In the Carpenter's Hands

This week has been very busy for us as our household goods finally arrived!! On Tuesday morning the shipping container arrived on a huge trailer. So huge, in fact, that it could not fit into our complex.

After verifying that the seal number on the container matched the number on our records, the container was opened and the unloading process began.

We were very blessed that our friend Vanessa and her daughter Saskia were able to come and play with the kids while Mike and I assisted the delivery guys. Saskia is 4 months old and I think Cash has a little crush on her.

While the boxes were coming in the house, Sadie kept running around yelling "toys, toys". The best toy of all that arrived....her pink Barbie Jeep. Sadie couldn't even wait for it to be unwrapped before she hopped in.

Sadie also enjoyed assisting with the unpacking process.

And 2 days later.....our car was released from the Embassy!! So here it is, what you've all been waiting for....green flames and all....our new Toyota Prado (AKA Land Cruiser).

When our stuff arrived, it was in huge wooden crates inside the container. As the crates were being torn opened, the movers would toss the wood aside. One of our favorite guards, Meck, approached me and asked if he could keep the wood. I told him he could. What did he want it for anyway, it was full of nails, split in some places and just not good quality wood. Back home we wouldn't have given a 2nd thought to piling all of that wood at the street for the trash truck to come and collect it.

Meck spent the next days painstakingly hammering out each nail, stacking the large pieces of plywood and separating the smaller 2x4's and 4x4's into piles. My curiosity got the best of me and I finally asked him what was he going to do with all of that wood. Meck's face lit up with pride. As he placed his hand on his chest he told me, "I have a house, it is my house." He was beaming. He then said, "But I have no roof on my house. With this wood I am going to put a roof on my house." I was instantly humbled. Here I was looking at this used plywood and what I saw was trash. When Meck looked at it, he saw hope and his future.

Later in the day, Meck presented us with a very special gift. He had used the wood and nails to make a garage for Sadie's car. Even though we offered, he would not accept any money for his labor. He simply told us, "it was my pleasure".