Update #15 Sept. 1-Nov. 9

Dear Praying Friends,

“Ah Lord God! Behold, Thou hast made the heaven and the earth by Thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for Thee.” Jeremiah 32:17

What an awesome God we serve! Chad and I have been reading in Jeremiah in our personal bible reading and have been really blessed with so many of God’s promises to His people if they will only obey Him and worship Him only!

It has been quite some time since we have updated you with our lives! We TRY to write about once a month but it doesn’t always get done! J So I will try and catch you up with the last 2 months!

The beginning of September we went to Jason Kauffman and Charity Ulrich’s wedding in Tamale. Tamale is in the northern region of Ghana and is about 14 hours from Sogakope. Charity is Chad’s cousin and Jason is a brother to my sister-in-law Sarah [married to Paul Dunn]! The wedding was beautiful… the couple radiant! We stayed in Tamale almost a week and took one day to visit Karaga. The village where Chad and I served as singles 6 years ago. It was fun to go back and see many familiar people and places!

We came home from Tamale and dove back into Language learning! The language course book that we have been going through has 30 lessons so our goal was to finish the book by Thankgiving! We have been studying long and hard sometimes doing a whole lesson in one day… and now we only have one more lesson to go! We should finish this week Lord willing! Of course that doesn’t mean that we have mastered the language… but it had given us a good understanding of sentence structure, word usage, and the many contractions and word phrases. So now we are praying that God will give us wisdom as to how to go from here! We feel like we need to get out and USE what we know and try and understand what the people are saying. Hearing the language is very difficult for us right now. Because we may hear a word or two that we know but because most Ewe words change meaning according to context we have to know the whole context of the sentence to understand what meaning that particular word is! But we are getting it slowly, slowly! An encouraging verse that God gave us was in Isaiah 28:10-11, “For precept, must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little: For with stammering tongue will he [we] speak to this people.” We feel like our tongues stammer and our brains can’t think fast enough when it comes to speaking! We are praying about Chad going and working in a friends welding shop a couple of morning a week to get more exposure to the language and force him to speak some to the boys that work there who know very little English. For me I’m not exactly how I can get out more… but I am going to try and visit some of the ladies our small village of Kudzekope. Just a short walk from our house is a where the main village is with a clump of about 15 houses and we have made friends with a number of the ladies because we sell water from our tank when we have extra. Most of these ladies know no or very little English… so I would be forced to hear and speak Ewe. We also want to keep our language teacher coming in the afternoon to teach us more new things and answer any questions we may have encountered in the day! We are confident that God will help us to learn and eventually speak this language! So please continue to pray for us!

In the middle of Oct. we had to make a quick trip to Togo to renew Anna’s visa. We spent a night there and had a nice relaxing time at the ocean… enjoying the waves and sand! God was good and we didn’t have any trouble at the borders and Anna was granted an extension to her visa so she can stay another 3 months! She plans to be here till Feb. My mom is planning to come the middle of Jan. to be here for the birth of the baby and bring LeAnne Petre [Phil Petre’s daughter] with her. LeAnne will take Anna’s place and will be here for 6 months. Then Lord willing my Dad will come the end of Jan. and take my Mom and sister home the beginning of Feb. We are looking forward to their coming!

The Brother’s in the church have been having several meetings in the last 2 months to discuss different issues in the church and write up their own statement of faith. We are also praying about selling some of the church property across the road from the church.

