Hello dear Family and Friends!
As you may remember, our last update was awkwardly cut off as I hurried to send the email while the internet held strong. My goal is to send an update out at least once a month, but we missed a few months, and because of trouble with my email update list, I am posting this update on my blog for all to see. :)
We are doing well and I am in the midst of making packing decisions as Molly and I prepare for our trip. I am excited to be able to see most of you all soon! I will probably be contacting many of you (those who I might not naturally see regularly) to set up a time where we can get together for a little visit. So stay tuned for future emails and texts! ;)
Our official arrival date in the US is April 10, and we are flying on Kenya Airways which is a new airline for me. So far my international airlines include Icelandair, Qatar Airways, MAF, Air France and Ethiopian Airways to date. I am putting another one under my belt and reviews will be forthcoming. So far Qatar Airways has been the most posh, MAF the most physically unpleasant, and Air France the most personally fulfilling, for reasons which I will not bore you with.
Please pray with us that our travel plans are not hampered or hindered by the coronavirus issue.
We continue to serve people through minor medical treatment and consulting from home. Among the most common issues that we are dealing with are infections, minor injuries, malaria and pregnancy/baby issues. Malaria coming first in that list.
We have been renting out our taxi off and on, and lately Orcxance has taken to driving some of the time, making some short trips out of town to transport various people. This has also allowed us a few “family outings” which basically consist of going to where we can get free internet, and sitting in the car while we send emails, download things, etc. Even though that is pretty much all we do, it is nice to get out and go somewhere as a family.
Some of you might be wondering what happened to our update video slideshows. No, I didn’t stop making them, at least not at first, but unfortunately it became impossible for me to upload them to the internet, and then my computer quit allowing me to download photos onto it, so naturally the video making habits came to a painful end. Speaking of my trusty computer, it has lasted over 5 years, which I think is somewhere in the mid-90s of computer years, so I don’t expect it to last much longer. It already refuses to let other devices charge from it, will not shut down even when forced, it no longer plays DVDs, only occasionally connects to Bluetooth, and it doesn’t even acknowledge an inserted memory stick. So it is in a sad state. But enough about the computer.
As we do not have a return date set, I feel a little bit like the lady in ‘A United Kingdom’* when she tells her neighbors, “...you see, I don’t know when I’ll be coming back.” And then she spends the day with the ladies hauling water and building a mud house, carrying her little daughter with her while she works.
*Random note inserted here:* I feel more camaraderie with Ruth in this movie than probably anyone else in my current world. Like her, I moved far from family, married a foreigner, had a baby in an African hospital delivered by African midwives and now I’m traveling without my husband to visit my parents and show them my daughter. Unlike her, I do not anticipate being forced to stay away for so long nor am I estranged from my dear father, as she was. I will also mention here that their situation is strangely encouraging to me because despite all the awfully painful and difficult things we’ve faced in our short life together, nothing comes close to what that royal couple had to deal with. *end of note*
Because of Orcxance’s travels, we purposely didn’t choose a date for me to come home, because neither of us wants me coming back to an empty house with Orcxance out of town. As I have already been asked questions concerning this, I figured I would go ahead and tell you all now that it’s To Be Decided.
We appreciate your prayers and we are thankful for the financial donations that some of you contribute to our family and ministry here. We could not help people here without it. I am looking forward to thanking each of you in person and catching up on what had been going on in your lives!
Lots of love,
The Mokouenza Family
www.valleygrace.blogspot.com
No comments:
Post a Comment