Resurrection Party

Not only did the Lord bless us with a fruitful Easter Sunday with our Tanzanian brothers and sisters in Christ, but we also enjoyed some time with our American brothers and sisters in Christ.  We hosted a resurrection party at our house which included 10 adults and 14 children. Here are some of the highlights...

Game time!  Abigail got online and chose some Minute-To-Win-It games and organized them to include all age groups. Adults and children alike had fun. Those playing, and those watching!

After the church food on the grounds (click here to read about it) we decided we needed some American food! The big hit was Lisa Newland's  chocolate fondue. 

Some WONDERFUL ladies from our sending church,  Central Baptist Church in Greeneville, TN  sent me some Easter candy for the missionary kids. They sent me  30 pounds of candy!  They also sent some Easter grass to put in each baggy. Such a great idea except one thing... not one of the MKs had a clue what it was! However, whether they grew up in America or Africa, they surely  knew what to do with all that candy!!!

A  big thanks  to all who sent the candy and helped to make this a special Easter for the MKs!

My Girl!

We recently celebrated our daughter's 13th birthday. After having two wonderful boys I prayed for five years that the Lord would bless us with a little girl. I remember the day I had an ultrasound and the technician told me the baby was an msichana. I knew what that meant in Swahili, but I wanted to be sure. "That means girl, right?" The technician smiled and said that it indeed meant I was expecting a little girl.

I wasn't in labor for very long. For which I praise the Lord!! Bill actually helped to deliver this baby in the small mission hospital, Kijabe Hospital, in Kijabe, Kenya. I was anxious to find out if the technician was correct and waited for Bill to announce the sex of our new bundle of joy. When he didn't I said, "Well, is it a girl or a boy?" I'll never forget the words he spoke - words that reminded me to keep things in perspective. "Oh, I hadn't checked. I was counting toes and fingers." On October 24th, 1997 I gave birth to a healthy, fully-formed, baby girl.

I remember one day when Abigail was about 1 1/2 and I had decorated a wall while she was napping. She toddled into the room and when she saw it she clapped her hands and said, "Piddy Mommy!!" The budding signs of my kindred spirit and little decorator. (She hopes to one day be an interior designer.)

Another gift Abigail has is encouragement. She showed this gift early on as well. She was about 2 and in the process of potty-training. We were at the Walmart bathroom and she happily clapped for me and said, "Yeah! Good job Mommy! I'm so proud of you!"

I could write about many, many more stories. Like the time she cut her hair, the battle of the will over picking up Cherrios (BTW, I won!), and the tears of saying goodbye to friends to move back to Africa. However, I'll close this post in saying it has been a blessing to be Abigail's Mother. I look forward to the years ahead as I continue to watch her grown and become the woman God wants her to be. And I hope one day to be able to share all these stories with her daughter. =)