Our Super Bowl All-Nighter

The past week has gone well. We are still getting used to all the free time here, especially in the evenings. We have are quickly making our way through the TV shows Lost and 24. We have also been reading some good books, including the Hunger Games trilogy, Twilight books (Allie- who has decided she is Team Edward), and other free books on Amazon for the Kindle. Our Rosetta Stone French version arrived yesterday! We are very excited to be back studying with Rosetta. This will be something else to fill our evenings with.

Next Wednesday our mom's are arriving!!!! We are so excited to have them here and show them our new home. They will be here for 10 days. They are both bringing 2 suitcases with about 3/4 of them full of stuff for us. haha They are so good to us. Our list of things keeps growing as the time nears for them to come too. Please be praying for them next week! They are both a little nervous about the 14 hour plane ride as well as having to change planes in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

We met a new friend last week, Markus. He is a 19 year guy from Sweden. He is in Brazzaville as a volunteer with the Swedish Missionary Church, which is supposedly the largest Protestant church in Brazzaville. He volunteers with the church's soccer ministry and coaches kids each afternoon. We had him and some other friends over for dinner last Saturday evening and also invited him to watch the super bowl with us. He is really fun to hang out with. And Nate and I both love the Girl with the Dragon Tatoos books, so we have been asking him all about the books. haha yeah we are stupid. He said that most people in Sweden have read them because they were such a big hit.

One missionary couple here who has an actual house and a TV with American channels invited us over to watch the Super Bowl. We were so excited to find a place to watch the game. The game started at 12:30 am our time and wasn't over until 4 am. Nate took a nap all Sunday afternoon to prepare for the game. He had to get up and go to work Monday morning. I, Allie, was able to sleep in until 1pm. We had a great time watching the game. Nate was so happy to be watching sports. We watched the game with Markus, the missionary couple Gary and Sharon, and our friend Bret. Bret is a hoot. We love hanging out with him. He is here in Brazzaville working on his dissertation for a PhD from Harvard University. Yeah he is really smart, but not weird or stuck up like one would assume. ha Bret is so animated, outgoing, and funny. He is a die hard Patriots fan which made the game fun to watch with him.

I, Allie, have had a rough past week or 2. I haven't been able to find volunteer activities like I thought I would. I do work with HOPE, but the things I do only take up a few hours during the week. I have been bored, restless, and frustrated. Im kind of a busy body and I don't do bored very well. I have had a few leads which have't worked out. One big disappointment was not being able to work with UNHCR- Refugee section of the UN. I visited their office last week with my resume in hand. I was able to talk with someone who informed me I had to go through the process of applying online through headquarters. They said they did have a volunteer position available, but it had to be filled through the "correct channels." I came home that day to fill out the online application and found out I had to be 25 to volunteer with the UN! I couldn't believe it. It has been a long time since I was told I wasn't old enough to do something. Im going to try to call up there one more time and talk with them, but I don't have much hope. I also have 2 other possibilities that I am waiting to hear from. Anyways, please be praying for me. That God would give me patience and trust in the coming weeks. Pray that God would open a door or lead me to a ministry where I can serve.