There are lots of things happening in Pal land. Cole celebrated his 7th birthday a short time ago. He enjoyed the gifts he received, and we all enjoyed the cake and ice cream.
We started a new school year for the kids last week and now all four of them are doing school. (Oofta!) A couple weeks ago our long lost teammates returned; they had been back home in Germany for 5-month maternity leave. It is good to have them back and we’re excited to journey through life’s adventures together. Currently they’re settling into their home and easing back into culture and language study.
There was a death in the community just a few days ago. A middle aged lady got sick and within a few short weeks had passed from this world. This is hard for our team to see, especially now as we’re coming close to the day when we’ll begin teaching them God’s Word. It’s also difficult for the community to deal with as they are seeking answers for life’s troubles. But there have also been a bunch of safe births in the community. We have seen numerous women have serious complications in birthing (in some cases even leading to death) during our time here, but all the recent births have gone well and both mothers and babies are doing well.
On Friday we will celebrate the graduation of the second Pal literacy class, and then we will be starting to go from village to village to prepare them as much as we can for the coming teaching. We want them to know what to expect and also to get them thinking about things like who God is, who made everything they see, and how they know that their legends are true. This will be a time to build excitement for the teaching but also to get them to question their beliefs and desire to find the truth.
Please continue praying for us and for the Pal community as we have these important conversations with people, and as we continue to translate Scripture and write Bible lessons for the chronological teaching starting in August. We know that it is only God who can call them to Himself and prepare their hearts to believe in Him.