...and Nicholas!

Ok, as of my last blog post, I was thinking of birthdays that had already happened in February, but my sister gently pointed out that my nephew Nick's birthday is technically in February, too. It just so happens that he was born in a leap year, and his birthday is February 29th. I wonder if the little drop down categories on important websites always allow you to select the 29th day of February, or if they only let you do so in a leap year. Hmm.

Anywho, he's as cute as a button and I hope he has a great birthday tomorrow, if indeed that's when they're celebrating it. He loves Toy Story, so he will be pleasantly surprised by the present I have waiting for him already at Grammy and Pap's house.

Happy Birthday to Rebekah, Chris, and Kuwait!

We have a lot of February birthdays around, including several of my friends', my niece Bekah's on the 12th, and Chris' on the 14th. This year, a few friends and I bought Chris a new flat-screen TV for his birthday; it was a little tricking having the company deliver and wall-mount it while keeping it a surprise, but I pulled it off! Chris was spoiled this year with a surprise party, two fun weekends of activities, and a big present, but I don't think he minded. More pictures of our adventures are to follow.

This year's National Day celebration is a big one for Kuwait, as the country celebrates its 50th anniversary of independence, its 20th anniversary of liberation from Iraqi forces, and the 5th anniversary of the current Emir being in power. On Tuesday at school, our students showed their Kuwaiti pride by wearing the colors of the flag: red, white, green, and black. On Wednesday, each student wore a dura'a, a tanora (traditional Kuwaiti dresses), or Kuwait colors again. We also had a special Grade 1 luncheon with Arabic food, and a show with performances by different classes. This year, my class did not participate, but maybe we will next year. Here are some of my little divas doing their thing:

We miss your smile

December 18, 2005- one of the best days, ever

As I sit to write a few things about Gram, here in Kuwait is not where I want to be this week, but it’s where I have to be for now. I’ve thought a lot about what I could say if I were there, and there are just too many stories to tell!

Gram was a lady of preparedness. She was always ready for anything and ready to do anything anyone asked of her. 

She was always ready to have fun. I remember more than one time when I got to go to the movies with her when I was little, and she’d whip some “3 Musketeers” bars out of her purse. I think she might have even had two Pepsi’s- never Cokes- and sticks of Wrigley’s spearmint gum for when we were finished. Her handbags might have held anything!

She was also always ready for a sporting event. I can’t count how many of my softball games she came to, or during how many of Kenny’s baseball games I sat next to her in her flashy sun visor and photo-gray lenses. I still feel sorry for some of the refs that made bad calls.

Gram was always prepared to serve others, and never made it seem like an inconvenience, even if it was. She used to go visit one next door neighbor and take her grocery shopping. The only problem was that her neighbor had a large goose that lived in the yard and liked to bite! You knew Gram was going to Flossy’s house if she grabbed an umbrella on her way out the door on a sunny day.  

I think Gram liked to keep a lot of things around just in case she needed them, too. There was a master lock just sitting in one of her kitchen drawers that Christina, Kenny, Lisa and I tried to open for years. We never did open it, she didn’t know the combination for it, and I really don’t know where it has gone to this day. It’s probably still floating around her house somewhere.

Finally, I think Gram was prepared to be with God because she opted to not have surgery or chemotherapy after the news of her illness came. Because she had trusted God with her life, there wasn’t any need for her to have fear in the face of death. The Bible says that, “God showed his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”(Romans 5:8). Gram knew she was a sinner, but she also knew that God is merciful to those that trust in Him to be saved. I have the greatest confidence in saying that she is in Heaven now, because she believed these truths with her whole heart.

Chris and I agree that we will miss the smile and laugh we got from Gram whenever we were coming home for the summer or just coming over to say hi. We know she’s still smiling, and we send our love to you all.

(Written by Stephanie, to be read at her grandmother's funeral)

Gram's Obituary

Sara May Shankle, age 83, of Indiana, went to be with her Lord on Wednesday, February 16, 2011, at her home.

She was born in 1927 in Vandergrift, to Ward C. Fitzgerald and Zella May Mottarn.

Mrs. Shankle was a devoted Christian woman and attended the Bethel Presbyterian Church, where she was a member of the Missionary Society, a church Deacon, a member of the Choir, and taught Sunday School and Vacation Bible School. She was also a member of the VFW Post #1989 Ladies Auxiliary, and was a frequent donor to the Red Cross, earning the "8 gallon" pin.

She enjoyed quilt making, baking, and sewing. Her greatest joy was spending time with her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren, whom she adored. She never hesitated to lend a helping hand to family, friends, or neighbors.

Sara is survived by one daughter and one son, Laird Shankle and wife Cindy, Indiana; Elaine Perkovich, Indiana; four grandchildren, Christina Tew and husband John, Grand Ledge, MI; Lisa Morgart and husband Rex, Centreville, VA; Stephanie Freeman and husband Chris, Salmiya, Kuwait; Ken Shankle and Kristen Bishop, Indiana; two great grandchildren, Nicholas and Rebekah Tew; a brother-in-law Gerald Shankle, Sr. and wife Betty, Indiana; a sister-in-law Alice Fitzgerald, Latrobe; and many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents, by her first husband Kenneth J. Shankle, and by her second husband Ord P. Shankle.

Friends will be received on Friday from 3 to 9 p.m. at the Bowser-Minich Funeral Home, Indiana. Friends will also be received Saturday at the Bethel Presbyterian Church from 10 a.m. to noon, where a funeral service will begin at noon with the Rev. Robert Goossen officiating. Interment will be made in the Oakland Cemetery.

