What time is it, anyway?

I received a call from Will this morning...at 3am, since Madagascar is 7 hours ahead of us!! Not sure if Will took that into account when he made the call.  So, I awoke this morning to a sweet voicemail from him since they had access to a cell phone that could make international calls. What a blessing technology can be. Suffice it to say, he is doing well. They spent the night in the rain forest, and were headed out today to drive to Manakara, the city where they will be working out of the rest of the week.  They had about a 4 hour drive from the rain forest to Manakara, which is on the southeast coast of Madagascar.

On Monday, they will be briefed about what they will be encountering when they go into the local villages.  The plan is to visit the villages all day on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  On Friday, they will fly back to Tana (Antananarivo, the capitol) via MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship) and then fly back via Paris and NY, arriving Saturday night.  To give you some perspective, the plane flight on a (small) MAF plane takes about 1.5 hrs. from Manakara to Tana...this same trip took the team almost 14 hours of driving!!  Think potholes, windy roads, zebu herds blocking the road, and an average speed of about 35-40 MPH, and you get the picture!  For my speed-loving husband, I'm sure that going this slow in a car is one of the most challenging things he's experienced.  But hey - no speeding tickets!

Here is a picture Will sent of some of the scenery on the drive down.  Madagascar is truly a beautiful place:

Here is another view of the countryside, this time with a few houses:

A few pictures of the beautiful rain forest:

Beautiful scenery:

I should have started this blog out with some basic info about Madagascar...so here are a few maps for your education:

Madagascar is the 4th largest island in the world

Largest Islands by Area

1. Greenland - North America - 840,004 square miles - 2,175,600 sq km
2. New Guinea - Oceania - 312,167 square miles - 808,510 sq km
3. Borneo - Asia - 287,863 square miles - 745,561 sq km
4. Madagascar - Africa - 226,657 square miles - 587,040 sq km
5. Baffin Island - North America - 195,927 square miles - 507,451 sq km
6. Sumatera (Sumatra) - Asia - 182,860 square miles - 473,606 sq km
7. Honshu - Asia - 87,805 square miles - 227,414, sq km
8. Great Britain - Europe - 84,354 square miles - 218,476 sq km
9. Victoria Island - North America - 83,897 square miles - 217,291 sq km
10. Ellesmere Island - North America - 75,787 square miles - 196,236 sq km

Madagascar is south of the Equator, roughly the same placement that Cuba is in the northern hemisphere.  It's pretty mild year-round, although we've read many blogs of people complaining how hot it is there. Will and I think these people must be from Minnesota!  Their seasons are reversed, so right now they are having "fall", and moving into the winter months. Weird, I know! 

So, for now I will sign off...enough rambling for one day. Thanks for reading, and thanks for all your prayers. The girls and I (and Wyatt!) are doing great. God is good, all the time! We're ready for daddy to be home, but know that will come soon enough. Every time we pull into the driveway and Bella sees Will's car she says, "OH! Daddy's home now!", and I have to explain once more that he will be home soon.  Like Christmas to a child, soon cannot come soon enough! 

Grace and peace,

Jenn

Today's Mada update

Will sent a few videos and pics this morning from the hotel where they are staying.  I will post the pic I have, and try to get the videos uploaded shortly.  The internet is VERY slow where they are, so most of the pics and videos will have to wait until he is back home. They are traveling today - on a 10 hr car ride down to the rainforest (SE Madagascar).  Sounds like fun, eh? Please pray for safe travels, and not too many potholes to go over! Will update with the week's schedule soon, too, so you will know how to pray specifically.
The picture above was taken in Will's hotel room...nice mosquito net! Malaria is alive and well down in Mada, and Will is on anti-malaria meds. Pray that he stays well!
More to come soon...

On the ground in Mada

Will has landed safely in Antananarivo (Tana), the capitol of Madagascar.  Uneventful flights, thankfully, but long nonetheless!! About 22 hours of flying...and they still have about a 12 hr. car ride tomorrow to get down to where they're going to be for the week, the city of Manakara.  Will is going to try to email pictures and videos as he has access to internet, but it may happen until he is stateside again. I will do my best to keep you posted as I hear word from him. 
Prayer request: Will's cornea was scratched the Sunday before he left (last Sunday) by our daughter and was using medicine on it, and was supposed to take it for the next 10 days.  The meds ended up being left behind in the flurry to get him to the airport, so please pray specifically for healing of his eye in the absence of the meds. 
Also, please pray for rest for the group, and Will specifically.  He said that he didn't sleep much on the entire flight, and was exhausted.  He doesn't always deal well with a lack of sleep, so please pray that he will be able to rest and assimilate to the time change (they're 7 hours ahead of us). They will be doing quite a bit of traveling throughout their week, so please also pray for safety on the roads for the group.
Thank you for your continued prayers!  The girls are doing great here, and we are all missing daddy very much.   I deal a bit with fear of being alone (it's weird how you get used to ALWAYS having someone around!), and Bella keeps asking "Where's daddy?"  Tonight when we pulled into the house, she saw Will's car and said, "Oh! Daddy's home!", and I had to tell her that no, he wasn't going to be home for a few days.  Her poor little two year old mind can't quite comprehend what's going on!
We love you all, and I look forward to updating you throughout the week.
Jenn (for Team Korver!)

The beginning

Since virtually everyone I know blogs these days, and a friend of mine recently told me, "You have to do this!"....here we are! The kiddos are sleeping for the moment, which gives me a moment of rest. And writing is very therapeutic for me, so this seems like a natural thing for me. Will is going to be taking off on an adventure soon, and wanted a place to upload info and pictures if he gets time (and internet!), so this is the beginning of Team Korver's blog!

Stay tuned for more...