Adorable Children and Strange Smells

I think that children in Togo are some of the most beautiful children in the world. God has given me the opportunity to minister to these children and their mothers in my neighborhood, for which I am so thankful. This past Saturday during Bible Hour as we sang songs I started looking around at the children. Some were so dirty, some had no pants on, some had just underwear on, some had holes in their clothes, but they were so happy to be singing songs about God. After the verses, review questions, and the story, the kids got to color a picture. I don't do this often but when I do they LOVE it. They all lay down on the tile floor and color their pictures. For some of them it is the first time they have ever done it. As I was helping Backie, a little girl that lives next door, I noticed that every where she went about five flies would follow her. This is a very common thing with her, but despite the smell and flies she is so very lovable. Another little boy who often comes to Bible Hour loves to hold my hand. He never speaks, he just stands by me. While we were coloring I noticed that he came and sat by me to watch me color. He wanted to show me his picture and did so at least another five times. I think he just liked my reaction! Despite the smells and flies these children are adorable.

A HOT Saturday and lots of kids.

Today at Bible hour the kids learned about David and Goliath, the toy sword and the sling shot were a big hit, the kids love to hear about what God did in the lives of the people in the Bible. They really enjoyed the part about David walking around the city with the head of Goliath, they became very excited. When they were asked who gave him strength to kill Goliath they all yelled out together “C’EST DIEU” it was God. It is exciting to see the children understand that it was not the man but it was God. After cutting the head of Goliath (just in the story) the children memorized Psalm 119:2. Soon the children became restless because it was to hot. I had an IDEA: hot kids, hose, water. The children had so much fun playing in the hose I squirted them with water for about 10 min and loved every minute of it.

I just found this blog entry I had forgotten to post it, so it is a little old, forgive me.

A strange smell

The other day I came out of our house and was hit by a strange smell, I didn't think any thing of it because this is Africa, Africa is filled with strange smells. When I stepped out of our outside gate I discovered the source of strange smell. It was the fur of a cat, two guys were burning the fur off of a cat, they were getting it ready to cook and eat. Yummy yummy.

An exciting day

Friday was an exciting day for me, I learned that our next door neighbor had her baby, a little boy. I was going to be able to be the baby taxi. I was able to bring home a precious little baby. The mother had no complications and the baby and mom are doing great. Tuesday I am going to go to the market and buy some soap for her and some clothes for the baby. I hope you enjoy the picture of the new life that God has given to this wonderful lady and her husband.

God is so good.

Lately Jesse and I have been teaching Joshua about humility and making wise decisions. Just last night I had to talk to Joshua about being humble when he talks about himself and to not be boastful. Joshua's response to this was "mom I can't" I said why not? He looked at me and said "mom only God can help me to be humble" wow what a great example to me, I can not be humble or make wise decisions with out Him. I am truly blessed with a wonderful son, who is learning so much.

What life is like in Africa.

What life is like for an American living in Africa.

-I get to suck ice cream out of a plastic bag

-Because I am white I am always noticed (I feel like a movie star) :)

-I never go to the grocery store I go to the market to buy our foods (I love it)

-I squeeze oranges and suck the juice out

-I have to filter my water to drink it

-I get to see some great insects in my yard

-I get to have some wonderful African friends

-I can have anything made in Africa, all I have to do is show them a picture

-I get to eat yummy bananas, mangos, papayas, oranges, avocados, guavas, and pineapples

-I get to teach Joshua school

-I get to teach people around me about God's grace

-I get to have a wonderful garden

-I am able to buy so many wonderful foods

-I get to hold sweet little African children

-I get to love African children

-I get to go on safaris

-I get to ride on bumpy roads any time I want :)

-I can call any older woman mama

-I get to make my own bread, tortillas, english muffins, and noodles

-I have to wash the lettuce and spinach in bleach water, and clean all veggies and fruit

-I get to speak in another language

Others.

Living in Africa has changed me in many ways, but in one way that I have changed happens to everyone that visits or lives in a third world country. What I am speaking of is the needs of others. Hear in Togo we are surrounded by people who need help.

