What's in a road . . . a POTHOLE of course!

What can make you forget that a road has been pretty good? Several hours of back breaking, wish you had an air plane, wish you were already home, driving! The road is of course an attempt at man-made, but the scenery is ALL GOD! Check out these beautiful photos of God's creation.

Now, the man-made scenery takes on all sorts of characteristics: funny, sad or down-right scary. Here is some proof :o)

This sign needs some translation. It reads: "Be careful, there are holes that may cause death." OK, thanks for that bit of information! And yes, there were holes on the ONLY bridge that would get us on our way. Prayer is such a powerful thing :o)

  Here is a picture of the above mentioned "may cause death" holes in bridge. The brown stuff below the bridge is lots, lots, and lots of brown rushing water.

This is one of the markets along the "major highway" up to the North. This is a small one, usually its wall to wall people. The road is really good through here, that's why its so good for the market.

Who wouldn't want to see one of these signs as they travel??

 

 I just love this picture, you share the road with just about anything. I call this the fruit delivery truck. They are also used to carry lumber, food, people and sometimes small cars, ha ha.

This picture says it all!

Who can spot the asphalt??

This type of picture never gets old. This takes the idea of how many people can get into one vehicle to a whole new level. These four guys were the lucky ones, there were about 15 in the back of this small truck.

It's not a zoo . . . it's a ranch??

Well, it's a ranch with lots of potential! We had a field-trip today to a place with some animals. Hoping to see the ostrich, but sadly, he passed away last year. However, we did see crocs and lemurs. The most important animal, being the lemur, of course!

These ferocious creatures, to your left, are sunning themselves in the hot Madagascar sun. They didn't seem to care much about us disturbing their nap. Well, they didn't mind until the guide brought out the pole. They didn't take too kindly to being poked!!

Now, these little fellows were a hit! Walker and Delaney were able to feed them fresh guavas and even pet them! Walker wanted to bring one home, that was a big NO!!  In the back of my mind, I kept thinking rabies shots. Where to get rabies shots??

But, I do have to give these little guys, and girls, credit, they are real cute! If all else fails with finding lemurs in the wild for Aunt Rene, we can take her here!

This little guy may be small now, but just give him  100 years, he will be big enough to ride :o)

We had a good afternoon on our school field trip! God's creatures are pretty amazing, well, maybe not the mosquito!!

Family Fun Day SPELLS . . . Adventure

Driving outside of Diego and seeing where the road leads . . .  is an adventure in itself here! First road led us to Sakalava Bay, it opens into the Indian Ocean. We went at low tide, you can walk out really far. We found a sand dune that let us walk across the bay to a small beach. Absolutely amazing!

 God's creation is breathtaking! Walker said he could have stayed all day. That would have made getting back across the sand dune during high tide a bit difficult :o)

Another road out of town took us up and into the forest. Looking forward to going back and taking a guide to show us around. How do you end such a day??? . . . . .with a picnic.

It's 100 degrees and beginning to look like Christmas . . .

 

                      MERRY CHRISTMAS      

     What do you do when it doesn't FEEL like Christmas, when the weather outside is frightfully - HOT! You listen to Christmas music! Jamming to Third Day Christmas Offerings, can put anyone in the decorating mood.


Walker and Delaney pulled the decorations from the shed, dusted    them off as Andy and I sat back and soaked up the joy they gave from putting up the tree. What a blessing!             


                 What a blessing is the reason for the season! Pray that as we head into this time of celebration,  we can share the true meaning and reason of Christmas to our neighbors and community. 


So, what do you do when the tree is up and decorated, the Christmas candles displayed, the nativity set is put in a place of honor and advent calendars opened? . .

 You . . .

watch . . .

 "Merry . . .

 Madagascar" . . .

 of course!

                                                   
Thinking of you all during this blessed season of our Lord's birth!

"She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."  Matthew 1:21

Family Fun Day

What's the best thing to do on a hot day? GO SWIMMING! And that is just what we did. Found a nice little pool, close to home, all to ourselves. Good place to relax, have lunch and spend the day as a family.

My two guys . . . love them, love them, love them!

It looks like he is walking across the pool, thought it looked funny :o)

Our little mermaid, only got out of the pool once, that was for lunch. 

Our "private" pool, it feels like it anyway. We are usually the only ones there.

Andy and Delaney

Just one of his many jumps, flips and other acrobatic endeavors.

This ball spent more time out the pool, the wind kept taking it away.

Our little duck :o)

Swimming works up an appetite, that and being 13!

Like father, like son!

Delaney and one of her fun jumps. 

Kids being kids . . . wait a minute, that's Andy and Walker :o)

Kids Club . . . Diego style

    The local Baptist Church has a Kids Club that meets every Saturday here in Diego. We thought it might be a good idea to take the kids and let them meet other children and pick up some new Malagasy words. We are very proud of them for giving this a try. It's hard when you don't know the language and you stick out, a lot! However, the Kids Club leaders are very supportive and I think once the other kids get over their shock of having two "vazaha" (foreigners) in their class, it will be easier.

    But, Walker and Delaney know that God has called them too and they both seek to be His "hands" and "feet" in Northern Madagascar. Pray that they will be mindful of where God leads them and that they can find their own ministry opportunities to share and be an example of the great love of Jesus Christ.

    The pictures above were taken the very first time they went to the Kids Club. There was singing, playing around and a time for a Bible lesson and Scripture memorization, all in Malagasy. Praise God there was one lady there who spoke some English and she was able to help the kids a bit. Praise God for Bodo, what a beautiful lady inside and out!!

    Looking forward to how God will use this opportunity for Walker and Delaney. Not to mention, by hanging out in the back, we get to practice our Malagasy listening skills. When you talk and comprehend  the language like a child, what better place :o)

 

Homeschool Hallelujah

  
    The homeschool books arrived! We have officially started school and are working hard to catch up. It was like Christmas in October when we were able to pick up our boxes. Even the kids appreciated going through each box to see what laid in store for the year.

    So, we begin this year dedicated to learning, growing and finding ways to glorify God in all we do. From math, science, literature to Bible, music, art and possibly French lessons, there is a lot to do and a lot to cover. Looking forward to what God has in store!
                                              
                  Please pray that:

                    1. Walker and Delaney will be motivated to study hard and seek God in all aspects of their life.
                    2. Pray for their teacher :o) Pray for patience, wisdom and endurance to manage each day and each challenge as they come.
                    3. Pray that God would provide friends for Walker and Delaney. Pray that they remember new Malagasy words and phrases, so they can talk with other kids their ages in our neighborhood.

    Thank you for your prayers and your support! We couldn't do it without you. I look forward to sharing "a day in the life" of our family as we seek to be His "hands" and "feet" in Northern Madagascar.



P.S. If you look at this picture of the stack of books, you will notice that the back TWO stacks are the teacher's books. I told Walker and Delaney, they had it easy, they only have ONE stack :o)