Foto Friday

A day on the farm,
or the fair if you are a city dweller!

 

picking veggies,

Gathering corn,

filling the tractor with fuel,

Off to work!

  In a little boys world anyway!

P.S. I will have an update from Malawi next week!  I sat down to write yesterday, and after I finished my post and was in the process of editing it, and I somehow deleted the ENTIRE thing!  So just to get back at my computer, I decided not to use it the rest of the day!  :)  To make a long story short, my kids called the day I was at the fair and my husband was home and got to talk to them for a LONG time!  I did not even get to hear them for a moment!  I was very sad to say the least!  I know that as of Thursday, they were headed to the bush to tell other's of Jesus in the villages!  No plumbing or electricity for many days and sleeping in a tent with who knows what kind of animals lurking around!  Ok, that's enough for this mama's heart to take right now! 

More to come!  Blessings to you this weekend!

Remember~  Love your kids today as if they are leaving for Africa tomorrow!

Waiting...

I think of another little taste of how God feels when we come to Him first thing in the morning!  He waits for us and longs to hear from us!  I get up every morning and check my messages just to see if my kids have left somthing for me to read!  I long for it and smile and cry when it is there and I have  evidence that they are thinking of me!  It has been such a sweet discovery while missing my earthy children, how God has shown me His desire to be with me! 

Here is the latest from my kids: ( I do not include their names for privacy reasons)

Hi mom!!!! This is A...!! I'm having a great time! I LOVE Malawi!! I'm having so much fun, and experiencing soo much!! Today we went to an amazing church service. Probably the best I"ve ever been to in my life!! It was GREAT!! Last night I slept for about 6 hours, and it feels sooo good!! My allergies are bad here :P I'm so glad that we took the allergy medication for A......'s poison ivy, because it's really coming in handy!! Well I don't have any more time left on here, so here's A......!! I love you!!!!!!!!! I miss you!!! (my son): Im out of time :( its prepaid internet. I love you and miss you!!

It is such a JOY to hear from them!  They seem to be doing wonderful!  That does a mama's heart good!  I still have SO many questions for them!  I want to know what they are eating, where they are sleeping and what they are doing.  Maybe as my husband told me, it is better that their contact is limited because God can maybe accomplish more in their hearts if He is their main source of dependancy!  And maybe even better for me!  I have only had my faith in Jesus to take care of them and rest in His ability even when I don't have any facts.  To watch over them, feed them, protect them is HIS job!  I cannot, but He can!  I have realized He does a better job than I could ever do anyway!  So although I miss them terribly and everytime the phone rings, I am like a girl in love dashing to the phone just to hear their voices, usually to feel that pit in stomach sort of feel, when I find out it is not them calling!  It has been 5 days since I have heard their sweet voices!  I wonder how much longer it will be!  God knows and in His timing, they will call!  Until then, I will wait! And you can be sure you will know when that is!  You may even hear me answer the phone from where you live from all the excitement!  :) 

Remember~  Love your kids today, like they are leaving for Africa tomorrow!

More to come...

Facts about Malawi, Africa

Here are some facts about the country in Africa my children are
 in, Malawi:


~This is what the flag looks like
~Just over 13 million people live in Malawi
~ Life expectancy is around 36 years
~ Birth rate is on average 5.9 per woman
~ 14% of the population is believed to have HIV/AIDS
~ Literacy rate is just over 62%
~ The official language is Chichewa but there is no written way to learn or teach it unless you are there to study it
~The economy is predominately agricultural, with about 90% of the population living in rural areas

~It is the 7th poorest country in the world
~It is the poorest country in Africa
~750,000 are orphans

~48% of children in Malawi are chronically malnourished
~One in four children die before the age of five
~7% of the population have electricity
~It is called the "Warm Heart of Africa" because of the gentleness and kindness of the people
~It is slightly smaller than Pennsylvania
~The capitol is Lilongwe

~Lake Malawi is known to be the most beautiful lake in the world ~My kids will be visiting there some point in their trip ~Here is just a taste of the beauty:

My kids better be taking pictures of all they are doing and seeing!   

Stay tuned...

In Malawi...