I thought of something today, have I helped someone outside of my family today not just by giving them money or food but by an encouraging word or some other deed? It also made me think of how selfish I and we can become when we do not stop to think and help others in need. I realized today how self absorbed I can become, I do not ever want to become desensitized to others needs around me.

Time is flying by

This month has been a great one, packed full of many things. I have seen the Lord work in many ways.

One very large incident that really sticks out in my mind happened about 2 weeks ago. We got a phone call from a missionary down south that had some team mates that were in an accident, and they were wondering if we could help in any way. The missionaries rolled the truck two times, and one of them did not have his seat belt on. When we arrived at the scene and saw the truck we could not believe the man who did not have his seat belt on was not hurt worse then he was.

We thank the Lord for His protection in the lives of these missionaries. We are also very thankful for our protection going to and from Dapaong.

Jesse and I are striving to get more involved in our neighborhood. Our goal is to start Bible studies with our neighbors in the near future. We are also looking at other needs also, such as clean water for them to drink. Jesse has discovered a way that they can purify water for very cheap and all they need to buy is plastic or glass bottles. We have been sharing this method with many of them.

We have also started a garden in our back yard, and have been speaking about it with people around us. They are amazed that we can grow carrots, onions, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, green peppers, spinach, zucchini, green beans, peanuts and squash in our back yard. We have been talking to many of them about starting little gardens. One lady (Mama Chris) told me that onions would not work in her yard. When I asked why she said, "They just won't." Well, that was not a good enough answer for me so I showed her my onions. I gave her a few onions to try and guess what, they are doing great in her yard! She is now planting sweet potatoes also. Another two neighbors have also planted sweet potatoes. We are very excited to see them plant other things instead of just corn, which is what everyone seems to plant every year.

We are in the middle of rainy season and it is great, it has been so cool. We have been sleeping under a blanket, I love it. It is great tea weather. Can you tell I love tea?

Joshua just finished his first week break in school. We decided to do his school schedule differently than the normal American schedule. We started 2nd grade early, we work for 20 days, then take off a whole week. I love it this way and he loves it too. Unfortunately, I got nothing done in the house during the break. I guess it will have to wait another 20 days!

This past month Jesse had malaria, but it was a very light case of it and he started treatment right away. I also forced liquids down him which I think helped a lot. We both also had some stomach problems, but I we seem to be getting over it now.

This month I started reading a book called Brokenness, by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. It is a wonderful book I am now reading Surrender by the same author, and I am really enjoying it. The Lord has really used these books in my life and I am so thankful.

It has been a wonderful month and I am so thankful that we are able to be in Togo, sharing with people what He has done for us in our lives.

Things are getting busy again

Life in Kara, Togo is great we are in the rainy season, so we are not having those ridiculously hot days anymore. We are getting down to the 70's, today I have been drinking hot tea all day and I have been chilled.

Recently we have planted a garden we planted tomatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, onions, spinach, green peppers, squash, zucchini, peanuts, pineapple and potatoes. Unfortunately today we had a really hard rain and the garden looked like a lake. I think everything will be okay, I understand now why they plant everything in mounds of dirt.

Today while driving down the main road we saw a donkey walking down the middle of the road with a rope tied to his leg, Joshua said we should stop and cut off the rope. My question was how would we catch him? He was not sure about that.

I had to go to the market today with Joshua to pick up some coffee. It is always interesting to me what people say and what they do when they see a little blond boy. They all want to touch him, and give him stuff for free all the time.

I have started school again with Joshua he is doing great. It amazes me how much he can forget in just three weeks. He is excited about what we are going to be doing.

Just this week we had a science lesson on seeds, so we and some friends of ours talked about seeds and how they grow and we planted some peanuts. I am praying they grow.

Jesse is going to be talking with some of our neighbors about water and purifying it please pray that we can get closer to these families and start up bible study with them.

Well that is a little of my life right now, we are having fun, enjoying the cool weather and having a wonderful time working along side of the Kabye people. Thank you for all of your prayers.

