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It seems like several months that we were rushing through the airport on the 16th trying not to be late to our flight. It was delayed about an hour, so we had time to catch our breath and prepare ourselves for the next 32 hours. Picture 2 adults, 3 sons, and 2 daughters carrying, pulling, and pushing 14 ‘carry-ons’ and 2 strollers. Andy showed that he was becoming a young man, by pushing a stroller, carrying a backpack and pulling 2 carry-ons latched together. I am not sure how we did it all. But, incredibly, we made it, our luggage made it and we are now mostly unpacked, settling in and the boys have started school.


The boys started school the Tuesday after we arrived back in Mmabatho. Their classmates and friends were happy to see them again after an almost 7 month absence.


We arrived back at the house Saturday afternoon and just kind of walked through with a sense of not knowing what to do. The house wasn’t in the condition that we left it and neither was the yard, so that was kind of disappointing. The phone wasn’t working, so we couldn’t call anyone. We cleaned a little, unloaded everything and the house was a disaster for about 5 days with suitcases everywhere. We went to church the next morning and it was good just to worship.
One minor miracle is that we now have ADSL – I was thinking it would take 3-4 weeks to get it, but here we are. Another event that brought tension to our lives was the power shortages that South Africa is experiencing right now – rolling blackouts. The first week that we were back, the power would be out 2-3 times a day for 2-3 hours – no schedule, no warning no nothing. It brings nothing but frustration because you can’t plan anything – you don’t know when the power will be on or off. Now, we don’t have it as bad as others, but it just wasn’t good to experience right after come back – to a foreign country, you’re jet-lagged, your house is dirty, and there are no missionaries 2 doors down that we had the luxury of in the previous term. Fortunately, the electricity has been on for the last 5 days.


As I contemplated this electricity situation – they said it will 5 years to fix – the thought came to me to use these power outages as a reminder to pray. I thought that when the power was out that it would cause me just to have a concerted time of prayer – for the people, their spiritual darkness and for me to be able to see what God is doing and what He wants me to do.
God is good and he is blessing us. The temperatures have 10-15 degrees cooler than it was last year. It has not touched 90 degrees since we have been here. I believe we’ve had more rain in the last week than we did in the last term. Everyone is healthy and we getting back into a routine.


Thanks for your prayers over these last 2 weeks – we definitely have felt them. God is good. Please continue to pray as we just seek God’s direction in our ministries.