February 20, 2007
Yesterday was Blake’s 10th birthday. We did most of our celebrating over the weekend, and he had a good time. We also had an earthquake yesterday, and I just began to wonder if there is some significance to it occurring on his birthday. It came around 5:30 am and woke both Pamela and I up. I haven’t heard how strong it was, but it shook the house and made a loud noise.
Relationships are very important to Blake, and he has made some new friends that came and spent time with us this weekend. He is spending most of his time with our neighbor, Musa, who goes to his school. Finding birthday gifts is not very practical here, though we did get Blake some animals carved from ebony wood that included a lion, a giraffe, and a crocodile. Ebony wood is beautiful. Even without stain it is such a dark brown that it looks black. It is also a very dense wood and quite sturdy. We have found several things such as bowls and serving utensils made from ebony that we are collecting. The craftwork is amazing and quite reasonable, so we have picked up some cool items that are hand carved or handmade. Because Addison and Blake have birthdays in consecutive months, we decided to give the boys a “fort” for their birthday. It was finished yesterday and turned out really nice. It is African-style with a thatch roof and tree trunks for the woodwork. (Yeah, I know that a picture on the blog site would be nice). We have a zip line coming on our container that will be incorporated into the future design. This is one of those things that should make living in Africa more fun than being in America. We really desire that they want to be here. Addison and Collin are happy, but Blake and Christian still talk about going home almost every day, though I think that they are happier than they are willing to admit.
Communication challenges! I know that this probably sounds like a continuous whine, but email communication is horrible. It appears that only about half of the emails that we send make it to the intended recipient. It is very important that you have our email address in your address book, or it will most likely not get to you. I am getting emails from people that state that they have not heard from me in a long time, even though I have recently emailed them. I am mostly concerned about the many “thank you” notes that we have sent that probably never got there. Sorry, if you have sent us a care package and not heard from us. I will go somewhere and resend emails today from my laptop.
If you send us an email, then we will probably get it. If we send a reply, then it is about 70% likely to get to you. If we send new emails, then sometimes they make it and sometimes they don’t. Please don’t let this stop you from emailing us. We do read them, and respond to them. You just might not ever get the response.
Our internet service is so slow and unreliable (off half the time) that posting pictures on the blog isn’t an option right now. We are considering getting a better internet provider. We currently pay $55/month for this lousy service. A more reliable service would be around $120/month. Isn’t that disgusting? The “good stuff” is still dial-up and slow, but at least it would stay on almost all of the time and be slightly faster.
Our laptop is still acting up a bit, though it works most of the time. It appears to have been partially healed, but we really need a complete healing. Please pray that God will make it whole without us having to send it off for repairs in the US.
Tony Gibson was here for about 36 hours last week on his way back to Florida. He has been in Africa for almost four weeks visiting Uganda, Zambia, and Kenya. We sent back a DVD of over 100 pictures for him to share. I didn’t get to review it before sending it, so I hope that it works right. It is supposed to be pictures with word captions that explain the picture. It shows our house, safari pictures, our dog, the boys at school, and some pictures from Christmas with the orphans. If you check in with Heart of the Bride, then they should be able to burn you a copy for those who are interested.
Student ministry continues to progress. Pamela taught a bible study for the second week yesterday, and started with a discipleship group yesterday, as well. I meet with my discipleship group tonight, which has 10 guys representing four countries. I have started meeting with Pastor Kennedy on a weekly basis for accountability, mentorship, and planning. I will continue to preach on a weekly basis as well.
We have been challenged lately with people constantly asking for money. It is really difficult to know whom to help, and who is just a professional beggar. We had four requests last week. On another note, we have met a young man named Artibul, who has been so giving. He is one of the guys who helped build the boys’ fort, and our boys really like him. Artibul is 18 years old, and only about 5’2” or so, and Addison plays with and hangs on him constantly. I think Addison thinks Artibul is younger because of his small stature. Anyway, Artibul brought Blake a birthday card yesterday, which took a lot of effort and probably cost based on his limited income. I stopped by their workshop one day last week, and he came and asked if he could buy his friend Addison a rabbit. We really enjoy being around these guys, who speak pretty limited English. There are around 8 of them who build furniture, and I am praying about whether to try and start some regular ministry with them. They seem interested in learning about the bible, but I would need a translator because of their limited English. They all seem to enjoy spending time with our family, and we enjoy them. It will be interesting to see what comes of this relationship.
We keep getting emails from people telling us that they are keeping up with the blogs. Thanks so much! It really helps to know that people are praying for you and thinking of you. With our communication challenges, we can start to feel quite isolated at times. Getting notes and care packages from the states is incredibly encouraging for all of us.
We are still working on getting a parrot. Hopefully I can provide an update with some progress soon. It could be another one of those things that makes living in Africa better than being in the US for our boys. Right now, the fort and having a dog would probably be the two highest “best things about living in Africa”.
Yesterday was Blake’s 10th birthday. We did most of our celebrating over the weekend, and he had a good time. We also had an earthquake yesterday, and I just began to wonder if there is some significance to it occurring on his birthday. It came around 5:30 am and woke both Pamela and I up. I haven’t heard how strong it was, but it shook the house and made a loud noise.
