Today I will share with you 3 stories of how God has been taking care of us.
School
This year had a lot of changes for them as they headed off to school
We asked you to pray for the boys new school. It is not easy to switch schools ever, but they were switching not just schools, but languages and school systems. The transition has gone well. One thing God specifically provided was a French teacher at their new school that has allowed Ethan to be in the Native French Speakers class. So he has French one hour a day at a a level that will keep him growing in his French even though he is going to school in English now. We are very thankful for this new school and feel like it has been a big encouragement to our children.
A few fun fact about their school
- They are in the British school system
- They have British, Dutch, Korean, Brazilian, Spanish, Rwandan, Zambian, Colombian, Belgian kids in their class.
- The school is 30 minutes away from us, but we carpool with others and only have to drive 4 times a week.
- Half of the students dorm there so they eat lunch all together… our boys least favorite part of the day as they have to eat everything on their plate.
Doctor
For missionaries sickness is often a reminder of our isolation.
Medical help is always a hard thing for missionaries. One morning in August I woke up with an infection running down my cheek (red line, swollen vains, fever… all the things you don’t want to see). We talked to a local doctor and he put me on antibiotics, but come evening the swelling was getting worse not better. I have an amazing doctor in the states who has said we can call anytime, but I have not had to put that to the test. So I texted him on a Sunday to see if he could help. In 30 minutes he called me back. He said the antibiotics I was only only work 25 percent of the time for what I had and gave me the name of 2 others. He warned me if that didn’t work then I would need to go to a hospital. After some searching the next day we found the right medicine and it started working right away. I praise God for this doctor, who has made himself available and I praise God we were able to find was we needed. The last place I want to me anywhere, but especially here is the hospital.
Car Problems
Our car might not look like that but even a good car has troubles sometimes
We were leaving Dakar stuck in the worst section of traffic which is the Colobane Market. As we are in stand still traffic, people start yelling at us that water is coming out of our car. Joel got out and sure enough the water of our radiator was pouring out. So he pulled over to the side. He called a mechanic and they said to let the engine cool and then put water in it and we should be good to go. So Joel leaves me on the side of the road to watch our car while he goes to get water. This is the middle of a busy market. People are everywhere and I knew I would draw attention as a foreign woman. Pretty soon someone had latched on to me in an annoying way and I was thinking that it was going to be a long 30 minutes. But then a booth owner behind me came to my rescue and told the other guy to leave me alone. He then brought out a stool for me to sit on on the edge of his booth where people would leave me alone while I waited for Joel. I couldn’t tell you how happy I was for this angel who cared for me. We tried the water 30 minutes later and what went in came pouring out. Joel was thinking this might mean we need a new radiator. We asked for someone to come and tow us from the mission. This meant waiting in traffic while they got to us and then having him tow us with a tow strap back to the mission. We had been in Dakar for a week and I was really looking forward to getting home. However this was not looking like a simple fix. We get to the mission and look under the car and it was just a clamp that had come loose and a hose was no longer in place. It was fixed in 10 minutes and we were on our way back home. I was thankful this happened in traffic and that people told us about the water before the water ran out of our radiator causing more problems. I was thankful for guy who protected me while I waited in the middle of a market. I was thankful for the one who came tow us and that we succeeded with being towed despite traffic. And then to find out that the big break was just a simple fix which allowed us to still get home that night. We had a lot to praise God for that day.
I hope you take some time as well to look back and see how God has cared for you over the past few months.
May we always be faithful to look back and remember what God has sustained us through
Andi—Thanks so much for this post. I am really praising God that you have such a wonderful MD here so willing to help. I know that doesn’t happen very often.
I really appreciate your pictures and updates as it reminds me to pray and lets me know how to pray.
It is wonderful and encouraging to see how God is working out things for you and knowing he does the same for us.
Bless you Andi for your blogs. They always show me God’s power and diversity in how He cares for His children. I am enriched and expectant of God’s working in my and and others lives.
Amen and Amen!! Thank you for that reminder. I look forward to your stories and how God is working in your lives. This one will stick with me. God is Good all the time.
Thank you again and may God continue to bless you and your family abundantly.