We Survived!

September 5^th marked our one year anniversary of moving to Abu Dhabi and what a year it was. Times of utter joy and grief-stricken pain balanced our lives quite well.  We have learned and grown more in one year than we have in half a decade combined. God has humbled our hearts and stirred us to trust in Him to satisfy our every desire. We have learned what it means to be patient and to wait on God’s timing. We have learned how to discipline ourselves and to raise a child in the ways of the Lord. We have cultured ourselves to live among a melting pot of nations and engage a multitude of social differences from all walks of life. We have felt what it’s like being the minority and how the world doesn’t revolve around us as “Americans”.  I quote that on purpose as if we are unaware there were more than 50 other countries included in “America”. Ok, off the soap box.  I say that to emphasize an egocentric veil has been lifted from our eyes.  We no longer think from a Western perspective. A global surrounding has helped us aim our thoughts and considerations to a Godly, divine angle. We know many Westerners who came over the same time we did who are no longer living here because they refused to change their outlook and their personal beliefs hindered their adaptation to the culture. We came with very open minds and were willing to change our lives in order to soak everything this wonderful place has to offer. Without flexibility, it is IMPOSSIBLE to survive here. We learned that very quickly. Even with our increasingly resilient flexibility, it took nearly 4 or 5 months for the culture shock to wear off. The entire month of September was a fog and we were still making monthly border runs to Oman through October and November. To this day, Michelle still doesn’t have an ATM card. Part of…ok most of that is my fault, but everything goes through different process here than it does back in the Western world and you really only have the energy to go through a process once here. We survived though. We survived driving in the circles of death, the 135 degree heat, and the sandstorms. We survived and excelled, I would say. We had Arab coworkers who complimented on how well we have adapted and grown through the course of the year.  Many locals bragged on how well Braxton has done as well. We look forward to year 2 and all it will hold. We hope to engage the culture even more this year and improve our Arabic language skills. Now, we were asked many questions and absorbed many critical comments. We want to address the most common questions we were asked. If you have any other questions, please comment below. We answer with honesty and transparency.  

 

 

Question: Do you feel safe over there?

Answer: We absolutely feel safe. It is incredibly secured here. The government does a great job to protect the integrity of the country.

 

Q: What do you do over there?

A: We are currently both teachers. Michelle teaches in a Montessori Nursery (Pre-School) in a French-English class. She has a co-teacher who teaches the kids in all French and Michelle teaches in all English. She really enjoys it and she enjoys her co-teacher. I teach local Emirati middle school students. Last year I taught English in Grade 6. This year I am back in my expertise teaching Math in Grade 6.

 

Q: Do you guys make good money?

A: We are satisfied with our pay. The pay and benefits are more than what we could make in the U.S. Since our accommodations are paid for, we have been able to pay off a lot of student loans and should be debt-free in the next few months. This couldn’t have possibly been accomplished in the next 10-15 years in the U.S. We are extremely thankful and blessed to have this opportunity. We are excited to be able to give more to others now our hands won’t be tied to student loan debt.

 

Q: How long are you going to stay?

A: Our contract is completed after two years and we have an option to extend the contract annually. Currently, we are simply trusting in God to lead us. We don’t know the exact plans He has for us. We have an incredible opportunity to serve in a new Church Plant that will hopefully launch later this year. So we will see what God has in store for us with the amazing body of believers. We are open to teaching for as long as we can. This place is not really a place you can retire to. Once you are out of work, your VISA expires and it’s time to go home. So we know we can't stay for too long. We just want to completely obey the will of God. We have human desires and ideas. Some may align with His will and others won’t. And that’s okay. It's all in His hands.

 

Q: How have you adjusted to the heat?

A: You don’t adjust to the heat haha. It is miserable 9 months of the year and pleasant December-February. It was funny to think the other day it actually felt nice when it was 105 degrees out! The winter gets down to a cool, 75-80 degrees. It is fabulous! It’s funny though because most people are used to the extreme heat so when these temps come, it’s fairly chilly to them so all the stores start selling ear muffs, scarves, and fur jackets. We walk around in our summer clothes and just smile.

 

Q: What is the hardest thing you dealt with?

A: The most challenging time we had, apart from dealing with the language barrier and challenging processes, was fighting constant sickness, injury, and loss. From kidney stones to viruses to loss of a child, we were always battling with trials. It’s part of why we know we are supposed to be here. The enemy was constantly throwing flaming darts at us. Thankfully, we were surrounded by a Godly community who know how to bear our burdens and point us to the promises of God which increased our faith and helped us through challenging times.

