Stranger love

Drew and I just got back from dinner. We went to a nearby pub to celebrate getting Internet and finally receiving Drew's scholarship money. Getting his money meant we could now buy things like a can opener and hair dryer. Not exactly necessities but things that are very nice to have. Though I have to admit that some wants are necessities for this girl... One such thing was a high chair. If I had to feed my squirming daughter one more time from my lap, I was probably going to go insane! Thankfully I talked Drew into getting one a week after we arrived. It took a 6 hour bus/train/bus trip where we had to carry all our Ikea goods on top of Victoria's stroller, but we made it!

Being in England this past month has been hard. Not having money or Internet while in a country you're new to is.....difficult. There were so many questions I needed answers to! What foods should Victoria not be eating? Where is the closest store? What is "neat" referring to on my floor cleaner? All these questions had to go unanswered :(. I was also a bit lonely. Christian friendships are such a treasure, especially when your life is so crazy. But with my little Victoria to keep me busy and entertained I seemed to somehow make it through. But the thing that I am most thankful for is stranger love. What I mean by "stranger love" is when people love you when they don't even know you. Countless people have given us directions and advice. But one family gave us many things we didn't even know we needed. One of those things was rent. If this friend would not have insisted on lending us money for rent and deposit we would not have been able to move into our apartment till today, being Drew just received his scholarship money. If we would have not been in an apartment we would be in a hotel without a refrigerator, which is hard--ours was broken for 2 weeks and it was very difficult. In an hotel we would have had to share a room with Victoria, and waste A LOT of money. Drew and I took the rent money reluctantly but if I would have known the mix up with the scholarship would happen and the trouble transferring our American dollars into UK pounds was going to be, I would have taken that money with a whole new enthusiasm. So in short, if you see someone in need please be kind to them. They may really need it!!!!!!!! We sure have! The family kept saying, "If it were my daughter in another country I'd want someone to help her," which is a great way of looking at it. Really taught me a lesson.

UPDATES:

Victoria is doing well. She loves crawling around our apartment! We don't have carpets so I end up sweeping numerous times a day so the floor is suitable for her. She loves to practice standing on her own and I'm sure she will take her first steps soon. She is full of giggles for daddy's games and kisses for mommy. She is growing up fast! She will be 9 months old soon and the sweet baby I once knew is now turned into the baby who cries while getting her diaper changed, and growls waiting for me to make her food and screams ANY TIME she is not getting her way. I used to think she was the cutest and sweetest baby the Lord had ever made. Now I just think she is the cutest. :) Please pray for us to be wise with our little stinker.

Drew has started his studies at the university (or "uni" as everyone in England calls it). His first research project is reading the Isaiah scroll. Goggle has just started publishing the Dead Sea Scrolls online, which was frustrating for Drew because he didn't have the Internet to read them, but now he does! Any guesses as to what he is doing this moment? Drew also started teaching his Hebrew class. It consists of 7 girls! All girls! Crazy. I decided that to help with his class I would make cookies every Monday! Kinda take the edge off the weekend, and maybe attract some boys to the class.

God is so faithful and good. During this difficult process I came across a Psalm that David wrote. He says that even during trouble soon the good will come again, and it is so true. It's very silly to be sad during hard times because the Lord's faithful love will always be revealed again. God never says life will be easy! But I have to praise Him for allowing me to get that highchair!

For our trivia I'm going to write 5 things on our shopping list. All of them will have the UK English word, and whoever translates all of them into USA English first wins a copy of a recipe for one of Drew's and my favorite English foods: Yorkshire pudding! It is not a dessert surprisingly, but delicious!

Kitchen rolls, bathroom tissue, cot, rubbish bin, and nappies.

Bonus: I will probably get this stuff from Asda which is a UK equivalent for what American store?

Love you all, and miss you very much.