September update

17 September 2012

bricking the chapel floor

July was a time of recovery for Larry after the pace maker surgery, working in the OMS office getting things organized and supervising the workers as they got things fixed on the school and the grounds. Susan tutored a student and worked on the school handbook, organizing the teacher’s orientation and getting all the teachers lined up for the new year.

teacher training/team building

Teacher training

August began with all the teachers arriving back for four days of orientation.  We had some great training sessions and then a highlight for all the teachers was a team-building day.  A missionary friend of ours does team building exercises with teenagers and adults.  The teachers had a great day and got to know each other.  School began on the 7th for the 7th – 12th grade students and then the K – 6th grade students started on the 9th of August.  What did not arrive in time were the textbooks that we ordered in March when we were in the U.S. As of today (Sept. 9th) we still do not have our textbooks.  They should be in port by this week and hopefully in our classrooms by next week.  The teachers have been very patient and have had to make copies so each student can do his work.

Katie & community kids in the afternoon children's program

You lookin' at me?

 A new additional to our family in August was our niece, Katie Krampitz from Vancouver, B.C., Canada.  She is taking a gap year in between high school and university.  She is here to help out at CAM.  She is busy teaching two primary music classes, 11th/12th grade literature, tutoring ESL students, and subbing when teachers are sick.  On Tuesdays and Thursdays she helps with the community kid program run by the Almeida family.  She is not hard to spot, the tall redhead surrounded by a group of 30 – 50 African kids.  They sing, listen to a Bible story and then play.  She is learning Portuguese and the tribal language Shanghan.  She is a big help at CAM and we are enjoying her enthusiastic sense for adventure. 

time for a nap

 Due to the nature of Katie’s visa, she needs to have her passport stamped every 30 days.  This gave us the excuse to take a trip to Kruger National Park.  We slept at a lodge outside the park and spent the full day in the park.  By the time we stopped for brunch, we had seen four of the “big five.”  (Elephants, cape buffalo, rhino, and lion.)  Then about half an hour before we left the park we spotted a leopard in a tree with a kill.  We kept reminding Katie that it is a special treat to see the Big Five in one day.  It was a good day and a great weekend. 

Sammy

We are enjoying our kitty which we shared about a couple of blogs ago.  After a couple of months, we were debating whether Sunny was actually a boy or a girl.  Normally orange kitties are male.  Larry looked on line and discovered that 80% of orange kitties are male and only 20% of them are female.  We determined that Sunny is actually a girl and she has been renamed Sammy, short for Samantha or Miss Kitty.  She continues to be a sweetie and we all love her. 
 Larry was able to get internet service working on the campus after a couple of months organizing it.  We had a couple of rough weeks of intermittent internet, but now as long as we have electricity we have good service.  We are so thankful for that. 

It has been extremely dry and we have not had any rain since April and last week we had three solid days of drizzle.  Katie said it reminded her of the northwest.  The ground is nicely soaked and we can see the grass greening up now.  We will be heading into some warmer temperatures soon. 

Larry had a good check up at the doctor’s and his pace maker is working well.  He is sleeping better at night and has more energy.  He just would like a few more hours in the day to allow him to do all his work. 

We just heard the good news that we should get the school textbooks this week.  The teachers and students will be glad to have their own books.  Thanks for your prayers for us.  We have a busy and challenging life here, and we value your prayers.  Until next time.

June and July review

14 July 2012

CAM 2012 Grads: Jenny, Ude & Salisa

We have been in Mozambique for over two months now and it hardly seems as though we were gone.  May was busy for us as we adjusted back to the ministries here and settled in our home once again.  The beginning of June was full of the end of the school year activities.  We started with graduation on June 1st.  This year we had three graduates from three different countries – Mozambique, South Africa and Brazil.  All of these families are missionaries in Mozambique.  Two of them have lost their fathers, but their mothers continue serving the Lord.  All three of these students have been a part of CAM for six years or more.  It is a wonderful privilege to have been a part of these three students’ lives. 

