Back Online!

We are back on line after almost 6 months. Yea!!
We will be trying to catch up on e-mail and blogging. Our connection is slow, so we appreciate your patience.

Update

Isabelle picked out this cloth while we were at the market one day. Ciska (our cook) made the outfit for her. She only charged about $4. The wrap type skirt is what women wear here most of the time.

It has been awhile since I posted. We have been doing well lately, just busy. We enjoyed our trip to Brazzaville, but it was a little longer than we had planned due to airline issues. We returned Sunday, March 7, and Stephen went back to work that afternoon & evening.
He started call the next day, and has been on call all but three days since then. (Dr. Harvey had an unexpected but necessary trip to Brazzaville. He should return today, and Stephen will have a bit of a break.)
The rest of us are doing well, just busy catching up on things after being gone, plus the usual- I'll spare you the boring details.e to
It hasn't all been work. We've had some time to play, too. I hope to post some of our recent pictures this weekend. :)
I seem to have caught a cold, and my throat is too scratchy to do all of school today. I'm letting the kids watch a movie, while I try to catch up on a few other things. (like blogging.)

Company Girl Coffee and Guinea Pig Pictures

Today we are having cinnamon flavored sun tea instead of coffee. It's very nice on a hot day likeou today.
Last Saturday we had an impromptu belated New Year's Eve party at the Harvey's house. Becky Harvey made lots of yummy doughnuts, and we played games and watched a movie. (Pictures to come.)
We had some more short term people arrive on Saturday. That brings us up to a total of 5 in addition to our regular team. Since most the short term people plus 5 of the long term people eat lunch here on Monday- Friday, we have had quite a busy week. But it's been a fun one, as we get to know new friends.y
The guinea pig pictures are from last Friday. At the end of the work day, they moved to the Harvey's house. I have to admit that I was quite relieved to see them go.
Today someone came to sell us honey. I bought it- all five liters- which had to have bees, honeycomb and dirt strained out. I think word is getting out that I can't say no. :)
After a little bit of a break from hearing gunfire, we have heard a little bit since Sunday morning. It's still on the other side of the river, and we are not concerned at this point. We are just taking the usual precautions- not going out after dark unless necessary, not going out alone, etc.
I have started to try to work on Lingala a little bit every day. I was trying before, but now I have it on my schedule. Hopefully, that will help! :)
We had a really enjoyable Wednesday morning. Stephen had the morning off, and we went for a bike ride as a family. We rode from the hospital to the bridge at Hippo River. I wish I could capture the looks on people's faces when they see us coming! We provide lots of entertainment.
Stephen is not on call this weekend, so I am hoping for a nice relaxing weekend. Maybe even another bike ride.
How did your week go?

Airport in France and a brief update

Poor Caleb! He was so exhausted during (and after) all of our traveling.
As we approach the end of our first week in Impfondo, we are all beginning to become accustomed to life here.
Everyone is adjusting well. We haven't done much this week except unpack and try to learn how to function in daily life here.
This morning Stephen and I had a chance to visit a leprosy group home- not sure exactly what it is called. Stephen was able to do a quick physical exam on the people who had problems and prescribe some treatment or medicine. Of course, he was supervised by a missionary nurse!
I am beginning to learn how to shop for food and cook here. It is quite a challenge for me. The kids were happy with the "Super Easy Biscuits" we had tonight, and I was happy with the "super easy" part of the recipe.
This weekend will be more of the same, and then Stephen starts to work on Monday.
Keep this hospital and this area in your prayers. Refugees from the fighting in the DRC have been trickling in over the last few weeks.

Back in Montana

We arrived in Cut Bank on Monday, and are getting settled in at Lowell and Bonnie's house. Today was our first day of school. I have tons of pictures from this summer. As we get into a routine, I will get back to blogging.

Quick Update

We left Sherbrooke Wednesday afternoon, and arrived at Stephen's parents in Kentucky yesterday. Everything went well, and I have lots of pictures to post when I get a chance.
Right now we are working on unpacking the things we moved from the U-haul, and getting things ready for the summer and for our container.
Tomorrow we will be going to Camp Nathaniel to be camp missionaries for the week. After that we will be spending time with family. I hope everyone is enjoying their summer. :)

Update- Our Plans

Or should I say, what we think our plans may be... because I have learned how quickly plans can change. But I think it is good to have a plan, but remain flexible in case of changes.

1. Stephen and I are almost finished with our second semester. We have our last day of regular class tomorrow, which will be mostly review. We have finished all of our presentations, papers, etc. We each have to have 74 hours of language labs (Rosetta Stone and other things) turned in next Wednesday. We've both been working on that all along, and are close to being done. Starting Thursday, we have our end of the year exams. Our last day of the semester is next Wednesday, the 22nd.

