End of 2009

A nice "reunion" with dear friends and colleagues -Randolphs and Trails

This year seems to have just flown by so quickly….well, at least the last six months! Thanksgiving has come and gone and now everyone is preparing for Christmas! David and I had several days of feasting and fellowship leading up to Thanksgiving Day with missionaries in Zambia. We traveled back to our home in Malawi on Thanksgiving Day. Looking over this past year, we have so many things of which we are thankful to have been a part of. Let me name a few:

-Trip to Turkey (Feb)
-Completion of two more 4040’s (First term missionary on field orientation program) without major incident! (April-May and Oct.-Nov.)
-Two separate but wonderful AMTM’s (mission meeting) with our missionaries in the Zambezi Cluster (March and July)
-Prayer retreats with our missionaries in the Zambezi Cluster- Focus on Fervent and Persistent prayer
-A wonderful vacation/trip to Namibia… got to see and experience a whole new part of Africa for the first time!
-Much needed and successful disc replacement surgery for David
-An unexpected medical trip to the USA for Janet which also provided the opportunity to visit some with our kids and David’s parents!
-Personal home visits with some of our missionaries in the Zambezi Cluster
-Love and support/affirmation from so many of our friends and family
-Sense of being settled in our home in Malawi.

Please pray with us regarding the following:

-Nathaniel will be graduating this December from Liberty University with a degree in Aeronautical Science with an emphasis on Missions. (He will walk in May, 2010). Please pray that he find a job. We are very proud of him and just ask that you continue to pray for him as he starts this new chapter in his life.

-Anna has made some great friends and continues to work towards her degree in Athletic Training. Please pray for Anna as she moves into an apartment this month and continues her studies at Liberty University. Please pray for both Nathaniel and Anna as they will be spending Christmas break in Lynchburg, VA away from immediate family- their first Christmas alone! (it may be harder for mom and dad than for them!)

Northern Mozambique

Beverley and her helper/friend, "Y"
There is nothing like getting an instant tan, body massage and just plain physical work out as we traveled over 3000km in Northern Mozambique this past October! (Well, the tan just washed off with water each night! And the body massage…well, that is thanks to the washboard roads!) We really did need to visit a masseuse after our trip, but we are without that luxury!

We began our trip by first visiting with our oldest missionary, Beverly who recently moved to live and work with the Yao in Malawi. Presently she is studying the language of chiyao, and visiting in various villages with her helper “Y”. He is a believer and has a passion to reach his people for Jesus. He has been able to introduce Beverly to various villages. Some of the chiefs of these villages are believers due to the seeds that were sown years ago by those who have come before her. She is working with “Y” teaching him God’s Word chronologically where he then goes with her to tell the stories to a group of ladies in a nearby village. It was so encouraging to see such a passion in the heart of this 72 year old widow. She chose to leave a more comfortable home and lifestyle and transfer to work with the Yao. Pray for Beverly as she studies the language and works with the Yao in Malawi.

It was strange entering Mozambique as a “tourist” for the first time in about 14 years. We drove for about 10 hours on bumpy dirt roads before we arrived in the city of Nampula. We were with Eddie and Janice. Eddie is the Associate Cluster Strategy Leader for the northern Mozambique teams. We praise God for this couple as they continue to serve in difficult living conditions. They had been in Angola for about 8 years before transferring into Mozambique about three/four years ago. One of Eddie’s responsibilities is to help locate and survey unreached peoples in Northern Mozambique. The number one priority request for a career missionary is to live and work among the Makonde of Northern Mozambique. There are numerous groups of people in Northern Mozambique who like the Makonde, remain very un- evangelized…the Mwani, the Nahara, Meetto, Shirima, Moniga, Makhwana, and Yao to name just a few! Folks, there is great lostness in this country. Having traveled many kilometers through Mozambique, we saw very little evidence where Christ Jesus has been made known. There where just a handful of evangelical “m’s” from other organizations are crying out for help. Living conditions according to our standards are basically none existent. Water is difficult to find in some places. “Cousins” are everywhere. Our hearts are truly burdened from what we were able to observe with our own eyes and hear the cry of our other “m’s” for help.

A lot of rebuilding and preparing for future rains being done.

People are unreached up north for a reason. It could be due to the religions we would encounter, the lack of a comfortable home, difficult roads to travel, isolation from support, harshness of the weather, etc… It will take a true call from our Father for harvesters to join in the work in that field in northern Mozambique. Please pray with us for "hardy and committed harvesters" to be willing to work among such great lostness.

Happy 24th Birthday Nathaniel!

