Our Christmas Tree, Us, and spinach...

We hope that this finds each of you well and enjoying this Holiday Season. We just wanted to share a few pics with you. First, our Christmas Tree.

It's not what we are used to but personally I think it looks great!! It sure does beat not having a tree at all!! While, it doesn't exactly feel like Christmas, especially since the temps are in the 90's every day, we are trying to make the most of it. After all, the reason for the season is not about a feeling, it's about the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus!!

Second, recently we spent an evening at an "African Resort" called, Kangaba. It was very nice and we thoroughly enjoyed our time there. Arnett and I both said we haven't felt that relaxed since we arrived in Mali. It's definitely a new favorite spot that we'll be going to again soon!!

Zeke and his Daddy.

 

 

 

 

 

 Us, enjoying ourselves...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last but certainly not least...Zeke. So, about a month ago we started Zeke on solid foods. We started with cereal and have gradually added vegetables. First, we tried green beans, he wasn't a fan. Then we tried pumpkin, he loved it!! Next, cabbage. He liked it but his tummy didn't. The latest thing we've tried is spinach!! Here are some pics we took. He enjoyed it but he got it everywhere!!

He was eating but kept wanting to pay attention to his daddy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope you enjoyed the pics. Things are well here. Lately, we've been pretty busy. Arnett is busy working on next year's farming project and I'm busy still going to language class. My parents and sister are flying over Christmas Day and will get here the next day. We are looking forward to their visit. Please pray for safe travels!! Merry Christmas and until next time...

Kiah and Lynn come to visit...

Well, a lot has happened since our last post. Zeke began eating solid food, Arnett's parents came and spent 10 days with us, we celebrated our first African Thanksgiving, and our little man turned 6 months old. I just can't believe how fast the time is flying. Next week, we'll hit the "we've been in Africa 11 months" mark.

So, we started Zeke on solid food. Just cereal at first, which he loves! Yesterday, we tried green beans. He wasn't too fond of those. Today we're going to try pumpkin!! Here's some pics of those few first bites!!

Here's Zeke getting ready for the first bite!

 

 

 

 

First bite...

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the reaction...

 

 

 

 

 

On November 19th, Arnett's parents came to visit. We had such a great time with them. It made Arnett and I both realize how different things really are and how much we've adjusted to those differences. We were able to take them to our local market and introduce them to all of our friends there. We were also able to take them out to M-village. They both did great for their first time ever spending the night in the bush!! We thoroughly enjoyed our time with them and it was great to have them here for our first African Thanksgiving.

Kiah and Lynn in M-village

 

 

 

 

 

Kiah, Lynn, the chief, and the chief's wife.

 

 

 

 

Kiah and Zeke hanging out on the front porch.

 

 

 

 

Zeke and Lynn

 

 

 

 

 

Zeke and his daddy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zeke and his mommy

 

 

 

 

 

Thanksgiving was great too!! All of the people we work with came together and shared a "traditional" meal! We were even able to find a turkey! Here's a picture of him...

Yep, that's right, he was a live turkey when we bought him. Susan called me the Friday before Turkey Day and said, "Crystal, I'm on my way to your house, in a taxi, with the live turkey in the trunk!" I immediately started cracking up, cause you'd only here that sentence in Africa!

Here's Zeke in his Turkey Day outfit!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kiah, Zeke and Lynn.

 

 

 

 

 

Our beautiful family.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Praises:

1. A great visit with Arnett's parents.
2. We're all healthy!
3. All the small things God is doing and has done for us!

Prayer Requests;

1. This Friday (12/4) we have language evaluations.
2. Language learning.
3. Guidance and wisdom from God on what He has planned for us once we get language down.

Thank you all for your prayers! Until next time...

Pictures...

Okay, so here are some of the pictures I promised in the last blog...

The story behind this wall hanging is...One day Arnett had gone to get us something to eat and was waiting on our food. Well, there was a man at the restaurant with these wall hangings. Arnett had no intentions of buying one but he loves to practice his bargaining skills. The rule here is...if you say a price and the seller agrees to it, you are obligated to buy it!! So, now this lovely lady is ours.

I got this made while we were in Dakar having Zeke. On the reverse side is a nativity scene.

 

The one in the middle came from Dakar, it was a birthday present from my mom. The two on the side were a house warming present from Sara, a volunteer that lived here when we got here. Notice the hole above the picture in the middle. That because it took like 3 holes to find a good enough spot to hang the pictures!

Now on to the cutest baby EVER!!!

Here's Zeke helping me in the kitchen, well until he fell asleep!!

