Exit stamp process

The FRRO Office was awesome. People from all over the world live in our city! Emma got to play with two burqa ladies from Yemen and their kids for the first half an hour, then with two Korean children, then an Iraqi girl. There were others from France, Spain, the USA, and Sudan. 

We knew from a couple here that we would have issues in this office. This sign is also a good warning for all who arrive thinking this will go quickly: 

I knew the wait was painful, but 'teething'?!

The issues they brought up initially were weird. "Why was she born in a different city and not in the city where you live?! This birth certificate has no signature, you will have to check with that man to see if he will accept it. If not, you must return to her birthplace for a signed copy." Thankfully the guy passed our certificate... It is weird how this country's states are not united at all. 

So tomorrow Matt will have to bring a letterhead proving he works here and our application for the exit visa should be complete.

6/11/2013:  They have now said that Emma's birth certificates are invalid because no one signed them. How unfair is that?! Also, this isn't fixable by a simple phone call to her city of birth and getting them to fax a correct copy to us. (If only it were that easy). Different states in this country operate like different countries. My language nurturer said that the easiest of corrections can be difficult because here no one accepts blame for a problem and all are lazy at work. Hmm. So Matt has to go back to the FRRO Office tomorrow.

We

Generally, we notice the differences easily. However, let me try to share with you the things our neighbors hold in common with us.

1) we love our kids and want better for them than what we had growing up

2) we all want to marry a virgin, but recognize in our hearts that we ourselves will never have a completely pure heart or mind

3) we hate corruption, but sometimes wish we could live above the law

4) we are suckers for a Cinderella story

5) we are afraid that if others knew our mistakes that no one would respect us 

6) we think women would do better to dress modestly

7) we laugh at each others' perceptions of what is foreign, especially if they share what they were thinking when they had a foreign experience

8) women don't want to entrust their hearts to each other because they fear the other girl's jealousy and/or gossip

9) when asked "how are you" after the worst day ever, we tend to lie and say "I'm fine," because we don't want to trouble the other person, or we are afraid to be seen as rude or weak, or we feel like the other person was just being polite and doesn't really care about our true condition

10) we like to dress up fancy and compliment our lady friends outfits, hair, etc.

11) we are afraid of becoming insignificant in life

12) We struggle to know when to set boundaries, when to keep the peace, and when to climb the hill and die on it when the offense was from a parent or close family member...

In short, we are the same women as they are... Just were raised by different mamas. She likes spicy curry and rice and eats it with her hands. We like to use utensils for everything but pizza. ;)

It is healthy for me to have my tutor. We share our hearts openly... whether laughing or crying. She is daily a reminder that there is no such thing as US and THEM. There is only the greater WE ALL.  We all need His love, mercy, and forgiveness. We all need each others' grace, forgiveness, and compassion.  

Thanks, God, for that reminder!  

Our big 4-month-old

Stats: 6/2/2013 completed 4 months, 17lbs 5oz, 25.5", foot 4" long! Oh, and her eyes are definitely dark brown like Mommy's, but shaped like Daddy's.

Gross Motor: slumped sitting but still wobbly, rolling any direction from either belly or back, "snow plowing" (see previous post for description), traveling the floor by plowing/rolling/pivoting (4' furthest traveled distance), assisted standing and flailing happily while standing, lifting both arms while feet and tummy stay on floor or vice versa with arms on ground and feet in the air, elevating bum when plowing.

Fine motor: sucks finger or thumb, plays with hands, grasps both feet by the toes when on her back or side, brings toys or parents' hands to her mouth, requires no assistance with aim when latching, reaches for and grasps toys even snow plowing toward them to grasp them, pulls Daddy's beard.

Social/Emotional:  recognizes and smiles at frequent visitors in addition to family members, prefers parents to soothe her, loves to hear her ocean waves noise-maker when fussy, startled by sudden movements, startled by doorbell, smiles when parents enter the room, cries when parent leaves the room or steps away, presses her cheek against Mommy's cheek, nuzzles into parents' shoulder, holds parents' arm when being held.

Language:  laughs when enjoying interactions and to herself, enjoys screeching conversationally in response to expressive talking, closed lips "mmmmm" sound, repeats "m" consonant and at times produces "mama" (though not labeling Mom).

