NTM - New Tribes Mission | Planting Tribal Churches

I knew that when I walked on the plane to leave for Africa, that life would not be the same when I returned years later.  How it would be different, I couldn’t know.  As much as I knew that reality, I chose not to dwell on it or I might have not walked onto that plane.  So I should not be surprised by the grief of change.  This morning my grandpa, whom I dearly loved, passed away.   I know this is not a final goodbye, but I will miss seeing him here on this earth.  It is hard to not be with family during this time to help and grieve and remember.  I desperately cling to the hope that as effective as prayers have been in my life, so might my prayers provide some comfort to my family as I am away.

I can’t be there, but I can remember with everyone else the wonderful ways  that this man impacted my life.

Grandpa….

• You were an amazing cook!  Your hamburgers and chicken wings were famous in my world.
• You always took the time to make us kids our favorite drinks, special cherries and all!
• I remember the summers spent with you, swimming in your pool as you watched and laughed.
• Every time we came, you always had new pool toys for us blown up and ready.
• You were the best spades partner
• Your home was a refuge to me and those I love.
• I always ate better when I was with you than any other time in my life.
• You were a hard worker, who never gave up no matter what the task.
• Your real estate advice has made us wiser.
• The two weeks you spent getting our home ready before our marriage is treasured in my heart.
• You always had time to come down and help when there was need.  My parent’s house would not be what it is today without your hard work.
• Every night you got grandma her pills and milk, which was only one of the many ways you displayed your love for her.
• It has been amazing watching you grow and change as God softened your heart.
• You loved your grandchildren and always went above and beyond to make sure we were happy.

Where we could always find you...at the Barbecue

Making amazing food

You were a worker, willing to go on any trip that involved a work project. Even to such a challenging place as Haiti.

You always made great effort to come to Portland and see us

You came camping with us, just to be with us

You always had a smile for us

You were a blessing to so many

You and grandma were an amazing team

You loved us and our children

We love you Grandpa!

And already miss you

We are looking forward to the day when we will all be together again. God take good care of him for us in the mean time!

So Many Decisions

If you can't pick a color to paint with, well maybe you should just mix them all up

We have now set the record for the most consecutive days in our home.  It feels good to start setting up life here.  Yet as we begin to set up life, we see all the decisions surrounding us and the the wisdom we lack to make those decisions.  Imagine if every activity of your life were wiped away and you had to restructure your life.  That is what we face and we want to make wise decisions as to how we fill and use our time.  We have to make decisions about our language sessions, daily life, ministry, interactions with our host family and so much more.  Each decision we make, we make alongside our host family, which adds a level of additional complexity.  We want to be involved and active in our church and in African life, but we are not limited in the opportunities that surround us, so we need wisdom in choosing the most effective ways to be involved.

Adjustments

Playing as a cow walks by

Life continues to throw adjustments our way.  Some of the things we have been working on adjusting to recently have been:

• When people visit, they decide when they leave not us, no matter what we had planned to accomplish during that time.
• At times we feel like fish in a fish tank. It seems like there are always people around watching how we live.
• There is no official price to anything, the question is just how much can we afford to pay

Praises

Bought these silicone muffin liners in Thailand and I LOVE THEM!!!

There are a few ways that God has really blessed us recently.  One is our water tank which continues to fill up each night.  We still have a lot of work ahead of us to get our tank connected to our water system and actually have running water.  Yet at the moment we are just grateful for a full tank and the peace of mind that if the water doesn’t turn on one night, we will still have water the next day.  Our water tank would easily last us 5 days of water use and we could stretch it to last more like 10 if we needed to.  That is very reassuring.

We are also praising God for the provision of a language helper.  We start sessions next Wednesday.  We are so excited to begin language sessions again, because language is vital to our ministry.  We are praying that the transition to a new helper will go smoothly and that we will continue to make quick progress in language!

Pictures

This weekend we got a chance to get a way on an outting

We visited Pink Lake (and yes it is actually pink)

It has a higher salt density than the Dead Sea

The boys favorite part of the outing was the swimming pool

So nice to relax and release stress

Our whole family had fun!

Life is starting to come together for us

We are learning how to have fun with what we have

But mostly just enjoying the fact that we are together

Ethan: Mom our drinking water is out, what are we going to drink today?

Me: God provided us with lots of water last night, so it’s not going to be a problem.

Ethan: I want to go and see what God has done

Me: Well lets go look at our tank full of water.

Ethan: Cheers of joy that I only wish you could have heard.

God gave us 650 liters (175 gal ) of water last night, compared to 30 liters the night before.  On top of that there were no leaks in the tank set up by Joel.  We are celebrating today with doing the dished and laundry and it is truly a celebration.

