Three kids?

Wow, our family has three kids in it now...it's still sinking in....and we are so very thankful to God! Micah is 6 weeks old exactly in this photo.

Big boy bed

We were so blessed to find a toddler bed while in Johannesburg! Matthew is loving it. Thanks Nana, for the sheets!!

BFF

Look at these two beauties! Madylanne and Taylor are best friends forever. We love you Tay!!

sleeping like a baby

                                               
                                           what a cutie....but then again, I know I'm biased  :)

we love Micah

Here are a few shots of Micah with some of his biggest fans. :)

Thank You Lord for Dr. Frohlich

This is Dr. Frohlich, the OB/Gyn who helped bring Micah into the world. And he helped bring Matthew into the world, too. Thank You Lord, for his expertise and care!  

Mamas and babies

Here are some shots of the folks we have shared the last few weeks with here at the guesthouse- look at all these beautiful babies! Isn't God so good!! Three boys and three girls. 

This is a shot of some of us before we delivered. And the sweetie on the end was the first of all 6 babies to be born.

Welcome, Micah John

Here is our Micah John, born at 8:45 am Monday September 29th, weighing 6 pounds 3 oz and 19.5 inches long. Micah means "Who is like God?" and John means, "Graciousness of God." In the Bible both Micah and John pointed to the coming of the Savior- and that is our prayer for Micah John- that first he will know and love Jesus as his Savior, and second, that he will point people to Jesus. Welcome, sweet Micah! We thank God for you and love you so much!!

Here's Nana!

We are so thankful to the Lord that Melynda's mom, Bev, (Nana) is here with us in Johannesburg at this very special time! She is a blessing to all of us. Thank you, Mom, for your love, support, and presence. We love you!

I love McDonald's

Look at this face- one happy camper when we saw the golden arches and pulled in....the power that McDonald's wields over children is incredible.  :) And I might add, our burgers and nuggets were delicious.  Thank you, South Africa, for McDonald's!  :)

Sweet Savanna

Here are some fun shots with our dear former team leaders- their sweet daughter Savanna, Mama Sky, and the kids on the stairs:

Country, River Belle, Matthew and Madylanne

We were so blessed to be able to see their whole family for a few days last week. 

celebrating birthdays

Here are Madylanne and Matthew with Taylor and Bradyn, dear missionary friends in Botswana. We got to visit them on our way to Johannesburg. The kids are celebrating all the birthdays they have missed celebrating together over the last two years- that's how long it's been since we saw them last. Thank you Lord for the gift of friendship!

happy birthday Melynda

Here's a family shot taken on Melynda's birthday, September 1st. What a wonderful birthday....Mark even made me a beautiful origami tulip, which I am holding up....thank You Lord, for my precious family.

Shanna and Marijn

These lovely ladies on each side of me, Marijn on the left and Shanna on the right, are visitors to Sesheke from the Netherlands. Some of their friends came to visit them for a while, too. Marijn and Shanna are social workers who came to volunteer for a few months at the school where the kids and I have been sharing Bible stories. We really enjoyed getting to know these gals and thank God for their hearts which are so willing to serve others. Please pray for them, as they will be headed back home to the Netherlands soon. Pray also for them to follow Jesus with all their hearts!

Raising the Roof

Here are the iron sheets, up on the frame of the church building, woohooo! Just a few more to go and it will be finished! Praising God for this ----may His praises raise the roof!!

Pastor Dominik and Teresa

Yes, that's right! Bo Dominik let the church know recently that he has been feeling God lead him to become pastor of the church, Baptist Mission of Sesheke Church. Mark and Bo Dominik have discussed this many times and prayed about it a lot. The church immediately said they would pray and discuss it and voted the following Sunday. He was voted as pastor by a unanimous decision. We are so thrilled to present Pastor Dominik and his wife Teresa. :) May God lead Pastor Dominik as he shepherds the church. He and Mark meet multiple times a week for discipleship and mentoring. Pastor Dominik is a servant leader, who genuinely cares for people and preaches the Word rightly. Pray for Pastor Dominik in his new role as pastor, and Teresa too, as pastor's wife.