Family life… some of you may be interested to hear how my pregnancy is going and how the children are. I had a prenatal with the Doc. in Accra in Sept. Then another prenatal at the hospital here in Sogakope. Everything seems to be going well so far, God is giving me grace for each day and I am VERY grateful for my sister who has been doing most of the household duties. We recently hired a wash girl to come and wash for us 3 days a week. We were planning to get a girl once the baby came… but decided to go ahead and hire someone now so she can be familiar with everything! It makes it nice for Anna… scrubbing clothes by hand is time consuming! The children are doing well... they love living in Africa and have made lots of friends. Especially since Chad made two small swings for them… the neighbor children love to come and swing too! One of the neighbor boys is especially good with the children and will swing them and entertain them well! Chace has fallen in love with him which is nice because there are very few children that he likes. Chace will be two the end of this month! He is getting to be such a big boy… he is talking a lot more, and repeats most everything, and now that he is potty trained he feels a new confidence and wants to do everything himself! As most of you parents know that with the ‘myself’ stage also comes the daily training of molding his will to ours! So with God’s grace we are trying to be consistent in teaching him. Elayna is a ‘big’ girl that keeps getting bigger every day! She is always saying, “When I get this big….” And raises her hand above her head about 8 inches. “…then I will ride a bike, or be able to read, or start losing teeth!” Some of the things she is looking forward to doing when she gets bigger! J We have started some preschool books with her and she loves them… coloring, cutting, pasting, etc.! It is a challenge for me to find the time to spend one on one with her, with studying language, taking care of a very active 2 yr. old, plus the other dailies. But we manage to fit it in here and there. Chad is doing well and is kept busy with learning the language… trying his hand at making peanut butter from the peanuts we harvested… doing a little gardening… visiting the church Brothers and other friends… and keeping up with our paperwork! Plus be a Daddy and husband!!! It’s a lot of responsibility and he needs your prayers! Just yesterday He and Bro. Samuel went to Ho [2 hrs from here] to visit Bro. Nelson. Nelson is going to school there and yesterday was a holiday so school was out. They had a nice visit with him and safe travels… of course traveling in Ghana isn’t exactly enjoyable especially if you are of the height and structure as my dear hubby! He came home a bit stiff and sore!

Today is exactly one year since we landed on Ghanaian soil! It is hard to imagine that time could pass so quickly! We are very grateful for our Father’s care and protection over us in the past year! And we look forward to what all He has in store for us in the coming years here in Ghana! We plan to celebrate today by inviting Bro. Samuel’s family and Bro. Seth to join us for a special meal of grilled tilapia, rice and stew, and cabbage salad!

Please continue to pray:

For us to master the Ewe language

For our health and the safety of our unborn little one

For the church to remain faithful to God and be a shining testimony of His grace

Pressing toward the MARK of the high calling of God! Chad & Elizabeth Martin

Elayna at the ocean in Togo

Chace at the hotel in Togo

Chad making peanut butter

Elayna and a neighbor girl

The children enjoying their swings

Chad and Elizabeth going to the wedding

The children ready for the wedding

Update #14 July 10 - Aug. 28 2011

Dear Praying Friends and Family,

Loving greetings in the Name that is above ALL names….. JESUS CHRIST!

“Unto Thee, O God, do we give thanks unto Thee do we give thanks: for that Thy name is near Thy wondrous works declare.” Ps 75:1

A lot of time has elapsed since the Lizard updated you all….. J! So now it is time to write again! Life has been very busy the last 2 months. Let me back up to our sweet corn harvest…….

Most of the corn had stood back up…. kinda cruved… after the storm. But some of the stalks in the middle were still lying on the ground. We started harvesting it around 9am, after we finished laundry. Chad and I picked while Anna and the children started husking. We had two nice size piles of un-husked corn till we were done. Some of the ears that had been lying on the ground had rotten spots on them…. But most of them were nice big full ears of corn! Chad had fertilized it once, plus sprayed for bugs twice. And we were blessed to have very few worms in our corn! Elayna would exclaim with almost every ear she husked, “Look Mom, Praise the Lord, no worms!” J Now if you are from the East coast or up north you may just take for granted that there is never worms in your corn…. But if you are from Oklahoma there is a worm in almost every ear! So it was a REAL blessing not to have any worms! Before we had gotten all the corn husked we realized that this was going to be a big job… and the largest kettle that I had was going to take us forever to do all this corn. So Chad went over to Bro. Samuel’s and asked if we could borrow Sis. Eunice’s big cooking pot that she makes porridge in. They brought it over and Samuel helped Chad get the fire started and the pot arranged on blocks. We had two 22 gal. totes FULL of husked sweet corn!!!! Most of you know the process of doing sweet corn…. And how long it can take! We ran out of ice… plus we didn’t have any freezer room for the bagged up corn! So Chad had to make arrangements with a friend… run into town n get more ice… plus keep up with the fire and blanching the corn! Anna and I were busy full time with cutting the corn off the cob! It took us till after supper time until we had everything put in bags, and in the freezer. But we were not disappointed with the labor of our hands… we got 47 quarts!!! Praise the Lord! In a land where sweet corn is almost unheard of…. And most missionaries that we talked to said they tried it and it didn’t work…. And after our rain storm flattened it to the ground…. We considered this a miracle from God! That was just the first picking... there was the second picking yet to be done! We called Irvin and Mattie Rudolph from Accra and asked them if they would want to come and help us do up the second picking and take it home! We had no more freezer room for it, plus we wanted to bless someone else! So they came and spent the weekend with us and we did the last of the sweet corn…. And got about 15 quarts! So total our little patch produced over 60 quarts! We are very grateful to God for his bountiful provisions!

