Robert & Amanda Kay Our journey to West Africa A little bit of everyday life…
I thought I would throw out a few pictures so you all can see what life looks like here… and see some of the differences for yourself. Would you like a little pepper with your lunch? No problem… oh wait, did you grind it already? How about that shirt you need for tomorrow? Speaking of lunch, here is ours from today, Mafé.
An unexpected wake-up call
Life here is different, nobody is going to argue that, and that does not make it wrong. However, in the case of my unexpected wake-up call it is. You see, not many things really creep me out, but the other night I experienced something that now keeps me up many nights feeling twitchy. No, I didn’t hear something outside or see something that (at the time) woke me up. No, I felt it. I felt it running up my back at about 4AM. Let me set the scene for you. I was asleep, he was running up my back, it was four in the morning.
It's what you think it is
I have always told Amanda that the one thing that would probably make me scream like a little girl was the thought of a roach running across my foot or something similar. Needless to say, the Lord has a gentle way of getting us past the things we think we can’t deal with so that we may continually find Him faithful. And faithful He is, He gave me the insight to not squash but flick and then to jump out of bed searching in the dark for anything “darker” to not land on. After finally getting the lights on I found and dealt with at least 20 of the “little” guys, and no, I did not scream like a little girl, by the grace of God. I share this story with you, not to paint a negative picture of where we are (everyone knows that roaches are everywhere), but instead to point you back to the Lord. The Lord is faithful and it is easy to say that, but He is also faithful to get us past the things that we think might keep us from serving Him. Gently and faithfully He brings up obstacles in our lives and then by His grace gives us the ability and opportunity to get around them so that nothing stands between His will for us and our willingness to follow.
“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass. Brethren, pray for us.” – 1 Thessalonians 5: 23-25
Culture experience #24
Enjoying taffy at the Sugar Shack!
I don’t really know if this is number 24 or not, it sounds a little low to me. The point is that as we are trying to learn language it is imperative that we learn culture. The two cannot be separated. Such a large part of communication is not verbal, so to overlook the culture would in fact be to over look much of how another society communicates within itself. So in the name of culture and language study we forced ourselves to go the the sugar shack with our church here in Sherbrooke. It was a wonderful time. Cold but worth every bit of it… or should I say bite of it. Going to the sugar shack is very traditional for the folks in this community. It symbolizes the coming of spring, opportunities to reunite with friends and helps to create the feeling of community, not to mention all the wonderful things that are made from the syrup!
-Robert
Update:
Financial Partnership: 48%
Remaining Start-up Funds Needed: $5,550
Days Remaining to Raise Funds: 112
Tags: culture study, language learning, Missions, New Foods, Sherbrooke, sugar shack
An exciting month!
These last few months we have been seeing the Lord move very quickly; at least it seems fast now that we have been preparing for West Africa for seven years. During the summer we asked you all to be praying for our tuition and it was raised in a month… then we asked you all at the beginning of this month to be praying for the Lord to provide the money for our airfare and it was raised in one week. Two days ago we bought our tickets. It is a rush to say the least. We are extremely excited and blessed. The encouragement we have received from you all has been enormous. We have received notes of encouragement, notes of shared excitement and notes of continued prayer that we want to thank you all for. As it stands now we will be home for 10 weeks after our French studies end and then we’re off to West Africa! On the heels of such blessings I almost feel selfish asking you all to be praying yet again for us! But once again we must admit that we need the body of Christ, which is not a bad thing. When we return home I will resume our partnership development ministry, trusting the Lord to raise our monthly commitments from 48% to 100%. Seeing how quickly He has worked in the past I see no reason why He couldn’t do it again. So in a nut shell that is the prayer request- that the Lord would move those He has set aside to partner with us to invest financially in this ministry. We can hardly wait to see you all this summer.
