Levi's Third Birthday Party

We had Levi's third birthday party a day early. Tomorrow will be another busy day of shopping for us and I wanted him to have a little bit of a special time with cake, presents and friends.

Levi got a battery powered bubble gun. He and Zoe had a blast with it.

My baby is 3 years old tomorrow. Wow-how time flies!

Posing with his cake and some presents.

Resurrection Sunday

I have to confess that Resurrection Sunday has completely caught us unaware this year. We have had no holiday decorations in every store announcing Easter, no commercials for Holiday Sales and no aisles of Easter candy. Good Friday in South Africa really caught us by surprise as almost all the stores were closed. Side note: they are closed on Good Friday but open for regular business on Easter Sunday. We have no new spring finery, no new shoes this year and no candy filled Easter baskets. Neither Jeff nor I have bought any new clothes in almost a year-except I bought 2 new skirts in Cape Town.

But do you know what we do have? We have a wonderous joy inside of us given to us by our risen Savior. We have a Friend who loves us and died for us. We have the privilege of serving our Lord in Zambia. We have a glorious new day to remember a God who loves us and gave his Son for us.

Celebrate Jesus today!

"But he was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our sins; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed."

Isaiah 53:5

MK Funny

We are staying at the Baptist Guest House in Johannesburg, South Africa. The rooms here have phones in them. We have not had a real telephone in our room for a year. The kids keep trying to play with the phone and I keep telling them that that is a real phone and they will call someone. Zoe came running into my room, telling on Levi that he was playing with the phone again. I told her to hang up the phone. She just stopped and stared at me. She didn't know what I meant. I told her to take the receiver and put it on the phone. She was still stumped. She had no idea what to do to "hang up" the phone. Our MKs are so precious but also have such a unique life.

End of Meeting Kids Program

All through our meetings, a team from Bryan, TX were taking care of our children. Our MK's go to do VBS during this time. At the last night, the kids 5-11 years old got to sing

them to the rest of us.

A very candid picture of me holding the camera in front of us and seeing what it takes...

Zoe and Hadassah - supposed to be singing. The girl to the right of Zoe became her best friend while at our meetings. She is a MK from Lesotho.

Me and Levi-goofing around again...

Can you believe it?!

We have finally made it to Johannesburg and can you believe it?!? Everything is closed today for Good Friday. We already got run out of a great mall last night at 6pm because the whole mall was closing-even the restaurants! We found out later that this is normal and a leftover from apartheid. So we frantically tried to find a grocery store that was open so we could buy some basics for today since most everything will be closed. We finally found some bread, eggs, juice, peanut butter and potato chips at a 7 Eleven. I guess those items will comprise our meals for today. :) Gee, we have dreamed of getting here for weeks and now we are stuck with not much to do!!! Oh, well-we will make good plans for tomorrow! :)

McDONALD'S!!

Our family FINALLY got to eat at McDonald's after almost a year! We all enjoyed Mickey D's. We are now in Johannesburg, South Africa. We'll be here until about April 10th. We have loads of shopping to do and Levi will have his speech therapy appointments next week. We'll celebrate Levi's third birthday on Monday. How, I have no idea but it will get done. :)

We have no special plans nor special clothes for this Sunday. To be honest, we had no idea this Sunday was Easter until just a few days ago. Our meetings in Tshipise were great and we have alot of spiritual things to ponder and many changes to make because of the great Bible preaching and teaching. More posts to follow from our adventures in America - oops, I mean Johannesburg!

K2 Cluster's 2010 AMTM

Here is just a glimpse of where we are right now. We are at our Annual Missionary Training Meeting in Tshipise, South Africa. We have a team from Bryan, Texas taking care of all 46 missionary kids. We have an actual worship team and have had some wonderful Bible teaching times from Pastor Tim. We leave here on Thursday to head to Johannesburg, South Africa for some R&R and medical appointments for Levi.

We Got It!

