The car you see in the background is a diesel Suzuki, and although it gets great gas mileage, finding parts for it here in Rwanda is nearly impossible. It is constantly having problems. I think this may be because we have a semi-professional mechanic using semi-adequate parts, but Mike says it's not the mechanic's fault. Car problems (at least partly due to the reasons I just mentioned) are so common that KaLia's school has a policy that if you're having car troubles you can call the school so you have an excused tardy that day.
The Suzuki has stranded us more than once. The ol' 1983 Toyota Landcruiser you see in the foreground is more reliable but does have it's own issues at times as well. Since we got here in August we have spent upwards of $3000 on vehicle repair- yikes! Really, what we need is to sell at least the Suzuki and get a different vehicle that can be a reliable family vehicle- as well as one that has room for our family of 6! Please pray for us to be able to get a new vehicle. If God prompts you to help too, then that would be great! (You can give through the Ten Talents website.)
Did you hear me say family of 6? That's right, we have our (unofficial) son Michael living with us full time now as well. He is 17 years old & is also going to be doing the online US school we have been doing with Christine. He too wants the option of completing his studies at an accelerated pace. He was getting ready to go into 8th grade so he will begin there & hopefully progress steadily. He has always been a quick learner, his English is excellent, and he is very driven, so we believe this will be a good option for him. Michael is a joy to have in our home and we are blessed to call him our son.
the Michaels & Nate in the front of the boat during our vacation
Pray for me as I try to homeschool Nate (always a struggle), Christine (pray for her to be diligent through this year of homeschool & moving forward in her studies), and Michael (he has big goals as well), so please pray for us all! KaLia is doing well at her school ("All A's & B's!" she would proudly announce to you) and I thank God for that. You can also pray for God's provision in our finances, we need to be able to pay for the online school classes as well as KaLia's school tuition.
We continue to remain very busy with administering the Home of Innocence and the sponsorship program here. We've added many new children (most siblings of children already in the program) and meeting with all the families in the program (and hearing of so many needs, only some of which we can help with) each week, can leave us exhausted from "need overload". I continually pray for God to guide us in what we do. I don't want to be just "doing" but being obedient to His calling & His will.
God is good and he has taken care of us well. We have all been healthy and we always have enough for what we really need. Thank you for praying for us and for being a part of this amazing journey with us. Why us? I don't know, but He asked, we said yes, and here we are!
God Bless You,
Lisa
