sometimes when we're asked to send prayer requests to the church or The Messenger i feel rather sheepish always listing the same things over and over. And, i wonder sometimes whether my need to ask for prayer for our health and safety is mostly due to my paranoia. But, recently two out of 3 (not counting Rhonda, she's leaving tomorrow) MAF wives have broken bones. Our Program Manager's wife just fell 2 meters off a ladder this past week and broke a bone in her left foot and chipped a piece off her right knee... she's immobilized for the next 8 weeks. She cant even walk herself to the loo just now! She's got 3 boys and has been in charge of teams coming out to do medical safaris in the bush - there's a team coming out in a few weeks time, but i dont know how that's going to work out now. They did take her to a hospital here, and they did operate on her foot. She had the choice to medevac out, but they decided to stay. The first MAF wife to break her arm (the day after they arrived back from furlough!) went out of country for the operation - although it was a more difficult break to mend. She's still wearing her removable cast.

All this to say, i'm not terribly impressed at this current trend. "These things happen in threes", as someone pointed out to me jokingly. Ha. I'm not laughing. So, like i said, please continue to pray for our health and safety. Somehow those sorts of things are just a bit (lot) more stressful in a foreign country with iffy health care.

This last week Josh and i were requested to fill out an online survey put out by a friend of a friend doing research at a university in the States. He's looking into the "motivation of nonprofit organization workers for accepting international assignments" and is collecting a thousand or so responses from people who are currently working abroad for NGOs. As for other online surveys we've done... (actually, only one other, the one we had to do for the Missionary Health Institute for our end-of-term physical, emotional, and mental health check) it's interesting to notice the questions they ask and guess at what they're fishing for And they always seem to be a great source of conversation between Josh and i (Which is fantastic because we think we know each other so well that conversation is often necessary LOL). For this particular questionnaire i found it notable that there are many different reasons people leave for international work with non profit organizations... and some of them are quite obviously non-religious. ha.

To be sure, except for the fact that we dislike being away from family (or, more specifically - are sad about the fact that our children are not growing up with the same experience of family as they grow up like Josh and i did) and that the transient lifestyle sucks (most notably in relation to friends coming and going at high frequency) the lifestyle we lead here is difficult to compare with anything we could be doing in Canada. Granted, both of us are - or have become - the kind of people for whom 'the usual' is unbearable. We remind ourselves of this often when we find that we're whinging about missing 'the usual'. But as far as, for example, the amount of time Josh can spend with his boys - there's no way we'd find a similarly awesome situation in Canada. And, we're quick to confess that the climate is pretty tough to beat. I didnt really mind Manitoban winters before i moved away, and i do still find myself missing them... but the thought of 9-10 months of really cold weather as opposed to 9-10 months of really hot weather is rather difficult to swallow by now. Call us wussy. We know it. So, unfortunately for some, we're still happier here.

This last Saturday we went to Au Bois Vert for another MAF family farewell. I'm sad to say though that we forgot to take a group family photo like we 'always' do. Shame. But i did think to take a pic of the food platters. Miam, miam!! The genius behind Au Bois Vert's success with the MAF team is that they put our big group out in the front garden, right beside the HUGE BOUNCY CASTLE. Which means we dont see our kids except when we drag them off to eat their lunch, and then they're right back at it. It makes for a (mostly) relaxing and leisurely luncheon with adults. (i say mostly because Asher still isnt big enough to go on the bouncy castle ) I'm hoping Josh and i can go on a mini holiday to this hotel for a night or two while the Reimer family is in the country. Would be lovely to relax by the pool sans enfants.

Asher stats:
-the 4th tooth is finally cutting through, after a week or two of looking like it's about to burst out.
-he's slept now 4 nights in a row through the night without waking up. it qualifies for the 'sleeps through the night' sticker in the baby book (i'm not one of those sticker happy moms who pastes one in on 'fluke' or random events like gas-smiles, or saying 'mom' in amidst babbling. ) We're thinking this is a real stage milestone... which might -last for a week or so.
-he's finally grasped the benefits of going feet first down stairs.
-is excessively attached to his bottle(s), for which i am excessively grateful.
- can go down for morning and afternoon naps and usually also at night without fuss if clutching said bottle. i can usually just make up a warm drink, pop him in the bed, leave the room and voila! sleeping baby. (dont mind my smug boasting, this great phase too shall pass, i'm sure).
- eats 'big boy food' exclusively.
- can stand alone for 5 seconds. (this has not yet qualified for baby calendar sticker).
- can really motor on bi-peds if holding on with one hand
- can really throw a ball.
- can point at objects.
- says his first malagasy word which sounds something like "n-day", meaning, "lets go".

