Finding Faith in the Battle

Well, Ethan and I are not in Africa anymore. I mean, we are physically…South Africa is technically on the continent, but it’s like no Africa I’ve ever known. We spent 4 hours cruising one of the malls here. Did you catch that? “one of…” There are more than one!!! And they’re real malls. Like, way more real than we even had in Yakima! I had to choose from a massive selection of restaurants. I bought a couple of things I needed—a 220v coffee maker and tea kettle, a jacket (who knew I would need one in Africa?), and some treats for the kids. South Africa manufactures their own brands of most things we have in the US, so there aren’t a ton of US product names. I did see Grape Nuts, and was tempted, but I couldn’t stomach the $11 price tag! But everything else is so much cheaper than in Malawi, because what we have there is imported from here, at $6.80 per gallon of gas plus import tax! Yesterday we ate at McDonalds. I wasn’t a big McD’s fan in the US (please, don’t revoke my citizenship fo...

Anya and Ethan loved the leaves...Isaac, not so much! I was already feeling rather 'fall-ish' with the chill in the air and the overcast skies. But when all the leaves fell off the trees and the kids started playing in the leaf piles, I really started to crave Yakima apple cider! And apparently I'm not the only one...for our next mission dinner to say goodbye to 3 families who are leaving, we've decided to have a thanksgiving-themed dinner. You can't get good turkey here anyway, so we're doing roasted chicken and all the fixings. Doesn't that sound good??? I can hardly wait! See, there are some good things about having your seasons all messed up--two Thanksgiving feasts! Now, if only I can figure out how to press cider from these South African apples...

This is really more for a few photos than anything witty or clever. I'm in Joburg , South Africa right now, and internet is amazing-fast compared to what we're used to, so I'm going to try and post several things that have been on my mind, and hopefully update some photos! I also wanted to give a shout-out to my long-suffering mother who tried so hard to please me in the area of home-made clothes when I was young. I never gave her enough credit, or enough appreciation. And I never realized it until my own daughter needed a 'Queen's coronation gown' with 2 days notice! Payback is sweet, isn't it mom? Anya as 'Queen Lucy' from Narnia...thanks to leftover curtain material and a frantic day of sewing

We went 5 hours south to the towns of Blantyre and Zomba a few weeks ago. Chad had an all-day meeting on Saturday, and then we visited with two seminary students on Sunday. Overall it was a great trip...definitely true-to-Africa, but good. The first night we stayed at a guesthouse which was not so cheap, so we had higher expectations than we should have. They wouldn't let us make reservations over the phone ("just come, you'll find plenty of rooms") and of course there were plenty of rooms...just none with more than one bed at our price range! They upgraded us to a 'nicer' room for free, and that gave us a twin and a full--for the 5 of us! So Ethan and I slept in the full, Chad got the twin, and Anya slept on the floor covered in coats because they didn't have any extra blankets. Isaac was in the pack-and-play, at least for the first 3 minutes. Then he discovered he could climb out of it, so it was the three of us in the bed. Then Anya woke up in the middl...

It's quite cold here, on the second day of 'winter break'! Will I ever get used to this? BBC reported that the penguin population in South Africa has been hit hard by the 'cold snap' which has wiped out a large number of the baby chicks. If the penguins are dying of cold in South Africa, something is wrong!!! Anyway, we're surviving with our wool slippers and sweatshirts. Day 1 went well--all 3 kids slept in until 7am which was blissful. Of course, this morning they were up at the usual 5am. Why didn't anyone tell me that the parenting lack-of-sleep extended PAST when they start sleeping through the night??? What I wouldn't do for an IHOP or Sherry's to send my morning-loving family to! We don't have any major plans...Chad only has 3 weeks off between his terms. My class and the kids' school start up in mid-August again, so we have a little more time to enjoy each other's company. We'll try to get to the Lake, I think, and maybe a sm...

I've realized from some e-mails and comments, that I have not officially made it clear that YES, baby #4 is on the way! I put it in our monthly prayer letter, but many of you are not on that e-mail list. If you aren't and would like to be, please e-mail me at pumpellys@gmail.com and I'll add you! So yes, baby #4 (and I'm reasonably certain the LAST) is on the way. I'm due Nov 12th, so I'm about 15 weeks and already far too big for my liking (I have an outtie already!). But I'm feeling fine and the kids are excited and hoping for a girl. Everyone has been asking about delivery plans, so I'll tell you what I know right now. A month before I'm due I'll fly down to South Africa where the medical care is top-notch. I have no concerns at all about delivering there. Chad and the kids will follow closer to the due date. I am preparing myself for a C-section again, since Anya was born that way for being breech (even though the boys were both born natura...

We like to get out on the weekends, let the kids get some exercise. Malawi has some great hiking areas. One not too far from us is called Bunda rock. We'd heard that people go up to the top all the time, often spending the night and praying. "It's an easy hike" we were told. So we packed up the kids, the rock-climbing gear to let the kids practice rapelling, and lunch, and headed out. We obviously did not get enough information before we left, because Bunda rock is actually lots of tall rocks with lots of places to climb with lots of local villages surrounding it! We did out best, but clearly picked the wrong place to start climbing! Chad was loaded down with ropes and lunch, Miriam had Isaac strapped to her back, and Anya and Ethan quickly got tired of the 40 children (yes, we counted, and there were literally 40) who attached themselves to us and followed us everywhere, pulling Anya's blond hair and laughing at Ethan. As they laughed, Ethan got grumpier, and the...