2. The following Monday (April 27) we start our 3rd semester, which is the conversation class. We are supposed to get that schedule tomorrow. I'm hoping to have less homework outside of class, but I don't know yet. I will be in the Intermediate, Stephen will be jumping ahead to the advanced!

3. Our last day of class is June 23. This is also the kids last day of school. We hope to leave here that day or the next.

4. The week after school (June 29-June 3) we are going to be camp missionaries for Camp Nathaniel, a camp in Eastern Kentucky. It is the camp Stephen attended when he was younger, and worked at as a teenager.

5. We plan to spend the rest of July visiting family; however, we haven't worked out a schedule yet. We do know that we have a family reunion for Stephen's father's side of the family July 31 -August 2. Stephen's mom's side of the family will also be having a reunion one weekend in July, but we don't know the date yet.

6. That is as far as our plans go. We would still like to leave for Africa in the early fall, but that will depend on our finances, as explained by Stephen on our mission's blog.

On another note, we had snow last week and this weekend. Today was sunny and nice. It was almost above freezing when I went to class at 8:30. I think Spring may be on its way!

Update

Wow... it has been over a month since I last posted. I didn't realize how much time had gone by. We have all been doing well, but just busy. Since spring break, we have had lots of test, projects, etc. Our biggest challenge was a presentation in chapel this past Wednesday. It was 20 minutes... in French. We breathed a big sigh of relief once that was over!

Now we have another small presentation for class (5-10 minutes), the usual homework, and tests. I will be posting more and catching up on pictures. I just need to upload the pictures from the camera first...

Right now in class we are studying reflexive verbs. There is a lot of new vocabulary as well as a lot of rules (and of course exceptions to all of the rules, then some exceptions to the exceptions.) They can be very important to get right. If you read Stephen's post about smelling bad instead of feeling bad, you will understand.

Quick Update

We are back in Canada. We arrived Saturday afternoon, and have been busy getting ready to go back to our normal routine.

We enjoyed our time spent with family. I have tons of pictures to share, and I have posts set to auto publish for the next week (or more).

We were very encouraged by the cards, letters, and gifts that we received over our break. It is such a great reminder of all the people who are supporting and encouraging us along the way. If it were just Stephen and I doing this we would have never made it this far. We are grateful to have a whole team of people who are ready to help and uplift us each step along the way.

We had Ian's birthday yesterday (my how the time has flown-- he is halfway to being an adult!) Some neighbor's came down and had supper with us. I took time out of the unpacking, laundry, etc to make some homemade soup and pita bread-- and of course, rice krispy treats for Ian. We enjoyed the time spent talking with them and relaxing for a little while.

We received our schedule for the semester this morning. There will be two intermediate classes, which is a huge answer to prayer for us. Right now, Stephen is in the morning class, and I am in the afternoon. We are going to try to switch that, but if we can't it will be OK.

Stephen and the kids are outside playing in the snow for a little while, and I am going back to the almost finished tasks of laundry and unpacking. :)

Quick Update

I know Stephen put an update on his blog, but I thought I would do one for anyone who does not read both. We arrived safely Thursday after an uneventful trip.
We were able to see our niece, Kaitlyn, on Monday, and many friends from our church in Baltimore on Tuesday.
We were greeted warmly by some of our fellow students, who helped us unload and begin unpacking. One family in the building has helped us unpack, fed us, given advice and instruction on how to do things here, etc. That has made it so much easier.
Everything is still overwhelming, but we are on our way to being unpacked, Ian and Isabelle are registered for school, and we have at least a few groceries.
When things settle down a little (or I just give up on unpacking), I will post pictures of

Update

We spent the last few weeks packing and cleaning. Our big move day was Tuesday. We had various people helping from 8:00 AM until about midnight. I meant to take lots of pictures, but of course never quite managed to get the camera out. (I probably couldn't have found it!)
But thanks to all of our help, we finished the packing, loading the truck, and much of the cleaning on Tuesday. Wednesday morning we finished the last minute things and headed to Havre to see the Sangrays. We spent the night with them, and then we were off on our cross country journey.
Yesterday, we traveled from Havre to Bismarck, ND, and today we traveled to Oakdale, MN (close to Minneapolis.)

Jamie went to her new foster family on Friday. Her foster mom is a teacher at the Kindergarten/1st grade in Browning. She also has one of Jamie's cousins in foster care. We were very happy that Jamie was able to join this wonderful family! Her foster mom brought her by on Tuesday afternoon, and we were able to spend a little time with her.

