This past week, Ir has requested more than once to don Ad's head covering. E requests one too, and since married women here wear both a head covering and a shawl (despite the heat!), there is usually one for each kid. Of course, E looks a little silly dressed up like a woman! Both kids then run to the mirror to admire themselves. We appreciate this child-initiated cross-cultural interest. Everyone always tells us that children adjust easily to new cultures, but Ir at least has not always found it easy to live in a different environment. Sometimes she seems to feel threatened by differences, being at times either timid or rejecting those differences. We need wisdom to shepherd her through the process of cross-cultural living. The other day, she surprised me with the question of whether this is the old earth and America is the new heavens and the new earth. I explained that no - sad, bad, and painful things happen in America too, and people in both places are still waiting f...