The next biggest event that happened was Charity African Mission’s Retreat! We were delighted and blessed for the privilege to go! Most of the missionaries we had not seen since we came to Ghana simply because of the long distance. Irvin’s are in Accra 2 hrs. from us so we get to see them about once a month. The retreat is held in Kumasi, about 5 hours from Accra. We had a very relaxed and refreshed 5 days! There was lots of time for fellowship and sharing, praying for each other, games, and inspiring messages from Bro. Mel Esh. The children made some new friends and really enjoyed playing with so many other white children! J Near the end of the week Elayna heard someone sweeping outside our window and asked, “Now is that a black person or a white person?” She had to start refereeing to the missionaries as white people and the workers at the guest house as black people…. Because before then everyone around her was black… and we were the only white ones! Another highlight was we got to have lunchmeat and cheese sandwiches every day for lunch! That was a real treat! Plus all the other food was delicious too! We served vegetables from our garden…. Sweet corn, green beans, and soy beans… and it was a real big hit! Everyone enjoyed them especially since vegetables of that kind are hard to come by here in Ghana!

A big THANK YOU to all who sent me birthday cards… whether through the mail or cyber space! It was a real blessing and encouragement!

The lastest happenings around here are harvesting groundnuts [peanuts]… we and Bro. Samuel’s had planted the rest of the garden in groundnuts. And now it is harvest time! We haven’t gotten much rain recently… so it is hard work to hoe up each plant. But thanks to my hard-working Hubby and Bro.Samuel they have most of the patch harvested! Then Bro. Samuel’s children came and helped pick the peanuts off the plants. The children have had loads of fun jumping into the piles of groundnut plants after the peanuts have been taken off! Now the groundnuts have to dry for several days… then shell them… and store them! Quite a process but they go for “good” money after they are shelled! We have been enjoying them boiled and roasted! Yummy! We have also been getting lots of tomatoes! We are very grateful for them…. And hope to make some spaghetti sauce to can soon.

Chad and I are still devoting a lot of time to language learning! Our friend and teacher has goon back to University and now one of his friends is teaching is. It is somewhat difficult to change teachers, because their teaching style is different and the way they interpret things is different… plus they don’t know what you have already learned and are familiar with. But, by God’s grace, we are learning to know our new teacher and are trying to keep plugging on in the language! So, please continue to pray for us for open minds and ears to understand and hear EWE!!!!

One last thing I should mention before I close this letter…. Is that Chad bought a moto bike! Before we just had bicyles as our only means of transportation, and now that I’m pregnant it will be a real blessing to not have to bike everywhere. It is a used, fully automatic, lady friendly moto! J It is big enough for Chad but also very easy for us girls to drive! Everyone here expects us to buy a nice, big, new moto because we are white and have money…. So this definitely looks strange to them! But it serves the purpose well and makes it nice for Chad with all the running into town he does!

PRARY REQUESTS:

Pray for us as we strive to learn the language

Pray for our health [Praise the Lord only Chad has had malaria so far]

Pray for Elizabeth’s pregnancy and our unborn child in the womb

Your prayers are our lifeline…. Please keep lifting us and Light & Hope Church up to the Throne of Grace! Thank you for all your prayers on our behalf! If you have a moment we would love to hear from you and what God is doing in your corner of the world!

Servants of the Most High God! Chad & Elizabeth Martin & Family

Picking the corn

Husking.....

Chace helping!

Our pile of corn!

Doesn't it look beautiful!

Chad blanching....

Cutting it off the cob....

Elayna and Chace

Playing at retreat....

Our family at retreat

Anna

Birthday cards and gifts

Chace helping with soybeans

Chad harvesting goundnuts

Picking peanuts from the plants

Drying....

Our 'new' moto....

