A lot going on lately...

WOW! It's been a busy, busy two weeks. On June 11th I turned 28. It was a great day. The day started off with Arnett waking up and getting Zeke, which allowed me to sleep in. Then he surprised me with breakfast in bed. We didn't do much that day but that evening we were able to go out on a date which was great too!! The following day, Saturday, we had planned to go to the grocery store and out to eat. We woke up to really hot weather and no power, so I came up with the idea of going to the pool first, then to the grocery store, and then to eat. Arnett said okay, so I started getting ready. Well about 10:15 or so a group of the ladies we work with show up at our house. He had arranged a ladies day at the pool for my birthday. So, they were a little shocked when they arrived and  was already in my bathing suit but it worked out perfectly. One of my dear friends, Krista, made me a deliciously, yummy chocolate cake. So, before we headed to the pool we ate cake. It was a great day and we had lots of fun!! The first picture is of me and the baker and the second one is of me and Alyson.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The week following my birthday we went out to the village. It was supposed to be the week I started meeting with the ladies. Well, it didn't go as planned, which normally nothing does in Africa. At 9:00pm none of the ladies had showed up. I decided to go find my friend, Mandy. She was at her house shelling peanuts. I asked her, "We aren't going to study tonight?" She replied, "Well, we can." I could tell she didn't want to so I just let things stay as they were. I did tell her that next week I wanted to meet with them, she said "Okay." Then, she and our village mom agreed to tell all the ladies about it. I was a little disappointed at first but God assured me He was in control. I also learned that these ladies aren't used to meeting so I'm going to have to be pushy with them. So, even though it didn't go as I had planned, it was an okay trip.

This boy rode Zeke around for an hour or so. Zeke loved it!!

 

 

 

 

 

Our cute little bush baby!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The weekend of the 18th, our entire team went on a team retreat. We went to a place on a lake that's about 2 hours outside of town. We had a great time. We had a hot dog roast, played cards and lots of board games, watched some movies, and just hung out. We had a great time!!

Arnett and Zeke

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zeke and I

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zeke playing in our trunk aka our suitcase

 

 

 

 

 

 

This past week was another good but busy week. Arnett and Mitch left on Monday for the village. Praise the Lord, they were able to get a lot accomplished in getting things ready to begin planting. Zeke and I went out on Wednesday. I made sure this week that the ladies knew we were going to study. Of course, after dinner, I still had to go get Mandy. However, on our way back to our hut to do the study, they started telling all the other women to come. Praise the Lord 9 women came!! The story time went great. I was able to  tell the story and ask the questions. However, the majority of these women aren't believers, so my original plan of just walking through the stories with them is having to be refined. So, please keep that in your prayers. I'm seeking the Lord's direction in exactly how He wants me to lead these ladies.

On Thursday, of this week we had a birthday party for Zeke. I know it's a month late but on his actual birthday no one was in town. This past weekend we had a big meeting for everyone in Mali, so EVERYONE was in town. He was not a fan of all the attention, he gets that from his Daddy! So, the whole, giving him a cake of his own didn't go like I had thought it would. He did finally get into some. Here are some pictures of the day.

Zeke's cake.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before the party started.

 

 

 

 

 

 

He's not too sure about this...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trying to show him how to dig into the cake.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See it's good!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Still not so sure...

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Mom are you crazy? I'm not sticking my hand in that!"

 

 

 

 

 

"Daddy, I just want out!!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He finally got the hang of it and enjoyed his cake!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

This past weekend we had a Mali Meeting with all the people in our company that work in Mali. It was a great time of fellowship and worshipping in our heart language.

Praises:

1. The work in the village continues to go well!!
2. A great team retreat!
3. We are all healthy!!
4. Zeke is a happy and growing 1 year old!
5. The time we had with our colleagues and the ability to worship in English!!

Prayer Requests:

1. Rain for the village.
2. The men and women's storying groups.
3. Direction in leading the women's group.
4. Continued good health.

Thank you for walking on this journey with us!! Until next time...

Life is always an adventure...

Well, where do I begin?? This trip to the village was an adventure for sure!! Monday, Arnett and Mitch headed out the village. Zeke and I stayed in town and went out Tuesday afternoon. To say I didn't want to go is an understatement. I mean, I would of rather had a root canal without novocain then go out. However, I knew  I needed to go, so off Zeke and  I went. The first night out was pretty normal. One plus, is we now have power in our little mud hut. Yes, that's right, I said power. But before you start thinking I'll be hooking up my ac unit soon let me explain it a little further. The power is run by a generator in the village. They turn it on every night at 7:00pm and then they turn it off at 11:00pm, so there's no need for an ac unit or even a fan. We pay about $6 a month and that gets us 2 lights, one inside the house and one outside, and it gets us an electrical outlet. However, not really quite sure what I'll use it for. Some of the villagers use theirs to hook up their T.V's and satellites, yes that's right, T.V's and satellites in a place that doesn't even have running water!! I didn't take my camera this trip, so next trip I'll take some pictures and post them. It is very nice having those lights though!! So,I am Praising God for this little luxury!!