Some cute pics of Joshua

What a great day.

Today I was able to go across the street and talk to one of our neighbors Mama Miré. I have learned so much from her about the culture. Today, I saw how rice looks when it comes from the field. Just to get the rice out of the shells takes hours. It made me very thankful for the bags of rice that are available to buy in the store. I am so thankful for great neighbors who are willing to sit with you and chat.

I was also able to make pot-stickers with Jesse and Ravioli with Joshua, what a fun day. Also our garden is almost ready, I was able to work in it a little today, I can't wait to pull out a large carrot from the garden. So far we have sweet potatoes planted, pineapples, carrots, and onions. Tomorrow I hope to plant tomatoes, green beans, zucchini and squash. Oh yes we are going to try and plant some peanuts fun fun fun. I will keep you all posted on how those are going.

New land for Yvette

A few months ago my friend Yvette who helps me out in the house, started praying about buying some land to put a house on. She is a single mother with 4 children who is willing to do what ever it takes to take care of her family. She has scrubbed floors, sold food on the side of the road, washed clothes, to provide for her family.

Because of her situation she is not able to put money aside to buy land. A few weeks ago she came to us and asked us for a loan to buy land. Jesse discussed with her the details of the loan. She decided to pay extra on the loan each month to pay it off quickly. She bought a wonderful piece of property and we are so happy for her. This is such a great opportunity for her and we are so happy that she has a chance to have her own land and someday build a mud brick house on the land.

Yesterday we all went out to see the land she has bought. She has planted corn on the land for now since she is not able to build on it yet.

I praise the Lord for a friend like her, she is such a great example to me. Her love for the Lord grows daily and we stand amazed at how many wonderful things the Lord is doing in her life.

Children's camp

This past Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, I was able to tell a missionary story to some children at a day camp at Lomé 2 (one of the churches in Kara). I decided to tell the story of Saul's life. What a great example of a missionary, I was able to teach the kids how God was glorified through the life of Saul. I ended the story with Saul (Paul) and Silas in the prison, they loved that story and so do I. It was a great example of God's power. My prayer is that the children will remember how great God is and was, and that they will live their lives for Christ. Please pray the children in Lomé 2.

We went back to Lomé 2

Today we decided to go and visit the church that we worked in for a year. Even though we have only been gone for a few months it was still fun going back and seeing all of the wonderful people at Lomé 2. I have missed all the children and the woman so much. It is a blessing to see the people and see them growing in the Lord.

I decided to do it.

I decided to start the blog "From Scratch" the address is

http://fromscratchbytiffany.blogspot.com/

I hope you enjoy it.

What do you think?

I have been thinking about starting another blog in the future. The blog would be named From Scratch. I would show people how to make things from scratch again, things like English Muffins, Tortillas, Ricotta cheese, you get the point. So what do you think? Let me know if you would be interested.

Please pray for our neighbors

Please be praying for Jesse and I as we take the next step with our neighbors. The Lord has given Jesse and I both a burden to help and reach our neighbors for Him. We already know our neighbors very well and we praise the Lord for such wonderful friends. We are praying the Lord would show us what direction He would like us to go. Thank you for your prayers.

Update on this month.

Jesse is still going strong on learning the Kabiye language. He has added 2 more days a week with another teacher. He is enjoying it and he loves speaking to people in Kabiye and they love it also. Jesse has also been learning about gardening. This is one thing that is very important in a Togolese's life. We are in the process of starting a garden in our yard and we are both very excited about it.

We have a new pet his name is Bear, he is our German Shepherd puppy, he is very sweet. We got him when he was just 3 to 4 weeks old, he had many problems and we saved his little life. We are very thankful for Bear.

Joshua started French classes this month. He has class for 45 min a week and he is doing very very well. He now knows many of the colors in French and he is learning to count, and many more things. Joshua's teacher is a great encourager and Joshua talks about her often during the week.

