She's ready for Africa!

Just a few minutes ago, Olivia ran inside saying, "Look Mommy!!!"  And to my horror, this is what she wanted to show me.....

It's hard to see, but it was an earthworm!  YUCK!!!  But she assured me, "You can touch it Mommy.  It's dead!"

Needless to say, I think this girl will be just fine with all the creepy crawlies in Togo!

Party time!!

OK, so this is going to be a totally non-spiritual post....sorry!   The kids are off with my parents and John is at clinicals so I had the house and day to myself.  I was trying to decide what to do.....massage, pedicure, shopping.  But decided instead to get something done in preparation for Togo.  I had already done this once before, but lost the stuff in the fire.  So I thought today, without the kiddos, would be a great time!  

One thing, albeit not really important in light of eternity, that I have worried about in Togo for the kids is their birthdays. I know, not a big deal.....but I wanted to prepare so that their birthdays there would still be special. Remember, there is no Wal-Mart or party store to get your party supplies! So after a trip to good ole WalMart I came home with this......

 I got birthday supplies for each kids for 2 years!  From Rupunzel, to Toy Story to Lightning McQueen.  Nothing real fancy, but I think it will be special to them.

             I even got candles for their ages!

And I picked up some treat bags and party favors.

                Then I bagged them all up and labeled them with the child's name and age.  Each bag has plates, cups, a tablecloth, napkins, silverware and their age candle.

To be honest, I really debated doing this.  I wondered if it really matters....should I spend the money on it (although it was only about $7 a bag).  But then I pictured the kids on their birthdays and I decided to do it.   Is it over kill?   Maybe.  But when you are 4 & 5....it matters!

The dreaded appointment

The kids knew this day would come......but that didn't make it any easier.  On the ride there, I kept asking myself, "Is it wrong to lie to your children if it will make things easier on them?".  I'm kidding, but I was tempted to tell them something, anything, other than we were getting our Yellow Fever Vaccines.   I put it off as long as I could, but once we were checked in and put in our room, Olivia asked the question, "Mommy, are we gonna get shots?".  It was so hard to have to answer "Yes, baby, but just one."  She didn't like that answer.  Eliza was my brave one.....she volunteered Daddy to go first, then mommy!  All in all they did great with only a few tears that were short lived.  After the shots were over, Eliza asked, "Do we have to get a shot to get back into America?".   Poor kid!

This was before we went in....they still didn't know what was coming!



Trying to entertain the kids....it took almost 3 hours at the walk in clinic.  They are the only place in Goldsboro that carries the Yellow Fever Vaccine.

Poor Olivia was not looking forward to this.

All the kids got 3 stickers each!  They thought that was pretty special!

Olivia & Eliza proudly showing their official Yellow Fever Cards.  They are much happier now....a trip to McDonalds helped put the shot incident behind them!

Praising and Stressing!!!

We are so very excited and praising the Lord that we received financial clearance from ABWE (our mission agency) that allows us to officially leave for the field!!   This is something that we have prayed and worked towards for over a year and we are so thankful the Lord has provided the funds for us to serve in Togo for 2 years.  We have traveled many miles and shared our call to Togo with many churches and countless individuals and many of you have partnered with us in this journey.  We thank the Lord for you and realize that without your help, we could not do this!

Now I am stressing out at all I have to do now to get things ready for our little family to live in Africa.  John laughs at me because I am constantly planning, making lists and brainstorming about what we need to send.  I had accumulated quite of bit of supplies, but lost all of them in the fire.  So now I am starting over collecting what we need.  When he and I went before, we took only our suitcases and sent over a few boxes of supplies.  Now, the thought of sending over things for a family of 5 for 2 years has me stressing out!  But just like the Lord provided the finances for us to go, He will provide the wisdom in how to prepare.  This momma's heart just needs to be still and trust in the Almighty.

Words cannot express our excitement! 
What a great GOD we serve!!

A Prayer Request: For Sale

One of the final things we need to do to resolve all the issues from the fire is sale the lot that the house was on.  We have had a few calls from people inquiring about the land, but nothing has gone through.  Yesterday, a lady called who was very interested in buying the lot and made a great offer.  She stated that she was calling her lawyer to get things going to buy it!!  Would you please pray that everything goes through so that we will not be tied to the land when we leave for Togo?  It's really a small thing, but it would be such an answer to prayer and allow us to leave with nothing holding us back!

1 Peter 5:7  Casting ALL your cares on Him, for He careth for you.