Engines, Turtles & the End of Summer Fun

Since we are now mostly settled in, there are not so many "firsts" to report. We still have them, but they are much more gradual and do not make such an impression.

God has recently provided several opportunities both to share our material possessions and our faith with others. We are so blessed. Thanks to all those who pray for wisdom for us on a daily basis. It is STILL needed.

A major part of the month of August centered around Todd's trip to Florida to change out the engine on HH-PTL. Michael Broyles who serves with us here in Haiti and Frank Gibbs, a former MAFer who is very experienced at this sort of thing, along with Todd formed the crew that inspected, repaired and changed the engine. An engine change sounds quick and easy, and indeed it can be, but while they were in the engine compartment, they took advantage of the accessibility of parts that are normally hidden to review and repair items that would have cost thousands of dollars to replace. MFI, the group that houses our FL address, shops for us when necessary and delivers our mail each week, housed Todd, Michael and Frank, allowed them to use their hangar, and some of the staff even had them to dinner!! I LOVE seeing groups work together and assist each other for the common good. Thanks to Skype, the kids and I were able to talk to Todd most nights. We were so happy to get him back last Monday, though. Since his return he has been fixing things like crazy!!...both things that broke during his absence and house repairs that have been needed for years.

I was able to really enjoy Kyle and Megan this summer, making it one of the very best ever. Most of the kids' missionary/expat friends were gone during June, July and August, so I got to spend a lot of time reading adventure books with them and reviewing their skills for school, swimming, laughing, getting "cool" haircuts, doing little projects around the house and going places with them. They played more with the kids here in the neighborhood and, of course, learned some more Creole words. We still cannot just rattle off long sentences, but it is fun to hear our vocabulary expanding.

We continue to enjoy our church in the mountains (Marlique Church), and this Sunday I understood most of the message!!! The songs seem to be easier to understand (even those in French), and with more practice we will soon be rattling away. What a beautiful process it is to learn a new language....one word at a time that becomes easier to recall and let slip off your tongue each time you use it.

A happy addition to our family has been a couple of turtles named Sunshine and Rhino. Our frogs were not eating their food once they left tadpole stage, so we released the skinny things into the wild. A few days later my friend Mairelis asked us to watch her turtles while their family went home to the Dominican Republic for a week. Kyle and Megan did such a good job caring for them each day. When she returned she brought two baby turtles for our kids. :) We have made a chart, so each day one kid changes the water and the other one feeds the turtles. Yesterday afternoon Megan and her friends spent a couple hours in our front dirt area playing with them and making habitats for them.

The summer flew by, and I now have two kids in school all day. They love their teachers and their classes so far. Kyle exits school with a smile each afternoon, and Megan is growing up to be quite the thoughtful, cheerful young lady. What precious little blessings. Please continue to pray that they would influence others for good and that they would be good learners, both of academic and life lessons. We are all anticipating the doors God will open for us to both learn and teach and the new things in store for us in the days ahead.

See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland.
Isaiah 43:19