Madylanne's 3rd birthday

This funfetti icing is yummy! Thanks Aunt Sarah and Uncle David!

Way to spend your 3rd birthday, Madylanne...a river boat ride with hippos!

Happy 3rd Birthday Madylanne!

Our visit with the Turners

Here are some highlights from our trip through Botswana and our visit with our dear friends the Turners. We love you Brent, Amanda, and Taylor! While there we got to see some local wildlife at an animal reserve and Madylanne celebrated an early 3rd birthday with her best buddy, Taylor, since they are both June kids.

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Madylanne has learned how to ride her trike! We are so proud of her!!

This is a video clip from a wedding Melynda attended here in Sesheke two weeks ago. We are the neighbors of a friend of the bride.

Because Brent Turner said I had to

On our way back to Sesheke we stopped off in Lobatse, Botswana to see our friends the Turners. While there I had the opportunity to go hunting. It has been 10+ years since I had hunted anything besides fish. We started out at 6 am was hunting by 7 and celebrating by 8am. When we arrived on sight we spotted an impala in the distance. Staying downwind we were able to come around up to its position to find that he had moved on. However, we did see a kudu that was lined up perfect for a shot, but we were hunting impala.

We continued walking in the same direction and came up on a group of male impalas. As we approached them I thought it was not going to turn out so good with all the snorting they were doing. However, I was able to get a shot on the bully of the group and took it. His horns measured at 21.75”.

Thank you Robert for taking me to your spot and everything else you did to insure I would be able to take an impala.

Brent, this blog is for you. May it reach all the way to your expectations.

Happy Resurrection Sunday coming up… Our Savior lives!

Hello family and friends!! How are you all?? We are still in the middle of language study; we are forming sentences and are able to understand a bit of what people say to us. We have a new member in our family- a cat!! Her name is Isabelle and we adopted her from a couple at the Mission House in Lusaka who are transferring to another country and needed a good home for her. It’s nice to have a kitty again!! Madylanne really enjoys her company, as do we all.

We attended two parades this week- one Monday to celebrate Women’s Day and then one Friday, to celebrate Youth Day. Students from all the schools here in the area marched to the beat of huge drums and performed songs and dances, and a Lozi man dressed in traditional Lozi clothing performed a song about the history of the Lozi people. It was wonderful!! We loved experiencing the culture up close and personal!

Here are some additional pics of life in Sesheke.

The locally made furniture furniture store.

The biggest hardware store in town. Not quite a Lowes but in a pinch it might not have what you need.

The local police station.

The Sesheke Post Office or at least as it used to be.

The new and improved Sesheke Post Office.

The Sesheke hospital.

The local market on a Sunday afternoon.

Madylanne making friends at the Youth Parade.

The only gas station in town but it also serves as a location marker when people ask where we live. When we are asked we answer, "Lui na kwa mulouho wa Vuma." (We live behind the Vuma)

The road to our house.

Flowers in our front yard.

A group discussion. (From left to right: Mark, Dominic, and Musenge)

Madylanne hiding behind our banana tree.

The sky over our house

Our life up to this point

God provided an excellent language helper for us. Her name is Tereser (pronounced Teresa), and she is Dominic’s wife. She is a Lozi woman, speaks the language beautifully, and is very patient with us, so we feel really blessed that God answered our and your prayers!

Another answer to prayer- we got our crates!!! Yes, we can barely believe it either! We didn’t expect them to arrive until closer to Easter, so when we got the phone call that they had arrived in the capital city, Lusaka, a few weeks ago we were shocked. Nearly everything is unpacked now and it feels much homier with our own “stuff” around us.

We love being here in Sesheke. The people are very friendly and we are getting to know our neighbors better, and others whom God puts in our path. We have come face to face with AIDS through someone the Lord let us meet, share His good news of love and salvation with her, and then learn that she passed away later the same day we had shared with her. Life is very fragile. Every moment counts!

We visited Victoria Falls, which is about 2 hours away from here in Livingstone. It is beyond description, you will just have to come and see its grandeur for yourselves!!! As I looked at it, too big to see all of it unless you move your head to the left and the right, I knew I was looking at the work of God. His works sing His praises! Madylanne loved getting soaking wet from its mist as we passed close by the falls on a long wooden bridge.

Fridays are fun days around here. We kick back in the evening and make pizza from scratch (there are no pizza joints around here!). Last Friday we had a picnic on the patio and watched the sun set over the Zambezi River as we ate. Lovely!!

Here are some additional pictures:

Madylanne playing with her friends

Eating mango from one of our mango trees

Madylanne traveling the African way

Chitenge time

Christmas in Africa with the Upper Zambezi Team

Crossing the Zambezi with Daniel and Sky

On a road in Zambia

Keeping cool and playing hard

What have you found on your front porch lately?

Remembering God's promise

Making memories

Madylanne's room

How do you like the new do?