First day of school

The kids are excited about their first day back to school- we took a week off and hit the books again this week. Madylanne (a big second grader) likes learning cursive and Matthew (a big pre-schooler) likes to cut. They are holding up some of their new school books. Thank you, Tabernacle, for bringing them!!!

Being 3 is great.....

Matthew loves to help me mash up bananas for banana bread. 

                      We made play dough a few weeks ago and now it's one of his favorite things to do.

Madylanne's first sewing project

I couldn't believe it when Madylanne told me she wanted to sew a blanket for her baby doll. So here she is, sewing away. 

                                  And here is the finished blanket: tada! Way to go, Madylanne.  :)

having fun

Madylanne and Matthew have really been enjoying playing on the rock pile in the front yard as of late. 

And they love to play with the neighbor kids next door too- making a clubhouse.

 This is Madylanne with two neighborhood girls- Precious on the left is 6, and Muila on the right is 8.

Super friends!

Matthew had so much fun with the guys from the volunteer team- Macall, Parker, and Peyton- you are Super Friends! 

Madylanne also loved every minute with her buddies- Micah, Wyn, and Merritt. We love you ladies.  :)

                             Mac, thanks for all the fun and for chasing Matthew around for us!!

Pierce and Clifton, you veterans you, we love you guys!

Upper Zambezi Team 2014

This is our most recent team photo of the whole Upper Zambezi Team, taken last week in Lusaka at our team meeting. Gerri is on the far left and Melissa is holding Madylanne, who just turned 7. Mark is in the back holding Matthew, who is 3 now, and Melynda has a baby bump, 6 months along now. Gerri and Melissa also live in the Western Province, in the capital of the province, Mongu, which is about 5 hours to drive from where we live in Sesheke. Our team has changed shape a bit since last term.....three families have answered God's calling to other ministries and so this is us now.....Gerri, Melissa, and the Wints. Please pray for God to give us vision and tenacity, unity and perseverance, and boldness to share the Truth of Jesus Christ with the 1 million plus Lozi people and other tribes of people in the Western Province!!

Mr. Triceratops

We saw one of these critters on a recent trip....I like to call him Mr. Triceratops although I bet this colorful chameleon really does have a proper name of his own.  :)

my dolly

This beautiful little girl is Kasamba, and she is holding her doll. Yes, you read that right. This is the doll she has made from a used water bottle and a left over hair extension. And you can see the smile on her face. That says it all. :)

Team Tabernacle 2014

A volunteer team of 17 people- THREE entire families- from Tabernacle Baptist Church, in Cartersville, GA, came to Sesheke to share Jesus and encourage the church from May 28-June 4th. We loved being with them every minute they were here....and so did the church......the next few pics are from their week in Sesheke.

Sharing love and laughter

These two sisters from Tabernacle (McKenzie and Macie) had so much fun sharing the love of Jesus with the kids at the church plot. ALL the volunteers did such an amazing job sharing Jesus the week they were here....they shared Jesus in the high school, in a preschool, going door to door around Sesheke, through church activities such as mother daughter and father son gatherings, a marriage conference, a youth meeting, and a baptism...we love you, Tabernacle Baptist Church, and thank God for you! 

Baptized in Africa

These eight people were just baptized- six from the Baptist Mission Church of Sesheke, and two from Tabernacle Baptist Church (Cartersville, GA). What a wonderful day indeed!!! Two of those baptized are the children of Bo Dominik (Junior and Rita), and the two from GA who were baptized (Wyn and Mac) are children of volunteer team members Clift and Melanie. We are so very excited for all that God is doing in people's hearts in Sesheke and so thankful for all that God did in and through the team from Tabernacle.

Precious Nursery School

This is a shot of the 1-2nd grade classroom at the Precious Nursery School, and the teacher, Teacher Susan. The kids and Melynda have the privilege of going every Wednesday to share Bible stories with this class and many of the other children- sometimes 50 kids, sometimes 12...no matter how many are there we love to tell them about God's love, share a Bible verse, and sing a song together.

Meow!

Introducing Poof- and his sister Spark, who is hiding. The kids LOVE their kitties. Thank You Lord for the blessing of cuddly pets.  :)