We got the contract on the house! This is our new home in Lukulu. Please continue to pray for all aspects of our lives that will be lived out within these walls. Pray for enriching family time. Pray for a lifestyle of ministry. Pray for our neighbors that live around us-that we will become good friends with them and our kids will make new playmates. Pray for our security. Pray that the Lord will continue to open the hearts of the Lozi to be receptive to the Good News. We are so grateful for your prayers. We could never do this without you.

A Day of Sun and Fun

While we are here in Lusaka, one of our missionary kids (Caleb Bowman-2nd from left) had a birthday at the water park, Adventure City. Several of his missionary cousins got to enjoy his day at the park, also. Here they are from left to right: Trent Lewis, Caleb Bowman, Hannah Rodgers, Hadassah, Abby Bowman, Anna Bowman, Zoe and Levi. The kids all had so much fun!

Church in Sefula

This is where we went to church today.  This church is well established but just a month or so ago got their own 'building'.  It was really a wonderful day of worship.  Our Zambian friends worshipped with laughter, smiles and lots of dancing.  In SS, the kids memorized Romans 3:23.  I was in the Kids' Sunday School class and got the first part memorized in Lozi. :)  

Hope you also had a great day of worship!

Our Day Today

Today, we took a trip to Senanga to put a short term missionary friend on the boat to go across the floodplain.  The boat that was supposed to take him was not going to run until he got a full boat which was 17 people.  There was no guarantee that boat was going anywhere today so we went to the Senanga Safari Lodge to wait and decide what to do.  As we were pulling into the lodge, we saw that they give boat rides.  So, thank the Lord, they agreed to take us across the floodplain for a decent price.  So all 7 (driver included) hopped onto a 4 passenger speed boat to cross the mighty Zambezi River.  It was a fun ride.  We all had to wear life jackets that were too big for all of us, especially the kids.  Here are some photos from our day.  

I am learning to try to be prepared as we take trips but I still forget things.  Note to self: bring sunscreen on our next adventure.

Creative Play African Style

Hadassah and Zoe made a swing outside this morning out of two sitenges.  And below, they made a makeshift swing inside.  Levi gets the benefits of it all.  The outside swing can hold the girls, also - with only a few spills.

Church Today

Just wanted you to see where we went to church today.  This church is in Mawawa and it one of my favorite churches to go to.  We had a great 3 hour service (not including SS) - all of this perching on small stools about a foot off the ground.  

What about you?  How was your day of worship?

Apple Pie Saturday

Here is the result of a lazy Saturday afternoon in Mongu, Zambia.  With not much to do here for entertainment, I have started to bake more and get more adventurous in my cooking.  We're letting the apple pie cool right now and soon, it will be gone!  Then I will be off to my next culinary adventure!

Saturday's Trip to Lukulu

We went once more to Lukulu to check on the house.  The owner/builder had made great progress.  Everything that was supposed to be done was in progress and almost done.  That is Africa for you. :)  It is now a very good chance that we will get the house.  The house had some quirks and things that we would not have done.  For example, the bathroom is so narrow and small that only a bathtub fits into it and even then the door will have to swing out into the hallway because it is so small.  He put a sink in the dining room because everyone here washes their hands before they eat.  Not a bad idea at all.  He painted the outside a coral color and was going to put light blue where the porches are.  I think we convinced him that it would be just as easy to finish the house in the same color. :)  The owner should soon have everything done so that when our Logistics Coordinator comes in March, they should be able to sign a contract.  So we are very happy with the progress and the greater possibility of getting this house!  

Here are a few pictures:

Above is the side view.  The house is an L shape.  The first two window is is the living room, the next window would be Levi's room and the last window is the master bedroom.

This is the front view.  The first window to the left is the living room, the next is the dining room, the next one is the kitchen window and the very last window on the right is a window in the hallway that is just in front of the schoolroom and the girls' bedroom.  The house goes on a little bit on each side.  I couldn't fit it all in.

A Rainy Day in Lozi Land

It has rained all night long and into this morning.  We had to run a few errands this morning so the kids thought that they needed to wear their rain coats because it is a very cool 75 degrees. In our new vehicle, it has some fold down seats in the very back and when we are just riding around town, we let them sit in the back.  I pointed the camera from the front seat to snap a picture of the kids.  Levi thought that he had to have the hat on, also. 

