Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Day 1 - Columbia, SC


Jeremiah 31:25
I'll refresh tired bodies;
I'll restore tired souls.


The above photo is the only "happy" photo I took today. Needless to say, I didn't ring the bell!
Oh wait, I also took a photo of this poor dog whose owner must have thought he needed a coat on today due to the cold weather. Poor dog. He looked embarrassed.



I was really happy early on as I managed to get two hours ahead of schedule. Then it got dark early as it is supposed to rain here this afternoon/night. I finished 90 of my 858 today. My schedule tomorrow indicates I should be able to do 100. There are days, however, this week/next week, where my schedule says I can only do 60 or so. I'll need to make up the difference while I can. And, I'm way too tired for this to be day one. I'm going to blog quickly and head to bed. I need more sleep, I think. Five hours wasn't enough. Tonight I'm going for 6.5.

Apparently South Carolina is THE state right now for the presidential candidates. I saw on the news tonight that Bill Clinton had a surprise appearance at one of the local restaurants here today. I know that South Carolina is a key state for Democratic hopefuls. Who knows who I might run into while I'm here?

Prayers for my mother tomorrow as she is having a barium test run to help determine why her stomach has been giving her problems for a while. She'll have a colonoscopy in February when I return. I'm glad her friend, Jennie, is going to be with her tomorrow since I can't be there. Sometimes, just having someone there with you to pass the time and have conversation makes things seem not so difficult. Friends are one of God's best creations, I think. Prayers also for my friend who called me today to talk about something very important going on in her life. God knows who she is and what her problem is. If you will just remember "Maria's friend", God will help with the rest.

It has been a hard day emotionally too. Adoption is ironic. You never know when the emotions will hit and what will cause it. There just seems to be so much to get done in such a short amount of time now and I found myself pretty emotional today.

I know that when I get back home there will be "regular" field work to catch up along with entering much of the work I've done here, time to spend with Kevin and Josh, time to get back into our normal routine of being a wife and mom and classes to facilitate at church. And then there are several adoption fundraisers planned by friends and others that are on the calendar for February but still have to be "managed". I know there is Joshua's surgery coming up in March along with Easter activities and then another fundraiser or two in late March early April. Kevin and I agreed we need to start on clearing out Ellie's room and getting it ready. I have to gather together the documents for a dossier and have our home study updated (which will include a home visit, I'm sure!). And, there is the uncertainty of when we might get our referral and have to be ready to travel to Kyrgyzstan. And I'm already tired.

Every time I start to whine like this, I think of my friend Lea who compared it to being an "Israelite in the desert." I'm praying that I will move past my Israelite stage soon! I think a week off would be BLISSFUL. I also really just don't like being away from home. Working in the field for 9 hours and then paperwork for 4-5 hours afterwards is tiring, but being away from my emotional support and my loves is really, really hard.

One down, 11 to go.

1 comment:

Jennifer G. said...

Maria, how do you manage to do so much of whatever it is that you do? I keep seeing you say you visited 60 or 80 homes in a day and I just can't fathom it. What do you do there? Wow. I'm impressed by your stamina and energy. Re: that dog photo -- what that poor dog really needs is a nail trim! Take care and try to keep focused on the wonderful outcome of this difficult journey.