So, so thankful

Lawrence and I spent time today thinking of all the things God has brought about in our lives over the past three years, and how He has been preparing us for each other for a long time, and how grateful we are to not only have each other, but to be home. It has been a really awesome year, between the inaugural year of Angel Secondary, receiving the visa to come home, our wedding, and the travel so far, sharing about Angel House and the school. So much to be thankful for.

life on the road

Lawrence loves gadgets and techy things. Some of the random, funny stuff that happens as we're in the car together make up some of my favorite memories so far. I thought it was so cute that he wrote down his entire voicemail message and read it. Just like I would have done. What can I say? Great minds think alike.

getting ready

We're 10 days out, and neither of us can wait. Last week, Lawrence found out he likes to paint as we made signs for our barn party. Everything is more fun with him.

Why we love the fall.

Since college, every other Saturday evening in the fall has been spent tailgating with family and friends, waiting for the cool weather to finally hit, watching Ethan (and now Lawrence) take in the big stadium with so many people in purple, and rooting on our favorite college team. We're thankful for mom and dad's generosity in buying tickets for all of us kids and for the chance to get to be together no matter how busy the rest of the week has been. Family, friends, food, football. Fall is good.

my cowboy and our heifer

Several years ago, in an effort to keep us kids interested in all things ranch, my dad gave us each a cow for Christmas. We have Polled Herefords that we breed with Angus bulls to make black baldies. Which really just celebrates the beauty of the difference of color in such a nice way. So as Lawrence the best-ranch hand-ever learned how to run cows through the chute, ear tag, and vaccinate, we also doted on our little gal a little bit.

our farmer

A hard work ethic, coupled with a passion to learn new things, means Lawrence is outdoing himself on the farm when we visit mom and dad in Texas. I'm so proud of who he is.

1. The beginning: instructions by Steve

2. Supervision as he begins himself

3. Wow, Opundo!

L turns 31

-roadtrip to Austin

-first experience at REI plus wedding registry for camping equipment

-lunch with our parents in Austin

-a drive through the country roads back home

-dinner with M&D, Amy, and L at Hamilton's Circle T arena

Whew!

We had a great first taste of roadtripping this past couple of weeks, and we are excited for the adventure that this coming year will bring. We arrived last night to Texas for a week; we'll celebrate Lawrence's 31st birthday, work on wedding invitations, and line up speaking engagements for this fall in the northeastern part of the United States.

We are SO lucky to be working together with the amazing people of Grassroots. We're thankful for Simba's new outfit from our friend Lisa - new tires and a new battery that will keep us safe on the road for many more miles. Dinners with pastors, reunions with past volunteer teams, and good conversation about the vision and direction of the mission were a great start to the future of this project. We sincerely thank Donn and Linda Hellinger for all they have done and continue to do for the kiddos and the missionaries of Grassroots...we and they are blessed to have you.

The great state of Ohio

The highlights of our Ohio trip, by Lawrence Olal Opundo:

a. Our first campout, inside Simba, on the way up.

b. Meeting the Tipp City UMC pastors for dinner.

c.Meeting the Grassroots board and staying at Donn and Linda's house in New Carlisle.

d. Meeting with the December 2010 Africa team (Dr. Lisa and company) in Sidney.

e. Learning how to jet ski from Tom Rossman on Saturday afternoon.

f. Learning American football rules from Mike Goffena.

g. First ever car race, complete with tee shirt from Lisa and hat from the drivers.

h. Mikey and David's football game, and learning to play the game Pickle.

i. Stop at the St. Louis Arch & Westward Expansion Museum.

j. Relaxing at the lake house with Lisa's family, Bonnie & Mike, Jen & Chris, and Stephanie.

k. A football of my very own from Mike.

l. The good people of New Carlisle FUMC Sunday morning, including pastor Jeff.

m. Lunch with Starcher family after church on Sunday.

n. Funny 102.5 FM, our favorite radio station, with 24-hour comedy.

first time on a jet ski!

Tom, Dave, Lisa, and her father Floyd

the races!

El Dora

our first 'lil roadtrip of the year

from Lawrence's perspective:

We started on August 5, departing from home, which will be Hamilton Texas for the fall, and driving to Dallas to meet our cousin Justin for lunch. We continued to Kansas, arriving at the annual Rich Heyroth Memorial campout around 10:30pm. Her dad and I slept in a tent among severe thunderstorms while the girls shared a room in the house.

