Leader's Retreat

Last weekend we headed up to Mbingo for our church's leaders retreat. It was a little bit hectic as it was scheduled three weeks ago but was canceled the night before. Then we found out about this one 2 days before so we had to take all the kids as we couldn't  get a baby sitter. But it all worked out great (the boys went hiking) and we all had a lot of fun. It was the first retreat since the church started in 2010, the day and a half was just not enough time. We had lots to pray and discuss about. But it definitely was a team building time. Something we  talked about a lot was the importance of discipling/mentoring new believers. Really got me thinking, who am I discipling right now? I have lots of people that I'm friends with and encouraging but is there someone that I am really discipling? So there are two ladies from church that I am going to be focusing on, will be doing a weekly bible study with them, spending time with them, praying for and with them. 

Jake, myself, Mary, Marthe (Pastor's wife), Celstine, and Pastor Titus

Pastor Titus helping with dinner :D

Helping out as well

We love Mbingo, it's soooo nice! Good times!

Horse adventures

Had a long day today, so long in fact that when I was wondering at 4pm why I was so hungry, I realized that I hadn't eaten anything all day! But it was a productive day. We were expecting Social Service's delegate to come to the children's home at 8:30 this morning. I was scrambling to get as much of school done as possible before Jake called me to tell me they were there. As WON is going through the process of registering as a NGO in the country, this is all part of the evaluation the government does. It was a very good meeting and I think the delegates were impressed with what they saw at the orphanage.  And I must say HHCH was sparkling, they kids did a great job of making sure everything was neat and arranged. We got done just before noon. I rushed back to the house, to get ready for our next meeting with another branch of the government that is doing something like a background check on the WON staff and checking to see that we are really doing what we said we are doing. We headed there just before 1 and were in the office for a good couple of hours. Lots of questions about our education, qualifications, workers, properties, churches we attend, etc. It was long and draining to say the least. Now that this interview is over, this branch will be visiting the various aspects of WON (HHCH, Car Washes, Bible School) to see they are doing what we're say they're doing. All in all, I think it was an excellent interview. Even thought these meetings are tiring it is exciting that the registration process of WON is moving forward (it can take up to 7 years!). 

When we got back Jake and the boys headed up into the hills tonight to camp out under the stars. We give the horses back at the end of this month so this might be one of their last opportunities to go for a long ride. I know they will have a lot of fun together. When we told the boys that the horses were going back they both cried, I was a little surprised to tell you the truth. The horses are a lot of work for them, as we make them do everything. They are up at 5:45am to feed them and take them down to the pasture (about a mile away), then they have to pick them up each evening. There is lots of mucking out to do, lots of feeding, grooming, spraying, etc. but they really have enjoyed it. So looks like we will be getting at least one horse when we get back from the States at the end of the year. 

Of course Strider had to go with them too

The boys are all set

And they're off (making memories with Dad)

I on the other hand, decided to head down town with Jude and Jordan, who I hadn't seen all day, and went to Prescafe, a lovely little cafe (the local hang out for all the peace corp workers). They do the most amazing mango smoothies! So it was really nice to have a little bit of alone time with Jude and Jordan. I am really hoping they will sleep into at least 6:30 tomorrow so I can have a bit of a sleep in. Then planning to have a relaxing morning in the garden, yay!

Another missionary biography: William Carrey,

We just finished yet another missionary biography for school as we study India this month (I love Sonlight curriculum!). This time it was on William Carrey. I have been looking forward to reading it ever since I got it last August. Truth be told, I couldn't have told you a single thing about William beside that fact that he was in India and said, "Expect great things for God, attempt great things for God." My nephew is named after him so it is high time I learnt a little more about his life. It was a pretty incredible book, he sure was a dedicated missionary and had his fair share of trials and tribulations (and then some!). 

Interesting facts about William's life:

~From the time he went to India at the age of 31 until he died at the age of 72, he never returned to his homeland of England (wow!)

 ~First "official" missionary to India

~Married three times as he outlived his first two wives (he waited a whole 6 months to remarry after his 26 marriage to his first wife, all I can say is Jake had better wait longer than that if anything happens to me!)

~His five-year-old son died on the mission field, plus another son when he was a young man

~Took seven years to see his first Christian convert

~Had to rebuild his mission from the ground up numerous times due to fire and floods

~Is responsible for making sati (the burning of the widow with her dead husband) and infanticide illegal in India (William Wilberforce assisted him with this back in England)

~Loved flowers and being in the garden (a kindred spirit!)

