While it may seem like we've been in Guinea for ages, we are only now
reaching the end of our second week of classes. We were originally
supposed to start two weeks before we did, but life (sickness) got in
the way. In the midst of dealing with malaria, starting classes was
NOT very appealing. Our tutor was very gracious and patiently waited
until we were ready to start. Our tutor's name is Samuel, not to be
confused with Pastor Samuel, our host.

One thing that I've had to let go of a little is my love of a
schedule. Nothing makes me feel better than dates and times in a
calendar. I'd go crazy if I felt that I just had to get everything
done on my calendar and to-do list for that day. Life here is very
unpredictable. There is rarely an hour throughout the day when we
don't have guests who drop by. We are still adjusting to that but it
isn't near the shock it was during the beginning weeks. Whatever I was
attempting to do is put aside for an hour or so while we greet our
visitors. We have so many visitors that by the time they leave, I can
think of a hundred things I need to do. This also causes another
problem: I too am expected to go and randomly visit and greet friends.
It's been hard to make time to do this because when we don't have
visitors of our own, I just want to work on homework, correspondance,
home projects, and spend time with the boys!

We are thankful for the training we received before coming here, it
has helped us keep the mindset of a learner and to keep things in a
good perspective. It often helps us from getting frustrated and
instead we try to learn more about why they do what they do.

It's been hard to post with our insanely slow internet, but we will do
our best to post more, even if its only a few lines with a quick
update.

There are more photos to be found at: http://www.flickr.com/norm_debra