Saturday, we headed to Derby, which is her "BuruBuru" in this part of the world. The Heyroth guys moved Amy up to Wichita while Holly met with her bridesmaid girls about wedding details. That evening, we were invited Kelly Heckart's house to meet her family and have great dinner and conversation, and I was introduced to her favorite game, Wordfeud.

We stayed at the home of Wayne and Pam Petrik, a friendly and loving couple from Holly's church. I learned a few tips from Wayne. He taught me how to check the oil and water levels of our Simba and introduced me to two new tv shows which we would watch over a bowl of ice cream each night. I have a new friend named Buddy, their watchdog, and a huge bed all to myself in a nice room in the basement of their house. I have never seen someone as generous as Pam who can hand over the house keys on your first visit, telling a stranger that 'this is your house and you are welcome anytime whenever you are in town'. This shows how big the love and heart of the people of Woodlawn is. I am looking forward to returning to Derby and definitely will be crashing at the Petrik's as we continue with our mission for Angel House Orphanage and Secondary School in Tanzania.

Pam, Buddy, and L

St. Louis Arch

Museum of Westward Expansion's best quote:

Traffic!

first roadtrip camping experience of the year

Simba

We got the best birthday gift from my parents possible, considering I sold my car a couple of years ago when I moved to Africa. They purchased a new Kathy-mobile in May, and saved the old minivan for us, knowing we'd be coming home to travel. We picked out the name Simba, Swahili for lion, because we needed something strong and ferocious to help us drive defensively on the highway. And she's has already served us well; we've spent the last 10 days on the road, from Texas to Kansas to Ohio and back, and we couldn't be more pleased with her strength. When I was in high school, I said I'd never drive a minivan, but these days we're both grateful for this thoughtful and generous gift, and plan to drive this Lion until she's a tired ole beast....speaking to everyone who will listen to us about the angels of Tarime, Tanzania.

just the beginning...

our recent session with photographer amy heyroth...

as i was walking this morning, the song 'closing time' by semisonic started playing on my ipod, and the lyrics resonated deep within me as they sang "every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end." if i dwell on it too much, i get to missing everything and everyone from angel house and the secondary school. but i am sure of the fact that i am right where i am supposed to be...building the ministry from this side of the ocean so we can better support what is happening on the ground in africa, and perhaps even more importantly, building a life together with lawrence.

it has been an absolute blast to come home together. i knew that lawrence couldn't know all of me until he was able to see me with my family, and luckily, he loves them as much as i do. we started in texas, on the farm, and spent the first week celebrating the life of my uncle paul and getting the opportunity to see many family and friends at his funeral. this week, we are getting ourselves organized and our calendar prepared for a very busy fall that will include speaking engagements, meetings with the board and current sponsors of angel house and secondary school in all their various states, spending time with friends and family at kansas state football games and catching up with church family at woodlawn, traveling, and our wedding!

my dad mentioned the other day how happy i looked whenever lawrence is around. and i am. but i'm happy too, about every aspect of my blessed life. my family is just awesome - my parents enjoy every minute of our presence...feeding cows, fixing fence, making breakfast, watching the Rangers on TV, and visiting our wonderful neighbors. tomorrow we're taking a group trip to waco where the girls will give opinion on wedding dresses and the boys will eat chicken fried steak and drink beer. amy calls herself maid-of-honor-zilla since i refuse to get stressed about wedding stuff, and she has to-do lists and timelines from now until our wedding date of october 1. i'm already so grateful for her help...she was creative and did a great job on our much-delayed engagement picture photo session a few days ago, and has great ideas for every little aspect of this great adventure. i'm also happy to just be home. i actually call anywhere i live "home", whether it's derby or hamilton or nairobi or gamasara village, and because home is where your heart is, and my heart is all those places, i guess that's okay. i have enjoyed being in the country again after having spent several urban weeks in nairobi, and have enjoyed indulgences like hot showers and pecan pie, as well as sloppy kisses from Bodie the golden retriever and nose nuzzles from Sugarfoot the horse.

i am so excited about this coming year. i know that each day will be as good as the first few have been. i pray that God will allow us to influence others' lives in a positive way and help us to make His love real in the world around us. He has given us great joy, and I look forward to sharing it wherever we go.