New Years Day

Well, here it is the first day of 2009 (Happy Birthday Tara) and it has been in the high 80's all day. It is now 9:00 pm and still in the 70's outside. One of the many things to get used to here is living in a house that has no heat source. We were sure we would want to have some kind of heat for those cool nights. Well, we have been here a year and there may have been a couple times when it would have been nice to have a fire to warm up with in the mornings, but that's about it. I was wondering if I would miss not having a change of seasons and I really haven't. I enjoy the spring and fall in Alaska and the Northeast but haven't missed the winter cold and snow.
There are a few things we miss, like a good steak, but there is nothing I can think of offhand that we really crave. We certainly miss family and friends and are looking forward to seeing most of you this summer while we are back in the USA.
We are all working hard to get our first children to the village. We are hoping that will happen by the end of this month. We are in the child interview and selection process, and are putting on lots of miles (or kilometers) traveling to the remote villages to visit these orphans. There are such great needs here it is hard at times to stay focused on our selection criteria. Sam and Ken make a first trip to visit the homes and get basic information and try to narrow the orphans submitted to alien with our intake policies. Then Ken, Sam, Bev and Patty do a follow-up visit to confirm the first information and do a basic health overview. Sam, Ken's village assistant, is the key to making this all work due to the language barrier. I hope you all have a chance to view the pictures on our Flickr site, I think they will touch your heart.