Did you read our 2024 christmas letter? The one that fits on 1 page? Well this is the uncut, extended version! Full of more detailed updates of our daughters' lives and mine, with plenty of photos. This is the first Christmas and year in review letter that we have ever sent out! I hope you enjoy the uncut version of our letter and if you want the one that fits on one page, send me your email address. :)
Dear friends and family, December 25, 2024
We pray this letter finds you well as you celebrate Christmas, reflecting on the year behind us, and looking forward to a new year ahead! We sincerely thank you for your love and care from all over the world to us, serving in Zambia. Here are a few 2024 highlights from our family.
Our year began with becoming a family of four! Anastasia Candida Temfwe was born on
January 8th, 2024 and thus started our journey as 2 under 2 parents!
Abigail continues to teach third grade and took a long maternity leave this year. She started back at work in September, when Ariella turned 2 and Anastasia was 9 months old. We all traveled to the USA in July for brother Nate’s wedding, and Abigail and Anastasia were able to visit family and friends in Scotland and Spain on the way back to Zambia.
A lot of things go on hold when you’re occupied with young children. Priorities change. Things I never thought I would accomplish, happen. Other things? Bye. We're finding our feet through every new milestone, stage and the daily and weekly changes of having 2 little ones. If I had to choose one word for motherhood so far: fun. If I had to choose one word for parenting this year: non-stop.
Two highlights for me personally when it comes to community and wellness were joining a book club and becoming a yoga fitness instructor this year! I have also enjoyed being back at work, easing into work life balance and having my own identity with many things to do outside of being called, "mommy." I am grateful for the extended time of leave that I took this year because we thrived in my stay at home mom era!
One major challenge that we are experiencing is lack of electricity and excessive heat due to a drought, the worst ever recorded in Zambian history. We have learned how to live with no electricity except for about 3-8 hours while we are sleeping. (Read that again! It's insane.) We hope to get a solar inverter to help manage this problem and we pray for Zambia to have heavy rainfall this year so that the hydropower can stabilize again.
Ariella turned 2 on September 25 and is talking all the time! She is cautious, calm, curious and caring. She loves playing with her little sister and they are entering a playful new stage of sisterhood together. I brought her to school the day Santa came to visit and she didn’t care for Santa, but she wanted to stay for the lessons! She loved coloring and interacting with the big kids, she didn’t even mind sitting all day in the big kid desk and then no nap after he first full school day! We plan for her to begin preschool when she turns 3 in September. We are in the thick of toilet training and she is finally getting it! A few successful days and nights of no accidents is thrilling. After a full year of double diapering, I am excited and hopeful for the change! 2024 is Ariella's 3rd Christmas but the first one that she’s understanding, asking questions and wanting to celebrate so we’ve gone ahead with starting some family traditions together this year.
It’s our baby’s first Christmas! Anastasia will have her first birthday in just a couple weeks. She has brought endless joy into our lives with her deep dimples, big brown sparkling eyes, belly laughs, tight hugs and 8 toothy grin. She is a very friendly, determined, happy and healthy baby. Sia loves saying, “bye” with a big wave, smile and blowing kisses. She stands and dances on her own, took her first steps a couple months ago but prefers to walk when holding onto someone/something, or crawl at top speeds! She is giggly, loves to eat anything and everything (we did 100 foods before 1), and is a true water baby - she loves to swim and will cry if you don’t let her play in the tub long enough! She does not stop moving and our arms are tired, but she's already becoming more independent day by day.
David continues to lead the non-profit organization (NGO) Jubilee Centre. In April this year, he was invited to speak about the mission work of Jubilee Centre at Celebration of Hope, which is Willow Creek Church’s annual mission conference. He shared about the farming initiatives that are changing lives, even during a drought, and more people have become interested in visiting Zambia and supporting the transforming work!
One big win for Jubilee Centre this year was to raise support to convert 20 boreholes from standard electric to solar power so that when electricity is absent, folks can still use the water and keep farming to feed their families. We also taught innovative farming strategies like organic compost making and winter farming to help manage the effects of the drought. We can tell that this farming season, our leaders will be more equipped to handle the unpredictable climate.
This year, over 20 different trainings took place to better equip church leaders in Zambia. About 190 children and families received monthly support to attend school and start sustainable income generating programs with savings groups, breaking the cycles of poverty. 25 community schools ran to provide high quality education to those in need. And thankfully, solar energy for admin offices was installed to run Jubilee Centre without a generator when there is no electricity.
We appreciate continued prayers and support for vehicle replacements to reach the under-resourced communities. We pray for the hiring of a new staff member and we hope for a much better year ahead, with abundant rain!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! May God’s peace and assurance be with you.
With love and gratitude,
David, Abigail, Ariella, Anastasia
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