Back from Dar

Just wanted to let you know we are back safe from Dar. It was a great trip. I will do some posts about it soon.

Done and Done!

Wow... you guys are amazing. In record time, a car seat and play pen have been found. Both will be a huge blessing for us. THANK YOU!!!!

Kid Stuff Needed

Does anyone have a portable play pen (I think they may be called Pack and Play) and/or an infant car seat you are getting rid of? We are in need of both of those things soon. The play pen will be Eli's bed while we are in Kenya for the baby's delivery and the infant car seat... well that's for the new baby! Neither can be found here so we need to get them from the US. The Reeds, our ministry leaders, are coming for a visit and will be able to bring them to us. If anyone finds used ones for sale at a cheap price that we can buy, that would work too. We are hoping to avoid having to buy them new. Let us know if you come across anything. Thanks so much!

2 Years, 1 Month

Eli recently turned two years and one month. I am not sure if I will continue to do these monthly updates now that he is two because the many of the significant milestones (sitting up, walking, talking, etc)have been reached and the growth isn't as exciting. However, the once a month updates are good for people like my Mom who like to see photos of Eli. So, we'll see...

Eli is talking away! He says things all the time that are remarkable, amazing and funny. I wonder how he learns those things. It's especially funny to hear him repeat things that we say. Sometimes he'll answer me "yes Babe" which he hears from George. It's hilarious. He is full on speaking in sentences and is daily refining his knowledge and grammar. If he says something a little wrong (like missing "the", "from", "for" in a sentence). I will restate it once and am so impressed when the next time he says it right. A few weeks ago, he said "Papa, thank you this shovel." So I said, "Papa, thank you for this shovel" and the next time, he include the "for" in whatever sentence he was saying at the time. He soaks things up so quickly.

Here are some photos from this last month.



He has started to learn "pretend" playing. Here he is reading to his animals. He also loves to pretend to cook.





Eli likes to "help" me cook and will sit for so long on the counter while I am cooking. Here he is "helping" during a power outage.




Sometimes he seems more grown up than two. One day we went to get groceries and stopped to get a snack at a coffee shop after. We just sat, ate and talked for over an hour. It was really fun and sweet. He didn't run around, just chilled with Mom. It's nice to be able to sit and rest when we are out with him now.



He loves hanging out with Papa, especially when there is ice cream involved!



We are taking a little time each day to do "school." He learns so quickly that I thought I could try teaching him simple things like letters, numbers, colors, shapes, etc. He likes it so far so we'll see how it goes. He can count to ten which is fun. I don't have teaching experience or learning tools (like books, puzzles, interactive learning toys etc) so we are improvising.



He is not a great eater. If left up to him, he would live on milk alone. However, he loves eggs (in any form) and really enjoys peeling boiled eggs himself.



It used to be hard to get a good photo of him, but now he loves saying "cheese!"



He is still obsessed with drumming and will do it anytime, with anything. And with a lampshade on his head... it's even more fun!



My Mom sent Eli a bear with holly berries on it so we call it Christmas Bear. He is so attached to it. He takes it everywhere and loves it so much. Here he is with Christmas Bear at the grocery store. It was a little chilly so of course, Christmas Bear needed a jacket too!

And lastly, the hair. Mixed race children often have a head full of curly hair. I was hoping for a nice big fro. What I got was wild, fuzzy hair that is more like mine than George's. I don't really know what to do with it. The best solution seems to be to wet it and let it dry. Usually it will stay in semi nice curls. Eventually it goes wild and fuzzy again. Here is the before... (Eli's a bit dramatic and insists on being covered with a towel in case a drop of water or detangler dares to drop on his clothes. It's a battle I am ok with conceding.)





The after...

Family Photos

We have so few photos of us as a couple or family. I was excited to get a couple from our Kenya trip of the Orwas. We are having computer issues, so I was only able to get them yesterday although we took them a month ago. These are from a waterfall in the Lake Nakuru National Park in Kenya.

Trip to Dar

This weekend, we are very excited to go to Dar es Salaam, the capital of Tanzania. We are meeting friends of Alan and Shannon Reed (our Africa Harvest of Hope ministry leaders). The wife is an American lawyer. We hope to pick her brain about land for the orphanage and other ministry issues. We are also looking forward to just spending time with them and being encouraged by being with other believers. It’s a 12 hour drive to Dar, but we were able to get good plane ticket prices which means we’ll be flying there instead. This will be Eli’s first flight. It’s only an hour long, so I am sure he’ll do fine. He loves seeing planes in the sky and I am very excited to see his reaction to flying. Please pray for safe travels and a good, productive time in Dar.

Church Update

Since we have been back, George has been back teaching at church Sunday morning, covering for the pastor who is across the country doing a pastors training. Each week, I feel so proud to see him up there, preaching the Word, teaching solid Biblical truths in a way that both challenges and encourages the church members. He is also quite funny... or so I think. He sometimes switches to Kiswahili so I am not in on the joke, but everyone else is laughing.



One cool thing about being the pastor is getting the honor of baby dedications. It is always so special.



Each week I enjoy watching the kids perform as well as the choir




Eli loves, loves going to church. He loves the songs and often sings them during the week. We are working on getting him to sit in the service. He is doing pretty well considering he is an active two year old! Here he is watching the choir with "Baby Faith" a little girl (who George also dedicated) that Eli adores.



