Botswana Safari

I can see I am really bad at following through on posting when I say I am going to. Good thing Dad sent me a hint over Whatsapp today ;) Somehow...time just slips away. Please know that despite our silence we think of many of you often and our hearts overflow with thankfulness. Whether its by your example, kindness generosity, expertise, emails, or prayers, our lives our made richer by the blessing of your life. 

Below is a blitz of nature photos from our safari with Dad and Mom in May. (What?? an entire month has gone by??)  We spent the first part of our safari in a boat exploring the river. Jonas is helping me remember what we saw that day. Hippos, elephants, nile monitors, crocs, really cool birds (like bee eaters, African fish eagles)

crocs sun themselves on the shore

Elephants wading through the water and grazing on the water grasses

Cape Buffalo with a cattle egret passenger

hippos at a distance

Savannah kept saying, "oh I wish an elephant would just swim right in front of the boat! That would be so cool!" She got her wish. :)

 At this point, we disembarked from the boat and enjoyed a buffet lunch at a nearby lodge along the riverfront. After dessert, we headed to Chobe National Park to take a driving safari through the park.

elephant leaving the river

I wish you could tell how close we are in these! They were right in front of us!

I am kind of in love with this tree...

So that's how they do it with those looong necks! 

The lions were chilling in the shade while a baby elephant they had killed was waiting for them to feast on in the sun. 

One of the highlights was being able to watch a leopard stalking some impala. It was incredible. She was unsuccessful but watching the drama play out was exciting. Viewing her as she stalked was amazing. Lots of times we would lose track of her even in the spare grass until she would make another slight movement, creeping ever closer.

 Sometimes the mother in me gets really down when I think about all that our kids are missing out on the States. No piano lessons, organized sports, vacation Bible schools, dance lessons, etc. But then I realize they are being provided with other incredible experiences and I am thankful. This is one of those times.

While we were in Livingstone, we received word that one of our Lifesong School students had died from malaria. He was being cared for by one of our farm ladies. During the month of May, there was a huge outbreak of malaria. Malaria is always a big deal, but this May was worse than usual. Daily, funeral trucks would drive by our house packed full of Zambians singing on their way to the cemetery just down the road from our house. It always haunts me a little to hear the funeral processions go by. I wonder how old the person may have been, what sickness did they have, were they able to afford medical care at all...And most haunting..did they know the entire plan of Salvation? Do the people attending have hope? Do they understand and remember that there is more to come?

Please continue to pray as our family and team work alongside the beautiful people here.