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Well, since we have arrived in the US, we have been busy and on the go. Our first week back, we were in Oregon for the wedding of two very special people, Megan Miller (now Passwater) and Andy Passwater. It was a beautiful wedding. Here are some pictures.

While in Oregon we got to see a lot of ABC families. We saw Michelle Halemeier; Lisa Kowalski; Annie Williams; Steve, Marion, and some of the Spencer kids; Jack and Nell Chinchen; Jay, Laura, Clara, Katherine, and Lauren Stoms; Dan, Bethany, and Eli Robbins;; Chuck and Joanne Wilson;; Jake Bray;; and Charisa Chinchen Haase. It was great being able to see so many of our friends from Malawi here in the US.

The next week, we spent three days in Denver with my brother, Tony. It was great to see him and Pil. They took us to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and to the Pedestrian Mall in downtown Denver. They also introduced us to Buca di Beppo. If you ever get a chance to eat there, you must do so. It’s wonderful. We got to sit at the kitchen table, which was a great experience. They brought by every dish that was ordered so we could see what it looked like.

We then drove to Lander, WY, for the rest of that week for another wedding. The daughter of our neighbors in Malawi, the Dehnerts, got married. It was also a beautiful wedding. Here are some pictures.



We then headed to San Diego for a week to visit some friends. We were able to see Bob, Amy Louise, Nya, and Analise Stauffacher;; Josh and Emily Ketchum; Lisa Kowalski; Michelle Halemeier;; Derek, Jeannette, and Dylan Breuninger; and Tina Kamkosi (an ABC 2010 graduate). Emily was kind enough to show us all the sights of San Diego. We went to the San Diego Zoo , Old Town, Fashion Valley Mall, and Seaport Village. Amy Louise took us to the beach at La Jolla. It was a cold day, but the girls enjoyed swimming in the Pacific Ocean. Here are some pictures.

We finally arrived in Mississippi, July 12. We enjoyed visiting and spending time with friends, but were glad to finally be home. We spent two nights in Terry with my mom and then headed to Brookhaven to Sam’s mom’s (where we will be living for the year).

On Friday, my mom fell and twisted her ankle and thought it was okay until she tried to walk again. She lost her balance and fell on her right side and ended up fracturing her hip. She had surgery on Sunday and had to have a complete hip replacement. Surgery went well and she is doing well. She started walking, with a walker, on Tuesday and the doctors and physical therapists said she was doing well that soon after surgery.

They told her it would be about three months before she was back to the way she was before the fall. That seems really quick to me. I have always thought that breaking your hip would mean you are bed ridden for a long, long time and then have a long rehab. I guess medicine is much more advanced than I thought.

She is now at home and doing well. Please continue to pray that her recovery continues to progress.

Our first conference that we will be attending is August 13-15 in Kosciusko, MS, at First Presbyterian Church. The Ebbers will also be there. They are home until September from Romania.

If you would like to catch up (and we would love to), send us a message and we will make a plan. You can reach us at 5slams@gmail.com or post a comment and we will get back in touch with you.

Thank you for all the prayers and support. We look forward to seeing as many of you as we can while we are home on furlough.

Q

LeAnne (for all 5 of us)

Chameleon vs. Grasshopper

This is a video of a chameleon eating a grasshopper. During the raining season we find a lot of them around campus. We have had several as pets, but eventually had to let them go so they would live.

Malawians are very scared of them. I asked our gardener why he was afraid of a chameleon and he told me they are evil. I think they are unique.

You can see when the chameleon ate the grasshopper, a boy in the background kind of jumped back.

Well, this is just a little bit of our life here in Malawi. We wish everyone could experience what we are able to experience, so if you would like to visit (or live), just let us know. There is always room for you. Even if you think you don't have anything to offer, there is something for you.

Thank you again for all the support and prayers we receive.

Q

LeAnne (for all 5 of us)

ABCGF

Done it Again

Well, I've done it again. I've changed our blog. I wanted something new and different and the more I looked around, the more I found. There are some really cute designs out in cyber-world. I have chosen one from HOT bliggity BLOG.

I don't plan on changing our blog again anytime soon because every time I have changed it, things are mixed up, in different places, and/or just aren't there anymore. So, I think this one is here to stay for a while.

On another note, I will be adding some pictures soon of happenings at the college and academy. Lately our internet has been super slow, so it's a pain (and almost impossible) to upload anything.

Thank you for reading our blog.

We love you and miss you,

LeAnne (for all 5 of us)

Once again: A new layout

Well, I have changed our background once again. I can't seem to find something that I like and something that Sam doesn't think is too girly. So I found this one from Leelou Blogs. I'm still having a hard time trying to get everything in the right place, so bear with me.

LeAnne

New Layout

I am trying to update our blog by changing the background and I have been looking around the internet and I stumbled across Shabby Blogs and they have a background called leanne so I had to use it. Well, it's not working as well as I thought it would, so please be patient with stuff moving around and all. So, that is why our blog doesn't look like it used to.

Love in Him,

LeAnne

Malawi for Obama

My family and I recently visted a local gift-shop (notice, Chief Justice Roberts, the word order: "recently visited" = ADVERBIAL PHRASE) and noticed emblazoned on a rainbow of t-shirts a screen-printed face of President Obama with the words: "Malawi for Obama." I'm not sure Africa has seen a common hero like this since Muhammed Ali introduced his defensive 'rope-a-dope' in Zaire in 1974 against George Foreman. Everywhere we travel Malawians are excited about Obama, urban and village dwellers, for obvious reasons. Of course, our students were surprised when a visiting pastor from Los Angeles [who happens to be African-American] told them that he was "cautiously excited" (again, Chief Justice, adverb+verb=phrase) because of Obama's stance on a number of sensitive social topics. Here, politics are determined based on tribe, region, race, etc. Rarely are candidates parsed in such terms. Malawians just assumed race trumps convictions. Anyway, it was food for them as elections approach here in Malawi.

Which reminds me: As we watched (a number of ABC missionaries gathered around our television) the inauguration, there was one for sure moment of pride for me as an American. I was so proud of the many speakers who again, again, and again stressed the beauty of the American political transfer, emphasizing for the world to see our peaceful means. Yes, our politics can be bitter, but it is done with words and tampering with reputations. But here, with elections coming up, it was important for people to see that panga knives, clubs, and guns are not necessary. Thanks America for that lesson.

Sam