Life has been a lot easier in this second half of our term. Returning from Canada was much smoother and easier that the first time we came, and both in work and in life outside work, things feel much easier and more familiar. Though it may seem silly, we praise God for things like better Internet, reliable energy, and filled potholes!
The end of the school year was very enjoyable, and it felt like everyone left on a very positive, happy note. Students were enthusiastic for their year-end presentations to parents, and we had our first graduate--Junior--prove to all the other students that it is possible to finish and move on! He even went to the US for his graduation ceremony through the University of Nebraska High School!
The school is also moving into a different building and this is exciting for us as it is larger and has more access to amenities. Praise God for a young German teacher coming this school year, and pray that the transition goes well for everyone.
We've had great safety and impact in the last few months of flying--always a reason to praise God. Praise Him for lives healed through many of our medical flights!
Prayer:
We recently had a team meeting to discuss future directives for MAF Angola, so pray for wisdom and open doors for our strategic plans! It was good to come together and discuss where we'd like to see MAF go over the next few years.
Pray for a busy month of flying and maintenance coming--August is sure to fly by with training, and a new propellor for one of the 182s.
Pray for our German teacher, who is due to arrive in August. She is waiting for her visa! Pray she will be a good fit with us at the school for the year.
Pray for all our key partners--CEML hospital, the churches of Angola, and SIM--that we may bring glory to God here in Angola!
Pray for more workers--particularly doctors and teachers--to develop a heart for Angola and join us here.
Ugh. I've determined something that many of you already know: the best way to get very little done is to have little ones that haven't got enough sleep.
Raise your hand if you just groaned there!
Today felt like a very mom-ish day. Not very missionary-ish. It's only now at 9:45 pm that I'm finally sitting down to answer emails and do "productive stuff".
But, I need to remind myself that this is a beautiful, difficult, valuable part of being a missionary too. My kids are my number one ministry--even if I'm tired of playing "airplane" with my three-year-old, and playing "Don't put that in your mouth!" with my 9-month-old.
As some of you know, my life is normally this awesome mish-mash of working at the school and being a mom. I say awesome because I really love the balance I have between school (8-3:30 pm) and being at home with my family (at break and lunch, and literally 2 minutes after I leave the school). It's kind of a teacher's dream!
Now that we're on holidays, I'm really appreciative of some of the extra time with the boys, but also in awe of moms who do this full-time. Good for you, stay at home moms! You are heroes! You might not speak to another adult for hours ... you clean only to have a messy kitchen minutes later ... you play games that make no sense at all ... and when your kids are really young, you're not even sure what they'll ever remember!
Well, I've reached the end of my "rant" ... I really just wanted to write a blog (long overdue) and couldn't think of anything else, so ... that's what came out. Kind of therapeutic I guess ... I promise a better blog later!
One of my favourite weekly "holiday" activities: taking Ethan and Siena to the bread store, and then sitting and people watching outside the compound. They love it too!
Recently, we were able to get out of town for a few days at the beach. Something we always look forward to. This particular trip brought on a little more adventure than we anticipated. Here are some thoughts I took note of while on that trip...
The scene in front of my right now is one I think many people would pay big money for, and yet we get to do this on a bi-annual basis - On a beach, no one else, just Kelly, Ethan, Avro, and myself. There are 4 fishing boats way out on the water as waves gently roll in. A calm breeze passes under out shade tent, protecting us from a harsh sun. Birds are chirping somewhere behind me as I sit here watching for any whales on the ocean horizon.
