What's New?

I am feeling better after a couple days being down with a migraine. I've even had a few days without a headache in the last couple weeks, which is exciting. I have had to begin a very strict diet (no sugar, white flour, mushrooms, vinegar, etc) in order to get back to a good pattern of sleeping and to eliminate my headaches, allergy, and asthma. I did this a couple years ago for about six months and it worked great. It's not fun to be back at it again, but it hasn't actually been too bad.

On Sunday we celebrated birthdays with two boys from Saramoldaeva and their two friends. One of the boys will be graduating from high school this year and is trying to decide if he wants to go into the military or work for the railroad in the future. He commented that this was his last birthday that he would celebrate with us. Hearing that reminded me of how uncertain life after the orphanage is for these kids. Although growing up in an orphanage is not the easiest thing, it is often a fairly secure environment. The fear of the unknown always haunts those that are preparing to graduate. I can't even begin to imagine the idea of going out into the world after high school without family to help and encourage me. Hopefully, we will be able to remind them that we are here for them even after they graduate.

I have about one week left before going on vacation. I will be spending two weeks in Thailand with Olya, Ken, and Jason. I am looking forward to this break as I have been putting in a lot of extra hours at work this fall. It will be a nice rest before our summer delegation season begins at the end of March. I will try to post some pictures and stories while I am gone.