A Bit From Belgium - Week 1

~ Psalm 138 ~

Greetings Dear Friends! Bonjour!

How are you? How has your week been? I am praying for you! Please let me know if you have any specific requests that you'd like me to join with you in presenting before our Lord. It would be a shame if I were praying the wrong thing for you all this time! :-)

I am sitting at my computer at a small table in my 3rd floor bedroom in Genval, Belgium. The sun is shining in a very blue sky (the same one you're sitting, standing, or lying under!) and it is beautiful here. It has been a week since I left my home in Ohio... WOW... what a week!

It has been a good week, but not an easy one. I am doing well. Physically, I feel great. The food here is fabulous! I'm afraid American "French" bread, cheese, and chocolate just won't taste the same to me anymore. :-) The weather has been gorgous, as well as the houses, cities, towns, and countryside! Belgium is a unique and beautiful place!

Spiritually, mentally, and emotionally I am being stretched. It's been tough and sometimes painful, but good for me I think. I am already grateful for some of the difficult things I've gone through since being here, and I am hoping I can continue to allow myself to be molded and shaped... and stretched, into the person God wants me to be both here and when I return home. I'm learning and growing, and hopefully for all of your sakes it's for the better! :-)

Here are some bits and pieces from my first week here...
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Friday - 7/13/07 -
Today's my first full day here, and I am well. It was beautiful weather and my body is adjusting to the time change amazingly well. Thank you Jesus! I slept from 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. very well and tried to rest until a little later in the morning. I'm tired today, but not at all like yesterday, and I'm even hungry at the right times, but not in between, etc. Sure is amazing how quickly bodies can adjust (with the help of prayers!) It seems to stay light here later and get light earlier... maybe because we're further north? I also have a skylight in my room, so that makes it brighter as well.
I have been watching a lot and helping a little. Learning tons, but still have so much to learn... and I'm not very good at anything yet and feel bad for Rebecca because of it. No wonder she goes through a lot when they have a change of people! Rebecca is so sweet, funny, honest, helpful, and everything else positive you can think of!
I miss you guys (family and friends and everything I've ever grown up with...) so badly, and yet I really still feel this is something I need and needed to do. It's so painful and hard to leave everything and practically start life again, but that's one of the reasons I'm here, and I know it's good for me. God's working, but right now it hurts. I know I'm a little overwhelmed with everything right now as well, although taking care of Rebecca is actually amazing. She really is a joy to serve, and ever so funny, fun to be around, and beautiful. There's a lot of work though, and I don't know the routine yet, so that makes it a little harder as well. I am looking forward to getting to know her better and getting to talk with her more. She's pretty special in case you didn't already know. :-)
The Petries recently got a shih tzu puppy, Maddie, who is also a godsend. So cute, so cuddly, and fun to play with. She fills my dog need pretty well, although she sure is small! :-)
As far as the expectations, everything matches the few I had. It's beautiful, peaceful, quiet, and the people are awesome. I knew I would miss you guys as well, but I didn't realize it would hurt this much, so it may seem like a weird prayer request to pray that I don't miss you so much, but that's really what I need. I would like to be able to embrace and love my three months here. I would like to be able to actually rest in this peace and quiet, and not feel uncomfortable in it. Obviously the other prayer is that I would learn quickly what and how to do the tasks for Rebecca, (both for her sake and mine!) It truly will be a pretty full-time job while I'm here... but like I said, she's a joy to be around and serve!
Thank you for the prayers. When it gets tough, I think about how many people I know are praying and how important all this is for the Petries and also for my own growth, and I'm glad I came... even right now with the pain. :-/ :-)
Let me know if you have any specific prayer requests as well! It always seems to help to be able to pray for others!
The whole time change thing here is crazy. :-) I love thinking about the time difference and where or what you are doing. Too bad for you that I get to experience everything in these days before you do! :-)

Saturday - 7/14/07 -

No time for a long update, but I did want to let you know that I am doing well. Have slept VERY well all my nights here, and feel much more like myself again.
I was pretty pathetically homesick yesterday, but people must be praying, because today has been MUCH better, and I'm getting a hang of the routine, which helps. I'm sure there'll be days, but it sure is nice to feel like myself again and be able to savor and enjoy what's here. Everybody continues to be great. I'm thinking I'll probably try to just send weekly "big" updates, so please don't worry if you don't hear from me too often. :-) Besides, it'll probably take you all week to get through my one long e-mail anyhow! :-)