"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth." 3 John vs 4

It took about 5 years before God gave us Nathaniel - October 24, 1985. Nathaniel means "gift of God". We gave him the middle name of "James" but were concerned about the meaning being "deceitful". Soon after deciding on the names, we read in John 1:45-51 where Jesus saw Nathanael from a distance and remarked to his disciples that "there was a man in whom there was no deceit" and we just claimed that for our son. We praise our Father for giving us a son whose heart has been tender towards Him and "one in whom there has been no deceit"! Nathaniel was such a happy baby and such a joy to his mom and dad!In France, Nathaniel had his share of baguettes! He has been and is a great older brother to his sister, Anna.

Nathaniel would consider growing up in Africa a privilege. He made very close friends among the people we lived and served. One of his favorite things to do was sit out by the guards fire at night with roasted corn, just visiting with Hussein.

Another favorite thing to do in Mozambique was to take his dad's motor bike out on site seeing trips. He often took pictures and videos of the beautiful mountains and scenery around him.

Nathaniel is now finishing up his studies at Liberty University. He will be graduating with a degree in Aeronautical Science with an emphasis on Mission Aviation. His heart is set on serving his Father overseas among a people who have yet to hear of Jesus and the gift of salvation that He has to offer.

We are so thankful for the 24 years that God has given Nathaniel to us. We are proud of him and believe that God is going to use him in a great way for His glory! Thank you Father for Nathaniel and for what you have done and will continue to do in his life.

Please pray for Nathaniel today:

1) That he continue to live completely for his Father's glory.

2) That he have clear direction as to what to do after graduation.

3) That he would find work in his field of training.

4) That he would glorify his Father in his various relationships.

5) That he would grow in his love and obedience to his Father.

Quick Trip to USA!

Enjoying a game with Dad Hooten! Fun to see him laughing so! Mom and Dad came up to Richmond to see me and visit with their 3 grandchildren at Liberty University. Such a nice visit!

Nathaniel hopes to graduate this Christmas!...(We are hoping too!)

Anna worried sick over a couple important tests she had to take. She "about" aced them! (not quite but did really well!) She gives glory to her Father who really helped her recall things that were taught.

Thank you Father for such a wonderful gift You have given to us in Nathaniel and Anna!

Liberty University campus... new Snowflex ski slope in background. Quite nice to say the least!

Surgeries! First David’s lower back disc replacement – (Aug.) then my Moh’s surgery to remove invasive BCC on my nose! (Sept.) Recovery…time, exercise, patience, separation, reunion.
Visit with friends and Nathaniel and Anna at Liberty. Visit with parent’s in-law. Football games, shopping, Panera’s, Applebee’s, rain, hotel stays, clean clean America!!!!
Field Day of the Past….tractor pulls, chittlen’s, home made ice cream, kettle corn, old cars and farm equipment, horse show, etc….

I am so thankful for God’s favor that has been given me these past two months. I was able to go be with David during his surgery and recovery in South Africa which went really well along with great recovery. I then had the most amazing flight schedule to and from the USA for my surgery. I had wonderful friends (Kittie and Randy Trail) who opened up their home to me to stay during my time there! Kittie worked so hard to get my surgery appointment set up so all I had to do was show up! She stayed with me the entire day while I had my surgery. I had use of their car. I didn’t have to have a drastic nose repair job…although a lot of tissue was removed and I had to have a skin graft. I was able to visit our children and meet their friends and some of their professors. In spite of a little complication with my graft “taking”, I was still released to return as scheduled. I praise God for all the above. A little chorus was taught us last July. It says…

“I will put my trust in you, in you; I will put my trust in you, in you. For you alone, know my need, I will put my trust in you.” “I will put my eyes on you… and I will trust in you always…. For you alone, know my need…”

This little chorus has helped me to just give each and every step of my journey these past two months to my Father confessing that he does know what I need and if this or that does or doesn’t work out…he knows what I need and I will trust Him. Thank you Father!

To Jo-berg and back!

As of just over two weeks ago, my hubby is several millimeters taller! For real! He underwent disc replacement in his lower back and is recovering nicely. Thanks for your prayers. We are now home and just hoping for complete recovery and a stronger David! In South Africa, one spends his/her time in the "theater" during surgery....hmmm!