 

Q: What is the most memorable moment you had?

A: My most memorable moment was shared in an earlier blog where I talked about sharing a dinner with my Arab coworkers at a park and drinking tea to the early hours of morning talking about life and our God. It’s a moment I’ll never forget and has influenced how I live here. I also really enjoyed breaking a fast (Iftar) during Ramadan with an Emirati (by way of Bahrain) family that we are friends with. Michelle’s most memorable moment was a three-way tie. Her most valuable moment was the Iftar Dinner with our Bahraini-Emirati friends. Her most fun moment was our trip to Thailand with our great friends-the Rackley’s. The most pleasurable memory was our Christmas trip to Le Sifah and Muscat, Oman. Braxton said he likes all the friends he made: at school, TGIFriday’s with Madam Mitch and all the friends there (it’s also where we initially met Graham and Griffin Rackley), “Mall Church” and “Zoo Church”, his friends in our neighborhood (including Miss “Lissa”), Maddie and our friends from Alabama, and every other special person he has befriended. He also likes to ride camels and frequent Mushrif Mall to get kinder eggs.

  

Q: What did you miss from the States?

A: We missed our family, deeply. We missed cookouts. We missed the 4^th of July. We missed football (the real kind, American Football). We missed sweet tea (my mom has been gracious to send us packets of cold-brew in the mail occasionally). We missed Zaxby’s, Chicfila, and Waffle House. We missed cooler weather and Fall in the north Georgia mountains. We missed country hills and fluffy clouds. We MISSED THE RAIN! I miss coaching sports and refereeing basketball. There are many things we miss about the States, but there are many things here we have been happy to learn to use as replacements like traveling to Dubai to go skiing inside of a mall and learning to like cricket and soccer.

 

 

Q: What are your living arrangements like? Do you live on a compound?

A: We live in a high-rise apartment where many expats live, but it is not limited to a particular demographic and it’s not in a compound. We are free to come and go as we wish. It’s just like living in Urban America. There are thousands upon thousands of taxis, cars and other modern modes of transportation.

 

Q: Is it expensive to live there?

A: Overall, we save more than we would in the States. There are some things where demand is not high here so it is more expensive. Most fruits and vegetables are imported from other countries but remain relatively cheap. There isn’t any regulation on anything either, so one day we might pay $20 for a box of strawberries and the next day it might not be available or it may cost $3. Cereal, peanut butter, and other “fake” stuff is a lot more pricey. The tradeoff here is that most everything is super fresh without any processing and those things are relatively inexpensive. Local fish markets allow for cheap fish and seafood.

The cost of living is considerably high (compared to where we have lived). A 3 bedroom villa out of the city could cost you around $5,000 USD. Granted, most of the time those accommodations are paid for by the employers. Fuel, at the moment, is similar to the cheaper prices you see in the States.  

 

Q: Do you like it?

A: We love it. We have grown closer as a family. We have made many friends who we sincerely enjoy. We have found a wonderful church family we have engaged with and are striving side by side with one mind and one sprit to grow in faith of the Gospel. We love the culture. We love the options of adventure. There are some negative aspects we wouldn’t prefer, but overall we are satisfied with where we are at. We work EXTREMELY hard when we are on the job so we compensate by enjoying the life Abu Dhabi, the UAE, and the MENA region has to offer. We look forward to experiencing more this upcoming year.

 

A question I have for you…Would you consider opening your perspective and allowing us to give you a glimpse at this wonderful culture? Allow us to give you a change of heart towards Islam and to the Arab Culture. We’d love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions you may have. We’d love to send mail and pictures. We’d especially love and covet your prayers. This year will be different than last year. It is certainly more purposeful already. Let us know you read this and make sure to subscribe below. Let us know if you want to hear more about our experiences here.

 

God bless!

 

First visitor to Abu Dhabi (even though on a business trip)

Braxton is collecting rocks from every country we visit.

