NTM - New Tribes Mission | Planting Tribal Churches

Hi! I hope that you have had a wonderful Easter celebrating the life that we have thanks to our Savior Jesus Christ!

This last month has pushed me to my limits and now I am paying for it – I’m completely exhausted! Right now I am in Dakar and we just finished our annual conference. I really enjoyed the good Bible teaching! Now I will take a few weeks off and rest. I hope to regain strength and energy before returning to the village. Read my praise and prayer list below and rejoice with me at what God is doing among the Konyagi! Thank you for your partnership and your faithfulness in prayer!

Prayer & Praise

• Ministry among the Konyagi

Pray for Bonéré as he prepares Bible lessons in the Konyagi language. He is presently working on lesson 15. Praise that we were able to completely check lesson 13. Pray that these lessons will be well done and be a great help in sharing the Good News with the Konyagi.

Pray for Bonéré as he teaches the Bible lessons to the church on Sundays. Pray that he may teach well, that many people will come and, of course, that the people will understand and be transformed by God’s Word. This Sunday he finished teaching lesson 6 (we decided that the lessons were too long and have divided them into two or three parts).

Praise for God’s protection and help during our trip to Guinea! We had a good time with Samuel, one of the Konyagi elders (he’s also my Konyagi father). He was very receptive to the idea that we would like to live among the Konyagi community in Guinea to be able to share God’s message with them in their own language. He and Bonéré will be our representatives and will share this with the rest of the Konyagi community.  Pray that God will direct us and direct the Konyagi elders when they meet in the coming months to discuss our proposal and where we should settle.

• Culture and language study

This past month I gave up on my formal language sessions as I was too overwhelmed with numerous other responsibilities. Pray that when I return to the village I will know how to find a balance between language study and all the other things I’m trying to do right now. Continue to pray that I may learn this language well and have good relationships with the people.

• Konyagi missionary team

Pray for the Hofer and Nachtigall families. They hope to move to Guinea in September. There is much planning and preparations for all of us and plenty of unknowns, so your prayers are appreciated! Pray that each of us will be walking with God and pray that we will work well together as a team.

• Konyagi Bible translation

Praise for Sue Jenkins from SIL and Papa who are working on the Konyagi Bible translation. A few weeks ago I received a copy of the book of Genesis in the Konyagi language! What a joy to have it and be able to use it during the teaching of the Bible lessons! Communicating God’s Word clearly and accurately in another language and culture is an extremely important and difficult job so please pray for them.

• Konyagi people

Praise for the work that God is doing among these people – let’s keep praying! Pray that God will go before us to prepare the way and will continue to prepare the hearts of the Konyagi to hear the message of salvation and that it will transform their lives.

• Well project

Praise that the digging of the well has finally begun! This project has encountered one obstacle after another but praise God, it’s now underway! Pray for this difficult and long project (about 2 months) and that the result will be a well with good water.

• Wisdom

Pray for wisdom to deal with the various situations that come up and the decisions to be made.

• Spiritual well-being

Praise for the Bible teaching I received this past week! Pray that my top priority each day would be to know God better and that I would become the woman God wants me to be.

• Physical well-being

This past month I’ve struggled with stomach issues. Since I’m in Dakar, I went to see a doctor and did some tests. I am awaiting the results. I am also VERY tired. Your prayers for my health are appreciated!

• Mental well-being

Pray that I may stay encouraged despite fatigue.

• Safety

Praise for God’s protection during the elections! We have a new president and the transition was smooth. Praise God! Praise for God’s protection during our trip to Guinea. Pray for my travels during these weeks of break.

It’s time that I give you some news! The best way to describe the last five weeks is “not what I expected.” During that time, there was the excision of six girls, a few trips to bring sick people to the hospital, a death (I went to get the body at the hospital for burial in the village), a marriage was ‘tied’ (similar to our engagement), a trip to go get the village chief, and the administration of treatment for several people with various injuries. This also meant that there were many visitors in the village, dances, celebrations, and of course, some less joyful happenings. These unplanned events greatly limited my language sessions and I felt stretched to the limit.