Larry speaking at CAM Graduation

Susan speaking at CAM Graduation

The last day of school involved cleaning up the classrooms, giving out the awards, distributing the school year books, and having a hot dog roast.  I think we all ate over 200 hotdogs with the trimmings.  The next day the teachers came back to school to hand in the grades for their students and then we all went out to lunch.  It is good to know that the year went well while we were away and the year ended in a positive way.  We praise the Lord for His guidance over the past year. 

Gary & Diane Gray

After the students leave for vacation, we still have work to do.  There were a group of teachers that came in every day to help with painting, moving books and furniture, and getting things ready for the new school year in August.  Larry has workers busy repairing and painting the rooms and working on the property. 
During this time we said goodbye to Diane and Gary Gray who flew back to the U.S. June 4th.  Pray for their adjustment back to the U.S. 

Phillip Telfer & Kyla Semenyna

On the 12th we said goodbye to Phillip Telfer and Kyla Semenyna.  Both of them were in Mozambique for a year of ministry.  We thank the Lord for their part in the ministry here. 

Paulo Almeida family

We made a trip to South Africa to get the car serviced and see the doctor for Larry’s routine treadmill.  We also traveled with the Almeida family to help them through the border for the first time and show them around Nelspruit. 

Larry was not even able to do his treadmill.  His heart rate was so slow that the technician referred him immediately to the cardiologist who said it was time to set up the surgery to install a pace maker.  We knew this day would come, but it was still a shock.  We returned to Mozambique so Larry could get payroll done and finish the end of the month financial things. 

Larry being prepped for pacemaker surgery

We returned to South Africa on Wednesday, June 27th and Larry’s surgery was on the 28th.  We were so impressed by the excellent care Larry was given.  The surgery went well and the nurses were attentive.  The hospital is well-organized and the food is good too.  Because of all the monitors and constant attention, Larry did not get much sleep and was glad to be released on the morning of the 29th.  Thank you so much for all your prayers for us during this time.  We felt complete peace during the surgery and we know it is because of all your prayers. 
My challenge has been to remind Larry to keep his right arm down and to not overdo it and to drive.  I had driven in Africa a total of two times, maybe three.  One of my goals for this term was to drive more.  Well, now I am the main driver until Larry heals.  Driving in South Africa is not bad except that our vehicle is a monster and I have trouble parking the thing.  Other than that, I am “Queen of the Road.” Driving in Mozambique is another story.  I didn’t have a problem driving to church in the city today because traffic is much lighter on Sundays.  Larry should be able to drive shortly. 

Pastor's and church leader's retreat at the OMS compound

The work continues on at the school and our team is busy, busy with all kinds of different activities with their ministries.  This week there was a pastors and church leader’s retreat for 15 men using some rooms on the school campus.  We prayed that God would meet each of these men and that they would be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s direction in their ministries and their lives. The retreat was a great success and very encouraging for the leaders and for the OMS team.

Thanks again for all your prayers for us.  We so appreciate you being a part of our team as we serve in Mozambique.  Until next time.

Back in Mozambique three weeks now

May 27, 2012

Trust in the Lord and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Delight yourself in the Lord
And He will give you the desires of your heart.

Here we are in Africa again.  We had a wonderful time in Hamilton, Ontario with my father and step-mother Anne.  We were able to spend time at the OMS Canadian headquarters and we also had dinner with Mike and Sarah Thiessen (the family who were in Mozambique until their son, Gabriel was diagnosed with cancer).  Gabriel continues to do well.

leaving for the Toronto airport

The first leg of the trip started May 4th from Toronto to New York (JFK) was a bit worrisome because as the plane was next in line for take-off, the captain announced that JFK airport was closed due to bad weather and we were going to have to wait until it cleared up.  Oh no!!  We only had three hours in between our flights.  Would we make it?  Praise the Lord we were delayed only an hour and soon were on our way.  We were thankful that we had two hours between our flights.  It took almost all of that to get checked in for the next two legs of the trip.

