Pictures for the family

And so, dear family, these are pictures of our long awaited 20th anniversary celebration, BUDGET style in the Seychelles on Mahe Island. I hope you enjoy taking a look. I have included brief captions so you can follow along chronologically as to how we enjoyed our days there. It was one of the most beautiful places we have seen on God's Earth. I would love for each and every one of you to be able to visit here some day. It does NOT take thousands of dollars, contrary to popular belief. If you are ever serious about planning a trip to the Seychelles, ask us how to help you TRULY enjoy while not going broke!

We couldn't resist a picture of this funny sign--this was in the Addis Ababa airport and the language in Ethiopia has some different letters! It looks like it says, "HaHa, NO SMOKING" 

The Victoria, Mahe, Seychelles, airport is right on the water.

The view is stunning as you exit the airport--straight up the mountainside!

The view from our patio. Directly down the hill is the beach. The layout (STEEP HILL TO CLIMB) reminded us of Laguna Riviera. 

We stayed at a place called Surfers Self-Catering Chalets and the business owners started with the above restaurant which is situated on the beach. The 6 different chalets for the Surfers hotel are located up the hill behind this building.

Our first time putting our feet on OUR beach!

I was still dressed in what I wore on the airplane, but I didn't care, I just wanted to put my feet in the sand!

Can you find the bird? In the center of the photo, the bird is yellow with red splotches. This one visited every morning .

Our beach. So beautiful.

One of the ways we saved money was by riding the public bus everywhere we went. It was only  about 40 cents to ride as far as you wanted. Of course, the real thrill was the way they drove on the narrow roads above cliffs overhanging the ocean or forests. Even a millionaire that can afford paying for a luxurious hotel suite should ride the bus at least once! Otherwise, they miss out on the total local experience! Believe us, not only do the drivers' skills give you a "thrill" but seeing how the locals dress, talk, interact and get around gives a better overall picture of the Seychellois culture.

Standing in front of the daily open market in Victoria. Fresh fruits, vegetables, souvenirs, fish and various oils are the types of things filling the various tables.

red snapper and tuna

You better believe we bought some of this very special essential oil (packaged in a used Jack Daniels bottle)

Enjoying our complimentary champaign given to us for our 20th anniversary by the hotel owners.

Geoff loved the rocks on our beach, both at high tide and low tide.

Ad on the bus stop at Anse Royale. Anybody interested in getting a degree from the University of the Seychelles? Can't beat the location!!!!!

The bus stop at Port Lanay and a sweet picture of our daily limousine.

Port Lanay is a beautiful inlet situated on the north west side of Mahe. If you want to spend about 500 euro/night you are welcome to stay here at some of the nearby resorts, or you could spend about 7,000 euro/night at the farther south Four Seasons for their hilltop 17,000 sq. foot accommodation. It is certainly beautiful and tranquil, but trust us, you can enjoy the Seychelles without dropping that many dimes.

The Seychelles has a strong Catholic culture. This cross in Port Lanay is testimony of the faith of the Seychellois.

Port Lanay has amazing rocks which strikingly rest on the beach. It is also a great inlet for snorkeling.

Another view of the rock formations at Port Lanay

In the early part of the morning the beach at Port Lanay has few people.

After leaving Port Lanay we stopped off at Anse La Mouche. It was said to be a great beach for kids, as it is very calm. We found it to be deserted and not as pretty as other beaches. There were a lot of fishing boats just a 100 feet or so out and there were many dogs running loose. But, it was nice to walk along the shore just the two of us.

On our third day we took the bus to the North shore of Mahe in order to hike the Anse Major trail. The reward was a secluded beach that could only be reached by hike or boat. Our feet were free transport, plus the beauty along the trail was outstanding and not to be missed!

The trail takes you high above the north coast of Mahe and the colors are extreme.

Besides mansions you also find local "houses" (this is more along the lines of a shack--made of sheet metal and poorly built doors and windows.

looking straight down from the trail

regardless of where we were on the trail the views were stunning

wow.

Evidence of faith is everywhere

What to say? it is truly breathtaking!

The reward of our hike! A lovely, private beach with only a few people on it.

The trail also took us out of the shelter of the forest and through some pretty rocky and blazing hot portions, too.