Buna Beacon in Zambia

This is for all of our friends and church family from from Buna, TX.  We are always so happy to read the Buna Beacon and get news from home.  

Just wanted to let you know that we really miss and love you all!

Ba Pepile Mbututu

You cannot walk down the road here in Zambia without seeing almost every lady carrying a baby of varying age on her back.  They use a rectangular piece of material called a sitenge to strap their children on their back.  It almost always comes over the right shoulder and is tied in front.  Here is a picture of the kids as they played with friends today and another picture of Hadassah, playing with Levi.

Our Saturday

Yesterday, we trekked the 5 hours to Lukulu to check on the house that we are hoping to be able to rent.  Back in December, the man assured us that he would have certain things done in February so our LC could come in and finish the rest.  After a hard 5 hour trip, we eagerly went by the house to see what has been done.  The owner/builder had put in some ceiling boards in preparation for the ceiling tile to be put up but that was it.  We went by the man's shop in the market and he was happy to see us, happy that we are still interested in the house.  Again, he assured us that he would get what needed to be done before the LC went to check on the progress.  So that was our whole day - 5 hours up, 1 hour in Lukulu then 5 hours back.  What a day!  Please continue to pray for the right house to be found and completed.  We are praying for this house but realize that it just may not happen.  We appreciate your prayers.  We honestly could not do any of this without you.

While we were there, we got to wander through the market a bit.  This must be the time for caterpillars because they were all over the market.  

The Lozi love to eat them.  They can have them!

Cape Town, South Africa

These are all the dads and children that we left in Lusaka as the homeschooling moms headed off to Cape Town, South Africa.

This is a view of Chapman's Peak in Cape Town.

YES!!! I did eat at McDonald's (not this one) and loved it!  It was great!  Now, you know that I have went over the edge, right?

Levi's Closet

The kids were really quiet yesterday morning.  I went to look for them and found them playing in Levi's closet.  Life is good.  We head to Lusaka tomorrow so that I can go to South Africa for a homeschool conference.  We'll be back in Mongu by next Sunday.

Day After Christmas Fun!

The kids got a SMALL swimming pool for Christmas.  It was just enough to get them wet and let them have some fun on a hot day.

First Christmas Pictures!!

Christmas Eve in Zambia.  We didn't have a tree so we made one to put on the wall.  The kids loved it!  They got to decorate their own ornaments and put them where they wanted.

Christmas morning -  Zoe is playing with her new jewelry and princess, pony and carriage.

Levi - He still hasn't opened all his presents.  He was fascinated with each one and I stopped trying to get him to open anymore....

Hadassah is now playing with a new DS game.

Thank you for all that you sent to us.  We are so blessed and overwhelmed by your love.  We ask that you continue to pray for us and let us know how everything is going through your emails and updates.  MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Christmas Cookies

I have commented to many people how hard it is to experience all that Christmas cheer when it is 100 degrees outside and and utter lack of holiday festivities all around.  So we decided after a short day of homeschool (thank the Lord!), we would make some Candy Cane Cookies.  All three children and I began well, making our candy canes and christmas wreaths.  Soon, the multitude got tired because they were a little more difficult to make that I expected.  So as they departed, I began to improvise on the christmas cheer.  As you can see the progression below.  we started off well but ended up with just plain red cookies and white cookies.  I just happened to have some peppermint extract so they do taste really good!

Look what we found in Lukulu

Bed bugs!  Yes, those are all bed bug bites.  Levi also has a lot of bites, Zoe just a few, Hadassah less and for some reason, Jeff has none.  But even more important, we were able to find a house that we really like.  It is unfinished and the verbal agreement is that the guy has to put in floors, ceilings, windows and paint the outside by February.  If he does this, then our LC will come in and finish the rest (which is ALOT).  If this works out, we will be very happy.  We really like the house.  It has a unique floor plan, not the usual ranch style and a very large yard.  Please continue to pray for our housing in Lukulu.  Please pray that the owner/builder will be a man of integrity and trustworthy.  We'll keep you updated!