Us with Nathan and Anne Krampitz in Hamilton, ON, Canada

We had a long but very good flight to Johannesburg.  Fourteen and a half hours of sitting, eating, watching movies and attempting to sleep.  We didn’t get as much sleep as we had wished to, but we felt pretty good when the plane landed in Johannesburg, South Africa.  We had a six hour wait until the next flight.  That was long, and we got in a cat nap while we waited.
The flight from Johannesburg to Maputo was quick and uneventful and soon we were in the new arrival terminal of the airport.  We got into the terminal and our passports and visas were checked quickly.  No problems there.  The next concern was if all of our luggage had made it.  It had!!  Next was customs.  Would we get through without any inspection.  Larry prayed that the eyes of the official at the x-ray machine would be blinded so we would not have to declare anything.  We were only bringing in personal things, but sometimes the customs officials think they need to make some extra money by charging duty.  Praise the Lord, the suitcase before ours and the suitcase in between our suitcases were questioned, but ours were free to go.  It only took us 20 minutes to go through immigration and customs.  A record for us!

"Sunny" our new addition has totally adopted us

Before we left Mozambique our beloved 12 year old kitty, Felix, began to fail in his health and actually went blind and we felt it was time to put him down.   After we left Mozambique, our colleagues took him into the vet.  We knew we would have another cat eventually, but had no plans to find one right away.  Our house cleaning lady and dear friend of over nine years had other plans.  She just couldn’t see our house as a home without a kitty.  That was our big surprise when we arrived - little Felix-like kitty waiting to be loved.  He is mischievous and oh so loveable.  He adopted us right away. We have named in Sunny.

a view inside our living and dining room

Now we have been back for three weeks and we have been able to spend time to get our house organized and unpacked.  We have set up an office/storage room and later will finish up the guest room.  Our bedroom has been organized and we are working hard to downsize from our previous 1600 square foot home to the present 880 square foot one.
We have been busy organizing the school picnic and graduation.  There are ony eight school days left of school and many things to do before the students finish the year.  We are so thankful to Gary and Diane Gray for their willingness to be in Mozambique and take on our ministries so we take our home assignment time. 



CAM Chapel each Friday morning. 

It has been special to see the students, staff, our team and many friends again.  We have plugged back into church at the seminary and although there are new faces, it s wonderful to be back. 



Gary and Diane Gray being honored at CAM Chapel

The past two chapels at CAM have been special programs giving honor to the Grays and the seniors.  The campus looks wonderful and there have been many changes since we left last September.  We are glad to be able to help close out the school year and graduation, which just happens to fall on Larry's birthday, June 1st.  It is also "Children's Day" in Mozambique, so Larry just says he is always a child on his birthday in Mozambique.



Diane honoring the three CAM Seniors

Thanks for all your prayers for us as we traveled and our luggage. 

We are looking forward to what God has in store for us this term and sharing it with you.  Your prayers and support sustain us here and you are so appreciated.

God bless,
Larry & Susan

Catching up and counting down the days to return to Mozambique

12 April 2012

Ahh!!  Spring is on the way!  The signs are all around us.  The weather is warming up and the grass is growing and needs to be mowed now and all the daffodils are blooming.  Just the other day we even saw two newts.  They are very interesting creatures.  I don’t think I have seen a newt before.

Avon Park Holiness Camp Meetings in Florida

            I see that we haven’t written in awhile.  As you can guess, we have been busy.  As I look at our calendar there aren’t many open spaces left.  Since our last blog we have been to Florida and back.  Our time at the Avon Park camp meetings was so beneficial spiritually and physically.  The speakers were inspiring and the fellowship was warm.  We were so blessed.  We spent a few extra days there enjoying some time off.

DCC Men's Bible Study group: Breakfast at Weils

            Once we returned to Washington State we were involved in a mission conference in Oak Harbor where we were in charge of the kid’s program and Susan was the speaker at the ladies’ luncheon.  We have been able to stay in Sequim a few weeks and enjoyed some overnight company as well as having friends over for meals.  So far we have had 100 people in our home for a meal or an overnight stay.  Larry invited his Bible study group over for a pancake breakfast.  There were 21 men!  It took lots of work but we had a great time. 

Sequim Bible Church Worship Team

            We have had dental appointments, joined the choir at church for Easter and even were part of a quartet that shared a special number at our home church.  It has been great to be at our home church for three Sundays in March.  We shared at all three of the services on Sunday, March 25^th at our home church in Sequim. 

