I can’t believe this is my first update for the year. We enjoyed having the kids plus mom and Nathan here for Christmas and New Years. David and Nathan were here for three weeks with mom and Winter here almost a month. We enjoyed the beach, playing games, cooking together, putting together a puzzle, and even going to see Star Wars at the new theater. Everyone was a big help pitching in to help with cooking and dishes. Winter turned 21 on January 1st so we celebrated with chocolate cake and watching a movie together. We also fixed one of her favorite dishes (Bulgogi) for supper. Here are a few picture of our time together.
Do you remember me talking about Noel building a pizza oven? Well so far, we have had 2 pizza parties making about 35 personal size pizzas at each. It has been fun to get people together to enjoy time together as they build and eat their pizza. Here are a few pictures from our first run at it when the kids and mom were here. Our team and the MAF team that were in town came a few days after Christmas to give it a try. I used 21 cups of flour in making the dough. I was thankful for the extra help that first night with grating cheese, being gophers and pizza cutters, as well as helping clean up.
This year Noel has three schedule flights a week giving him time to keep with all the administration pieces that come with being the aviation director. Back in July, he hired two new guys. He is enjoying the team he has now and how well they all work together. Part of what we do as our mission is something called capacity building. This basically means that we purposely help our staff better their skills so that they will be able to have a job whether Samaritan’s Purse is here or not. This has to do with job training but also spiritual training. Each morning Noel has devotions with his staff. Currently they are going through the book of James.
As part of that capacity building, Noel has been working with one of his staff named Joshua with the goal of him going to the states to do flight training. Since we have been here, Noel has tried to spend some time each week doing ground training with Joshua as well as taking him on flights here and there to see what it would be like. We are excited that a school has been found for Joshua, and he is in the process of trying to get his visa and paperwork completed. Pray for him as visas can sometimes be hard to obtain. This is a great opportunity for him to not only get training in something that he would like to do but also bring a skill back to Liberia that would be needed. Pray also that Noel will be able to hire the right person to do some of the work that Joshua does.
In a previous update, I talked about our hanger getting a new door. It is still in process. Hopefully it will be completed sometime this spring.
Currently I am up to three students again in my school. My kindergartener is now officially in first grade and loves the tougher work that his teacher is giving him. I am always amazed at all that he remembers, and I enjoy relearning about astronomy and the era of history we are studying. My older two (10th and 11th) are mostly self paced. Some days I am needed all day and other days not so much. My favorite days are when they need some help with their math. It keeps me from getting rusty on my skills.
This year the students and I started having an afternoon each month where we invite the other kids on the compound to our school for some type of activity. In January, Bekah and Daniel did science experiments with the kids. In February, the kids came and made valentines for their siblings and parents. I am not sure what our activity will be for March. Any ideas?
Winter loves her classes this semester at Liberty. She has two interpreting classes that are challenging but a confirmation that she picked the right major for her. Each week, she continues meeting with a group of girls to pray and do a small bible study with them. Pray for her that she will be able to minister to each girl in her group.
David is on the final stretch of high school. If you haven’t heard, he will be attending California Baptist University majoring in photography in the fall. He is enjoying his classes especially one called Studio Art where he gets to experiment with his photography skills. Pray for him to have a good balance this last semester that he can stay diligent in his studies but also make some good memories with his friends. Pray also for his dorm mom who will be having back surgery this month.
Thank you for all your prayers and friendship. Teresa
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Love your update! Thanks for keeping us informed!
Love and miss you guys!