This week!

This was a fun but busy week! Blu worked with his Dad, my mom came and spent the day with me and we decorated for Fall!, we spoke at a private school's chapel service, had lunch with Johnny Boy & Pat, had an eye dr. appointment, had dentist appointments, meeting with a missions pastor, and my 15 year high school reunion!

We took John & Pat to the Runaway Train - an old rail car turned diner!

Love them!

Cambree does need glasses, but for reading only. I laughed when I looked in the backseat and she was sitting there like this :)

Out of the 23 in my high school class, only 2 of us came to the reunion!! We had fun though!

Lynn and her husband Jeremiah

My amazing food shot of the week, from the Oasis restaurant - lettuce wraps!! I seriously thought they brought me a whole head of lettuce on my plate!!! It was good though - like fajitas wrapped up in lettuce instead of tortillas!

We are headed back out to West Texas today to speak at a church - pics to come on Monday!

One month!

We have been back in the USA for a little over a month!! This was our conversation on the way to school the other day:

Me: Caedmon, you have gotten so much taller since we've been in America! And Cason, you have gotten bigger. And Cambree, you have gotten prettier!

Caedmon: What about Daddy?

Me: Daddy has gotten stronger!

Blu: What about Mama?

Caedmon: Mama has gotten more.....shopping!! :)

Updates Needed??

For awesome New Day updates, check out the Cooks blog at www.newdaycookszambia.blogspot.com!

Meanwhile back at New Day....

Gertrude turned 6 years old!

On her birthday, one of our dairy cows, Daisy, had a calf (a girl!) on Gertrude's birthday! Gertrude named her Gertie!

The kids all got a close look!

Misheck celebrated his birthday yesterday!

Kids Club is still going strong - 127 kids!

Parkway Baptist - College Station

On Sunday we spoke at Parkway Baptist in College Station - where it all began for us as a married couple! For awhile we attended only the early service and went home and stayed uninvolved. After about 3 months of not knowing anyone in the church, we sat and talked together about what we wanted our married life to be like in terms of following God. From that point on we plugged in and got involved in teaching youth Sunday School and chaperoning youth events, Wednesday night meals (yum!), FAITH training, church softball, church building campaigns, and playing in the praise team. God used this church to launch us into ministry and to get us to where we are today!

It is so fun to see people in the USA that have been to New Day! Allison brought her whole family to church!

Lyndsey came to New Day 2 years ago pre-marriage and pre-baby! Time flies!

Steve & a 12 year old Josh were the VERY FIRST team to New Day in April 2010. Steve, an engineer, planned out where houses should go based on slope of land, sewer, etc. We can't wait for them to come back one day and see all that has happened in the last 3 1/2 years!

How did I not get a picture of Hope & Jordan?! They were there too!

Caed took this selfie of he and Katie during church - impressive!

We love the Duncan family!! They were our first Sunday School teachers at Parkway, back when they had just two kids! Now there are 6! :)

I found these pictures on my camera at the end of the day and asked who took them. Caedmon said, "Me! I wanted to show my friends that they were on the map at the church!!" He was so excited :)

It was an exhausting weekend for everyone! :)

Game Time!

Pregame lunch at Freebirds!

Blu tried to eat a Monster...and failed!

Obviously we didn't park in the right place, because we had to scale TWO of these fences to get to the game! (he wasn't allowed to hold the camera while I climbed!) :)

87,000 people at the game...and we ran into Gordon & Jan, some Alvarado friends, outside the stadium!

We saw Melody & Katie - they were tailgating at the game

Wow...

Here are some of us at the game - Blu's cousin Alan & Wendy

Caity & her mom (her dad was there too!)

Cloud & his best friend Cindy (her husband was buying water)

Paw & Shade

Almost 87,000 in attendance!

Johnny Football :)

We knew 2 people marching in the band!

It was SUCH a fun day!

Where are the kids, you may ask?! B-maw stayed home with ALL FIVE of them for TEN hours!!! Superwoman!! They obviously had a blast!!!

A&M Weekend!

We had a blast in College Station this weekend! Blu's generous brother Cloud bought tickets for the whole family to attend the A&M/Alabama football game! Blu's parents rented a house in the country for us to stay for a long weekend - fun family time!

The Original Tidwells

B-Maw and her Boys

Paw & his Boys

Cousin pallet time!

After a month together (and in the same class at school!) they are still not tired of each other! :)

Caught Cason in the middle of a pout!

So the conversation went like this... "Hey Shade! See if you can crush a coke can on your head!" "Ok!"

And 10 minutes later.... "Hey Shade! Let's see if we can break this stick over your back!" "Ok!"

Things I'm enjoying in the USA!

A haircut!

Yummy food - strawberry avocado salad!

College for Michelle

Many of you who have visited New Day in the past met Michelle. Here is her story:

Michelle's mom died giving birth to her. As per Zambian culture, Michelle went to live with her maternal grandmother, then an uncle, then her older sister. Michelle struggled through school, stopping and starting when the funds were not there for her to attend. When she was 20 years old and looking for money to attend 10th grade, her father who she hadn't seen since she was 1 year old sent for her. Again, Zambian culture states that you go where your family tells you to go, so Michelle packed her things to go live with her father.

This move brought her to Mapanza and into our lives. Being the niece of our house mother Margaret, we were able to build a relationship with her. New Day paid her school fees for Grades 10-12 in return for her working at the orphanage during her school breaks. Michelle soon came to us and asked if she could live full-time at the orphanage. She fit right into life at New Day and soon became the assistant house mother for our girls house. For 2 years she poured herself into the lives of our kids, leading soccer practice & games, scrubbing toilets and washing clothes, and helping with homework. She became our family. We watched her give her life to Christ, graduate from high school, and get her Grade 12 exam results - she passed!! Her scores were not high enough to get into nursing school (her dream) but she knew God still had another plan for her life.

It became clear early this year that Michelle was ready to move on from New Day and continue her education. After looking at several trade schools, we encouraged her to believe God for something big, so she went and applied at a university. Michelle was recently accepted into Cavendish University (out of London) based in Lusaka, Zambia. She has chosen to major in Social Work.

Michelle's college costs, though cheap by American standards, are expensive for any Zambian. She has $760 in savings from working at the orphanage, which is a huge amount of savings for any Zambian. She also has invested some of her money, buying curtains wholesale from South Africa and then reselling them for profit. She is living in Lusaka with her sister and is attending a church near her house.

Michelle's dream will not be possible without the help of others. Her college education will cost $1500 per semester for the next 3 years. This amount includes tuition, fees, and boarding. Her first classes start in October, and she needs $740 (using her savings for the rest) to begin classes.

We know that many people have heavy financial commitments of their own, but I wondered if there was a church, a Sunday School class, a family... who might be willing to give $250 per month to help Michelle attend Cavendish University. If you are interested, if God is tugging at your heart, please email me at blutidwell@sbcglobal.net - thanks and God bless you!