Since the beginning of the year, I have developed some exciting relationships with the neighborhood children. Most children in Angola are free to wander during the days, especially the boys, since girls have the responsibility to look after younger siblings. During the school holidays, I saw five boys walking on homemade stilts outside of our yard and I invited them in to read a Bible story. Three months later I’m still reading stories and singing to eager faces. They’ve brought friends and family and onlookers have come and gone. I never know how many I’ll have each day, but I know I can count on the smiles of Mano, Nucho, Chico, Podi, and Lano. I don’t know where God will take these stories, but I pray for these boys and girls every day.

Reading on a Sunday afternoon

In February, the men and Jordan undertook the grueling trip to Luena, in far eastern Angola. Our friend Stephen Kapaipi, who visited us in December, lives there with a group of Christians who are returned refugees from Zambia. They had tried to plant a church, but ran into difficulties and are quite discouraged. In addition to this group of Christians, there is a new dynamic ICA church plant. Our goal was to do some biblical training with both groups and brainstorm how the two groups could work together (they have very different worship styles).

The trip there was quite a task (see below), but the return trip was much smoother:

• 400K (250miles) starting from Kuito – 2 hours east on good  roads
• 25 hours total trip
• 12 hours actual driving
• 5 flat tires (all on Nathan’s vehicle)
• about 25 recoveries (getting unstuck) – Danny had to pull out the other Landcruiser most of these times
• 6 hours sleep in tents on the side of the road

Once they arrived, the men hit the ground running with a week of intense Bible teaching on the theme of the church.  The church received the teaching very well, with great enthusiasm to follow Christ only.  But actual change will be slow and challenging as they attempt to navigate cultural, governmental, and denominational pressures.  We tried our best to encourage relations between the Christians from Zambia and the ICA church… with mixed results.

Our team’s next visit to Luena will be in June, while our family is on furlough.

Danny greeting the church after service

December was the month of visitors. First off, Danny’s brother David was here for a brief visit. He helped immensely around the house, especially getting the kitchen cabinets installed.

Next, our team hosted 9 ICA church leaders from Luanda. They called an extraordinary meeting here in Huambo to give special attention to our team. We had four of them staying in our home, and the team women also cooked all the meals here. Although the women were a bit apprehensive about cultural differences, everything went very smoothly and we feel quite the superwomen – Jordan chopped up our butchered sheep with a machete, Teague gutted fish, and I managed the supplies. We couldn’t have done it without our friend Helena who took a day off work to help us. The men feel very good about strengthening relationships with a broad number of ICA leaders and navigating the murky waters of cross-cultural leadership.

Stephen Kapaipi, a good friend from Luena (eastern Angola), came to visit during his Christmas break. He was a refugee in Zambia during the war, and has been struggling to plant a church in Angola since his return. The men had several good problem-solving sessions and Bible studies.

Danny’s parents arrived just before Christmas, and we thoroughly enjoyed our visit with MomMom and Papa. Our team took a week off around Christmas to drive to southern Angola and do some sight-seeing, inspired by John Reese’s love of photography. It was a good time to rest and prepare for the New Year.

Praying with ICA leaders

Written Dec. 16

Since the end of October, our family and team has been beset with all of the difficulties of moving to a new country. Quite simply, it feels like we have been under attack. Yet we can see God working powerfully in providing for us.

In one area, we have had many difficulties with our house. The plumbing is so poor that we have decided to start over again, running the pipes along the outside and inside walls. Thankfully, our landlord is paying for and organizing the process. Our generator flooded in the first hard rain and we spent 2 days without electricity while Danny fixed it.

We have also had many thefts. Our brand new puppy was stolen out of our yard after less than a week with us. Amazingly, our teammate Teague spotted him at the vet and he was returned to us, only to be deathly ill for 3 weeks. Our old computer, printer, and scanner were stolen out of our vehicle in Luanda, then our main computer was taken from our home by some boys that climbed through a small window. The boys returned the next day and Katie chased them to their homes and the computer was returned. God has been at work in the midst of our discouragement.

Lastly, our car has needed two major repairs in the last two months. Thankfully, the car was never completely out of commission with either problem and we have been able to use it when we needed it.

It has felt as though we haven’t even recovered from one setback before another hits. And yet each time God has provided – Danny’s brother David came for a visit and was able to bring the replacement electronics; as we were pondering a trip to Namibia to get the delicate car job done Danny “ran into” a local mechanic who described the problem exactly and was able to fix it.

We are learning to rely daily on God’s provision. We have only to look at our puppy or computer to marvel at God’s miracles.

