Saturday, September 13, 2008

Happy to be Home in Yabus

Hey Y'all!

Forgive us for not getting word out sooner that we've all arrived safely in Yabus with no problems. Both flights went very smoothly, and Eli's parents were a HUGE help! I truly don't know how I would have done the whole trip without them. They have already experienced many adventures since our arrival in Sudan.

The drive from the airstrip to the boat (to cross the river) was like an amusement park ride as we slid and charged through deep mud. Once we got all our cargo across the river, Eli drove the pickup carrying all our stuff while Papa, Isaac, and Evan rode the quad bike. Mom, Josh, and I walked since it's only a mile and I wanted to greet friends along the way. Everyone has been very eager to meet Joshua for the first time. He's been nicknamed "Yabus' baby." At one point, a large crowd of children came running from their village, cheering and yelling, "Joshua! Joshua!" and then they all huddled around me to see his face.

We've already taken TONS of great pictures and will post those on our blog once Internet arrives in Yabus, hopefully in the next few weeks. We're thankful that all 7 of us have been healthy during these first few days. We've had a little bit of rain, lots of mosquitoes, and about 85-90 degree weather every day, so Josh has had to adjust to the weather a bit since it was at least 20 degrees cooler in Nairobi!

God has given us many special experiences with Mom and Papa here. On Tuesday Papa and Eli went to a funeral of a church leader's grandson. Eli was notified 5 minutes before the service that they wanted him to preach and he gave an encouraging message. We've had a steady flow of visitors coming to meet Mom and Papa and of course to see Joshua. Joshua has done so well being passed around and being prodded at. And he gets so tired out during the day that he's sleeping wonderfully - 7-8 hour chunks at night!

Eli, the boys, and I are overjoyed to be home. Even though it's taken a few days to unpack and get the house back to it's homey self, we are so happy and content to be here. Please pray for us though since saying Goodbye to Eli's parents will be heartwrenching and the work here is overwhelming. Eli's taken on quite a few responsibilities, mainly the role as compound manager which includes a lot of different things. Eli's mom has been such a huge help for me, playing with the boys and holding Joshua, that I'm not sure how I'll manage without her. I mention this just so you can pray for us next week. Mom and Papa fly out of Yabus on Tuesday, Sept 16.

2 comments:

JJ said...

It's good to hear you made it to Yabus safely. I can't wait to see pictures of the Yabus baby! Still praying for you.

Deb said...

Praying for each of you as you make the adjustment of adding a new (did I mention, beautiful!)person to the family. I know this is especially hard for you, Bethany, figuring out how to devote yourself to so many pressing needs. Give yourself time and God will help you figure it out. The love in your eyes in one of your pictures is one of the prettiest things I've seen in a long time. What a beautiful testimony lived out among the people that you are loving in His name there.

Why does sickness like to hang around so long???

Only a few days after returning from our trip to Kenya, Judah started spiking high fevers. We took him to our clinic here in town for blood ...