Green Card...

I am now officially a Permanent Resident of the USA! My green card arrived in the mail several weeks ago. Candace and I were very excited! :-)

White River Valley Antique Show...

A few weeks ago the little town of Elnora hosted the 30th Annual White River Valley Antique Show. Elnora is a small town just west and a little north of Odon, and Candace and I spent time looking at the various interesting exhibits. Since this is primarily an agricultural area, a large focus of the antique fair was on old steam-powered tractors - and how they assisted farming practices in days gone by.

Here are some photos of the day!

 Horses are still used in farming in the area.

 Water wheel.

 It grinds corn kernels into corn flour.

 A view of the area - it was the same place we had family pictures taken several weeks ago.

 A row of old stores and displays.

 The antique general dealer store.

 Post Office.

 Watching chickens hatch.

Model trucks - made entirely out of wood!

 Sugar cane press.

 Rows of tractors on display.

 Pretty in pink.

Green John Deere.

 Massey Ferguson.

 Antique steam tractor.

 The tractors are powering a saw mill.

 Candace's Grandpa's tractor.

 Grandpa Paulus.

 The belt runs from the tractor into the building.

Measuring the horse power of a tractor.

 Speaking of horse power...

 Horses on a treadmill assist in threshing hay.

Farm equipment on display.

AFM visit to Cape Town!

As mentioned in the previous post, the Africa Mercy will be arriving in South Africa shortly. We're sad that we won't be there to see our ship home and family, but we trust that Cape Town will make our ship family feel very welcome! :-) I hope that my model AFM will get to meet the real version! :-)

Mercy Shippers Visit...

Two weeks ago our friends Dan and Kylie and their daughter Hannah drove down from Michigan to visit us for the weekend. Dan was my first cabin-mate back in Liberia 2007 and 2008 and he met his wife Kylie, from New Zealand, while serving on the Africa Mercy. They are heading to New Zealand as I type and it was lovely to host them here before their big move south. Any other Mercy Shippers want to come and visit us? Feel free to give us a call! :-)

And speaking of Mercy Shippers visiting, a whole lot of Mercy Shippers will be arriving in Cape Town in a little under a week's time! Enjoy my hometown, AFM family! :-)

House-husband...

With Candace working long hours at the hospital, I have found myself in the role of house-husband throughout most of the week. I can't apply for jobs since I don't have a social security number yet, so I spend my days doing the daily chores. These include washing dishes, doing laundry, vacuuming, grocery shopping, mowing the lawn, and cooking supper for the two of us. I'm actually enjoying this time at home. It's growing me in new ways and I'm also becoming more creative with cooking up different meals. God is good. :-)

Sausage stir-fry supper. Yum! :-)

Solar energy...

A few weeks ago Candace and I helped a local Amish electrician install solar panels. Amish people usually remain off the power grid but are allowed to make their own electricity - using generators or solar panels - for their businesses. It was interesting to learn a little bit about solar energy and how much electricity these panels are able to supply. They usually charge a rechargeable battery with the solar energy coming from the panels.

 Putting the supports in place for the panels.

 Candace drilling the solar panels in place.

 The breaker box for the panels.

 I did all the wiring myself - after being shown what I had to do, of course.

The solar panels in position.

Plug adaptor fun...

The joy of being a South African and having to charge your phone in a foreign country. :-)

Cycling in Indiana...

Candace and I enjoy cycling together and we've already explored much of the surrounding area by bicycle. We have a couple of hybrids. Hybrid bikes are a cross between a road bike and a mountain bike and have much thinner tyres than normal mountain bikes. These ones do, however, retain the front suspension of a mountain bike. They're perfect for cycling around the roads here!

 Heading out on an early morning sunrise cycle.

Ready to cycle the Indiana roads!

Indiana sunsets...

We get some pretty sunsets here in rural Indiana. :-)

Microwave popcorn...

We bought this unique form of microwave popcorn up in Fort Wayne in late July. The popcorn actually pops directly off the cob. Not sure how it's made - but it's certainly something I've never seen before.

 The microwave popcorn bag.

 Ready for microwaving.

 The popcorn popped straight off the cob.

 Some popcorn was left on the cob...

... As were a few kernels. But overall a successful experiment! (Apart from the fact that I burned some of the popcorn!)