Fear & the Spiritual World in Central Asia

Fear of evil spirits permeates the lives of Central Asians. The "evil eye" is a talisman that they will often use to try to ward off bad luck and evil that they fear may befall them. It comes in a variety of forms, and I've tried to collect some sample pictures to show you what I'm talking about. This is the basic design, which is usually done in blue, but will sometimes include other colors:
These were outside the apartment doors in an building we visited. So, in this instance, this would be to protect those inside this apartment from those who would be jealous of or wish harm towards those living inside.

Here's another example, this time in the form of a doormat:

This bakery that I pass on my way to language lessons has a babydoll (not sure of the significance of that) holding a large evil eye in the front store window:

This is a fish restaurant that had the evil eye printed onto their sign:

This clothing store puts an evil eye charm or talisman in the corner window display:

This is the place one would go to buy a talisman. These sorts of stalls are found in markets, sales alleyways, and other small shops:

They would also sell very small beads printed with the evil eye emblem to be put onto safety pins, so that mothers can pin this talisman onto their newborn babies' clothes.

Superstitions like these are common among Central Asians, who fear what evil spirits might do. To us as Americans, this can seem so foreign, but this sort of fear of the spiritual world is a very real part of their lives.

2007: Year-end Blog Wrap-up

We did something like this last year, just as a way to wrap up the year in blog posts and pictures... so I wanted to do it for 2007 as well- I'll highlight a favorite story or picture from each month, so we can get a "big picture" look at this last year of our lives.

JANUARY 2007- IN TEXAS :)
...here's a photo we had made of Maranatha!

It totally captures the stage she's at right now--
beautiful smiles all the time & crawling all over the place!


FEBRUARY 2007- TEXAS

Last week, Jessica's brother and sister-in-law came for a visit with their 3 little boys. Here's a picture of our 2 oldest and their 2 oldest (Max-5, Ethan-4, Beaux-3, and Baxter-2)

MARCH 2007- TEXAS

We've been blessed to be back near family during this time of waiting. The kids have had a wonderful time with our parents, and here's a picture of some snuggle time with Papa:


APRIL 2007- TEXAS
Sadly, this was the best picture we got of the three of them, as the digital camera battery died just at the wrong moment. I wonder, could there BE a worse bluebonnet picture? :)


MAY 2007- TEXAS
Didn't post anything in May- but we were still with family.
So here are a few precious pictures from that time together.
Maranatha enjoyed the visit with Doug's family
(here, she's with his Great Aunt, who we call "Aunt Doc" because she's an MD)

We were glad to see Doug's youngest brother, Michael, who was in town for Spring Break

We signed Ethan up for a teeball league for however much longer we're here. He is loving it, and is by far the most alert kid on the field. No dirt digging by him- he is totally into baseball!



JUNE 2007- TEXAS
We had Maranatha's first birthday party in early June. It was such a fun day... the kids played, we ate pink cake and pink cookies, and admired our precious little one-year-old!


JULY 2007- TEXAS to ISTANBUL
HOME, SWEET HOME
Two weeks ago this morning, we arrived here. Last week, after just one day (!) of looking, we located and signed a lease on a great apartment. This place is just right for us! While most apartments here have a street right in front of them, the street in front of our apartment has been closed off, so we won't have as much traffic noise.

Additionally, it's on the "first floor" (which, here , means the second floor- the first floor is for shops and stores), which is great for the kids (no walking up flights of stairs or squeezing into the tiny elevators they have here). It has a bathtub, which is above and beyond what we expected, and it has a lot of great windows. We'll be very close to three great parks, and one big grocery store. Plus there's a Sunday vegetable market one street away, so I'll have my beloved fresh veggies easily accessible every week!


AUGUST 2007- ISTANBUL
Jess & the kiddos in the entrance to the famous Istanbul Spice Bazaar

*** we also learned that we were expecting another sweet baby during August***


SEPTEMBER 2007- ISTANBUL (and Doug & Ethan went to China to pack up our old apmt)
FAMILY GOODBYES


OCTOBER 2007- ISTANBUL
DADDY GOES TO CLASS

Doug started language classes (in Turkish this go round, Doug's third language to begin studying in the last 18 months!) last week. So now on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings, the kids have a big sending-off ceremony, full of waves, kisses, hugs, "BYE"s, and blown kisses!