It was here that we ate the lunch we packed and soaked up the sweet view of the Indian Ocean on Mahe's northwest side.

This beach was just over the rocks from the first beach we came upon at the end of the hike. A film company was getting ready to shoot a movie and kept badgering us to leave. But, we stayed for a little while and took in the pretty surroundings.

On the way back we took a different route for a short bit and found this tree growing out of the rock.

Back in Victoria later that afternoon we found some Gelato near the open market place.

Yup.

This bird and its partner hopped about each morning just off our veranda. They always traveled together.

Fruit bats were plentiful and flew during the day. They are huge and also a local cuisine item--fruit bat curry. NO, we did not try any. 

Enjoying the late afternoon low tide and warmth. On our 4th day we simply enjoyed our beach and didn't travel anywhere.

But on our 5th day we took a tour of some nearby Islands--"Long" "Round" and "Moyenne" which means middle. We can't remember our boat driver's name, but we can tell you that the answer to most of our questions was given as follows, "Ya'Man!"

Heading out from Victoria to hike and snorkel.

We stopped on the way to feed some fish.

They jumped out of the water to snatch bread from your hand!

heading into Moyenne

Exiting onto the soft white sand

A few people have owned Moyenne Island in its known history. The most recent was a man from the UK who bought it in 1961 and lived there from the 80s until he died in 2014. Half of the island is a sanctuary and the other half deeded to the government for tourism.

We snorkeled in the waters just beyond the breaking wave.

This is the simple house that the owner, Gresham, lived in on Moyenne.

Large land tortoises were introduced to the Island by Gresham and continue to live there. One of them is being a bit cheeky and trying to bite my behind. 

After hiking, snorkeling, and a beach BBQ we docked in a shallow sand bar area between a number of Islands and were allowed to explore, swim and enjoy.

The sand bar was very long and provided beautiful views of nearby Islands.

Another sunrise on our beach inspires worship of our Creator!

God made some funny looking creatures! These guys were constantly busy on the beach.

Geoff got up early every morning and enjoyed the sunrise.

We headed to the west side of the Island on our last full day on Mahe. This is the view from the bus stop just a couple hundred feet from our chalet.

When we got off the bus at Baie Lazare we first stopped at an intriguing cemetery. Most of the graves were not marked and many were broken apart.

Exploring the west side of the Island led us to this conglomeration of signs. It reminded us of Laguna!

We hiked for more than 2 hours in forest, neighborhood and near a few swanky hotels.

This was our reward. Aaaaaaaah

We walked for awhile on the beach.

The surf was much stronger on this side of the Island. We were stopped by security guards who informed us that we could go no further as it was private land. They wouldn't tell us who owned it, but were happy to direct us to exit through the the neighboring resort--which, in our opinion, wasn't much to look at. 

After about an hour we were back on the village road and came across this interesting fruit stand tended to by "this person" who wrote on the sign in front of the stand, "Please, I am not a woman." (Apparently, this was important information.)

Very eclectic taste in building decor.

Finally we made it down to the other side of the beach, which we could see earlier, but weren't allowed to walk to over the rocks behind us! So, it could have taken us about 15 minutes instead of an hour had the private property not been in the middle of our path. Oh well, we love exploring and we certainly loved seeing the locals.

This is one of the rocks we climbed once we made it to the other beach.

The surf at Baie Lazare has very strong currents and swimming is not allowed during May-September.

But, the beauty and serenity is definitely not hindered by strong currents!

This little beach vehicle is a cutie and I want one! I've never heard of it before, "Moke"

The reason behind the name of the Bay, "Baie Lazare"

Waiting at the bus stop at the end of our hike--I'm enjoying the view of "MY Moke"

We capped off our final full day of exploration with Sunday brunch at Les Dauphins. Red Snapper, veggie fritters, various salads, yummy fruit and desserts that will give an instant sugar coma! Fried sweet bananas, sugar glazed coconut and sweet potato drenched in sugar glaze. It was killer.

Our waitress insisted on taking quite a few shots of us in honor of our 20th anniversary. The beach at which the restaurant  is Anse Royale and its water can be seen in the back ground.

Back on our beach to watch the sunrise on our last morning before we flew out we found a hermit crab making his way back to the forest after a night of carousing.