Update

I haven't posted recently partly because we have been busy, and partly because I didn't take any pictures. Here is what we have been doing:

1. Ian joined the ranks of the sick last Thursday. Fortunately, Stephen had Thursday and Friday off, so he was here to deal with the major issues.

2. We went to Kalispell on Saturday to visit the Orts. Jeff had a surprise party for Emmy while we were there. I got to take Emmy out shopping so that Jeff, Stephen and the eight children could get things ready for the surprise party. It was a 33 1/3 birthday party with a 70's theme. She was really surprised, especially since her birthday is in January.

3. Stephen spoke at the church in Columbia Falls, which went well.

4. A new pediatrician started at the hospital. YEA!!!! This position has been open for a long time, and it is a relief to have someone good there before we leave.

5. No new news on the adoption. We are still trying to find the mother.

6. Tuesday it started raining, then hailing, then snowing. Yes, snowing! It snowed quite a bit. Stephen had to be at a court case in Great Falls, and almost didn't make it home that evening. The snow continued into Wednesday. (I would have taken pictures, but it was too depressing.) The weather also made for some cranky children, who did not want to be cooped up. I was glad when things cleared up yesterday afternoon, and they could go back outside.

7. After traveling the last 3 weekends, we were looking forward to a quiet weekend at home before heading out for more. But this is not to be. We are registered foster parents, and there is a 3 month old who needs a therapeutic foster home. The social workers were having trouble finding a place for her, and Stephen reminded them that we are approved foster parents. She is in a hospital in Denver, and Stephen will be flying down to pick her up today. (Flying to Denver today, and then back home tomorrow.) For now, it will just be for 2 weeks-- more as an Emergency Placement until they can find a more permanent placement for her. If we were going to be in Browning, we would consider doing a longer one. But since we still hope to move sometime this summer, that is not an option.
We still have our crib, a few receiving blankets, and some baby toys. I kept meaning to collect a few baby things just in case we had a baby placed here, but I never did. Now we will just have to wing it.

Anyway, that is what we have been doing. I am going to go drag (I mean take) the kids on a loooooooonnnnnggggg walk before lunch.

Quick Update

We are in Billings now. I don't have any pictures to post, but just thought I would do a quick update of our comings and goings.
Friday, Kathleen went with Jason to Kalispell to pick up her grandmother. We met her grandmother on Sat, and she spent a little time at our house. She speaks very broken English, but we were able to talk some. We were hoping to spend some more time with her on Sunday before we had to leave. I'm not sure if it was just a language barrier, or if she wasn't feeling well enough, but we didn't see her at all on Sunday. Jason dropped Kathleen off to go to church with us, and then we didn't see any more of him or his mom. I didn't think to take any picture on Saturday, and I was hoping to take some on Sunday. I am glad that Kathleen had a chance to spend some time with her grandmother.
We left Sunday afternoon for Great Falls. We had a chance to swim in the hotel pool before supper. This morning we drove the rest of the way to Billings for the CMA district conference. We had one meeting tonight, and there are more the next 3 days. They have a nursery which is nice. By the time we spent 3 1/2-4 hrs in the car, and then time in the hotel room, I was ready for the kids to be in the nursery for a little while!
The meetings go from 7:00 in the morning until late in the evening, so we will only go to some of them. We have had a chance to see a few friends, and meet some people who we had only e-mailed or talked to over the phone.
When we got the schedule today, we saw that our names were down for the luncheon. I finally had a chance to ask someone about it at the end of the night. We are each speaking for 5 minutes before the main speaker. (The person in charge forgot to tell us-- oops!) It's probably better, or I would have been stressed out about it. Now I am too tired to worry. I will be speaking at the woman's luncheon to about 60 people. Good thing it is only 5 minutes!
The kids are all having a great time on the trip, especially the swimming. Isabelle is really looking forward to seeing Reina. She is counting down the days. They were all pretty wiped out by the end of the day.
I will try to remember to take more pictures tomorrow.

Just Checking In

We had a nice visit with Steve and Kristi Diehl in Lewistown over the weekend. I took the camera, but we never took any pictures. You can see Steve and Kristi on their website. They have been such an encouragement to us in the process of applying to the CMA, etc. Stephen wrote more about the weekend on our missions blog, so I won't duplicate the effort.
While we were there, Ian started to get sick. He has a cold, which is making its way through the whole family. Needless to say we haven't done much at all this week.
I was glad that we were homeschooling Ian. At least Monday and Tuesday he would have been too sick to go to school (and possibly yesterday and today too.) I'm glad we didn't have to get into all of the issues with the school over him missing. We could do some reading and other work in little segments, and then he could rest when he needed too. I think getting rest is the best thing to do when you are sick so that your body has a chance to heal.
Anyway, that is what our week has been like. It may be next week before I get around to putting more on our blog.

