Pangalanes Canal Trip

We had the amazing opportunity to join 3 other families and 2 couples on a 3 day weekend away to a beach resort on a huge lake. We had to take a 3 hour boat ride to get there, but it was well worth it!! We saw tons of Lemurs and the kids had the time of their lives! We are so thankful for fun friends and the amazing opportunities to travel in this country. We plan on going back sometime soon!!

The boat ride! 22 people plus 2 drivers. We were thankful for the side panels as it rained most of the way.  The kids got soaked playing in the water but loved it!

A little paradise.

Our bunglow.

Adalynn sand surfing.

The girls and their buddies.

Girls walking on the dock.

"Look, Mom. . .a turtle!"

A lemur and her baby.

These lemurs are wild but obviously used to people.

Daddy taking the kids on a walk down the beach.

A hike through the rain forest.

And then through the river (the water is red due to the decomposition of a dark brown leaf)

What a fun hike in the river!

The ride back. Slow through all the plants.

And a gorgeous sunset to end the trip!

School, Safaris, Sailing, Surgeries and Settling

So much has happened in the last several  weeks that I haven't had a moment to post about it all. Finally, life feels like it is settling back into a bit of normalcy and we can move forward with all God has in store for us this year in Madagascar!

Here's a bit of a picture timeline of the last couple months:

After returning  to Durban, South Africa on August 1 (following an amazing 5 weeks State-side visit), we found ourselves  moving back into a guest house. . .instead of the ship (like we thought), as the ship was still getting repairs done and the environment was unsafe for the kids. It wasn't what we expected but I wouldn't say we were "roughing it" too much as our accommodations were really beautiful. (see pics here) During this time Adalynn started Kindergarten. Her classes were held in one of the bedrooms of the guest house. She is really loving her class and learning so much!

She skinned her nose playing the day before. . .it's not chocolate :)

The last weekend before we moved back onto the ship our family was able to take a weekend getaway to a small safari park/reptile zoo just 30 minutes from Durban. It was a lovely weekend away and it was amazing to get to see some great wildlife! The kids loved it!

Amazing views!

Our little chalet!

The girls LOVED the park.

Ready for our safari.

Zebras!

Giraffes too!

They were so close!

Looking at the crocodiles at the reptile zoo.

The girls were so brave to hold a snake.

Adalynn also held the tarantula. . .eek!

Chillin by the pool.

Crocodile for lunch to finish off a great weekend!

On August 17 we moved back onto the ship!! Hurray! But then John had to fly off to the States for 3 weeks for his brother Tim's wedding. He also was able to spend some time visiting some good friends and the International Operations Center for Mercy Ships in Texas. 

On August 20 we set sail (without John) for Madagascar!!

Sailing away from Durban.

Unfortunately we had a few situations that slowed our progress so what was meant to be a 5 day sail turned into 10 days at sea. . .but we made the most of the time and got to see a lot of whales! 

Photo by our friend Patricia!

Cora officially started Preschool on the sail and has really been loving the time with her teacher and classmates.

This is her new friend Hannah! She also has another girl, Olivia, and a boy, Lucas, in her class.

We arrived in Madagascar on August 30.

Pulling into the dock with our matching Madagascar Tshirts!

Ever since we arrived, everyone on the ship has been working very hard to get this place up and running.  Jack also got to start his nursery program when we arrived. He is currently the only student but hopefully 2 other boys will be joining shortly.

His teacher, Mrs. Elizabeth is amazing!! She is from the Dominican Republic but has lived with her family on the ship for many years. She has my full permission to speak to Jack in Spanish only so he can maybe learn a bit! :)

The hospital was opened in record time and surgeries began on the ship on September 8th, the day that John got back home! 

Our airport reunion!

We are so happy to be a family of 5 again living in our home! John came back to a very busy office and has been working hard since his return. I have begun work in the Admissions tent and am looking forward to my time with patients. We are so glad to be a part of all that is going on and we are so excited about this year and all that we will have the privilege to see and experience.  Thank you for continuing to walk this journey with us!

Finding blessings in change

Sorry we have not had a chance before now to update you on our whereabouts. We were thrown for some unexpected loops over the last week. We've learned with Mercy Ships (and with life) that flexibility is key to making the most of things. Nothing ever seems to happen the way we want it to but we have seen time and time again that God works his best into ever situation. Here's the scoop. . .  We flew back to Durban, South Africa on July 30th after 5 wonderful weeks in the States. 

