Picture day

In a bit of a scramble, the day before Grant left for South Africa, we set out to get some last minutefamily pictures taken. Wise parents we are, we took every precaution to ensure we would have happy smiling faces for the 6pm shoot. Both children were fed then put down for a good long nap; then fed yet again before we headed out. On the drive we talked excitedly of where we were going, and how much fun we would have. "Are you going to smile for the Camera Nigel?""CHEESE" he would say with a demonstrative grin.

Looking back it is difficult to pin point when exactly it happened. But somewhere between getting out of the car, and sitting down for that first picture. Our children resolutely vowed they would show little or no sign of cooperation or familial happiness for the next hour. We will spare you most of the painful details, but share that during one of the dozens of jo

int efforts to chase down and drag back our 'adorable' screaming toddler we did look at each other in despair and disbelief as to how much we were actually paying for said effort.

In the end, we are quite surprised to have gotten a few keepers. We're very thankful for our photographer, Galen, for putting up with us and making the most

of a difficult situation. She has a 2 year old too. :)

Arrived Safe!!

After 2 full days of traveling we arrived safely in South Africa this morning right on time!  Praise God! We did not lose any luggage.  As we counted our bags we were missing 3 but out of nowhere a man just showed up and gave us the exact bags we were missing! We give credit to God because South Africa is infamous for losing luggage.  Our London layover went wonderfully and the hours I spent researching last week paid off.  Continue to pray for us as we adjust to the new time zone. About 30mins ago I got sick but after drinking some water I am already feeling better.  Thank you for your prayers!

Will Jessica Cox Please Report to the Airport Police!

So this announcement over the OKC Airport loudspeaker started off our trip.  My co-leader Jessica Cox is called by the airport police for trying to smuggle explosives in her checked luggage.  And by explosives they mean, party poppers. Haha, after a slap on the wrist and confiscation of the contraband we were back on track.  Made it on our flight and have landed safely in Chicago. Our flight for London doesn't leave until 8pm so we have a comfortable layover.  Already missing my family but so far so good.  Please continue to pray that our travel in London goes smoothly.  We have about 9hrs and plan to go visit a few of the sites.  Looking forward to goin' South!
-G