Our tw
o weeks in the village were bittersweet as we enjoyed the company of our Hobongan friends after over a year apart, but also had to tell them that we won’t be living in the village with them anymore, at least for a while.
They understood the need that is leading us to move to another island, but the goodbyes were still hard. During our two weeks with them, we spent a lot of time just visiting. Our pictures from America caused a lot of discussion and opportunities to stretch language ability as we tried to describe things that are totally foreign to the context here.
I (Jennifer) got to attend several ladies’ meetings where the chronological Bible lessons are being taught. Over the past year, Rachel and her Hobongan teammates have worked hard to get these lessons written and revised. The last meeting before we left was held at our house. The ladies went around the room praying as they usually do. When it was Ake’ Kasang’s turn, she prayed for our journeys in the same soft but strong voice that she had used to tell me hours and hours worth of stories back when I was in language study. We are humbled and grateful that these amazing people have let us into their lives and made us part of their family. Please pray for the growth and maturity of the Hobongan church. Pray that some of our friends will stand up and take responsibility to teach chronological Bible lessons and literacy classes now that we won’t be there to help with those needs.
Here’s our schedule for the next few weeks:
July 15-18–At DJ’s parents’ house in the town downriver from our village July 18-30–In the big coastal town on our island July 30–To the capital city to meet Jennifer’s sister, Julie, and cousin Naomi who are coming to visit us for 4 months.
July 31–From the capital city to our new ministry location.