 

Memorial contributions may be made to the Bethel Presbyterian Church, 1470 Bethel Church Road, Indiana, PA 15701, or to the VNA/Hospice, 850 Hospital Road, Suite 3000, Indiana, PA 15701.

from Rex & Lisa's wedding

rejoicing with Jesus

Yesterday afternoon, Sara May (Fitzgerald) Shankle passed away.

My beautiful grandmother has gone, 

after being diagnosed with abdominal cancer seven short weeks ago. 

She's now rejoicing with Jesus, where there's no such thing as cancer.

"This is my comfort in my affliction,

   that your promise gives me life."

some favorite photos

with Chris for his Master's in TESOL degree, May 2008



with her great-grandson, Nick (soon to be 3 yrs old!)



A Story that has Hope

I hope that no one minds me posting about this. I guess I usually do say what I want to about things, anyway.

I like to borrow the subtitle "A Series of Unfortunate Events" when I refer to the process of obtaining a residential work visa in Kuwait. If you don't know that long story, I will tell it to you some other time. I refer to it now to make the point that I had to return to the USA in December to finish some paperwork, which was also a really convenient break to spend Christmas with my family.

In the months (well, really a year or so) leading up to December 2010, I was struggling with the difficulty of this process. I questioned why God couldn't make it easier. On many occasions, I became angry, impatient, and anxious to be finished with everything. And then the school told me I had to travel to the U.S. Yikes.

To my family's surprise, I showed up at my parents' house on December 15th and was able to spend two wonderful weeks with them. During that vacation, I was also able to spend several days with my seemingly healthy grandmother, who is now very ill. Since I was the only one not working then, I was able to take her to the hospital a few times for testing, because the doctors didn't yet know why she was not feeling well and didn't have much of an appetite. My family found out that she has an aggressive type of abdominal cancer a few days after I returned to Kuwait on New Year's Day. In just two short months, her health has digressed to where she is sleeping around 20 hours per day, but thankfully, she is not in any pain. She has elected not to undergo treatments.

While I don't know all of the reasons why God appointed me to go to the States this past December, I am certain that one of them was so I could spend time with Gram. It has been difficult being in Kuwait and not around my family, knowing that I might never be able to see Gram as I have always known her. I'm sad that I am losing her, but at the same time, I have hope because I know I will see her again.

My grandmother is an amazing woman, totally selfless for longer than I've been alive. This isn't because she's just a good person though, it's because of God's work in her heart. I'm confident that I will see her again in Heaven because of her faith in Jesus, and I don't have to worry or have doubts about that.

The bible says, "you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked," (Ephesians 2:1). That applies to everyone. Period. If you are human, you are dead and have no chance of life in Heaven on your own. We've all sinned and our sin is unacceptable to a Holy God. It's like he's a judge and we're the criminals. No matter how big or small our crimes, if he let us get away with them, would he be just? No. The problem is, we can't serve our own "sentence" because we just keep sinning. We have an eternity of sentences because we will never be perfect, and punishment is an eternity in Hell.

"None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God." (Romans 3:10-11)
 "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," (Romans 3:23)
It has to be someone perfect to the serve the sentence, and thankfully, that someone is Jesus.

If you trust in Jesus, your punishment or "sentence" is payed for. That's it. It's that easy. But, trust in Him for what? You have come to terms with the fact that you aren't perfect and you can't be who God wants you to be on your own. You have to tell God that you know no matter how nice you act, you can't earn your way into Heaven, and that's hard to do! If you have faith in Jesus, believing that he payed for your sins through His death on the cross, God will count your sentence as being served. "By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)

When you put your faith in Jesus, you can have total assurance of Heaven. You will never have to doubt whether you are "good enough" to get there. I don't have to doubt that I will be with Him there for eternity, and I don't have to wonder if Gram will be there either, "because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9)

I'm still praying for Gram to be healed, but either way, I still have hope.

What's going on in Egypt?

Do you have 15 minutes or so?

We've been watching the situation in Egpyt a lot on the news, as well as reading various articles on the country's current predicament. We also have some first-hand information on what the political climate is like there from our friend's parents (who are Egyptians living in Kuwait, but had traveled to their house there recently), and we will hopefully have more information soon from our friends that are traveling there. You've probably seen things in the news, too, so what do I have to say about the situation? It's complicated.

Thanks to the 22words blog, I found an easy-to-read article that is pretty understandable; it will give the basic facts about why there are tens of thousands (if not millions) protesting in Egypt: A Short Primer on Egypt Now

Now, what's the U.S. stance on the Egyptian "revolution?" I think that varies according to who's talking, and even with President Obama, it's ambiguous. Generally, one would think that the U.S. would support a new regime of democracy and push away from the current tyranny, sort of like what has taken place in Iraq; however, because of America's interests in the Middle East (especially its relations with Israel), it looks like the U.S. supports the current leader, Mubarak, who just about everyone in Egypt hates.

Egypt is one of the only countries in the Middle East that recognizes Israel as a country. All of the Gulf states (including Kuwait) consider that area Palestine, and support the Palestinian government. If Egypt were to appoint new leadership, the U.S. has no guarantee that the new government would be pro-Israeli, or at least remain neutral, potentially costing the U.S. one of its footholds in the Middle East. Also, if the U.S. is seen as supporting the the president-dictator (now age 83), it speaks against all of our cries for democracy and human rights. If we push for Mubarak to stay, we are essentially speaking against the Egyptian people, and probably angering the other Arab states. That, I think, would be a bad move for America.

Generally speaking, this revolution is about domestic affairs- people's rights to low-cost food, jobs, and less police corruption. I don't think those are terrible things, so you can probably guess where my opinion sits. I might not have quite the scope of information that a foreign policy analyst does, but I can say that living here has certainly shaped my point of view on things!

Caution: The following video contains violence, some swearing, and people in peril.