Safari Photos

Finally picked up the car tonight and will be heading home tomorrow. We spent the day at Kruger, and while it wasn't a great day as far as seeing lots of animals, we still had a lot of fun. Some of the highlights were three cheetahs lounging under a tree. They were close enough for us to see the, but not close enough for me to get a good photo. We heard later that some people saw them kill a warthog in the same area.

Loved watching the hippos as well, as they managed to show more than just their ears out of the water. Otherwise, we only saw one elephant, a handful of zebra, a dozen or so giraffe, and a lion that was too far away to really see. (Looked like a rock to me!)

Enjoy the photos,

Lisa

Trekking across Africa. . .oh my!

Someone recently told me they assumed that all our traveling across Africa must be like a bunch of vacations. I had to chuckle, because while we've definitely seen a number of amazing places and enjoy traveling, it's not always easy. Take yesterday for example.

We try to limit our trips to the capital by combining necessary errands, but some trips are unavoidable. We set off yesterday with a number of things that had to be taken care of. Besides stocking up on supplies for the mission teams arriving next month, we also have a number of business things that have to be done. While there is a car insurance off in our small town, they aren't connected by computer to the main office, so we learned first hand that if you pay there, you're insurance will likely be cancelled. This means it has to be paid in person in the capital.

We also needed a signature on an official document from a lady in the capital in order for us to file the papers for us to continue living here as our one year dery expires next month. Lastly, we have to take our car to a mechanic in South Africa as parts in Mozambique are hard to come by.

So we started off yesterday morning with plans to make it to the capital for lunch, run our errands there, then cross the boarder so the car could be dropped off this morning. Because of the problems we'd had with the car, I drove a second car in case we broke down as it had only been temporarily fixed.

An hour into the trip, Scott was pulled over by the police. Now the odds of getting a speeding ticket here, whether you've been speeding or not is high. So I waited up ahead, he paid the mandatory forty bucks we always keep with us and we headed off. Now the roads, especially in this long section are horrid and that's putting it nicely. I wove through potholes down the narrow stretch, trying to avoid as many as I could. Then at one point I missed one hug hole spanning the road and ran over a second.

The moment my tire hit the hole I knew I was in trouble. Immediately, I pulled over and sure enough, I'd ruined the tire and crushed the rim. For my first flat tire in Africa, it was a doozy. I called Scott on the walkie-talkie and he turned around to help. By the time we were on the road again, we'd lost more time. The kids were hungry, so we bought gas and bread, (there is no fast food)

We finally made it to the capital with only minutes to spare as the insurance place closes at 3:45. (Strange, I know.) They were getting ready to lock the door, but Scott begged for them to let him in which they did. Our insurance expired today, so we didn't want to have to spend the night in the capital. Scott rushed off to get the needed signature, and we forego the rest of what we had to do and headed for the boarder.

By now, it was dark and the kids were hungry, but the missionary guest house we were going to stay in was fixing us dinner, so we decided to grab a small burger for the kids across the boarder to hold them over, then drive the last hour to the guest house.

After an uneventful boarder crossing, KFC was a welcome sight. The ATM was broke, so we couldn't get money, but we scrounged for cash and had just enough to buy everyone a small chicken burger and pay for the upcoming toll. We got ready to leave and. . .Scott couldn't start his car. And it wasn't just that it wouldn't start, he couldn't even turn the key.

He called someone over from the gas station next door to see if they could help him, but after fifteen minutes, nothing. I noticed a guy pull up at the KFC with a 24 hour emergency car service on his car, so after praying over our car, we snagged him and asked for his help. Problem was, we had no cash to pay anyone to help us. Scott then sent me on to the next gas station to find an ATM, but when I got there, it was broken as well. I'd seen a sign that said three kilometers to the next town, so I headed off to the next town. By the time Scott called me on the phone, I realized that I was in the middle of nowhere and there were no towns and I must have read the sign wrong. But Scott had finally started the car (Praise God!) and with me headed down the highway (thankfully in the right direction) he caught up with me and we headed--again--for the guest house.

