April is Over???

I am stunned. Where did April go? For the last two weeks I told myself I need to blog but for one reason or another I didn't sit down and do it!  I think my new work schedule is wearing me out. Ha ha. I use "work" loosely here as for most people I barely qualify as working.  I am teaching 6 different Berlitz classes. Usually it is just 3 to 5 hours everyday. But honestly!I am beat. Poor me. I am embarrassed to admit it. The other side of the story is..I am loving it. My students come from Spain, Brazil, Italy, Iraq and Qatar. How fun is that?! Ages range from youngest of 19 to my age..fifty something. :) Singles, marrieds, one guy, and 6 women.  But all this to say... I have procrastinated about blogging and am just now making myself sit down and catch up.

Robert, Daniel, Adrian and Glory taking a break in Nepal.

With April being devoted to Vivian and her release..amen... I did  not get a chance to write about Robert's trip to Nepal, the Sandstorm from hell, or the aforementioned  new friends from Berlitz. Robert really enjoyed the trip to Nepal. The students worked on an orphanage, ministered to many sick people through prayer and healing, and also showed the Jesus film in some villages. The kids worked well together and from what we have heard from Robert and others, really had some fun adventures. It has been very hard for Robert and others to watch the news about Nepal.  The group that they stayed with and worked with, however, is ok and is hard at work helping as they can in the community. Robert was asked to talk about Nepal at school this week and to lead in a moment of silence at a school wide assembly. He is also part of a group at school doing fundraising to send over.

The worst sandstorm in 20 years blew thru Doha this month. No, I didn't leave the windows open.

School is winding down. Exams in a couple of weeks. Then Robert will travel to the US with Sallie for the summer and I will join them in mid August.  Mike and I are going to celebrate our 32 anniversary in Thailand next month. . We are so excited.  Some friends from the US will meet us there. We will also get to visit old friends who live and work in northern Thailand. We are looking forward to catching up with them and seeing what their last 8 to 10 years has looked like.

Team Vivian

On Easter Sunday Sarah went to see Vivian on her own.  She doesn't speak Spanish but she wanted to give her an Easter hug and pray with her.  Despite our best efforts to unravel the documentation for Vivian's release we still had no,idea what the hold up was.  Her appeal sentencing was two moths ago and even though we had the wonderful news that she was free to leave with time served, we had heard nothing and waited.  So Sarah went to give her a hug and tell her we were still trying from our side to move things along. 

 We are so glad she went that day. Vivian was struggling with sadness as she had heard her mom was not well and her brother needed medical help .Vivian and Sarah, in English and Spanish, prayed and sang praise songs in the prison courtyard.   We all praised God that evening when we learned that Vivian was in the  deportation center. 

Sarah learned on Monday, after about 4 hours of traipsing around the various offices in the deportation center, that all that was needed was ticket home.  On Tuesday, I went up there and bought the ticket from the Qatar airways office in the deportation compound.  On Wednesday we met Vivian at the airport. Itmismhard to describe the elation we were all feeling, the thankfulness over all that God had done and was doing in this crazy situation.  Over and over we saw Him show up, bring help, touch lives, and now we were sending this precious new sister in Christ home.  There were major problems at the airport, but I am not going to go into them. I will say that even in the problems Vivian was smiling and confident of her freedom.  It was great.  We bought a second ticket that got her to Dubai. Then she was stranded there and we purchased a third one.  Today, after four days of traveling, Vivian is in Bolivia.  We haven't heard yet but we are hopeful she is or will soon be with her beloved mother, brothers and children.  

I think most of us are still in shock. Next up? When can team Vivian get to Bolivia to see her? :)