Quick Update/Prayer Request

As you already know we had one of our babies passed away in his sleep early last week. It happened while Pieter and Rika were in South Africa getting supplies for the house. On their way back across the border into Mozambique, they had the keys to their vehicle stolen. All of their possessions were locked in the car, which included their cell phones, and the car's alarm was also armed. They had no where to go, and no other option than to have the car towed all the way back to Nelspruit (about 1.5 hours back into South Africa), where there is a toyota dealer that would be able to help them with the keys and ignition so they could be back on their way. By the time they got back to Nelspruit it was dark, and they dealership was already closed. Pieter, Rika, and the kids had to spend the night in Nelspruit and wait to get help the next morning.

When Pieter arrived at the dealership and they opened the car he saw that his phone had many missed calls. The voicemail shared that they need to get home immediately because one of the children at the second house had passed away. The car was still not ready to be taken for the drive back to Mozambique.

While stuck in Nelspruit waiting on the car to be fixed, Pieter received another phone call from his sister. The phone call was to inform him that his mother had died of a sudden heart attack. After much deliberation and feeling helpless not knowing what to do, the family decided to head to Capetown to be with their family and help with preparation with Pieter's mother's funeral. They are currently in Capetown, his mother's funeral was on Monday (5.25.09).

It has been a hard week for us all involved, but especially hard for Pieter, Rika, and their family. I'm sure they would appreciate all of your prayers and support throughout this hard time.

I leave in just a few days(4) to be with them. Life is somewhat hectic, as I finish up work with 3 more days of teaching my wonderful 5th graders, and attempt to pack my classroom for a major move to another building for the next school year. I am also working on packing my bags for the 2+ month stay, trying to fit in a royals' game with my dad on his visit to see my brother and I, and really want to make some time for some time with friends within my awesome community here in Kansas City. Busy, but very good.