Climbing a kopjie with Danny's brother David

In October, our family traveled to Namibia, Botswana, South Africa, and Swaziland – a truly cross-continental trip. We had several purposes for going and accomplished most of them. First, we visited a new church plant in southern Angola which is led by an outstanding young preacher. In Namibia Danny shopped for spare car parts and equipment. Then we spent two days camping in Etosha National Park with the Meyers. Check out Katie’s facebook for some great animal pictures.

In South Africa, Danny arranged for three important upgrades to the vehicle: a heavy-duty roof rack (remember the sheep on top of the car?), a long-range fuel tank, and a suspension upgrade (my back is very thankful!). We have already seen the usefulness of all of these for our work and life here. We were also able to visit many of Danny’s old friends in Kempton Park where he grew up and buy some household items that are difficult to find in Angola.

Our last stop was to Swaziland, where we visited African Christian College and some of our mentors, Fielden and Janet Allison. One thing we’ve learned from our parents and mentors is that life as a missionary is draining and it is important to schedule breaks and support time before you need them. We got some good TLC from the Allisons and enjoyed another night in a game park on our return trip with our teammate Jordan.

In Etosha Game Park

Written Oct. 4

The last half of September was very eventful for the Reese family. Danny took a trip along with Robert, Nathan, and a dozen ICA (Churches of Christ in Angola) church leaders to the far north of Angola to visit churches in the Uige province. It was an incredible opportunity to get an inside look at how the ICA leadership functions. They were blessed with safe travel and abundant hospitality – including being given a sheep.

Church in Uíge

While the men were traveling, I (Katie) had the opportunity to drive around Huambo for myself, getting used to the roads and traffic. I also took the time to visit our neighbors. I am making a list of all the people I meet nearby and try to go back and visit them. I also had the blessing to meet and encourage/be encouraged by several other missionaries in our area.

Eliana began her first school with Mommy as teacher! Teague and I are teaching the three older kids together – putting together our own preschool curriculum for now, until our container arrives. The kids have enjoyed so much the time together and the fun activities. Eliana loves to learn her letters, play games, color, and write. We usually meet during Sophia’s naps, and she cooperates pretty well. When she’s not asleep, Sophia is busy chasing after the other children with her new found walking skills.

A is for Africa

Written August 29:

We’ve gotten into a good routine with our home now. We’ve bought enough buckets for hauling and storing water, some shelves for the kitchen, a mattress, and a plastic table and chairs. Every morning after breakfast the kids know to put on their shoes to help haul our day’s supply of water.

These last two weeks we’ve taken a break from home setup to attend some church conferences in Luanda. We all attended the first week to hear about the past, present, and future of the churches here. Then the mothers and children headed back to Huambo for a quiet week at home while the men attended a Bible lectureship and ministers’ workshop. It was a great time of relationship building with the church leaders as we learn the culture of the Churches of Christ in Angola.

While in Luanda, we also bought our Land Cruiser! Vehicles are incredibly expensive here, but we found a used one that was more affordable. There are several small things wrong with it, but we are hoping that it will still be a solid, reliable vehicle for us.

While the men were gone, we taught the children the “Days of Creation” song. Then for our team worship time we focused on “God as the Creator” to remind ourselves who the true Creator is as we face a new life here with new relationships, new hopes, and new prayers.

Danny and his Cruiser

Our family

Here are some of the precious moments from the first days in our new house.

Seeing how hard my hubby works to take care of our family – Danny came ahead of us to get a generator and water pump set up in our house. We still can’t get the water pump to work, but every day Danny faithfully pulls up water for us. He’s been working hard lately showing our team around town.

Danny pulls up water

Seeing our girls make this house their home – The girls have been very comfortable here. Sophia enjoys finding spoons and bowls from the kitchen to play with and Eliana loves to help set the table. Eliana runs around the house calling Sophia, who comes crawling after her.

Eliana playing with her Quiet Book that she got from Tia Laura.

Reconnecting with old friends and meeting new ones – Our friend Charles lives in Huambo now with his new wife, Helena. They hosted Danny for the first week and have been such a big help getting us set up. They’ve also introduced us to their friends and family, so we know a lot of people already!

Charles and Helena

Fresh veggies from the local market – Charles showed us a market that is only a 15 minute walk from our house. We were so happy to find cheap prices on fresh produce after the outrageous ones we paid in Luanda.

Sophia shows off our market purchases.

Cooking in my new kitchen – We have a bright, spacious kitchen and Danny had a nice new stove all set up when I arrived. Cooking food for my family definitely gives me warm fuzzies.

My bright kitchen

Our whole team arrives! The Meyers arrived in Huambo Sunday afternoon after waiting on Robert’s visa and buying a car. Nathan has moved into an apartment, but the rest of us are all living in this house together. We had a big celebration dinner of fajitas and mint brownies, then a time to praise God together.

Celebration supper