Frustrated...

One of the hardest things about missionary life is issues with your children. I think it's the #1 reasons that missionaries leave the field and the 2nd is for health issues. I can completely understand why it's the #1 reason!!

My frustration has to do with my kids and their schooling. Not that we don't have adequate schooling here for them. We are very blessed to have several options. The frustration comes from the kids having to adapt to different schooling systems and different schools.

When we arrived for our first term our kids had to adapt to the British school system. They were ahead in reading but far behind in math and had a to work really hard to catch up. They did catch up and did really well the 3yrs. we were here.

When we returned to the States for our furlough, we actually put them up a grade and since we came home in Dec. they had missed half of the school year. So, they really jumped ahead a year and a half. We did this in hopes that when we returned to Botswana, they would not be too far behind.

Hannah is doing fine, except for getting in trouble for her skirt being too short! The new school they are at offers an American schooling program that she does on line. It works great for her because she can finish her 10th grade year that she was doing in the States and graduate at the same time as her friends in America. If she did the system here, she would have 3 to 4 more years of schooling.

Zach is doing the IGCSE which is the British high school program and he's struggling. Because of the times of the year we have moved back and forth he has missed a lot in math. He didn't have a problem in America. He made the honor roll and was inducted into the honor society. He made great grades and really enjoyed school. He did tell us quite often that school was too easy in America. Now we are needing to get him a math tutor and he is extremely frustrated. I hate seeing him like this. It breaks my heart! He has adjusted well to his new school(even though he is the only white kid in his class) and has made friends. But he has come home frustrated and angry every day this week. He is in need of a breakthrough!! I am praying for him and believing that the tutoring is going to make a big difference for him.

Now Elliott is a whole nother story. They are having him do 5th grade over again because he is the age of all the other 5th graders here. He was only 3 months short of finishing 5th grade when he arrived here. He has only been back in school for a week but says everything is too easy. They sent him home with a reading book yesterday that was really way to easy for him. He told me, "Mom, I'm insulted by this!" He had an 8th grade reading level back in America. I spoke to the school before he was admitted and explained that I was worried that he might need to be moved up a grade. They really didn't listen and now, I'm thinking I'm going to have to go back there and tell them that he's not challenged enough! Ugh...so, I'm frustrated.

It's friday!!

It's friday and I'm excited for several reasons. We don't have to get up at 6am for the next 2 days, we can stay up late, the kids are always happy when you pick them up from school on fridays, and we are having dinner out with our missionary colleagues tonight!

It's gonna be a good day! Oh, the bests part of the day is that I'm having lunch with my hubby!!

A BIG Spider!!

One night, Zach runs into the living room in a panic, and tells Matt to "come quick" there's a HUGE Spider in the family room behind the computer. We all head in there to check it out and sure enough there is a HUGE spider there. I grabbed the camera to take a pic before the killing begins and then left! Matt grabbed a bat and a can of bug spray. First he tried to hit it with the bat. He missed, it made the spider angry and it reared back in attack mode. You should have heard the screams. It then ran a bit further behind the desk! That's when Matt used an entire can of bug spray to kill the spider...it ran again and this time he got it with the bat!

How I wish I would have got the whole scene on video. It was pure chaos and had us all laughing like crazy! There's never a dull moment here in Africa!

Wow...it's almost been 2 months!

We arrive in Botswana on the 20th of March....that means we've almost been back for 2 months!! I can hardly believe it. Our transition back has been much easier than I thought it would be.

After a few weeks it felt totally normal to be back, no one was moping around depressed or crying for home! I was amazed...It was not that way when we returned to the States for our furlough. The first month or so was great. It was Christmas time, snowing, and we were with family, Target, and Starbucks again. Life was good. Then real life happened. School started, Matt started to travel to raise our support, and the kids started crying. It was VERY hard. I can't tell you how many, "I hate it here, I want to go home's" I heard. It was literally 6 months before I realized that no one was crying, or mad, or yelling....I never would have believed that the transition back to our wonderful home country would be so hard, but it was.

I am so happy to say, that though I was preparing for the worst when we returned, we have not had those emotions or lows since we arrived back!! Hannah and Zach even had to start at a new school, with a different system, and all new kids and they have adjusted quickly and happily! I honestly did not think that could happen. Oh, great woman of faith, I am=(

I absolutely know that this is a direct result of prayer! We have had so many faithful family, friends, and supporters that have held us up in prayer. Many of them I know prayed specifically for our kids and this transition time! Words can't describe what this means to us...we are so thankful for all the prayer on our behalf and an Awesome God that hears and answers prayer!!

We leave for Botswana on the 16th....it's coming up fast, too fast!!! Got to finish this packing.....UGH!!!!

O.K....We're gonna try this again....

I can't believe my last post was over a year ago. I really should have been blogging this entire year if only for the purpose of remembering all that happened this year and being able to look back and remember the faithfulness of God through it all!

It has been a year of laughter, tears, family, friends, good times, and lots of indulging in American food! It has also been a year of favor and blessing upon our family. We are amazed at all the Lord has done for us. It has been beyond our wildest dreams...God is so good and faithful to His children!

We are currently packing to move out of our rental home, pack our crate, move in with my parents, and finish up the kids last few days of school. We are full of emotions, excited to go back in some ways, not excited to go back in other ways....the thought of leaving my family tears my heart out,. The thought of our kids leaving family, friends, and their youth group, tears my heart out but their is a call on our lives that is stronger than those emotions and a God that is greater and stronger and able to take care of us through it all. I want to be in the center of His will for my life, even if it means leaving all for the land he has called us to.......

I'm back...finally

I am finally back to blogging! I caught a nasty stomach bug that kept me in bed and bathroom for a solid week and after that I lost the will to blog! Not to long after that we started our preparations for furlough and life became too crazy for blogging. Now we are in the States, have set up a home, got the kids in school, bought a computor, have started itinerating, and the will to blog is back!
I'll start blogging about our final days in Bots and our first days back in the States soon.
For now, I'll leave you with a conversation I had with Elliott last night.
Elliott: "Mom, I wish I was born in Africa. It really is my home, but since I wasn't , can I convert?" I love it that he loves Africa so much and that his heart is still there!