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Category: Personal

A Special Time of Life

We had the exciting opportunity of being able to see our little one again with an ultrasound. Perhaps I shouldn’t have eaten candy before going, because the little booger was full of energy, bouncing all around in every direction. And while it was fun to watch, we could hardly hear the heartbeat or get a great picture. I left the doctor’s office giggling with the biggest grin. This little life is such a miracle.

Baby Heller!

Our other little, or not so little, one (Gasher) has become such a handful. In honesty, he is a great puppy; however, lately he has developed a few irrational puppy fears. As of yesterday, he is afraid of the grass. This is just dandy for potty time.  Ha! He demands lots of attention and has begun to train us in the area of “lack of sleep”. We keep telling ourselves it is good preparation for baby as laziness is ripped out.

In other news, which is very exciting news, the Oncology department is close to moving into the new ward! Hopefully early this week the move will be complete. The new ward is said to have cold and hot water, which is such an added blessing. Technically I believe there are only supposed to be five patients per room, instead of the current situation of all the women in one room, all the men in another room, and all the children and moms in another. Certain things I will believe as I see them, though the new building will, without a doubt, be a huge improvement to where they have been living.

To marry the topics here…

I had the fun opportunity to take my new ultrasound pictures up to the hospital to share with our friends. Many women never get an ultrasound, and most of the children have never seen one. It was so special to share our excitement and even a little education for the kids. Some of the women did not know I was pregnant, making it a fun surprise for them. As my tummy grows, they are just overjoyed. We laugh and say that this baby will  be Mozambican. One little boy insists  it isn’t possible because it will be white. =)

This is such a special time of life; I want to soak it all up.

We love you. Thanks for your constant love and support. Your presence is felt here with us.

August 29, 2010
Hospital Ministry, Mozambique, Personal
2 comments

A Light-hearted Look Into Our Lives

A Layne Post

I decided this week to give you guys a little look at some of our favorite ‘spots’ near the house.

At the end of our street

At the end of our street there is this little striped trailer. I love it. Without it, we would have missed our street a hundred times. I told Jon, “They can never move it!” In the mornings, when we can, we like to walk along the beach, admire God’s creation, observe some of the Mozambican life, hold hands, and talk about life and the future. There is a grocery store with a great bakery down the beach where they make fabulous cheap bread. We grab some fresh bread and walk along the beach back to the house.

Waiting for a hot dog

At ‘Game’, a store a few minutes from our house that is like a Wal-mart, they have a hot dog stand outside. We were here a couple months, and every time we went there we would see and smell the hot dogs cooking and Jon would say, “Someday I want to try one of those!” One day we did, and they are good! Now it is a nice cheap little treat.

Jon and Hot-dog man

Go ahead… you can laugh. I felt like a tourist taking this pic, but we love Hot-dog man!

Take Out Pizza

This is a restaurant a couple minutes down the road, which has changed names a couple of times, but the food has remained the same. I noticed a sign across the street that advertised ‘take away pizza’. Turns out they have decent little pizzas! I especially like the Hawaiian. These days I can eat a whole one by myself! Ha!

Date Night

And I thought I’d leave you with a recent picture of us.

We went on a date a week or so ago to a little restaurant called ‘Spicy Thai’. Yum! It was probably the fanciest we’ve dressed up since we’ve been in Africa, which was fun! We were definitely the nicest dressed at the restaurant, but I didn’t mind. It was a special night just for us.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed a little light-hearted look into our lives and our town.

We love you!

August 8, 2010
Mozambique, Personal
6 comments

New Team Member

We have a partner coming here to join us in ministry. We’ve been pursuing this person for about 7 months now, trying to convince them to join us in what we’re doing here and we’ve finally got a confirmed “Yes” that this person is on the way. We will have to wait until February or March of next year (depending on a few things) but we have a tentative date set at February 25th for this person to get here.

We’re very excited to be joined in ministry and look forward to seeing how big of an impact this will make on our day-to-day lives. Actually, when we got married and were first pursuing missions we had thought about this person being a part of our team and we simply can hardly contain ourselves now that the fulfillment of that dream has come to be.

Ok, yes… we’re pregnant.

Welcome to the world Baby Heller. We’re so glad to have you in our family.

Baby Heller

Perfect... just perfect

July 17, 2010
Personal
22 comments

On the Road Again

A Layne Post

Well Jon and I have been on the road again. I am really believing that there will come a day in my life that I will not know the next “trip”, but for now that is not in the near future. I bet when that day does finally come, I probably will be antsy to go. Ha!