This was far from the scene 2 days ago on our drive here. Our initial plan was to leave Lubango and meet Alex & Isaline at the beach. We were heading out by ourselves to this beach we've been to once before (a year and 4 months ago). We had a GPS track, and I figured that was good enough to find the beach again. As we travelled, we made the turn off the main road for the final hour and a half leg off-road. Things didn't quite seem familiar, but we credited it to the green scenery which was not in bloom last time. Things didn't seem familiar was confirmed when we reached a river that would require crossing. We drew near over some rough terrain which should have been our first sign to turn around, before stopping to get out and inspect the river. It was maybe 6" deep at the most, however it was soft sand on the bottom. At first I said we need to turn around when Kelly re-examined the GPS track and found there was an alternate way, the way we intended to take, but it was hard to ignore the signs for Piambo Beach. Examining the river once more, I decided it looked good, and the solid road on the other side looked inviting; definitely more inviting than the hour + we would have to backtrack, so I went for it. It started well, maintaining engine RPM and speed over the first 20 meters before... I got stuck. There was seriously maybe 1 or 2 more meters before reaching "solid" sand on the opposite side, but that didn't matter. Where we were was not solid.
I've tried to imagine what getting stuck would be like, since I knew living in Angola it is basically inevitable. I didn't think it would happen on a road nobody expected us to take (not even us), in an area without cell coverage, on a trip where we weren't convoying. For the next hour and a half, we attempted to get unstuck. Some local kids came, curious who/what/why we were here, and helped us to gather rocks to try and create a footing for the truck, but more importantly, they kept all of our spirits up. After that hour and a half, we had a decision to make: Keep trying to dig out, which was only getting us deeper (it was clear we needed something to pull us out. Note: next Windhoek trip, BUY A WINCH). Or hike the 17km to the beach where our friends were. So we grabbed water, some food, and headed out at 1:45pm. The first km was all uphill and took about an hour. Kelly carrying Avro, and I was carrying Ethan. I've done a couple big hikes before, but not with kids. Once we reached the top of the hill, I was gassed and trying not to let Kelly know. I had to lie down, so we took a 10 minute break before continuing in only t-shirt and boxers. Fortunately the rest of the trek was fairly level ground. At 4pm, Kelly's sandal broke, so I tied her sweater around her foot to offer some protection from the stoney road. We were quite a sight I'm sure.
After 9.5 km's of walking (3 hours that felt like all day) we heard a vehicle coming toward us. It was a couple of fishermen heading back inland, so we stopped them and pleaded our case with them. They offered us a ride and took us to a small fishing village near our intended campsite. There was several small huts and one house, the latter which belonged to a Portuguese man named Carlos. We explained our situation to him, but no one wanted to take us the 1km over to the beach, saying that there was nobody camping there. Eventually they sent someone to look, and it was confirmed to their surprise that yes, someone WAS camping there. We wrote a note for Alex to come get us, which was taken by another messenger. I noticed the logo on Carlos' shirt as the same company Alex works for, so I asked Carlos about it, and told him that our friends on the beach we were trying to contact is Alex - his co-worker! Alex arrived, and together with Carlos and another Angolan (also named Carlos) we went back to the river where we pulled the truck out. Hallelujah.
Throughout the whole day, Kelly and the boys were amazing. Ethan walked 4-5 of the km's himself. Kelly had the idea that we should pray for someone who's name corresponded with each letter fo the alphabet, which helped us make good use of the time, and Avro pretty much slept the whole day.
Next time you do this, Marcel, have a winch or take a tracker!
Thank you God for giving us more than we deserve.
--Marcel
A few thoughts from Kelly:
I don't need to recount what happened ... Marcel did a pretty good job of giving all the details. But I want to expand on Marcel's last point ... "Thank you God for giving us more than we deserve." This sentence may make very little sense to those who aren't Christians. What do you mean, "more than we deserve"? I think most of us hold the opinion that if we are decent, kind people who work hard and do our best, then we deserve "good karma"--good should come our way. But throughout the walk, the reality of what the Bible teaches struck me hard. "The wages of sin is death." (Romans 3:23) In light of our almighty Creator, who is wholly good and wholly just (because a god that is anything less is no worthy god at all ...), we are NOT good enough. We are not just kind of bad and mostly good. I think most of us know, deep in our hearts, that we are very, VERY broken. Disobedient. Selfish. Looking for answers in the wrong places and denying God in our day-to-day actions. Sinful.
