Welcome Arielle Joy!

Exciting news: Eric and Juli welcomed Arielle Joy into their little family on May 21st. After a complicated labor, Juli had to have an emergency c-section... and after some time in the hospital, they were able to come home. Arielle is beautiful! They all seem to be doing well, as well as you can be with a brand new baby. Down the road, I'll hopefully post some photos... Juli said she would let me practice my 'skillz' on Arielle. Yay!

This post will probably be mostly photos; I wanted to show you how much work has been accomplished on the cow barn! It looks GREAT! The guys have all been doing a wonderful job working on it. I think Jake has been having a good time teaching the guys how to use the tools properly and build the barn.

Tomorrow is our last day of Swahili class. I can't believe it is actually almost over. I remember when it first started and I thought to myself, "Seriously... 8 weeks of this?!" 5 [sometimes 6!] days a week, 4-5 hours a day, 8 weeks... it's been a long road, and a difficult one at times... but I'm so glad we had the opportunity. I don't feel insanely confident, but I know that it will come as I speak it more. It's nice to be in a place where it can be used! 

Next Monday we are leaving for Dubai! We have to leave for visa reasons... we're only allowed to stay up to 6 months at a time. Dubai was the cheapest place we could find a flight to. We will be gone until the 16th. I'm not sure if we'll have internet access while we are there, so this may be the last blog update for a while [although I've been kind of slacking lately anyways, so it's nothing new]. We're definitely looking forward to having some time to ourselves, eating familiar foods [they have Applebees and Coldstone! Hooray!] The week we come back, Juli's parents are coming to visit for two weeks... exciting! It will be fun to see some people from home. 

We're pretty much on the up-swing from being sick; I still have a nasty cough, but Jake is doing a lot better. It's nice to feel human again!!

I think that's all for now... thanks for your prayers!! 

 

I still can't get over...

...that it hailed here today. I have to keep reminding myself that I'm not in Minnesota; I'm in Africa. And it hailed. Weird! Although it was only small, pea sized hail, it was still very odd to see!

It rained SO HARD today. I think rainy season is here. Yayyy! Here are a few photos...

[See the white specks? Pea-sized hail! It obviously melted pretty quickly.]

Praise the Lord for so much rain!

Jake and I started Swahili lessons on Monday. We have two hours of class in the morning [8:45-10:45], and two hours of class in the evening [5:00-7:00]... Monday through Friday, for 6-8 weeks. Probably 8. Haha. Our instructor's name is Jacken... he is a good teacher and a VERY patient man! It's definitely easier than it was on the first day, but it's still by no means easy. Must... study... more...

We got a package in the mail the other day from Jane and 3rd/4th grade AWANA girls from our church! My mom also added a few things that we needed, which was really appreciated. It was very sweet to read through the booklets that the girls made for us, full of stickers, Bible verses, and things about themselves. The Jolly Ranchers, brownie mix, coffee... so thoughtful! [Jane, we'll be sending a letter for you to read to the class! THANK YOU!]

There are only a few students here right now... most of them are still away for the break. I'm excited for them to come back... it's too quiet here without them!

Please be praying for us as we discern whether or not we will be returning to Africa after this year or not. We both want to be open to hearing what God is saying to us, and where He is calling us; putting aside the selfish desires of what WE want... regardless of how much we miss home.

That's all for now... :]