This month has been an interesting month with Joshua and his health. First thing was he had a strange spot on his thigh, that looked like ringworm, that would not go away. Finally with some triple antibiotic (can you buy that stuff in bulk like 1 gallon size lol?) it went away. I think I need a tube of antibiotic and some hydrogen peroxide just for his room, so I can just smear it all over him every night. After that problem cleared up, some more appeared on his bum. I knew how to take care of them so they cleared up fast. We had few more issues with some cuts and a bad cough. Soon after that I noticed something on his leg that looked like a mosquito bite, he said it itched but nothing more. Well, by the next morning it was a full blown infection. I sprayed it and put antibiotic on it, but it seemed to get worse. One of my greatest fear is Staff infection I am terrified of them. He had one. It finally cleared up after many tears on his part. While that was clearing up he said his elbow hurt. I thought to myself hear we go again. It was a strange thing on his elbow, it looked horrible. I believe he got something from the dirt and it started a infection in his elbow. Can you believe it, that Joshua would get something from the dirt. If you do not know Joshua, he loves dirt, he loves outside, by 10 in the morning he normally needs another shower because he is so dirty lol. I thought I would have to start him on another antibiotic because of the staff infection. But, thanks to hydrogen peroxide (my best friend in Africa) the problem is solved. Let me see anymore things? I think that is it.

He is doing great now, you would have never known he was sick.

Now for me, well I have started some French classes also with the same tutor, she has been a great encouragement to me. I am working on some French Grammar that I have forgotten or never learned. I have been learning a lot about the culture and have been spending a lot of time with our neighbors. I have been trying out a lot of new recipes. Every night Joshua comes in the kitchen and asks "Mom what are we having for dinner? Is it something I have tried, or is it a new recipe? Do I like it?" I have such a great kid, and a wonderful husband.

God has given me such a wonderful man and I am so thankful for him. Just recently I asked Jesse if we were allowed to still be this much in love. YES.

Another wonderful thing that happened in my life, I was able to bring home baby Ester from the hospital. Our next door neighbor had a baby and I went to visit her and she asked if I could bring her home. So I have decided our vehicle is the official vehicle for bringing home babies.

Interesting fact about Togo : Most older Togolese do not know how old they are. An older lady that I was speaking to was trying to discover how old she was. She was clapping her hands, and for every clap it was ten years, but she still could not discover what age she was. They start counting how old they are when they turn of age. This lady I believe is about 80 years old and has asked me for my hair, she wants me to shave it off for her so she can make a wig. Oh I wish I had a blond wig for her. I will try and get a picture of her to put on the blog.

Thank you for reading my ramblings about our life in Togo. I will try and write more often.

Keeping your eyes on God

Why is it during some difficult times we seem to take our eyes of God? The One who keeps the universe in order, the One who has given us life. Why did Peter take his eyes off Jesus when he was walking on the water? Like Peter I am so thankful for that loving hand that reaches out to me when I am falling and calling out His name. I truly serve an amazing God. I am so thankful for His mercy, grace and unconditional LOVE.

Back to work

Jesse and I decided that we would give Joshua a short break from school rather then a long summer break. He finished in the middle of April and had the rest of the month off.

We have just restarted school the 3rd of May. He was so excited because he is now in 2nd grade. He will have a break next month for 3 weeks so he can play with his best friend David. He will then start school again, do 20 days, and have a week break. I think this schedule will help Joshua and me also. We will continue to do it this way all year. Joshua really liked the idea and so did I. I think this will help him not to forget things he has just learned.

Joshua has now started French lessons also. Yesterday was his first lesson. His tutor taught him for 30 minutes, but when the time was up he wanted to do more! He thinks she is great because she knows all the French words for animals like whales and sharks, which is right down his alley.

Joshua does get to play a lot. Believe me, he does not study from morning to night! He is very busy making things out of mud, breaking up rocks, catching lizards, chasing pigs, and playing with David. We are very thankful that we can give him a life like this in Togo.

Please pray as Jesse and I raise Joshua for the Lord and that his life will glorify Him.

