Back from the East

Here are a few pics from our time out east... Eddy's passport was finally issued and then his visas were miraculously approved- literally within a few days. Some friends had gone out before us and were unexpectedly asked to leave the area, as they apparently did not have the right permits. This actually allowed us some extra time to acquire the right permits and get Eddy's visa... And finally, we, along with a khawaja friend and our Vancouver duo, made our way out to the Red Sea.

Ben on the plane... trying to "fit-in" a bit...

I'm hoping to write more later, when I've had time to really ponder all that has happened, all that God has done. It was a great time and we consider it a huge success. Ben was an absolute champ, coming with us in some of the most severe heat and humidity we've experienced! What a blessing to us!

We'll be leaving the sand-box here in a couple days, traveling through Turkey for some random sight-seeing and arriving in MN around the 8th. We thank you all for your prayers and support- we have had an incredible and miraculous time these past few months and are eager to see how God will continue to lead us into his perfect will, back here in the fall.

Visiting some ruins of the old port, formerly one of the largest slave-trade ports in Africa... Ben has eaten and napped in some interesting places!

We had our morning tea, jabana (coffee, locally made with roasted ginger) and zalabia (doughnut balls) down the street from our hotel... this was our friendly tea lady.

On the road outside of town- different nomadic tribes...

Drinking jabana one night with a local friend, a teacher from the public school overheard us and asked us to come teach an English class... Heng-zi is a French teacher in Canada and did a great job! The flash cards they used are made out of glue and sand/dirt... use what you have!

The local jabana spot... you remove your shoes, sit on large woven mats and sip scalding, spicy-sweet coffee... We were the only women patrons... it didn't take long for crowds to gather...

Ben was quite the attraction... or at least the stroller was! We were stopped constantly and when we did take a moment to look at things, large crowds gathered and gazed at Ben. We think they thought he was sick and that the stroller was some sort of gurney...?

I came out of one stall and had no trouble finding Eddy and Ben...