Update #13 June 17-July 7

Dear Brothers & Sisters in Christ,

Greetings! Well, I noticed that it was about time for another update and since it doesn’t seem like anybody has much time…. I thought I would write for a change! Let me introduce myself… I am the family lizard that lives in the living room window. Yes, that’s right I live in-between the metal and wood frame of the window. And come out as I please…. I hope you enjoy my ramblings.

As I observe the happenings around me, they seem to be numerous and at times hectic! The youngsters of this household have very little respect for peace and quiet… except for the few hours in the afternoon when they nap! You should have heard the loud avalanche as the blocks were dumped out at 6am in the morning! Whew, I nearly jumped out of my skin! Or the delighted screaming and screeching outside as they discover and chase a toad! I’m glad I’m a lizard because I’m much faster than toads and can get away from all the stick poking and rock throwing that the poor toads have to put up with. Not to mentioned that their eardrums almost pop! And of course, the children have no respect for cleanliness…. They come in the house with mud, sand, rocks, sticks, or else dripping wet! You should have seen the look on the mother’s face the time the little fellow, Chace, came inside with a handful of stones and climbed up on his Mommy’s lap and dumped his load inside the front of her dress! We all had a good laugh over that one! J The little girl, Elayna, is quite the informer and she repeats any information that she hears or knows…. She loves to know what is going on and where everybody is at. She asks many questions and is trying to learn all she can. Chace is starting to talk more and repeat words and phrases… like, “I want more chicken” or “Want ‘gango’” [meaning mango] or “Don’t dwink [drink] all” His speech isn’t as clear as his sister’s was at his age but you can definitely tell what his is saying. He is still as daring as ever and doesn’t give up even if he falls…. The other day I saw him walking on the concrete porch railing, which is about 8” wide and 3 ft off the ground with the concrete porch on the other side! He can climb up there all by himself! One of their more quiet and safe past times is looking at books and pictures…. It can get repetitious sometimes to hear the same book several times a day!

The Mother of the house hasn’t been doing a lot lately… I heard them say something about morning sickness, so I guess that means she is pregnant! She does a few things here and there and reads books to the children…. But mainly tries to keep her stomach settled. I think she said something like hopefully the worse is over!

The Auntie, as the children call her, is doing better. She had an ulcer on her ankle…. And at first we didn’t know what it was and were trying to treat it like a boil and it wasn’t getting better. Then she went to the hospital…. And got an antibiotic and a spray powder that is helping it heal up nicely. She is still doing a good bit of the work, like laundry, meals, cleaning, and babysitting! If she wasn’t here I don’t know how this household would manage! J

The Father of the house is a very busy man! He’s work load includes a variety of things…. Helping with laundry, changing diapers, keeping the garden up, ‘mowing’ the grass [uses a machete and whacks it down], running to town or market, and even cooking at times! My eyes almost popped out of my head when I saw him making bankou…. Yes, that’s right he was making bankou! He said he was so hungry for it and his wife didn’t think she could stand the smell to help him. So he did it himself and it turned out rather good! He is also quite handy at giving the children baths… the soap smell is difficult for the mother to handle! I’m sure he will be glad to hand some of these responsibilities back to his wife once she feels better…. But for now my observation is that he is doing an excellent job!

I must tell you of the awful storm we had on Sunday! The family was just about to leave for Church on their bikes and it started to rain…. So they waited for awhile. It soon stopped and they thought maybe they should make a run for it before it started again! But it started up again before they got left…. And it seemed like it could stay awhile! Not long after that they got a call from the Pastor and said let’s wait for service until the rain stops. The electric kept going off and on….. and it was beginning to get really dark! The rain started coming harder and harder…. And the wind was blowing quite furiously! The rain started coming in the closed window panes and under the door making big puddles on the floor. Chad mopped up several gallons of water from the floors! It got sooooo cold that some of the folks put socks on! And even decided to drink cappuccino! The storm lasted for about 3 hours…. Then it subsided to a gentle rain for most of the afternoon. The garden was a pitiful site! Their sweet corn that was in full tassel and had nice ears on it was flat on the ground! And the tomatoes, beans, soybeans, okra, and peppers all took a beating too! In fact, a lot of people’s corn was down…. And there were even some trees uprooted!