Finally, things calmed down somewhat and I was able to get into a routine of sorts. After discouraging weeks due to my limited language-learning, I was happy to see that I was making progress. But for the past week, I haven’t been feeling well, and so once again I found myself in slow motion.

Bonéré started teaching the Bible lessons to the church, and overall it’s going well. He taught lesson 4 last Sunday. Those who attend seem to be following well and, as one man said, “If we had been taught this way from the beginning, we would understand many things.” That’s our desire, that they may understand God’s Word and know the God of the universe. Satan is not too happy about this and it seems as if lots of things come up to prevent people from coming to hear the Bible-teaching.

Now that the Bible-teaching has begun and I know that my time here is limited, I’m spending more time working on the Bible lessons. Bonéré is making good progress on preparing the lessons and then we do the back-to-French check. These checks are always a challenge, sometimes with some heated discussions as to how best to express a certain truth. But with God’s help, everyone ends up satisfied that the lesson is clear. So, things are moving ahead little by little.

We are also trying to get the well project started. As usual, things aren’t moving along as fast as I would like. Work has to start now if the well is to be finished before the rains come, so I’m putting some extra time into working out the logistics.

In three weeks, we are going to Guinea to meet with one of the Konyagi elders and share our desire to work among them. We hope that subsequently the Konyagi elders will meet together to discuss this and to decide where we should settle.

A tremendous thank you for your prayers!!! Thank you for partnering with us so that the Konyagi may hear God’s message!

Prayer & Praise

• Ministry among the Konyagi

Pray for Bonéré as he prepares Bible lessons in the Konyagi language. He is presently working on lesson 13. Pray for the lesson checks as it’s a demanding job. This week we hope to check lessons 10 and 11. Pray that these lessons will be well done and be a great help in sharing the Good News with the Konyagi.

Pray for Bonéré as he teaches the Bible lessons to the church on Sundays. Pray that he may teach well, that many people will come and, of course, that the people will understand and be transformed by God’s Word.

Pray for our trip to Guinea, that God will direct us and direct the Konyagi elders when they meet to discuss our proposal and where we should settle. Already our future plans have changed and the intended May/June dates for entry among the Konyagi in Guinea have been pushed back by at least three months. Pray that we will trust God in all of this, knowing that this is His work and that He has the best plan to accomplish what He wants to do.

• Culture and language study

Pray that I know how to find a balance between language study and all the other things I’m trying to do right now. Continue to pray that I may learn this language well and have good relationships with the people.

• Konyagi missionary team

Pray for the Hofer and Nachtigall families. The Hofers had to suddenly return to the United States when their daughter severely broke her arm. Pray that she may recover and have the full use of her arm and hand. The Nachtigall will continue to study French for a few more months, so pray that they may soon reach the required level of proficiency. Pray for each of us so that we will work well together as a team. There is much planning and preparation for all of us and plenty of unknowns, so your prayers are appreciated!

• Konyagi Bible translation

Praise for Sue Jenkins from SIL and Papa who are working on the Konyagi Bible translation. Pray for the final check of the book of Genesis which should take place this month. What a privilege it will be to use it during the teaching of the Bible lessons! Communicating God’s Word clearly and accurately in another language and culture is an extremely important and difficult job so please pray for them.

• Konyagi people

Praise for the work that God is doing among these people – let’s keep praying! Praise that there is another group of Konyagi who has recently expressed a desire for Bible-teaching! Pray that God will go before us to prepare the way and will continue to prepare the hearts of the Konyagi to hear the message of salvation and that it will transform their lives.

• Well project

Praise that World Vision will help to finance the project! However, they will not manage it, so right now we are trying to finalize things in order for the work to start as soon as possible. Pray for that and that soon we may have a well with good water.

• Wisdom

Pray for wisdom to deal with the various situations that come up and the decisions to be made.

• Spiritual well-being

Pray that my top priority each day would be to know God better and that I would become the woman God wants me to be.

• Physical well-being

Praise that I am starting to feel a bit better after being sick for a week. I am still very tired and the arrival of the heat doesn’t help. Pray for my health and the strength to do all that needs to be done.

• Mental well-being

Pray that I may stay encouraged despite the challenges.