Judah is going to his 3rd day of school this year tomorrow. He hasnt complained yet about anything other than this afternoon he announced that he didnt like it when people liked him so much. We have to send 4 photos of Judah in for admin/labeling purposes so this morning before the 'bus' came to pick him up i took a few to choose from... uh. so i think none of them actually look like him, but for the sake of expediency i chose the most "normal" looking one. Any guesses as to which one that is?

What a goof.

The scent of jasmine meets me as i move from the backyard to the front. Josh's arbor by the garage door is frothing with the petite white blooms, like stars against their dark green leaves. The aroma follows me around the garden as i water the plants. In the back i've just cleaned out the 'deck bed' of pine needles, there still are a lot of them lying about despite the plethora of branches that were cut down a few weeks ago. I love to work there because as i brush past the rosemary her perfume clings to me and i catch a whiff of it every now and again - while i wash my hands to prepare lunch for Ash and i, while i sit down for a quick write at the desk. Spring may just be here for good now, that's what Fanja said this afternoon when she came - Asher hearing her voice and looking this way and that to see where she was. I do hope so, because i'm itching to get back into the pleasures that the warmer months bring: sitting outdoors with a cuppa, spending leisure time puttering in the garden, watching the ferns uncurl their fronds and fill our garden with their image of rain-forest abundance.

Judah is at school for his first full day. We went to drop off the heavy basket of school supplies and meet the teacher yesterday morning. His teacher is a man this year, a pleasant surprise, and mostly boys in this class, also a good thing. Although Larissa is gone from his class (a change that will undoubtedly increase his French acquisition!) he's in a split classroom again, which means that 2 of his MK friends will be in the same room, although not under the same teacher. It is indeed an answer to prayer because Josh and I were somewhat concerned that with all the changes going on, with all his friends leaving the school (and the country), school would become a strange place again. The LORD does indeed provide for his children and we are very grateful!

Judah and his school supplies on the first day of school/meet the teacher day.

The boys playing in the cushions.

For various reasons, this article (below) written by Josh will not be appearing in our September newsletter, so i thought, since he put such hard work into writing it (and because Josh doesnt write much and therefore what he does write should be treated like gold!) i thought you might enjoy reading it. Despite our struggles i do hope you read our posts with the knowledge that we trust the LORD to bring us into a new phase of hope and blessing, as he is already showing himself to be doing. Missionary life is by no means smooth sailing all the time - this is simply a difficult time of transition for us - which will undoubtedly be followed by a new phase of new friends, new blessings, new good things.

The other day i was exasperated with my son. ... LOL. What a novel feeling for a parent of an almost 5 year old!

He's in this stage (at least i hope it's a stage!) where he appears to listen to instruction, but not 30 seconds later does exactly the opposite of what he's been told. GAH!  Earlier that same day we were both crying over relationships in which we felt like we were the ones unloved. We talked it through and came out with the conclusion that at the very least, Judah loved me and I loved him. Later on, as he turned from my instruction to do exactly that which i had told him not to do i said to him that by obeying what i tell him to do he shows me that he loves me. As i heard the words come out of my mouth, "if you love me you will do what i say" i was struck by how very simple that concept is and how Jesus declared the very same thing to us. "If you love me you will do as i command". I just read it again today in my read through of John. By being obedient we show love. Simple. Or not as simple as it sounds. I continue to stand amazed at how parenting - being the parent - shows me in a small way how God must feel with his own very disobedient children. Thank God he has infinite patience and love!

Judah and i made some 'love gifts' for the girls these last few weeks. He helped mainly with cutting the corners off and prodding me along to get them finished. I'm quite pleased with how they turned out especially since they are the product of what lambas and extra fabric i had lying around in my house. We reckoned that the lambas were a good reminder to the girls of Madagascar, and I put in a 'label' "JRP" to remind them of Judah. We've seen them wear their bags around the compound and to church since then, which makes me think they were somewhat of a hit. (useful and stylish, how could you go wrong with that?) Judah also got one, which he likes to wear around like the girls do, but doesnt like to put anything in it, which somehow seems to defeat the purpose. LOL.

This green one has the most beautiful teal lamba as the lining, it doesnt show up as nicely in the photo. But i especially like the orange one with the red lining, a combination i was quite skeptical of before i put it together. I reckon now that it's quite tropical, and i LOVE the orangey red big button closure! For those who want to know, i got the instructions for making the bags here, although i just measured it out for smaller people (or, didnt measure, as the case may be). I suppose if someone paid me big bucks i could be persuaded to make some on order for, say, Christmas pressies. LOL.