Business Trip for Kevin but thankful we got to see him

View from swimming deck of our first day here

Thanksgiving Dinner with friends

Christmas with our favorite crew

Eugene and B

Malia

Santa in Abu Dhabi

Ski Dubai

I have taken up a hobby of dunebashing with the Pajero

One of many visits to ER and surgery

Best Neighbor

Measure differently when altering

Our favorite crew

Nightscape from our balcony

Old friends from Savannah, neighbors in AD

Colin and Jessica

Egyptian Style

Scuba in Thailand

Sunday Market in Thailand

The blondies from America

 

Faith Triumphs In Trouble

I almost had a free day. Braxton was going to go play all day at a friend’s house. Hmmm, what would I do with a whole day to myself while Zach was at work and Braxton playing? I could work out. Nah, did that yesterday. I could go swim. Nah, too hot for that (literally). I could sit down with a cup of my new favorite coffee that I stole from Zach and read some from my Bible that I finally brought back from the states. Oh well, it didn’t matter now. He wasn’t going.

But I decided to not let that stop me. For there is always a battle going on. Always something trying to catch my attention and keep me occupied with something other than spending time with my beloved Savior. The One that died for me. The One that rose again and sits at the right hand of the Father, waiting earnestly for me to set everything aside and spend some time with him.

So that’s what I’ll do.

And that’s what I did.

And whoa. Did I find some encouragement. The miscarriage seems to have finally ended and I am ready to move on.  This morning was encouraging nonetheless and I am hopeful that it will encourage any of you that might be reading this message who call themselves “Followers of Christ” and are going through a trial. Big or small. Read on, dear brothers and sisters!

My struggle (and maybe yours) with reading my Bible is I never really know where to start. Do I just flip it open and see where it lands? Do I pray for maybe a scripture to come to mind and then start there? Or do I begin like any other book and start on page 1? Today I decided to open it wherever it landed. I flipped to Romans 5 and began reading. The label of this chapter was “Faith Triumphs in Trouble.” I looked over and Zach happened to have his Bible Commentary (Bible study tool) sitting right beside where I was sitting. I grabbed that and opened to Romans chapter 5 also. Took a sip of the yummy coffee, and began reading.

This passage talks about us being justified through faith. Sometimes big, religious words like “justified” can be easy to read and then skip over and keep going. But I think it’s important to stop when we get to those words and figure out just exactly what does that mean? What does it mean to be justified? Webster’s explains it like this: Declared or made righteous (morally right) in the sight of God. Now. That is huge. To be made morally right in the sight of God is a BIG thing! For the God of the universe to look down to me and anyone else that has put their trust in God for their eternal life and He tells me I’m “justified”. This is huge and should strike us as overwhelming. Which, for me, it does.

While that truth weighed heavy this morning, there was more! Romans chapter 5 verse 3-4 says “And not only that, but we also glory (take price or pleasure in) in tribulations, knowing that tribulation (our troubles) produces perseverance (doing something despite difficulty); and perseverance produces character; and character produces hope.” Go ahead, read that again- very slowly paying attention to the definitions I’ve put in quotations.

Now. I’ve seen this verse before. I’ve read it. And I’ve been encouraged by it in the past because ultimately it means that our troubles ultimately will produce a good character- for me that is the character of God. What I am always striving to have and to be like- the character of my King. I flipped over to look at the commentary on what exactly it had to say about these two verses. It says this... That we don’t so much “glory” in the present discomfort as in their eventual result. What an ah-ha moment for me. It’s okay not to “enjoy” the hard times, which is what I think I’ve thought I was always supposed to do. “I need to be happy my husband lost his job for teaching about character because it will produce a Christ-like character in me.” “I need to be happy that I’ve lost this baby because I know there is a greater purpose and it will make a great character in me.” Sure, there was happiness in knowing it was for a great purpose, but man was it hard for him to lose that job and man was it hard to lose this baby. But I almost had a sense of guilt that I was not “happy” about the situation. What a release and weight off my shoulders to see in scripture that it’s okay to not glory (take pleasure in) in the present discomfort, as long as we are “glory-ing” in the eventual results! Beside this part in the commentary, it had a reference to Hebrews chapter 12 verse 11. So, I flipped over to it. It reads, “Now, no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” It’s so true. No chastening seems like a pleasurable thing at the moment! But if we can push through, push through the season, it will produce righteousness (good, worthy, upright, justifiable). An English Christian Theologian named Leslie Weatherland said once, “Like all men I love and prefer the sunny uplands of experience, where health, happiness, and success abound, but I have learned far more about God and life and myself in the darkness of fear and failure than I have ever learned in the sunshine. There are such things as the treasures of darkness. The darkness, thank God, passes. But what one learns in the darkness one possess forever.”

