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Today is Rob's 33rd Birthday...AND...We are going to start learning Swahili from the beginning...again!

Last week we had some teammates from Mozambique come up to consult us on our language program. We didn't know what to expect from our time together. We just hoped that we would get some direction as to what to do next. We are so excited about a program they orientated us to. In this program we will start over from the beginning to make sure we don't miss anything. We are so thankful to have some direction and a plan. We are preparing to start the program next week. A really cool aspect to this program is that the kids can be involved. WooHoo!!

We are preparing for a missions team to come from our sending church in Florida. They will be working with well projects in another country in Africa then they will come for a visit to see us for a few days. We are very much looking forward to seeing them and showing them around our area. Please pray for their travel safety.

Rob, kids, and I are all doing great. We are all healthy! Shelbyanne told me the other day that she loves living in our house. It is comforting to know that the kids are adjusting so well. Today I was changing Donovan's diaper and I told him, "I love you." It really sounded like he said back to me, "I love you too." It was so sweet. He is such a loving little boy. He will walk up to me while I am cooking in the kitchen and turn me around so he can give me a hug.

So, that's it for tonight. Thanks for all you love, prayers, and support!
Usiku mwema! Good Night!
Amy

A visit with friends and a "typical" day...

Another great week. We are all doing really well. Rob and I are progressing in our Swahili studies and building relationships with those around us. Shelbyanne is doing great in homeschool to finish her kindergarten year. She absolutely loves all the "wild" animals around town (goats, chickens, cats, dogs, cows). She wants to hold/pet them all. Emily is not afraid to jump right in with the local kids and play. Language is not a barrier for her. Donovan is growing like a weed. He loves to play and climb and jump. He is a fun boy to have around. He makes the people here smile. Especially when he speaks his 1 year old Swahili. :) We had our pastor and his family over for a meal last weekend. We ate lunch, then Donovan went down for a nap. The girls had fun showing them their stuff. (Emily- her leapster; Shelbyanne- her bug that she caught) Pictures below.

A Typical day for us!
Wake up between 7-7:30. Have breakfast. Clean up then Shelbyanne and I do homeschool. Rob watches Donovan and Emily in the playroom or from the window right outside the room while he works on Swahili with our guard. After homeschool it is time to prepare lunch. This is when Upendo and I work on my Swahili. She has been teaching me to cook the food from here, and the vocabulary that goes along with it. It has been great. We are able to communicate pretty well, in Swahili since she doesn't speak much English. After lunch we clean up then I do some communication stuff on the computer/internet while the kids rest and Rob prepares for our language session with the Pastor. He comes 4 days a week at 2pm, and we sit for 1-2 hours asking questions and learning new pieces to the language puzzle. After he leaves we get Donovan up from nap and play for a bit while I or Rob prepares dinner. We eat, bathe the kids while watching a bit of a movie, get them ready for bed, and its nighty night time for the kiddos. Then Rob and I spend some time catching up on communications, laundry, and whatever we didn't finish in the day before getting ready for bed ourselves. Some days we get to walk around our area for different reasons, although walks haven't become part of our routine, yet. They will soon. I took Donovan to the clinic in our area yesterday because he has a bad rash in his diaper area that isn't going away. I carried him like the women here carry their young children in the material pouch(like a baby sling in the US). It was so much easier to carry him and so many people were watching me. I don't know if they were amazed or thought it was funny. I was excited that I was able to do it, it worked, and was much more comfortable than carrying him on my hip. Anyways, that is a day without any surprises which rarely happens. Hope it helps you to get an idea of our life right now.
Make Each Day Count! Blessings,

Amy