Lots of stuff has happened in the last five months. We’ve had one family finish their language study here and move on and two new families have moved in and started language study. Plus a baby was born to one of the new families.
So stuff is always happening. At this point, having been here in this role for a year and a half, we are starting to see how cyclical life and ministry is here with our language-learning families. They usually move here, stay a year or so and then move on.
So we have a limited amount of time to get to know them, try to be an encouragement and help them as they learn language and culture and life here. Then they leave and we start over with the new group. Actually, we have 2 or 3 new groups of families each year, so at any given time we have people at several different stages of life here.
Some of the specific things we have been involved in these last months are escorting new families around, leading orientation meetings and giving instruction on how to do language lessons, organizing and holding a furniture sale, and last but not least, helping a new family have a baby in a car (that was Lish’s job). This new family were expecting a baby and she was actually past her due date by a few days and starting having contractions. Lish and another lady who is a midwife took them to the hospital, but the baby was born before they got there. Thankfully the baby and mother are both doing very well.
Elroy and Scout (6th and 5th grade) are both enjoying school, although Scout honestly needs to develop some better study habits. Elroy is very responsible, but Scout tends to forget what she’s supposed to be doing much of the time. I hate to say it, but I think Elroy is like his mother and Scout is more like me. Davy has recently started going to a playgroup and is having fun there. And we are enjoying a few hours at home without him.

Praise:
-Davy in playgroup
-Being able to be a help to people here

Prayer:
-Scout to learn some better study habits
-To be able to keep up with our various jobs
-Neither Lish or I are officially done with language study- we need to finish as much as we can before we come home on our next furlough