A bit more information that has been happening around here is Language study. In fact it takes up a good part of the parent’s day. They study in the morning using a Ewe language course that has an mp3…. They listen to the lesson twice and then study from the handbook what the lesson is saying in English. They go over the same lesson for almost a week. Then they have a young Ewe teacher who is on school break right now, come in the afternoon and go over the same lesson they did in the morning in greater detail! They seem to really like their new teacher, because he explains things very well and makes lots of examples in which sentences can be used. He is also a good culture teacher… he explains that in Ewe there are adult talk and child talk. Some things you say only to children and not to an adult…. And other things are only for adults and most children won’t understand what you are saying! An interesting thing they are learning in Ewe is that ‘most Ewe words change meaning depending on context’, so you have to know the context of the sentence being spoken to determine the meaning of a word(s)! Difficult! Do continue to pray for them as they try to do their best!

Well, now….ho hum…. I’m getting a bit tired…. And it’s already past my bedtime! So I guess I’ll let you go….. oh yes, I forgot to mentioned that after the storm we have been having nice sunny weather and the corn is actually standing partially up again! So hopefully they may still get some sweet corn after all! And they have been getting a ton of green beans… they froze like 8 quarts already! Yawn… now I for sure should get some sleep….

“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all! Amen” II Thess. 3:18

From the lizard that lives in the Martin home!

Big Helper Girl... washing dishes!

Chace & Elayna

Elayna

Chace

Auntie Anna with Chace

Our Corn in full tassel... before the storm.

snapping green beans....

Our Garden

Chace 1 1/2 years old

Elayna 3 years old

Update #12 April 20-June16 2011

To all of our praying friends and family,

Greetings in the Precious Name of JESUS…. The name above All names!

Recently, in reading Oswald Chambers “My Upmost for His Highest”, the revelation of abandonment in lighted to me in a new way. It says, “There is actually only one thing you can dedicate to God, and that is your right to yourself. If you will give God your right to yourself, He will make a holy experiment out of you – and His experiments always succeed.” I know it basically means to give your whole heart, soul, mind and strength to God, but to put that into practical words… Your RIGHT to YOURSELF!!!

We are very sorry for the LONG silence! J And I will try and back up and inform you of the last 2 months!

From the middle of April into May our mailbox was full of cards! First Anniversary cards then birthday cards for Chad! What a blessing it was to receive all those encouraging cards and notes during that time! A hearty THANK YOU, to all who took the time to send us one! Chad got over 30 birthday cards plus about 15 anniversary cards!

The beginning of May Chad’s parents, Vern & Elaine Martin, and Elizabeth’s sister, Anna Dunn, came. Anna has come to take Serenity’s place and Chad’s parents came for a two week visit to bring Anna over and take Serenity home! We really had a wonderful time with them here! They helped us plant our garden, roof our new storage building, crochet some rugs, and enjoy being with us and our children!!!! We celebrated Elayna’s birthday while they were here…. Even though it was 2 weeks early! We took Bro. Samuel’s family with us to the ocean one day…. Their children had never been to the ocean before so they thoroughly enjoyed it! J And we also went to the Volta Dam, which is about 2 ½ hours north of us. We stayed at a very nice secluded guesthouse that had only 3 rooms in it, so we took up the whole guesthouse! J It was right along the river with grassy lawns and nice landscaping… outdoor pavilions with tables and chairs. They also had a restaurant right there too! Then we took a tour of the Volta Lake on a large Ferry Boat that could hold 200 people! There weren’t that many people on it when we were there but there were still plenty of people there! Another highlight of Dad’s being here was that Uncle Ross & Aunt Cynthia came and visited us for a day and a night! We all so enjoyed their visit here… and hope they did too! J All too soon we were saying a hurried good-bye at the airport! L It had been raining most of the day off and on…. And we were all thankful that the rain let up while they unloaded their luggage from the lorry and piled it on the luggage carts! It was a very sad moment…. But it was too brief for tears! Elayna kept telling her Auntie Serenity that she is going to cry when she leaves…. But it hasn’t happened yet! J But she fondly talks about her and probably won’t forget her!

Four days after Dad’s left Chad came down with malaria! We started treating right away and within a day or two he felt really good! The malaria dose we gave him is only a three day dose and after the third day he felt fine. But then two days later he started to get sick again… and it seemed like malaria again. The first dose must not have been strong enough to knock. So he went to the Doctor and he prescribed him a very strong drug…. Which did knock the malaria but the side effects of the drug were wearisome too! This week he seems to be feeling a lot better, except that his muscles are still sore, so pray that full strength could be restored!