NOVEMBER 2007- ISTANBUL
This is what our entryway looks like when we have groups in our home. We've had times when the floor was completely covered in shoes, with more than 35 people in our home. Last night was just about 20 people. Much less than "normal"... but still, a lot of shoes! :)

DECEMBER 2007- ISTANBUL
Here are the kids, all bundled up to go out to play:

2007: What a year! (Didn't I say that about 2006?) :) We started out this year jet-lagged after unexpectedly returning to the US for medical testing. At nearly the half-way point of 2007, we learned that we weren't going to be able to return to China, so through God's leading, we ended up in Istanbul. Moving across Central Asia, learning yet another language, and adjusting to another culture have all been challenges, but we finally feel like we're adjusted to living here. We've been blessed with friends and language teachers that give us inroads and insights into this culture and place.

Though many things have changed over this last year, God has not changed. He is faithful as He has always been, and He has gently and graciously helped us through so many changes. And there are more to come- for us (baby Silas, and whatever else God has for us in the months and years to come)... and for you too. May HE be proven gracious and faithful in your life, through whatever changes come your way, as you wrap up 2007 and go into 2008- Happy New Year!

Three Peas in a Pod

Our crates just arrived (taken by pickup truck across China, through Chinese customs, carried by ship, through Turkish customs, and put onto a moving truck here) with all of our personal items from China. As the movers were unloading all of the boxes from the truck into our apartment, the kids all lined up at the boys' bedroom door and watched as the men brought boxes into our home. They were too cute, all laying in a row-- I just had to snap a few pictures; that top one is a silly, completely over-the-top picture, and here's a cute one of all of them:

Computer time for Ethan (math games, phonics, etc., but WAY more amazing than anything any of us had as kids) has now become an "event" that all three kids want to watch, even if they're not the ones "doing" it. They will just sit and watch, so engrossed in everything he does.
A couple days ago, Ethan was asking about computers when we were kids. We each told him about when our families first got computers (around early junior high age) and how we didn't have computers, when we were his age. He got a confused look on his face, and asked, incredulously, "Well, then HOW did you do e-mail?"

Kids Pics

Last month, Ethan got to see some old friends in China.

While Ethan was away, Baxter got to see-saw with a little Turkish girl at the park.

Most of the time, Maranatha was happiest just sitting up next to Momma, watching Baxter run and play!
A common sight in our house (this is one distinct advantage to not having a TV!)

Family Goodbyes

Blogging Through 2006

Some friends of ours (Ben & Heather) did this great thing on their family blog, showcasing the first few lines from the first post of each month to get a good summary of 2006... and I thought it would make a fitting "summary" of ours to do the same thing. (If you want to read the full posts, you can use the "archive" menu down and to the right to access our blog, month by month.) So here goes:

January 2006

(no blog posts, but we started out the year snug in our home in Midlothian, Texas)

February 2006

(again no blog posts, but we were living in Virginia, doing some cross-cultural training to prepare for life overseas)

March 2006

"Transported to Another World" - city#1

For our first post from the other side of the world, we'll give you a taste of some of the fun things we saw on the roads here in a 15 minute walk home after lunch. They're just a smidge different than what we saw every day back in Texas!

April 2006

"East Meets West" - city#1

It is incredible to see the blending of American culture even into this remote part of the world! This province is a mix of central and eastern Asian cultures, and now... American culture as well! Colonel Sanders is expanding eastward!

May 2006

"A City With Style..." - temporary city

We are visiting a new city, en route to Thailand to have our baby... Though in the same country, this city is a completely different world than where we've been living. There is a significant middle class here, with a large amount of purchase power, that just doesn't exist in our city. It is interesting to see a different part of this country we now call "home".

June 2006

"Would You Like Lizards With That?" - Thailand

The other night we went out to a place called Mike's here in Chiang Mai Thailand that is well-known for its great burgers. ...With it being one of Jessica's mom's first nights in Thailand, we were trying to ease her through the culture shock of her first time abroad, so we thought it would be a great place to get an easy, familiar meal. Just after they brought us our fries, she looked down and right next to her basket of fries was a lizard...