• Safety

Praise for God’s protection during the elections! Pray that there will be calm and peace during the second round of elections on March 18^th. Pray also for the trips I have planned at the end of this month (to Guinea and to Dakar).

Hi and best wishes for the new year! I hope that you have enjoyed this time of celebrating the coming of our Saviour and that you are ready to see God at work in 2012!

Yes, I did arrive safely in Senegal. I arrived 41 hours later than planned due to cancelled flights, but I made it! This time I had a really hard time recovering from the trip and the jet lag, so it wasn’t until December 20^th that I arrived in the village.

When I got there, I was happy to see that most of my things were still in working order. The less pleasant surprises were that all the filtered water I had left behind had disappeared and so I had nothing to drink, and the other surprise was that large quantities of earwigs had moved into my house – in my bed, my desk drawers, etc. It was a big job to clean everything out and settle back in, but it’s now done. This week I also had the help of another missionary and so now everything is in order.

I must say that I found it a bit difficult to readjust to life here. My language was very rusty and it’s difficult to renew acquaintances without the language. I was reminded once again how difficult it is to be in a village where I don’t understand the majority language. Despite all this, things are falling back into place and I am hopeful that they will move ahead well.

As I had mentioned previously, soon we will be having an important meeting regarding the future of the church-planting effort among the Konyagi. A couple leaders from the mission will be there as well as others who are interested in being part of the Konyagi missionary team. It seems that God is finally sending me co-workers – hallelujah! J We will have much to discuss during these days of meetings on January 15^th and 16^th,, and many important decisions to make that will greatly affect the work among the Konyagi. I ask that you join me in praying that God will clearly guide us. Personally, I plan on having a time of prayer and fasting on Friday, January 13^th. Despite the distance, I would be thrilled if you would join me in this. I know that it may not be possible for everyone, but please consider spending a few minutes in prayer for God’s work among the Konyagi.

I thank you for your partnership and for your prayers!

Prayer & Praise

• Ministry among the Konyagi

Pray for Bonéré as he prepares Bible lessons in the Konyagi language. Pray that these lessons will be well done and be a great help in sharing the Good News with the Konyagi. Pray that God would continue to clearly direct us at each step of the ministry among the Konyagi and pray especially for the meetings on January 15^th and 16^th.

• Culture and language study

Pray that the language may quickly come back to me. Pray that I may have the motivation, the perseverance and the ability to learn this language and culture well.

• Konyagi missionary team

Praise that God is providing coworkers to be part of the team – we’ve been praying for that for so long! I look forward to presenting them to you officially in my next update! Pray that God will clearly guide them so that we have the team that He desires.

• Konyagi Bible translation

Praise for Sue Jenkins from SIL and Papa who are working on the Konyagi Bible translation. Communicating God’s Word clearly and accurately in another language and culture is an extremely important and difficult job so please pray for them. Sue has been struggling with sickness these past weeks so your prayers would be valued all the more!

• Konyagi people

Praise for the work that God is doing among these people – let’s keep praying! Pray that God will go before us to prepare the way and will continue to prepare the hearts of the Konyagi people to hear the message of salvation and that it will transform their lives.

• Well project

Praise that World Vision may be willing to help with this well project! It would be a great help to me! Pray for the arrangements and decisions that must be made, and that soon the water problem in the village will be resolved.

• Wisdom

Pray for wisdom to deal with the various situations that come up and the decisions to be made.

• Spiritual well-being

Pray that my top priority each day would be to know God better and that I would become the woman God wants me to be.

• Physical well-being

Praise that I am healthy. Pray for health and strength to do all that needs to be done.

• Mental well-being

Pray that I may stay encouraged despite the challenges.

• Safety

Praise for God’s protection in all these travels! Pray that God would continue to protect me.

I’m leaving for Senegal in a few days and I have lots to do to get ready. Yet, I still wanted to take a few minutes to let you know that there are changes on the horizon.

The good news is that I may have co-workers in the new year! That would be a wonderful answer to prayer. Pray that God will clearly guide these people so that we will have the missionary team that God desires.

