It's Getting Warmer

We have now passed our four-month mark of island life.  In so many respects it’s hard to believe we have been here that long.  Our days are full, we fall into bed and most always have a list for the next day.  And we wouldn’t want it any other way.  There are still many cultural adjustments we’re wading through but we have been mostly successful in navigating our way to various locations.

 We have identified grocery stores we prefer, even though we may not understand the ingredients or find specific items we want.  We will NEVER adjust to the craziness of drivers here.  It’s our daily prayer that we can avoid an accident and outguess what the person in front of us will do. 

Below are some recent photos of a visit to Famagusta which we've posted about previously, but we never tire of its charm. 

We recently visited Queen who had a baby girl late February.  We will assist in having the baby blessed at church in a couple of weeks.  Learning of peoples stories is always so humbling.  She comes from Cameroon, was orphaned and is trying to make a new life here for she and her infant daughter.  It all sounds so overwhelming to me so we lend support as we can. 

 

  We so enjoy our time with our junior missionaries.  We currently have a delightful elder from Finland who is slightly older than some others at 24, has had a year of service in the Finnish army, worked as a bouncer in a nightclub, claims he was born with an abundance of confidence and is so very charming and engaging and a self-proclaimed extrovert.  We’ve developed a nice friendship with him in the month he’s been here.  We’ve spent a fair amount of travel time together going to various locations together.  As such we’ve been invited to join he and other missionaries on their preparation days, etc. because we’ve met his criteria for being “cool”. 

I mistakenly referred to him as President Huhtala (he really is a hoot!) recently and he quickly retorted that that title belonged to Elder Kiddle as President.  Roland immediately replied that he didn’t want to be the president of anything, but Elder Huhtala said oh he’s president of the Sister Kiddle Fan Club.  Well, that simple statement has spawned a delightful series of comments.  Elder Paez, who I simply adore, has declared himself as the Vice-President of said club.  Other elders have chimed in as secretary, etc.  I insisted that when you have membership in an elite club you have membership dues.  And so on and on it has gone.  Delightful times with these good young people who we’ve grown to love.  I remind them that I really could be their grandmother and am happy to add them to my collection of grandchildren.  Fun times. 

On a recent preparation day activity we went to the Sea Caves about a half hour away.  They're pretty spectacular, though we did not venture to the level of the caves.  And of course the Mediterranean is always a glorious sight in itself.

Orthodox Easter is May 5 and it is apparent that it is a very big celebration.  We’re enclosing some photos of the decorations seen about in our travels.  There are a few celebrations that we will possibly check in on.

 

A yummy lunch the other day.  Super Bowl Salad

Today is a very windy, blustery day. The normally beautiful blue sky is clouded by dust coming from Egypt.  A sandstorm of sorts I suppose.  It seems odd to think that Egypt is really only probably 150 miles away.  Still figuring out my geography.  We’ve moved from a fairly short burst of spring weather into what we call summer.  Temps are now in the low 80s and the humidity is on the rise as well.  Today is the first day we’ve turned on the AC.  Previously we’ve been comfortable with the fans to circulate air but not so today.  You can tell tourists are starting to arrive.  There are a lot of people from the UK who own properties here or come here for vacation.  It's a nice break for many from the rainy days.

Below is my effort at Cyprus gardening.  All succulents that require little maintenance.  It's a bright spot on our patio.

Last week was very busy with two days of shopping and facilitating the move of the sisters into their new apartment in Limassol.  It is a lovely apartment, and they are pleased with their new surroundings.  But it was nonetheless a big job to locate and acquire some of the furnishings.  Thankful for Ikea!!

Workers at the move-in.

We continue to be involved in the lives of branch members.  Lucy, a cornerstone of the branch of probably 25 years has had to say goodbye to her only two sons.  Last Friday was the 4-year anniversary of her youngest son’s passing.  She invited us and other missionaries to the cemetery for a memorial of sorts.  We took flowers, sang some hymns and prayed.  That evening the whole branch and others were invited to the church for Marios’ favorite food, games and music.  Let me just say that Filipinos love to party.  She appreciated everyone’s participation in memorializing her son.  Her oldest son was laid to rest in the same cemetery.    Having had that same experience, we were privileged to participate with her at such a tender time.

Sweet Divine is a lovely young lady from the Congo and has lived here for four years.  Again, she made her way here in hopes of a better life.  And yet she works seasonally for such meager wages as a server in a big hotel in Ayia Napa,  which is a huge resort area about 30 minutes away.  We had her come for dinner Sunday and then delivered her to her new job location.  Dropping her off felt like taking my last child to college.  Her living accommodations were very dismal with an assortment of other young women.  Despite what I would consider less than wonderful living circumstances she does not want to return home, even though from all reports her family situation sounds reasonably stable.

Alice from Sierra Leone

Beautiful Roberta from Liberia 

E Kiddle w/ Liberian Bros. Frank, Ben & Stephen

Williams from Nigeria

Sending warm greetings from the beautiful Mediterranean.

Elder & Sister Kiddle