Wow. That is great stuff. And I’m so thankful I decided to sit down this morning and read, be encouraged, and learn. So those of you who call yourselves Followers of Christ, do not be discouraged when trials and hard times come. It’s okay to not take pleasure in the pain during the painful times, but it is important to focus on the outcome and realize that this for your (and my) good. To make us more like Christ. Which is our ultimate goal. And while we know we will not achieve this goal until we are in Heaven with Him, once we become followers of Jesus, there becomes this desire in us to be just like Him. Kind of like our sons, because they love their daddys so much, want to be just like them when they grow up. (Except for Braxton who I just asked and he said no, he wants to be like a big dinosaurJ)

If you know me well enough, you know I love music. So many times God will remind me of a song I know to encourage me. It’s crazy how it happens. All of a sudden I’m just singing this song and I realize, “hey! this is exactly the Truth I needed to hear right now!” So as I was gathering all my thoughts together to type this up, I was reminded (and started listening to) of a song called Sovereign Over Us. Sovereign simply means “in control”. So for us to say God is sovereign- God is in control.

I encourage you to go to YouTube, type in Sovereign Over Us, and listen to the song. It’s so encouraging. But first, read the words…

There is strength within the sorrow
There is beauty in our tears
And You meet us in our mourning
With a love that casts out fear
You are working in our waiting
You're sanctifying us
When beyond our understanding
You're teaching us to trust

Your plans are still to prosper
You have not forgotten us
You're with us in the fire and the flood
You're faithful forever
Perfect in love
You are sovereign over us

You are wisdom unimagined
Who could understand Your ways
Reigning high above the Heavens
Reaching down in endless grace
You're the lifter of the lowly
Compassionate and kind
You surround and You uphold me
And Your promises are my delight

Even what the enemy means for evil
You turn it for our good
You turn it for our good and for Your glory
Even in the valley, You are faithful
You're working for our good
You're working for our good and for Your glory

I’ve attached a picture for your enjoyment. Because through all of this study this morning, I had a precious 4yr old playing dinosaurs and firetrucks in the background because he didn’t want to go play with his friend all day long. J

Survival of the "Un"fittest- Z

      UGHHH!!!! Have you ever wandered off somewhere in search of something for a really long time and realized it was right under your nose? Unbelievable…Anyways, I’ll get to that story in a few minutes. I need a large cup of joe before I can relive that headache. It’s 6 in the morning here in Dubai and the breakfast buffet is hot and ready…Hold on, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, coffee.  We are heading back home today. I guess it’s home. Abu Dhabi-We are going back to Abu Dhabi after breakfast to begin year two of this incredible journey.  We spent the last 30 days in the States for vacation with family and friends and are back in the Emirates. It’s strange, but it really does feel like home. Of course we miss the mess out of our family and our really close friends. We hate to leave them and deprive them from seeing Braxton for an entire year.  However, we know we are supposed to be here and God has a GREAT purpose to use us in Abu Dhabi and the United Arab Emirates.

(Edit- 12 days later…) Our time in the States was refreshing at times and tiring at others. It took a solid week to adjust and to defeat our jet lag. During that time, we were also preparing for my sister’s wedding to be held one week after our arrival. We didn’t have time for naps during the day so we just went to bed early (2100) and slept in really late (8 or 9 is really late for us haha).  We spent some good time catching up with family the first week. Spent some time fishing, swimming, and riding through the country side smelling the fresh fragrance of cow manure and chicken houses…ahhhhhhhh…so invigorating. Nothing quite like it could remind us so fervently of our upbringing and good ole southern ‘Murica! I don’t like country music that much, but it’s what Dixie Land is all about and it helped me feel welcome again on United States of “America(n)” soil, as we cruised through the rolling pastures of unwilted, green grass. 

     You know what else Dixie Land is all about? Eating…a lot…a lot of finger-lickin, “slap yo grandma” succulent food.  We missed devouring the ‘All-Star Special’ at WAFFLE HOUSE and the ready-made quesadillas and tacos filled with mystery meat from TACO BELL. We missed Southern home-made biscuits (not cookies) and gravy with all the breakfast fixins from Cracker Barrel, Bojangle’s and “hole-in-the-wall” types like PAT’s PLACE. We missed the mouthwatering platters of barbecue, drenched in an array of delectable BBQ sauces. Most of all we missed the irresistible, irrefutable, world-class chicken shacks in ZAXBY’s and CHIC-FIL-A. I literally gained 15 pounds in the month we were back! We were constantly meeting friends and family out for breakfast, lunch, and dinner EVERY day. We enjoyed every bit of it, though, and wouldn’t have changed a thing for this trip.

