It is hard to believe that on this date last year we were getting commissioned at Westminster Presbyterian Church, saying goodbye to friends and family, and then headed to the airport with most everything we own. This year’s theme for our family seems to have been change; change in continent, number of members in our family, number of languages we are spoken to everyday, in address, what side of the road we drive on just to mention a few. It’s always encouraging to look back and see how God has provided through all the change, and even more encouraging to serve a God that doesn’t change. He provided people to help in all the airports push our 4 luggage carts. He led us to a wonderful OB/GYN that aided in the safe delivery of Emma Kate. He has allowed people to be gracious with us as we learn a few words here and there of Afrikaans and Xhosa. He provided a house in less than 2 weeks of being in the country, with neighbors that we love dearly. He protected us as we learned to drive in a new place, on the left side of the road. We look forward to all the ways in which God will provide for us this coming year here in Africa.

Speaking of change, recently Alex’s role with East Mountain changed a little. The East Mountain ministry is growing quickly and Alex was asked to take on a leadership role. This means that Alex has given up a few of the administration roles and has been given a group of individuals to care for, encourage and help succeed in ministry. We are both excited about this new role as it allows Alex to build deeper relationships with the people under his care and the ministries with which they are working. This past Sunday, we went to church with Lutando. Lutando is one of the East Mountain resident interns under Alex’s care. He is Xhosa and is working at a Xhosa speaking church in an area called Kayelitsha. This new role of Alex’s affords him the time to invest in people like Lutando. Alex’s other major role is to run the Summit internship program, which is starts in the middle of May and runs through the end of June. Alex and the group of individuals under his care are all working diligently to make sure that this six-week internship runs smoothly and proves to be a great encouragement to all who participate.

We were blessed this past month to be able to take a short visit to the US so that friends and family could meet and hold Emma Kate. What a joy it was to see everyone that we saw. We wish we had had a little more time so that we could have visited with even more people. One of the highlights from our time was getting to have Emma Kate baptized at our sending church in Atlanta. We also very much enjoyed seeing family and friends get to hold Emma Kate for the first time. It was a little weird to be back. It took just a little bit of time to feel comfortable driving on the right side of the road again. Chick-Fil-A was a treat we took full advantage of during our 3-week visit. Maggie spent way more time in Target than she needed to, but stands by her statement “Can you spend too much time in Target?” We are truly grateful for the time we had in the States. Transitioning back has been okay. Emma Kate’s schedule is still a little off, but seems to be getting more readjusted each day. If you would like to see some of the pictures from our time in the US just click on the picture below or visit our Facebook Page.