~Two of his children were also missionaries to India

When I read these missionary bios, I always wonder at their extreme dedication.  For example,  his first wife went a little batty after the death of their child. Then she completely lost it after many sicknesses and disappointments (she never wanted to go to India in the first place). She was confined to a room and died in that state years later. In that same situation I think I would want Jake to take me home. Of course it wasn't so simple to get back in those, but I kinda doubt Carrey would have left India even if it was easy. He had a goal and stuck to it. Williams mind was on things above, not on things of this earth. He family did suffer because of that though. I think he did need to have a little more balance in his family life.

One thing that did make an impression on me is that the same struggles he faced 200+ years ago, missionaries still face today (Ok, maybe not so extreme); sickness, lack of funds, disunity in his team, lack of help with the workload, depression, lack of support from home country, loneliness, visa issues, craving news from family, disappointment, lack of response from the nationals, opposition from the government. Now I'm not saying I experience all of these but the spiritual battle on the mission field really hasn't changed all that much. Praise God air travel, emails, etc. allow missionaries to be a lot more connected to family and friends nowadays. 

We still have two more bios to read before the end of the school year, Mary Slessor (no idea!) and David Livingstone, so be prepared of another missionary bio post in the not too distant future. 

Egg Incubation

We have a very productive egg farm at the children's home with 20 hens and a cockerel (rooster). We average about 17 eggs a day. This gives the orphanage 12 flats of eggs a month plus we sell about 6 flats. So it provides extra protein for the kids, makes a little money, and helps train some of the children how to care for animals. This little project has been going on for almost a year now.

A couple of months ago some missionaries that were heading back to North America donated a lot of amazing things to the children's home. They had lived out in a village and were well set up. HHCH received a welder, table saw, tons of tools, a milk pasteurizer, and a butter churn just to name a few. There was also a egg incubator (with an egg turner included) which is really an answer to prayer. Laying hens aren't exactly cheap here and we had a few die straight away from the first batch (the stress of moving to a new place?), which cut into our profit quite a bit. Hatching our own would be a lot cheaper, safer, and would give us as many chicks as we want. We had been searching online how to build an incubator but it didn't look too promising as the heat has to be at a very stable temperature (100 degrees to be exact). So I was totally thrilled when I saw one in all the stuff given.

  Well, our hens will be about done with egg production in October (then they'll be Sunday dinners for the kids) so it is time to start incubating eggs. I have a great book called, The Family Poultry Flock, that has all the important information. I have been learning lots. For instance, did you know that eggs can be refrigerated and then put in the incubator? Or that if the incubator is too hot, the chicks will hatch out a few days earlier than recommended or if it is too cool they will come late? We decided to have the incubator at our house the first time to see how it goes (we have a generator if the electric goes off). This morning, Josh and I loaded up the incubator with 38 eggs, wrote down all the details, and now we will wait and see (it is a great science project!). In five days we will begin candling the eggs (that's holding them up to a strong light for all your laypeople),  check they are developing and get rid of any that are not. Then in 21 days, we should have a bunch of fluffy, peeping little chicks. We will have to wait 23 weeks till they are mature enough to start laying eggs though. I'm praying our first batch won't all be males!

If you've had any experience incubating eggs, I'd love to hear any tips or advice. 

It is sitting right on our shelf next to our board games

The automatic egg turning is awesome, it saves us from having to do it three times a day

Baptisms.... African Style!

We had a wonderful afternoon as Josh and Seth plus 19 people from the Children's Home were baptized. Our church announced two weeks ago they would be doing baptisms so we asked the boys if they would like to make that step. We also talked to the older kids at HHCH and some of the staff that hadn't been baptized yet. Josh and Seth were very excited to be get baptized as were most of the kids at HHCH. It was a bit of a challenge for some that had grown up in more traditional churches and had always heard about baptism as more of something one has to earn than just do. Some of the staff had some pressure from their families not to do it as they weren't being baptized in the church they had grown up in. We decided to have a bible study at our house yesterday to make sure that everyone understood exactly what baptism is and isn't. I had a lot of fun teaching it and answering some interesting questions... I think a lot of them were shocked when it was pointed out that in Acts everyone was baptized as soon as they were saved. Praise the Lord at the end when I took down everyones name to give to the pastor, they all signed up, very exciting! I love it when the Word of God breaks down the traditions of man. So here are a few pics of the day:

Bible study yesterday

This is the area where most Full Gospel churches baptize. It is a small stream that they dam up to make a baptismal. It certainly isn't the cleanest stream I have ever seen but we did pray over it before we started :D.We had a lovely time of singing before the baptism started.

Quite a bit of rubbish scattered around

Seth and Pastor Titus (no idea what is floating in the water)

Big smile, we are so proud!!

Josh's turn

Yay!

Mirander going under. I must admit I had some tears in my eyes as I saw our HHCH kids being baptized. It is so amazing to see the joy on their faces.

Norbert, we have seen him mature in the Lord so much this last year.

Our wonderful pastor, Titus