Today is Father's Day... and I am very grateful for my dad... and for my husband.
Usually on Father's Day I fix Ed a great breakfast, and then we go to church, and then we have the kids over to eat a nice Sunday dinner, and in between all of this he watches every minute he can of the US Open (Golf Tournament). The final round is always played on father day.
Ok, Let's face it. Father's day in Africa is way different. Noone here knows anything about Father's day... except our North American elders. We slept in until 7:00 am, and had to leave for church at 7:30. We spent the next 8 hours at church. We came home and I fixed a nice pork roast dinner. As we sat down to eat it we got a call from one apartment of elders saying that they just ran out of propane gas for their stove and couldn't fix dinner. So... he gobbled up his food, grabbed the extra tank of propane out of the garage and drove across town, so the elders could eat tonight. We just keep laughing at his day.
It really has been a wonderful day because we get to talk to our kids and grandkids. We have watched Tiffany's 2 yr. old Brooklyn dance and model her princess outfit and she excitedly showed us at least 10 different toys. Lani's Houston sang songs for us and did some magic tricks and chattered about all the characters on his Toy Story Shirt. We talked to the 4 Dittbrenner kids and heard all about their plans for the summer. We still have 3 kids to talk to, and we are looking forward to it.
In honor of Ed, I want to post some random photos of him on this mission. He is a fun, fun companion who inspires me everyday to be a better person!
One elder was homesick for his mom's good scones. Ed looked up the recipe in our family cook book... and even called Jimae for details, and became a gourmet scone chef.
He is taking advantage of the rain to wash his truck.
One day the rain was so bad that none of the neighbors could walk down the road in front of our house without wading in the water. So Ed went out and created a pathway for them to keep dry.
This picture speaks for itself... what can I say?!
One night while we were studying, the power went out. Instead of heading for bed, he found some candles and we studied by candle light... it was very special.
One day before a baptism, there was a bit of a ring around the font. He decided to scrub it off himself.
His exercise regiment is getting tougher... We go 5 days a week. He runs 3 miles in the sand,
Then he does 50 pushups....
and then he jumps the rope at least 200 jumps. The man wears me out!!!!
He has locked his keys in the car 4 or 5 times since we have been here. (There are no power locks or power keys in our truck). When it happens, he calls me and I take a taxi and take the spare keys to him. This day he must have finely been tired. This is how I found him.
Every Sunday he is in charge of making sure that we get water into the church building. One week there was no water. Everyone was amazed that he just went out and climbed up the tower to see what the problem was. He figured it out, and we got water.
He always carries candies in his glove compartment so he can give them to the children. When he goes to this neighborhood, he opens his door, and the children come running! They all love him.
To my 6 dear children... I love my mission companion! To my Dad... Thanks for finding him for me. To Ed... Thanks for being a great father to all of our kids!
HAPPY FATHER'S DAY
The elders started playing with about 4 boys. Then the group of kids kept growing and the Elders just came alive. They played games,
they sang old rock and roll songs in harmony, 
they told stories,
they jumped,
and then when it was 6:00, we all sang "I Am A Child of God" and said good-bye.
It was sooooo much fun!
Usually on Father's Day I fix Ed a great breakfast, and then we go to church, and then we have the kids over to eat a nice Sunday dinner, and in between all of this he watches every minute he can of the US Open (Golf Tournament). The final round is always played on father day.
Ok, Let's face it. Father's day in Africa is way different. Noone here knows anything about Father's day... except our North American elders. We slept in until 7:00 am, and had to leave for church at 7:30. We spent the next 8 hours at church. We came home and I fixed a nice pork roast dinner. As we sat down to eat it we got a call from one apartment of elders saying that they just ran out of propane gas for their stove and couldn't fix dinner. So... he gobbled up his food, grabbed the extra tank of propane out of the garage and drove across town, so the elders could eat tonight. We just keep laughing at his day.
It really has been a wonderful day because we get to talk to our kids and grandkids. We have watched Tiffany's 2 yr. old Brooklyn dance and model her princess outfit and she excitedly showed us at least 10 different toys. Lani's Houston sang songs for us and did some magic tricks and chattered about all the characters on his Toy Story Shirt. We talked to the 4 Dittbrenner kids and heard all about their plans for the summer. We still have 3 kids to talk to, and we are looking forward to it.
In honor of Ed, I want to post some random photos of him on this mission. He is a fun, fun companion who inspires me everyday to be a better person!
One elder was homesick for his mom's good scones. Ed looked up the recipe in our family cook book... and even called Jimae for details, and became a gourmet scone chef.
He is taking advantage of the rain to wash his truck.
One day the rain was so bad that none of the neighbors could walk down the road in front of our house without wading in the water. So Ed went out and created a pathway for them to keep dry.
This picture speaks for itself... what can I say?!
One night while we were studying, the power went out. Instead of heading for bed, he found some candles and we studied by candle light... it was very special.
One day before a baptism, there was a bit of a ring around the font. He decided to scrub it off himself.
His exercise regiment is getting tougher... We go 5 days a week. He runs 3 miles in the sand,
Then he does 50 pushups....
and then he jumps the rope at least 200 jumps. The man wears me out!!!!
He has locked his keys in the car 4 or 5 times since we have been here. (There are no power locks or power keys in our truck). When it happens, he calls me and I take a taxi and take the spare keys to him. This day he must have finely been tired. This is how I found him.
Every Sunday he is in charge of making sure that we get water into the church building. One week there was no water. Everyone was amazed that he just went out and climbed up the tower to see what the problem was. He figured it out, and we got water.
He always carries candies in his glove compartment so he can give them to the children. When he goes to this neighborhood, he opens his door, and the children come running! They all love him.
To my 6 dear children... I love my mission companion! To my Dad... Thanks for finding him for me. To Ed... Thanks for being a great father to all of our kids!
HAPPY FATHER'S DAY
