a new used vehicle

As most of you know I have had numerous problems with my car this past year. While on home assignment I brought items from Madagascar to help raise funds for a newer vehicle when I returned. I am pleased to say with God’s grace and your faithful gifts I raised almost $3,000 towards the new car. You all have shown me so much love I am honored to have you as partners with me here in Madagascar.

I arrived on Wednesday night slept most of Thursday and started car shopping on Friday. I am pleased to say I looked at one a mechanic friend found and took it for a test drive. My friend said it was in good mechanical condition. I asked about the timing belt and my friend said it would probably be a good idea to change it now and start with it new. I bought the car that day. It is a Renault Kango 2001 with 89000 kilometers. It was shipped in from France so most of those miles are not here in Madagascar. (this is a good thing with our roads). I was able to get a check cashed that day and drove it home the same day. On Monday my mechanic friend took it to change the timing belt, oil, recharge the AC and just make sure everything was in working condition. I should have it back later today. The end of this month I will travel north to Mahajunga for our team meeting. I will go with the other two office staff and bandit. We will travel in comfort.

If you are still wanting to help with the cost of this new vehicle you can donate by going to www.worldventure.com then click on donate and find my name Horen, Sandra or you can send check or money order to:

WorldVenture
1501 W. Mineral Ave.
Littleton, CO 80120-5612

Designate 6154-855

June, July, August 2011

I returned to the states for 2 ½ months.

I arrived in Michigan in time to celebrate my Mom’s birthday. We had a good time and she enjoyed the gifts, balloons and of course the cake and Ice cream. It was good to spend time with both my Mom and Dad. I was able to celebrate my Dad’s birthday with him also. As for their health, Mom is about the same health wise, she didn’t know who I was in the beginning, but I think there was a couple times she remembered me. She still knows my Dad and waits for him to come each day. My dad is experience some more health issues than I remember last year. He had an out patient surgery to remove a lump from his leg that was causing numbness in his toes. The surgery seemed to help. He appears very depressed and lonely. He misses my Mom very much. It is hard to have her in the nursing home and know he can not do anything about it. Please keep both my Mom and Dad in your prayers. It was nice to spend time with my brother and sister there in Michigan also.

I arrived in Phoenix on a hot summer evening. My friends picked me up at the airport then I spent a few days with them just outside the Phoenix area. It was so nice to be able to share with them about the previous year in Madagascar. Saturday evening after a nice barbeque I headed down to Tucson. On the way I experienced the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen. God is so good to make such beautiful things for us. Sunday morning I was blessed to be able to share with my church family at Craycroft Baptist Church in Tucson. While in Tucson I was very busy, but happy to meet with church family and friends almost every day. I spent one evening at the pool with my nephew his wife and their 1 year old daughter. She has grown so much in the last year. I also had the opportunity to spend time with my sister and family. This time in Tucson went very quickly.

Mid August I headed to New York, arriving on Thursday evening, rearranging my suitcases and flying to Florida on Friday. On Saturday morning my friend and I boarded a cruise ship for a 5 day cruise in the Bahamas. While on the cruise we saw the news that there was an earthquake on the east coast being felt in NY and even in Michigan. The next day we arrived in Nassau for a day. We noticed more ships in port than expected. This was due to hurricane Irene and they had to divert a couple of ships to avoid the storm. The next day was at sea. We saw on the news that the hurricane hit the Island of Nassau the next evening. The following day we arrived back in Florida and flew back to NY. I was scheduled to have 1 day in NY then leave on the next day. My plans were changed due to the hurricane. It hit NY late Saturday evening and early Sunday morning. The airports were closed Saturday and Sunday. I was able to secure a seat on Tuesday arriving back in Madagascar on August 31 at 9:45 pm. This was just in time because my Madagascar Visa expired at midnight on the 31^st. There was a little problem at the airport but in the end they allowed me to enter the country and directed me to get my new visa immediately the next day. My entire luggage arrived with everything safely packed inside.

Again I say God is good.

Thank you all for your prayers and support. I couldn't do this without you.