Furlough Prep 2: Accomplishments

What have been your biggest accomplishments this first term?

• Making Home – When we left for Africa I knew that our first term would be difficult.  We were facing the biggest change of our lifetime and that change would require sacrifice from every member of our family.  My prayer to God is that by the end of our first term we would leave Africa not afraid of whether or not we would want to come back.  God has gone beyond that prayer.  I not only have no fear about whether we will want to come back, but I honestly feel like we are leaving our home.  This little town has become our home.  We have friends and family here.   We have a church we belong to here.  Yes we stick out.  Yes we still sound funny when we talk.  Yes we still need to work on how we dance.  Yes we still make many mistakes.  Yet despite all that, we have have a place here and we thank God for that immensely.
• Beginning the Process of Becoming – The process of entering into culture and is a very humbling process.  It is a process that we will never be done with, but we have made great strides in the process.  We have now come far enough that we see the value and the results which makes it easier to press on.  We are so thankful we have started on this path as a family and believe in the importance of it for all those who minister here.
• French – We will never be done, but this first term brought us a long way in terms of our French.  Far enough that we have now moved on to Wolof.
• Beginning of Ministry – Teaching future African Missionaries, leading Sunday School, Kids camps, organizing conferences, participating in village churches, encouraging missionaries in remote locations, orientation for new missionaries, women’s retreats…We have had many opportunities even in little time we have been here.  We continue to be excited by all that God lays in front of our path.
• Dependence On God – The adventures this first 3 years have brought us has taught us how to trust God in a way we never knew before.  We have learned that the most important thing is just to follow where God leads and that he leads us usually only one step at a time.  It is amazingly freeing to know that and I just need to follow where God leads each day and take advantage of the opportunities he places before me.

African Mother’s Day

Yesterday was African Mother’s day.  For the second year in a row the ladies of our church decided to celebrate this day with our sisters out in the village.  I woke up in the morning not really wanting to go as usual, but by the end of the day I was so glad I went!