God Knows Best

When we moved to our new home, we contacted the local church and asked them to identify a family who could help us learn and adapt to Senegalese culture.  We had no part in the decision of who this family would be, we just had to trust God to connect us with the best family.  As we are getting closer to our host family, we are realizing they are a perfect fit for us in so many ways.  I am also realizing that some of the best decisions we have made have been decisions that were completely out of our control and we had to trust God to make the decision for us.  We have been so blessed by our host family and the role that they have played in our lives.  We spend time with this family almost everyday and have asked them thousands of questions as we try to figure out life here.  So for those of you who don’t know our family let us introduce them to you!

Here are some of the things we appreciate about our host family:

• They are incredibly patient and great mentors.
• Cecil is home every day and more than willing to spend time with me.
• The Pastor brings Joel along and involves him in ministry any chance he gets.
• The Pastor has been our advocate many times when we have dealt with our landlord, local authorities, or other foreign things for us
• They have connections everywhere and want to introduce them all to us (in town and out in villages).
• Their girls already call us Aunt and Uncle and will often come to sit with us whenever we are around
• Their last two girls are close to the same age as our boys
• Cecil not only knows how to cook, but is well known for being a GOOD cook.  On top of that she is showing me how to dye fabric and knows many other crafts.
• The Pastor is allergic to shrimp and Joel doesn’t like shrimp, so I am learning to cook meals exactly the way Joel would like to eat them

  

Future Decisions

We have begun looking at the options for what will be next after our French study.  Once again we are facing some big decisions.  However as we began looking at the possibilities this week, I also started reflecting on our host family and how blessed we are to be connected with them.  God definitely knows what is best and is able to lead us through many unknowns.  So we are seeking God and praying that he would guide us through these decision (where we will live, what exactly our ministry will be, and what language we will learn next).  There are many unknowns but God can see beyond those and guide us through them.  We would appreciate your prayers that we would be able to follow God’s leading and trust that, as always, he knows what is best!