On our way from Namibia we traveled through Botswana and stayed a few nights with our dear friends, who are really more like family, the Walkers. We thoroughly enjoyed fellowship, pizza and Mexican food, and games.

*Insert Note* We are so blessed to have friends as close as family all over southern Africa.

Thank you Lord!

Mozambican Visa

Mozambican Visa

Now we are in Pretoria, South Africa wrapping up preparation for Mozambique. Good news! As of today we can excitedly report that we have 6 month business visas! It is not ideal because it still requires exiting the country every 30 days (which is about 1.5 hours drive); however,  it is 6 months, which feels like a long time. Once we are in Mozambique we can pursue a residence permit. Won’t that be an exciting day? To be residents of Mozambique… yes, yes, that will be a very exciting day.

Wednesday we will be making the 7 hour drive to Maputo, which is really one of my favorite drives here. It is beautiful! We travel through gorgeous rolling green hills, sprinkled with rich farmland, through mountainous areas with a rushing river flowing just near the road; we stop at a precious little fueling station called ‘Milly’s’, complete with homemade candies and jam; we drive past banana tree fields and palm tree lined roads. Ah! Lovely, right? Someday I hope some of you can make this drive with us.

Prayer Requests

  • Safety on the road
  • Residence visas shortly after arriving
  • Low or no import fees for the vehicle
  • Smooth language transition into Portuguese, once again
  • Jon’s back, which has been bothering him for a week or so

Thank you guys so much for loving and praying us. Your presence is undoubtedly felt.

May 24, 2010
Mozambique, Personal, Travel
3 comments

We’re in Namibia now

A Layne Post

It is crazy how life can change so drastically in a matter of days.

I told Jon, “Only a couple of days ago we were sitting in our little mud house, sipping our off brand sodas, and eating our meat from a can… Now we are being hosted by the most gracious family, staying in a beautiful home, eating steak and chicken and drinking iced tea!” Sometimes I have to laugh thinking about this life Jon and I live.

Jon, Jorge and Lazaro

Jon, Jorge and Lazaro

Leaving Angola was difficult. Because my last bout with sickness was worse, we were rushed to get to a doctor, and we felt unable to properly say ‘goodbyes’. There were many we were just unable visit. Those we did say ‘goodbye’ to were very understanding and sympathetic. I will not forget standing with two Angolan pastors, holding hands as they prayed over me for healing and prayed peace over my family in the States. They cared for me. Genuinely.

The precious family hosting us in Namibia has overwhelmed me/us with their love. They have opened their home, schedules, meals, lives, and hearts to us with no reservations. They have gone to lengths to make sure I am cared for medically, which has put my mind at ease. They have been Christ to us, in action. How He cares for us so well!

Where I am at medically: We have seen the doctor, who seems a bit as baffled as we are. After checking me out, he said, “You look healthy to me!” Which I am until it hits. My symptoms sounded possibly like gallstones, so we went for an ultrasound. No gallstones, everything they could see with the ultrasound looked normal.

Layne Washing our Clothes

Me Washing our Clothes

I have an appointment tomorrow (Monday) to decide on more tests. We will test for h-pylori, a stomach bacterium I had last year; the symptoms do not match perfectly, but it’s worth checking. We may also have an x-ray done where I swallow barium to check for hernias and whatever else they could see in there. We may run blood tests to check my pancreas. Really, because we are limited on time, I want to run every test that could be a slight possibility.

Pray for wisdom and direction for the doctors.

Where I am at emotionally: I was sick again yesterday. I am tired. I am frustrated that we have not found anything out. I know it takes time, but I was still hanging on to the hope it wouldn’t. I struggle not to worry about going to sleep or dread any small pain in my tummy. Jon prays with me, as we hand it to the Lord. Jon is such a support to me in all of this.

Where I am at spiritually: I trust the Lord and His mighty hand. I trust that He is more than capable to heal me in an instant. As encouraged by my mother-in-love, for this time, it could be an opportunity to gain a bit of understanding for pain, as I plan to serve the sick and dying. I am not the only one to suffer. I am not the only one in pain. There are so many others who endure much more. I hope to know the Lord in a more intimate way at the end of all of this.

I want to thank you all for your encouraging words and prayers. I feel completely surrounded by love and supported by friends, even from so far away! What a precious gift that I do not want to take it for granted. I am humbled and grateful. Thank you.

April 18, 2010
Personal, Travel
4 comments
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