Due to my work schedule, and Roy being in Kenya, Dale and Myriam took the kids overnight Friday. We met in Manchester for the kid hand-off, and I stayed at home Friday night. Saturday I drove up to Garnavillo after work and stayed last night. The kids and I drove back today. That's WAY more driving than I'm used to, usually Roy drives when we go up there. I finally found my way around the construction in Strawberry Point, so was later than I planned last night. On the way home, we took the posted detour. Duh, me.
We went to the Elkader Evangelical Free Church today. We've been there a few times, when we're staying in Garny for the weekend. I mentioned to a friend there that Roy was in Kenya, so he added him to their prayer requests during the service. It went something like this:
"This lady over here is a Duff from the Volga Duff's, and her husband Roy is on a mission trip in Africa with some eye doctors. She has that square car out there." After the worship service, a man from the Volga area talked me up about the Probert and Duff families being the first in Volga, about how they inter-married between the families, etc. He mentioned all the work my cousin Pete had done in Volga and that I should go see it sometime. Then he said I got the Scottish red hair, so I talked about the Celtic Fest, and they wanted to go but didn't this year. SO, after we left Roy's parents' house, we went to Volga and saw the new fountain, and we went to the Highland Cemetery and found pretty much all the Duff tombstones, including my Grandma Lillian's. There were lots of Robert Duff's there, kinda weird. Aaron was fascinated by all the tombstones. We saw old tombstones from the 1800's. Visits to the cemetery may seem morbid to some people, but I think it gives us a sense of our history, and respect for the people who lived before us. I only wish we'd gotten some flowers for Grandma Lillian's stone. It's been 5 1/2 years since she was gone, and with our Lillian's 5th birthday this week, I've been thinking about her.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
He's a traveling man, made a lot of stops, all over the world...
Roy leaves for Kenya with a medical missions team on Thursday and will be gone for 10 days (until Oct 7th). He's going with his boss Dr Fitzgerald and 4 other people, a PA, and RN, a photojournalist, and another optometrist from their office. They are going as a humanitarian mission through Dr Fitzgerald's non-profit organization, but they are partnering or being sponsored by Empowering Lives Int'l (ELI).
They are going to a village called Kipkarin, which has a medical center. Part of ELI's mission is to train native Kenyans to sustain themselves, while still spreading the Word of God. The team plans to set up an optical lab so they can manufacture their own lenses after the team leaves. So far the only electricity is generator power, but the village is supposed to have electricity soon (as in within 5 years??). Roy has extensive lab experience, so he will be helping mostly in this area. He is very excited!
We would appreciate everyone's prayers for Roy and the team as they travel and work over there. Last year no one got sick and everything made it (27 boxes!). This year they're taking 25 boxes so are in the same situation. Please pray for protection from injury, disease, and no tariffs/taxes on the boxes.
Thank you,
Bridgit
They are going to a village called Kipkarin, which has a medical center. Part of ELI's mission is to train native Kenyans to sustain themselves, while still spreading the Word of God. The team plans to set up an optical lab so they can manufacture their own lenses after the team leaves. So far the only electricity is generator power, but the village is supposed to have electricity soon (as in within 5 years??). Roy has extensive lab experience, so he will be helping mostly in this area. He is very excited!
We would appreciate everyone's prayers for Roy and the team as they travel and work over there. Last year no one got sick and everything made it (27 boxes!). This year they're taking 25 boxes so are in the same situation. Please pray for protection from injury, disease, and no tariffs/taxes on the boxes.
Thank you,
Bridgit
They Say It's Her Birthday!
On Sunday we celebrated Lillian's (it's no longer Lily if you ask her) 5th birthday. Her actual birthday isn't until Wednesday, but Roy is leaving for Kenya, Africa on Thursday, so we needed to have it this
weekend. Her brother gave her a present of his own choosing - a Transformer toy of his that she always plays with. She was NOT pleased about getting a "boy" toy and stared him down a couple of times until they both started giggling.
She also got LOTS of High School Musical (HSM) stuff - blanket, dolls, singing card, handheld game and even an HSM UNO game. Also Barbie clothes, My Little Ponies on top of her cake, an art set and paper, her very own scrapbook with paper and supplies, and a picture album of her very own. A Sorry game, girly stuff like lip gloss and headbands, and various other items that a spoiled 5 year old girl loves.
We got her some books for her LeapPad, a bike helmet and new knee pads, elbow pads and bicycle gloves. But no new bike? Well, Papa played along with us and pretended he was going to the bathroom, but he really went outside and got her new bike (from Mommy and Daddy). Papa teased her as he brought in the bike, and said "Lily, look what I found in the bathroom!" She was confused for a little bit until we told her that Mommy and Daddy bought the bike for her! She was wearing a long straight skirt, but she still put on all the gear and tried out her new bike!!! The training wheels will come off very soon.
Lily, oops, Lillian starts Kindergarten next year since she has a late September birthday. The babysitter's daughter is a year older than her, but she's in school most of the day so Lillian gets to be the big helper and she loves that position. They do lots of phonics and one of her favorite quiet activities is writing letters and short words on "school" (dash-lined) paper. The fall and winter seasons also mean lots of crafts.
Aaron is 8 1/2 and in 3rd grade. He is becoming a block-out-everything reader. We have to call him a couple of times to get his nose out of a book. He tends to choose books that are too easy, so Roy got him the first two Harry Potter books. Of course, Roy read them first since they were really for him anyway!
weekend. Her brother gave her a present of his own choosing - a Transformer toy of his that she always plays with. She was NOT pleased about getting a "boy" toy and stared him down a couple of times until they both started giggling.
She also got LOTS of High School Musical (HSM) stuff - blanket, dolls, singing card, handheld game and even an HSM UNO game. Also Barbie clothes, My Little Ponies on top of her cake, an art set and paper, her very own scrapbook with paper and supplies, and a picture album of her very own. A Sorry game, girly stuff like lip gloss and headbands, and various other items that a spoiled 5 year old girl loves.
We got her some books for her LeapPad, a bike helmet and new knee pads, elbow pads and bicycle gloves. But no new bike? Well, Papa played along with us and pretended he was going to the bathroom, but he really went outside and got her new bike (from Mommy and Daddy). Papa teased her as he brought in the bike, and said "Lily, look what I found in the bathroom!" She was confused for a little bit until we told her that Mommy and Daddy bought the bike for her! She was wearing a long straight skirt, but she still put on all the gear and tried out her new bike!!! The training wheels will come off very soon.
Lily, oops, Lillian starts Kindergarten next year since she has a late September birthday. The babysitter's daughter is a year older than her, but she's in school most of the day so Lillian gets to be the big helper and she loves that position. They do lots of phonics and one of her favorite quiet activities is writing letters and short words on "school" (dash-lined) paper. The fall and winter seasons also mean lots of crafts.
Aaron is 8 1/2 and in 3rd grade. He is becoming a block-out-everything reader. We have to call him a couple of times to get his nose out of a book. He tends to choose books that are too easy, so Roy got him the first two Harry Potter books. Of course, Roy read them first since they were really for him anyway!
Saturday, September 01, 2007
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