The Welcome

When we came home from our trip to Lomé we had a welcoming committee. A few kids in our neighborhood came running when they heard our truck. One little girl in particular who normally never has clothes on came running with open arms to me wanting a hug, Bryce another little boy was jumping up and down saying white person white person and the minute I stepped from the truck came and gave me a big hug, what a welcome. I love being home with all the familiar sounds and smells and people I love this place.

God's protection

Every once in a while we need to go down south about 6 hours to purchase things like Cheese, meat, milk, and other food items. Each time we go we ask the Lord to bless the trip and guide our car, and protect us, and that His will be done in all of our lives. The reason why I say this is the roads in Togo are not the best, many accidents take place going down and up the mountain. Not a trip goes by that we do not see many horrible accidents with big trucks. This past trip was no different we saw accidents, but we were blessed we arrived safely. We know God is in control and that He holds our lives in His hands and His will is perfect.

I thank the Lord for His protection.

French Lessons

This week I talked with a lady who teaches French to children, and I set up a schedule for Joshua to start taking French lessons. I will be taking some also just to brush up on some grammar and conjugations. Please pray for Joshua, he already is doing a great job in speaking French and I know he will do a great job. He is very excited, when she came over for our meeting I could not find Joshua, I called for him and when he came around the corner he told me that he wanted to brush his teeth and wash his face before he talked to her. How cute, he thought he was taking lessons that day.

I could have eaten tons of these

Just the other day I made some Kabobs for dinner using a recipe I found on allrecipes.com, it was a really big hit. Jesse, when he was finished said I could have eaten a tons of those. Through the entire meal all I heard was ohh this is so good oh this is so yummy, and to my surprise Joshua ate big chunks of onion and green pepper and tomato just becuase of this wonderful marinade. This is a must try, it will make your tastebuds come alive and it will make you want to eat ALL of your vegetables.

Beef Marinade (The recipe said you could use this on a chuck roast or Kabobs)

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

3/4 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup white wine vinegar

1/3 cup lemon juice

1/4 Worcestershire sauce

2 T. ground dry mustard

2 1/4 teaspoon salt

1 T. ground black pepper

1 1/2 T. chopped fresh parsley

2 T. ground cloves (I have never put cloves in it).

The instructions say that you need to marinade the meat for three days, but I have found that the marinade is very strong and it is not needed for the little pieces of meat, it might be different with a big chuck roast.

Also, this is a really big recipe you might want to cut it in half if you are making kabobs.

Japaanese potstickers

The other day I decided to make potstickers, if you have never had them before they are wonderful. I found a great recipe online and with the help of my pasta maker and Jesse we made potstickers together they were delicious.

Potstickers

½ lb ground pork (1 cup)

¾ cup shredded Napa cabbage

1 green onion, diced

2 teasp minced ginger

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 tbsp soy sauce

¼ teasp hot chili oil, or to taste

¼ teasp sesame oil

2 tbsp vegetable oil for frying, or as needed

30 gyoza wrappers, or as needed I used a different recipe for the wrappers, I used this wonton recipe.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Blanch the shredded cabbage until it is tender but still crisp. Plunge into ice cold water, remove, and drain thoroughly.

In a medium bowl, combine the ground pork, cooked cabbage, green onion, minced ginger, egg, soy sauce, chili oil and sesame oil.

Lay a gyoza wrapper in front of you. Wet all the edges with water. Place a teaspoon of filling in the middle of the wrapper. Fold the sides up to form a semicircle, and then pinch the edges to seal. Continue with the rest of the gyoza wrappers until the filling is gone.

To cook, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a heavy frying pan over medium-high to high heat. Add 12 - 15 of the gyoza and cook for 2 minutes, or until golden brown on the bottom.

Add 1/2 cup of water to the pan. Cover the dumplings and cook until the water is absorbed (5 to 7 minutes). Repeat with the remainder of the gyoza dumplings..]

Wonton Wrappers

1 egg

¾ teasp salt

2 cups all-purpose flour

⅓ to ½ cup water, as needed

Extra flour as needed

Preparation:

Lightly beat the egg with the salt. Add 1/4 cup water.