With the possibility of new co-workers, we will be re-evaluating our church-planting strategy among the Konyagi people. In December or January we will have a meeting with the leadership, those interested in joining the team and myself to discuss the future of the Konyagi work. One option would be to return to Guinea, therefore, I will wait untilthis meeting before making a decision regarding the importation of my vehicle. For now, I am able to borrow a Senegalese vehicle. Please be praying for this important meeting so that we can clearly see God’s direction and that we will make wise decisions according to His plan.

I would appreciate your prayers for my upcoming flight, the many kilometers (over 1,000) I will have to drive on my own, my return to the village, my readjustment to village life and my return to language study.

Thank you very much for your prayers!

October 31, 2011

I’m now back in Canada after two trips. First of all, I went to Missouri to visit a church that has adopted the Konyagi people. It allowed me to get to know them better and also to discuss with them what God is doing among the Konyagi. This church sends several teams each year to evangelize the Konyagi. While I was in Missouri, I took the opportunity to spend several days with Jody and her family. It was great to have this time with them and to meet their second daughter. I was also able to purchase many things that I’ll need once I’m back in Senegal. So, it was a very productive trip!

My second trip was down south for holidays. A friend offered me this special gift and I really enjoyed this week of refreshment in a tropical paradise! What a blessing!

Since my last letter, I’ve considered numerous possibilities and scenarios concerning the situation with my vehicle. Although I’m still lacking a lot of funds to import the vehicle, I have decided to move ahead by faith. So, my plans for my return have changed a bit. I now plan on returning to Senegal at the beginning of December. Shortly afterwards, I will take a flight to Guinea and then a taxi to get to the mission center. I will attend the annual missionary conference and then will drive my vehicle all the way to the capital of Senegal. It will be quite a trip! For that reason, I’ve adjusted my schedule so that I can travel at the same time as another family. Once in the capital, we will begin the importation process, which should take ten days or so. Then, I will make the long trip to pick up my dog and return to my village. If all goes well, I should arrive there towards the end of December or the beginning of January. I have to say that I’m not looking forward to all the traveling and I’m really disappointed about not being in the village sooner, but I can’t really see any other solution. I’d appreciate your prayers for all of this planning and travelling.

Thank you so much for partnering with me so that the Konyagi may also know our Lord!

Prayer & Praise

• Ministry among the Konyagi

During my absence, Bonéré plans to continue preparing Bible lessons. Pray for him as he works on this and pray that he’ll find time as he’s very busy these days. Pray that these lessons will be well done and will be a great help in sharing the Good News with the Konyagi. Pray that God would continue to clearly direct us at each step of the ministry among the Konyagi.

• Culture and language study

Pray that I won’t forget what I’ve learned and that my language-learning will progress well when I return.

• Konyagi missionary team

Pray that God will send the right coworkers to be part of the team. A certain family is very interested – pray about that!

• Konyagi Bible translation

Praise for Sue Jenkins from SIL and Papa who are working on the Konyagi Bible translation. They are presently working on the book of Matthew. Communicating God’s Word clearly and accurately in another language and culture is an extremely important and difficult job so please pray for them. Sue and her family have been struggling with sickness and difficulties these past days so your prayers would be valued all the more!

• Konyagi people

Praise for the work that God is doing among these people – let’s keep praying! Pray that God will go before us to prepare the way and will continue to prepare the hearts of the Konyagi people to hear the message of salvation and that it will transform their lives.

• Wisdom

Pray for wisdom to deal with the various situations that come up and the decisions to be made (for example, regarding my vehicle)

• Spiritual well-being

Pray that my top priority each day would be to know God better and that I would become the woman God wants me to be.

• Physical well-being

Praise that I am now healthy again. Pray for health and strength to do all that needs to be done.

• Mental well-being

Praise that I have this time with my family. It’s also nice to be where life is a bit easier. Praise for the wonderful week of holidays that I was able to have!

• Safety

Praise for God’s protection in all these travels! Pray that God would continue to protect me especially as I travel in the coming weeks.

These last weeks have been filled with travel, presentations and visiting with people. Everything went well and I enjoyed the opportunity to share what God is doing among the Konyagi! I also enjoyed spending time with many of you! Lately, I’ve also had a lot of decisions to make. So, with all of that, it hasn’t been a very restful time!