We arrived about nine o'clock and the wonderful hosts had saved us roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy. The only problem was that I was so tired and hungry after eating so little all day, that I crashed and was asleep within a few minutes. I'm feeling much better today. Our cars in the shop, the flat tires being fixed, and while the kids are working on school work, I plan to start working on my Zondervan edits.

Depending on the car situation, we're hoping to spend tomorrow at the game park, though I might just curl up and sleep. :-)

Blessings!

Lisa

Another typical day. . .

I had to laugh at Scott's facebook post this morning.

"Took one of the Pajero's in for repair this morning with the parts needed. Will it be done today as promised? The parts for the second Pajero are to arrive today by plane from South Africa. Will they arrive? Will the second car be fixed tomorrow? More suspense than your daily Soap Opera, but just another typical day here in Mozambique."

Ah, another typical day. More than that, though, is that God is using it to teach me every day to relax and go with the flow. Something that can be quite a challenge to me. I've always been a highly-structured fairly organized person, who used to live by my watch. Now, I don't even wear one. What's really important in life has also changed.

One thing that always puts things into prospective is when I see a man, like the one in this photo, pushing his goods on a cart and I'm reminded how blessed I am to have a car to fix.

Today I want to be thankful for His blessings and be aware of how I can be a blessing to those around me.



On another note, if you missed winning a copy Wild Prairie Roses in my last drawing, visit Lena's blog for a chance to win another copy today! Scroll down to my interview and leave a comment.

Brazilian Trip Praise Report

As many of you know, Scott and his uncle just returned from two weeks in Brazil, meeting with two couples and a single lady who are interested in joining us in our work. We met these wonderful people while we were in language school last year, and while we never imagined recruiting while we lived in Brazil, God had other plans in mind. It's been an amazing journey as over the past year God has continued to move in the hearts of these dear friends.

Luis, Fernanda, and Luciana have now committed to come to Mozambique this October to
join our family full time in the work here. The second couple is praying and fasting right now for a confirmation of their desire to join the team. This is wonderful news for our ministry and for our family in particular.

Please pray for these friends of ours as they make preparations to come and praise God for His supplying of much needed harvesters for Mozambique!

Blessings,

Lisa


P.S. I received an email from one of my readers, pointing out that I left out a couple directions on the peanuts in my last post. Here's what my aunt had to say. "While the peanuts are in the oven, stir them a little, but not much. And I put the oven on low, about 200 degrees fahrenheit, as you just want to dry them out. If it's too high, it will melt the sugar and you will get a hard caramel coating."

Hungry anyone?

Sugar Cane

I've been meaning to post all week, but it's been hectic with Scott gone, keeping up with school for the kids, and finishing up a manuscript. He finally returned yesterday with good news regarding the couples considering joining us here. I'll blog more on that later once everything is worked out.

I've written before on the challenges of cooking here. For the most part, by making my rounds of all the tiny shops in the area, I've been able to adapt my cooking to fit what is available. I was stuck recently, at how my kids have also adapted to living here in regards to what the eat. There are no instant/traditional snack foods here (sometimes I can find chips, but that's about it) so with three growing kids who are always hungry, I've had to get creative.

While some of our favorite snacks, like fruit, popcorn, yogurt, and vegetable sticks, are more in line with traditional snacks, others are pretty unique to this area. We roast our own peanuts, pop our own popcorn, and snack on regional things like Tenzewa--I have no idea how to spell this, but this is what our neighbor calls it--where you break off the outside shell and eat the powdery insides. Sugar cane is one of Gabe's favorite snacks, but I picture rotting teeth and don't let him have it often.

Favorite fruits are green oranges, bananas, mango, pineapple, and passion fruit. The boys love scooping out the insides of the passion fruit and eating it, seeds and all. (This is my favorite as well!)



Tenzewa



Roasted Peanuts


If you're feeling adventurous, try this yummy receipe from my aunt.

