Hanging out at the Hangar: a Ministry Update
Marcel has been super busy at the hangar, doing some necessary inspections on the 182, helping to build hangar doors, and doing general hangar organization. It's been quite a few long days, as Lowell is here from the Canadian office to do some training with the pilots and Marcel as well. Over the past couple months, the planes have seen quite a few hours in the air, mostly delivering doctors to various rural hospitals and clinics.
Last night, we (meaning three out of four of the MAF families) had our monthly team meeting--and this one was a special team meeting with Lowell here to share the MAF Canada report on the future work of MAF in Angola. It was encouraging to hear that the board and MAF Canada staff are behind the MAF Angola team, and have a vision to expand the program in the partners we serve, the hours the planes fly, and even adding new runways! I, Kelly, was also encouraged to hear that the board would like to encourage and promote short-term teachers to come to Angola to serve with the International school! (Wink, wink ... please come and live with us!)
Speaking of the school, last week, I had the opportunity to go in for the morning and see the International school and students. I'm looking forward to starting at the school in January part-time! Many of these students are the future leaders of Angola, and I look forward to being back in the classroom and helping these students to achieve their education goals and learn more about Christ.
Finally, on the ministry front, today was our first staff Bible study without Tammy and Gary here helping to lead both the Bible study and the English lesson after with the staff. Fortunately, the Bible study went very well, as we talked about the Christmas story, and Marcel even hijacked the English lesson away from me, taking on the role as "professor" and helping explain the difference between "see" and "look". We both love these weekly Bible studies and English lessons, as it a time of staff bonding and improving our Portuguese. The staff here truly are amazing!
Moving on up: a Personal Update
On a personal front, it's been a busy few weeks! First, our neighbours moved back to Canada. They were such an important part of our transition over here, and we are going to miss them a lot as our apartment complex feels kind of empty without them. The Goertzens served for several years here, and will be missed by many who knew them and experienced their kindness and genuine hearts! We also said goodbye to two other missionary families, one of the families being the Helmholdts, who were working on the runway project here. We are also sad to see them go, as their energetic family brought such life to Lubango! Between helping them move and then moving ourselves, it's been busy. We moved into the Goertzens' old apartment, directly beside ours, and we're happy to report we are loving the upgrades! Just to name a few: couches that don't scare us to sit on (let's just say our others had seen better days!), mosquito nets that don't hang in our faces, a TV (!!!!!!) and a screen door to let in some air!
Ethan is itching to move too ... crawling that is. He's not quite there yet, but he is definitely more mobile! He's got many new friends here as well, including a recently adopted little girl only a few months older than him! Ethan now sleeps through the night, but has a harder time falling asleep without cuddles from mommy! Having a little baby has been such a blessing for us in our transition to Africa, as he helps us meet new people who are curious about the big, white baby! It's been hilarious at times to hear people's reactions, or to see Ethan react to theirs!
Finally, on a personal front, I, Kelly, have learned to drive standard! This has opened up much more freedom for me, as I am now able to drive our vehicle around town for groceries, visits, or to pick up/drop off Marcel at work. Driving is still quite stressful here, as the roads contain many dangers like potholes, speedy motorcyclists, and crowds of mini-bus taxis, not to mention the fact that I still stall pretty frequently! However, it is impressive how smooth things can run with only two traffic lights in the whole city (yes, that's more than a month ago)!
With Christmas coming, but the weather outside sunny and warm, it's been a weird feeling to try and get in the Christmas spirit, but we're getting there, slowly. First, we put up our Christmas tree ... and no, it's not a GREEN Christmas tree, but a BLACK one! How weird is that? Then, I baked some Christmas cookies with the Hall girls, and I've been playing Christmas music almost non-stop. But the real thing that got me in the Christmas spirit was reading through Luke's account of the birth of Christ with our staff yesterday. What a great reminder of the true meaning of Christmas ... it's not about snow, decorations, or even FAMILY, but about God's Son and His saving grace!
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| Working late at the hangar on the doors |
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| We were so excited that Ethan was actually awake for Tundavala! |
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| Our little family in great big Angola! |
