six days.

Six days until we leave for the U.S. . . . but who’s counting?

I feel like I ought to be busier than I am right now, but actually this has probably been the most restful of any week since we moved here.  It is so nice to have my husband home, daily swims now that the pool is fixed, and just a few little odd projects before we leave.

I have discovered that I have a passion for organization.  I’m going through our apartment closet by closet putting things in order and loving it.  I am very into using baskets right now.  I don’t even care about having trendy matching baskets — the cheap mismatched plastic ones are fine with me, as long as everything has a home and I’m not searching endlessly for the fingernail clippers or the laptop charger.

During David’s last trip I worked on the kitchen.  Spices come in bags here, rather than jars, so I had a cabinet overflowing with messy ziplock bags of spices and rice and beans and that was driving me crazy.  Now everything is container-ed and labeled and within easy access.

This is embarrassing to admit, but in my low points the past couple of weeks I have just focused on my newly-ordered spice racks and felt a little better.  Maybe because it is one small corner of my life I have some semblance of control over.

Another big motivation for me to stay organized here is our house helper, Anju.  She comes at 1:00 every day, and if I want her to clean up the kitchen and dust and sweep all our floors, the apartment has to be more or less straightened up after lunch. 

Speaking of Anju, a couple of you have asked how that experience has been.  We’re going on six months with her and I honestly do not think I would have survived without her almost-daily, hard-working, peaceful presence.  She has such a sweet spirit and the kids adore her.  I have heard from South Asian friends that it is rare to find a helper who takes as much initiative as she does; she fills the two hours pretty much on her own and is glad to do any extra jobs I can think of.  She’s an amazing cook and I think is delighted when we have her cook for us and rave over the food.

It is so hard adjusting to having someone come and clean for me — it is very humbling.  It is hard admitting I can’t keep my house clean and cook all our meals without help — isn’t that the very most basic job description of a stay-at-home wife??  However, I realized near the beginning that I could let my pride fight this tooth-and-nail, or I could count it as a gift — a daily, practical reminder that God is taking care of me.  I’m so thankful He’s helped me do the latter.

We’ll leave our key with the Bales next week, and Anju will come clean every two weeks while we’re away so that we won’t return to blankets of dust.

Anju speaks very little English, and there is a good chance I won’t end up learning either of the two languages she speaks fluently, but we are able to communicate much better than at the beginning.  She is Hindu, so you can pray for her to know the freedom of Jesus’ love.

Our last few days will be filled with spending time with our teammates, last-minute shopping, and David preaching on Sunday.  Judah is just beside himself with excitement over the trip.  Several times a day he gathers a few choice toys and says, “Okay, I’m ready to get on the airplane tomorrow.”  Soon, Judah-Bee, soon!