Days without water – Painful

Letting our children watch as the Lord provides – Priceless

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS!!!

Sometimes I feel like just closing my eyes and seeing if all the struggles will go away.

There are days that seem really dark.  We all face these days in our life and the form they take differs from one person to another.  A missionary is no different.  There are days when all we do is survive and right now we are in a few of those days.

We drove home to our house yesterday with our water tanks and all the supplies we bought in Dakar.  We walked into our house and made shoe prints in the sand that had piled up on the floor and of course everywhere else.  We found around 10 dead roaches on our floor, which means there are many more alive ones left to be found.

The night before we left for Dakar, 3 weeks ago, was a water-less night, which means we arrived home to a very low supply of water.  The house was incredibly hot from being closed up for so long.  So here we are covered in dirt, hot and no water to begin cleaning with.

None of our toilets flushed which meant that over the three weeks we were gone our water was never turned on with enough pressure to make it up to the toilets.  Last night we only got enough water to fill half a tote, which means that we will have drinking water and maybe enough to wipe down the boys before bed.

Our strategy right now is survival and prayer that God would give us a night with good water, so that we can fill up our water supply.  The first days back are usually difficult like this and I know that life gets easier once we adjust, but making it through the adjustment is never easy.  Pray with us for water and for the strength to survive.

Our water tanks

Joel did an amazing job with the boys

We might be walking on rocks right now

We hope to soon be looking at the beauty that surrounds those rocks

It is not a language to learn, it is a life to live. 

The more I learn about the process of entering into someone’s life through their language, the more I am amazed at the size of the task  Yet it is also amazing how much it means to people when you truly seek to understand who they are (which means speaking to them in their heart language in a culturally appropriate way).  It is a God size task, but we have a God who is big enough.  God is at work in powerful ways around the world displaying his wonder through broken people who are willing to serve.  I pray that God will continue to mold my family into that type of humble servants.

Thailand was filled with many great memories

During my 2 weeks in Thailand I…

• learned 150 Vietnamese words
• was trained to help people through language learning
  

  The training was amazing

• processed through our struggles and successes in language learning.
• prayed daily for God to lead us to a good language helper when I returned
• was spiritually refreshed
• ate more spicy food in two weeks then the rest of my life combined
• Acquired a new type of skin rash
• filled my luggage with special treats for our family
• experienced many small pieces of life in Thailand
  

  One of our trips to the local market

• was encouraged by the way my body handled the heat.  This next hot season is going to be so much better.
• greatly missed my family.  They sure do bless my life!

The Journey Home

My time here has been great, but I am so excited to be heading back to to my family.  Saturday I will begin the long journey home, which includes 16 hours of flight time.  On Monday we all drive back to our home together.  We are very excited to reconnect with our host family and begin to put together the pieces of our life.  It will be nice to settle and stay in our home for longer than a week.  We are excited, but also aware that the first days of transition are always difficult for us.  Please pray for grace and patience as we readjust to life again.

Reverse Culture Shock

Arriving in Thailand, I experienced culture shock like I have never experienced it before.  I stood in a mall and was paralyzed as I look around at all the comforts surrounding me.  I was thankful to have a friend next to be who was experiencing the same thing.  We tried hard to stop saying “I haven’t seen _________ in almost a year”.  There was so much variety and so many choices.  It was difficult to choose what special treat to have or do.  It was a good chance to experience some of the emotions that I am sure will accompany our first days back to the states.

Not even McDonalds has made it to Senegal

Special Treats

Most exciting was a friend to talk to (in English)

• Beauty:Thailand is filled with so much beauty.  Coming from the desert, it was amazing to look around at the green grass, rice fields, rivers and some much more beauty that surrounded us
  

  The beautiful campus where we stayed.

• Comforts:  Worship in English, hot showers, clean feet, air conditioning, cheap massages, comfortable clothing, prepared meals (that I didn’t prepare), laundry service, and grocery stores.  I welcomed all of these with open arms
• Familiar food: Although the food here is very different (and we have eaten mostly Thai food), we have had access to so many more familiar foods: Ice cream (even blizzards), Cheetos, cereal, sausage, pizza, veggies of all varieties, popcorn chicken, specialty beverages, berries and so much more!
• The fun type of Adventures: On our breaks we took the time to explore the area around us including a floating market, touching an elephant, walking along the river, swimming in a pool, and of course exploring the local version of Walmart
  

  It was crazy to be so close to an elephant

The Training = Spiritual Retreat

We had people from 8 different countries, serving in over 18 different places. It was amazing to learn and worship together

When I think about this training, one word comes to mind “Amazing”.  The training is specifically geared toward what we are doing and it has been so good for me.  The training has focused on making Jesus meetable through the language learning process. It has been good to reflect on the difficulties we have faced in language learning, but to also be reminded of how God uses this breaking process to display his truth.  God has been teaching me so much during this time and I am so excited to return to my family and to pick up the ministry he has called us to.  We might have limited language ability, but I am praying that God will be using this time of language learning to display who he is to the people around us through our lives.

