Lessons in Motherhood - by Amy

I’m enjoying being here in Africa with Nate and Karina. Things are sure different this time! My days are very busy, since most things take a bit longer to do. I’ve been boiling water and letting it cool for her baths since she’s at that stage where everything goes in her mouth and the water’s never guaranteed to be safe. We also wash her dishes separately in filtered or boiled water, just to be extra careful. I’m gradually getting used to caring for Karina here and we’re getting into a bit of a routine.

We’ve actually had lots of fun with her lately! She loves going outside for walks or playing on a blanket on the grass, since the weather is so pleasant. She’s recently learned to roll over and is quickly becoming more mobile. She’s been enjoying baby cereal for a little while now and recently got started on peas, which she LOVED! That was a learning process for me too. There are very few baby foods available here so I’ll have to do all the vegetables myself. I boiled up some fresh peas and then ran them through my little manual baby food mill with a crank in small batches. Then I froze them in baby food ice cube trays that I brought. I was quite pleased with my efforts but the kitchen was a disaster and I had to leave it for a while to move onto the next thing. I returned to the kitchen about an hour later to find a colony of ants enjoying any leftovers that had fallen onto the counter! I’ll know what to do differently next time.

It’s been a joy to meet up with everyone again and introduce Karina to them. She’s hearing lots of different languages—Swahili from the Kenyans and Amharic from our Ethiopian teammates. She’s been a really good girl—letting people hold her and play with her.

Nate and I are enjoying being here together too, remembering all the good times we spent both in Sudan and Kenya while we were engaged and newly married. It’s wonderful to be starting ministry together here afresh, now that we’ve been married for over a year and a half and know each other so much better. The Lord has really blessed us!

The Joy of Family

In October 2006, this young man arrived in Kenya to begin as a missionary to Sudan. With life in transition, it was a difficult adjustment at times. There were many words of encouragement from wonderful teammates to help. And culturally, there were a few surprises. Being single in most rural African settings meant that my social status was affected. To the Sudanese, I was still a boy. I would try to explain that in my home country, it was age that determined such things. But it made little difference.

In returning to Africa a few weeks ago, there has been a subtle change. Many people have correctly identified it as being "settled", or as one friend put it, "Your mind is now calm... you are stable." Very true. And, just the other day, we were walking to a local shopping center. One of the matatu (taxi / mini bus) drivers called out, "Hey Baba... where to?" I did a double-take and then realized he was talking to me. It was a nice feeling.

Among the many joys of family is this sense of stability. Traveling now means that my family comes with me... different from before when I left parents, brothers, and sister behind. Let it be known that God has blessed me greatly with a wonderful wife and daughter! As we prepare to go to Sudan, please pray that we will find a supplier for the materials that we need for our home. Please pray that our little one would adjust to life there. And thank the Lord for your family (whether they're with you or not)... He has blessed so many of us.

The Great Mosquito Hunter

It's great being back in Africa. Of the things that we missed most, mosquitoes are certainly not one. Now that we have our daughter with us, it becomes even more important that our house be rid of these annoying pests. The first few nights we stayed here, we found that sleep was hard to come by. The time change was a significant factor, but the buzzing around our faces (funny how they leave your legs alone to go for the head) was equally frustrating.

Now, properly armed with mosquito nets, we have slept better. But the "enemy" still lurks as we get ready for bed. So each night, with military precision, I set about our small cabin in "seek-and-destroy" mode. It's all part of parenthood I suppose!

Our house is nice... with running water and indoor plumbing. It's about the size of a one-car garage, with two small bedrooms, a little kitchen, bathroom and dining area. Still trying to figure a way to get to Sudan and start the building of our house there. Please keep us in prayer!