Happy 1 Year Anniversary!

Happy 1 Year Anniversary ... not only to ourselves, but to all those who have journeyed with us in Spirit to Angola. We arrived exactly one year ago on a bumpy, vomit inducing flight, to a crazy rainstorm and intense heat. I can still remember the first smells, the first sounds of dogs barking, the first restless night of sleep. One year ago, we arrived, more or less intact ... to this new home of ours.

I'm going to take a moment to reflect on the past year and share some photos but before I do, I want to above all say: THANK YOU. Thank you for supporting us, and praying for us, and caring for us, even though we are just three pretty average people in a country worlds away from home. Thank you, friends, for being that ... friends, in the true sense of the word.

Thank you, too, to our new friends and family here. For those that have helped to make Angola a little more like home. In a land where we are all strangers, really, it helps to have friends who would do anything for you ... check your kid's ears when he's sick, drop everything and help you with a leaky tap, lend a listening ear when you need to vent, teach you all you need to know to survive your first year in Angola. You are strangers that have become family!

When we count the blessings, there are just far too many to count. Looking back on a year ago, we have grown so much. Our Portuguese has improved TREMENDOUSLY (although those that have learned a language know that the more you learn a language, the more you feel like you have yet to learn!). We have moved several times, but now are happily settled in an incredible home with lots of space for Ethan to play and run around. The MAF maintenance program has come leaps and bounds over the past year, thanks to so much hard work by Marcel, Marijn, and Basilio. It has NOT been easy work. It's been incredibly challenging and full of growing pains. But that's what we are doing ... growing.

If I'm being honest, this year has been spiritually one of the most challenging seasons of our lives. Straight up, we miss our home church ... our family. That being said, God has been faithful and has provided us with a new family here, and a new perspective on who He is, and what it means to follow Him. It has NOT felt like a mountaintop year. More like ... one of those years where you are just obediently "sticking it out"--reading the bible, praying, listening to sermons, attending church--and yet, not really "feeling it".

Part of it is a new language, a new culture, a new way of doing life. It isn't easy to "get fed" in church. Everything takes an intense amount of effort, concentration, and patience. It takes months to develop deep friendships. It may take us years before we really get what it means to be a Christian in Angola. But God is faithful.

Part of it is being a parent. No really, any new parents out there agree? Priorities shift, tiredness takes on a whole new meaning, life gets busy, and everything ... changes. But God is faithful.

His blessings have abounded. We have dove to new depths of understanding scripture, learning to rely on God, learning what it means to suffer. We have been challenged and we have been encouraged time and time again. I, personally, am more in love with Jesus than ever before--not because He has taken me to wonderful highs and I have been swept up in emotion, but because I see what He is doing and what He has done in the lives of beautiful people here. I treasure Him now, more than ever, because I know and see He is real like never before. Thank you Angola for showing us that.

For our family, this will be a year we will never forget. From amazing vacations, to tackling malaria and other sicknesses. From enjoyable days at work and rewarding conversations with students, to immense frustration with traffic and airplane problems. From glorious days in the sun, to wishing we could just have snow ... it's been a year to remember. Angola, you have become another home to us. We look forward to year two, hoping that we've learned a thing or two, and it won't be so difficult. But God is faithful ... and He'll carry us through it, no matter what it brings.

A Few Highlights and Lost Pictures from this Year

Leaving Canada, on our way to Angola! Ethan was just 6 months old!

Our final flight into Lubango was a bumpy one in the MAF Caravan, but Ethan loved it.

Our first MAF flight (this picture was pre-takeoff, post-takeoff was not so pretty).

Marcel in the operating room at CEML hospital,
to watch Dr. Steve Collins do some cataract surgeries. We are so thankful
for our friends who work at the hospital, they have an amazing ministry.

Watching a glorious sunset, just 20 minutes from home. One of the first of many incredible
African sunsets.

This is where we live ... beautiful Huila province in Angola.

Our first Thanksgiving, just a few days after we arrived, with two Canadians and two Americans.
One of our first tastes of the precious fellowship here.

Many hikes, many beautiful places--but this one was awesome! A two hour off road drive to a
waterfall inside a big hole in the mountain.  Hungueria Falls.

The hangar where Marcel spends most of his days--pre hangar doors.

The Leba--a famous viewpoint and tourist attraction in our province, and the main way to get to Namibe and the beaches.

Yet another beautiful waterfall and fun day of swimming!

We are blessed with many short-term visitors, mostly medical students, doctors, or nurses.
Sometimes, they become good friends and you hope they come back!

One of the tougher parts of living overseas--skyping in to my sister's wedding.

Marcel's 20 km hike--that was one for the record books!

Special moments!

Heading through the desert to the beach ... an analogy for our life right now.
Sticking through some tough times, knowing that the best is still ahead!