News From Dakar

Can't wait to be home with my family

We have one more week apart and although the boys are doing well, we are all ready to be back together.  Joel was able to find water tanks and a pump for our house, which is very exciting!  He now is working on figuring out how he will set them up and trying to find all the plumbing pieces he needs (which is pretty much like a life size Where’s Waldo for each piece).

More Pictures

So fun to see such colorful taxis

We splurged at a hotel for the weekend

Rode around the city in a tuk tuk

Visited a floating market

Shopped

and just walked around

One adventure I was not brave enough to try...yes those fish are nibbling/cleaning his feet

The one down side was the hard beds, which were covered with bugs at night. Nothing sleeping with bugs crawling all over you

Yet also surrounded by the reminders of the need for God's truth

The Earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea

I will be honest that there are times when I react the same way as Gideon and Moses and ask God, “Are you sure you picked the right person for this job?”  There are so many ways that I don’t fit the mold of a “good missionary”.  There are so many weaknesses that I have.  Just yesterday I flushed the toilet here in Thailand and a huge spider ran out.  I screamed!  And then I thought this is ridiculous, I live in Africa I should not be screaming at bugs.  Yet I think I might always still scream.  God are you sure you sent the right person?

• I am not adventurous and yet this past year has been jam packed with many adventures
• I am not organized and yet I live in a house where we have to keep track of clean water, soap water, dirty water and what buckets are used for what type of water.
• I am terrible at goodbyes and weep every time I have to say goodbye even though I have done it so many times.
• I have a terrible sense of direction and I live where there are no street signs and no order.
• I would never choose to try new foods and yet this year I have had so many different foods that I didn’t even recognize.
• I hate disagreements and yet I live in a place where I have to barter for most of what I buy.
• I like being “in the know” and yet I live in a culture where I know and understand very little.
• I like to have a plan and yet I live in a place where they never plan.
• I would much rather talk than write and yet I am at a place where writing is the only means I have of communicating with people back home.

This week I have gotten a chance to reflect on all that we have been through this year.  We have been through a lot of hard things and have made incredible progress in our adjustment to life in Africa.  Did God send the right person?  Yes because I am here to testify that what has happened has been through his strength and his strength alone.  I don’t fit the mold, but he is molding me into what he wants me to be.  So let me encourage anyone if you see a mountain in your future that you are too weak to climb, God is faithful and can give you the strength you lack to climb your mountain.

Short Report

The boys back home are doing great.  It is not easy, but God is carrying them through.  Just as I left they got 3 new packages with new books, candy, crafts, and toys.  So many blessings that they are enjoying and at just the perfect time.  We are so grateful for all the love and support that surrounds us.  Thailand has been great.  I am learning so much!  The internet here is terrible so you will have to wait to hear and see more of my trip.

I am off on another Adventure - hopefully the enjoyable kind

Did you hear that I am going to Thailand?!?  It is such a blessing from God.  The trip came about really quickly and in a way that only God could make happen.  We found out on the day we moved that I was going.  However with everything going on in our life it is not until I started packing that the reality of Thailand sank in.  I am so excited!  So here is a little bit of the details about my trip.

What

I am enrolled in a class that provides training in the language program we are using.  I will be staying at a retreat center and will be in class most of the time with breaks here and there.  I am excited about the training, even though I know it will be a lot of work.  This will train me to be able to assist others who are learning French (or maybe another language).  Our language consultant will be in Canada for 6 months and this training will prepare me to help those who are learning French while he is gone.

When

I leave on Wednesday and will be gone for over 2 weeks.

The Amazing Part

One of my closest friends, Amy, is going to the same training!  Amy and her husband have opened up the field in Tanzania.  They have people arriving to the field in January and she needs to be trained to help them learn Swahili.  We both have gone through very similar struggles and challenges this past year.  It will be great to have the time together!  I can’t tell you how excited I am.

My Worries

Well this is my first time traveling internationally by myself.  I am sure it will be fine, but I am realizing how comforting it is to have company when traveling to foreign places in unknown languages.  My main worry is our family being separated.  Joel is a fully capable Dad and I know he will do great.  It is just always difficult being a single parent and the boys have been through a lot of transition recently, so I am praying that God will strengthen them all during this time.