While in Johannesburg, I was driving to the hospital to visit David during his recovery. In front of me was another car with three ladies with really curly long hair - two with white-white hair and one jet black. They were riding in the back seat swaying with the movement of the car. After a bit, one of the ladies turned her head and I realized that they weren't ladies at all, rather three large poodles being chauffeured...somewhere! (maybe to get a haircut?...) =)

Anna and Nathaniel are both back at Liberty for their fall semester. Thanks for your prayers for Anna as she drove all alone from Georgetown, TX to Lynchburg, VA! She said that she felt God's presence with her the entire trip! Nathaniel is in his last semester before graduating in December! He is presently looking into what his possibilities are for his near future. Please pray with him about this. He really would like to work with Flying Mission but is lacking in flying hours and needs his multi engine rating. He is discouraged because the flying fees are so high and it has taken him so long to get the hours of flying that he has already. He really is dead set against getting further into debt with loans and is just trusting God to provide if this is what He wants him to pursue.

I praise God that there was someone in Jo-berg who was able to work on my computer and get it going again. I did end up buying a new hard drive, but was able to recover all my "stuff". Apparently in other regions with IMB they have had an IT missionary assigned to help out with their computer problems. Now we have a missionary who does this work in Jo-berg! How thankful we are for this service!

Oh my! It has been over a month since I last wrote! Sorry! We have been home, catching up on "stuff" and also we had a wonderful week together with our missionaries from Mozambique and Malawi. We praise God for safety in travel and good health these past weeks. We are thankful for the changing weather...it is getting warmer. (I am sure in a few months we will be yearning for the cooler days and nights! But right now it is a beautiful time of year weather wise.)



Several things you can pray about with us are:

1) Please pray for the young "Church" where we lived and worked in Mozambique. Pray for the believers to grow and be strong in their faith. Pray for those who are struggling with coming away from their old way of life. Pray that the believers would have a unified vision for reaching their people for Jesus.

2) Please pray for David and me as we are dealing with some medical issues this month. With the organizational changes, there have also been policy changes which really affect us all. Please pray for wisdom and discernment for those who enforce policies. Pray for our hearts to remain humble and that we would really trust that God knows what is best for us and that he will work accordingly.

3) Please pray for some missionary friends of ours (J&E) as they return to the USA for a short visit with family. They are dealing with a dying brother, aged mother, surgeries for their son, grandsons going overseas in the Military...along with various other issues. Please pray for physical, emotional and spiritual strength for these your brother and sister during this difficult time in their lives.

4) Please pray for Nathaniel and Anna as they prepare for their Fall semester at Liberty. Nathaniel hopes to finish his Mission Aviation degree this December! Please pray for him as he looks into options for him to commit to after school.



Thanks to all of you who do pray for us

To Namibia Coast and back to Malawi!

We began our trip to Namibia on June 10th. We went through Lusaka, Zambia, onto the Caprivi Strip in northeastern Namibia. We spent most of our nights camping in order to remain within our budget! =) We had many an evening and early morning sitting and drinking coffee over a nice fire...many thanks to my dear husband David!

The pictures of the landscape in Namibia just don't give justice to what was actually there! It was so beautiful!

There were so many oryx...such beautiful animals. I have rarely seen them anywhere else...maybe in Kenya while growing up!

We went to Walvis Bay, south of Swakopmund and took a boat ride in the Atlantic. "Robby" the seal was quite an attraction! He just jumped up on the boat and let us touch him, etc...as long as our guide fed him fish! His counterpart, "Sally" would surf behind our boat when we were going about 30 kmp! We saw a huge colony of seals, some dolphins swimming, a sea turtle... We ate oysters...yep, a bunch of lemon juice, Tabasco sauce and pepper really helps give those things a "taste"! They really were not bad at all, I ate 3 of them! I don't think I will order them at a restaurant though!

One of our friends, Eddie, loves to race cars. He had been to Swakopmund before and had gone quading on the dunes. He talked all of us into doing it and it was the most fun thing I have done in a LONG time! We laughed soooo much! All of us are 51+ and we just had so much fun!

The group of Quaders! Hey, there really is life after 51! =)

We really looked quite funny!

We camped and we had hippo, elephants and who knows what else coming through our various campsites! "They" (whoever they are) said that 3 leopards came through our camp in South Luangwa in the middle of the night...hmmmm!

Enjoying the Baobabs!

So many beautiful sunsets. Pictures just can't tell the whole story!

We had the most amazing 2 days in South Luangwa, Zambia. We saw 4 of the big 5- Lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo! Awesome viewings. The leopard walked right out in front of our vehicle and just posed for us for about 20 minutes! It was awesome.

Etosha National Park, in Namibia was quite amazing too! Such a different place. So open, lots of animals, an amazing place! We did see two rhino at the water hole at night...sorry no pictures of that!

We are so thankful to our Father for the privilege that we had to be able to make this trip. We are thankful for safety in travel and for good health. We are thankful for dear friends who took this trip with us. Folks, if you are wondering where to visit next, consider Namibia...the coast and northwest!