Family Away from Home

As many of you know, I have been sick this week.  I was basically lying down all of Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday with a frustrating cold.  On Wednesday I was considering trying to make it into the office for part of the day, but I just wasn't sure it was worth the effort of getting ready.  This is when my wonderful Kazakh family came to the rescue.  My Kazakh mom called me and invited me over for lunch ... it actually sounded a bit overwhelming at first and I told her I didn't feel up to it.  She then told me they were having Manty (one of my favorites), but told me if I wasn't up for coming over then she would bring it to me.  She informed me that I needed to make sure I ate some hot food so that I would get my strength back.  She left me with the command to drink tea and eat breakfast and then told me to call her and tell her what I decided about going over. 

After her phone call (and several others from the office), I decided to go ahead and take a shower just to see how my energy held out.  After my shower I determined that I had enough energy to go ahead and go over for lunch and then go to work for some of the afternoon. 

I arrived at my family's home and sat and talked while Sholpan finished preparing the meal.  Although she was exhausted and had had a really busy and tiring week, she kept talking to me and trying to cheer me up and pass on her energy to me.  She told me that if you are sick and not with others, you tend to just be tired and not get well as quickly.  She assured me that I had family and if I wasn't well enough to come over to eat, then it would be brought to me. 

After lunch, as my energy faded some, they told me to go home.  I told them I was going to go to the office for an hour or two just to see how I did, since I still had enough energy to sit at my desk and accomplish something.  Aben (my host dad) came into my office at the end of the day (he works with me) and asked me what I was still doing there, just as my own father would have done. 

As I look back on yesterday, I am reminded of how much my Kazakh family means to me.  I feel that God has given them to me in order to care for me when my own family is so far from here.  I have no doubt that I am a part of their family.  The hot food (especially since it was one of my favorite dishes) gave me strength for the rest of the day.  I am so blessed!

 

My family - New Year's 2004