Sunday - 7/15/07 -

Thanks for the e-mails. I really enjoy reading them and hearing about what's going on at home. I am doing well, although still miss everybody badly at night and in the mornings mostly. The days are busy and fun and I'm happy then. I feel like an elastic rubber band by all the ways I'm being stretched by God. Just so many new and sometimes difficult things to deal with inside and mentally. It's good for me to get out of my comfort zone, but it sure isn't easy! Physically I'm great though, which has been a huge blessing! I enjoy taking care of Rebecca for the most part. The "nursing" type stuff doesn't bother me. I'm still learning a lot though and feel bad when I need to do things multiple times to get them right. The French lady who lives here is great with lists and schedules, and I'm now "officially" on the schedule, so perhaps my days will be a little more organized now that I'll be knowing where I need to be and when. You can keep praying that I continue to adjust to the schedule okay.
I got to go into Brussels this evening for church. It's a fascinating city! We passed a bunch of embassies on our way in. We got Haagen Daas (sp.?) ice ceam before church. It was fun to just sit and watch everything go on around me. It's funny because there are people of a lot of nationalities here, but they were all speaking French. :-) Talk about feeling like a foreigner! I like it though... it's a little helpless feeling, but neat to get perspective of what it's like for others in the US who don't speak English well. This particular church met in an almost Catholic-like building ( i.e. beautiful stained glass and pews), but consisted of mostly younger people and they sang more contemporary songs like Refiner's Fire, How Great is Our God, and God of Wonders. It sure was nice to be singing something familiar! At last, something I know from home! :-) The speaker had a very strong British accent as did most of the people there. How cool! Also met a Finnish friend of one of the Petries. It's amazing... the European countries here are talked about almost like we do with states in the U.S. Guess that's what happens when the countries are so small? I don't know whether it's because of the family I'm with or in general in Belgium (I suspect both), but politics (particularly European) are a HUGE deal out here! They're discussed like Buckeye sports at my house, if that gives you any idea. :-)

Monday - 7/16/07 -

I got my first Belgian mail today... and not just one, but TWO! :-) Ahhh... how refreshing to hear more about life in the states! :-) It's sometimes amazing to think about how "life goes on" even when it's been so drastically changed for me here. I'm happy and content most of the time here... but do still get homesick, particularly in the mornings and evenings. I'm busy enough during the day to not think about it!
I worked with little Maddie (the 7 month old shih tzu) for the first time today and taught her shake. She is SUCH a cutie! One big, adorable hair ball, and sweet as anything! (Unusual for a shih tzu, I must say! :-)
Anyhow, just wanted to thank you for the mail and let everybody else know that it works. :-) The envelopes were postmarked July 10 and 11 and got here yesterday, so I guess it's a 4-5 day mailing time? No obligations to write, of course, but if you ever want to, e-mail me for the address. :-)

Wednesday - July 18, 2007 -

One week... wow! Today is a lovely day. I can't believe I've only been here a week. I'm picking up a bit of French, and really enjoying the mental challenge of learning it. I certainly won't be much of a French speaker when I get home, but I'll have at least picked up on a little! I got to ride around a bit of Genval this afternoon, so now when I walk I'll know where I'm walking... hee-hee-hee! It's a nice town and neighborhood to walk in, and somewhat hilly, so good exercise. There's a lovely lake not too far away that I can walk to and around sometime as well. There are lots of little restaurants and sailboats and benches. It's very pretty. The puppy Maddie now knows how to shake hands and is learning to roll over. She's a smart little girl and fun to work with! It's quite an experience for me to work with shih-tzu instead of a retriever! :-) About 60 lbs. and a whole lot of hair difference in fact!
Rebecca continues to be a joy. She brightens up the days and is just a joy to be around. It truly is a privilige to serve her, and I find that I really enjoy the opportunity to be her hands and feet and serve her in a variety of ways. She makes serving fun and a privilige! I don't know that I could ever be a nurse, but I'm finding that I really do enjoy the nursing aspects of this experience! Of course, I realize Rebecca is exceptional as well. All her nurses and physical therapists talk about how amazing she is too. :-)
Oh, and I finally tried some "cheap" Belgian chocolate today... haha... it was scrumptious chocolate with rasberry pieces. Most definitely could sell as some very high quality American chocolate! MmmmmmMMMMM! Now I know what they're talking about! Also had some Belgian waffle cookie things. MmmmmmmmMMM AGAIN!!! I would describe them in more detail, but that would be inconsiderate of me... :-)

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As I finish up my first week's "newsletter" (or book as some may say!), I just wanted to share some of the things I am thankful for this week, as well as a few prayer requests for any of you who are praying and want specifics...

I Am So Thankful For:

* Safe travels to get here
* The kind and loving treatment, relationships, and peace in this household I am in
* The relationships I am forming and people I am getting to know
* The NEW sights, tasks, experiences, people, places, foods... new just about everything!
* Surviving my first full week here without any major physical, emotional, spiritual, or mental breakdowns!
* The "heart surgery" God's doing on and in me during this time... painful, but good. :-)
* The gift of a dear family to miss
*The blessing of dear friends to miss
* A God that precedes and follows everywhere I go

Prayer Requests:

* That I would continue to settle in here and focus on savoring my short time here rather than concentrating on how much I miss everybody and everything I've grown up with
* That I would be open and willing to submit to the molding, shaping, and stretching that the Lord has in store for me while I'm here.
* That I can serve in such a way to bless and help the Petrie family and those they interact with

"I delight in a heart that welcomes My work rather than resents it. A willing, teachable spirit is all I'm looking for. A life so surrendered to Me, I can do My work unhindered..." ("Having a Mary Spirit" by Joanna Weaver)

* Oh, that I might have even a piece of a heart like this! This is my prayer and my desire!

"Jesus does not by any means disregard the sort of person we are when He calls us to do His will. He knows our frame and remembers that we are dust. He knows the weaknesses and strengths, the tastes and fears and prejudices and ignorances and experiences of each of us... It is within His power to transform. It is for us to submit to the transformation..." - (Elisabeth Elliot "Taking Flight")

* Oh, that we all might know and embrace this truth and submit to the transformation and Transformer more every day!

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Have a wonderful rest of your week dear Friends!

Thank you for being YOU!

The Joy of the Lord is my strength,

~ Mary Beth



p.s. If you have any questions about any details I have not included in my expansive e-mail, please feel free to ask! :-)