(Indulge me and allow me an additional entry for June!)

"MARANATHA HAS ARRIVED!!!" - Thailand

Yesterday, nearly 24 hours ago, Maranatha Pearl Connell entered the world on June 4, 2006 at 1:23 p.m., here in Chiang Mai, Thailand! She is such a precious baby and the boys are enjoying this new wonder of having a baby sister.

July 2006

"Goodbye Thai, Hello Home!" - Thailand

Well, tomorrow we'll be on a plane out of Thailand, headed back to our new home. Saying goodbye to Thailand isn't going to be difficult for us- we're ready to get back to some semblance of normal. Even Maranatha's crib has been strange here...

August 2006

"You Say Goodbye & I Say Hello" - transition from city#1 to city#2

Well, after countless days without internet, we're finally online again! In our old city, we said goodbye to friends, young and younger; A sad goodbye to Jessica's language tutor, who the kids had grown fond of as well; And now we're saying hello to a new place! These 2 youngest members of our family are getting used to the new apartment...

September 2006

"That's Quack-tastic!" - city#2

We went to a Beijing Duck restaurant tonight and tried the famous dish... the best part was the little tortilla-like things that come with it, because we could fill them with sizzlin' beef, and it ALMOST tasted like fajitas.

October 2006

"Home Sweet Home" - city#2

Here's a picture of Maranatha & I showing off our front door and entry way, complete with coat hooks, cabinets for shoes, and a "No Smoking" sign just to the left of our door.

November 2006

"Goodbye, Daddy" - transition from city#2 to Hong Kong

The kids give daddy bye-bye-hugs. After Doug's extreme exhaustion & fatigue over the last 4 days, the doctors decided he needed to go to Hong Kong for further observation and evaluation. A friend offered to go with him for initial testing until we have a better idea of what's wrong and how long he'll need to be there. Because of the age of the kids and logistics of getting our whole family there, we decided it would be best for me to stay here with the kids for now. Last night, we had a sad goodbye.

December 2006

"Live From Hong Kong"

Forgive us for not posting before now. As you can imagine, it's been a task just getting Jess and the kids to Hong Kong, getting semi-moved into our apartment here, getting groceries (everything's SO expensive here!), and taking care of all the details involved. This is a HUGE city! Just getting around here takes forever, especially with 3 little ones. Doug is feeling better, aside from some really annoying muscle spasms and pin-prick-like pains that come on randomly in his limbs. And so far, all the tests have come back normal, which is a blessing, but also is puzzling...

To sum it up in a word: transition!
West... to East
4 person family... to family of 5
Steady family life in a 2-story house... to ever-changing life in multiple locations: a 4-apmt quad, several 6-story apmt complexes, innumerable hotels, a teak bungalow, and now a 17-story city apmt building
Preparation & packing for life overseas... to the Real Thing
Being an everyday American... to Being the only Americans in a city of over 300,000 people
Eating the familiar (and fattening) foods... to eating differently but much healthier
Being a family that almost never got sick... to having a year filled with sickness & injury

But, through it ALL, Jesus has been our Constant Source of strength,
proving Himself Faithful and True.
"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." - Hebrews 13:8

Though we are still uncertain about the future of Doug's illness, and uncertain about where we'll be even next week, we are certain of this: He Who has held us and kept us and brought us this far will hold us and keep us and take us where He wants us for the rest of our days. We hope 2006 has been a year of God's unfolding faithfulness in your life as well.

Grace and Peace to you, from the Connells (currently in Hong Kong)

"Let the Little Children Come to Me"

Friendly Neighborhood Vegetable Market

Q&A2: Devotions, Holidays, and Top 5's

Sandra asks: What do you do for family devotions? How overt will your Christmas celebration be where you are? Are you aware of any needs there that we could support? How can we best support you?... Understanding that service is at a cost is important -- what are the five things that each of you miss most? ...The five most unexpected pleasures at your new home?

