Evi Update

It's been a few weeks since we last wrote and things have changed a ton since then. Last Tuesday Evi had an appointment with her orthopedic surgeon in Bloemfontein, South Africa. To make a long story short, we are currently in the process of planning a return to Dallas in order to fix some concerns that we have regarding the way that Evi's bones have been growing since the amputation a year ago. Her Fibula is way outgrowing her tibia making it difficult for her to wear her foot for any period of time.
After some research and talking to her doctors we are in the process of planning a trip back to Dallas in order to surgically "repair" her leg. Please pray as there are many details and items that have to be finalized before we leave for Dallas.
We are still waiting for our camera to arrive after being repaired in the states. It was suppose to be here several weeks ago and it appears to be lost in the mail between Arizona and South Africa. hopefully it will arrive soon.

Kiddo news

Caleb has been due for a haircut for a while now. His hair has grown long but we wanted to wait until we had a camera. So we are now borrowing a camera and are able to get a before and after picture.


Evi has been going to preschool now for a couple of weeks. She is having a blast and wished that every day was a day for school. She always pics out her item the night before for show and tell and always comes home having a great day. We are happy that she is able to get some extra interaction with kids.


Speaking of Evi we ask that you continue to lift her up in prayer. She has been having some issues with her leg that are really limiting the time that she can wear her prosthetic leg. Right now she only wears her leg for about 4 hours a day when she goes to preschool and for church on Sunday. Everyday it is looking a little worse. Next Tuesday we are going to get some x-rays to try and determine what is going on. Please pray as she spends the next week without wearing her foot much at all. She has been having a great attitude, but she really wants to go outside and play every afternoon.

Hungry People

As you may remember me saying earlier Lesotho is in the midst of the worst drought in 40 years. More than 400,000 people are in immediate need of food aid. We often see trucks full of cement, food or a variety of other items that are not tied down. On Sunday on the way home from church we happened upon this accident just seconds after it happened. Luckily I am borrowing a friends camera and was able to take some pictures. It is sad to see this food go to waste when so many people are hungry.

Photos

Dallas Morning News

Check out this great article by Elizabeth Langton from the Dallas Morning News. We spent a lot of time between January and April with Elizabeth and the photographer Cheryl Meyer. Here are the links to the story and to the "audio/visual" presentation.
Story
Audio/Visual

August 31st, 2007

One year ago today at 10:15 in the morning marks one year since the accident at Ladies Bible Study. So how do you mark something such as that? I truly have no idea, other than to praise God for how Evi's life was spared and the celebrate the fact that she is running, playing, climbing like any three year old should be able to do.
I took Friday off of work so that we could spend the day as a family. We didn't do anything exciting and mostly we just hung out around the house playing with the kids. We want to thank all of you who played a vital part in supporting us as a family this last year. But unfortunately most of you are in America and we are in Africa. So a thank you via e-mail or this blog will have to suffice.
We have been working on some special projects around the house. The best thing Evi can do is keep physically active and this will help her in her mobility, balance, strength and general comfort in her new foot. Because this is not Dallas and I can't walk around the corner to take the kids to a nice playground I have to build one myself. And I am going all out. Wood is a little pricey here (Think over $50 for a sheet of plywood), I am using every last bit of wood that I can from our crates that we shipped our belongings in. I also purchased a slide and will make a swing, climbing wall, ladder, and other things for her to do.
Evi and I have also been making some "Water Rockets". Its some cheap entertainment and she loves the see how high the rockets go. Although her request for our rocket to go to the starts has not yet been fulfilled we are trying to make it go as high as we can. Although I must say that I am enjoying this as well, and trying lots of designs to see how high it will go.
Once again you see that there are no current photos. Sorry for the continued delay. But I know have word that my camera is repaired and is back in Flagstaff. So it should be mailed off soon and I can have it in a couple of weeks. I will then update with some photos of our rockets, jungle Gym and the family...
Thanks for praying.
The Hulls Fsmily

Still Waiting

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I am still waiting to get my camera back from the states. The good news is that Sony says it is now repaired and is under warranty. Now I just have to wait two more weeks to get it in the mail. We are doing well, and this last weekend I have been building a jungle gym for the kids. It will have a slide, climbing wall an other things that will keep Evi active. She is very excited, and cant wait for it to be done. I will send photos soon... Also be on the lookout for an article on Evi in the Dallas morning news next Sunday. I will post a link once the story comes out.

A Full Team

For the first time since we left last year we finally have a full team here in Lesotho. Two families who were on furlough returned to work this Wednesday, meaning that all eight staff families are here in Lesotho. It is great to have everyone back and to share some of the workload that we have been maintaining recently.
The family is doing great and we have recently added two 5 weeks old kittens to the mix. Evi and mommy love the kittens and have named them Biscuit and cookie. Caleb also loves the new family members but loves to pick them up and squeeze them or throw them.
I am borrowing a friends camera this weekend and hope to get some pictures up soon.

Our weekend

Leslie and I just returned from Family conference. We had a great time at the game lodge and enjoyed spending time with some of the other MAF families and the ministry team from the states. We spent all day last thursday driving to the conference and today (monday) we drove back to Lesotho. We were able to view a variety of African wildlife such as Giraffe, Wildabeast, Blesbok, Baboon, Impala, Eland, Kudu, Zebra, Warthog and other wildlife.
There were some great photo ops, but that wasn't possible due to my broken camera. After Evi's accident I purchased a new digital camera. It worked great but about two weeks ago I noticed a dark spot on all the pictures due to dust on the lens. No big deal I thought and took it to a Sony service place in South Africa. They were not able to fix it but in the process broke the flash, and when I received the camera back from them it wouldn't even turn on anymore. So now I have an almost new camera that wont even turn on. The team from the states is taking it back with them to Texas, but from my conversations with Sony it doesn't sound like it will be fixed under warranty. Oh well, maybe it's time for another camera.
Anyways, that is the story as to why I don't have any amazing photos of African animals from our family conference.

Family Conference

IT is 5AM and we are off to family conference. We appreciate your prayers for safe travels (about a 8 hours drive) and for a time of renewal and refreshment. There is a team coming from the states to lead our conference.
Love,
The Hulls

Changing windsocks

We have been keeping busy here in Lesotho. It is also the beginning of windy season, and because of the extreme wind and climate our windsocks don't seem to last that long. We have a bunch of new ones coming but someone gave us a couple windsocks to use at our wind sensitive strips until we could get a permanent replacement. So here are some pics of me replacing the windsocks. There may not be any pictures after today. My camera that I bought last September has a big piece of dust in the lens, that the local Sony repair place couldn't fix. So I will have to send it to the states and hope to get it fixed there.