“Susie, you’ve disappeared and we haven’t heard from you in forever!”
“I know, I know. Sometimes it’s just hard to think of exciting things to say. But I’ll try today. Actually, I’ll let others try since my brain isn’t being very creative today.”
My mom: Susie has been keeping busy, and keeping me busy, too! We’ve been working on different projects, including her dictionary. I never knew we’d be writing a dictionary! I also got to chauffeur her in one of the snowstorms as she talked to some middle schoolers about Africa. Now she is an adjunct professor, teaching a class on People Group Assessment at Ethnos360 Bible Institute. I love having her here!
Me: (Yes, my dictionary now is an English-French-Jula-My Language dictionary, and is available both on my computer and as an app!)
My dad: Even though Susie is here, she still communicates around the world! She’s been helping with translation for a little girl from West Africa who came to Ohio for surgery with the Shriners, has been focusing on people groups of a West African country and skyped with a missionary who used to work there for this class she’s teaching, communicates regularly with her friends in Her Country, has had a phone meeting with someone doing People Group Assessment in West Africa, etc. The security situation in Her Country isn’t looking too good at the moment, though. . .
Me: (The security situation isn’t looking so good there at the moment, but I only know of two attacks there last week and none so far this week! The European Union did classify it as a humanitarian crisis a few weeks ago, though.)
A friend in the city in My Country: We miss you, Susie, and hope you’ll be back soon! Well, actually, with all the terrorist activity lately, maybe you should wait a bit until you come back.
Me: (I miss them, too, and enjoy whenever I can talk to them on the phone, though it’s not the same as being there in person. For example, a friend of mine just got married, and I didn’t get to dance at the wedding, have a new outfit made to match my other friends, or eat food at the reception!)
A French guy in My Country: It’s 86 degrees here and people are complaining of the cold.
Me: (Yeah, that was the day it was -20 or whatever here, a couple of snowstorms again. And in case you’re wondering why I was corresponding with a French guy in My Country, it’s because I had him ship my kora, which is like an African harp, here to the US so I can play it here. Maybe one of these days I’ll get good enough that some of you can hear me play it!)
A friend who had taken the PGA class I taught at the Bible Institute in 2016: I’m so glad you’re teaching PGA again! I’ll keep praying for you in the unknown.
Me: (Thanks so much for your prayers! Please keep them coming, for me, for my teammate Jen, for My Country, leadership, and for the people that we’ve been working with there.)
And that’s for all of you reading this, too. 😊 Let me know how I can be praying for you as well.