FAMILY DEVOTIONS
Nearly every night, we have "family time", where we read and talk about the Bible, sing songs, and spend some time in prayer. Right now, we're going through a book together called, "Training Hearts, Teaching Minds", that has pre-made short devotional ideas that teach doctrinal and biblical truth. Ethan really enjoys the teaching time as we discuss questions and concerns he has along the way, and Baxter is more interested in the singing aspects of it. But it's a short time that our family takes to focus on our Maker and to regularly teach our children the most important things in life.

CHRISTMAS
We are currently thinking about how we will celebrate Christmas. We have a few books and a nativity set that will draw the eyes of people who come to our home. We are considering having our own party for friends, just as they did for us last week (see "Fasting and Feasting"). We can share our customs and beliefs with friends in that way.

NEEDS
As far as needs go, we personally have no immediate needs, but we will address an overarching need in our next e-mail update (we'll send that out in the next couple of days). The very best support is by regularly lifting us up. There have been SO MANY times over the last 8 months that we have been discouraged, physically ill and injured but we are VERY confident that it is the kneebends of our friends and family that has kept us here and thriving, despite the difficulties.

FIVE THINGS WE MISS MOST:
1. PEOPLE- family , friends, Brothers & Sisters
2. FOOD- familiar and comforting foods from home
3. BOOKSTORES- we are BIG readers, so it's hard not to be able to take a quick trip to Half- Price Books or LifeWay for some new things to read! (We had a hard time deciding if this was #2 or #3, if that gives you an idea of how much we love reading.)
4. CONVERSATIONAL EASE & DEPTH- the ability to easily have a conversation about real-life things without having to explain what a word means, explain analogies, try to communicate cultural differences, etc.
5. TEXAS THINGS- the State Fair, the Dallas skyline, Cowboys and Rangers games, the big Texas sky with beautiful sunsets, Mexican food, pictures in bluebonnets, things like that. (Sorry to all you non-Texans, but it's the truth--we miss it!) :)

FIVE UNEXPECTED PLEASURES:
1. PEOPLE- I thought it would be annoying to be constantly stared at, but it is actually generally very fun. The kids make a great entrance for us to talk with people, and we have many more opportunities to smile and connect with people because of the "celebrity" factor.
2. FOOD- We are pretty spoiled, I think. The food here is delicious and generally cheap. While there are some disadvantages, they have really great food here. It's not home-food, but it's good. I'm actually going to do a big post sometime soon discussing food.
3. SCENERY- The mountains, greenery, and environment are beautiful. But I even like the differences in city landscape-- buildings, signs... it's all so different and there's something really wonderful about it. Though we don't "fit in" here, we somehow feel like we fit.
4. INEXPENSIVENESS OF LIFE- We knew it would be somewhat cheaper to live here, but we had no idea. Big Ozarka-sized bottles of purified water cost about .60 cents each. When we were furnishing our apartment, Jess bought three large pieces of used furniture (a hutch, a cabinet kind of like a sideboard, and a small dresser) and had them all delivered for a total of about $40. And it's so inexpensive to go out to eat. Saturday night we went out to eat (just the two of us) and a very filling and tasty dinner for both of us cost us $1.75.
5. WEATHER- We were told it was very cold here, and it was when we arrived in March, and it has been getting more and more cold in the past few weeks, but we had about 6 months of really nice, comfortable weather-- almost never getting over 80 degrees.

Thanks to Sandra for her questions! If YOU have questions, please CLICK HERE and leave a comment with your question(s) and we'll take time to answer yours.

Q&A1: Our Apartment & A Typical Day

These are answers to questions Kim brought. If you have questions about our lives here, feel free to go here to ask them and we'll answer them in a future post.

Kim's questions: I would love to see pictures, if you can, of your apartment! It's hard to picture where you live. Also, what is a typical day like for you all?

OUR APARTMENT:
Here's a long picture of the big area of our apartment. The entry way is to the right, kitchen area, and Maranatha's room doors are straight ahead (you can't see the door to her room, it's just ahead of Doug to the right in this picture).

You can see a wall opening that's to the left of Doug. It is directly across from the front door... off that small area, the bathroom is straight ahead, our bedroom is to the left, and the boys' bedroom is to the right. We are blessed in that (as you can probably tell) we were given a brand new apartment when we moved here.









