Joel and Andi McMartin
  • Home
  • About
  • Give
  • Photos
  • Subscribe
  • Contact


Little Gifts From Above

May 12, 2014 by Joel and Andi

I love those moments when God sends special little gifts our way.  It is the little things that are nothing we need, but just a gift to remind us that he cares.  The boys were on a two week break from school and so we took advantage of that time to get work done in Dakar without having to be separated as a family.  It was hardly a break as Joel and I worked most of the time, but it was still a change of scenery and we tried to do some special things for the boys.  However we told the boys going into it that we couldn’t do too much this time as we knew it would all add up quickly.  The week before we left I spent the week cooking so that we could be there without eating out.  We were prepared to just be there and enjoy being there, but then God sent multiple little gifts from above our way.  They are nothing we needed or sought out, but just a little reminder of God’s goodness.

  • Before we left Joel’s mom made some cookies for our desserts.  We were talking about how good they would be with ice cream.  Then the first night we were there our guests who we invited over brought ice cream and ended up leaving a whole thing of ice cream that we got to enjoy all week with our cookies.
  • We took Tyler to the eye doctor as he is in need of new glasses.  As we were leaving, someone came up to me with strawberries to sell, a rare treat here.  I told them “no” as I knew we couldn’t afford them.  Then he dropped the price to lower than I have ever payed for them here.  What a special treat!
  • We spent Saturday at the clothing market, looking for clothes for all of us on furlough.  It is a great place to find cloths, but it is often a matter of searching through huge piles of clothes for things the right size.  In a few hours, with the help of Joel’s mom, we had found everything we were looking for to get us started on our time in the states.  Such a huge blessing!
  • In January Joel and I helped in the organization of our conference here in Senegal.  As a thank you we were given the gift of a certificate to a restaurant in Dakar.  It was so nice to have a free date with my husband!
  • We ended up being there during the week that a huge kids carnival was taking place.  The boys had an amazing time.

The week was no vacation, but we got so much accomplished and God sent us so many blessings that made the week special.  It is the last time we will be in Dakar for more than a day before our trip back to the States.  We were able to get more done than we planned.  There is still a lot we have to get in place before leaving, but we made a good dent in the projects.  Mostly, however, I was just touched by God’s goodness to us in the little things he sent our way.  We serve an amazing God!

We are also blessed beyond words to have Joel's parents here with us
To hunt in the sand for marbles with us
To teach us how to exercise
And to Be silly with us
What an amazing gift!

Filed Under: Updates and News

More Posts:

« Furlough Prep Series: What do we do?
Flat Isaac »

Comments

  1. Aunt Patti says

    May 16, 2014 at 5:32 am

    Wow! Ethan has really grown tall! Funny how that happens. It will be good to see you all in person.

    love, Aunt Patti

  2. Lauri Amandus says

    May 12, 2014 at 7:53 pm

    So fun to see dear Bruce and Cindy playing with the boys. A very special gift I know.

  3. Jeannette Bessler says

    May 12, 2014 at 5:41 pm

    God is so amazing. How many little things He gives us, and so many times we take them for granted. Glad you had a great time in Dakar. Looking forward to seeing you while you are on furlough. Thankful that Joel’s parents are there with you. Not only does it help to lift the burden, but also how great for Ethan and Tyler to have grandparents there with them. God is surely awesome.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

 

Archive

  • May 2022 (1)
  • November 2021 (1)
  • June 2021 (1)
  • May 2021 (2)
  • March 2021 (1)
  • February 2021 (1)
  • January 2021 (1)
  • November 2020 (1)
  • June 2020 (4)
  • May 2020 (1)
  • April 2020 (1)
  • March 2020 (3)
  • January 2020 (3)
  • October 2019 (3)
  • September 2019 (3)
  • August 2019 (3)
  • May 2019 (3)
  • April 2019 (1)
  • March 2019 (1)
  • February 2019 (2)
  • January 2019 (1)
  • December 2018 (2)
  • November 2018 (4)
  • October 2018 (2)
  • September 2018 (4)
  • August 2018 (5)
  • July 2018 (2)
  • June 2018 (2)
  • May 2018 (2)
  • April 2018 (2)
  • March 2018 (3)
  • February 2018 (2)
  • January 2018 (2)
  • December 2017 (1)
  • July 2017 (1)
  • May 2017 (5)
  • April 2017 (4)
  • March 2017 (3)
  • February 2017 (1)
  • January 2017 (4)
  • December 2016 (6)
  • October 2016 (5)
  • September 2016 (8)
  • August 2016 (1)
  • June 2016 (4)
  • May 2016 (1)
  • April 2016 (5)
  • March 2016 (2)
  • February 2016 (2)
  • January 2016 (3)
  • December 2015 (2)
  • November 2015 (2)
  • October 2015 (3)
  • September 2015 (5)
  • August 2015 (4)
  • July 2015 (3)
  • June 2015 (3)
  • May 2015 (2)
  • April 2015 (2)
  • March 2015 (3)
  • February 2015 (4)
  • January 2015 (5)
  • December 2014 (2)
  • August 2014 (1)
  • June 2014 (5)
  • May 2014 (4)
  • April 2014 (4)
  • March 2014 (4)
  • February 2014 (6)
  • January 2014 (5)
  • December 2013 (5)
  • November 2013 (4)
  • October 2013 (6)
  • September 2013 (5)
  • August 2013 (6)
  • July 2013 (5)
  • June 2013 (7)
  • May 2013 (5)
  • April 2013 (5)
  • March 2013 (5)
  • February 2013 (4)
  • January 2013 (6)
  • December 2012 (5)
  • November 2012 (7)
  • October 2012 (7)
  • September 2012 (5)
  • August 2012 (6)
  • July 2012 (6)
  • June 2012 (7)
  • May 2012 (7)
  • April 2012 (6)
  • March 2012 (6)
  • February 2012 (7)
  • January 2012 (6)
  • December 2011 (6)
  • November 2011 (7)
  • October 2011 (12)
  • September 2011 (7)
  • August 2011 (3)
  • July 2011 (1)
  • June 2011 (2)
  • May 2011 (1)
  • April 2011 (2)
  • March 2011 (1)
  • February 2011 (2)

Browse posts by category

  • About
  • Blog
  • Home
  • Give
  • Photos
  • Subscribe
  • Contact

Disclaimer: This personal ministry website is provided by Ethnos360 as a courtesy to its members. Ethnos360 makes no warranty regarding the accuracy of the information on these pages. Opinions expressed are provided by members in good faith, but are entirely those of the member and do not necessarily represent policy, doctrinal position, or opinions of Ethnos360. If you encounter information that you consider questionable, please e-mail the Ethnos360 web team.

Joel and Andi McMartin

© Copyright 2022 Ethnos360. All rights reserved.

Log In

  • 