It’s hard to believe that there are less than six weeks left before my return to Senegal! One of the decisions that I mentioned above has to do with my vehicle. My vehicle is presently in Guinea and I’m considering importing it into Senegal. Until now, someone was lending me a vehicle to use in Senegal, but that will come to an end at the beginning of December. Importing a vehicle involves lots of paperwork and expense (about $16,000)! Some of you mentioned that you’d like to help, so here is how you can do so: 1) You can pray for the situation! 2) If you would like to help financially, you can send funds to NTM. Indicate that it’s for Chantal Pilon – vehicle. You will receive a tax-deductible receipt. Thank you!

As of Friday, I will be on the road again for some family time! Then, I’ll be flying to Missouri to spend about a week there. After that, I hope to find a bit of time to rest before my return to Senegal.

Thank you for your prayers, your encouragement and your financial support! You are a wonderful team and I am thankful that we can work together in this way!

Prayer & Praise

 • Ministry among the Konyagi

During my absence, Bonéré plans to continue preparing Bible lessons. Pray for him as he works on this and pray that he’ll find time, as he’s very busy these days. Pray that these lessons will be well done and will be a great help in sharing the Good News with the Konyagi. Pray that God would continue to clearly direct us at each step of the ministry among the Konyagi.

• Culture and language study

Pray that I won’t forget what I’ve learned and that my language-learning will progress well when I return.

• Konyagi missionary team

Pray that God will send the right coworkers to be part of the team.

 • Konyagi Bible translation

Praise for Sue Jenkins from SIL and Papa who are working on the Konyagi Bible translation. They are presently working on the books of Genesis, Matthew and Acts. Communicating God’s Word clearly and accurately in another language and culture is an extremely important and difficult job so please pray for them.

• Konyagi people

Praise for the work that God is doing among these people – let’s keep praying! Pray that God will go before us to prepare the way and will continue to prepare the hearts of the Konyagi people to hear the message of salvation and that it will transform their lives.

• Wisdom

Pray for wisdom to deal with the various situations that come up and in decisions to be made (for example, what to do about my vehicle)

• Spiritual well-being

Pray that my top priority each day would be to know God better and that I would become the woman God wants me to be.

• Physical well-being

Praise that I am now healthy again. Pray for health and strength to do all that needs to be done.

• Mental well-being

Praise that I have this time with my family. It’s also nice to be where life is a bit easier.

• Safety

Praise for God’s protection! Pray that God would continue to protect me especially as I travel in the coming weeks.

I hope that you are enjoying the summer. I know that I am. It’s true that my time in Canada didn’t quite start off as I had expected. I was sick for over three weeks and my grandmother passed away. The death of a loved one is never easy but I am thankful to know that she is with her Saviour! I am also thankful that ten days beforehand, I was able to visit her for a few days and we had a great visit together. I am also thankful that I was in Canada at this time to share in my family’s grief.

Now, I am once again healthy and time is flying by! Here is the schedule of my upcoming presentations (those that have been confirmed). If you have the opportunity to attend one of them, I would love to share with you what God is doing among the Konyagi! Let me know if you need more detailed information and I’ll be happy to give it to you.

     Aug      21            Église Baptiste de Mont-Laurier (French)

                  28            Église Baptiste de Maniwaki (French)    

     Sept       4            Église du Bon Berger, Orléans (French)

                   11            Parkdale Baptist Church, Ottawa (English)

                   25           Durham Baptist Church (English)

Thank you for your partnership in this ministry among the Konyagi! I hope that I will have the opportunity to see many of you during the coming weeks!

Prayer & Praise

 • Ministry among the Konyagi

During my absence, Bonéré plans to continue preparing Bible lessons. He is working on lesson 10. Pray for him as he works on this and pray that he’ll find time as he’s very busy these days. Pray that these lessons will be well done and will be a great help in sharing the Good News with the Konyagi.

Pray that God would continue to clearly direct us at each step of the ministry among the Konyagi.

• Culture and language study

Pray that I won’t forget what I’ve learned and that my language-learning will progress well when I return.

• Konyagi missionary team

Pray that God will send the right coworkers to be part of the team.

