Tag: children

Kid’s Corner #3

On March 18, 2015

There really should be more of these posts, but I probably take for granted the super cute things my two kiddos say daily. Every once in a while, something is said that I immediately know will be shared on the blog. Here’s two for you:

As we turned left, off of our dirt road filled with potholes, onto the paved road in Abeche, Isaac said, “Now we’re on the clean road, Mom. That road we live on is really dirty…it’s covered in dirt.” Why, yes, in fact, it is!

Another day, recently, I was not paying attention as we drove in the car in the busy capital city, N’Djamena. Isaac was sitting by the window and pointed out the men who lined the streets doing the 5 o’clock Muslim prayers. Without missing a beat he said, “Those men are praying to a false god, Mommy.” Reading the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal with Isaac, as well as other stories about the Israelites turning to false gods has become real to my almost 4 year old as he sees many people in Chad doing something similar. It’s been a great opportunity to remind him exactly why we are here – to tell them about Jesus!

First Sumaya

By kimberly

On January 15, 2015

In Chad, Culture

Earlier this week, I was invited to my first baby naming ceremony by another friend who is here learning Arabic before moving to another town. This friend lives fairly close to me and the new baby’s family lives in between me and my friend. It was very similar to the ceremonies I have attended in Senegal. We arrived around 1pm and greeted the many women scattered throughout the compound who were cooking the large meal or socializing on mats in the shade. Then, we were taken into the mother’s bedroom where she was sitting with her 7 day old baby on the bed underneath a mosquito net. She will stay in her bedroom or the compound for 40 days, if I understand correctly. We greeted her and the few friends and sister who were there with her and gave her our gift (blanket, socks, etc). We had a small snack of cookies, candy, and Chadian tea. We chatted with the family and my friend introduced me as one of their neighbors. This family has four wives and 40, yes forty, children. The compound is huge and each wife has a house of her own with mud brick walls around. The lady we visited this day has seven living children but has lost six children. The husband is in his 70s and I would say this lady was my age or a little older. We visited with her sister also, who was a very friendly woman. She was nursing her baby and when she finished we noticed how thin the baby’s arms were. It looked just like the photos of malnourished children we all have seen. She said her daughter, now 8 months old, had been sick for some time but is now better. That sight was a shock for me and heartbreaking also, but truly, this is a reality here that I am sure we will face over and over again in ministry. We finished our visit with the mom and friends by praying for her and the baby to be healthy and strong and for God to bless her family. Then we were taken to the house of another wife where ladies were sitting on a mat chatting until the food arrived. We had rice, meat, carrots, cabbage, potatoes, and a host of other things that were all quite tasty. We sat around a common large plate and there were several small bowls with different dishes for the celebration. I had to leave a bit early unfortunately, because our first language lesson was starting at our house, but my friend was able to stay and help wash dishes with them.

Kid’s Corner #2

By kimberly

On January 2, 2015

In Chad, Family

Our first week in Abeche was a success in my books because Isaac told me the house we are staying in is “just like the beach house” we vacationed at before moving to Chad. I asked him why and he said, “Because we are having so much fun, Mommy!” God knew this Mommy heart needed to hear those words to put my mind at ease – they aren’t just going to survive here, they are going to thrive. He is so good to us!

Judah, 20 months old, has never been a good eater. The opposite of his big brother, the only fruit Judah ever ate was apples, pears, and bananas. He pretty much survived on pizza, grilled cheese, and PB & J before we moved to Abeche. I was pleasantly surprised to know we can get apples here, even if they are $1 apiece. He recently latched on to rice and oatmeal, which I was thankful for because they are both filling but I really wanted him to eat some more nutritious foods. However, over the past few weeks he had stopped even eating apples or bananas (to his mother’s despair). In a moment of desperation a week or so ago, I prayed for Judah to start eating some more nutritious foods. God answered my prayer! Judah has decided this week that he loves scrambled eggs for breakfast and eats several helpings. He also tried pineapple on his own and loves it too. And, to the surprise of all of us, when we visited a family here a few days ago, he dug right into a Chadian millet paste called “Esh” and sauce that most visiting adults would think twice before trying.

