A fond farwell...

Since our last blog announcing our arrival back to the USA due to health issues, we have come to the decision of retiring from our overseas mission work in Bangui, CAR through seeking Gods will through prayer and medical advice. We have also come to the decision of retiring from overseas missions all together, returning back to working in the professions that we had worked before the Lord called us to overseas missions. This is the end of this chapter in our lives, and now we look toward the future, looking to the Lord's leading....what will the next chapter in our journey be?! We're not certain, but this we know, that he has plans for us, always greater than we can imagine, trusting in Him completely!

A dear friend of ours expressed these words so perfectly to us: "it surely seems disconcerting on the earthly side, but God, who loves you so much, knows where he is taking you and why. What matters most to Him is not what you accomplish or don't manage to do, but what you become, what kind of person you are growing into. After all, our work, even Christian activities, are earth-bound and limited to this world, to time and space. But the kind of character which this life makes of us, that's what matters! Because it's what we take along when we enter the Kingdom".

We are saddened to say our 'good-byes' to Bangui, and to all those who had tremendously blessed our lives there. We have taken with us a part of Africa and tucked it into our hearts, where no one will ever be able to take away these; amazing experiences, memories, and all those who had touched our lives so profoundly there.

Our fond farewell from Bangui, CAR and 'Bits of Bangui'....and who knows, maybe we will blog about the next amazing chapter in our lives in another ministry that God has planned for us!

We would like to take this time to express to you, our sincere thanks for following along, and reading our blog 'Bits of Bangui' over this past year. And, we do hope you enjoyed seeing Bangui, CAR through our eyes and experiences.

With our love, and grateful hearts ~ Trace and Karen

Our travels home....

Late Thursday night on March 4, we boarded Air France airlines to fly back home to the USA on Friday, March 5 in Cleveland, Ohio. Our travels and all our connections (Bangui to Paris, Paris to London, London to Chicago, Chicago to Cleveland) went really well, and we are so very grateful that our luggage arrived at the end of our destination with us! We are grateful for your prayers during this time of our travels ~ please know how much we feel them.

We have come home, yet again for a time of medical leave....this is something we will continue to keep you informed of, as we know more.

Thank you again for reading our blog ~ enjoy!

Time with friends....

Time with friends...

On Wednesday (March 3), our dear friend Heidi invited us over to her home to enjoy time together during a most delicious meal of Korean beef that her house-help Jonathan made. This is my most favorite meal at Heidi's for a lunch meal! It is served with white rice, stir fry of; onions, green peppers, green beans and carrots, and of course the deliciously tender and very well seasoned beef! Our most grateful thanks to Heidi ~ for my dear friend, for her gracious love and hospitality shown to us.

A rose is a rose....

~ A rose is a rose ~

This is a flower that I've enjoyed seeing bloom again and again while we have been in Bangui, it's called a Porcelain Rose. To view this flower a little better ~ double left 'click' your mouse, and it will enlarge the image. The flower petals appear waxy looking, almost glass like.

What's that?!!

part of a palm tree ~ where the palm tree seed grow

palm tree seeds that are used to make palm tree oil

As I walked through the center a couple of weeks ago where we live, one of our guards was very carefully, yet efficiently removing these palm tree seeds out from within this huge prickly thing that grows under the leafs of the palm tree (1st picture above). Curious, I proceeded to ask him questions as to why he uses this knife to extract the seeds from this huge thing, he said if you only used your hand to extract these seeds, it would continue to cut you over and over, each time you tried to get one of these seeds extracted. I also asked what the process was like and how much this large bowl of already extracted palm tree seeds would make (2nd picture). I would approximate this bowl of seeds to be about 2 foot in diameter. He said the it would produce about 1 liter of palm oil for the use of cooking! The process he described to me was very lengthy and so time consuming....this is when, I'm so very grateful that I can go to a local little grocery store in Bangui to purchase a cooking oil right off the store shelve, already prepared and reading to use, rather than going through this very time consuming and tumultuous process just for cooking oil ~ however, this is how our Central African friends live.

Our local laundry mat

~ Our local laundry mat ~
(in our own shower)

And, our laundry machine....our own elbow grease! During the Bangui city 'power-cut', we needed to roll up our sleeves and put our own elbow grease into washing our clothes ~ here, you see Trace hand washing his work clothes.

To wash, we simply take a little laundry soap, mix it while the water was flowing out of the shower hose into a large plastic tub, dunk your clothes in and start to squishy, squishy, like your washer machine. Next, of course the rinse cycle....squishy, squishy with clean water, repeat if necessary.....ring out well....hang clothes on laundry line! Voila, your wash is done.

Karen's dream job....

Coffee anyone?!

This would be my dream job!....This little traveling coffee stand can be seen going up and down the street of Boganda in Bangui! This gentleman sells the well known instant coffee of Nescafé ~ a coffee that I have grown very fond of since we arrived in Africa (mostly, in making 'iced coffee).

We are very happy to have our regular electricity power back 'on' (which is approximately 10 hours each day of city power) after having a Bangui, city wide 'power-cut' in order for them to make repairs.

We thank you for your patience ~ and appreciate your reading our blog!

Pardon our silence...

As of Wednesday, February 3rd until Thursday, February 18th the entire city of Bangui, CAR will be without electricity. This may potentially leave us without Internet access. So, pardon our silence within 'Bits of Bangui' until then (maybe even a longer time than mentioned).

Sunday stroll....

I think he's a guard dog? Not sure though!

How adorable!

Mud bricks that were setting along the ride-side
(these are often used for the Central African's construction of their homes)

What a difference a year makes....

2009 New Years Day
in
Neuchâtel, Switzerland
(picture from our front apartment door)

2010 New Years Day
in
Bangui, Central African Republic
(picture from our back door of our house)