Walking the Line

Cali’s Birthday

Chris & DeAnn — Tue, 26 May 2009 08:13:15 +0000

Cali turned 10 on March 11th. She had a smallish party at our house. Emmanuel and Carys spent hours making homemade pizza crusts. I think we cooked more than 25. Cami made and decorated the cake.

Sorry for the Long Absence

Chris & DeAnn — Fri, 08 May 2009 06:27:51 +0000

Yes, it has been too long since I wrote a post for this blog. And a lot hes happened. So I will just start where I left off at the last post and try to catch up over the next several days. All posts will be augmented by photos on flickr, because a picture is worth a thousand words.

In Feb. we took a trip with NIC to the snow. Yes, it does snow in Cyprus. For many of the students, domestic workers and refugees it was the first time they had ever touched snow or had ever been that cold. Most had under-dresssed. I still had all my stuff from Germany so I was quite comfortable. Everyone marveled at how hard Chris could throw a snowball.

Basketball

Chris & DeAnn — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 14:06:45 +0000

A couple of Saturdays ago the sun was shining again after a period of rain. We took the opportunity to go over to the kids’ school with some of the international students to play some basketball.

Check out the pics on flikr.

DeAnn’s Birthday Party

Chris & DeAnn — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 06:07:52 +0000

My (DeAnn) birthday was last Tuesday, but my party was the Saturday before. All the better for the surprise. My friend Suzanne was the main organizer, but many of my friends helped out to pull off the surprise.

I actually had no clue that anything was going on until Saturday morning. I was confused when Gosia (you can see her in the pics on flickr) said that she would see me that night when we were leaving soccer. I gave her a strange look so she said it again. Then it hit her and she said “oh no, it was a surprise!” I was very surprised.

What I didn’t know was the extent of the surprise or how much work had gone into preparation and logistics. There were close to 50 people there. They had worked it out so that the prayer meeting would be at our house so all of those people would already be there. Then after the meeting many more of my friends who had been waiting across the street at the church came over. It was so amazing to see how many people came.

Suzy, Katie and Carys had worked for days to prepare all the food. Fajitas, enchiladas, quesadillas, beans, pico de gallo. Making Mexican food for 50 people might not be that difficult in the States but here it takes a super human effort. I hope they understand how much their effort means to me.

How old am I? Even the partygoers don’t know the truth. The girls forgot to buy candles so we looked around our cupboards to see if we had any. I found a number “7″ candle and said that would be fine. Then someone else found 3 regular birthday candles and stuck them in. So those who didn’t already know assumed I was turning 37. The surprise will be on them next year when I celebrate my 40th.

There was a lot of dancing and foosball playing that night. Everyone had a great time. And I was blessed in many ways.

Be sure to check out the photos on flickr.

Merry Christmas

Chris & DeAnn — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 09:56:28 +0000

Yesterday we celebrated Christmas with almost 100 people from around the world. Every year NIC has a potluck lunch at the church hall. It is great for all the students, domestic workers and refugees who would otherwise be alone on Christmas. We are thankful that God has provided us with this amazing church family. I(DeAnn) was in charge of decorations and general organization. Thanks to Cami and Suzy for all their help and to Christie and Madara for helping organize the kitchen. We were needlessly worried that there might not be enough food, but as usual, God provided an abundance, including 3 turkeys (although we did run out of gravy.)

Check out the photos on flickr. And click here for a link to Rick’s blog where you can find a video of everyone.

Mattafix-Things Have Changed

Chris & DeAnn — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 17:29:28 +0000

I (DeAnn) have liked Mattafix since I first heard “Big City Life” when we lived in Germany. This is the latest single. I heard it for the first time yesterday. I really like it.

Prayer Meeting

Chris & DeAnn — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 07:23:16 +0000

I (DeAnn) attend a prayer meeting every Saturday night. Saturday before last we hosted it at our house. It was amazing. 30 people attended, which is the most ever. I kept thinking of the loaves as the fishes as people kept arriving and chairs kept appearing . What a blessing it was to have our house literally packed with believers praising God.

Aunt Lisa

Chris & DeAnn — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 06:28:38 +0000

Sorry it’s been so long since I’ve posted. Chris’ sister Lisa visited us for a week in August. It was kind of a surprise visit because she found out just 3 weeks before her arrival that she would be able to come. It was a real blessing to have her here (and not just because she brought 100 corn tortillas with her.) We had so much fun. After she adjusted to the heat we visited manu parts of the island including Salamis, Aphrodite’s Rock, Ayia Napa and Polis.

We met the Shook family at Salamis. Karsyn Shook is Cami’s best friend. Karsyn was also in the States visiting family so we thought it would be fun for the families to do something together. It was unbelievable hot there.

We stopped by Aphrodite’s Rock on the way to Polis. It is said that this is the exact spot where Aphrodite was born from the sea.

In Polis, we visited a student friend from India. He cooks at an Indian restaurnat there. The owner of the restaurant is a very nice English lady who allowed us to take a ride on one of her boats at no charge. It was quite an unexpected treat. We all agreed that the area around Polis must be what they show in the promo ads for Cyprus. It was really beautiful. On our way home we stopped to encourage another student that was working in a restaurant in a small village near Paphos.

DeAnn and Lisa went clubbing in Ayia Napa (sorry no pictures) with a coupe of friends and had a great time. The whole family went to Ikea to enjoy the a/c and cheap food. We also had friends over and grilled on our patio.

I think Lisa had a good time. We miss her a lot. Check out the pix on flickr.

Salamis

Chris & DeAnn — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:52:52 +0000

“The two of them (Paul and Barnabas), sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and from there to Cyprus. When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as there helper.” Acts 13:4,5

I(DeAnn) just posted the pics from our trip to Salamis on flickr. We went there on the same day we went to Famagusta. I have to say that of all the places I’ve been so far on Cyprus, Salamis is my favorite. I couldn’t get over the fact that Paul had preached the Gospel there. It is so uncommercialized and practically empty that it was possible to imagine what it was like almost 2000 years ago. Please go here and read more about it. It has an interesting history.

Famagusta

Chris & DeAnn — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:43:28 +0000

I’m very behind in posts right now. Katie’s (the Bethel intern) last couple of weeks here were quite busy. I put some pictures of our trip to Famagusta on flickr. The city is filled with ruins from it heyday from the end of the 12th century through the 16th century. The city was sacked by the Ottomans in 1571. That’s why the churches are either in ruins or have been converted into mosques. You can read more about Famagusta here.