c a r e F R E E d: the good news

I have just a few updates on my life recently. First off...dogs! My roommates and I always promised ourselves we would never get dogs where we live. Mostly because it's dirty outside and the dogs always bring the dirt inside. Remember that we don't ever wear our shoes inside our apartments here. Also if we got a dog, the process to get it back to America is really difficult so you'd have to give him away to a friend!

We met a couple of foreign students from the medical school near by one time and ran into them a couple weeks ago. They are cousins from Tampa and will be studying here for 6 years total! Tragically, the girl's parents were killed a couple weeks ago and they were preparing to go back to America when we saw them. They both have dogs and had no idea who could keep them for 2 months while they went home. We had to volunteer!

the bigger one is Fendi and the smaller is Yokie

They aren't exactly trained. So they can't do any tricks AND they use the bathroom inside sometimes. Especially the small one. Yokie is literally the smallest dog I have ever seen. He's about the size of a rat, maybe smaller. My roommate, Meg, and I have been talking about how having a dog can teach you a lot about yourself. It reminds me how selfish I am. I only want to worry about myself and go by my own schedule, but with our new dogs we have a new schedule and a new way to do things!

i like Fendi best!

Harrison and little Yokie

Noah and Fendi meeting for the first time

We've been celebrating Easter here for the last week. I think we had three different Easter egg hunts with different friends. It's been fun to show some of our Asian friends the different Easter traditions we have in America. We also had our own Easter service with our classmates. Chris gave a devotional with one thought I really loved. He said, "The opposite of joy isn't sadness, the opposite of joy is hopelessness." At Easter we are minded that we are never hopeless because Christ died and rose again.

Sometimes I can relate with this verse...

"I am worn out waiting for your rescue, but I have put my hope in your word."
Psalm 119:81

Even though I might be going through a season of sadness or uncertainty or doubt, I can still put my hope in the Lord. Because of the perfect gift of salvation, I have joy! He doesn't promise us we won't go through hard times but he promises he'll come with us.

Since there aren't churches nearby I was missing the traditional Easter service. I was wishing I could have Easter in a building like this...