I did something fun in MeiMei's room: she has all different bright-colored daisies lining her ceiling for a fun border. And we found a floral painting that has the verse "I know the plans I have for you" (Jer 29:11) written on it. Her room is like a garden!













Here's our living room area, complete with our new Kazakh rug we just bought this weekend! We are so thrilled to have something warm under our feet instead of the frigid tile that is growing colder by the day. Now when she starts crawling, MeiMei will have soft carpet under her knees with some very visually-stimulating patterns! We have a table with a bench for the kids tucked away in one corner of the balcony area, and our computer desk is on the other end.



Our bathroom (this is not really a great picture, but it's the best I could get) has a small sink area that balloons out into a small room on the other end. In the more narrow section are the cabinets, sink, and washer (we don't have a dryer). This area generally stays dry. On the far end is the toilet, towel racks, and the shower head. We also keep a large plastic container on the floor full of water in case the water goes off (which happens semi-regularly). The shower head is open to the entire room, which means that everything in the bathroom gets mist on it anytime one of us takes a shower. Without the window, it would get very musty in there, because the water just runs all over everything. The window helps, but there are still several open drains, and with less-than-stellar plumbing and very fussy water pressure, rather than describing them all, I will let your imagination run wild with the smells that sometimes permeate our restroom. :)

Being on the 6th floor, we have really nice views of the mountains (mountains almost surround the city), and there is also an airfield nearby, so in regular intervals throughout the day, we can see airplanes flying relatively close to our apartment. That is an exciting thing for the boys.

A TYPICAL DAY IN THE LIFE OF THE CONNELL FAMILY:
On weekdays, Doug and I will each have classes throughout the morning, trading off watching the kids so the other can go to class or study. We have virtually all our meals together as a family, which is really nice. Eating in is great, and eating out is cheap. Our new househelper comes for about 2 hours to help with dishes and tidying up, which helps immensely and gives us time to study. In the afternoon, the kids take a nap and we either have more classtime or studytime. After dinner each night, we play, read, ride bikes, study, or just hang out as a family, and then before bedtime each night, we have a 10-15 minute "Bible time" when Doug teaches us from the Bible and then we sing a few songs and pray together as a family. The kids go to bed around 8, and then we have more study time or reading time or we have time together to hang out and watch a movie or whatever.

Thursdays I don't have any class and that's a day that I get together with a friend who wants to learn English (so we can each practice language together) and we go to the market together (kill two birds with one stone-language practice & shopping). Weekends are less structured. Sometimes we have people over, sometimes we go somewhere as a family (see here, here, and here), sometimes we just stay home and rest. I hope that gives you some ideas of what our average schedule/day is like.

Thanks for the questions, Kim! To anyone else who has questions, leave a comment HERE!

Fasting & Feasting

Many people here observed Ramadan over the last month, fasting from sunup to sundown. Last week, this time of not eating throughout the day ended. Celebrations abounded on the final day, with people travelling from apartment to apartment, tasting the goods and treats at each home; women at each home worked to serve each guest the variety of foods she had made for this celebration time. Here are some pictures from the friends' parties we attended:

Baxter's first successful attempt to use chopsticks:

Table for Two?

For our anniversary this year, Doug took me to the bazaar area and we had a horse cart ride through the back parts of town all the way down to the river. We got there right as the sun was setting... it was lovely.
Then we went out to eat at a place that was hopping-busy. Here, when it is busy, if you are a couple and you get seated at a table for four, they will seat two other people at the table with you. So for our anniversary dinner, we shared a table with two high school girls, who were more than happy (thrilled, actually) to hold Maranatha for us while we ate.



Sometime during the evening, we realized we've been in a different place for each anniversary of our married lives... here's the rundown:

Married- 10/14/00- Arkadelphia, AR (went to college there)
1 year- 2001- Washington, DC (lived there)
2 year- 2002- Dallas, TX (lived there)
3 year- 2003- New York City, NY (Doug surprised me w/ a weekend trip)
4 year- 2004- Los Angeles, CA (we were there for business)
5 year- 2005- Minneapolis, MN (went there for Piper's Desiring God conference)
6 year- HERE!
So, I guess the real question is... where in the world will we go next year??? :)