Relationships are very important to Blake, and he has made some new friends that came and spent time with us this weekend. He is spending most of his time with our neighbor, Musa, who goes to his school. Finding birthday gifts is not very practical here, though we did get Blake some animals carved from ebony wood that included a lion, a giraffe, and a crocodile. Ebony wood is beautiful. Even without stain it is such a dark brown that it looks black. It is also a very dense wood and quite sturdy. We have found several things such as bowls and serving utensils made from ebony that we are collecting. The craftwork is amazing and quite reasonable, so we have picked up some cool items that are hand carved or handmade. Because Addison and Blake have birthdays in consecutive months, we decided to give the boys a “fort” for their birthday. It was finished yesterday and turned out really nice. It is African-style with a thatch roof and tree trunks for the woodwork. (Yeah, I know that a picture on the blog site would be nice). We have a zip line coming on our container that will be incorporated into the future design. This is one of those things that should make living in Africa more fun than being in America. We really desire that they want to be here. Addison and Collin are happy, but Blake and Christian still talk about going home almost every day, though I think that they are happier than they are willing to admit.
Communication challenges! I know that this probably sounds like a continuous whine, but email communication is horrible. It appears that only about half of the emails that we send make it to the intended recipient. It is very important that you have our email address in your address book, or it will most likely not get to you. I am getting emails from people that state that they have not heard from me in a long time, even though I have recently emailed them. I am mostly concerned about the many “thank you” notes that we have sent that probably never got there. Sorry, if you have sent us a care package and not heard from us. I will go somewhere and resend emails today from my laptop.
If you send us an email, then we will probably get it. If we send a reply, then it is about 70% likely to get to you. If we send new emails, then sometimes they make it and sometimes they don’t. Please don’t let this stop you from emailing us. We do read them, and respond to them. You just might not ever get the response.
Our internet service is so slow and unreliable (off half the time) that posting pictures on the blog isn’t an option right now. We are considering getting a better internet provider. We currently pay $55/month for this lousy service. A more reliable service would be around $120/month. Isn’t that disgusting? The “good stuff” is still dial-up and slow, but at least it would stay on almost all of the time and be slightly faster.
Our laptop is still acting up a bit, though it works most of the time. It appears to have been partially healed, but we really need a complete healing. Please pray that God will make it whole without us having to send it off for repairs in the US.
Tony Gibson was here for about 36 hours last week on his way back to Florida. He has been in Africa for almost four weeks visiting Uganda, Zambia, and Kenya. We sent back a DVD of over 100 pictures for him to share. I didn’t get to review it before sending it, so I hope that it works right. It is supposed to be pictures with word captions that explain the picture. It shows our house, safari pictures, our dog, the boys at school, and some pictures from Christmas with the orphans. If you check in with Heart of the Bride, then they should be able to burn you a copy for those who are interested.
Student ministry continues to progress. Pamela taught a bible study for the second week yesterday, and started with a discipleship group yesterday, as well. I meet with my discipleship group tonight, which has 10 guys representing four countries. I have started meeting with Pastor Kennedy on a weekly basis for accountability, mentorship, and planning. I will continue to preach on a weekly basis as well.
We have been challenged lately with people constantly asking for money. It is really difficult to know whom to help, and who is just a professional beggar. We had four requests last week. On another note, we have met a young man named Artibul, who has been so giving. He is one of the guys who helped build the boys’ fort, and our boys really like him. Artibul is 18 years old, and only about 5’2” or so, and Addison plays with and hangs on him constantly. I think Addison thinks Artibul is younger because of his small stature. Anyway, Artibul brought Blake a birthday card yesterday, which took a lot of effort and probably cost based on his limited income. I stopped by their workshop one day last week, and he came and asked if he could buy his friend Addison a rabbit. We really enjoy being around these guys, who speak pretty limited English. There are around 8 of them who build furniture, and I am praying about whether to try and start some regular ministry with them. They seem interested in learning about the bible, but I would need a translator because of their limited English. They all seem to enjoy spending time with our family, and we enjoy them. It will be interesting to see what comes of this relationship.
We keep getting emails from people telling us that they are keeping up with the blogs. Thanks so much! It really helps to know that people are praying for you and thinking of you. With our communication challenges, we can start to feel quite isolated at times. Getting notes and care packages from the states is incredibly encouraging for all of us.
We are still working on getting a parrot. Hopefully I can provide an update with some progress soon. It could be another one of those things that makes living in Africa better than being in the US for our boys. Right now, the fort and having a dog would probably be the two highest “best things about living in Africa”.
posted by Ironside Tribe at 3:48 AM
2 Comments:
This was a cool entry! Reading about Artibul and the other guys makes it feel real to me even the we are so far apart. I can't wait to get my hands on the DVD. I miss seeing your faces! I'm going to try and brace myself for how much the boys have probably grown. Please tell Blake I wish him a happy belated birthday and a big hug. I love you all.
Katie M.
Hey Ironside Clan,
Love the update !!! Happy Belated Birthday, to Blake !!! I'm glad to know you're doing well and feel encouraged by the ministry opportunities that God is providing. Could you please list your mailing address again so that we can send a happy to you all. Our girls are very envious about the fort. Way Cool!!! We love you and continue to pray for you daily !! God bless !!
The Partains
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