Thankful

We always share our ministry life with you, so this week, I thought I'd share the more personal side of our life with you.

Recently, my friend did a blog post of all her simple gifts; small things that give her joy. She unknowingly inspired me to keep track of every small or big thing that I am thankful for. So, this week, I kept a record of every thankful thought that came to my mind and found that I had a GREAT week, remembering my blessings and praising God for each one. I'm posting a few below. They are in completely random order. Some of them have pictures, some do not. Needless to say, this list is just a drop in the bucket. I hope that YOUwill be inspired to count your good gifts this week!

So, I'm thankful for:

my son Stephen who is so funny and "quirky", even when he sleeps! Yes, he really IS sleeping in this picture.

Laughter, fun and good food with friends.

Creativity! The kids had so much fun doing a graffiti wall in Andrew and Stephen's room on Friday night.

Do the numbers ring a bell with anyone?

Having my oldest son home from boarding school and hearing about the last term. Here he is with another one of our blessings, his good friend Reid.

The wonderful husband God gave me. We're coming up on 18 years of marriage next week and each year is better than the one before.

Dr. Grimbeek, the South African doctor who is making it possible for Stephen to have straight teeth!

New glasses so I can enjoy reading once again!

My neighbor ladies, Lidia, Laurinda and Joana! It's taken some time, and alot of hard work, but they are opening up to friendship with a white girl!

My friend Pam who is so good at remembering birthdays and anniversaries. Something I admire since I'm so bad at it! THANKS FOR THE CARD, PAM J.!!!!

Crazy, wonderful sons who love each other!

Amazing friends to "do life" with. This is my bible study group. We were celebrating a birthday.

They bring me so much laughter and joy.

Precious little girls who give me hugs and draw me pictures and stuff.

Andrew's amazing dorm parents, Nathan and Stacey. This is Stacey, his "mom away from mom".

COOL STUFF!

It's definitely been one of the biggest challenges of our lives but also one of the biggest blessings as well! The International Internship in Missions had it's first birthday in February. MozOvos, the egg business created to sustain the internship, will have it's first birthday on April 1st. When we get discouraged, all we have to do is LOOK BACK! God has done some amazing things in this year! The business has been a huge learning experience for us all, but we are seeing more and more eggs every day. We are becoming quite an "operation" as we supply eggs for many bakeries, cafes and restaurants in Maputo as well as to the U.S. Marines guarding the Embassy!

Here are the guys, counting eggs. The guy in the tie? Well, hens still need to eat on Sundays! It was Sunday morning and it was his turn to preach!

The other cool thing about our lives is helping these 9 interns find, define and then use the gifts God has given them. The fruit of this is lives being transformed. Not just their lives, but lives of those who need Jesus all around us. We are amazed every time one of these nine stand up to preach. We are amazed when we see young men they have been playing soccer with start to articulate their faith to their peers. We are amazed when we see the children in the sunday school class able to repeat almost WORD FOR WORD the bible story from the week before and what it means for them. Below is Luis who is very gifted with children. He teaches the bible story in a very simple and clear way and then gives the children a chance to tell the story in their own words. With him is one of the children, taking their turn to tell the story of Jesus calming the storm.