 

 

 

Hope you enjoy these!! Until next time...

Finally making Mali our home...

Well, below is the blog I had originally typed. I was waiting until I had some more pictures to go with it before I posted it - which I still don't have, so I'll try to take some and post them soon!! Since I originally typed this things seem to have gone downhill!! Seems like every time one of us gets to feeling better someone else in our house gets sick. Started out with Zeke's weird rash last week. Then he got a stomach bug. Now, I think he's teething which is making him irritable. Then Tuesday, I cam down with mastitis. Which has not been fun and on top of all that, the antibiotics make me extremely sick to my stomach!! So, please pray for good health. All these sick days sure make us want to go home!!

Now, on to the original post...

Well, after 9 months of living here, we finally took the time to get some pictures hung up on our walls. Which is not an easy task here. The man came to drill the holes to hang the pictures and after drilling 4 holes he finally found one that would support the pictures. You see, our house is made out of concrete blocks but the Mali building codes don't really exist. So, there's a lot of sand and a little bit of cement. Now, don't think our house is going to fall in on us or anything it's just a little more difficult to hang a picture that's all!  They look great and our home actually feels a little more "homey" now.

Right now, life is good! Arnett and I both feel like we've broken free from the everyday, okay maybe not everyday but frequent, "ticket days" and feeling like we want to go home. Which is a huge blessing!! We are progressing in language. After a rough couple of weeks I feel like I've hit a breaking point. I was able to tell the story of Hannah to my language tutor this week. And it was NOT something I prepared ahead of time!! He had to help me some but seemed very happy with the fact that I was able to tell most of it!! Praise God for giving me this ability!

We've spent some more time out in the village. I really enjoy going out and spending time with the women out there. They are so very helpful in helping me learn Bambara.

Me, getting some more lessons in millet pounding. The ladies get a big laugh every time I try!

 

 

Zeke (not a happy camper)and a little girl that lives in the village. This little girl is the same age as Zeke.

 

Zeke turned 5 months old on the 28th. We went to the dcotor this week and he's up to 17 pounds. He developed a rash earlier last  week but Praise the Lord, I think he's over it. We think the culprit might be his shampoo. Which is strange because we've used over half the bottle. However, when we stopped using it, the rash got better.

Praises:

1. We've broken free from the frequent "ticket days"!
2. Zeke is 5 months old and healthy.
3. Our Bambara is continuing to improve.

Prayer Requests:

1. Language learning.
2. That we will have boldness in sharing our faith with those around us, even if our language skills aren't up to full speed.
3. Good health...Zeke's rash and currently I'm fighting a cold.

We thank you for your prayers! We can't say that enough!! One thing is for certain, we couldn't do any of this without God or you, our faithful prayer warriors! Until next time...

We may just become a "bush family" after all!!

Before Zeke was born, Arnett and I visited "M-village". Arnett's been back since we got back from Dakar but I haven't made it out there, and not for lack of trying! We've been trying for weeks now to go out there but every week something came up to prevent us from going. Well, we finally made the two hour trip yesterday. We currently have a couple that are in from the states doing some work out in "M-village", so last night they had bought 75 kilos (yes, that's 165 pounds) of rice and invited everyone in the village and surrounding villages to come eat. Well, the villagers then invited some guys to come who play drums so it turned into a HUGE party!! I wish I had pics of the party but it was dark. The party didn't start until 10:30 pm (possibly later!) and went until after 2:00 am!! It was great fun!! They played the drums, the villagers danced - they even got Arnett to dance with them (so, wish I had a picture of that cause it was hilarious!!), and then the villagers put on these skits with costumes and props. It was quite an event!!

Zeke did amazing out there!! He let everyone hold him and didn't mind being passed around like a football. The villagers were so excited to see us again! The women put me to work helping with the cooking and cleaning. This morning after breakfast, we sat around and chatted and then "asked for the road". Anytime you leave a place you have to ask for permission first. The women of the village were not going to let me leave. They told me I had to stay and help them cook, pound millet, and clean. I did get a chance to pound a little bit of millet, which they got a huge kick out of!! I finally told them that I would come back next week and help them do a lot of work. Only after that, did they agree to let us leave!!

For those of you know me really well, know that I am in no shape or form a "bush girl". However, God is changing my heart little by little. PRAISE HIM for this!! I am actually excited about going out again next week. I'm even planning on spending not one, but two nights out there next week!! And I even told Arnett, that I think I'd be okay if we built a bush house!! I know, total shocker!! Another first, spending time out there with those ladies gave me such a desire to learn Bambara!! Thank you God for such an amazing trip!! Another plus...I'm surrounded by Bambara speakers and it's great language practice!!

