seeing spots

This spotted magnificent creature hand made by the Lord was more than breathtaking. Leopards are rarely seen in the wild and here is one, seemingly posing for us, in this huge tree where he is comfortably lounging. We had the joy of beholding him during an afternoon river cruise after our meetings were complete. We were staying in Kafue National Park. Can I just say one more time how he calls out the glory of the Lord...how creative and artistic the Lord is!

Thanksgiving blessings

Look at this group of kids! These are the missionary kid cousins from all over Zambia who came to celebrate Thanksgiving with their missionary parents and PLAY PLAY PLAY till they dropped into bed at night. Madylanne is hugging Evie in the center of the back row, and Matthew is in the front row with the boys. A fantastic time was had by all. Lord, thank You for the blessing of friendship.

Eureka!

We are SO THANKFUL for the water pump that we were able to purchase with money from the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. Sesheke’s water supply, the Zambezi River, has plenty of water in it, however one of the main pumps to push it through pipes all over town is broken, again. This means very few people in town are getting much water, if any. This includes us and has for a long time. So thank you, supporters, for giving to the Lottie Moon Christmas offering so that we can have water! We also will pump it from the Zambezi River, which is behind the backyard, into the house and yard.

Happy Birthday!

Pastor Given turned 20 today, Happy Birthday Given! We had him over for dinner and chocolate birthday cake. You could see his cake much better if my Sprite wasn't in the way. Oh well.  :) We thank God for you, Given! He is finishing up his grade 12 finals and will be done November 19th.

Another special birthday today is my Grandma Gragg's birthday. Happy birthday Grandma Gragg! It made my heart so happy to hear your voice on my computer today. I love you and miss you so much. Thank you for all the wonderful memories we have together and for always praying for me, even from the time I was a child. I love you and cherish you! May God bless you everyday but especially today, your birthday! I love you. :)

Airborn

 Mark and Daniel, our team leader, went to a meeting in Botswana last week on this plane, piloted by Andy, from Flying Mission. A week passed and we waited for them at the airstrip near Daniel's house- you can see how happy the kids were to welcome their Daddy and pose with the pilot and plane! It was a lot of fun watching it zoom in and land right next to us. Thank You Lord, for Andy and for Flying Mission.

While Mark and Daniel were at the meeting, the kids and I stayed with Daniel's wife, Sky, and their two beautiful children, River Belle and Country. Here they are getting a ride on the hammock. We had a lovely week together!

Oh Happy Day!

Here is our sweet Madylanne, of whom we are so proud, wet from head to toe after having been baptized Sunday October 21st! She accepted Jesus last month and ever since then has been seriously considering baptism. She decided last Saturday that it was time to get baptized and so here she is, making her decision to follow Christ public. We are so thrilled for you, Madylanne! I know Mark was so filled with joy over being able to baptize our own daughter. Such a gift and blessing from the Lord to know Madylanne is following the Lord. We love you Madylanne and are so proud of you! May the Lord keep you on His path and your heart true to Him. May you grow in grace and knowledge and shine with the love of Jesus!

God brings the increase

We are sure praising the Lord for His goodness...Sunday SEVEN people were baptized! yeah Jesus!!! Pastor Given is in the blue t-shirt, he baptized everyone except Madylanne. Mark wanted that privilege himself. Thank You Lord for what You are doing in Sesheke! (and it is the culture of the people here NOT to smile in important photos, that is why you see grim faces!) :)

A Joyful Noise

Thanks to the volunteers who came from North Carolina in July and a generous school there, Pastor Given is playing a guitar that was carried on a plane from the States all the way to Sesheke. He is learning to play it and already leading some songs at church. He is a fast learner and is really doing well. Please continue to pray for Pastor Given as he begins his grade 12 final exams next week and will be taking them over the next month.

Foundations for Farming

Mark and Bo Dominic (and Madylanne) are trying something new to us, but tried and true for many others. It is a method of farming called Foundations for Farming that is based upon being a good steward of the land God has given us, and teaches people how to make the most of even a little water available to nourish crops that, if cared for properly, should be more than enough to feed one's family. We are praying the small crop of maize will grow beautifully out front of our gate and that it will be a way to share Jesus with others as well as a tangible way of showing people in Sesheke how to grow crops with little water and be able to feed their families.

This little piggy went to Sesheke

Last week we took a road trip (it's a big deal to get in the truck and drive somewhere...we walk most everywhere around here) and 15 mins down the road we came upon an area called the "Sawmills" where we bought 4 pigs. Three are small and one is medium sized. They live in a pen in the backyard and the kids love to feed them scraps. The dogs love to bark at them. Mark takes good care of them. And I (Melynda) love to steer clear of them! ha The area where they were purchased, the Sawmills, may in fact be a good area for a new Bible study. Please be in prayer about this.

Gobble gobble cluck cluck cheep cheep!

 With all the oinks and gobbles and clucks and cheep cheeps around our place it's a regular circus these days, especially when the dogs join the chorus with their bow wow wows. Our kitty meows occasionally but she's definitely not the noisiest animal in our yard.  :)

Mmmmmm...I love strawberries!

Matthew's favorite time of the day is strawberry pickin' time every morning! It's all I can do to get them washed and soaked before he pops one into his mouth. We all enjoy them immensely and thank God for each one we gleefully devour.  

here comes the bride

 Madylanne is quite the bonny bride, don't you think?