We packed our time home with many exciting things and were able to see so many of you.  It was so refreshing and encouraging to get to spend time with our family and friends in the States.  We enjoyed our time so much and yet we felt eager to get back to our ship-home and family.  

Thank you so much for welcoming us into your homes, blessing us in so many ways, flying and driving many miles to see us and encouraging us as individuals and as a family.  It was really sweet to be surrounded by so many and realize the breadth and depth of our support group!

Before we left the States we learned that the repairs that are being done on the ship here in Durban were not done and the time in the shipyard needed to be extended.  This meant 2 things for us.  The first was that we were not able to depart back to Madagascar on August 3 like we had originally planned.  The second was that we could not move back into our home on the ship.  During this phase of shipyard (when the ship is out of the water) children are not allowed on board so families have to move off of the ship (you may remember our time last summer in the Canary Islands).

So. . . for the time being we are staying with several other families at a guest house about 30 minutes from the ship.  It is a lovely group of people and a really lovely location.  We are situated in a very nice neighborhood with large houses and beautiful landscaping. We have all our meals cooked for us, rooms cleaned daily and laundry done as needed.  The guesthouse is giving us a great deal and it is a very nice place to be. 

While we are sad to not be able to be in our home and despite being surrounded by such beauty and wonderful housing it is not easy all the time. We are wanting so much to be grateful for this gifts and appreciate this time for what it is.  I am hopeful and expectant that God can and will do great things in us during this time and I don't want to miss it by complaining J We are learning more and more about finding the blessings in change.

The plan at this point is for the ship to go back in the water around the 18th of August and for us to move back on board shortly after and set sail around the 20th of August.  We would really appreciate your prayers for the ship and for us during this time.

Would you pray with us that. . .

-All the repairs that need to be done would get done well and the ship would be ready to sail

-There would not be any more complications or new issues arise

-For our advance team that is trying to plan around an unknown arrival date, that they would be able to get all things set for the ship to arrive

-For our family during this time, that we would be able to get some time to relax and refresh after a busy 5 weeks in the States.

-For grateful and thankful hearts in the midst of many changes and uncertainty.

Thanks so much for your support and prayers.  We will let you know as we know any updates on our progress back to Madagascar and to a functioning hospital! Here are some pictures of the monkeys and the sunsets at the guesthouse!! Unexpected blessings of changing plans. Seriously. . .how could we complain about this??

Every night we are blessed with an amazing African sunset!

A monkey in a tree right off our balcony!

And one on the balcony too!!

We have a pool!! Even though it's winter here and the water is freezing, the kids have enjoyed taking a (quick) dip!

Our view of the breathtaking hill country around Durban.

Sailing

We made it to Durban! We had a few mishaps at the beginning of our voyage and we are so grateful to God for his protection of people and of the ship in what could have been a very disastrous situation. The rest of our 5 day journey was pretty uneventful and we had 3 days of calm seas and sunshine which we enjoyed very much!

We will be in Durban for a week and then on June 22 we will leave for the States. We will be there until July 30. We are excited for some time home to rest and see family and friends! The kids are very excited to see everyone too!

Here are some pictures from our sail!

Bye bye Madagascar.

Sailing away!

Theme of the sail: Lovely skies!

Enjoying some sun on the bow.

 No whales or dolphins :(

They woke me up for a drill. At least I got a sucker!

Good to be prepared for any emergency. Thankful we didn't have any!!

One of the best sunrises I've ever seen.

Fist bumps all around.

Watching the sunset.

Cora wondered what the red ball was. :)

Pulling into our berth in Durban.

 

 

What a journey! We have so much to be thankful for. Thank you for all your prayers for safe and smooth sailing!

 

We would love your prayers for these next few months:

-Please pray for the time in shipyard/drydock that the repairs that need to be done on the ship would go smoothly and get repaired well.

-Please pray for the crew's safety in the port and around Durban.

-Please pray for our travels back to the States and our time there. We will be very busy seeing all the people we want to see. We are so excited and so thankful for all the people in our life but we also know that this time could be very draining. Please pray that it would be restful and refreshing.

-Please pray for some decisions that we need to make about our future. We continue to pray for God's guidance as we move forward and we ask for your prayers as well as we seek God's direction for our future.

 

Thank you for your faithful support and prayers. We hope to see many of you soon!