Deanna in PakistanFor those of you interested in seeing how Deanna is doing, here is an email that I can share with you that I received today. Hello everybody, I am happy to say that I am doing well here in Karachi, Pakistan. My team has been busy working with a local pastor here who speaks little English. We have been speaking at many churches here in Pakistan, giving testimony, and praying for the people. I must say that the culture here is a bit different than Germany or America. It is a "shame and honor" society rather than a "right and wrong" one. In other words, there's trash everywhere and there seems to be no system to the way things work. We have just been to Hyderabad for 9 days. We visited villages in the desert and experienced some of their craftsmanship, sang the "Bambalayla", and presented the gospel to them. Our time there was short-lived due to the distance of the trip and the communication between our leaders and the pastors. The communication is very frustrating a lot of the times but it has become amusing. There's a group of pastors who worked together during this week and they would talk amongst themselves and then give my team the decision. Mine and Becky's motto has become "whatever, just whatever". It's hard to communicate with the pastor and he'll tell us to do something abruptly w/o explanation or he'll tell the team something as a last minute surprise (like "oh, we have a meeting tonight"). We have learned that plans aren't set in concrete (and if they are, they are still wet), we never really know what's going to happen, and Pakistani time is different than German time. For example, a 4-5 hour car ride became a 5-6 hour car ride which was really a 9 hour car ride! Let's just say that we had a 24 hour trip to the desert--we'll not go there. But we were able to have worship outside a police station! It was so great! 2 of us did not have our passports with us and the police would not let us proceed to the tribes in the desert w/o it. Yes, I was one of the two. The 2 of us and a leader ended up staying at a pastor's house while the rest of the team went on (with 24 people in the van--that's a killer). We enjoyed food, tea, and a lovely nap--my Father loves me! While we were in Hyderabad, we ended up in the back of a police vehicle. We actually had police escorts the whole time while we were there. They escorted us to the church services! This is the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and they were providing "workers" with protection! A couple of the policemen became good friends with 2 of our guys. Joel and Simon were even allowed to hold the machine guns and pose for a picture! We were even allowed to stand up and stick our head out of the top of the back of the police vehicle. I didn't do it because I didn't want to be more dusty than I already was. And we didn't have to pay for a taxi sometimes. Go Father! I am utterly thrilled to tell you that I had a hot shower this morning with a little hose sprayer. It was thought to be unfunctional but it worked for me. The typical method is to use a bucket of water and a cup. It's a hassle to take a shower because you never really feel clean and there's a good possibility that the water could run out. If you want hot water then you have to heat it up with a pan. I was so happy--that was one of the things that I was really looking forward when I got back to Germany--a warm shower. Right now, we have a toilet that you can actually sit on but I did have to endure a squatty potty for 9 days. That's not fun when you're sick and others are sick. And our stomachs are still not completely okay but we have an actual toliet so it's alright. We have our Afghani visas and are working on booking the flight. The plan is go on the 1st of February til the end of February and then spend the last 2 weeks of outreach back in Pakistan. I am hoping to have more access to internet while in Afghanistan. Please continue "talking to our Father" for my team as we are busy and tired so that we can bless and be a blessing. With love, Deanna | 
. It will be a good and busy year. I will be packing in both semesters with 6 classes each as well as 2 this summer. This will be my busiestest school year for me. I know others have been crazy and done 7 a semester. Pray that I stay focused on setting priorities right. God bless you all and to all a good night!! HO HO HO!!!
