While I go on about all of our journeys, meetings, homeschooling and fun, back in Mozambique the ministry is continuing.  We have been so grateful to a fellow missionary for facilitating Skype meetings with the monitors from time to time, and it is always strange to start speaking Portuguese again, and to give the standard greetings that we gave on a daily basis in Moz but now never say to anyone here.

We have been so encouraged by the steadiness of the TEE program!  On our last furlough, the program was still very young and faltered significantly while we were away.  This time, however, we hear good things from the monitors (and outside observers) about the strength of the program and the number of students attending classes. Praise God!!  This is an amazing answer to prayer.  Perhaps to most Americans, this wouldn’t be a surprise, but in the culture in Nampula it is very difficult to get strong, steady leaders.  And all of this for no salary!   We are beyond thankful that what has been slowly and thoughtfully built is remaining steady. – C

Wow, December is busy over here!  Normally at this time of year, we are attending the kid’s end of term program and packing up the car for our annual trek to Malawi just before the rainy season hits.  Instead, we were schooling, meeting with people, trying to spend time with family, and discussing (seemingly endlessly) our future in the next few months as well as years.  A real shock to me was all the stress around gifts.  In Mozambique, I have to plan months ahead for gifts for the kids and Kevin, having them shipped out.  If they haven’t arrived by early December, they get opened when we return at the end of the month.  In December, I am leisurely wrapping the few gifts!  Here, I was frantically shopping until the day before Christmas.  Of course, it was a real luxury to be able to run out to the stores and actually find something worth giving; that wouldn’t happen at home.

We tried to take advantage of the things to see and do, visiting local “Christmas houses” and taking the train into NYC to see the tree at Rockefeller Center.  

 

However, the best parts about Christmas were attending church at Kevin’s home church (where I also have visited for 25 years now) and being with family for Christmas Day.  We built up a wealth of memories to last us for the many years we will not with with them for the holidays. – C

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We started homeschooling in November and it has been monotonous, exciting, and frustrating.  All of those things!  It has been frustrating to try to fit in schoolwork and assignments when we are rarely home five days in a row.  I am new to homeschooling and struggle to know how to prepare ahead, and don’t have the time anyway.  We tend to “wing it” an awful lot.  The monotony of homeschooling has been doing the same things over and over and not knowing how to vary the activities to get the kids excited about the material.  I have a feeling that this comes with experience and elementary school level creativity, neither of which I possess.  However, homeschooling has also been very exciting, because we have visited all sorts of historical sites!!  We were able to study the French Indian War and visit the site of Fort Greenville where a major treaty was signed, see where the Declaration of Independence was signed, see the Liberty Bell, visit historical sites in Boston and other places on the east coast like Mystic Seaport, and attend a Revolutionary War reenactment!  We chose a curriculum for this year that puts a focus on American History for this very purpose.  Our third culture kids are learning a lot about their passport country and having a great time on field trips.  I am probably enjoying that part even more than they are, and the proximity of New York City affords us lots of opportunities for lots more historical learning.  Yes, we do math too, and this next few months we will be studying astronomy, taking advantage of several planetariums in our area with free viewings weekly.  -C

I had to post this photo of the kids at the grave of their great great great great (how many, I don’t know) grandfather James Dunwoody.  We studied the French and Indian War back in September, while were were staying for a few weeks in the “Ohio Territory”.  Turns out that our relative was one of the early settlers to the area – he walked in from Virginia and was a cobbler.  The kids were goofing around while we were trying to be all serious about their history, but it made for a funny photo.  In the spring, there are plans afoot to go and see history from Kevin’s side of the family, but I’ll post on that later! – C