Sift the flour into a large bowl. Make a well in the middle and add the egg and water mixture. Mix in with the flour. Add as much of the remaining water as necessary to form a dough. (Add more water than the recipe calls for if the dough is too dry).

Form the dough into a ball and knead for about 5 minutes, or until it forms a smooth, workable dough. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll out until very thin, and cut into 3 1/2-inch squares. Store in a plastic bag in the refrigerator or freezer until ready to use.

"This recipe worked perfectly for me. I did modify a few things. I ended up using (probably) close to 1/2 cup of water. The dough was still very, very dry and unkneadable. Much dryer than you would think it should be. I left it covered for 15 minutes, then kneaded it (by which time it had relaxed a bit), then left it for another half hour (covered).

It was beautiful. I rolled it out using a hand-cranked pasta machine, using half of the dough each time. The pasta machine made it 6 inches wide, which fit 2 three inch cut-outs side-by-side. I used a lot of flour, folded the rolled dough over itself so it was in 4 layers, then cut out with the biscuit cutter. I left it under a damp paper towel for about 1 1/2 hours and had no trouble with sticking, except around the edges where the biscuit cutter had kind of smooshed the layers together a bit. Next time I wouldn't do more than 2 layers.

I am very blessed

This past week I heard about a friend who just lost one of her children to SIDS. As you can imagine she is grieving for her little girl. This made me start thinking about my own family and how blessed I am, I live in Africa exactly where God wants me, with my best friend Jesse, and we have together a wonderful son who brings us much joy. I live in a wonderful house with electricity and water, this is a big deal seeing I live in Africa, I could go on and on. I love my life that God has given to me, and I am truly blessed. We all are blessed, if we stop and think about who and what we have we will consider ourselves very blessed, and the only reason why we are blessed is because of God.

Counting the days

Everyday Joshua has asked me how many more days do we have left of school. He is anxiously waiting for the day he is finished with 1st grade, he has done a great job, only three days left.

He just learned Roman Numerals this week and loved them, he told me that he has been wanting to learn these so he can read Lisa's (a missionary in Kara) clock. He makes me laugh he caught on real quick. He is anxiously waiting for THE BIG BREAK.

Almost done with school

Joshua is very close to finishing another year of school, the 1st grade. He has done so well this year. In his favorite subject, math, he has learned his subtraction tables and addition tables. He can add three digit numbers together, which is his favorite. He has also learned about fractions and all different kinds of measurements. He loves it when we have "Thinking Caps," because they are questions which make him analyze and he loves trying to figure them out. I am very proud of him!

He has done very well with reading. He has read nine books in total and enjoys reading all of the different stories. He started writing in cursive this year and has done very well with that as well.

He learned about many famous men including George Washington, who I believe was his favorite. Currently we are learning about Martin Luther King Jr, and when we are finished learning about him Joshua wants to draw a picture of him. If I can I will scan it and put it on the blog.

Like I said earlier I am very proud of Joshua. He has done very well and enjoys learning. We have had our battles but with God we have overcome them. Joshua is anxious to learn new things in second grade, but he is first looking forward to a break so he can play with his best friend David.

Two precious miracles

Today I went to the hospital to visit my friend who just had a precious baby today. The baby was so tiny and cute and my friend looked wonderful, especially after just having had a baby. I saw anther lady in the room with a small little bundle close to her. It was another little miracle. After a few minutes I discovered that they did not have any water at the hospital, so my friend decided she wanted to go home. Okay, at that moment I was thinking "no way, you just had this baby at 11:00 it is only 4:00, are you crazy??" But I managed to keep my shock to myself and agreed to take them home. As we were packing things up in the truck the family members of the other lady in the room came to me and asked if I would take the baby and the grandma home for them. I asked how the mother was getting home and they said she'd be taking a motor cycle. I said no, that I would wait for her and she could come with me in the truck. Can you imagine having just given birth to a baby and the same day hopping up on on a motorcycle in Togo?