• Konyagi Bible translation

Praise for Sue Jenkins from SIL and Papa who are working on the Konyagi Bible translation. They are presently working on the books of Genesis, Matthew and Acts. Communicating God’s Word clearly and accurately in another language and culture is an extremely important and difficult job so please pray for them.

• Konyagi people

Praise for the work that God is doing among these people – let’s keep praying! Pray that God will go before us to prepare the way and will continue to prepare the hearts of the Konyagi people to hear the message of salvation and that it will transform their lives.

• Wisdom

Pray for wisdom to deal with the various situations that come up and in decisions to be made (for example, what to do about my vehicle, the need of solar panels, etc.)

• Spiritual well-being

Pray that my top priority each day is to know God better and that I would become the woman God wants me to be.

• Physical well-being

Praise that I am now healthy again. Pray for health and strength to do all that needs to be done.

• Mental well-being

Praise that I have this time with my family. It’s also nice to be where life is a bit easier.

• Safety

Praise for God’s protection! Pray that God would continue to protect me especially as I travel in the coming months.

my neighbors, the twins, who follow me everywhere (well, almost everywhere)

Hi from Québec!

That’s right, I’m back in Canada!

My last weeks in Senegal were very busy! I had to pack up my house and belongings for my 4 ½-month absence. This is always a huge job that takes lots of time, energy, and much planning! I hope that I’ll find everything in good shape when I return.

Then my trip began – I drove more than 1,000 km before arriving in Dakar, the capital, to catch my flight. I started the trip by bringing my dog Shadow to stay with another missionary who will take care of him while I’m gone. I then went to attend a workshop on language learning. This workshop should help me to learn the Konyagi language when I return. I then went to visit the Hofer family for a few days in the midst of their preparations to move to Guinea. I spent a few days in Dakar before it was time for my flight and it was one of the smoothest trips I’ve ever had!

So, I’ve been in Canada for about 2 ½ weeks now. It’s nice to enjoy the ‘easier life’ and to spend time with family! I just came back from my first trip. I went to Val-d’Or to visit my grandmother who is sick and in the hospital. It was so good to spend some time with her. I also did my first presentation at the church in Val-d’Or. What a privilege to share what God is doing among the Konyagi!

This coming weekend I will be in Brantford. I will be doing a presentation at Hartford Baptist Church on Sunday evening. If you are in the area, it would be great if you were able to come! My next presentation (in French) will then be at the Gatineau church on Sunday, August 7^th.

I have several more presentations to do but the dates haven’t yet been confirmed. I will keep you updated. I would really like the opportunity to share with each of you what God is doing in my small corner of the world.

So, I’ll sign off here. Thank you so much for your partnership in the ministry among the Konyagi!

Prayer & Praise

• Ministry among the Konyagi

During my absence, Bonéré plans to continue preparing Bible lessons. Last I heard he was working on lesson 9. Pray for him as he works on this and pray that he’ll find time as he’s very busy these days. Pray that these lessons will be well done and will be a great help in sharing the Good News with the Konyagi.

Pray that God would continue to clearly direct us at each step of the ministry among the Konyagi.

• Culture and language study

Praise for the progress that I’ve made in the past five months. Pray that I won’t forget what I’ve learned and that my language learning will progress well when I return.

• Konyagi missionary team

Pray for the Hofer family who is in the moving process. They are moving to the missionary center in Guinea, where they will help out for one year. They are still seeking God’s direction as to whether they should join the work among the Konyagi.

Pray that God would send the right co-workers to join the missionary team.

• Konyagi Bible translation

Praise for Sue Jenkins from SIL and Papa who are working on the Konyagi Bible translation. They are presently working on the books of Genesis, Matthew and Acts. Communicating God’s Word clearly and accurately in another language and culture is an extremely important and difficult job so please pray for them.

• Konyagi people

Praise for the work that God is doing among these people – let’s keep praying! I continually hear of others who want to know God and it’s really amazing to see their desire for Truth. Pray that God will go before us to prepare the way and will continue to prepare the hearts of the Konyagi people to hear the message of salvation and that it will transform their lives.

• Wisdom

Pray for wisdom to deal with the various situations that come up.

• Spiritual well-being

Pray that knowing God will be my top priority each day and that I would become the woman God wants me to be.

