The Turner Adventures

Pearl

Who would’ve thought that a 4 1/2 year old and a 13 year old could be such good friends. Taylor and her friend Pearl met almost a year ago and they have been great friends since. Pearl lives in the neighborhood near us with her mom and brother. She and her 19 year old sister Christina were coming weekly last year to our home to study the bible together, but since Christina’s move with her grandparents and Pearl’s demanding school schedule we have had to rearrange things. We hope to start studying the Bible on Saturdays at Pearl’s house so many can hear the gospel including her mom. Taylor loves to sit and listen to the stories and can answer questions about the story after it has been told.

Pearl turned 13 years old this past Saturday so we took homemade cupcakes to her house. We had a great time visiting with her friends and mom (picture below).

Above: Over the Christmas holidays while we were away, Pearl wrote out 28 questions that she had about God or her bible readings she had been doing. It was great to see the Lord working on her heart during our absence.

Taylor got a camera from Grammy and Grandad for Christmas. She brought it out the other day and below are the pictures we found of her and Pearl. Too fun!

Our walks

The kids and Amanda normally go on a walk to the grocery store about 2 times a week. We have developed a wonderful relationship with the ladies at the store and many along our path. The kids open so many doors for us as the Batswana love them. Here are some pictures from our walk one day.

This is the road right outside of our gate that we walk down every day

This is the primary/elementary school at the end of our road

Taylor posed on the drain by some houses along the way. Most of them are built of cement/cinderblock and have outhouses out back.

This is the last path we walk down to get to the grocery store. It’s a fun adventure with the kids every day chatting with old and new friends.

“Twinkle Sparkles” is born

While Grammy and Grandad were with us in Cape Town over Christmas, they took Taylor to build her 1st “build a bear". She chose to make a Dalmatian dog and lovingly named her “Twinkle Sparkles”. This dog is so special to Taylor as she put her and Grammy’s hearts inside before stuffing her and sowing her up. On our 18 hour drive back to Botswana from Cape Town, we stopped to spend the night in a hotel. Somehow, Twinkle Sparkles got left in the hotel and we did not realize this until we were almost home. After many many tears, numerous calls to the hotel and arranging a courier to drop Twinkle Sparkles off to a friend in South Africa, I am happy to report that Taylor is now sleeping soundly in her bed with Twinkle Sparkles right beside her. “And they all lived happily ever after”

Thanks, Uncle Chris!!

I think that all aunt’s and uncle’s love to see their brothers and sisters squirm when they buy their nieces/nephews gifts that they would not want in their own home. Amanda’s brother hit the nail on the head this year for Christmas in buying our 1 year old a DRUM. Thanks so much, Chris! Just know that we will get you back.

Cape Town, South Africa

We were able to travel to Cape Town, South Africa for vacation with Brent’s parents over our Christmas holiday. We are so thankful that his family came to spend time with us. It truly was one of the most beautiful places we have ever been. I’ll attach some of our favorite pictures, but if you want to see more head to http://theturnerbabies.shutterfly.com/ .

We hung out at Boulder Beach with some penguins. The water in Cape Town is so cold so the penguins hang out there.

Above: Chapman’s Peak drive with Hout Bay in the background

Below: Chapman’s Peak drive along the coast

Above and below: At Clifton Beach

The shark flags fly on the beaches here since they are seen quite frequently.

Taylor using her camera to take pictures. Love her kid point of view!

It’s funny to see the baboons at the beach. They are such troublemakers. They climbed onto the car beside us (above) and surfed for a bit and then climbed on our car (below) and didn’t want to let us in.

Above: We traveled to both the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point which is the southern most point in Africa. So fun and beautiful!!

These pictures were taken in Muizenberg. These beaches are known for their colorful changing buildings.

Above:Grammy and Taylor in their new hats at Simon’s Town

Above: Table mountain from a distance

Below: Grammy and Taylor made her 1st “build-a bear” together

Merry Christmas from Botswana!

We want to thank each of you for your continued prayers and support over the past year for our ministry here in Gaborone, Botswana. Merry Christmas!!

Kits for Kids in Lobatse

When we first moved to Botswana over 2 years ago, we lived in Lobatse which is a small town 1 hour south of where we currently live. We studied the language of Setswana for about 9 months and during that time, we were able to volunteer at an orphan care centre. This centre is not an “orphanage” as we think of in America, but the kids that come here have lost either one or both parents to AIDS. They come to the Centre after school (if they can afford to go to school) and have a time of bible stories, games, singing, and a hot meal for the day.

When we learned about the kits for kids sponsored by the BGR (Baptist Global Response), we knew we wanted to order some for the children who come to the Centre. These kids probably will not receive anything else for Christmas which is so sad, but to see the joy on their faces when they saw they were getting school supplies was priceless. Many thanks to the kids in America who put together these kits during their VBS this past year for needy kids around the world. We received such a blessing being around these kids and we were able to share the true meaning of Christmas-JESUS-with them.