Rhonda had her 'leaving the country garage sale' this last Saturday and i tagged along by selling a bunch of my things that were taking up space in our storage room and garage sale including a carseat, bamboo play pen, some clothes and baby clothes, a jolly jumper and baby chair.

Mr Snots. (notice the two bottom chompers)

One of my new hibiscus.

The arum lilies by the outdoor tap are showing many new buds just now. I'm expecting a whole community of white blooms in a few days.

Spring is definitely sneaking up on us. We dont need two duvets at night anymore, we're not having fires in the evening to keep warm and the flowers are starting to bloom! Although my garden looks FAR from lovely these days the spots of blossoms here and there give hope that in a few months it'll be a lovely oasis again. It does remind me though that i havent seen my garden in her full early summer glory in two years!

We may just be coming out of a week's worth of 7:00pm power cuts, which are annoying mostly because it's exactly when the boys go to bed... and josh has gotten used to watching tv or playing xbox at that time

We may also be coming out of the TERRIBLE sleep habits of one Asher Jon. We've stumbled upon a bottle routine that seems to work like a dream. These bottles i found at Shoprite with the hole in the middle for easy little-hand-grabbing appeals to him in a way that bottles never appealed to Judah. We've started putting warm formula milk in them for sleep times and he goes down with little fuss. in fact, i've taken to just putting him in bed with bottle and leaving straight away (what i've always DREAMED of!!) much to the consternation of the ladies. But now that it works without (much) screaming they're more inclined to remark with wonder at the no-fuss-ness of it all. (i smile smugly to myself).

The boys seem to be playing amiably these days as well, which is a delight to watch. Mostly Judah just jumps around and Asher giggles. Judah likes to cuddle though, which Asher detests, so he screeches a lot when Judah feels like expressing some brotherly love. LOL.

This week my gardener is planting grass in the front (4th time's a charm?) but he has a lot of faith that with the added sunlight due to the loss of all those tree branches it'll grow this time. He's also gone to great lengths to ensure that the dirt is well prepped (and flat!) which previous gardeners did not. We use "GuanoMad" bat poop as miracle fertilizer. And Zebu poo too. LOL. I've been puttering around the garden a lot more recently also, moving things around, planting the bulbs that were sent to me from SA, fertilizing with plant food also received by mail. Rhonda gave me first go at picking the potted plants from her house, so i've acquired a few more azaleas and amaryllis. The azaleas are blooming just now and the amaryllis is starting to push up their magnificent heads. I'm looking forward to the season of their glory.

Speaking of clothes, I'm planning to visit the seamstress in a few weeks' time to get some sundresses made from material i've had for almost 2 years, as well as some curtains i'd rather see as a fun strapless frock. Although we cant find much for t-shirt-y kinds of clothes, the only thing limiting one's wardrobe here is the extent of one's imagination because our seamstress can make just about anything if you have the photo to show what you want. Many of us ladies search clothing websites, print off the photos of the stuff we like, and then get it made to size. Nice, huh! Unfortunately the fabric selection, although inexpensive for the most part, is limited.

I've been missing family a lot recently. I've also felt a bit like there's some damaged relationships that i'm somewhat at a loss as to how to go about mending from so far away... it causes heart ache.

Josh is currently reading the Wild at Heart book. I'm hoping that he'll get through it before the Slaubaughs ask for it back to pack away. One of the quotes i wanted to post from that book comes from G.K. Chesterton on the topic of courage, something i know i need to work on:

Wild at Heart p 169

(My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers. as quoted in Wild at Heart 209. John Eldredge).

Rhonda wrote this kind of blog entry just recently and i realized that where i dont have the brain power these days to compose intelligent prose on the 'delights' of cross cultural living, i do have the brain power to list off a Facebook status type list of our current goings on. Even Josh can manage to write status updates on Facebook, which you'd think could transfer quite nicely to a similar style of post from him... hm. Well, he's quite overloaded at work these days despite the slow flying time, so i suppose we cant be too disgruntled about that.

Judah is:
- playing a lot of Fishing Frenzy and is quite far already - way past the rest of us.
- just now playing Lego Indiana Jones with his dad.
- hoping for more Lego type X-Box games for Birthday/Christmas, among other things.
- just made some new friends who just moved into the 'hood from the US. Two boys who are ages 4 and 5.
- piped up in sunday school today that something bad that could happen (during which he could still have joy) was if someone stole him away from his mom...
- oblivious to the imminent departure of his girls next door.

