Hope

So I have been really bad about keeping in touch with people mostly because internet and cellphones have been a bigger pain to use than I thought they would be. Still that's not really the best excuse I guess.  It's also been really hard to put into words what I have been experiencing here in Tanzania.  If you asked me to sum up everything in one word I think I would have to say hope.  I came here thinking that when my feet hit African soil this switch would turn on inside of me and I would get back all of my heart and passion for Africa.  Well boy was I disappointed when my heart remained in its state of really not feeling anything.  I was angry with myself for not feeling the love I thought I should have for these people.  The Lord slowly started to open my heart and I began to have hope again.  Hope that I could love these people, hope that I was really loved and treasured by my Savior and people around me, just hope to live.   I love that I am at the City of Hope!   

apple pie

Feeling like fall today as I baked these mini apple cheddar pies.  I thought I would just share some verses that I have read recently.

Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.  Let all that you do be done in love. 1Corinthians 16:13-14

Therefore,my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. 
1 Corinthians 15:58
 
Blessings~ Nancy

Spontaneous Photo Shoot

Christina had so much fun the other evening taking these pictures.  I had just walked in the back door after chores and both she and Mom exclaimed that I looked like a "picture" with the wild flowers I had picked and my hair down.  Chrissy proceeded to drag me out the door with her camera to take some pics in our neighbors field.  It was fun for me to see her really enjoying the photo shoot, she normally gets frustrated when taking pictures of people as apposed to nature and what not.  She said she had been doing some reading up on how to pose people for pictures and I think that helped a lot with how the photos turned out.  Anyways hope you all have a fabulous weekend, and remember to keep your focus on the things above.

Blessings~ Nancy 

Kitchen & Dining Room

So here are the promised pictures of the kitchen and dinning room.  I know they aren't the greatest pics but its better than none.  The couch and chair as well as the desk you see in the dining room won't be permanent, they are only their because the rooms they will eventually occupy are full of other stuff (example, tools, boxes, and junk).   We still have some little projects and organizing for these rooms but for the most part we are considering them done. :) 


Just a little encouragement for your day...  
 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?  He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?  Romans 8:31-32

Blessing~ Nancy

Pillows

Mom and I went to the fabric store today while we were out shopping and found these lovely fabric scraps in a clearance bin.  I had been wanting to make pillows for the front porch for a while and found myself in a sewing mood when we got home so I decided to whip them right up.  I am really happy with how they turned out and they make the porch look ever so much more homey.

Hopefully I can post some pictures of the kitchen and dining room soon so you all can see the progress we have made over the past few months.

Blessings~ Nancy

Snow

We had a little dusting of snow this past weekend!  It was the first and probably the last snow of the year but I am so happy we got even a little bit.  Christina and I had a fun but cold photo shoot in the beautiful snow and I thought I would share some of the pictures we got.

 

 

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Psalms 51:7

Blessings~ Nancy

House Work

  Hey y'all here is the promised post of what we've been up to with the house.  Right now we are working on stripping the kitchen and as you can see in the second photo when I say we are stripping it I mean everything right down to the studs and floor joists.

One really cool thing we have discovered is that all of the original walls and ceilings in the house are finished with six inch tongue and groove pine paneling.  We have to take all of it down so we can properly insulate the walls, but we are hoping to be able to put a lot of it back up because we just love the way it looks and plus it will preserve some of the historical aspects of the house.

The last two pictures are some of our "finds" in the house.  I just love the old glass door knobs though we were a little sad it was the only old knob left in the house.  The last picture is of some of the old wall paper they found in the dining room.  I really love the print and color of the paper.  If it hadn't been so disintegrated  I would have saved it for raping paper or some other project.

I will try to keep you all more updated with what is going on around here.

 Blessings~ Nancy