Our Week in Bullet Points

- Annette has insomnia induced by the Larium (malaria medicine) she is on. It has been progressively getting worse and resulting in very fitful sleep ): One night she was WIDE awake from 9pm- 2am (putting her more at risk of being bit by a nasty mosquito) so we had to make a change. The only other drug option is Malarone which is not available in Pemba and costs several hundred dollars. I spoke with a nurse on base who GAVE us 2 months worth of donated Malarone!! Better nights to come!! Thank you Lord for taking care of us!!

-Water became a huge issue this week. For the last month the water or electricity has been out periodically for up to a day at a time. No big deal. The water has now been out for seven days which is starting to feel like a big deal. We try to recycle our water at least three times, for example we will fill a small bucket, bath both the children, mop the floor with it, then use it to flush the toilet. This week all clothes washing was halted, we had to use pit toilets and water was restricted for drinking only. Appartenlty our water filter can filter pee- but we haven't been that desperate- yet (: The problem is actually effecting the whole Pemba region, but hopefully will be resolved soon. Access to clean drinking water is such a costly and consuming challenge for developing countries. It is a good experience to feel squeezed of what has always been a taken- for- granted abundant resource. My solution-drink Coke (: I am actually embarrassed at how much soda our kids have drunk here. But, hay it's Africa and it's like 120 degrees.

- One of our malnourished babies from Meize Milk Clinic died this Tuesday.

-God is showing me how important the joy of the Lord is. And He is giving me opportunities in which to practice being joyful (see above three bullet points)

- We went snorkeling last Saturday with a group of friends. Supposedly we were going to “swim with the dolphins” instead we swam with the (wait for it). . .. jellyfish!! Schools of hundreds and hundreds of jellyfish. It was the most creepy snorkeling ever. I didn't even want to put my mask in the water because all I saw were dozens of translucent, light- blue blobs swimming towards me. When they started stinging and brushing their blobby jelly against me I was done. But we had a great time and laughed tons. We still haven't seen any dolphins but have watched many whales just off shore. Magnificent!

- Me “Josiah why are you so dirty?”
Josiah “Ummm. . . .maybe from the dirt”

- My Mozambican friend Aisha (a cleaning lady on base) invited us to visit her home in the village. She told us it was a 30 minute walk, but we ended up walking through village alleys for an hour and half in the intense heat before arriving to her mud hut. I love walking through the village calling out greetings, “Salamat! Muhavo?” and observing everyone going about their daily life. We had a great visit and got to meet Aisha's family and neighbors. Tomorrow we are going back and she is preparing a Mozambican supper for us! Because Aisha only speaks Portuguese it is a great opportunity for us to practice and learn (fortunately the language is a lot like Spanish). She is such a beautiful, strong, warm- hearted woman.

-Jason is leaving on Thursday for a two night outreach in the “bush bush”. Please keep him in your prayers as he goes to share the love of Jesus to a remote tribe.

Sorry for no photos this week, the connection is too slow ):

I hope all of you blog- friends are doing well. We are feeling really out of touch with people and have only about 20 minutes a week on- line. So although we aren't doing a great job replying to emails, we do read them and cherish them. Please drop us a comment or email and let us know how you are doing. Also, if you have anything we can pray for please let us know. Several hours a day at school here are spent in prayer and intercession, so we would love to lift you up. We miss you all, love you all and look forward to seeing you face to face!!