SUGARED PEANUTS
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. water
1 or 2 t. cinnamon (to taste)
Mix sugar and cinnamon in heavy skillet, and add water and heat until dissolved. Add 4 cups of raw peanuts and continue cooking peanuts over medium heat. Cook and stir until sugar has dried. Put into medium oven for 30 minutes or more.

You can leave out the cinnamon if you want that. I always use my iron skillet and I cook them until the sugar dries on the sides and down into the bottom for a ways. If you try to cook it till it is dry all the way, it will begin caramelizing the sugar and make it hard.

Enjoy!

Lisa

Book winners!

Congratulations to the five winners of Wild Prairie Roses. My kids drew the numbers to keep everything fair. :-) Drawing from both blogger comments and my newsletter list, the winners are. . .

mary_zander, susans_book_sets, rdinges, Shirl, and Kelly Kiggins-Lund.

Congratulations!!!

Please contact me here with your snail mail address so I can send you a copy of the book.

Thank you so much to those of you who left a comment on why you love historicals. I loved reading your answers. And if you didn't win, I'll be holding another contest on the first of June for my upcoming historical release with Summerside Press, Love Finds you, in Revenge, Ohio. I'm really excited about this book that is to be released next month and will be available at all your local book stores.




"The only thing worse than being a spinster is being a twice-jilted spinster. At twenty-five, Catherine Morgan is hardly an old maid. But she’s given up on marriage and instead manages the family’s general store in the small town of Revenge, Ohio. Bound by a promise to care for her three sisters until they marry, she’ll do anything to keep them safe. But Sheriff Corbin Hunter stands in her way. He has evidence that her sister’s fiancé is really an infamous bank robber—and the man who murdered his father. Catherine finds herself torn between saving her sister’s heart and losing hers to the man who jilted her seven years ago. Will Corbin’s desire for revenge cause him to lose Catherine a second time?"


“This story has all the elements I love in a good read: mystery, romance, and faith. Add a fun historical setting and a fast-moving plot, and Love Finds You in Revenge, Ohio is a winner.”
~Susan Page Davis, author of the Frasier Island series.

". . .riveting suspense and enough twists and turns to keep me guessing until the very end. Fans of historical romance won't want to miss this one." ~Carol Cox, author of A Bride So Fair and A Test of Faith

Win a copy of Wild Prairie Hearts

It's been another busy week with Scott in Brazil while I hold down the fort at home. The kids have been working hard at school and I've stayed busy by judging entries for a writing contest, reading through gallies for two of my books coming out this summer, and writing

I've just received my author copies of Wild Prairie Hearts! The book is scheduled to hit the shelves in a couple of weeks, so if you don't win a copy you should be able to find it at your local bookstore.

This month, I'll be giving away FIVE copies of the book. If you're signed up for my newsletter, you'll be automatically entered. (You can easily sign up on my blog at the top) A comment left between now and midnight on Monday (PST) gives you another chance to win. So leave a comment below, letting me know what you love about historicals (I'd really like to know!) and that you'd like to win a copy.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Lisa

Wild Prairie Roses

If you love a good romantic historical, watch for Wild Prairie Roses, coming in May from Barbour Publishing!

It's a three-in-one collection of full length novels set in Iowa.

And look for a chance to win your free copy right here in the near future!

Blessings,

Lisa

Escape with DiAnn Mills' Breach of Trust

Even with a difficult economy, a book's always a great deal. If you love romantic suspense, you'll love DiAnn Mills' latest release.

"Paige Rogers thought she had buried her past when she became the librarian in small town Split Creek, Oklahoma. But her growing relationship with high school football coach Miles Laird and the political ambitions of her former boss threaten to unmask her. Will she risk everything---even love---to expose the would-be governor's past misdeeds?" 350 pages, softcover from Tyndale.

This is a strong beginning to a new series from DiAnn. I was immediately caught up in the small town drama and its far reaching consequences. Several surprising twists will keep you turning the pages.

Blessing!

