Our last month

February is finally here meaning that we have only month left in th village. The time is really flying by. Our neighbors have been really sweet to us lately as they've realized how little time we have together. People have been inviting us to eat with them and even trying to give us gifts. A few weeks ago one of our closest friends, an older man who has been like our father here, came over to chat with us. When we told him how much time we had left he seemed quite distraught. He said, " when you go I can cry too much because I love you and you love me." Then he perked up and said that he wanted to give us a gift to take to our parents in America. He said, " I will give you a chicken to take back with you." We unfortunately had to inform him that you can not take live chickens on an airplane. Undaunted however and figuring that an airplane is just a Zambian minibus with wings, he informed us that we could "just put the chicken under the seat." Guess we never thought of that...who knows, maybe he is right. We'll check the regulations for North West Airlines. :)

We've really been enjoying these last few weeks just relaxing in the village. We've been making the most of our laid back schedule; finishing all the books we've wanted to read, getting up when we feel like it, not doing anything we don't have to, and just taking it easy. We realize that we probably won't have an opportunity to live like this again. It'll definately be a shocker getting back into the work schedule in America. But for now we've just been living life, reflecting on all our experiences and lessons learned here while also looking ahead to our next chapter in life.

For those of you who have written us snail mail, we just want to remind you that this week should be the last to send us anything. After this week there's a good chance we will be gone before the letters arrive.

Please keep us in your prayers these last few weeks as we wrap things up. Also if you could be praying for the job situation as we head back to the States, we'd appreciate it. Thanks!

The Castles

P.S. Beth Faber, thanks a lot for the information you put on the blog. We will definately follow up on it. If you get a chance could you drop an e-mail to me at stephencastle@hotmail.com or leave me your e-mail address here on the blog. Thanks!