An Added Blessing

I was worrying about the boys and then God sent me a small reminder that he was in control and taking care of my family better than I could.  We found out that a family has just recently come out of the village because the wife is going to have a baby.  This family has boys the same age as our kids  and they have hit it off really well.  I think this extra entertainment will be a huge blessing while I am gone.

A Break

This is a longer break from language and ministry than we had hoped for, but our host family is gone during the same time which limits the progress we can make anyway.  We are hoping to hit the ground running when I return as we begin to put together all the pieces of our life and ministry here. We hope to begin language training and to set up a schedule with our host family that will maximize the amount of time that we can have with them.  There is a lot of unknowns in all of that, but I am learning to live with unknowns and trust that the pieces, which are out of our control, will get put in place.

Pray for our boys these next few weeks

Especially Tyler, who is very attached to me

Pray also for Joel as he holds down the fort

As we arrived back home, I was reminded what an adjustment it is to live without running water.  Every time we leave, we quickly get used to having running water, and then the shock hits when we return.  I have come to realize that we need to be prepared for a couple of days to readjust ourselves to life here.  Once we are adjusted life gets a lot easier.  However those days of adjustment are rough.  The type of days when I fight not to cry or get mad when a glass of water spills to the ground.  Even though those days are rough, I have been marveling at how quickly we do adapt and become accustom to our situation no matter how different it is.  I found myself thanking God today for the ability to adapt and change to the circumstances we face.

So this is what I have discovered about our water situation…

• It seems like we live in one of the worst neighborhoods in terms of water.  Are we going to move?  No, this location is the best for our ministry and we believe we are right where God wants us to be.
• The problem might get solved at some point, but it has been this way for at least 3 years so that is not hopeful
• On a good day we get a little water during the day from one really low facet.  On a bad day (which seem to be getting more common) the water in our one working facet doesn’t turn on until after 10 and is off by the time we wake up.
• We are discussing our options for what type of water system to set up,  but with any system we set up the reality is we will have to consciously conserve water everyday.  Clean water is rinse water — rinse water becomes wash water — wash water becomes toilet water.

What is it like living without water?  Water is involved in so many aspects of life and I rarely noticed them until I didn’t have any water.  To describe it all would take too long.  So lets start simple – hand washing.  Ethan was kind enough to model for us.

This is our one facet that gets water. It is in our bathroom and is about a foot or two off the ground. We have attached a hose to make filling buckets easier.

When the water turns on at night, we desperately work on filling up any buckets or totes that we have with water to use the following day. This is one step that will be a lot easier when we get a tank in place.

Each room where water is needed has its own bucket and in the morning we go around and fill each of them with water for the day

Each room also has a clean cup that is used for scooping the water out of the bucket.

Dump to wash

Soap

Rinse

Clean hands! Now if only they would stay clean!

We are still waiting for a good night of water to fill up our waterbeds.  Having beds would help us feel more settled.  We are praying that this blessing might come our way soon!

We had the day completely planned out as to how we were going to get back to our home.

• Joel and the boys headed to the mission while I walked to the store to get the supplies we wanted to bring back with us.
• Joel was going to take us to the train at 5 and make sure we got on safely
• As we trained back, Joel was going to ride the motorcycle home
• Joel was going to meet us at the train station to help get all our luggage into a taxi and back home
• Then it was a bucket shower and to bed for all of us

We had a plan, but all of our plans failed.

• The store had none of the supplies I was wanting to bring back with us
• Joel’s motorcycle broke down leaving us arriving home on our own with no house key and Joel stuck in Dakar

When I first got the call from Joel telling me that he was still in Dakar I sat in shock at the situation in front of us.  I was arriving home with both exhausted boys, all of our luggage and no house key.  I felt at this moment that God had given me more than I could handle.  All of our plans for the day had been destroyed and all we could do was walk forward and hope that God had taken care of the plans for us.  The boys and I got off the train and only got a little lost, before we found a taxi.  I was able to get the taxi to our house (which is HUGE, remember we have only lived here a week and I have only been to the train station once!).  Our host family was home and ended up having the spare key to our house at home with them.  Right now the boys are in bed and Joel is on his way home in a taxi.  Somehow, by the grace of God we made it through.  God did give us more than we could handle, but not more than he could handle.  Right now I feel like I could use a break from adventures – they are too exhausting.  Yet each adventure forces me to practice trusting God and maybe someday I will actually get better at it.

We are learning to just jump

When we face great challenges

And our own strength fails

Trusting that God will help us stick the landing. GOD WE NEED YOU!