The Struggle is Real

This week has been rough. I didn't realize how much I was depending on the birthday party planning and shopping to get me through our days here until the party was over. This week the reality of normalcy and life apart from my Love set in. This week was hard.

I woke on Monday morning determined to get Kiley and I better focused on God as I knew life had been literally all over the map I sensed the need to regain our center.
I reached out to God, to family and friends for help and ideas on how to bring more Christ centered activities into our life here where I can't depend on Play School and Cubbies to help me. It's funny, I grew up going to church and lived in a Christian home with parents who did a great job of raising us with God at the center, I have run Children's Ministry programs and I love God but for some reason I was just feeling like I couldn't engage Miss. K in her personal walk with Jesus. I guess it just goes to show the importance of the Body of Christ.
Anyway, God answered my prayers that Miss. K would once again desire Him. Because, as of late she just showed zero interest. But she woke on Monday and wanted to read her Bible App on her KindleFire and so we did that together, then she asked to watch VeggieTales so we did. And so it has continued throughout the week and she even started praying again!
Miss. K wasn't the only one who needed a restart button. I too was feeling a longing for more time with God and a need for community. And God was faithful to meet me in my quiet times and speak to my heart.
For all this I am thankful, but I am not naive and have seen that Satan is not excited about our quality time with God this week. We don't talk about spiritual warfare a lot in the States, not sure why, but in my experience, when one or in this case two of God's people are on the right track Satan is not about to sit back and make life easy.
So, life was hard this week; I missed home more, as did Miss K., nothing in my work worked, I lost classes, I got sick with a stomach infection and got very little sleep, now Miss. K is sick.
Until you have been sick alone in a foriegn country you may not realize how much of a struggle a stomach infection can be. You can't eat, drink, bathrooms are not always stocked with toilet paper, long lines at clinics to be followed by more lines, all while feeling terrible just to be given a diagnosis that's in a language you are not fluent in. This is no fun, worse yet is when your 4 year old child starts complaining of stomach pain and then vomits 3 times develops a fever and no one gets sleep, her because of not feeling well and I because I'm worried sick about how to help her if she gets worse.
This was my week. The great high of reconnecting with God and the great struggle with reality of life here alone in a country not our own with Satan attacking.
But today is Sunday. Pre-sickness my goal for the week was to get us to church. But when it was 2am and we were in the midst of the battle I decided it wasn't gonna happen. I was really sad, as I had been looking forward to a chance to go be fed Spiritually and hopefully connect with some people. At 9:18 Miss. K awoke and said, "Hey, I thought we were going to church." She seemed better, and was excited to go, so we got dressed, called a cab and went to church.
Turned out little Miss. K was still not really feeling good. She slept in the cab, and fell asleep on my lap through the service, but we got to go to church. I still haven't made a connection with anyone there, but we will try again next week.
We are back home now, Miss K has a fever again so I've given her some Motrin and she's sleeping here in bed next to me.
Please keep us both in your prayers not only for our health but for our life here, that we continue to find ways to connect with God and His people and that He will guide and protect our steps.