Afton is 13!

Afton has matured so much over the last year.
When we told him we were moving to Africa,
he thought we were ruining his life forever.



Since then, he has grown to love his school, including teachers and friends.





For his birthday party, we decided to do a
7th grade SLEEP-OVER!  Oh my.

Whipping up some Nutella frosting for the cake.

 12 middle schoolers. Let the party begin!

Gaming...

 

more gaming, 

a Nerf gun fight  

and more squealing than you might guess with middle school boys.

Presents - mostly edible.

A presentation from little Presley... with high pitched sounds from young boys.

Bed time. Of course, this picture was taken much earlier, as it gets dark around 6:00 PM every night.

Day 2

A few wanted to climb up the water tank.

And some had time for Mind Flex. 

All in all, the boys had a great time.

We wished Afton could have celebrated with a few special friends from back home, as well.

We are so very thankful for the truly good friends God has put into Afton's life all over the world.

We're so very thankful for Afton and his tender spirit.

Happy Birthday, buddy!

Kibuye - KICS Staff Retreat

About a week after Kumbya, we headed west to another area of Lake Kivu - Kibuye.

One of our favorite things to do in Kibuye is boat out to Bat Island.

This year, we were greeted by cows. Those who didn't go on the hike were entertained by these cows.  

Apparently, one nearly slipped into the lake. 

The name BAT ISLAND is an accurate description.

These are NOT birds. 

Want to hear them?

Wyatt decided he was old enough 

to hike up this year...

And he was right!

He did a great job climbing.

Siblings.

Heading down.

Back to the boats.