I got the phone call yesterday I had been waiting for! The call informing me that my children arrived in Malawi, Africa safe and sound! The sound of my son's voice as he said, "mom!" has never sounded so sweet!   I wonder if that is how God feels when I call out to Him?

They arrived in Africa about 8:00 am central time, 3:00 pm Malawi time. My son said their stay in Johannesburg was great. The lady they stayed with was very nice and they had comfortable beds and great showers! He slept very well! My daughter, not as well. She informed me there were dogs barking and running around all night! And some kind of strange sound like a weird bird cawing all night long! Fun listening to the different perspectives! I am sure that will be the norm for the next reports I recieve from them! :) We only had about 2 minutes to talk but it comforted me just to hear their voices!

My heart is still sad.  I just miss them so much!  (I told my husband I need to start a support group for parents whose children are traveling out of the country!)   :)  I am so glad for their ability to go and tell other's about Jesus and I pray for an annointing over them and also that they will be surrounded by protection from God. I can't wait to hear from them again! It is amazing how I wait and cling to any kind of communication from them! I really am understanding more, how God desires me to communicate with Him! I am His child and He longs to hear from me daily! And the joy that it brings Him just because I take the time to be with him. Yes, God is using this time away from my children to draw me closer to Him.

More to come when I hear from them again or when I just need to "unload" my heart!  Soon!

Remember~ Love your kids today, like they are leaving for Africa tomorrow!

                                                                                     A close up view of Malawi.  They are in Blantyre:

This is the view of Africa with Malawi north of Tanzania. 

This is the websight that you can go to so that you can see where our kids are ministering at.  I will be updating soon! 

http://kalibu.com/

They are on a jet plane!

Well, the day finally came.  Yesterday, we said "good-bye" for 6 weeks to my oldest 2 kids.  They are now as I type this over the Atlantic Ocean.  I was very strong when we left them at the security gate.  (Thankful for that!)  But once we got to the car and it was empty, the tears started flowing...and flowing...and flowing.  I really cannot explain how I was feeling.  I cried the ENTIRE way home from Chicago!  It was like the reverse of being homesick.  I can honestly say, that it has been the hardest thing I have EVER had to do in my life!  I was beginning to feel better and kept asking God over and over.  "God, please give me peace, PLEASE give me peace, because I am not feeling it right now!"  I got on my phone a few minutes later and the family they will be staying with, messaged me and said he was excited for their arrival.  That helped me so much!  Just knowing that he was looking for them.  God knew exactly how to calm me!

My spirit understands that they are going to be doing God's work and bring other's the light of Him, but right now, my heart aches with an intensity that is so foreign to me!  I just want one more glance and one more hug.  However, I know that even with one more, it would never be enough! 

My daughter and I had an INCREDIBLE talk the night before they left and stayed up talking, crying, and praying.  We told each other of our regrets, God's provision in our lives, and then our fears.  We shared scripture with each other and just took it all in!  It was beautiful!  We gave each other our word that when she returned, we would continue to do that!  We waste so much time on things that don't really matter.  So much wasted energy in our lives that are used for things that have no eternal value!  We had an awareness that God was already in the process of changing us before she even left! 

They will be arriving in South Africa today around 11 am central time zone.  I can't wait to hear from them!  God worked out such an amazing thing.  They were going to have to stay in a hotel tonight by THEMSELVES before they catch their plane for their final destination.  That was the hardest part for all of us.  We made hotel reservations and my husband called the American Embassy to let them know there would be 2 teens staying there just to cover all of our bases!  Well, Monday with still an unsettled feeling of them being there all alone, A friend of ours from America told us they knew of a family that would host them overnight in South Africa!  We were so very relieved!  All that we were fearing, God took care of!  Imagine that!  It was such a confirmation that we don't need to know all the facts from the beginning, we just need faith to make the first step and God will take care of the rest!  Obedience is the key! 

These next few weeks will be a mother's heart as her children are in Africa.  I will be sharing MY heart.  Some days will be uplifting and some may be sad but I am going to pour my heart out on this blog!    I will also post when I hear from my kids and use that also.  I have so much emotion that it overwhelming.  Writing will help me and I would love to have you along on our journey!  Any uplifting things you could comment, would be welcomed as this mama's heart is going to miss them and the encouragement of other's will be wonderful!! 