Gorgeous sunrise at Surfers beach, Anse Parnel.

Aaaaaand, the steep hike back up the hill to our chalet.

Our chalet's veranda

The hotel's resident dog came to tell us goodbye on the morning we left. 

On the way to Victoria we stopped to snap a photo of the cross we saw every time we traveled into Victoria. It is located at Anse Royale and was one of many we saw around Mahe.

Another cross prominently displayed in Victoria

We enjoyed a rich coffee and pastry before heading out to pick out some souvenirs.

I hope you all have enjoyed this little photo tour! One last thing to note: If you can fly a carrier other than Ethiopian, you should. Not very comfortable, food--pretty bleh, on board safety attention a little lax, but on the up side the coffee is amazing! Also, the Addis Ababa airport is the absolute, most chaotic I have ever been in! With the poor PA system employees resort to yelling out the names of destinations in an effort to gather groups of travelers together. Then they shuffle groups of people back and forth between security gates. Absolutely hilarious in one sense, but also frustrating. One group of travelers were shuffled in two different directions only to be told once arriving (finally) at their gate (at midnight) that their flight was cancelled until 7 a.m.

THE REASON TO ENJOY

The scenery can inspire, the beauty can awe, the food can overwhelm, the enjoyment can captivate.  As it has to so many, both here and across the world the pursuit of pleasure has become the primary goal and yet it is empty of purpose. Today I am seeing how easy it can be for one to lose focus on what it is really about. God has created a world filled with beauty, filled with experiences to be had. His goodness is seen all around us, in nature, in people and the journey through this life. Yet we also must see how these gifts can actually become the things that choke out the word of God and distract us from the main purpose (Luke 8:14). Solomon wrote in the book of Ecclesiastes 2:24 that it is great for man to enjoy this life, it is a gift from God. The apostle Paul also had the perspective that living life to the fullest can bring glory to God (Col 3:23), even in the eating and drinking (1 Cor 10:31). The challenge in navigating the pleasures of this life is to not lose sight of why God has made such beauty, why he gives us the chance to celebrate life. IT IS TRULY A GIFT FROM GOD. Colossians 1:16 tells us how all these things, all this beauty and enjoyment is actually for HIM. Yes God has intended us to enjoy his creation, he wants us to live our lives to the fullest enjoying the journey he has us on but it must be done with our eyes focused on Him. The one who all good and perfect gifts come from (James 1:17) and enjoy it as a offering unto him. Not allowing the gift to distract us from the giver and to remember that our call is to build His Kingdom and be fruit bearers where ever we are. In the end let us remember as the Preacher said, "Let us fear God and keep his commandments for this is the whole duty of man" - Ecclesiastes 12:13

THANKFUL THAT GOD IS GOOD

This morning I am here sitting at a unique location… take a look if you want 

https://www.google.com/maps/place/4°46'02.9%22S+55°31'19.2%22E/@-4.767473,55.5198073,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x0!8m2!3d-4.767473!4d55.521996

It is really causing me to think about so many things but especially taken up by thankfulness for what God has done in our lives. But not just what he has done, but specifically what He has allowed us to see. I still consider myself a young man, only 48 years and I would expect many years remain, but the things I have witnessed are at times amazing. This past week we have celebrated. First Mary and my 20th wedding anniversary and then with the church our annual thanksgiving service. Approximately 800 people jumping, shouting and praising God, (take a look at Facebook for many pictures) We recounted so many things that God has done. The way we have seen God move in people’s lives, seeing HIs character expressed in so many people, so many cultures, in nature and so many experiences around this world.  How he has revealed himself is overwhelming!

But I don’t want to focus only on what I can see…We often are caught up thinking about what He has done, or what is happening in our lives. We determine the level of blessing in our lives by what we are experiencing and judge God by our circumstances. Psalm 136 opens up with the line “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good.” The writer then begins to recount all that God has done, all that would cause one to be thankful. But he wanted to begin at a certain point, not with what he has done but with who He is. HE IS GOOD! That must be were we begin, “…knowledge of the Holy one is insight” - Proverbs 9:10. If we are really to have insight into this life, if we are to fully grasp the meaning of why we are here then it must begin with knowing our God. And that knowing can come primarily through his word where he reveals to us the real picture of who he is. We then couple that with our experiences it leads us to the place of declaring "God is my salvation, I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song" - Isaiah 12.