 

We treasured all the priceless time we had with our loved ones. We appreciate all those who took the simple time out of their lives to come and enjoy a simple meal with our little family.  It was uplifting to see who really had an interest and investment in us when we lived Stateside. So thank you for dedicating your time to spend with us. We are thankful for our family in Georgia, Michigan, Illinois, and (now) Alabama who spent time with us and paid for our meals and blessed Braxton with so many things. We our thankful for the Stellhorn’s who graciously housed us and the Mann’s who were willing to host us in Savannah. We are thankful for our former co-workers, my former students and their families who shared a picnic in the park with us, and our loving former neighbors who showed their love and support by spending anywhere from half an hour to half a day catching up on life. We are thankful for the Savannah friends (some who even skipped work) who chowed down at Asian River and famous BBQ joints.  We are thankful for our friends who drove ALL the way up from Florida to spend a few hours with us. We are thankful for great friends in Chattanooga who we adore. We are thankful for great friends/mentors in Woodstock/Metro-ATL who poured into our lives and have continued to pour into our lives over the years. We are thankful for our friends in Statesboro to help us relive El Sombrero. We are thankful for our friends who fattened us up in Calhoun and shared their recent stories of life with us. We are thankful for our friend in Hinesville who, along with his bride, will be joining us soon in the UAE inshallah ;). We are thankful for our parents for continuing to nurture us while we were under their roof. We are thankful for them for changing their lifestyles for a month so we would feel welcomed, comfortable, and loved. We are thankful for Golden Treasures who helped us sell our cars and the remains of any leftovers we once had (haha). We are so thankful for each and every one of you. I hope we didn’t forget anyone! We are thankful for those who wanted to come, but just physically couldn’t. We are loved! It was a good trip to forget about everything else and just enjoy spending quality time with people. Sure, it was hectic at times like when you’re being led astray by your GPS on a dirt road through the backwoods of Athens (GA) while an entire wedding party (+) is waiting for the one who is supposed to lead prayer for the rehearsal and dinner. Whoops! In all seriousness, it was good to be around loved ones who we had been away from for so long.

(Edit: Mood changing) As enjoyable as it was to vacation in the States and as hard as it is to say this in front of loved ones, we are super excited to be back in the U.A.E.  We are enthusiastic about serving God alongside some dear brothers and sisters to advance His kingdom in Abu Dhabi. We are passionate about reaching out to those around us and displaying a love and grace they’ve never experienced before. We are excited to lead those who are thirsty to the fountain of living water that won’t run dry. God has us here for a reason and our priority in life is to make much of Him, because it’s ALL about HIM. We want to satisfy and honor HIM. Our love and affection is fixed upon HIM. Our passions and desires come from HIM. EVERYTHING we do in life is for HIM, by HIM, in HIM, through HIM, to HIM, and with HIM. It’s hard to serve a bigger purpose than ourselves. It’s hard to disappoint loved ones who want nothing more than us to be closer geographically, but ultimately, we know God is leading us every step of the way on this incredible journey of faith and our heart-satisfaction comes only through the full surrender of our lives to a God who gave everything He had because He LOVES us. We are unqualified, UNFIT, and underrated for the mission at hand, but we are unscathed because we understand the fullness of God’s glory and His imputed righteousness in us is what enables us to do the impossible. If God is for us, who can stand against us? We know trials will come. They already have.  

1-We arrived at the Dubai Airport around 2300 on the 9^th of August. By the time we cleared customs, got our 6 bags of luggage, hired a car, and drove in circles around Dubai for 2 hours (inaccurately led by TWO navigation systems), we finally arrived at our hotel (which was LITERALLY a rock’s throw from the terminal) at 0230 in the morning. We slept until 1730 that night, apart from constantly attending to (2-)vomiting from Braxton. Our phones were dead and we blew out the entire room’s electricity when we attempted to plug in the refrigerator. Welcome back!