            The third weekend of March we went to eastern WA to spend the weekend with Larry’s family and share in his home town community.  The weather has been very strange lately and we praise the Lord that we had clear passes as we traveled over the mountains.  The passes were good the day we traveled and the day we traveled back but the passes were actually closed right before our trip and the day after we got back home.

            We spent the first Sunday in April at Susan’s home church in Chilliwack, B.C. and were able to say goodbye to most of the family up there.  Larry had a very bad cold and could barely speak so it was a bit of a struggle, but he managed to speak on Sunday and Monday night too. 

Easter morning with friends and their girls

            Easter was a glorious weekend of celebrating Christ’s resurrection.  Our church put on an amazing display of Christ’s last days on the earth.  It was a sober reminder of His great sacrifice.  Sunday morning we joined the choir to present some beautiful numbers.  We had friends from the Seattle area visiting us with their four girls.  Our house was full of laughter and activities.

            Larry has been extremely busy working on the CAM yearbook getting it printed here and it is now in the mail.  We pray it will arrive in South Africa before the end of school so it can be distributed to all the CAM students and teachers.  

boxing and wrapping the library books for shipment

He also has been working on a huge shipment of library books that were donated to CAM by our librarian friend, Nancy Hesch.  They are going by surface so it will take several months to arrive in Maputo.

            We are three weeks away from our projected return time.  Our support is coming in and we are close to our goal.  We are so thankful for our supporters.  We are so blessed to have so many partner with us in the ministry in Mozambique. 

            We have one more trip to take before heading to Toronto, ON to say goodbye to Susan’s dad.  We are flying to New Mexico to speak at a supporting church in Red River this Sunday and then will fly to California to visit dear friends before heading back to Sequim to do our final packing. 

            We thank the Lord for an amazing home assignment time.  He has provided for all our needs through so many of our supporters.  We are so blessed and pray that our next term (our fourth) will be Spirit-filled and that we will serve the Lord with all our hearts, soul and strength.

            Our next blog update will be sent from Mozambique, Lord willing.

January update

22 January 2012

This past week Larry and I were stuck at home along with many other Western Washington people as the worst winter storm in years blasted through.  We received about 6 inches of snow with lots of cold air and it was nice to be safe and warm inside our home.  

 We were so fortunate that we did not have to be on the road last week and were able to travel to Seattle on Saturday to meet a new family interested in missions overseas.

Katie, Alisa, Mark, Libby, Nathan, Paul, Susan, Larry

We had a wonderful Christmas and New Years with my family in Canada.  We traveled to British Columbia on Christmas Eve and spent time with both my brothers.  My father flew over from Ontario and we did all kinds of fun family things together – Christmas brunch with the traditional cinnamon roll wreath, going to Stanley Park to see the amazing lights, an Indian meal out and we even watched a movie together.  It was great to be together.  We even traveled to see more family in Chilliwack and visited my 5^th grade teacher (from India).

We traveled back to Sequim on January 2^nd and have been keeping busy here.  If you peek in our front window in the mornings you will see Larry and I “Walking for Weight loss and so much more.” Yes, we have officially put on the furlough obligatory bulge and need to walk it off.  We are hoping to get back in shape before we head back to Mozambique. 

Miss Salmon, Susan's 5th grade teacher in India

We have been inviting friends over for a meal and it has been great to reconnect. Our Sundays are scheduled at various churches and we have enjoyed sharing about the ministries in Mozambique.  We are blessed to have such faithful supporters in prayer and finances. 

We shared at local churches the past two weeks in Sequim.  The last weekend in January, we will be traveling back to Vancouver, B.C. to represent One Mission Society at Mission Fest.  We look forward to being with other OMS missionaries.  Pray that the many people who visit the different mission booths will be encouraged to serve the Lord in missions. 

As soon as we return to Sequim, we will do the laundry and pack the bags for warmer weather and head to Florida.  Yea!!  We will be participating in the camp meetings at Avon Park, Florida.  That will end on the 12^th and we will take a few days of vacation before we head back to Sequim. 

We appreciate your prayers as we prepare for all these meetings at the various churches.  We pray that we will be able to share our hearts effectively and encourage those who have been supporting the ministries in Mozambique. 

God Bless,

Larry & Susan