Showers of Blessings
Our tanks are now both set up! I go to the sink and turn the nob and…..WATER COMES OUT!!! This is a literal shower of blessings for our whole family. Having running water again has reminded me how nice running water is. We are just so excited and it has made life a lot easier. We will always have to be conscious and careful about the quantity of water we use, but it is so great to have water in our house. We are still learning about how to keep our tanks clean and running properly, but Joel is amazing at figuring all that out and putting all the pieces together with the limited resources we have.
Normal Life or African Adventure
Yesterday we traveled home from a day trip into Dakar. Our last three trips home from Dakar have been have been full of adventure.
- Trip 1 : Joel’s Motorcycle breaks down leaving me stranded without a house key
- Trip 2: The bus we take breaks down and we are left on the side of the road to find another means of transportation
- Trip 3: Our taxi gets lost, making us miss the train. Joel gets stuck in traffic leaving me stranded once again without the key (maybe we will learn our lesson someday) and I get/have to hang out with our neighbors for an hour while I wait for him to get home. The highlight of this was definitely watching the neighborhood kids try to teach Tyler how to dance.
Each trip has been an adventure with many unexpected bumps in the road, but each time we all eventually made it home. As I was looking back at our traveling adventures and the flexibility that I need to have for travel in Africa, I began to realize that these would not be considered adventures to most Africans. These would just be considered normal life. There are days that I wonder if it is worth walking outside of the house, because usually the unexpected happens. Yet leaving my house is what ministry and growth is all about. I need to learn the art of flexibility, that will allow me to not only to put up with things as they happen but also to see the new open doors these obstacles present. It was not just being stuck outside of my house for an hour past the boys bed time, it was an hour of forced bonding with our neighbors. Normal life is in the beginning stages of taking on a new meaning for me.
Language Sessions
We began language sessions today. This now occupies 6 hours of our days and quickly has increased the complexity of our daily schedule. Pray for us as we adapt to the new schedule and the new mental requirements in our day. Learning a new language and culture is exhausting and I am daily reminded of the toll it takes on our strength. I was, however, very encouraged after the first day. It was great to see how much we were both able to do even after a 2 month break from language sessions. Praise God for the strength to progress and grow!
” . . . leaving my house is what ministry and growth is all about . . . ” Thank you for this. Continuing to pray for you all!
Dear Joel and Andi,
Felix (my husband) and I spent five days at our “retirement” house in Seneca, OR last week. He had to have some training for the state, so that he can be called out for fires on state land as well as federal land.
When we got there on Friday, we discovered that we had a water leak where there should not have been one. Felix is very handy, and on Saturday after training, he tore out part of the wall. He went to John Day and got the appropiate valves to fix the pipe so that we would have hot water in the sinks in the bathroom and the kitchen. The shower is another issue. The washing machine and the dryer also went on the blink and have to be replaced. They are too old and too worn out to repair. We will purchase newer ones before we go back.
This was a good lesson. It made me realize how much I take for granted and how much you have given up to serve our Lord in Africa. Thank you so much for being willing to give up all the modern conveniences and going.
The Lord bless you and your boys,
Jeannette
Andi, Love your attitude and sure God will honor it. Indeed these are the normals for life in many places. Carry on. And thanks for blogging.
God continues to shape you all beautifully. Keep on!!
Love,
Dad
We are so proud of you guys. We know first hand the difficulties of living in Africa. We miss you guys! Thanks so much for all you are doing.