Birthdays Galore!

Today is the birthday of one of my favorite men EVER - my daddy :)

He is enjoying his birthday on an RV trip with my mom (and the gourmet coffee and dark choc cashews I got him!) :)

Meanwhile, across the ocean, 3 more birthdays were being celebrated! Hildah turned 33 on May 13th!

This girl LOVES earrings and ALL things girly :)

Teacher Carolyn shares a birthday with my dad - she turned 51 today! (She totally wouldn't mind that I just told you that! Plus, she has no interent... ;)

I got her this pink zebra scarf..because I want one too! Carolyn (aka the Sock Queen) also got 3 new pairs of socks, cappuccino, and a Coke zero - all of her favorite things! :)

Papa Wes turned 55 yesterday!! He still looks young! :)

Wes & Carolyn blow out their candles!

Let the water pouring begin!!

A New Road!

If you've been to New Day, you know that the closer you get to our land, the bumpier the dirt roads get! We get stuck several times a year due to our washed out bridges. But this past rainy season, we also found ourselves literally STUCK in the mud several times! The roads are getting worse each year, so we were so blessed when the Chinese gave us a HUGE discount to come and create a nice, packed, almost gravel road all the way from New Day to the main Pemba road! You wouldn't recognize the place!

This was an amazing opportunity to get to build relationships with Mr. Young and Dominic, the two Chinese men who oversaw the project. Wes even had a chance to witness to them - how cool for an American to share Christ with a Chinese man in Africa! Our God is BIG :)

The work was completed in just 9 days!

New Day Cookout!

Something we always do with volunteer teams is sit around a campfire, have s'mores, and sing songs or share testimonies. (how very kum-bah-yah of us, right?!) But we have never done this with our New Day family! So last night, we told them to all skip supper, head down to our place at 6pm, and bring a stick! They were very confused. :) We had a feast of chili dogs, chips, cokes, and s'mores! It was a blast, and even though there were 36 people there, it really felt like we were one huge family! (We missed you, Debbie!) After the food, we sang a few songs, had prayer time, and then set up a telescope so the kids could find the Southern Cross and check out the moon. (Did you know in the Southern Hemisphere they see a rabbit on the moon, not the man on the moon! The kids have been learning about Space in Teacher Carolyn's Science class!) We had a great time and everyone left saying, "Let's do this again!!" :)

Misheck (who is much better) enjoys his first s'more!

Mulenga (who is VERY methodic about every single thing he does...) was by far the best marshmallow roaster!

Teacher Diana held Kefi the whole night to keep him out of the fire! Michelle loved roasting!

Our feast table!

Cynthia says "Yummy!"

Cambree is an old pro at roasting thanks to Paw & B-Maw :) (the first marshmallow I ever roasted was also with Paw & B-Maw when I was 18 years old!!)

The girls in their cute new track suits! Not the greatest pic, but it was right at sunset!

Abby & Liz had too much fun!

And the boys in their new sweatsuits!

Debbie's Blog

Debbie, our amazing volunteer who is in charge of all things agriculture at New Day, is in the USA for a 6 week break! Check out her blog for a first hand glimpse of what "reentry" into America is like after being gone almost 18 months! :) www.texasamericansinmapanza.blogspot.com

Prayers Needed

Today I write asking you to pray for our close friends and fellow missionaries, Jeff & Staci Powers. The Powers serve about an hour from us, and we join together for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Superbowl, and other fun American fellowships. A tumor was found on Jeff's pancreas in South Africa last week, and Jeff & Staci rushed back to America for further testing and diagnosis. The doctor suspects cancer, but they will get final results next Monday. Please pray that God will do a miracle for Jeff & Staci. We know He is able.

Annual Powers Christmas party 2012

Mother's Day 2013

Mother's Day 2013 has certainly been eventful!! From a new bread machine, to a spitting cobra in my bedroom, to a special fashion show presented by the New Day kids, it has been an exciting day!

Margaret (Banene) gets a hug from Caedmon

Laurie led the kids in the fashion show and a Mother's Day poem - here she is giving the kids last minute instructions!

Muchoni, Misheck, & Francis on the runway!

Teacher Carolyn models her hat (Teacher Diana in the background!)

Teacher Abby loves her Mother's Day drawings from the kids!

Cambree is not shy on the runway!

Cason models his hat

Caedmon is our shy one!

The kids made flower pot photos and a great Mother's Day sign!

The whole group!

Meanwhile back at home, Blu surprised me with a bread machine - YUM!

And my sweet babies gave me a foot rub!

And finally, as I lay down this afternoon to rest in my bed with a good book, Blu came into the room. My skirt from church was on the floor (I had sweats on, don't worry!), and he looked at the skirt strangely and said, "Look! Something is in your skirt!!" I noticed the skirt fluttering and told him the wind was just blowing it. Suddenly the skirt sprung up and Blu threw a shoe at it. We both realized it was a snake and I flew out of the room, leaving him with a shoe to kill this spitting cobra! I will certainly never forget this day!

Happy Birthday x 3!

Today we celebrated Purity's 7th birthday (April 12th), Abby's 35th birthday (May 3rd), and Diana's birthday (TODAY!)! It was lots of fun, although it's getting cold for the water pouring!!

Purity

She had a good plan to use Joseph as a shield but it didn't really work for her!

Pretty girl!

Diana is almost always laughing!

Run, Diana, run!

She didn't manage to outrun Elizabeth!

Mama Lala makes the birthdays come together with perfection - she just has that special touch!

Abby is looking up to see if Wes & Blu rigged up water hoses on the ceiling again this year!

Nope, just plain old buckets for you, Abby!

3 special ladies :)

Prayers for Misheck

One of our sweet boys, Misheck, has been in the hospital since yesterday with an infection (caused severe swelling in his leg). He is getting iv antibiotics and is about 30 minutes from us. His housemother, Mama Joyce, is staying with him. Though we are very pleased with the care he is getting, African hospitals are still a little different from hospitals in the USA! He is in the "male ward", with about 16 other boys/men in beds around him. Nurses make their rounds, but his doctor saw him yesterday and won't make rounds again until Thursday. A caregiver stays with him and prepares food for him. She has a small chair beside his bed where she sleeps, but she is not allowed to bring her own blanket or pillow again! Joyce called today and said "Please bring me some pants to wear under my skirt - it is so cold!"

We miss Misheck so much, and he wants to come home! He told Mama Joyce, "I am never coming to this place again!" When I asked him what he wanted us to tell the kids back at New Day, he said "that I love them." Please pray with us that his infection would clear up quickly and he would be able to return home to us!