One of the main reasons we are here in the USA this year is to visit our individual and church supporters to update them and report.  Last furlough, we spent several weeks putting together a beautiful brochure, a nice video, a display board and other materials.  By the time we settled in one place and began work on our materials this time, however, there was only a week to go before some major church visits!  Kevin and I sat and looked at each other helplessly, both too tired to pull out all the stops for new materials.  We were thankful that we had prayer cards done, and our old display board was still in good condition.  Here’s a photo of it while we were in process with updating it.   I wish I had kept a list of all the places and people we visited in November and December – there were a lot!  On one trip, we had 4 meetings in 3 towns in 3 days.  Those kind of visits are always tiring, but what ALWAYS stands out to us is how kind people are to us.  One supporter invited us for a delicious lunch with her family, and as I thanked her before we left, she replied “No, thank YOU for going.”  It brought tears to my eyes.  It is a privilege to go, but there are sacrifices involved and it is encouraging to spend time with the many people who make it possible and who are praying for us.  The kids do great with the visits, well-trained by now in shaking hands, telling a little bit about their lives, and smiling for the group.  They get an awful lot of treats along the way, and agree that they don’t suffer too much.  Plus people really enjoy seeing them – so much bigger than five years ago!

There is so much I could say about visiting churches, all of it mostly centered around the theme that we feel so privileged to go out and represent the dear believers in them.  We usually depart feeling very loved and acutely aware that we probably fall short in many ways, not because of anything they say to us, but because they treat us with such kindness and favor!  -C

What could be better than doing fun stuff in the USA?  Doing fun stuff in the USA with your friends from Mozambique!!!  We were so thankful to be able to spend time with two different families that we know in Nampula, who were both visiting in the USA near our location.  The kids often feel like others don’t understand their lives (and they usually don’t) so it is a relief to be with kids who have been to your house, played with your dogs, seen your school, and have known you for years.  If only the time didn’t go so fast!  – C

Can you believe that both sets of our parents celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversaries this year?  We were so thankful to be able to celebrate with both sides of the family in September and October in vacations together.

 

 

So many years go by between our family get-togethers that they are super special.  That’s kind of a cheesy thing to say, but when at least 4 years go by, and in the case of Cami’s family 11 1/2 years, it is WONDERFUL to sit at a table together and be able to look into the face of each dear person.

It is also very important that the kids get to see their relatives and really feel that they are part of a bigger family.  It was really fun to watch them enjoy that, and be loved by people who have known them their whole lives.  The picture at left is missing Cami’s younger sister, who is taking the photo, but otherwise the photos contain all of our parents, brothers and sisters and their spouses, and nieces and nephews.  -C

Although our main purpose in visiting South Africa was to do all the medical checkups required by our boss, we managed to combine that with a visit to dear friends that we hadn’t seen in 14 years, and who had never met our kids.  They were so gracious, giving us a place to stay and a car to use while we did many doctor’s appointments and then spent a number of days doing fun things like visiting a lion park, a cheetah park, a King Tut exhibit, seeing the penguins and whales off the coast (from the shore!), and of course the iconic Table Mountain from several viewpoints.  Kevin and I managed to go out a nice restaurant one night to celebrate the 23rd wedding anniversary that we had skipped 3 weeks before (too busy!), and we spent his birthday seeing some sights.  We stayed in the town where we did our graduate degrees, and it was an odd feeling to be back after so many years, seeing the same buildings and views, yet somehow very changed.  And we ourselves are very changed – and with kids!  We are very thankful for this time “in between” and the wonderful people who made it possible.  It was a much-needed transition period between our life in rough-and-ready Nampula and the better organized USA.  When it was time to go, we were ready to get on the “big plane” and wing 9 1/2 hours to Dubai, then a quick turnaround onto our 14 hour flight on to New York.  We are so thankful for all the uneventful, easy flights and that the luggage arrived with no problems.  Kevin’s parents were waiting for us, with the used car we bought from friends, and there we were – in the USA.  Kevin hadn’t been back in four years, though the kids and I came through that same airport 1 1/2 years ago.  Wow.  – C

And what do Americans do first when they get the chance?  Go to the  movies. Yup.  – C