Burger King and an Update

First, for the update: We have the paperwork from our homestudy. We received it yesterday, and it will go in the mail to our lawyer today. Now we can finally move forward on the adoption! Thanks to everyone who has been praying for this adoption. It has been hard for us to be patient. But (hopefully) that was our last hurdle.
On Monday, we took Mary Jo to Whitefish for an outpatient surgery. Ian was so excited about the trip. It was one that he would have missed if he was still in public school. We did school on Saturday, so that he could have the day free.
While we waited on Mary Jo to be done, we spent some time in Kalispell. Of course, we had to go to Burger King for lunch. I got pictures of all of the kids except Caleb. He was having so much fun that he didn't want to come down from the play area. By the time he did, I forgot to take his picture. Oh well, three out of four isn't bad!

Update

We did decide to take Ian out of public school and homeschool him. It wasn't just the one incident, but that was the final straw. Today was his last day. Tomorrow is Winter Break for the school, so we will start on Monday.

Resolution

Stephen had a meeting with Ian's teacher and the SFA Family Support Coordinator. His teacher was surprised. (She was out of town on Friday, and we hadn't talked to her yet.) She pointed out to the SFA person that Ian was in the top of his class in most areas. Basically, Stephen just had to sign a paper saying that we would not let Ian miss any more days of school. The SFA teacher is supposed to send that letter to the tribal court and Stephen will not have to appear in court. There was no court today, as it was President's Day.
We decided to wait until the end of the week to make a decision about homeschooling. We are both leaning that direction, but don't want to do anything rash.
We have been really happy with his teacher, and he does have a lot of friends. It has been a good opportunity for him to be exposed to another culture. For the most part, everyone has been accepting of him in spite of the ethnic differences.
There are many benefits to homeschooling, though. At this point, I'm not sure if I can drop him off at school every day without wondering what is going to happen next.
Right now, I am researching math systems. I'm off to do that some more. I will try to post pictures tomorrow.

Quick Update

I haven't had time to blog since we have been home. We spent the 4th-6th with the Hines in Cody, WY. We had an enjoyable time there, but we never took any pictures. Sunday was a long drive home. We made it back at about 11:30 to find that everything was just as we left it. (It was also cold, and there was and still is snow on the ground.)
Monday Ian went back to school, and Isabelle and Kathleen went back to preschool. Stephen had his first day of work yesterday. We have been trying to unpack from our trip, unpack boxes, and get things cleaned up. It seems like an impossible task right now!
Caleb's birthday is tomorrow, and I should have some pictures from that to share. It's hard to believe my baby is turning 2!

Mission planning update

Anna and I feel very strongly God is leading us to the "Republic of Congo". Above is a picture of the hospital in Impfondo. YOu can see a larger view by just double clicking on the pict.
Now what organization?????? It will probably still be with the C&MA. We spoke with the director of the International Fellowship of Alliance Professionals (IFAP) associated with the Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA) (www.cmalliance.org). Essentially although we still have to raise our own support, we will be affiliated with the C&MA and will be able to continue to partner with the churches that we've attended the past 8-10 years.

The process is now raising prayer partners who are willing to support our endeavor and to finish our official app with IFAP. Even thought he director of IFAP was very encouraging , we still need to meet with what amounts to an ordination board. Hopefully we can get this done in the next 2-3 weeks. We then will know more about our actual needs and timeline.

Currently Anna and I hope to be in some sort of language training by the beginning of 2008, and then in the Congo by the beginning of 2009. This means I will finish working at the IHS site here in Browning the beginning of Dec 07.

Our language training will be done most likely in Quebec. at a French WOrd of LIfe Bible College (parole de vie, www.pdv.org), but there are logistics to work our (child care, schooling, lodging etc).

Thanks again for reading the post and for those who are praying for us.

We're still here

A church group from Open Door Baptist Church in VA is in town doing some children's activities. Ian and Isabelle made foam visors. Caleb just sat and watched the horses that were wandering around on their own.

It has been hot here, up to the 90's some days. Thankfully, our airconditioner is working. I have tons of pictures from our 4th of July in Havre that I will post eventually. Some of them are on Stephen's laptop, which is not working right now. We are going to take it in to Best Buy on Sat and hopefully get it fixed there.