Lisa Harris

God Encounters

We arrived home late last night, very thankful to be back. This past week was not one I'd like to experience again any time soon, as it was stressful and we are all very tired. But God took what could have been a very serious situation and turned it into a blessing. We had several things happen during the week where God showed us clearly that He wanted us exactly where we were with a number of God Encounters.

One encounter that stands out was after our second round of car trouble. While we were thankful that the problem didn't seem serious, we were frustrated because we were all ready to go home. We made it to the mission guest house (driving all the way in third gear), and to our surprise, we found out that some friends of ours were also staying there. Mel and Mandy, single women from England, who have spent a little over year up in Vilanculos, Mozambique several hours north of us. They were waiting for their ride back to Mozambique after being stuck in Nelspruit for over a week as the bus they needed to take home wasn't running anymore. We first met them in Brazil where they were attending our language school. It was such a treat to see them again as I haven't seen them since Brazil.

Earlier on the long drive to Nelspruit, Scott had felt strongly that this extra delay was for a reason and that God wanted us there, but we didn't know why. Mel and Mandy shared with us many things about their work, including that they had been praying hard that God would give them a car. They often walk two hours one way as a part of their ministry with women and the elderly. Without a car, there are a number of things that they are not able to do, including helping a local midwife build a delivery hut way out in the bush with money that had been donated to them for it.

In South Africa, we owned a second car that I had to use on a daily basis with the kids, but here in Mozambique, we find that we don't use it very much--which meant we have a car we can loan them until another family joins us. We all know that God had arranged us to meet, even if it meant a problem with our transmission and frustrating delays.

I was reminded of Joseph's words in Genesis. "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done." And I continue to be amazed at how God continues to lead and guide us to accomplish HIS good will.

These are photos of Jayden's eighth birthday party. The sweet hostess where we stayed made a birthday cake for him Friday night enabling us to celebrate with old and new friends. What a blessing that God would even arrange for Jayden to have a cake on his special day.

Stuck again. . .

We headed out early this morning for Pretoria with plans to hit the mall and maybe a movie before Gabe had a doctor's appointment. About two hours from Tzaneen, we heard a loud clunk. Scott thought we'd blown a tire, but after pulling over, everything looked fine, except we once he started driving again, he couldn't shift past third gear.

Scott called the mechanic who'd fixed the car the day before, but he didn't know what was wrong. The clunking continued. Something was definitely wrong. Next he called our normal mechanic who's closer to the Mozambique boarder, but we were four hours away from him and not sure if we'd even make it to the capital. Scott again explained the problem and he immediately knew what had happened. Apparently, when the seal was fixed on the car the day before, they knocked off something that had to do with the gear box so we couldn't shift higher than third. It has to be fixed, but it's not serious.

Much relieved we went on to the mall, did a bit of shopping (by then it was too late for a movie) made Gabriel's doctor's appointment and headed three more hours to where our mechanic is without any more problems. (Thankfully this is on the way to Mozambique.) A friend found us a mission guest house where we can stay and tomorrow the car goes back into the shop.

The only sad thing is that I'm only forty miles from the game park with no car. We're planning to catch a ride to the mall and watch a couple movies, a big treat for the kids, and head home on Saturday.

Blessings,

Lisa

Quick Update

We're still here in South Africa, waiting for our car to be fixed. Hopefully it will be done today and we can leave tomorrow, but there's a chance we'll have to wait another day. Scott felt a lot better yesterday, but the headache and aches are back today as he probably overdid it. I'm pretty tired as well, so am planning a quiet day doing school with the kids and need to get some writing done.

I thought I'd post a few of my cheetah photos from our time in Kruger. Unfortunately, because the sun was setting behind them, the photos didn't turn out well, but if you look closely, you can seen them running and playing which was amazing. In the bottom photo, there are actually five there.

Scott and I want to thank everyone again for all the prayers that went out for our family literally around the world. It was such a huge encouragement.

Blessings,

Lisa

Prayers Answered

We went to the doctor and Scott was officially diagnosed with African Tick Bite Fever. This is a common sickness here (though we have never heard of it) and something that can be easily treated. Except for a headache that is supposed to last a couple more weeks, he should fully recover without any lasting side effects.