Last week we went to Accra to see Matt & Janelle one last time here in Ghana L…. And meet the new missionaries that have come to take their place, Ervin & Mattie Rudolph. J We had a really nice time visiting… it seems like a looong time since we had the opportunity to fellowship with two other young families like ourselves! [Some of you may forget what a BLESSING fellowship is when it is a normal occurrence every Sunday for you!] Ervin’s have 2 little girls ages 2 ½ and 9 months…. Just a little bit younger than our two! There were seven children five and under…. And they all seemed to enjoy each other’s company! We will really miss Matt & Janelle…. But we look forward to getting to know Ervin & Mattie better!

Since coming back from Accra we have been really diving into LL again! We took a two week break when Dad’s were here and then when Chad was sick we didn’t do much….. so now we are at it again!!! Pray for us as we try to find new ways and methods that will help us to learn the language better/faster! We are praying about trying to find an young teacher that would have time to tutor us in the afternoons… like take the same language course book that we are going through and drill us on the lessons we are doing or have already done! It seems like we should be able to say more than just the greetings…. And we know more than that but we are still trying to figure out how to make sentences that make sense to them! Anyway, sometimes we think we are really making progress then other times it seems like we are not getting ANYWHERE! So pray especially against discouragement in this area so that we can have clear minds to learn and understand!

Rainy season is really underway here…. We were getting a rain almost every other day, but it’s been three days now since we had a good shower! Maybe we will get a downpour tonight! J We love the cooler weather rainy season brings…. But the abundance of mosquitoes isn’t so nice! So pray with us against malaria as we try to do all we can to prevent it!

May the Lord Jesus be near to each one of you this next week and keep you in His care!

Striving to be faithful! Chad & Elizabeth

All of Chad's birthday cards! Thank you!!!!

Auntie Anna!

Our new shop/storage shed

Uncle Ross & Aunt Cynthia Ulrich Family

Headed to the river...

Grandma crocheting...

Grandpa reading books...

Bro. Samuel's children at the ocean

Enjoying the sea!

At the dam

The Ferry boat

Our family on the boat

Enjoying the ride!

Serenity and Anna

April 28th Chad's Birthday!

Chad's birthday.... Rennie got up bright an early and started donut dough! Then after it rose twice... I came and helped her with the frying... and glazing! Quite a lot of fun! We made about 8 doz. of donuts... and more than that of donut holes [cuz we made holes with all the leftover dough]!!! About 9am we called Bro. Samuel to come with his children and help us eat up some of these donuts... then we gave some to our American neighbor girl, Hannah... plus bagged up some to give to our old neighbors from the other house!!! In the afternoon we went to Shekinaiah Glory Hotel to swim in their pool.. the was shining bright and the water was warm... a little green... and the water level in the pool was pretty low [several inches below the skimmers ]... but fun nonetheless!!! Two grown guys came and joined us soon after we got in... they didn't know how to really swim but were just practicing what they knew... so Chad was giving them lessons! Actually he was trying to help me learn how to swim better... and they overheard us talking and started asking him questions! Chace is such a fat heavy guy... but you get him in water and he just floats... we put arm floaties on him and would float all by himself and even try to 'swim' by kicking his legs, etc.! Elayna on the other hand is almost terrified of the water.... and this cute little rhino intertube that we got for her and Chace! Sometimes the children just like to sit on the steps with just their feet in the water... and the intertube is just in the pool... well, when it starts coming towards them they both cry and scream... and Elayna says, "The Rhino is going to get us!" With this horrified look! Then after swimming for awhile we made our way to another motel off the river where we ate supper ... it was a beautiful evening... and we had a delicious supper of grilled chicken and french fries! There were a ton of Americans there... all with the peace corp. So it was dark till our supper was over... and Ren and I had to bike back with Elayna... in the dark! [Chad took a moto with Chace back to the house since we only have two bikes] We were trying to decide if we wanted to ride through town.. with all the traffic and lights.. or the back way with all the loose dirt, pot holes, and few lights! Chad told us about a side road through town that we opted to take.. and it was a little busy at the one section... but thankfully not a lot of big semis trucks like the main road would have had! Then JUST as we got home... it started to rain!