Back in Africa

Before landing in Madagascar, we had a month long layover in Johannesburg, South Africa. For two weeks, we attended a church planting training alongside other missionaries from all over the southern African region. The first week was really tough - as we arrived in South Africa on Sunday night and began the training bright and early Monday morning. We all struggled to stay awake through jet lag! Fortunately, by the second week the family had acclimated to the new time zone.

One of the coolest parts about this training was that we were able to invite two of our national partners from Tulear to attend the training with us. It was wonderful to be able to strategize and be trained alongside them. It was also pretty fun showing them around South Africa, which has become a home away from home for us. One of our friends, Chris, had never been off the island of Madagascar - which made it even more special to be able to introduce him to a new culture. Some of his favorite experiences included seeing a lion for the first time (they don't have many animals except lemurs on the island!), going ice skating (it doesn't snow in Madagascar), and visiting malls and movie theaters (also...not found on Madagascar). He also enjoyed lots of western food and says he now knows why we are so fat whenever we return from a trip ; )

Jodie, Jude and Chris at the Lion Park
After the church planting training, we attended a week long marriage retreat. With so much going on in our lives, what a great opportunity for Grant and I to be able to take a break and focus on our relationship! I don't think there was a better way for us to start our third term. In the midst of surviving meetings, homeschooling, saying goodbye to family, and returning to life in on the field - it gave us the opportunity to take the time to reevaluate our priorities as a family and as a husband and wife. And our kids were spoiled and loved on by a precious volunteer team, making it a blessing for our whole family.

Grant and Jodie


Three boys happy to be in Africa again

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