So, here's what I know you've all been waiting for - assuming you didn't scroll down here first :~), the pictures...

Where Zeke & I slept! Not too bad!! Even though the sheep cried all night long!

Zeke and I hanging out in the village.

 

 

 

 

Zeke loved  this bucket. He kept lifting the handle up!! 

 

 

  The village chief loving on Zeke. A rare sight in African culture. It was too sweet.

Zeke hanging out with the village chief. He must have sat with him for     30 minutes. He's playing with an empty package of candy.

Me getting lessons on how to pound millet. The women loved the fact that I even tried it!! It was really hard work!!

So, the last time I visited "M-village" I met "Ava". She was also pregnant, which created an instant bond between us. Here's the pic of us from that first trip...

 

 

 

 

 

 

         And here we are now with our precious babies!! Her little girl is 6 months old. As you can see, Zeke is way bigger than she is. He was way bigger than all the kids in the village around his age.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you all for your prayers!! God is listening and answering!! Please continue praying for language. Also, we'll be making another trip out to "M-village" this week. Ask the Father for safe travels and the ability to speak and hear Bambara. Until next time...

Testing our Faith...

WOW!! That's really all I can say about this past week!!

I know a lot of you have heard that last Saturday (9/26) Arnett came down with malaria. First, Praise God, he's over it!! Things were pretty scary there for a little while. His fever was up to 104.5ish. Malaria is a disease that is carried by mosquitos. We take an anti-malarial drug daily but 1) it's not a 100% guarantee that you won't get malaria and 2) Arnett occasionally forgets to take his!! Something, he swears he'll never do again! On top of getting malaria, he came down with some stomach thing. At first, we thought it was due to the malaria but after the malaria treatment ended the stomach issues were still there and getting worse. He had a round of lab work done. The blood work came back normal, no bacterial infection...Praise God! We're still waiting on the second round of lab work, they had to grow some stuff in it, so it takes a few days, and then a few days longer because we are in Africa!! We're hoping to have the results on Tuesday. We've been in contact with a doctor in the states that works for our company. He's thinking Arnett got an amoeba, which you get by drinking unclean water (we do have filtered water in our home, so not really sure how he got the amoeba, if that's really what it is). He went ahead and took some medicine to get rid of  the amoeba. Praise the Father, that it seems to have gotten rid of all the stomach issues!! So, hopefully, Tuesday's lab results will show an amoeba and we're ahead of the game. Arnett feels lots better, just really tired! He went about 3 nights in a row of not sleeping! It wore us both out. As, I was up off and on with him. And then taking care of a 4 month old by myself for almost a week! Needless to say, after the rough week I had the week before last and the fact that I was ready to get on the next plane outta here, this week sure didn't help! However, despite all the struggles we face we know several things:

1. God is in control!! Praise Him for that!
2. God has never and will never leave us!
3. We know all these trials are only being used to make us grow stronger in our walk with Him! Another PRAISE!!
4. Despite it all, God has called us to Africa and we rejoice in the fact that we are where He wants us!

So, here's our verse of the week (really for the rest of our lives!!) James 1:2-4

"²Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. ⁴Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

Despite the rough week...our precious little boy turned 4 months old this past week!! He's getting so big, so fast!! I just wish I could slow down the hands of time!! He had his 4 month old check-up this week. He's up to 16 pounds!! Here's a few shots we took of him.

We can't say THANK YOU! enough for all your prayers concerning us!! God is listening!! Until next time...

Am I worth it???

Okay, so I just have to share where I am lately...

It all started Monday... I was really dreading going to language class. However, I pushed through and went any ways, praying and asking God to bless my efforts. Well, bless them He did!! I had a great class and was very encouraged with the way it went and the progress I seemed to have made!! Yesterday, things were okay, not great and not horrible either. Then today rolls around and BAM!! Here's what happened... Once again, I was dreading going to class but I went any ways. On the way there, God and I are chatting and I ask Him to once again, bless my efforts. Well, God then asks me..."Crystal, am I worth it??" Of course, I reply, "Yes God, you are worth it!!" So, I get to class and my "language world" starts crumbling!! By the time I leave class my "language world" is in ruins!! I'm at the point of tears and Arnett's wanting to know what's wrong. Here's our conversation...

Me: "When we get home..."

Arnett:"When we get home, you'll tell me what's wrong?"

