some stories about life here and post some pictures. We hope that this brings us a little closer to you and that you can get an idea of our life here in North Africa.

Since I am still learning about all the fun things I can do with a website, it will probably start out simple, but I hope to expand it. Let me know of any ideas you have that you would like to see posted here.

We are beginning to feel "adjusted". It is far different than any other place we have lived. It is hot season right now, but we have surprisingly had some rain recently which has made it more bearable. We have found a great house to live in that even has a yard for Ezra to play in. We are working on language and looking for a good place for our gym.

Ezra is adjusting well. He is moving from baby to toddler fast! He is into everything, saying tons of words, climbing, exploring and learning the word "no" a lot. We love being parents and are enjoying this new challenge in our life!

We look forward to posting more stories and events as they happen. We hope you enjoy this too.

First Posting

2005-09-10T04:58:00.000-07:00

Our new website!! More coming soon...