following the LEADER

these were taken Sunday.  Thanks again to Krystal, our photographer.

Get your shoes on. Sammy wants to go for a walk. Mama, brother, Krystal and Amina are coming too! Where are your shorts, Sam? You can’t go out in just your diaper.

Ready, set, let’s go!

Oh look, there’s the shop keeper’s kitty! Sam loves the “meow”.

Sam look at the camel! (not pictured, but we really did see one).

Here is the shop keeper’s son. Sam wants a sip of his milk.

Thank you, Monsieur, for the yummy yogurt/ milk drink. What’s in this stuff? Mama always reads the label.

Krystal likes it too!

Sammy can’t resist the fresh made millet cakes. He asks for them every time. All the vendors on the road love Sam and know his name because he loves their food.

Sammy wants to sit a while and take in everything on the street. We sit while Sam eats his millet cakes. And we see a Donkey! Hee Haw! (not pictured)

Thanks for coming with us on our walk, and thanks to Krystal, our photographer.

Psalm 144 [the Message Bible]

Blessed be God, my mountain, who trains me to fight fair and well.

He’s the bedrock on which I stand, the castle in which I live, my rescuing knight,

The high crag where I run for dear life, while he lays my enemies low.

I wonder why you care, God- why do you bother with us at all?

All we are is a puff of air; we’re like shadows in a campfire.

Step down out of heaven, God; ignite volcanoes in the hearts of the mountains.

Hurl your lightnings in every direction; shoot your arrows this way and that.

Reach all the way from sky to sea: pull me out of the ocean of hate, out of the grip of those barbarians

Who lie through their teeth, who shake your hand then knife you in the back.

O God, let me sing a new song to you, let me play it on a twelve-string guitar-

A song to the God who saved the king, the God who rescued David, his servant.

Rescue me from the enemy sword, release me from the grip of those barbarians

Who lie through their teeth, who shake your hand then knife you in the back.

Make our sons in their prime like sturdy oak trees,

Our daughters as shapely and bright as fields of wildflowers.

Fill our barns with great harvest, fill our fields with huge flocks;

Protect us from invasion and exile- eliminate the crime in our streets.

How blessed the people who have all this!

How blessed the people who have God for God!

I have been praying this psalm this morning, and I thought I would share it with all of you.

Dave has gone with Brent and the team to build a church in a village called Madawa (it’s about 8 hours away). We are choosing to be happy in our home this week. That’s not hard with Sammy around, but we do miss our Dad. Please continue to keep us and our leadership in your prayers.

Nathaniel has really been growing and changing these past few weeks. He laughs, rolls over, and is very responsive to all of us. Sam likes to sit beside him. They talk and make faces at each other. I have kind of given up with the potty training for the moment. I’m tired of cleaning up after Sam who has decided that life is too busy and fun to be bothered by taking trips to the bathroom. Every time I ask him if he wants to go he yells, NO!

It’s a joy to have Krystal living here with us now. She has such a gentle spirit. She always all hands on deck- ready help with anything at a moments notice.

Here are pictures of our goings-on….