A view from the hotel

3-After returning to Abu Dhabi, I took the rental car to ‘Khalifa City A’ (That’s the actual name of the city. There used to be ‘Khalifa City B’, but several years ago the name was changed to Shakhbout City)…I don’t remember why I was in KCA. Maybe I bought something online and was meeting someone or…I don’t even know. Regardless, you know those little parking curbs that stop you from pulling too far into the parking spot? (WHY don’t manufacturers of family-size sedans and the manufacturers of those concrete parking curbs COLLABORATE so your tires are what’s being stopped and not the bumper and undercarriage of your car???) Anyways, I realized I wasn’t in our full-size Pajero that could plow through the parking curb, leaving a full glass of water intact, SOOOOOOOOOOOO I inched (would you say centimetered if you use the metric system?) the little sedan up, careful not to pull too far. All was well. No bumps. I felt nothing. Oh, I know why we were there now. Braxton had a dentist appointment and I went to pick something up from a little market while I was waiting for Michelle and him to finish. Anyways, I began to back up and a bloodcurdling screech came from underneath the car. I continued to back up and swallowed the lumps in my throat as I watched bystanders contribute to my embarrassment. I withdrew from the parking lot and pulled off to the side of the road to assess the damage. The bumper had been partially tugged off and the undercarriage was destroyed. Long-story-short: We turned an hour trip into an all-day affair after calling the rental company, waiting for the road-side assistance to issue our report, picking a friend up from the airport, and then returning the car. Welcome back!

4-Michelle learns she might have to have surgery (update: she doesn’t, Thank God!) for her miscarriage.

5-We lost a child.

6- ***Let’s backtrack to a year ago…The first, full day we were here, I had an episode of kidney stones and had to be rushed to the hospital. We didn’t have insurance yet so we had to pay out of pocket. We didn’t have any idea who to talk to, where to go, or what to bring (not that we had really anything to bring). We didn’t know what to expect. We felt out of place. After I recovered a day or two later, I was plagued with an abysmal virus that persisted for nearly 3 weeks. Not too much longer after I recovered from that, two more episodes of kidney stones “blessed” me with their presence, followed by a couple of excruciating procedures to rectify my health issues. This occurred while I was still facing the fire of teaching in a foreign culture and adjusting to a complete life change.

7. Temptations have multiplied exponentially since our arrival.

 

     Do you think it’s a firm sign we are meant to be here? Ha, I do. God is faithful. God is faithful. He works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose. God is faithful. He’s so faithful. In our weakness, He is strong. Consider it this way, regardless of your religious background or beliefs…If you never tasted defeat or challenges, the victories in your life would be insignificant, valueless. If you never lost, you wouldn’t truly understand how good it feels to win. We experience trials in our walk with God, to share the richness of His glory and victory we have over death when we place our faith and trust in Him. Suffering for the sake of the Gospel makes it much sweeter when we are flooded with His endless abundance of mercy, grace, and love. It’s worth it, because He is worth it. Amen.

     Well guys and gals, thanks for tuning in. Our 1 year anniversary post will be coming soon where we’ll discuss how we’ve adjusted to the culture, recap highlights of our first year, and answer the common questions we’re always asked by those from the States who are interested in our journey.

***Please make sure to subscribe and comment below to let us know you’re here. We’d love to hear your thoughts, encouraging remarks, questions, or concerns.***



Pilot Braxton and his passengers

With cousin Gabby

Cousin Connor

Cousin Bailey

AHHHHHHHH RAIN!

Back on the prettiest little campus in the USA

True Blue GSU

We even miss clouds!

Revelation 21:4

This is short. And very open. But sometimes writing it out can help us. And that’s just what I’ve done.

Warning: If you are my mother or mother-in-law, it’s probably best to skip this blog entry for the simple fact that you ladies are just as emotional as I am J

 

I got on the computer to do some studying, not write another blog. But here I am. Typing away with all of these thoughts flooding my mind. A dear friend came over this morning for our kids to play together, Along with her two older children, she brought her 6mo son. Her sweet, cooing, smiling, 6mo son. Alive and well. I couldn’t help but feel a bit of sadness overcome me as I watched her kiss his sweet chunky cheeks, nurse him, and hear his sweet cry as he tried to fight his nap. This. I wanted this. I had this growing in me. And now it’s gone. In Heaven. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror holding him as I walked to another room but couldn’t stop and look, for fear that I might just break down. I wanted to my holding my baby. The one that was in my belly not too long ago.