Thank you all again for your prayers!

Lisa and family

Prayer update

We arrived about midnight last night to my aunt's house where we will be staying. Scott finally talked to our doctor on the phone (we've been trying unsuccessfully to reach him all week). He said that his symptoms seemed to be a classic case of Tick Fever and we can start treatment as soon as it is verified. Scott went to a funeral out in the bush two weeks ago and has a bite on his leg (we thought it was an infected mosquito bite) so the timing makes sense.

Scott will be meeting with our doctor this morning for blood work to verify what's wrong. He didn't seem worried and it's not contagious, both good things. Praise God for a close friend who's a doctor and is willing to come in on his day off!

We're also having car trouble, but since today's a holiday we can't take it in until tomorrow. Otherwise, we are all well. The kids have cable TV here, and since we don't have TV in Mozambique, it's a treat for them. We will also try and do some schoolwork, though the kids aren't too excited about that. LOL

I'll be updating my Twitter regularly. You can sign up on my blog (on the right hand side) or just check them on the side of my blog.

Thanks for all your prayers, emails, and blog comments! They are a blessing.

Lisa

Please Pray

Last Monday Scott came down with something we thought was the flu. We gave him a malaria test that came back negative, but he continued suffering with severe headaches, swollen glands, and overall pain and weakness.

We watched him carefully, but instead of getting better, today he woke up with a rash all over his body. We finally were able to see a recommended doctor from Cuba about an hour ago, but all we know is that he has some sort of infection that has spread throughout his body.

Because the hospital here is unable to analyze and treat him, we are leaving for South Africa now to go to Tzaneen where he can get some testing done to find out what is wrong.

Please pray for us as we have a very long drive ahead of us and that God will heal him quickly. We will update in SA as soon as we know something.

Have a blessed Easter,

Lisa

Driving through Maputo

Here's a taste of of driving through Maputo, the capital. WARNING: Possible side effects of watching this video are carsickness.

Blessings,

Lisa

Safari 2009

Mariah and I worked on this one together.

Enjoy!

Lisa

Baboon Attack

We've always been cautious around baboons as they can be quite aggressive. They also think they can get a free meal because of tourists who break the law and feed them. We actually saw this happen while we were there this time. It's no wonder, then, when a car drives up, that they are curious as to what they can get.

On one of the dirt roads, we came across a large troop lounging in the road. They were extremely active, playing and jumping around, but they also had the road completely blocked which meant we had to stop. We had our windows rolled down and were taking pictures until one jumped onto our car. Frantically, we rolled up our windows, and before we knew it, we had baboons jumping all over the top of our car, rough housing on the roof, spying at us on the hood, and staring at us from the spare tire in back. We were finally able to drive away, still a bit unsure if we had company on top.

While we knew they couldn't get in, it was still a bit unsettling. One thing that did amaze me, was the love the mommas showed their babies. It was precious.

The next day, we passed another large troop and let me tell you, none of us waited to roll up our windows as we drove on by.

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Psalm 19:1

Lion Pride

I'll be posting photos of the animals we saw for the next week, starting off with one of my favorites animals, the lion. They aren't easy to spot, and we've never seen them as up close as we did on this trip. Early in the morning of day two, we came upon this pride as they crossed the road behind us. We were able to see male lions with females and cubs.




On day three, again, early in the morning, we saw another pride of females and their cubs. They were sleeping on the side of the road, allowing us to take these amazing photos. After about 20 minutes, they started walking off into the bush, one by one. The last female was obviously injured. She had wounds on her neck and body and limped away after the others.







Blessings,

Lisa

Home again

We arrived back home tonight after a wonderful three days in the game park. I think this was the best time we've ever had. It really was incredible. Two prides of lions, six hyenas, two buffalo herds, and eight cheetah for starters. I could spend a month there and never tire of watching the incredible beauty of God's creation.

Here are a few photos. I'll share more of the highlights in the days to come.

Blessings,

Lisa