Third World Country???

Well it's officially Day 10 here in Duncan and despite rumors, we are still alive! Even though we have been out of communication over the past week and it would seem as though we are living in a Third World country, we are in fact just living in "the country," and everything gets done a little slower around here. We are humbled. Here are some things that are quite a bit different about living in a small town:

• The cable guy only gets out once a week around here. Herego, even though we called last Monday to get our cable and internet hooked up, it will not be hooked up until this Thursday.
• Most restaurants and stores are only open for business on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday. Almost every local store is closed on Sunday.
• Much to our surprise, the church still uses a dial-up internet connection. Currently I am using it. It took 5 minutes to send 1 email. Again, we are humbled.
• Wopsle is currently on a goose chase to get our electricity turned on in our shed (yes, we have a shed). In order to get the electricity turned on he has to go to a sketchy store called "Mr. Lucky's Nuts and Bolts." You try to figure that one out.
• I have almost ripped every single one of my hairs out of my head from the frustration of the traffic lights. They are not smart lights and so when one turns green, you go through it, and the next one is red and you must sit through the full rotation of traffic.

These are just a few of the differences we have noticed so far. Not weird, but different. Now, here are some of the things we love about living in a small town:

• The hospitality. Not only did we have half of the town help move us in, we also received flowers, baked goods, and gifts to welcome us.
• The handshakes. We had a reception after church yesterday and every single member of the congregations came through the receiving line to greet us. We also had a traditional "pounding" (I had never heard of this before) where we received a "pound" of different things to fill our pantry with. Everyone is so generous here!
• The schools. Not only are we allowed on campus during lunch, the principal of the middle school personally thanked us for what we are doing in the lives of students. And she encourages them publicly to get involved in their church!
• The food. Granted that everything is either fried or bbq'd around here, everything is made fresh! Seriously I have been given a great challenge to start cooking, because as of now, I am the odd one out!
• The gas stations. Wopsle and I are gas station snobs so one of the first things we did when we got to town was to scope out a good one. Our favorite is just a block away from our house. It's called Chisholm Corner and there are 6 in the town of Duncan. I personally love this store because of the pellet ice (as they call it here) and styrofoam cups, the Lays Limon chips, and grape BubbleTape. You can't just find that combination anywhere! Each store also has an ice cream self serve with toppings station and heat lamp food, some of Wopsle's favorites! Other gas stations that receive honorable mentions include Dave's Cave, Stripes, and Quik Stop.

We haven't had a lot of experience with the ministry yet because we're still trying to build relationships with parents and students. Last Wednesday night was awesome though and in our prayer times, Wopsle and I really feel like God is setting us up to do some pretty cool things.

We love you all and hope to be in better communication soon! Oh, also our cell phones get poor service down here, so we will be working on changing this too! So many new things to figure out!