New Faces

This month, there have been some new faces around my house, and around Tulear! First, I now have a roommate. Hannah is from Australia, and she’s here working with another mission family who happen to live right around the corner from me. She’ll be here for six months. We’ve been having a lot of fun getting to know each other, discovering that we like the same music, and that cooking is much more pleasant when you have someone to cook with! I love hearing her process her first impressions of Tulear! I feel really blessed to have her company around the house . . . especially on the hot, quiet, electricity-less nights! :)

Also, our Southwest Mada team has welcomed a new family to Tulear! Steve and Nickolee, and their 13-month old cutie Ryleigh, have finished language school and are now moved in and stationed here! We are so excited to have them working with us! They are full of enthusiasm, smiles, flexibility, and passion for the people of the southwest. Pray for them as they get adjusted to life and culture in Tulear, and prepare for a lengthy and valuable training in April.

 Also, this week our whole Southwest Mada team, who are in country, were together for the first time! The Hailes, another new family who are about halfway through language study, came down for a visit! They are a fun, caring couple with three lovely girls. It’s a blessing watching all these new teammates experience Tulear and the rural areas for the first time—I am learning much from their hearts for the people they’re reaching! 

It’s amazing to think about how when I got here, Grant and Jodie and their kids and I constituted our whole team . . . and now there are 8 adults and 6 children, with even more people on the way later this year! (Group picture soon to come!) God is definitely expanding us!

And in terms of new faces, last, but not least, my gate guard and I are now proud owners of a small family of chickens! Longo (my guard) has been really excited since we got them; he worked so hard making their coop, and getting food for them. 

I think they must be the luckiest chickens in all of Madagascar . . . they are actually given real food to eat and are not garbage-scavengers! Every day this week, Longo has told me at some point throughout the day, “the chicken birthed again!” I’m hoping to add a few more hens, and maybe we can start a legitimate egg and baby chick business :)