Kids Sunday School

We had the best day ever Sunday under the tree...look at all the kids we had for Sunday School! I shared the story from Luke about the Good Samaritan and then they did a skit, or a 'sketch' as they call it here. I was so proud of them!
The young woman in the yellow shirt is named Lillianne. She accepted Christ Tuesday at the Ladies Bible study and wants to be baptized! She will be a part of the baptism classes that Given is teaching to make sure she understands everything...we are just so thrilled for her!!!!
I got to visit her at her home today and meet her family. Lord please bless Lillianne and help her grow in her relationship with You. Bless her as she mothers her sweet baby, help her to raise baby Mary to follow You, too, Father, and fill them with Your love and hope.

going to be baptized soon

These men are Oscar, in the black shirt, and Dominik, in the white shirt, who is seated next to his children Rita and Jr.
Oscar and Dominik said they wanted to be baptized as a public sign that they are following Jesus. When Mark talked to Oscar about it more in depth Oscar realized he had never actually been born again. So that very day Oscar asked Jesus to be his Lord and is attending baptism classes taught by Mark and Given. Dominik has already finished his baptism classes and will be baptized soon, probably in the next few weeks.
Yeah, thank You Lord for these men wanting to follow in Your footsteps!! Please help them grow in their relationships with You....

the Smith family

We had the delight and honor of having Tyler and Evie Smith at our house for a few days last week while their parents, Mike and Amy, were at a conference in Zimbabwe at the falls. Mike and Amy are teammates and live in another town in the Western Province called Kaoma. It was such a blessing to have Tyler and Evie with us...Madylanne loved every minute and so did the rest of us! The next few blog entries give you a glimpse of the fun we had while they were here. We love our missionary kid cousins!

floating on the Zambezi

Here are Mark, Evie, Madylanne, Tyler, Given and Dominik, all enjoying a turn on the boat...Madylanne's first boat ride was made all the more exciting by having Evie there to experience it with her. They even got to see some hippos on their jaunt!

getting in the river

This is what is takes to get the boat in the water! This is the Zambezi River right behind our house. The progression begins with the boat being aired up (the last picture). Then you can see it being carried down the side of the steep bank.

having fun with Evie

Here are Madylanne and Evie, with Tyler in the background. We had fun in the kitchen making goodies. :)

I'm a Little Pepper

Here is Matthew, munching on some fruit with his fruit thingy, sporting his I'm a Little Pepper shirt from his Kansas cousins (yeah Dr. Pepper!!! someday we'll get to drink some again! ha) and looking handsome in his brand new booster seat, thanks to Nana and the Fedeles...thank you guys for sending it our way! Matthew is so blessed!

my mk cousin Levi

I thought this was a cute shot of Madylanne and her missionary kid cousin Levi, walking hand in hand at Vic Falls when we were there for the marathon. Levi is just a few months older than Madylanne and whenever we have opportunity to be around the Lowes Madylanne and Levi (and his sisters Zoe and Hadassah too for that matter) really enjoy one another's company.

making baby food

So here's the set up for making baby food when there isn't any to buy at the grocery store...buy whatever fresh veggies are available or grow them in our garden, then steam them, then puree them with the hand blender, then freeze them in ice cube trays, then put them in ziploc bags for storage in the freezer, then microwave 1-2 cubes for 20 seconds for a serving of veggies! So far Matthew likes everything he has tried- pumpkin, butternut squash, zucchini, carrots...but NOT green beans! ha!

School time!

Here is Madylanne, smiling away as we work on the letter S. Homeschool preschool is fun!

my cutie pie

Here are some recent shots of Matthew- he is happy on his tummy in this one, rare! In the next one notice his arm over his blanket...even though it's in the mid 80's in the house now most of the time, he still sleeps with his blankie...or doesn't sleep at all!! :) thanks Ruth for this soft cuddly lovie!