I went to the grocery store to buy some more ingredients for our green smoothies. Even though I am not growing another child at the moment, the hormones in my body still think I am, somewhat. And the bloating has not disappeared and it feels like it isn’t going anywhere. Not to mention all the fried comfort foods we devoured over the past four weeks in the states. I took a walk down the baby isle, just because. Just because I was by myself. The pacifiers, the rattles, the diapers and wipes, the bottles, the nursing supplies, it all stared at me. Staring in a distance of something, someone, I almost had.

Sadness. A feeling that was created. A feeling that is okay to feel. So in this moment, I am sad. But in some strange way, only possible by the Lord, I am able to feel sad about losing our sweet Gallman #2, but eternally joyful in the promise that one day there will be no more sadness. There will be no tears streaming from my face because the Creator of the Earth, galaxy, and universe will wipe them all away.

                                                ______________________________________

So faithful. So constant. So loving and so true. So powerful in all you do. You fill me. You see me. You know my every move. You love for me to sing to You.

I know that you are for me. I know that you will never forsake me in my weakness. I know that you have come down, even if to write upon my heart. To remind me, who You are.

So patient. So gracious. So merciful and true. So wonderful in all You do. You fill me. You see me. You know my every move. You love for me to sing to You.

I know you are for me. I know that you are for me. I know that you will never forsake me in my weakness. I know that you have come down. Even if to write upon my heart. To remind me.

That I know that you are for me. I know that you are for me. I know that you will never forsake me in my weakness. I know that you have come down even if to write upon my heart. To remind me who you are.

-Kari Jobe

Back in the Sandbox!

What an adventure these past few months have been! I’m not quite sure where I left off last time, but I believe we were counting down to head back to the states for our summer vacation! What a trip this has been! Let’s start with the sad and end with the happy…

In May we found out we were expecting Baby Gallman #2! Zach and Braxton had been begging for another little one to add to the family so I figured I would join the bandwagon J The timing worked out perfect because the miserable sickness hit right at my last week of work before summer break. I spent that week doing my best to get to work before noon and trying to make it until 2pm when I could head home. I had an incredibly understanding manager and co-teacher who always responded to my texts with “take your time…” I’m not sure what I would have done had I needed to continue to work throughout the summer. Just like with Braxton, this sickness was debilitating. Lifting my head off of my pillow was the most difficult thing, not to mention having to bring Braxton to school and go to work myself. After about two weeks it began to subside. I was still nauseated, but it was manageable as long as I stayed on top of the hunger. I thought it was strange that I was so sick with Braxton and had started to become sick with this one, but then it just subsided out of nowhere. I had some minor cramping on my left side but after googling, speaking to others, and speaking to my MD, I decided it was just a normal pregnancy thing and let it be- even though I never experienced it with Braxton… Every pregnancy is different, right? I went to my first appointment and was so excited to have an ultrasound! To my surprise, there was no heartbeat… but my doctor said to not be concerned as everything looked normal, I was still very early in the pregnancy, and to come back in two weeks before we head to the states to check for the heartbeat. The next two weeks went by and we started to get very excited for our trip coming up!! We were traveling back to the states for the first time since we left! My next doctor appointment came and I was excited to hear this heartbeat and get on with visiting my family! The doctor had an emergency surgery to leave for right in the middle of my appointment, so we waited for three hours in her office until she returned. They offered us to leave and reschedule but I just couldn’t travel without hearing #2’s heartbeat. Much to my surprise, when she began the ultrasound, I knew immediately something was wrong. It was empty. There was no small “blueberry” as I had read. And much more than that, no heartbeat. We decided to do some labs and see if my HCG (pregnancy) levels were up. I left super sad that day, but much to my surprise, Zach was fine. He was believing it was still too soon to hear a heartbeat. He had no concerns and I chose to believe as he did. The next morning I received a called from the doctor to say that my levels were 13,000 and while that number is good, there should have been a heartbeat and she proceeded to tell me I would miscarry. We discussed my options and I decided that just like with Braxton’s birth, I would let me body do what it is supposed to do. Terrified. Scared. Sad. Angry. Questioning. So many emotions. Was she really correct? Or was God going to pull a miracle? This was one of those times that I WANTED to be wrong and my husband be right!! We were leaving for the states in 5 short days and while I wanted to be excited for the trip, I couldn’t help but just be sad. We had already told Braxton he was going to be a big brother. We had already shared it on Facebook! 4 days later (one day before we left) I took it upon myself to see another doctor to have my HCG (pregnancy) levels tested again. Much to my surprise, it was over 100,000!! My levels were increasing! This could only mean this was a healthy pregnancy, right?! It was enough to give me some hope to be excited and continue my happiness of packing and getting ready for our big flight the next morning. We made the flight and landed happily and safely in good ole Atlanta! Days turned into weeks and still the miscarriage was not happening. Maybe everything was fine? The tough part was my medical insurance only covered in the UAE, not in the US so I really didn’t want to go to a doctor unless it really was an emergency. After waiting for three weeks and nothing happening, I decided to take advantage of our travel insurance and put my mind at ease and went to the emergency room. To our disappointment, the ultrasound confirmed our worst fears. It looked the same as it did the first ultrasound. Empty. No heartbeat. Sad. Not many other words could describe what I had felt in my gut from the second ultrasound. Sometimes, you just know. As much as I didn’t want to believe it, my gut told me otherwise. Finally the miscarriage began and it is now beginning to complete itself. I can’t even begin to express my thanks to everyone who prayed for/layed hands on us, left comments on Facebook, asked God with us to give this baby a heartbeat, sent me private messages, and encourage us during this sad season. Many people have asked if I could go back would I still post it on Facebook so soon? My answer, yes. Those first few weeks were so joyous and I was so happy to have so many people sharing in our joy as we were so excited to announce our second baby. And when the miscarriage was confirmed, the amount of encouragement was incredible and had we not already announced, I don’t know if we would have had such a great outpouring- simply because not everyone would have known. And if we get pregnant again, I will announce early once again. Braxton is doing well, knowing he will see his sibling in Heaven one day and finally get to see if it was a boy or girl J Zach and I are doing well also. The sadness comes in waves, but for the most part we are doing fine. Am I angry with God for taking our baby? Not at all. For His plans are FAR better than ours and He sees the whole picture. We are resting in His promise that He is sovereign (completely in control) and only does things for our good. We know and believe that nothing catches Him by surprise and this was planned before even the foundation of the Earth. I was thankful to be with my family during this time and thankful that nothing happened on the airplanes. I am being open and vulnerable because through typing it out and talking about it, it helps me through this time. I also am being open about it because when all you see are Facebook pictures, it’s probably easy to think that our lives are all joyous and easy living here. And while we have endless joy because of our King, we are still human and have struggles of our own. I’ll end this portion of the blog post by quoting what a dear friend encouraged me with… “I am so sorry your babies time was so short on earth, but what more could we want as parents than for ultimately our children to be with their maker and Father?”