The reality is we deserve death. But God mercifully provides us with good things every day--sunshine, food, shelter, providence when we are STUCK in a desert with no cell reception. Furthermore, He provided a way to be made right with Him through Jesus Christ. Perhaps you've heard it a million times, but it bears repeating one more time--through Christ, we can find peace and forgiveness with God. And that is no "small hope"--in the middle of a desert, walking with two small children, and ACTUALLY wondering, "What if something SERIOUS happens?"--it was not the hope of finding our friends on the beach that carried us through. It was the hope that NOTHING, not even DEATH, could separate us from Christ. For the Christian, death is not the end. Suffering is not reason to lose hope. Everything is secure and peaceful in Christ, and though we were once an enemy of God, we have been brought over to his kingdom, and we can rest secure there. He truly gives us more than we deserve.
Deep stuff ... eh? Well, that's the sort of thing you think about in the "desert places of life".
Ephesians 2:1-10, "As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—9 not by works, so that no one can boast.10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
One thing I love about living on the “mission field” (aka.
in Africa) is that, unlike many people, we get to witness/be a part of the
direct impact of your missions dollars. I think I sometimes take for granted
how cool that is!
Just today, we were sitting and chatting with a doctor
friend who daily sees patients impacted by your dollars. While he is able to
buy medications and provide extremely knowledgeable counsel to some of the
poorest, sickest people in Angola … local clinics and hospitals lack even basic
necessities. And it’s thanks to donors like you that he can do his work! Just
recently, he recounted seeing a boy with such extreme malaria that he arrived
in a coma. The boy recovered … but not without a severe complication of malaria—he
began to lose complete blood circulation in his toes and teeth (extremities).
His toes were in need of amputation … but the family didn’t have the money to
send him to Lubango for surgery! So … in a life-saving move … Dr. Tim offered
to cover the MAF flight to Lubango through his ministry funds! The boy received
the surgery he needed and is likely to make a very good recovery! From death to
life!
Dr. Tim flies all next week with MAF to some of the most
under-served clinics in eastern Angola. Marcel has been working intense hours
to prep the planes for this journey, since they will put in a lot of flight hours
and won’t be able to undergo maintenance for an entire week. While the work is
extensive, the hours spent chatting with Tim about his medical ministry
certainly help us realize why we are here—to provide basic human dignity!
I’ve been pondering money lately, and how, sadly controlling
money can be. Whether you are a slave to money because you work, work, work to
afford all the greatest things … or you are a slave to money because you just
don’t have enough … there’s no doubt that for any human, anywhere on the earth,
money would likely rank somewhere in the top five “daily worries”. How sad is
that?
Even here in Angola—where I feel incredibly rich compared to
some people—I am not freed from the temptation of money. Some days, we worry
more than we should about money. God knows our needs! Other days, I find myself
thinking that money is the solution to all problems here in Angola—and it’s
not, thankfully! A saving relationship with Jesus is worth infinitely more than
any charity! Other days, I wish for more money or wish that things cost less.
Money grips our thoughts when it shouldn’t!
Yet, God, in his wisdom, has provided a remedy for our
tendency to have an idolatrous attitude about money. As I read in my morning
devotional, “Giving [money] away breaks the grip of greed, teaches us to trust
and obey God, and is an avenue through which treasure can be stored up in
heaven.” And this I know to be so true! There’s something so freeing about sharing
wealth and giving generously.
So to tie it all together—if you feel like you are a slave
to money, may I suggest a beautiful remedy? Missions. Find a place where you
can give of your money, whether directly or indirectly, and experience the blessing
of sharing your wealth. It doesn’t have to be MAF, or Angola—but rest assured,
I know a few good people who could use your help, if you’re interested! J
It's been a busy stretch of life. Day in and day out of work, play with kids, sleep, repeat. The missionary life is so exciting, right?
And yet ... there are little, daily treasures ... mercies ... that God has left for us along the way.
