new house

So, I only have a few minutes but I will try and explain these pictures quickly.

This is the front of our new home. We are still lacking windows but hopefully we will have those soon!

The house is connected to two others, one on each side. This one you see is part of our landlord's brother's home.

This is the railing around the upstairs. There are vaulted ceilings and that is why there is all the open space. The room you see below with the window is the kitchen.

Our backyard.

Annie's room.

Jerod and Alex's room.

The stairs going downstairs. They haven't put up the banister yet.

Eating area where the wheel barrow is and kitchen on the other side of it.

Living room with all the furnishings! :o)

Bathroom- potty is in front of sink, it is small but pretty.

Annie and her best friends. I wish you could see how dirty she was!

Jerod, Alex and their friends, funny thing is 4 of them are grown men.

J and A with friends.

That would be me with some of my friends.

Our House

Many of you have asked about our new home. It is really coming along. We can't tell you how blessed we feel to have found this house. It is never easy to find a home to live in, in a village of indigenous people. They don't have homes just sitting around ready to rent. They all live in their homes and if they don't live in them some part of their family lives in their home. So, finding the home we live in now and the one we have found in the new village is definitely a direct answer to our prayers! So for that; we have YOU to thank!

When we first found this new home it needed quite a bit of work, but most of the homes that no one is living in, still need a lot of work or someone would live there.  This home was left sitting, unfinished for many years as it's owner went to the US to pastor a church. He is a wonderful man and has become a friend to us. What a huge blessing! So, in place of paying rent for the next 3 years we are finishing the house to live in. This is a blessing to the owner b/c he will have a finished home and we will have a place to call home for the next 3 years and both of us come out winners. I am going to TRY and post some pictures now to show you what the house looked like when we found it and what it is looking like now. It is a really nice home for us and I can't complain for one second. I am thankful to our company and to all of those who support us financially for making it possible for us to live comfortably while serving our people. We love you all!! Missy

Sorry, I have tried for the last 30 minutes to upload one picture and have had NO luck! So, I will try and do this again some other time this week! Love you!!

Church

This a group that meets in another village nearby. They have grown quite a bit!

This little girl really wanted her picture taken with Annie.

This is the man who started this group.

I love my job.

This is Jerod telling Bible stories to the kids in our village. We generally have about 20 each week. They love to come and love to hear these stories! He really does an excellent job! Alex helps too!

Waiting to hear a story.

We gave them some craft supplies and they were making lepers.

One of these is a sad leper and another is a happy, healed leper.

They love making crafts and are so creative!

This was the group of adults listening to stories in our new location. Not many adults ( as someone pointed out ) ;o) but we did have about 25 adults and 20 kids. We are pleased with this new location.

This is a newcomer and we are so happy to have her!

Friends sharing.

This is the first time this husband has come. He never liked attending when it was being held at our old location. However, since we moved, he has made us benches for the kids and has come to one of our studies. We are encouraged!

Please pray for our group. There are always ways in which we see our people under attack. We are blessed by each one of the people in our group and are praying they will stay strong as we transition to our new area of ministry. We love you all! Missy

more beach pics

We visited a nearby island and as you can see, once again, we had the place all to ourselves!

Annie loved finding shells and coral.

Annie "surfing" and the boys playing.

Enjoying some seafood.

The food was awesome!

What a view!

Me and my sweetie.

Our fam.

Alex chillin' as he played in the sand.

The guys came by with a boat filled with shells that they hunt for and then sell. Annie was in awe! I loved his SPAM shirt!

That boy is growin'!

The water was so clear you could see your feet. It was great!

This was Eric. He was our guide/waiter today and generally took care of us. We are always amazed at what a small world it is. He lived in Raleigh, NC near the Crabtree mall for 12 years. He spoke perfect English and even started taking some college courses in the states. He said he came back here and realized although the money wasn't as good, he was a lot more relaxed here. So he stayed. He was a great friend to us, we knew we liked him and then he said, " Next time you go to the US, bring me back some UNC gear." That is when we knew we REALLY liked him! Go Heels!

There was a crocodile hatchery at the entrance of the beach. It is a natural habitat to many crocodiles and the kids had fun watching them. 

That was our day! It was awesome and 2 of our little bambinos are already fast asleep and it is only 9:30 pm and they have been asleep for an hour now. Tomorrow of course we will be back to our normal routine. All good things must come to an end. Love you all! Missy

Vacation fun!

Hi friends! We are on vacation and enjoying every minute of it! We have chosen the perfect time to come because as you can see by these pictures there aren't many people here now. The weather is perfect; in the low 80's with no humidity. The stress level is non existent because we have no worries here. We have been playing in an extremely large, completely empty pool everyday and listening to Bob Marley sing, "Every little thing is gonna be all right!" We are all having a great time! We will be returning home soon, please pray for us to have safe travels. I will post more pictures tomorrow. Love you all!

Annie showing off her swimsuit she picked out. I don't know if you can tell but you can't see her scars very well! That makes us all happy!

Happy little camper!

Brothers and friends.

Having fun.

Love them!

I think Annie has a future in modeling. What do you think?

We had fun building sand castles!

Precious.

This is an awesome beach. Most everyone we have seen here have been American or Canadian.

One side of the very full pool.