Hobbies:  eating, spending lots of time snow plowing on her tummy, gnawing her hands/toys/parents, interactive clapping songs (open and shut them, if you're happy and you know it, pat a cake, where are the bees, my God is so big), airplane tummy time game with parent, repeated cheek kisses or blubbering, talking with parents, Skype/FaceTime screen talking, peek-a-boo.

Snow plowing

Snow plowing, as we refer to it, is a combination of the Marine crawl and the inch worm.  Usually, it involves pressing one's forehead to the ground as you alternately kick your feet so that your diaper side is in the air.  At the height that is most comfortable for the diaper side, you then stretch forward your arms rubbing your forehead along the ground, like the shovel of a snow plow.  When your tummy reaches the ground, you repeat the process.

This past week, Emma learned that she could combine snow plowing and rolling.  This can get her anywhere from 3-6 feet away from the starting point in seconds.  I have removed all semi-supervised on-the-bed playing privileges, and below is the story:

The middle of last week, I barricaded Emma with pillows in the center of the bed, and stepped away for less than a minute to fill her bath with water while she was on the bed.  When I returned, Emma had already plowed through the barricade and was holding onto the side of the bed with her feet on the ground, grinning from ear to ear.  Thank the Lord that she can bear weight on her legs!  I sat the bath down and hurriedly rushed to rescue her.  She looked at me as though to say, "What's the big deal, Mama?  I'm standing here fine.  How cool was that, let's do it again!" 

Grinning: Emma's super power

There is a roll at the start of the clip, but this gives a bit of an indication of how much Emma grins when she is feeling well.

This week has been no measure of the grinning-ness due to a couple of large hurdles: overcoming shots and cutting a tooth.  Her first tooth still refuses to break the surface though we can see the white of it beneath the gum now.  Poor little one.  She is starting to get over the shots, though.  There has been no recurrence of fever in the last 24 hours.  Praise the Lord!

Sitting pretty

This video was taken on 5/30/2013.  It was the first time she sat that straight.  Usually, she is leaning to one side or laying front-wise over her legs to sit.  She cannot pull herself into a sitting position, but is learning how to stay sitting when she is placed in a sitting position.  Our little sweet is getting so big!

Home is where His heart is.

1 Peter 4:12  "Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Chr!st in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing His glory when it is revealed to all the world."

I'm going to expose my heart to you in this update.  Ever since we arrived in South Asia last July, I have been going through what I now know has been spiritual warfare.  I have struggled with a mixture of culture shock, identity loss (I used to help those in need and have a 8-4 job and schedule, mobile and able to drive myself anywhere I want to go, with friends and family nearby), changing roles (I have in the past year become: pregnant, a cross-cultural witness, an expat, an outsider, in need of help, a student, a housewife, unable to drive, with no family and very few friends within the culture), and the desire to obey the Lord whatever the cost (all the while falling short daily of His glory and being very aware of it).

I long to see veiled women hearing the Good News and to be His voice in their ears.  I long to be out of my home and building relationships with these women who emerge from their homes to meet their families' needs -- grocery gathering, running errands, attending significant family events.  I long to speak the language well enough to gain an audience with even the ones who fail to understand my limited language.  I long to counsel these abused and unwanted women who are told they have no value and are a burden to their families that there is a God who loves them, desires a personal relationship with them, and created them to be glorious.  I long to see them recognize Him and understand their value in His sight.

However, during hot season, it is very difficult to get out of the house.  The heat would put Emma's health at risk.  Also, it would be culturally inappropriate for me to hunt down these women in the street, especially with Emma in tow.  This would most definitely bring a scolding from the same women I hope to meet because they do not bring babies out of the house during the heat of the day.  I find myself with a small radius around our home, few veiled women live very close to us and the people in our complex are quite Western, busy and distant.  I feel weighed down by this longing.  The Enemy constantly lies to me saying that I am not a good follower and witness.

While praying about this, the Lord has shown me countless other moms of young children who feel the exact same way that I do all over the world.  He has shown me that we have the power of the Holy Spirit in us to be amazing prayer warriors and to pray without ceasing throughout the craziness of our days.  We can intercede not only for our own family and neighborhoods, but for the people that we may never meet in person.

It is my desire to spark passion for prayer in those of you who have ever asked, 'How does my life make any difference for the kingdom when lostness is so vast?'  There are great things that God only does in direct response to the prayers of His people (2 Chr. 7:14-16; 1 Cor. 6;19).  The greatest movements of His Spirit in the world have been preceded by the earnest prayers of His people.