Significance
A recent blog post by a friend left Marcel speechless. In the midst of a difficult week--one plane problem after another, parts stuck in customs, too many flights and not enough hours in the day ... our friend Dr. Tim reminded us of the beauty and foolishness of our work in Angola. How our work is not without curse (ie. the original curse), but we have a loving, victorious God and a network of Jesus-loving, big-hearted people who care about our work! (That's YOU, in case you are wondering!)
Baseball
Okay, so y'all may know that I don't really like sports. I've never been very good at them. But ... at our tiny school of 25 kids, I've discovered a beautiful, unifying thing ... baseball.
Let me explain ... in a school of 25 kids, somehow us teachers have to work magic ... P.E. magic, that is. We have to teach P.E. from K-Gr. 12 ... at the same time. Talk about scaffolding and individualizing!
But these past few weeks ... amidst bullying problems, lack of motivation, personal issues ... baseball has been the one time of week where ALL the kids seem to get along and be happy. And ENCOURAGE one another! Who knew? And the crazy thing is that none of them knew how to play baseball 6 weeks ago!
So maybe, just maybe, I am thankful to God for sport and the power it has to unify.
Easter
Easter weekend (and the following week of vacation from school!) brought rest to our family. And a chance to recharge.
See, in case you didn't know, church isn't exactly a guaranteed place to get fed and relax on the mission field. Maybe, in some locations or some weeks it is, but for many missionaries, it isn't. It's the one place where language, culture, cranky children, hot weather and spiritual warfare collide on a weekly basis. (Can I get an amen from anyone out there? Or maybe just from parents whose church doesn't have a Sunday school program for toddlers?)
Anyway, this past weekend, we purposely set aside an afternoon to study from a David Platt Secret Church study called "The Cross and Suffering" and it was a beautiful chance to be challenged and fed in our own language.There were wayyyyy too many good points to cover in one blog post, but I highly recommend the study to anyone who really wants to understand a biblical view of suffering! I'll add the link, but one big take away that I got is that true gospel sees suffering as a means to treasure God more deeply. Say what!? Yes, God would use even suffering to draw us close to Him--He will do whatever it takes, He wants first priority, all of us, a relationship so deep and wide and sanctified ...
Romans 8:28-29, "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers."
Anyway, if you are struggling with the Biblical purpose behind suffering (Why is there suffering? What is God's purpose in it? How does the Bible treat suffering of all types?), I highly recommend this comprehensive study (inc. a manual and videos) by David Platt: http://radical.net/secret_church/secret-church-12-the-cross-and-suffering/
Praise and Prayer
I'd like to end offering some prayer and praise for our ministry and life, as I know that (PRAISE GOD!) so many of you lift us up in prayer throughout the year, and this just comforts us so much! Thank you wonderful people!!!!
Praise God this week for Ethan--he will be turning 3 years old on April 5!
Praise God as well for the wonderful Tias (Aunties, or Nannies) who have been watching Ethan and Avro over the past few weeks/months and really been such a blessing to us and my work at the school.
Praise God that MAF's airplane parts that were held in bond in customs were finally released ... many weeks later, but still, in Marcel's hands now!
Praise God that the other teacher, Mrs. Helena, is back from Namibia with a new, healthy baby boy and will return to teach at the school soon!
Pray for Avro's visa to get approved (he's currently on a 30-day visa that gets renewed every month, but he needs his year visa).
Pray for the school and how I, Kelly, along with the other teachers, can continue to support, challenge, and bless the students not just academically, but spiritually (feeling very challenged by this lately--how can I be more than just a teacher, but also a disciple maker?)
Pray for many flights in the month ahead ... for safety, fruitfulness, and of course, the ongoing CHALLENGE of maintaining those three, finicky airplanes!!
Much love and blessings ...
Kelly
Other wonderful, small (and big) mercies over the last few weeks ...
Sushi ... in Lubango?! Yep! (Though expensive)
This little guy loves learning letters and sounds!
Tia Fatyma's 19th birthday party gave everyone a reason to have a little party!
