Fasting and Praying – Last week the ladies of my church approached me saying that they were fasting and praying with the ladies of the other church in our town. It sounded like a good idea to me, but then they told me that they were doing 72 straight hours. My first thought was, “Are you Crazy?!? That is what high school students do , adults fast from dawn to dusk”. However I quickly changed my attitude and decided to join them. I can’t tell you what a blessing these days were to me as I gathered with the women of our church. We prayed, worshiped, read God’s word and prayed for God to work in our church. They confessed divisions and committed to working on unity. It was a beautiful time and well worth it. May God continue to work in our small church here as it struggles to be a light in a difficult context.
Another Wedding – This wedding fell at a difficult time as Joel was gone and weddings are a lot of work for the women in the church as most of the preparations fall on them. However even in the midst of the chaos, I thanked God for the fellowship and the friendship of these women. This time I was actually given responsibility of a task and control of one pot. They told me that next time I had to bring my camera. I try not to over do it with pictures, but with that free invitation I promise to capture pictures at the next wedding that takes place.
Health – This month we stayed healthy and that is always a blessing here!
Beginning Ministry – It was my first month without official French sessions, although thought I will always be working on improving my French. I began to get some clarity as to what my responsibilities will be in ministry and will begin training to be a language consultant to those learning French in the next few months. It is exciting to see small pieces of what God has in store.
Thriving as A Family – I was given the opportunity to share with the other missionaries in French study about how to help our kids adapt and integrate. It is a subject I am very passionate as it doesn’t happen as naturally as I thought it would when we arrived. It was a great time of collaboration and was very encouraging.
Friends and Pools – As the boys get more and more comfortable here they are starting to make friends with a variety of people. We enjoyed going over to people’s houses and playing with a variety of kids: from missionary kids, to kids from our church, to friends from school, to neighborhood kids. It is fun and encouraging to see them enjoying life here. One of our friends put up a big pool in their yard, which has been a lot of fun for our boys.
Together Again – Joel’s trip was a productive time for him in Guinea. He is home now for a few weeks, which is always time that we treasure! His next trip will take him to the Southern part of Senegal as they research some people groups down there that we hope to work with one day. However before he leaves again his parents will arrive to keep me company!
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