If you have never been to a third world country let me draw you a picture: the roads, especially the one that the hospital is on, is like a dirt biking track in the woods. The road is like a dried up river bed with ruts and rocks in the ground. You can imagine that it would make it very painful for the new mother. So, I became the taxi for two precious little miracles today and the mommas. I hope to visit the other momma since I know where she lives and bring her some soap. I thank the Lord for situations like this. I know it was not mistake. Please pray for my friend, Esther, that I may share with her the truth about Christ and His love.

Bones

We have a neighbor across the street that is retired and who wanders the street because he has nothing to do. Every time he would see us he would ask if we had any work for him to do. We continued to tell him we will let you know if we have any. (Just to let everyone know every week we have people come by asking for work because they need money). One day I had a idea for a job for our little friend. We have a trash mound at the end of our street from all of our neighbors, I asked Jesse if we could give him the job of taking care of the mound each week to keep it off the road. Turned out to be a great thing, no more trash, it gives the man something to do and he keeps the whole road clean, and provides money for him. He is a poor man, but always has a smile on his face, he is so thankful for anything.
Hear in Togo and many other places around the world nothing goes to waste, I never throw out old bread someone will always take it, I never throw out the outside of a pineapple they use it to make medicine, I never throw away chicken bones they will cook them in a sauce and suck the marrow out of them. For dinner other night we had a type of bird it is a guinea fowl it is very yummy, after dinner I put the bones and some meat in a bag with some rice, and brought them over to our little friend. When I told him what it was he bowed almost to the ground and took the bags, he was so thankful for BONES. I have learned many things from this man, he has been a great lesson for our family.
I thank the Lord for His blessings, so that we may help other people.

A fun Sunday

We all had a blast this Sunday. Jimmy and Joshua played for hours while Jesse and I sat on the porch enjoying being dry. Thank you Jimmy for making this day fun for Joshua, he will never ever forget it.

A great place to buy beautiful pictures

Jesse is a wonderful photographer and he loves taking pictures of Gods creations. He is currently selling his photos on www.day6images.com
I am trying to tell more people about this wonderful site. Please go check it out and see what you think.

Three little hoots

I had so much fun doing this page, Joshua had a
lot of fun watching me.
This is Asher, Joshua and David.

Very very thankful

I am very thankful for Joshua's health, the Lord has blessed in many ways. His neck is almost back to normal and he is feeling great. He has a lot of energy and has no fever. We thank the Lord for His guidance in choosing the medicine and for His healing.
I want to thank you all for praying for Joshua and us as we went through this. We give all of the glory to Him.

Faith in God not in doctors is sometimes difficult.

A little over a week ago Joshua came to me with a swollen neck, I thought he might have pulled a muscle, but it never went down. We took him to the doctors and he said it was a virus. He prescribed a few medicines and we went on our way, we were not impressed. So we went to another doctor who felt Joshua's neck and looked in his mouth and said it is an infection "I will give you a antibiotic" he said. We had to demand a blood test and a throat culture from the doctor.
The blood test came back showing that his white blood cells were normal and that his blood count was down. The throat culture came back saying that he has a rare bacterial virus in his body.

After hearing this I thought, wonderful now we know what it is, now what do we do? One doctor is saying put him on antibiotics another person is saying do not use the antibiotics, do another treatment. I am so confused.
Being in Africa away from big hospitals relying just on 3rd world country doctors (please understand I am very thankful for them, but they have not been trained the way others have been trained) and talking to doctors over the phone. This is definitely a growing experience for my faith. God is the greatest doctor and He knows what is best for Joshua. I am so glad that God has placed in our lives doctors who have given themselves to practice in Togo. I am very thankful for all of the help we have received from them.
Please pray that my faith stays in Christ.

