August!

It’s hard to believe it is August 1, 2011 today. We left home in early January, and we are now two weeks away from having lived here for 7 months. It is strange to think that it is summertime, almost fall in the U.S. I feel like it should still be January and winter-just as we left it.
August in Zambia will bring warmer weather. It has been winter here for the past 2 ½ months, but here in about two weeks things will be warming up. Then September and October, the hottest months of the year will be here, and then the rainy season comes with November! I am counting down the days-only three months until rainy season, and I can’t wait. Everything will be so green and tropical, no more dust and of course it will rain almost everyday for five months straight! So there’s the weather update.
Jeremy and I are doing well. Jeremy did about half of his lesson at church in kikaonde yesterday, and I was so proud. He also made bread pudding last night that was to die for! So proud! We are still working on language. I am working on past and future tense in kikaonde lang., and I will begin working with one of the teachers at school. I am excited about a new relationship with her as we work on language together.
The churches here are working through some tough things, but as they do it they are growing. We have a family seminar for all of the churches at the end of August that we are really excited about. They are hosting it themselves by providing the food for their family, and we are providing the program. It is exciting that they are taking ownership and willing to contribute for it.
I am so thankful for all of the support we have back home. I appreciate all of the comments and emails from sweet friends and church family. We are approaching what we have heard to be the “culture shock stint” of our time here. It usually hits hardest between 8 months to 1 year. So today, I am just thankful for all of the people who pray for us.
Happy August, Whitney