Team Zebra Update! Weekend Fun!

Heres a brief update on the happenings with us and the kids. We are heading into Mozambiques "summer" which can see highs of plus 50 degrees Celsius, (thankfully not yet!) so we are spending lots of time on the weekends in pools and trying to stay cool!

With the arrival of Ryan we have been making a much more focused effort to spend time with the kids, especially on the weekends, doing fun things as a family and with friends. We went up one Saturday to visit our friends who live north of us and had a great time with the kids, playing in their waterhole (literally, its where they pump water into the hole for the animals to come drink!- later that day we saw reedbuck and baboons down there!)

Lots of fun was had splashing.

Our friends kids had fun in the mud hole next to this... thankfully my kids are both not terribly fond of being dirty. I appreciate that about them. :)

 after all that fun it was time for a bath. And then mommy turned into a photographer and wouldnt let us out of the bath till she got the pictures "just so".....

worth it dont you think?

Weve also been doing our homeschooling. I for one am very glad for the flexibility it allows for, especially in these younger years!

A few weeks ago Rick hung up our hammock in the trees on the rocks behind our house- it sure makes for a lovely area to read books with Tendai (when its not blazing hot out)

 Enjoying a cooler afternoon in the hammock, reading from one of our homeschooling story books.

 We read a story one day about some children and animals who had some picnics/ tea parties in the woods, so we were inspired to invite Aunty Lynn over for a tea party. Tendai cut the lemon slices half way thru to make decorations for the cups etc, and cut up the pickles and cheese all by herself as well. 

One afternoon we went up into the nearby Serra Choa Mountains and found some tadpoles in a mountain stream. ( which was convenient since we had just read about tadpoles turning into frogs a few days before that in our science book!)

Just for fun one day we made Binoculars out of tin foil cardboard rolls and pipe cleaners.

 Daddy and Tendai doing and experiment with some ice- which makes it melt faster, water, salt or sugar.. or just leaving it to sit. Ryan just played with the ice.

More ice playing- they played with this ice for so long. I think i refilled the sheets three times! Good thing it was a really really HOT day!

 Both Ryan and Tendai have really had a lot of fun swimming. Ryan was terrified his first two times, but after that... no fear. Hes nearly a fish!! will stick his whole head in the water, belly flop, jump off the side of the pool, float on his front and back... Tendai is now much more motivated to try all these things now that her little brother can do them!

 Ryan diving in! (or rather bellyflopping in) (This is not our pool btw, its at a friends place where we go for playgroup with other kids once a week)

flying leap!

On our same trip up into the mountains we tried to take some family photos by a beautiful waterfall! We had a lot of fun!

 Hoping to use one of the many we took for a prayer card!

 Swam across the pool for a waterfall pic. this will NOT be on a prayer card.

Ryan and Daddy in their matching hats.

It has been such a blessing to spend time as a family, intentionally doing activities together. We have really enjoyed our outings and look forward to more of them. 

We want to thank all of you so much for your prayers and your support. Sometimes it is those prayers that keep us going- especially during the times when we have nothing else to count on! In the past few months there has been small pockets of unrest in Mozambique, and there will continue to be until and probably following the municipal elections in November. We ask you to continue praying for Mozambique, that the politicians will truly represent the people and that the people will vote for those who have their best interests at heart, rather than just vote based on long held loyalties. Pray for peace to continue.

Pray for us as a family, that Ryan will continue to adapt and attach in our family unit. Pray especially for his language skills as he struggles to communicate his wants and desires- even though he understands nearly everything we say and can repeat anything we say, he struggles to form answers and talk about his own wants and desires. (for example.. Ryan, do you want to play or have a snack?.... blank stare. - he doesnt know how to make a choice. ) Also please pray for our health and safety- Rick and I, BOTH had malaria over the past weekend and are just recovering now. Its no fun to have two kids under 5 and TWO parents who are sick sick sick. :( Pray that the kids stay healthy!

You can also pray for the ministries we work with- the orphan children have been doing AMAZING with their school marks this year, nearly ALL of them have improved on last years grades, with one teacher telling Pastor Mariano that Wengane (one of the orphan children) was the best student in her whole class, not just because of his marks, but also his attitude! Weve also had a few dissapointments however, one of the girls has gotten pregnant, which is really sad, as she had been near the top of her class this year as well, but has had to drop out. Its disheartening, but we continue to be involved in her family and will keep an eye on her.

Rick has been busy helping all around the farm, and is looking forward to doing more seminars with childrens ministry leaders soon. He also took a trip to South Africa to pick up some things for us and the mission (we will be staying here as we cant leave til Ryan is legally ours)  Hes also been busy with a few other projects- he spoke at a mens retreat he hosted, and hes been working with some of the staff to improve their skills- training them on different equipment- including teaching Pastor Mariano to type!

Thank you so much for the prayers and support! 

...annnd... thats the Team Zebra Report!

God Bless, Rick, Heather , Tendai & Ryan!