Sunday, January 24, 2016

Getting back into the swing of things....Mozambican style

We are finally settled and back into a good routine of cooking and school. 
(And that is what we seem do the most of around here.) 
Here is a glimpse into the last few weeks.

Unpacking all of our bags.
"Mom, where's my.....?" 
Our sweet Ode was a shaggy mess from 7 months of no grooming!
Firsts things first....a bath and a haircut. 
That's much cooler!
Emma and her puppy have been inseparable.
We were happy that we didn't miss all the pineapples.
Can't beat a straight from the field tropical pineapple.
Unfortunately it is very hot in the city of Nampula. Only one room had AC in it when we arrived back.
So it was almost 2 weeks of "Slumber Party in Mom and Dad's room".
Thankfully now the girls have their own AC and are happy in their own rooms.
We were very happy to get back to our church home here in Nampula.
Not much has changed on the drive into the neighborhood.
The trash is thick as ever!
Our first Sunday back happened to be the Sunday ending the  "Right of Passage" or
"Coming of Age" teaching that some of our young men participated in.  Normally this is done out of town where a traditional older male teaches the boys about all things men in his tribal culture. Thankfully our church is challenging tradition and doing these teachings from a Biblical perspective. The boys came from the place they had been staying for 3 weeks into the church covered so no one could see their faces. 
For those of you who are wondering about the church construction, you can see the new concrete block walls going up.
In the middle, the boys are sitting still with heads covered. They stayed this way almost the whole service.
Our regular offering was collected plus an offering for the young men and for their leaders for the past 3 weeks.

They uncovered just part of the boys' faces during the offering.
Much discussion was had in the middle of the service about whether or not it was appropriate to uncover their faces just a bit. This is new territory for the church and they were unsure of how to dance carefully around tribal traditions.
This little guy was wondering who was under the coverings.
Here they are back covered, exiting the church to go home to reunite with their families. 
Lee sure what happy to see the guys and they were thrilled to see him.
We are back to homemade tortillas
Homemade cookies
Chips made from the tortillas
With homemade salsa!! So good!
And Meghan's famous cinnamon rolls!

Tracy




Wednesday, December 30, 2015

What a Great November and December!

Well, we are back on the continent of Africa! 

We left our American home in Charlotte, North Carolina, Saturday, December 26 and will arrive back in our Mozambican home this coming Saturday, January 2. 

Every year at this time our organization has a youth camp for the Missionary Kids (MKs) in Southern Africa. This year all 3 of our girls are attending MK camp. That means that Mom and Dad are resting and recovering, in South Africa, from jet-lag and a very busy November and December! 

In mid-November we took Meghan with us on a trip to New York City. It was a late 16th birthday present from us. This was a special time with her that we will likely not get again for long-long time. We had a blast!!

Time Square

The 9/11 Museum. So well done. It is worth a trip to NYC just for this.
The top of Rockefeller Center with the Empire State Building in the background.
My favorite thing we did.....Matilda!

For Thanksgiving we were able to visit my Grandmother's house and celebrate with many in my family. My Nanna has always been one of my favorite people on earth and she is my last living grandparent. It was such a blessing to be at my Nanna's house to visit with her before we returned to Africa. Plus we were able to eat her cooking!

My Mom's brother and sister and their families.
In early December we took a trip to Florida. After speaking to church in Daytona we headed down to Orlando for a week of fun.




Hard Rock Cafe
Meghan getting Henna
Diagon Alley!
We love Harry Potter (don't judge) and had a blast in Diagon Alley

Lilly's birthday is December 30. She wanted to celebrate with her friend Katherine before leaving the states. So the two of them went to an art studio and painted. They had a great time and their finished product was adorable!


Our last Sunday in the states was one to remember. Our Lilly was baptized! We are so proud of her and her decision to follow Jesus.


As our time in the states was coming to an end, we were able to celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus, with our parents/grandparents. What a blessing to be together this year at Christmas!!

Lee's parents.....Granny and Pa
My parents......Grandma and Granddad

Many people have made the comment that we have been very busy. That is true. But, we are so thankful for all that we have been able to do and experience during this Stateside time. When we are in Mozambique there are very few things to do for fun. So we played hard knowing that it was just for a few months. Now, it is back to work!

Tracy


Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Time at the Lake -- By Meg

Last weekend we were able to go and hang out at the lake for a few days. Some very dear people let us use their lake house. It was such a special treat for us!

We arrived on Friday afternoon and we were able to spend a 
couple hours having fun on the water! 

The lake house. It had a huge front porch that was beautiful!
The dock

Dad and Emma on the jet ski.

Dad and Lilly



It was so beautiful!




The sunset on Friday.

On Saturday we invited some friends over to come and hang out at the lake with us! 
We had such a fun time!

Emma and her best friend Sophie kayaking.
Lilly, Katherine, Kayla, and Hannah

Lilly and her friend Katherine
Thanks Dad for taking us out on the lake for 2 straight days.
Meghan and some of her best friends.
Emma and Sophie
Our grandparents were able to come down and spend some time on the lake with us.












We had so much fun at the lake!

Hugs,
Meg