CANDLELIGHT MEALS - NOT FOR ME

Whoever came up with the idea that candlelight meals are romantic did NOT spend any time in Africa.  I can remember during our last furlough when someone offered to watch our children so that Keith could take me out for a nice candlelight meal.  I replied with an adamant, "NO, not candlelight!"  They were shocked.  My idea of a nice meal?  A bright chandelier hanging over the table illuminating my food (so I can see what I'm eating) and my family (so I can see who I am talking to).  Thursday morning Keith was reading our family devotions after breakfast and suddenly stopped in exasperation.  The candle wax had dripped onto the book.  And, yes, we buy dripless candles - - at least that is what the box says!  However, our children get a thrill out of the unusual wax art that is made from the melting wax.

My children have developed a panic look on their faces when they see me with a box in hand.  "Mom, what are we going to read after you pack all of the books?"  "Mom, what are we going to play with for 2 months?"  And then when they see me armed with a trash can when I enter their rooms, they transform their look into a sad puppy face.  "Can't I keep that?"  "I really do like that."  Despite their overreacting, progress continues to be made, and the stack of boxes is growing.  And the kids are growing, too.  Stanley has finally reached size 16 in shirts (he is my ultra-slow grower); Skyler is in size 8 shirts; and Savannah is somewhere between 6 and 7.  I searched the market for 2 1/2 hours on Friday and found not a single dress for Savannah.  So, I bought shirts to convert into dresses.  I immediately sewed up three, and she insisted on wearing one of them to bed.

I dropped Keith off at the bus stop at 6:00 Saturday morning for him to catch a bus to Mbale.  He will be preaching at his brother's church from Sunday - Wednesday.  Pray for him and the church services.  Also, pray for us as the house seems to fall to pieces, and the children seem to take leave of their senses during his absence.

Our Thankful Poster

Happy Thanksgiving from the Stensaas!

PHOTOS

Shirts were a gift from another missionary

 Taking family photos at our house is always a major event, hence, it happens only about once a year.  Here are some recent attempts:

While most people never see the equator in their lifetime,
we have passed over it hundreds of times.

Savannah steals the show

Doesn't Keith look so slim!

At least Savannah looks comfortable!

Sunday during our morning service we had a big thunderstorm.  Our auditorium has a tin roof, so the noise of the rain was deafening.  The song leader had to walk up to me and shout the page number so I would know what to play on the keyboard.  He would shout the number to the congregation, the first row would shout it behind them to the next row and on back.  Since they couldn't hear the keyboard all that well, they were just singing their heart out - using their own tune and timing.  It is a good thing the Bible says to "Make a joyful NOISE unto the Lord!"   Despite the rain, we still had three visitors.  Praise the Lord!

Our days have been very unpredictable.  For three weeks our electricity went off every day between 6-7 in the morning and was off for 12-14 hours.  Yesterday and today we have had electricity in the morning, but not in the evenings.  I'm confused as to what the power company is doing.  However, progress is still being made in packing and cleaning, which is good.  Our small garden is growing which keeps the children busy.  The small section of our yard that we are using is not very fertile, but I thought it would still be good experience and work for the children.  The birds (or lizards) are stealing the mulberries, but the strawberries look to be coming in good, as well as the pumpkin, chayote, and cucumbers.  The lettuce and carrots are doing poorly, but we will enjoy what comes in.  As you can tell from the picture above, everything is very green and beautiful.  God blessed us with such a beautiful place to serve Him.