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!