GEORGIA! 4 weeks of GEORGIA! 4 weeks of Chick fil A, Zaxbys, Waffle House, and Taco Bell! Oh, and family too J Really though, I was SO good to see all of our family! Braxton thoroughly enjoyed being with the grandparents (and currently withdrawing from sugar and 24/7 attention). We spent most of our time in our hometown, Calhoun, but ventured down to Savannah to see some great people and enjoyed catching up with everyone. Our first weekend was a wedding weekend where we saw Britt (Zach’s sister) and her fiancé become one! We spent most of our trip planning lunch and dinner dates with friends and family and while it was a great time catching up, it was so busy! We took one day and ventured up to the mountains to an apple orchard and had some super yummy fresh apple pies and apple fritters (mmmm). Which also brings me to the point that we gained so. much. weight. in four weeks!! I won’t post on here how much, but let’s just say we are also detoxing from fried, processed American food (but boy was it good!) Saying “see you laters” are never easy and it was an emotional farewell back to the Sandbox. We spent an 8-hr layover in Germany exploring, and after almost missing our flight back, it was a really cool visit. We ended up on the wrong train, as in, it was going to the airport but we had the wrong ticket. The guy was graceful and let us continue to the airport (a 10 minute ride) on the long-distance sleeper train! We spent two days in Dubai at our hotel and literally didn’t leave until we came back to Abu Dhabi because we were just sooo tired. But I have never been so happy to pull up to our apartment complex and come into our home. And our bed has never felt so good. We unpacked the next day and have been enjoying our restful time back. We have about two more weeks before the school year begins! Braxton starts “big school” this year and we are so excited to see how he does! We are slowly getting over the jet lag and I think in a few more days, we will be good!

I’m sure there is more that I am forgetting as this seems much shorter than I had imagined. I know Zach is working on his blog so hopefully he will fill in the gaps I am forgetting.

Until next time…

Love to all from Abu Dhabi!