Somebody say "Whoop! Gig 'em ags!"

SEEDS (Joel's post)

We had some rains a few weeks ago which we had hoped was the start of rainy season. It rained enough for the flowers to bloom on the trees and for some trees to produce fruit. One of the trees produces a small fruit with seeds about the size of marbles. We have had three cases in the last few weeks of bowel obstruction from eating too many of the seeds. The last patient presented with a pelvic mass about the size of a volleyball. She had a small bowel obstruction, the seeds, probably 100 or more, got bunched up together and would not pass through her bowel. The pressure caused a perforation, or small hole in her bowel, which leads to infection. She seems to be recovering well.

Please pray that the rains will resume quickly. Most of the farmers have already began planting and desperately need more rain. The missionaries are looking forward to the rains cooling things off a bit :).

todays verse: Matthew 17:20

FUN (Joel's post)

We took a trip to the coast two weeks ago. Abigail rode in her car seat for the first time in about 6 months. She usually helps her daddy drive around the hospital compound, so she had to get used to getting strapped in again. She has recently learned the word "fun". Every time we would hit a big bump on our 15 hour drive (one way) to the coast, Abigail would say "fun". Needless to say, with the thousands of potholes between Nalerigu and Busua Beach, Abigail had more fun than you can imagine. She also got to do some other fun things on the trip like swimming with Colt and daddy in the pool and ocean, playing on the play set at the hotel and guest house, eating real pizza in Accra, and shopping for groceries with mom and dad. Colt and Daddy had fun drinking
Dr. Pepper for the first time in about 6 months (found some in one store in Accra for about $2.75 for a 16 oz bottle) and surfing on Busua Beach. Mommy had fun getting a pedicure and hair style. We had a great trip, but are glad to be settled back in Nalerigu.

What a great week we just had with Bonnie, Georgia, and Brittany Huckabee. We are so thankful they came out here for a visit. They are on the last leg of their journey home now. We miss them already.

We are doing well. Not much new here. I'll continue posting photos as I get time!

Abbers having a snack in March

Hi. We were on vacation last week. We went to Busua Beach Resort on the coast for a few days and had a great time. Then we went to Accra to the Baptist guest house and, again, had a great time. We purchases needed supplies, then made our way back up to Nalerigu starting last Saturday. We traveled most of the journey home on Saturday, as we had frozen food and needed a freezer for overnight. It was wonderful to arrive at the Ozments' house in Tamale that night. We were in the car for 14 hours on Saturday, only snacking in the truck to "shorten" the journey! Then we only had about three hours or so on Sunday to make it back to Nalerigu. We were all glad to be out of the truck by then, for sure. Joel did great with the driving (not an easy task here, at all) and the kids did very well traveling all day.

We did not get on the computer much while we were gone. This week I need to spend some time trying to finish ordering school curriculum for next year. I hope to get back to updating the blog with photos soon.

We look forward to having Bonnie, Georgia, and Brittany Huckabee here beginning Saturday. We can't wait to see them. They will be flying from Accra to Tamale and will only have the three hour part of the journey by car. This is what most visitors do as they do not have to bring long-term supplies.

We are all doing well. New baby continues to grow, as do Colt and Abigail. Colt is growing taller by the minute, it seems. His feet are not far from my size. He is thrilled about this! Abigail is getting taller and learning more vocabulary all the time. The children are such a blessing to us. Joel is doing well. He's back at work after a nice week away relaxing with family. While unpacking new supplies for the pantry yesterday, I re-organized the pantry as it had gotten a bit messy over the last few months. I think I'm already in the nesting phase. Maybe this begins sooner the more children you have? :)