With Barak Obama's inauguration last week, the excitement in Africa is huge! In the last week we have heard of ladies wearing dresses with Obama's picture as a part of the fabric pattern, we see Obama wall calendars all over the place, as we were walking through the taxi park on the way to church a number of people shouted "OBAMA" to us as we passed (some even asked if Miriam and Moses were Obama's children) and many people are asking us what we think about an African being the president of the US. It is amazing to think how much American politics affects the rest of the world and how much people throughout the world know of American politics and policy. I have truly enjoyed being on this side of the world as such a significant event has happened in the US. It does give me a great perspective on America, the world and my part. I also, thankfully, feel insulated from all the media hype which I am sure is flooding the airwaves about everything Obama does - from redoing the oath of office, to being able to keep his Blackberry, to blowing his nose for the first time in the Oval Office!
Family Update
- School has started up again! Everyone has completed 3 weeks and Monday is a holiday, so it marks the first 3 day weekend of the new semester!
- We had someone at our church draw a family portrait for us (attached). This was our Christmas present to ourselves this year. We just gave him some pictures and he put it all together. We think that he did an amazing job and we have recently gotten the picture framed!
- We met with our attorney about the adoption process and obtained a list of all the documents necessary to finalize the adoption. We will be able to go to court at the end of April and, if all goes well, we should have the adoption finalized by June.
EMI & Heritage School Update
- After a number of recent changes at the EMI office, Chad will be leading a project trip to Rwanda on Feb 6th. This is the 4th or 5th trip that Chad had been assigned to this Spring (all the others fell through or were delayed).
- The new EMI Interns have arrived! On Wednesday, we greeted 6 interns and one long term volunteer. It is wonderful to see that a few of these interns heard about EMI from some of our past interns.
- Heritage is looking for teachers for next year. The current list of needs are: Preschool, Kindergarten, Grade 2, Grade 6, Math, Science, English, PE and Music. If you know anyone with a valid teaching credential and willing to make a 2 year commitment please let us know!
Praise Reports
- The first three weeks of school have started and everyone is still healthy!
- A friend of ours is moving back to America and is using a shipping container to send a lot of her things back. She has extra space and has asked us if we wanted to use some of it for our stuff! This will be a big help as we have a lot more things than we expected!
Prayer Requests
- Please pray for our new interns. They have a lot to learn and to adjust to. Pray that God would also soften their heart to hear from Him.
- Pray for an end to the conflict in Eastern Congo. There has been ongoing fighting in this part of the world for a number of years. One of the key generals of the rebel movement has recently been captured. This has the potential to bring lasting peace to the area.
- Pray for a 1st grade student at Shanthi's school. His parents are having a tough time picking him up from school and yesterday he was there until 8:30 pm! Pray that his parents would re-prioritize their lives to be able to pick him up at a reasonable time.
Attached Picture
- The family picture we had drawn by a member of our church.
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