Elisha, Judah and Caleb Speak

Many of you have asked about the boys and how they like it here. If you ask them they say it’s boring, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth! There is constant activity here for them. There are always children around to play with and when we go out into the community there are Nigerian children everywhere who are very interested in the Bature (white person). As soon as the boys act interested and friendly, playtime begins, even if the children don’t speak English. It is so cool. The most popular sport here is soccer and Elisha is getting the hang of it!

They love all the critters and finally caught a lizard recently. They have seen many but were never quick enough to claim one before. What a celebration they had over that little guy. Poor lizard! Thankfully they eventually let it go after inflicting much unintended trauma. Boys.

The food here is pretty basic with lots of rice and veggies involved. The boys have done pretty well. Judah is the picky one, but is learning to try new things because there may not be any other option for several hours. They have eaten a lot of Nigerian groundnut butter and Nigerian honey! The ground nut butter is just like natural peanut butter at home but the honey is more like molasses. We are blessed to be able to buy beautiful loaves of homemade bread for less than 50 cents a loaf and it is just like at home. Yummy! The boys have made that their staple food. I made my cinnamon rolls for some friends recently and the boys were very excited to have one of their favorite familiar foods.

Lydia, of course, has had no change in her diet. She loves her milk and is still growing super fast. At not even three months old, she is in 3-6 month clothes already. We went to the nearby Nigerian primary boarding school’s chapel last Sunday and the boys loved the praise. It was pretty much American hymns but the children sang so loud and joyfully.

This place is a dream for the boys with so much outdoor play and so many friends. They will surely miss the action when we get back to the states! We can’t thank you enough for your prayers for them and their adjustment and health. Oh, and in answer to Olivia, there is a zoo about an hour from here as well as a game park a few hours away. Hopefully we will get to experience both as the boys would love that! So far the most exotic thing we have seen is a baby viper snake that the boys got to witness being captured here on our compound!

The boys have had their hard days or moments with all the changes and newness. The hardest part is when our children are sick. I must admit that even in the states, I really struggled with fear when I had a sick child. . .especially a very young baby. I have many memories of being up in the night with Caleb sick and hearing a voice saying, “you think this is hard, imagine being in a foreign country with a sick baby. You can’t be a missionary.” Obviously this is an area where I tend to be attacked. Elisha is sick with a fever as I write this. Please keep our family and our health in your prayers. We are so grateful for you all. Aaron was up much of the night checking on Elisha and praying. He will be exhausted today, but I know those prayers are a sweet fragrance to the Lord.

Please pray that our faith will increase and we will not fear. Moreover, that our days will be spent in effective service to the King and we will somehow be used to further the Kingdom in this land.