• Physical well-being

Praise that my health has been so good during these past months despite the heat. At the moment I have a nasty cold but nothing serious!

• Mental well-being

Praise that God encourages me in various ways and He really helps me to find my joy in Him! Pray that I may have a good attitude and remain encouraged no matter the situation.

• Safety

Praise for God’s protection – each trip I am amazed by his protection! Pray that God would continue to protect me.

I can’t say that there’s been much excitement around here lately. Actually, if I start thinking about it, I did play the role of an ambulance driver once, the role of a nurse several times, as well as the role of a mechanic and an electrician (not always successfully). Today I was given monkey meat and a couple weeks ago it was warthog meat. I continue to check into possibilities for having a well in the village. So, although life continues with language learning and Bible lesson preparation, it’s true that there are other things happening too.

I continue to need your prayers as I learn the language and culture. It’s so difficult and I must admit that sometimes it’s really hard to keep up the motivation and really concentrate but I am progressing little by little. Please also pray for my relationships with the people. It’s not always easy to know how to go about getting to know people better, especially when you don’t speak the same language!

checking a Bible lesson

Bonéré continues to work on the Bible lessons and tomorrow we plan to go check lesson five. We are very thankful for the help of Jean-Pierre in checking these lessons! It’s obvious that these checks are necessary to improve these lessons so that they will be well understood but overall, Jean-Pierre understands them well and appreciates them. It’s not an easy job and Bonéré must continually be encouraged to prepare these lessons in a natural way that will clearly communicate to the Konyagi (rather than a word-for-word translation). There are still many lessons to prepare and much work to do!

I will only be in the village for another four weeks! After that, I will be going to a language learning workshop. From there, I will begin my trip to return to Canada. I plan on being in Canada from the end of June until mid-November. I’m looking forward to being with you and sharing what God is doing among the Konyagi!

Thank you for your support in prayer, as well as financially, so that I can be here among the Konyagi! Continue to pray that God will do great things among these people!

Prayer & Praise

• Ministry among the Konyagi

Praise for Bonéré’s enthusiasm in preparing the Bible lessons. Pray that he may have a good grasp on how to prepare these Bible lessons well before I leave (as he will continue while I’m gone). Praise for the help of Jean-Pierre in checking these lessons. We hope to do the comprehension check of lesson five tomorrow. Pray that these lessons will be well done and will be a great help in sharing the Good News with the Konyagi. Pray that God would continue to clearly direct us at each step of the ministry among the Konyagi.

• Culture and language study

Praise that each morning I can have language sessions with Bonéré. Pray for my language study. Pray for the ability to learn and the motivation and discipline to keep at it.

• Village life

Pray for wisdom in my relationships with the people and that I might get to know them better.

• Konyagi missionary team

Pray for the Hofer family in this phase of orientation. Pray that they may know God’s will for their future. Pray that God would send the right co-workers to join the missionary team.

• Konyagi Bible translation

Praise for Sue Jenkins from SIL and Papa who are working on the Konyagi Bible translation. They are presently working on completing the book of Genesis as well as working on the book of Matthew. Communicating God’s Word clearly and accurately in another language and culture is an extremely important and difficult job so please pray for them.

• Konyagi people

Praise for the work that God is doing among these people – let’s keep praying! I continually hear of others who want to know God and it’s really amazing to see their desire for Truth. Pray that God will go before us to prepare the way and will continue to prepare the hearts of the Konyagi people to hear the message of salvation and that it will transform their lives.

• Wisdom

Pray for wisdom to deal with the various situations that come up.

• Spiritual well-being

Pray that knowing God will be my top priority each day and that I would become the woman God wants me to be.

• Physical well-being

Praise that I am healthy and even have quite a bit of energy despite the heat! It’s true that sometimes the heat can really wear me down and that I often have stomach issues but overall it’s going well. Pray that I may continue to be healthy and have strength and energy.

• Mental well-being

Praise that God encourages me in various ways and He really helps me to find my joy in Him! Pray that I may have a good attitude and remain encouraged no matter the situation.

• Safety

Praise for God’s protection – each trip I am amazed by his protection! Pray that God would continue to protect me.