I wish you all could be here to experience our church with us.

Medical Camp Stats

Here are some stats from the API medical camp in Kenya. Very cool.

Total Patients Treated 2,131

Total Rx Dispensed 7,037

Total pills, syrups, injections, creams, etc. 91,884

Glasses Dispensed 182

Wound Care 22
Lab Procedures 18
Injections 149

People who came to know the Lord. Over 700!

Praise the Lord!

Shoe Ministry

Many, many times, we have been driving and have seen kids going without shoes (particularly in the village) . George knows from his childhood what that is like. Not only is it embarrassing for the child, but it puts them at risk for injury and illness. Ask any child who grew up in a village and they will be able to tell you about their experience with jiggers (Google it... it's terrible). We have often wanted to get them shoes, but couldn't find any nearby. So, we have wanted to do a "shoe ministry" for a while. While in Kenya, one of the API team members gave us a little seed money so we could start it when we got back to Tanzania. Last weekend we went to the market and stocked up on different size shoes. We plan on keeping the bag in our car so we'll be ready when we see a child in need. We can quickly hop out, pray for him/her and bless them with a pair of shoes. Then, we'll replenish our supply as we can. It's pretty cool for only $2-$3 we can get a pair of shoes for a child and put a smile on their face. We'll keep you posted as we have the opportunity to put our plan into action.

Happy 2nd Birthday Eli!

A couple weeks ago, Eli turned two. It was the day after we returned from Kenya and we didn't have the strength or resources to celebrate it. Fortunately, he had lots of goodies from Grandma so he wasn't deprived at all. This last Saturday, we had a little party to officially celebrate it. It was very small and low key, but fun. A friend of ours made a great cake for him.



So, she was there along with our Swiss neighbors (including Eli's best little friend, Flynn), a friend's two kids and our good friend Charles. We just had snacks (chapati, lentils and fruit) followed by the cake. Eli was so excited to blow out the candle.



He doesn't have much of a sweet tooth, so he only had a couple bites of the cake. Which meant more for me!



We had a nice time hanging out with some of our favorite people. A few others couldn't make it so we saved them some cake.

At two, Eli is more fun than ever. His speech is improving rapidly. I am so impressed how he remembers words and phrases after hearing them only once. A couple days ago, he was bugging Nala and I told him to be kind to Nala because she keeps us safe. Yesterday, another dog came in the yard which Nala chased away. Later, Eli was scared to play out in the yard so I told him, "don't worry, Nala is there with you and I am right here (on the porch) watching." The he said "yes, Nala keeps us safe." I loved how he remembered what I said and used it in the right context!

One thing he recently started was answering with "yes." He used to nod, say yeah, or do something else less formal. Now, it's "yes." He sounds so proper! His cousin, Adi, in Kenya says "yes" just like it so I think he learned it from her.

Eli loves singing and does it all the time. One song he is learning is the Barney song. "I love you... you love me..." He hasn't got it quite right yet. All he sings is "I love me... I love me..." It cracks me up every time.

I think I am going to start doing a little homeschooling. He soaks things up so quickly that I think he will respond well to a little learning each day. Nothing major. I will start with letters, numbers, colors and things like that for just a few minutes each day and see where it gets us.

Lately, Eli loves playing outside. He can stay out there for hours with just a spoon and some old bowls. He pretends he is cooking and brings me all kinds of "food." It's fun to see him grow a little more independent.

I am trying to prepare him for the arrival of the baby. So far it has been received positively. We have prayed (with him) for a baby for a while now during our evening prayers so the concept isn't new to him. He seems to be excited and says the baby can sleep with him. We'll soon see how much he really understands! Of course I am happy about the baby, but part of me is sad to not have just Eli anymore. I don't want to have to share my attention, but I must. I have treasured these last two years with him, hard times and all. He is just the best.

Happy Birthday Eli!

George in Action

Since I was busy with Eli, I missed out of a lot of the activity. One thing I love seeing is George in action (thanks Brianna for the photos!). Here are a few photos of him doing what he loves to do...helping people in God's name.



On the last day, the team played games with the kids. George is so good with them.

The Faces of the Medical Camp

One of the team members, Brianna, got some awesome shots at the camp. It was hard to select only a few (ok, many, but less than 50!) of hers to post. Here are some pictures I will call, the faces of the medical camp. They are why the team works so hard and spends so much money to do these camps in Kenya. We love them because God loves them.

Safari

We were invited to join the team for a one day safari at Lake Nakuru at the end of the trip. We were very blessed by their generosity. Since Eli likes the "Lion King," it was fun showing him animals in person.

My camera died early in the morning, so the only photo I got was of buffalo. So exciting. :)



Here are a few more photos from the day (thanks Lisa and Brianna for the photos!)




Eli was thrilled to see a real life Mufasa!



There is a beautiful place called Baboon Cliff that overlooks the lake.



At the end of the game drive, we had lunch at a super fancy hotel. There was the most delicious buffet of both African and foreign food (including American). Best meal I have had in three years! Eli fell asleep in the car, but woke up shortly after we started eating.




While I loved seeing the animals, I especially cherished the opportunity to spend more time with the team. We had an extra two nights with them before having to say our goodbyes.

Thanks guys! We love you!