Ice Tea and a little friend

Today before I started Bible Hour I made myself a glass of ice tea. When I went out side I was amazed at how many children came for Bible Hour. I was not paying attention to a little boy who was fascinated by my cold cup of ice tea which had ice floating around in it. As I was talking to the children I noticed this little boy he continued to touch the cup and look at me as if to say can I have a sip? I knew it was not possible but I wanted to. The rest of the time with the kids he kept a eye on that cup and so did I, I think if I turned my head the tea would have been gone. I think most of all he was fascinated with the ice cubes.
It was a wonderful day at Bible Hour we saw 5 new children come and a mom she said she would come back next week. I am so thankful for the opportunity to serve Him.

Bible Hour Kids singing

Very Blessed

Today I was thinking about my life and how good God has been to me. I officially have no complaints about my life. God has given me a family and a home and a place where I can serve Him and I am so blessed to have all of these things. I want to thank the Lord for all of the many blessings.

Decisions

Do you ever feel like you are completely incapable of making a sound decision? I despise making a decision, well not all decisions, I don't mind the little ones but big ones I really am not a big fan of. Recently, I have been put to the test a few times and I realize more and more that God is in complete control and really it is Him that is making the decision and I rest in that. As Joshua says "Mom God must be really strong if He holds the world in place" yes He is really strong and He knows all of my problems little and small, and I rest in the fact that He is in control.

Joshua's birthday

Joshua's birthday is coming up we are all excited. Joshua wants to have a peanut butter fight, I must explain. When you buy peanut butter in Kara it comes in little bags, they take all of the air out of the bags so they look like they are going to pop, Joshua wants to squeeze one so bad and have a peanut butter fight. I am not to sure about this. Maybe we should just stick with water balloons. If anyone has any ideas for games for a 7 year old birthday party just let me know.

A wonderful time with the ladies

This past Sunday I was given the opportunity to speak to some ladies at our church. I spoke on Genesis and the creation. I had a wonderful time and I pray that the Lord receives the glory for it.

After the meeting ended I told the ladies that I had something special for them. Now, I must explain something first; you must understand that these ladies are poor and the things that they can buy in Togo are usually very poor quality. I had two packages of ladies underwear that I was not going to be using so I gave each of them a pair. When I pulled the packages out of my purse a squeal came out from all of the woman, they were so excited! One of the oldest woman in the church told me she was going to try them on and show me! lol!

How much joy they received by getting just one pair of underwear. I spoke to one of the ladies today and she said she wore them yesterday and she said they fit great and that they are wonderful quality. Another chance to give and a great opportunity to receive joy.

Busted lip, infected ankle, fever, bruised bum......................

Busted lip, infected ankle, fever, bruised bum, all of things have happened to Joshua this week I hope this week ends quick or else I think we might need to put him in a bubble so he can not hurt himself anymore.

Busted lip - He fell out of chair right on his face on cement, he could not catch himself because his hands were in his pockets.

Infected ankle- A door hit his ankle and became infected this week.

Fever- Sunday morning he was not feeling good, by the end of the day he was so lethargic, and was running a high temperature and we thought he had malaria. We found out the next day he did not have malaria, praise the Lord.

Bruised bum- Tonight he was standing on a wooden stool, and he was to close to the edge and he fell right on the leg part of the stool ouch.

This was not a good week for Joshua. I hope he has a better one next week.

I am truly amazed

I do not know how many times I have read Genesis chapter 1 and 2, but something happened today while I was studying, I thought of something that amazed me. Right now stop to think how our bodies work. God gave us woman the ability to give life to a child to provide food for the child, to walk down the street to pick up an object. All of these things and many many more He created in one day. This might sound foolish to many but I am amazed at the power and abilities He has. I praise God for the ability to take my next breath, the ability to glorify Him, He gives me the ability to do all of this, and He alone deserves the glory.

Giving is a wonderful thing

A friend of mine gave me some girls clothes for my neighbor, so I went over her house today and gave her some clothes for her nieces. When I arrived at her house the girls were so excited about the clothes, they started trying on the clothes and got so excited about it. One of the little girls started dancing and saying ya ya, she was so excited about the new clothes, she did not want to take the clothes off.
It was such a joy to see them try the clothes on and to see the smiles on their faces. I believe that giving is such a wonderful gift.