UT - Day 3 - Happy 7th Birthday Mary Ben-baba!

Today we celebrated the birthday of our new family friend, Mary Ben-baba. Mary is the daugher of Ben and Yasha Ben-baba, who are the wonderful people buying our home in South Jordan. They are originally from the Congo in Africa and have only been in the states for 8 years. They have 3 adorable children, Mary, of course, and Joshua, and Ahava. Mary is their oldest. She was so excited to have so many people with her to celebrate her happy day. We've only known the Ben-babas for a short period of time, but they are special people. They love the Lord and they are striving to raise their kids to follow Christ.

The kids began the evening by playing in the backyard. They jumped on the trampoline and ran races. We brought Mary a balloon, a kite, and a jump rope that glows in the dark. The balloon did not leave her sight the entire time (as pictured above).

In addition to spending the evening with the Ben, Yasha, and the children, we were given a special treat in that Yasha's sister-in-law Mado was in town and she made everyone a real African meal which consisted of "pondu" (a vegetable dish made with casava leaves, onions, leeks, red and green peppers, palm oil and talapia fish) and salmon in a tomato and vegetable sauce. It was extremely delicious and Logan requested that we get the recipe. Another friend of Ben & Yasha, Ryan, joined the party and we all had a great time. Ben and Yasha speak french so I was able to practice my rusty skills on them. They say that I speak very well with a wonderful accent....well maybe not wonderful but better than the typical American.

We sang Happy Birthday to Mary and watched her open presents. Then we all had ice-cream cake and watched Mary enjoy her new toys. It was a wonderful evening and we're so happy to have met the Ben-baba family.