She takes care of Avro and Ethan while I work at the school ...
The beautiful beach sunsets in Angola are truly a wondrous work of God!
Bragging moment: Ethan loves salad with oil and vinegar and will even lick the plate clean!
(Now if that isn't a big mercy I don't know what is!)
Check out this massive avocado ... almost as big as Avro's head!
As I child, I never moved. Neither Marcel, nor I, ever had more than one childhood home. But since then, we've moved a variety of places in three cities--North Bay, then London, then Lubango.
You know that feeling when you move, and then come back to the "old place" much later, and it feels distinctly familiar, but at the same time different? Probably different owners, with different furniture, and different decor, but a few of the old familiar things remain.
Well, that was kind of the feeling of returning to Angola. Except nothing had changed in our house. It was like stepping into a time capsule--where everything was as you left it, suddenly, immediately, and then you were gone a long time. Life had moved on around the house, in the city, around the compound, throughout the country, but the house was weirdly frozen.
It was fun to rediscover our life in Angola. Remember what items we've lived without for the last five months. Rediscover the comfort of our own mattress! Remember what clothes we own that aren't from a suitcase, and what food we had waiting in our freezer (which was oddly, a lot, and all good, considering the power situation!).
For Ethan, it was like a complete fresh start--he seemed to have forgotten everything! His old toys became new toys, his old books--new again! His old friends were quick new friends, and his old routine only took a day to settle in to! And one of the best things he forgot--church! This worked to our advantage, as church had always been difficult in the past. But now, he doesn't seem to remember that, so we all get a fresh start to try again!
But like I said, outside of our house, life continued to move on. I went back to the school the Wednesday after arriving. Happily, my students had made positive progress in their studies, and dishearteningly, they had made the beautiful library I had organized messy again.
At the hangar, Marcel has returned with renewed energy. He's currently in Kenya, for engineers training and a conference, and then he will return with his boss from Canada, Tim. At the office, sadly, our program manager is moving back to the UK for some very understandable personal and health reasons. On the compound, there's new play equipment! And in the city ... well, there's new potholes! (Though, surprisingly, just in the last week they've finally started filling in the nastiest ones!)
It was strange, and yet wonderful, to return to Angola, return to work, return to "home"--although, as I've mentioned a few times before, this is a confusing term for missionaries. It's been fun to see Ethan adjust, and Avro just happy as normal. There's something lovely about this place, but it's a million little things, and difficult to put your finger on ...
So here we are, back in Angola--no longer as a family of three, but now of four!
P.S. I've included here our "Breakfast with the Boers" update, in case you aren't connected to our Facebook page!
You know what's weird? Thinking about Angola while the cold wind blows, the leaves are falling, and I'm comfy, cozy in an autumn sweater, with a NEWBORN. IN CANADA.
What has happened to our life? Is this even the same life?!?!
Let's rewind a bit and unpack how this all happened ... how we're processing ... and what's coming up in the future.
Let's roll back to July. School year comes to an end at our little international school. The school year ended with seven high school students (including two who live out of the city, but come in occasionally to catch up) all trying to finish up their courses so they could relax over the holidays. This is a mega-undertaking, since their courses are all online and require extensive work.
But we "finished" nonetheless, and then it was vacation time. I undertook a new project: organizing and cleaning the school and our fairly extensive library (think years of book donations). This was a very satisfying project for me, because I could familiarize myself with all of our resources, and at the same time, purge ones we don't use. I was all set for two months worth of cleaning until ...
News came that our insurance required me to come back to Canada a month earlier than I had planned. Okay ... so fast forward the cleaning, we're on a plane (Ethan and I, Marcel would follow a month later) ... and suddenly, we're Canadian again. Five months to spend in Canada as our mid-term/maternity break.
So what goes through a missionary's mind when they come back to Canada after two years in Africa?
Wow. Green grass. Clean cars. Big houses. Costco (overwhelming). Toys, toys, toys. Coffee shops and ice cream. Fast internet.
