acclimation

I think I'm experiencing blogger's block. Every time I start to make an entry, I go blank.

I had a really hard day on Thursday and I'm not sure I've recovered from it, plus the cough that I picked up in Cyprus has decided to turn into a cold so my brain feels fuzzy. I'm not sure what happened to make that day so bad, but I kept feeling like a spiritual bomb had gone off right in front of me. It was the first day since I've been here that I really wanted to go home. And it only took two months!

Friday was much better. Much, much better. I was able to talk to a friend online for about 3 1/2 hours and it really did a lot to lift my spirit. Thank God for Instant Messenger! I can't imagine what the bill would have been had we been talking on the phone.

So I guess the newness is wearing off and as I settle into my new life here I am starting to realize the lonely place of starting over again. I've been there before, and in the past my coping mechanisms have not been the most healthy in the world. When I first moved to Texas, I used to go to the mall just to be around people, which was pretty pathetic; but the crowning moment of desperation came when a telemarketer had called and I just kept talking to him. He eventually said, "uh, ma'am, I have to go now..." Have you ever had a telemarketer be the first to hang up? Now that's truly pathetic!

Well, here I haven't made it to the mall yet, and I have no telemarketers to talk to, so I'm finally having to turn to the right place for comfort--my heavenly Father. That's a good thing. And I am drawing closer to Him and crying out more and more, but I gotta tell you that I'm really missing Old Navy and Barnes & Noble right now.

I've basically given up on the spaghetti sauce thing. Maybe I'll try again some day. And I'm about to give up on the printer and just go buy another one. They still haven't replaced my broken one. Maybe I am learning patience. When I got back from Cyprus, the gas was out for my stove, so I called my landlady to get it replaced. It's been almost a week and I still don't have gas. And basically it's not bothering me.

So maybe I'm acclimating. That's good. But I'd really love to run to Wal-Mart and pick up some Nyquil right now. Well, the pharmacy will open back up tomorrow and I can go get whatever the Israeli equivelent might be.

And just an amazing little note to end with: In my Cyprus entry, I talked about a Palestinian named Steve. Steve was on our flight back from Cyprus and the last I saw of him, they had taken him into a side room for a questioning session. He had expected that and so we weren't surprised. He did eventually get through customs, but since they close the Gaza border at a certain time every day, he wouldn't have been able to get in. So he took a sherut (shared taxi) to Jerusalem where he would stay with a friend. On the sherut, he got into a conversation with an ultra orhodox rabbi and the rabbi told him that he had been reading the New Testament and was interested in learning more about Christianity. So he asked Steve to share with him, and then He invited Steve to stay at his house that night.... How amazing is that!!!! Talk about mysterious ways!