Jocelyn is:
- tired.
- nervous about her own fears taking root in the mind of her son.
- wondering how Judah will react when the girls next door are gone.
- finding myself fighting the feeling that it's not worth the heartache to befriend a probably great friend if she's going to leave in a year's time.
- in the throes of weaning in preparation for a women's weekend at the lake to do a Beth Moore series (Loving Well?) at the end of October.
- SOOOOOOOOOOOOO thankful for my ladies who come every weekday and help with Asher and housework.
- convinced that being a missionary in Africa with small children is brilliant. The older the children get before you leave for overseas, the more difficult it gets (not easier like most people think).
- enjoying the new-to-us head light that i bought off Rhonda during these many power cuts we've been having recently.
- has been really enjoying hanging out with the people in my employ. They're fun people to laugh with.
- is watching (and learning) Rhonda pack up her house, prep for her leaving Madagascar garage sale, manage her emotions as well as those of her children.
- not looking forward to the time when we'll have to do that.
- excited about the new adventure that it will bring when it finally does happen though.
- appreciates the many Swiss volunteers who have come to work for MAF in Mada and brought with them loads of Swiss Chocolate. Yum!
- thankful that the LORD answered my prayers these last few weeks and removed the desire for sweets while i buckled down on my eating and exercising.

Josh is:
- putting Judah to bed in the dark because the power just went off.
- thankful we have a computer with a new battery that doesnt shut off when the power does.
- enjoying watching the new season of LOST.
- having chest pains and shortness of breath today... most probably due to all the heavy branches and chainsaw he's been lifting yesterday and this last week.

Asher is:
- 9 months today.
- apparently pushing out his 4th tooth?
- a crabby teether.
- learning how to fall asleep without someone walking or nursing him... his mom is going to ask the ladies not to rock him to sleep now also, which no one but his mom will like.
- sleeping 6/7pm until 6am with usually one or two wakes during the night. (which his mom thinks is due to the fact that he's used to being rocked back to sleep by those loving ladies).
- getting more steady on his feet. Might be walking by 10 months?
- eating increasing amounts of table foods. current favourites include BBQ'd wieners (or, hotdogs as some people call them), rice with milk, oatmeal, green beans, bread, olives,
- loving the trucks that his big brother never bothered with at his age.
- putting everything - mostly dirt and plant leaves - in his mouth.

The firemen are back again today (tues) and we're somewhat concerned that the falling branches will take out our internet phone line. ack! But until that time we can hope it stays together long enough to post photos.

The weather continues to be lovely during the day and not really as bitterly cold at night either. Asher has pushed out his third tooth, one from the top now, and his crabbiness testifies to his discomfort. He's progressing along quickly with table foods now that his mom has got it in her head that baby food is simply too expensive to buy anymore. Breastfeeding is also being dropped with greater speed. At the end of October i hope to attend a women's retreat for the weekend, so it's my goal to have Asher weaned by then. Here's to hoping!

Josh is doing some renovations again in the MAF hangar. One of our pilots is currently doing relief flying in Chad, and Matthew is currently at home most of the time preparing for departure. Our PM is on vacation, so Josh is acting PM together with many other responsibilities and supervising the painting and renovations going on.
  They really did a great job of stringing up the branches they were cutting so they didnt just fall and smash my garden and arbor, etc.

Today we've been working outside in the garden cleaning up some more after the tree cutting on Saturday. It feels a lot like May long weekend or something, everyone working out in the yard all day, major outdoor projects being accomplished, and lovely spring weather. Did i mention my jasmine vines are starting to bloom? Heavenly! Unfortunately the back yard is not faring as well from the branches smashing the ferns and whatnotall, but i suppose it's a small price to pay in the for less tree coverage in the back. Whilst all this is going on outdoors i've got butter chicken in the slow cooker, which i bought off of Rhonda. Pretty stoked to use it often... if i could find some good slow cooker recipes apart from pulled pork and butter chicken. Any suggestions?
The cutting down of the entire trees in the front was a mammoth task!!

I've just received 2 packages in the mail from a South African lady who visited us at the beginning of July. She came with her husband to do pastoral care for the MAF team and took a turn through my (winter dead) garden. She so graciously offered to send me some bulbs of flowers that do well in semi-shade for my back yard, and some other goodies including hydrangea food. My hopes for the garden this year are quite high, and i'm really hoping that it'll fill out in time for the Reimers' arrival at the beginning of December.