Bougainvillea

We have few of these beautiful brightly colored bougainvillea bushes in our back yard. From far away it looks as if this plant has blooms on it but really its the leaves. The bougainvillea is a native plant to South America but is grows very well in southern Africa. I am the most fond of them when they are climbing on a fence, trellis, or anything of that sort. Ours were planted before we got here, they are just out in the open loving the full sun they get.

It's interesting to me how as I grow to become more observant of seemingly small things because of a blossoming interest or hobby I appreciate the beauty God created in this world so much more.

InstaMumena Friday

I have seen a few blogs lately share this idea of Instagram match up on Fridays. I am relatively new to Instagram but am really enjoying the opportunity to chronicle the mundane, funny, or pretty experiences during the week. So, here is our week....

This is our kinsanza on our back yard termite mound. To help you get a scale for how tall our mound is....lets just say it's about the height of our house. The breeze on top is great though!

It has been over 95 in our house consistently every day this past two weeks. We THOUGHT we were going to get away with not having to experience the "miserable" part of October we had been warned about. We THOUGHT this because a few rain showers came early. Well, we were teased by the short lived showers. That "miserable heat" part of October has been here full fledged lately. Wish I could share a pic of the day Jason and I napped with two regular fans blowing on us plus two personal mini size fans next to each of our faces.

A pretty from the garden

Last night we enjoyed pizza we had been waiting to make for a while. Pepperoni from the States, mozzarella from a grocery store 9 hours away, and homemade dough. It WAS worth the wait!

Cecilia one of our kittens playing with a lizard. Bless that lizard's little heart. I don't think it lasted too long.

Well that is all for InstaMumena Friday. Hope everyone has a restful weekend!

Happy Independance Day Zambia!

47 years ago today Zambia became the 9th African state to gain it's independence from the British crown. Today we had the privilege of celebrating this event with the students, teachers, parents, and head men of all of the surrounding villages. The festivities started last night and will carry on through late this evening. Mumena B Basic School (the campus of which we live on) is hosting all of the events. It is so neat to see Zambians coming together to commemorate their country's independence. Here a few pictures from today so far...

Dressed up for a "cultural dance"

The "witch doctor" dance. Somewhat creepy of a costume if you ask me but it was helpful for our cultural learning : )

Sweet Aggie  posing for me

More dancing

Emily Love (Emily is one of the daughters of team members Rick and Karen Love). She was not too happy about me taking pictures of her.

Newest Team Newsletter

Here is our latest joint newsletter from Jeremy, Whitney, Jason, and I. Click on the images and use the magnifying glass tool or "full screen view" to zoom in and read our updates.

Thank you to those who read our updates. We appreciate your support and prayers so much!

Wednesday News

Last weekend the missionary ladies put on a workshop in Mumena for women interested in learning how to teach Bible classes for children. Our aim was teaching methods that could be easily used in the village. So, we used basic materials like notebook paper, crayons, scissors, and a little tape. All of these items can be bought in Solwezi, the nearest town. It was so exciting to see the women (over 40 attended) fellowship and create lessons together. Also, I think they enjoyed having time away from their laborious responsibilities at home. Art is such a therapy and that was evident in their enthusiasm for just coloring with crayola crayons. Most of the women had babies on their backs throughout the seminar and few brought along their young ones to play outside while they were in class. Sondra, Whitney, Ellie, and I were very pleased with the outcome of the weekend. Please be praying with us for the women who attended to have the confidence and calling to start sharing the Lord with their youngsters.

In other news:

4 baby goats were born this last week. They are just about the most precious baby animals. Even when they are only a couple days old they are start running around trying to jump and buck. Many times they end up landing on their bellies because they aren't quite coordinated enough yet. Jason and I spend a little time almost every evening just watching and laughing at them. For those of you who do not live in the African bush this might sound like an odd type of entertainment. But take my word for it...it's adorable.

Special Delivery:

Our rains came early, YES! This means I get to start working on this seasons flowers! I already have a new layout for the backyard drawn up, Jason is helping get the plans rolling by getting our fence re-built. We have grass fences here and our backyard fence was in very shabby shape. Since our truck is out of commission for the time being we have resorted to using alternative means for transporting the grass for the new fence. Meet the ox cart crew!

Happy Wednesday!

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.

Psalm 118:1