 With the hot days we've been having of late we're all drowsy in the afternoons...Madylanne curled up in her stuffed animal box and snuggled in for a snooze.

Better than Maytag

These are my lovely dishwashers. As you can see Matthew is barely hanging on to his spot on the stool! Truth be told they just like to splash in the water and play...not really washing dishes at all...but they love it and I do too.  :)

I made a volcano!

Madylanne made a volcano in school on Friday...she was pretty excited to see it erupt, although it was a little smaller than we expected. Next time we'll have to make it a bit bigger.  :) We try to make Fridays fun around our place...show and tell day at school, experiment day about once a month, and of course Family Fun Friday night with pizza perpetually on the menu.  :)

This lovely woman is Bo Namasiku, the mother of this sweet sleeping child, Mulemba. Many of you have heard stories of Bo Namasiku and her new found faith in Jesus. Bo Namasiku is pregnant with their 6th child and the little one pictured above has trouble sleeping sometimes. Bo Namasiku says, "It is good to follow Jesus. Now our dreams are sweet." Please continue to pray for Mulemba to sleep well and for Bo Namasiku as she will be having another baby soon. Please also pray for her husband, Bo Muselo, who is on the path to following Jesus but still struggles with alcohol. Please pray he will let Jesus help him fight this battle.  

How does our garden grow?

Mark made a protective cage of sorts to keep our strawberries safe from birds, who love our strawberries as much as we do! Matthew LOVES them and as soon as he sees a red one he will do whatever he can to get it in his mouth!

We have sunflowers in our garden!  A nice reminder of Kansas right in the heart of Africa.  :)

We had the great joy of spending the weekend at a fellow team member's home two weekends ago, and while there we were able to worship with them at Litoma Baptist Church. God bless you, Daniel and Sky, as you teach the Word of God and lead by example. You can see they are using the Chronological Bible storying cloth to share 42 stories from Creation to the ascension of Christ. Now they are teaching through the book of Acts and Lord willing, there will be a story cloth for this soon, too.

Here are some photos of church family at Litoma Baptist Church. This is Allan, and below him is Pumelo. Their wives and children are in the next two pictures. Please pray for these two families and the Scotts as they gather for worship on Sundays...that this church would grow! Pray also that there would be unity, and that a new generation would be raised up to worship Jesus Christ.

Living it up at the Scotts

Daniel and Sky gave us the best weekend....we are having the most relaxing time here...can't you tell? From boat rides to playing in the kiddy sprinkler to hot dog and smore roast on the beach to sitting in man chairs and watching tv, we did it all!

Here we are...from left to right we are Melynda, Matthew, Sky, Country (in Sky's lap), River Belle, and Madylanne
We had a lovely time and so did the kids!
Thanks for a wonderful weekend at your place, Daniel and Sky. :)

Baptist Mission of Sesheke

WOW do we have reason to praise the Lord...this top photo is the frame for Baptist Mission of Sesheke with all the church family in front. The men in the second picture were busy Friday digging holes and putting in poles. One of the men had been drinking as of late but through the encouragement of the Holy Spirit and the other men in the church he is coming around. He is the one holding his daughters.
The small building with a door is the storage area that, Lord willing, will soon be Pastor Given's home. And the bottom picture shows the latrine.

Thank You God for all that you are doing in the life of Baptist Mission of Sesheke! May it grow and be a beacon of light and truth in Sesheke!!

Betty and Muhau

Muhau is Betty's dear friend and quickly becoming a good friend of mine, too. (she is in the orange shirt)
She accepted Jesus at the ladies Bible study this week and has been helping teach songs and games to the kids during Sunday School for a few months now. We are praising God she is a part of His kingdom and our sister in Christ!
These ladies and Madylanne gave me a lovely bouquet they picked for my birthday Saturday.

The bottom picture shows Muhau and Betty leading the kids games at church.

One of my best birthdays ever

I (Melynda) had a birthday Saturday and it was one of the best birthdays I have ever had in my entire life, thanks to my wonderful family. Mark let me sleep in till 8am and cooked and did dishes ALL day. Plus he helped the kids make me a beautiful card. Madylanne drew pictures for me all day. And I got to listen to and watch the kids have a ball outside while I was in the kitchen with Mark. Pastor Given joined us for lunch. Then later in the aftenoon I got to go to church with Madylanne to help rake the plot and see what the men had done the day before...put in the poles for the church building. Wow did my heart rejoice ALL DAY LONG. Thank You, Lord, for such a special birthday!
And thank you Pastor Given for taking some family photos. :)

Mama's Cuties

Had to put in some new shots of the kids having fun in various ways. Matthew and Madylanne washed the stool for me on my birthday and really blessed me by giving me the opportunity to listen to them laugh and play while I was in the kitchen watching them from the window and door.

Matthew loves to splash himself with water and "help" wash dishes in the kitchen sink now that he is tall enough to reach it when he's up on his tip toes on the stool.

Madylanne got to pose for a picture with Pastor Given, who has been digging a big hole for a new trash pit. Madylanne loved being down there!

There's a zebra in our living room

We were able to pick up Mark's zebra skin from the taxidermist this week. We were really surprised to see how big it is! And magnificent...we are still trying to figure out how to display it! Seeing the symmetry and lovely design the Lord used to create this zebra up close is incredible. The Lord did such a fantastic job creating her!