-Robert (for both of us)
Goal: financial partnership raised from 48% to 100%
Remaining Start-up Funds Needed: $5,550
Days Remaining to Raise Funds: 180
Tags: Missions, Plane tickets, West Africa
Plane ticket update #2
It’s been seven years since the Lord called us to foreign missions. Seven years of training, sharing and preparing our family for what the Lord has in store for us. He has taken the last seven years to prepare us for what He is about to do and has taught us many things about Himself along the way. In our last update we shared how February had been such an exciting month. March is shaping up to be every bit as exciting as February was. We announced last week the need for our plane tickets and the Lord worked through many of you extremely quickly. Not only did He raise the full amount needed for our plane tickets, but He also provided for some of our other expenses. So after seven years we now have the finances to purchase our tickets for Senegal! Needless to say we are extremely excited. One of our friends said it best the other day, “we spent so long hoping to go that now it is hard to wrap our mind around the fact that we are going.” In light of our exciting news we would like to share a few praises and prayer requests:
Praises: The Lord has provided the entire amount to purchase our plane tickets. The ability to look back and recognize that it is the Lord alone who has brought us to this point. For the encouragement we receive by seeing Him work through so many dear friends.
Prayer Request: That we would continue to recognize Him for who He is and that He would be our greatest delight each day. That we would have the wisdom to make the choices that would be best for our family. That He would continue to provide for our start up costs (security deposit, several months rent needed up front, children’s education, language helper fees, supplies, shipping, etc.). That we would have wisdom with all of the preparations we’re beginning to undertake for our up and coming move.
Days remaining to purchase tickets: 25
Current Funds: $5,000
Remaining Funds Needed: $0
Tags: Missions, Plane tickets, West Africa
Plane ticket update #1
By no means was last month ordinary! February was a very exciting month for our family. We began looking at plans for West Africa… i.e. plane tickets, shipping, moving, returning home to visit before we leave, and so on. When we started looking at plane tickets we were quoted $24,000 for all seven of us. “Ouch!” and “How in the world do missionaries afford to fly?” were our only thoughts. A couple of months later we found a “real” deal: $17,000 for all of us. After much prayer and seeking of council we contacted a travel group that works with missionaries, humanitarian aid workers and church groups. The organization, Raptim, contacted us 24 hours later with an incredible quote: $5,000 for all seven of us ( flight insurance and taxes included). We were floored. Not only was this an incredible price quote (compared to what we were given previously) but it met some secret desires of ours as well… there’s only one stop. As it is, the flight path is K.C. to D.C. to Dakar. What a huge praise for us!
Now for the update part. Within 5 days we were contacted by several people excited that the Lord was leading them to give toward the costs of our trip. We currently have $1,050 toward our tickets and a promised $1,000 from a supporting church if we raise the remaining $2,950! We are amazed by the reaction of our support team and their desire to join the Lord in what He is doing! We are also amazed to see the Lord moving so quickly. Thank you all for your continued prayers!!! We will continue updating you all regarding the progress of Project Plane Tickets.
Days remaining to purchase tickets: 30
Current Funds: $1,050 with $1,000 promised = $2,050
Remaining Funds Needed: $2950
Tags: Missions, Plane tickets, Senegal, West Africa
Lessons in Pronunciation
Last night marked sort of a first for us. It was one of our first great milestones in language learning and one that is encouraging to share with you all.
We were seated around our dining table enjoying dinner when we began our usual conversation en français. This has recently become a habit for us, as we can start to have the children speaking simple French in a relaxed environment.
Our conversation for the night was, “Mon t-shirt est (insert color here), et toi?” So as it comes around to me I reply, “Mon t-shirt est bleu, et toi?” to which my youngest looks at me and says, “it’s bleu dad.” So I repeat, “bleu,” to which he looks at me a simply states, “bleu.” At this point I relent and admit defeat. Amanda and I both found this amusing and for myself at least encouraging.
At the tower of Babel when the Lord created all the different languages, He created mature, understandable, and learnable languages. He has given our family the ability to learn French and as a family we will be serving Him in a portion of the French speaking world. Last night, in my mind, was a milestone and I hope to share many more with you all as things progress. Until later.
Robert
Tags: language learning
I love a good hamburger…
As many of you may know I do love a good hamburger and I also must admit that I enjoy trying them from different places. Always on the lookout for something different and good… a risqué combination I know. Being here in Sherbrooke has left me in a curious situation though. I don’t speak their language, I’m not really sure what’s going to be on the bun, and as we all know the pictures are not always what you get.
So Louis (sounds like Lou-e’s) enters the scene.
Louis Restaurant
Tags: New Foods, Sherbrooke
Our new point of view
The temp. around 8pm.
So where does one end up after driving 2,300 miles from Camden Point, MO? On a back porch with a beautiful view like this! And temps like these in the evening!
Our new view offers much to enjoy.
Amanda and I often find ourselves on the back porch just enjoying the evening show.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Sherbrooke