MelissaStuff

We are in Johannesburg eating dinner and waiting for our ride. Everything has gone pretty well. A bit delayed by weather on the ground in D.C. and not able to sleep well on the plane. We decided we would book our own flights from now on if something like this comes up so we can control the details better. The airport here seems pretty normal with strange aberrations here and there – for example, there’s no heat. Joey says he estimates that it is probably 59 or so inside the building!! Decidedly unimpressive really but I guess that’s my American arrogance showing through a bit. Ready to meet up with everyone and start getting to work. That will happen tomorrow morning after hopefully a good night’s rest at Camp Eden. Better run. Don’t know if I’ll have anymore access until we’re back in the airport next Friday. Thanks for all the prayers and support. We're excited to see what God has in store for all of us. Miss and Joey

I promised to keep everyone updated on my garden , so here's the latest. I have to laugh at myself because I am totally learning as I go. We have had a whole host of setbacks along the way and don't have anything edible quite yet, but we are definitely headed in the right direction. Joey took pictures of the sunflowers that are growing. They are HUGE!!! It's funny because this garden has kind of been an analogy for my life. I was having what I guess could be called a dormant season when I planted all of the seeds. And as my garden has grown and struggled, so have I. But just as these sunflowers are so much bigger than I anticipated so are the blessings I've been given in the last three months. I have amazing friends who love me for me and want to share life together. I have an incredible husband who wants God to use and grow him as a man, and a husband and a father. I have two challenging boys who are going to make me more of the person God intends for me to be. I have

Lately I've been talking to a lot of people from dysfunctional families. That's really not that unusual when you realize all families are probably dysfunctional to some extent. My personal opinion is that dysfunction is an inescapable byproduct of living in a broken, dying world. In the interest of being completely up front, I do have to say that my immediate family has a lot less dysfunction than some - my parents have been married for over 30 years, all of the siblings and our families see each other on a regular basis, and while none of us have conquered the Christian life by any means there does seem to be an earnest desire to serve God throughout our immediate family. However, my extended family has been touched by many common issues including mental health problems, divorce, conflict with extended family members, etc. It has been an interesting contrast, though, to spend time with those whose story is mostly opposite of mine. I have friends who were physically and sexuall