It's all a little overwhelming and intense at first. Not necessarily bad, but stark. Stark in how different it is from Angola. Stark in how organized, clean, new, and shiny everything is. Stark in how pleasantly, and blissfully wonderful life can be here ... compared to there.
Canadians ... we have it so good here. We are so very blessed to live where we do. Living overseas is teaching me not to take that for granted because it is certainly not the case for most people. And there's nothing wrong with that ... I think we should appreciate it, value it, thank God for it ... because for most of us, it's not something we've earned. It's not the result of a choice we made. It's something we were simply born into ...
I've had to learn to let go of judgment. Having seen the stark contrast of Angolan life--hard, dirty, poor, and basically "survival-mode", I feel judgment bubble up inside me when I see what we have in Canada. But then I see how kind and welcoming Canadians are. How many are trying to make a difference. How many love and serve others within the context they know here. How many give a significant portion of their incomes, their lives, and their energy to help others.
So if I could ask one thing of the Canadians who read this, it wouldn't be to move to Angola, or sell everything and give it to the poor. Though those would both be awesome, I think what should mark every Canadian, particularly every Christian Canadian, is thankfulness. A heart of gratitude for all the many things in our lives that God has provided without us ever asking or knowing different. A life of appreciation for the small things and the big things. A gratefulness for our great country and the way our forefathers worked together to build it.
Now, that just about covers the Canada side of things ... onto the newborn side of things! Wow ... we'll be going back to Angola not as a family of three, but as a family of four! Fun! And scary ...
Being back in Canada has been very good for thinking about the very many things that have happened over the last two years. And one of those things I know I need to process is my commitment to ministries. What can I continue when I get back? What do I need to give up now that I have another child?
Missionaries tend to be workaholics. We face constant need everyday--a lack of workers on the field, intense poverty, country-size issues that constantly wear and tear on the soul, problems with no easy solution. And because of this ... it becomes easy to over-commit, overwork and judge ourselves as "less than worthy" if we are not giving it our all to everyone, all the time.
I've come to remember again that raising children is a big ministry (just ask any stay-at-home mom) ... a high priority ministry. Not only that, but we are in an incredibly difficult and tiring stage of family life--the toddler and baby stage. It's no small deal--and therefore, I need to be okay with saying no to some things, and saying yes to my family.
So, having a newborn has been amazing (they sleep so much!) ... and I'm thankful for a healthy baby and healthy recovery ... and Ethan has been taking well to Avro ... and Marcel has been a great help! We are thankful to be in Canada for now but will definitely look forward to our own house come January!
Playing in a "sandbox" full of corn! A true Canadian autumn experience.
Scoping out the pumpkin collection!
Soaking up the early October sun on my sister's porch with my best friend from
teacher's college and her husband!
Sushi ... so much sushi ...
Thanksgiving with the Snobelen side of the family!
At the Thamesville corn maze with grandpa!
1
At the corn maze.
Jumping on a big inflatable pillow!
Helping dig a new pillar for Erie and Darren's house.
Enjoying an Angolan tradition ... pizza night on Friday night, but with my sister and fiance!
Canada has so much fun stuff ... but not all of it is free!
Ethan's entered a train-obsessed phase ... trains and planes!
Cozy nights at Aunt Erie's house ... reading books!
Making new friends, and discovering all the delicious (and convenient) Canadian snacks!
Playing with Titus, Erie and Darren's mischievous cat!
Thumbs up for Mexican food!
The day after Marcel arrived, we were already visiting a hangar ... (oh and check out that beard!)
We might have discovered Avro's name at the Canadian Warplane Museum.
Hanging out with Auntie Riss, Uncle B, Amos, and Mason.
Not biological family, but spiritual family!
We had a few friendly visitors for our London Open House!
It was a bit cold, but we still took advantage of the BBQ season!
Ethan being all cute ...
Celebrating our five-year anniversary a little late in Toronto ... but worth the wait!