Homemade Homemaking

By kimberly

On November 12, 2014

In Chad, Family

Yesterday was probably our toughest day so far. I had a fever from some viral thing with cold-like symptoms. Fever is gone today and I am feeling much better. Funny thing is, yesterday was so discouraging for me, but today, with returned health, I feel encouraged and excited about our new life overseas. Today might have been my favorite day yet! God is merciful.

Here’s what today looked like in pictures:

Sterilizing jars for making yogurt…

Isaac helping me make the yogurt…

Placing the yogurt in a warm spot to set.

Making my first meal in our solar oven!

Final product….

But that’s not all, folks! Today, Isaac and I also put homemade fruit snacks to the test and they were a winner!

Kid’s Corner – Chad In the Eyes of Isaac

By kimberly

On November 12, 2014

In Kid's Corner

When we stepped off the airplane in Chad a few weeks ago and into a bus that drove us up to the airport, I was pointing out to Isaac that a lot of men here wear a different kind of hat. Trying to make it exciting for him and hoping all the new and different things wouldn’t scare him, I pointed out the different designs and patterns that some of the hats had. He asked me if it was like a train conductor’s hat. I never thought of it like that, but you know what? It does look like a conductor’s hat!

Two days ago on our walk through a nearby neighborhood, Isaac noticed a mosque for the first time. He saw the tall part where the minaret is and he said with much excitement, “Look, I spy a lighthouse!”

Sometimes we need the eyes of a 3 year old to keep life entertaining!

Trusting God with our Children

By josh

On September 29, 2013

In Family, Ministry

This life is really just all about God conforming us to His will and His image, whether we are in America or France or anywhere else. God allows us to go through difficult circumstances so that we learn to trust Him more. In the end, God shows Himself to be more gracious and good to us than we could have imagined or hoped for. I wanted to share about our decision to put Isaac in nursery “full time” – 4 days a week – while we are in class. I fought and fought against it. I really wanted to keep my boy with me. I did not like the thought of someone else “raising” my child. I wanted to be the one to train him up in the way he should go. It is, after all, our responsibility as parents. We realized that having him in the afternoons was not going to allow me enough time to learn the language. So, we started taking him out for naps and taking him back in the afternoon at 2ish. Every day was SO hard, I hated saying goodbye to him and he cried each time I dropped him off. 8 goodbyes in one week was a LOT. I wanted to return to part time but Josh really thought we should toughen up and leave him all day. I cried! And prayed! And talked to a few people here who said they had the same response when they realized they really needed to leave their children all day. For me, I finally realized it was the control that I didn’t want to give up. I wasn’t trusting that God would take care of him. I knew God had orchestrated us being here, but I wasn’t willing to fully trust him to also take care of the little details with my children. But in the end, after lots of praying, I was convicted that Isaac is God’s child on loan to me. I agreed to try it for a few days and see how he did. So two weeks ago, we started leaving him all day. And guess what? He did amazing!!! He slept 2 1/2 hours at nap time when at our house he has not napped longer than one hour since we have been here! When Josh went to pick him up, he hardly wanted to leave. He wanted to keep playing with some toy. He now asks to go to his school each morning! I had peace and confidence in our decision when I left him the first day and I have not regretted it. We are able to fully enjoy our time with him when he is with us and we know he is having fun and being taken care of by fellow believers. I am able to study better instead of feeling overwhelmed with how to balance all my responsibilities of mom and student. Thankfully it’s only 10 months and Isaac won’t remember it. That is comforting to me too. I thank God for how He is taking care of Isaac (and Judah, who has been a great sleeper for us). I thank God for giving me the peace I needed to let Isaac go full time.

kimberly