Jesus Waked Up!

Kelly King enjoying her time in Africa with some new friends!
JT and our great friend, Bo Hardy, in South Africa.
Easter morning with the children...Kaitlyn, Madison and Jett.
The kids counting down the days until Poppa returns home!

When you ask Jett what Easter is about, this is a snippit of what he says....Jesus died on the cross and then He waked up! While it may be in 4 year old terms, he gets the basic idea. He loves to look through His Bible and find the picture of Jesus on the cross. He makes his sad face and then pretends to be asleep. He peeks out of one eye and tries to find the resurrection without looking too much. When he finds it, he miraculously wakes up..makes sense to me!

We had a great Easter celebration this weekend. Yesterday, we celebrated the resurrection at church and then went to the home of John and Mary Crisp. We ate like it was Thanksgiving....what a treat for us when JT was out of town.

Speaking of JT, we can talk to each other while he's in Africa but the rates are still high. So, we have little communication time. I did get some pictures from our friend Bo who just returned yesterday. So, I'm posting a few of Easter and Africa. In one of the photos, the kids are holding a calendar. My friend Angelia gave me a calendar as a visual way of helping Jett understand how long Poppa would be gone. This time will be a total of 19 days...so, as we mark each day off, Jett gets so excited...he counts how many days are left and talks about getting Poppa at the airport. Oh, what a joyous reunion that will be!

Please pray for those mommas still waiting on their babies as well a special unspoken prayer request for someone close to me today.

A Family Apart

JT, Jonathan, Joseph, Rick and Jason in Atteridgeville, South Africa

Many of you know that we lead mission trips around the world. JT goes on every trip and is gone between 17-20 weeks out of the year. This is the beginning of our busy season ..... between now and August, we will lead 13 weeks worth of trips. Whew!

JT left on Monday for South Africa. He and one of his best friends, Jason Waltman, went four days ahead of the first team in order to get all of the logistics/supplies settled. We have amazing new global phones that allow us to talk to him anytime (well, not while he's sleeping...they are 7 hours ahead of us timewise). On the 2nd day he was gone, I simply dialed 7 numbers and was able to talk to my husband in South Africa. How awesome is that! God is so great to have allowed people to develop that process. I am so grateful. We can also text message each other which is cheaper!

I'm a little confused why I have to dial 10 numbers just to get someone in Georgia (2 hours away) but can get my husband in another country with less numbers. I love it!!!!!

Everyone here is missing Poppa but we are managing with lots of school, extracurricular activities (Master's Academy, piano, etc). Jett is definitely longing for Poppa to be home and doesn't understand the concept of 3 weeks. My friend Angelia gave us a calendar that we are using to mark off the days each morning at breakfast. He seems to grasp the visual but it's still difficult seeing him looking for JT when he hears the garage door.

Thank you all for your continued prayers and encouragement. Please pray for those families still waiting to bring their children home!

Growing Up!

Kaitlyn Turner got her braces today! Dr. Stephanie Whitehead is our orthodontist, and we highly recommend her and her staff. They take such great care of our children!

Kaitlyn is now 11 years old, and she looks like a teenager....I don't like that but it's part of growing up I guess. We've been praying for years that Jesus would just come back for the church before our kids turned into teenagers. Lord, it's getting close.......