Me: "No, when I get home, I'm packing my bags, buying Zeke and I tickets, and we're going back to America"

We get home and I start to process everything, then God reminds me of our earlier conversation..."I am worth it?", He asked. And I immediately replied, "Yes God, you are worth it!" Which is so easy to say when things are going well and all is hunky dory in my world!! However, when things start to crumble do I really think He's worth it. My heart screams "YES!!! He is MORE than worth it" While, at the same time, my flesh screams "NO!! He's not worth it!!" I know though, God IS more than worth it!! Truth of the matter is, God gave His only Son for me (and you too) and that is way more than I am giving to Him on a daily basis. So, the bags are remaining in the closet, unpacked, and the plane tickets will not be bought. Because no matter how long it takes me to learn Bambara and no matter what unpleasant situation I find myself in...the bottom line is... GOD IS WORTH IT and THEN SOME!! I pray you are finding that He is worth it no matter what situation you find yourself in!

Of course, I can't post without posting a picture of our little man!! Until next time...

8 months ago...

Well, we can't believe but we've been here for 8 months now. A lot has happened in the past 8 months. We've had some of the best times and some of the not so best times. We've grown a lot but at the same time, still have a long way to grow! So, what have we been up to lately??? I can sum it all up in one word...

LANGUAGE!! I am sure all of you are sick and tired of us talking about language and asking you to pray for us in this area. Honestly, we thought after being here for 8 months we would be fluent Bambara speakers, boy were we wrong!! While, we have come a long way since we first arrived here 8 months ago, we still have a long way to go. There are days we get so discouraged we want to quit but we know we must keep moving forward if we ever want to get to where we need to be. At times, well a lot of the time, this is very frustrating. The enemy is constantly throwing lies into our faces. Such as, "you don't have a purpose here", "you can't even speak, you might as well go home", "you're never going to get this, so you might as well give up".Honestly, there are days we buy into those lies but then our Heavenly Father comes in and gently reminds us, "I do have a purpose for you here! In due time, you will see!" So, here we are, 8 months into living on another continent, still trying to learn to speak the language. Praise the Lord, we are finally at a point where we are starting to bridge into learning spiritual vocabulary. Hopefully soon, we can start sharing why we came to Mali in the first place....JESUS!!

Zeke is growing faster than we can believe. He went to the doctor a couple of weeks ago. His weight came in at 14.6 pounds!! On the 28th he turned 3 months old. He's talking, cooing, laughing, and babbling more and more. One thing is for sure, he may not look like his Mama but he sure does have my mouth!! The boy is hardly ever quiet!! Praise the Lord, most of the time it's just babbling and not crying!

Our little man, 3 months old!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We've also been dog sitting for one of our team mates, LaVerne. She is on vacation right now. She has a 2 year old, yellow lab named Sherlock. He's been such a joy to have around. He's a sweet dog and it's been nice having him around!! I did promise Arnett that once he goes back home, I can't say anything about us getting a dog!! Hope I can keep my promise! :~)

Sherlock

 

 

 

 

 

 

Praises:

1. While we still have a lot to learn, we have learned a lot!
2. Zeke is a very good baby and very healthy!
3. Rain!! It seems to be raining about every day here lately!

Prayer Requests:

1. Language
2. That we will keep our focus on God and not the tons of other distractions that come our way.

We can't say "THANK YOU!" enough for all your prayers!! Until next time...

Christmas in August...

So, yesterday was an AMAZING day!! We got not 1, not 2, not even 3 but EIGHT care packages!! Funny how God had them all arrive on the same day!! It was a tremendous boost to our spirits!! We want to say a special THANK YOU!! to Tina, Thad, and Brandon Nobles, Aunt Di and Uncle Tommy, my mom, and the members of Pinemount Baptist Church in McAlpin. Here are a few shots of the day. We really should have taken a video of us opening them. I'm sure our neighbors were wondering what in the world all the shrieks, screams, and oh's and ah's were all about!!

The 8 boxes before we opened them!

 

 

 

 

Zeke wondering why Mommy and Daddy are so excited, shrieking, and screaming so much!

 

 

 

 

 

Well Zeke.... here's the reason why!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah!!

 

 

 

 

 

The sign my cousin, Lindsay made for Zeke. Too cute!! Thanks again Lindsay!

 

Zeke, getting excited about some of his prizes in the care packages Thanks Aunt Di and Madison

We also want to thank all those who've sent care packages in the past. You have no idea how much it means to us and how excited we get over them!! Words cannot explain how nice it is to have a little taste of home, especially on those days we wish we could be home!! THANK YOU AGAIN!! Until next time...