Please remember to love your kids today, as if you are sending them to Africa tomorrow!

More to come...

In between Africa...

I said earlier today to my husband that I really wish I would learn to live each day as if my kids were leaving for Africa!  I am more sensitive to being with them, spending time with them and leaving the other cares of the day for another day!   I realize that soon,(WAY to soon!), they will be thousands of miles away and I will LONG to see their faces. So I have been staring at them more, hugging them more and taking TONS of pictures of them with their siblings!  Do I fear them dying?  Maybe...  It is a thought sometimes!  But it does not take going to Africa to think of that! :)  However, the real reason behind it is that I realize all of our lives are about to change DRAMATICALLY!  They will "grow" up in ways that I will not totally understand until they return, and me?!  Well, I will be "growing" up also!  The mommy way kind!  It happens to every mom so I know I am not alone with some of the feelings I have been feeling but it is not easy!  This is where my faith in God comes in!  I cannot be there for them in the next 6 weeks!  I can't just pick up the phone when I want to hear their voices or when I panic for a moment and fear the worst!  Nope!  I have to turn to Jesus!  Nights when I am wondering if they are warm, homesick, scared or anxious?  I can't do anything about it!  I can't GIVE them my reassurance that it will be okay!  They will be in a tent in the bush in Africa! That is hard for me to swallow!  I want so much to take it all away and comfort them!  That is what a mommy is supposed to do!   The great thing is, that I know God will be there with them!  And He is better then I ever could be anyway!  I said today through my tears, "God, you must think I am LOTS stronger than I think I am!  I can't do this!  It is just tooooo hard!"  And I'm right!  I can't do this...without HIM!  But He says I CAN do this if I depend on Him! 

Today, we dedicated our newest little one back to God.  (I will have pictures soon! ) We wanted to do it before the trip to Africa so we could experience one last memorable thing as a family for a while!  I did this years ago with my oldest two.  I realized at that time, that were His!  And I meant it!  I told God that whatever He had for them, I would, through His guiding hand, allow Him to have His way in their lives!  Easy when they are a baby laying in your arms dependent on you for their every need!  Not so easy, when you are watching them leave to a country thousands miles away without YOU!   I still am amazed that I have had the strength to even come this far and because of Him walking with me,  I will not go back on my commitment to Him!  I am allowing them to leave me for a time, so God can use them on the other side of the world to show other's His love!  Abraham was willing to allow God to do whatever He choose with Isaac!  Even death!  WOW!  That is obedience!  I bet Abraham took the long way around to the alter that day!  I bet he stared at Isaac, hugged him and just took every moment he had appreciating and loving his son as he walked to that alter!  Now, I am not saying my children will die, but 6 weeks seems like a long time to us!  And God spared Isaac and it was a test to see how obedient Abraham was.  So maybe this is a test!  And whoever God chooses to put in my children's path in the coming weeks, will get a glimpse of who God is and they will be forever changed!  Maybe the test is to see how willing we are to allow others to see who He is!  Will we just live in the comfort of what we are used to or will we be willing to stretch and sacrifice?  Time is getting closer and God has MANY people He desires to have in heaven with Him.  Are we willing to lay it all down for His name?  This life on earth is temporary.  A vapor in the wind!  But eternity is well...eternal! 

So for the next couple of days, I will laugh more, cry more, and savor more.  But the reality is, that whatever happens and wherever my children are, God is with them AND with me! So how could I worry or fear!  He loves them more than I do! 

Today, please give more hugs, look into your loved ones eyes, stare at them and just take it all in!

 Live today like you are sending them to Africa!  :)

Africa update...kind of

They are not leaving until Wednesday.  I have been, shall we say very BUSY!   Our biggest challenge right now is packing a teenage girl for 6 weeks with ONE suitcase (that can only weigh 44lbs!)  and ONE carry on!  Oh MY!   I am going to update soon but first things first!  That would be getting them prepared to leave!  Please stay tuned!  I will have pics from the day of take-off and the rest of the story! 

Our baby is being dedicated tomorrow morning so we are busy with that also!   The last thing we will be doing as a family for 6 weeks!  When you homeschool, that is a rude awakening when you are used to being together, for the most part, 24/7!  Please continue to pray for us as we prepare for this new adventure in our lives!