Now, on to the "adventure day". It started off as any normal day in the village. And in fact the entire day went off pretty normally. That afternoon, about 6:00pm, Arnett and Mitch decided to go "yaalayaala" which is the Bambara word to go "wonder around". We (myself, our host, and his wife) said, "Okay, see you soon!!" Then, it was the normal late afternoon activities...give Zeke a bath, take a bath myself, help our hosts wife anyway I can, and then wait for dinner. Well, it gets dark here about 7:00ish. So, at about 7:o5ish it was getting darker and still no Arnett or Mitch. I thought, "No big deal. They'll be here soon." I did tell myself, "If they aren't here by 8:00, I'll start to get a little worried." Well, at 7:30 our hosts got worried so off he went on his bicycle to look for him. I thought, "If the Africans are getting worried maybe I should be getting worried too." My hosts wife assured me that they were fine, they were just lost but that they'd find them. At this point my stomach is starting to turn into knots. I knew they didn't have a flashlight and the only water they had was about 32 ounces. I tell my hosts wife and my friend,  Mandy, that I would like to talk to them about getting the women together to study the Bible. They tell me, "We can't talk now. Your mind is not sitting down (basically you can't concentrate)." I told them, "Yes, but if we talk it will help me to get my mind off of it." They said, "Oh that's a good idea". So, I was able to talk with them. And next week the ladies and I are going to meet together to study God's Word. I Praise God for the opportunity to talk with them!! Now, back to the story... So, slowly but surely the news started spreading that they were lost. The ladies started gathering at our hosts' house and we just sat there. Well, then about 8:30ish, a lady walks up and tells the women that they have been found. Whew! Praise the Lord. But wait, not so fast!! This is only what the ladies tell me!! Partly because I think they don't want me to worry and they want me to eat something!! Shortly after this the village chief gets up off his mat, which in the 6 months we've been going to D-village, I've never seen him do, and comes walking to our hosts' house. They bring him a chair and I greet him. He tells me, "I'm not well, they are lost!!" Okay, so now, worry has started big time!! It's 8:30ish, pitch black dark (no moon at all!!), and my husband is nowhere to be found! Then the chief calls someone to bring him his drum. OH GREAT! But first, let me explain the drum. Anytime the chief wants to call the elders together for a meeting or in general calling of the villagers, he uses this drum. It's what they call a "talking drum".  So, like I said before, "Oh great, he's calling the entire village to come look for Arnett and Mitch" Insert even more worry and fear here!! So, the men come and they leave going to look for them. Well, at this point I offer to drive the truck to go looking for them. Of course, I was told, "No, you must stay here!!" Great! Thankfully, Zeke is doing well and not concerned about a thing. In fact, he's sound asleep, even through the drum!! Come to find out, the lady who came up, said her son had seen them. He was on his moto headed into the village. But he was too scared to stop,  so instead he went faster!! Well, finally at about 9:45 they return!! Our hosts wife, Mandy, and all the other ladies started screaming and dancing. Come to find out they had gone to their field and coming back they cut through the woods. Then it got dark.They flagged a moto down and asked how to get to the village and he pointed them in the direction. Well, they must have gotten off the road cause they never made it to the village. Then, they saw the 2nd moto who drove even faster. They stopped and listened to his sound and he went way out of their hearing. Then they heard a call to prayer going off closer, so they turned around and went that direction. They went to the first house they came to and scared that man too!! They assured him it was okay, they were lost and what village were they at. They happen to be at the village before you get to D-village. The man gave them some water and a flashlight. So, then they headed towards the village. Well, one of the villagers who was out looking for them saw them on the road. He and another boy were on his moto so they couldn't ride to the village. About that time the "Bush Bus" (a big van type vehicle that makes trips from the capital to D-village daily) came by. So, Arnett and Mitch hopped on the back and rode hanging onto the back of the bus (not an unusual occurrence here). Then, they got back and all the partying happened. They shot off a gun several times to let those in the bush know they had been found! Then, they took a bath and ate some supper. So, it's just one more adventure we can write down in our journals. Praise the Lord they were found. Praise the Lord for the African friends He's given us. It's like Mitch told the chief this morning, "We know we have a home here in D-village cause you sent all those people looking for us!!" So true!! Until next time...

Our little climber...

So, this morning, I was sitting at the table working on e-mails and such. Zeke was contently playing with his toys in the floor or so I thought. I looked up from the computer and this is what I saw:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, as you can see he wasn't on the floor but had decided he could reach his toys better if he just climbed in the toy box. So, yes we have a climber on our hands. He climbs on everything. The other day he climbed on the couch (to the right of the toy box), shut the lid to the toy box,  climbed off the couch,  then climbed on top of the toy box and climbed over the arm of the couch.

Here are a few pictures of when he climbed on to the coffee table, a daily occurrence here at our house:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also, things have quieted down at our house. Our 3 little girls have left. Praise the Lord, E is over malaria. Her two sisters are also over their sickness. It was strange and very quiet going from a full house to just the three of us. Arnett is also feeling better. He keeps battling a headache though, so please pray that would be gone too!! Until next time...