I try to make goal of writing something short weekly, but I have been having a hard time with that recently. Not because I don’t have anything to write, because, believe me, I always have a story to tell.
It is the time that escapes me and before I know it I look back and the week has escaped me. We are now in the full swing of things and are realizing that we have a lot on our plates. We are really doing 2 full time jobs…our normal life and ministry and learning Wolof.
Joel was sharing with me one evening that he realized that he was moving at an pace that is not maintainable. He feels like all his free time he is working and has no down time or really even time with our kids. Our kids feel it as they are wondering when Dad can play with them.
Sometimes we look at things and think well, last week you had taxes to do and next week we have a family to move, but after that it will calm down. However when the calm never comes you begin to realize you are just fooling yourself. When we look at our ministry we feel like what we have is maintainable, but when you add in 3 mornings of Wolof, plus review time, it gets to be a lot.
We believe in the importance of Wolof and we believe that if we kept at it for the rest of the year we would be in a good position language wise, but the question that remains running through out minds is…can we make it that long? We could lessen our time in language, but progressing slower at language tends to only be discouraging. Plus then it means we are balancing these two things even longer.
So what does all this boil down to… we need wisdom! Sometimes it is worth it to run at a high pace for a certain time to accomplish a specific task. If it is temporary, it is maintainable knowing that there would be an end. However sometimes it is just not possible and trying only exhausts us all.
So that tells you honestly where we are at. We are at a point of reflection. We are excited about our ministry, but it is demanding. We are pressing on in Wolof and are starting to see the progress, but still have a ways to go.
So how do we balance it all? Well God is directing us each step of the way. We are talking it over frequently and adapting our schedule as we can. We are cherishing the moments we do have free with our kids and making the most of them. We are establishing limits and seizing the opportunities for a break when we see it. We are praying daily for wisdom to know how to proceed and how to divide each precious moment we have.
I am not foolish enough to think that this struggle will end when we stop Wolof sessions. The balance of time is always a struggle in ministry as it is not a 9 to 5 job. However we feel it even more strongly at the moment as learning language is a full time job, but we don’t have full time hours to devote to it.
So this is one area where we would love your prayers. Since we probably can’t get more hours in our day, wisdom is what we really need and endurance as we carry on the rest of this year.
A Wedding
These pictures are over a month old, but Better late than never!
Praying for you!!
Dear Andi, Thank you for letting us know the trials as well as the good times. I love your weekly e-mails because I can stop right there and pray. It sounds like you have a very full schedule. The time you spend on top of everything communicating with your prayer partners is important. May our Lord bless you, your family, and those to whom you minister.
Andi – thank you for taking the time to write. I hope you have at least one day off per week, since you probably don’t get much rest on Sunday. Yes, I will pray for wisdom. And strength. Isn’t it wonderful how children seem to adapt wherever they are! Thanks for the pics.