I am thankful for this morning, in all my wonderful experiences including the view I am looking at now but I know none of it compares to knowing and experiencing the character of my God!

CONFUSED

Today was not your normal day, actually we began diverting from normal last night…Around 11pm, not long after we went to bed, the phone rang with news from a friend of ours in Kiwoko telling us her sister had just died. At the same time Acacia’s pregnant goat began crying out as if in labor…Wait how to make this VERY long story become short, OK let’s try.  Today began with going to console our friend whose sister died last night, then going to purchase a coffin and agreeing to help drive to transport the body, driving to a remote fishing village where the person who died was hiding from an abusive husband (who actually killed her boyfriend), along the way picking up a totally different dead person (a baby who had died 5 minutes earlier) on the side of the road, (Can you say, Toto we are not in Kansas anymore?), smooth talking a soldier for him to allow us to take the short cut through the military base, loading the dead body in the coffin and putting it on the roof rack of the van, driving to another fishing village where the body would eventually cross the lake to the other side (another short cut), negotiating on the cost of the boat ride, sitting on top of our van (on the coffin) and watching our friend share Jesus with the crowd of young children who came to see the muzungu (white person) sitting on the coffin (on top of the van), loading the coffin into a small boat, driving the return trip of 100km back home, not without another short cut (which turned out to be much longer) and having lunch at 5:30 when I returned…Was that short enough? Oh yeah no idea why the goat was shouting, we still don’t have a new baby.

The lesson learned for me today? Sin kills!!!!! As Paul said, "The wages of sin is death.” Today I came away shaken by the deep despair that I witnessed in so many people’s lives. The death that initiated all this was so unnecessary and totally preventable if the individual had embraced the truth and “the better way” that God so painstakingly spells out for us. The desperate poverty and lack of hope that I saw in people who seemingly have resolved themselves to self gratification through momentary pleasures. The alcoholism and polygamy have created such a vicious cycle of destruction that is perpetuating the hopelessness and fueling the orphan crisis. The pain I felt as a grieving mother holding her dead baby (the one I picked up by the road side) rode in our back seat struck me in a way that I don’t want to ever experience again! Our world, as my friend said today, is CONFUSED! The very thing that we all need more than anything else is so staunchly resisted in our current culture. The answers to Uganda’s orphan crisis, to America’s moral turmoil, to the problem of militant Islam is found in God’s word and in Jesus Christ. Yet today our children in school are not allowed to pray in His name, our political leaders cannot side with him for fear of being non-inclusive. If you stand up for the name you will be accused of being a hater. The answer that everyone needs is the one that is most feared today. May God’s mercy and grace be on us all to navigate this “confused” world that we live in. 

Sweet 16

Today is Toby's 16th birthday!!!!


We took him to Kampala for a special lunch and an added bonus of hover-boarding.

I had arranged with Sam (who had to go to school today) to meet a bunch of people at our house in the late afternoon to surprise Toby with "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" and LOTS of water (!!!) once we returned home.

Elisha, Junju and Uncle Russel grab the birthday boy in preparation for a sweet dousing!!! Aunt Grace starts the party by throwing confetti.

Toby was definitely the wettest, but a close second were Russel and Gabe who helped hold him while the David Family girls aimed to drench the birthday boy.

Kelsi, a fellow missionary, made Toby's favorite chocolate cake which we shared with those who came to meet us once we arrived home from Kampala. Supper was prepared and delivered by our investment year staff at the forge, so I didn't have to cook.

If you put a sign prohibiting people in Kampala from doing a certain something, in this case parking or loading, that is the thing they are FOR SURE to do! There were about ten cars parked and loading as we passed this sign.

 As we made our way through Kampala, at one point there was an overloaded lorry blocking the road, causing a huge traffic jam. As taxis and cars began turning around to take a different route we followed suit. To the left you can view the village route--one lane dirt road jammed with cars crawling along in both directions and people in the neighborhood conducting their business perilously close to the moving cars that were trying to avoid both the people, the trees, the buildings and the ditches!




We're thankful we were able to spend the day in the way we did.

Toby is a wonderful son and we loved treating him today!

He's already announced that "This was the BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!!!!"