October 31

Update October 31, 2007

It has been forever since I’ve been able to write. Life right now is very hectic. We need help to do anything we do, so we have to be ready to go and do things when help is available.

We are in our new home. The scenery here is very pretty. We are surrounded by IMB missionaries which gives us plenty of help for now. Our missionaries in Abidjan right now live in of two compounds. We may eventually be living somewhere else, but for now we are here.

We have just begun our language learning. I’ve tried to prepare myself for how hard it will be, but when I find myself in the middle of it, it seems even harder than I thought. It doesn’t take much to completely fry my brain and then I begin to think about how long it will take to get it at this pace!

Just living takes longer here. That’s not necessarily bad, just different. To be able to make a quick meal, you have to prepare to be lazy. We have some house help now, though, and once I figure out how to communicate with her on really ANY level, she can help me with meal preparation. And there are some short cuts here that aren’t available to most of the rest of West Africa but you really have to pay for them. We also have places to go and grab a bite to eat if we want to pay for that, but we don’t speak French! J Are you beginning to see a pattern? I will be thrilled to be able to communicate some basic things one of these days!

We’ve got tentative plans to take our first real day off on Saturday. We are hoping to get to go to the beach. The funny thing is that we could very easily walk to the lagoon here from our house, but the lagoon smells, well, more than a little odd. Some might go so far as to say it smells pretty bad. So if the warnings about the pollution in it weren’t enough to keep us away, the smell probably will!!! We are told we can get to a good beach in about 30 minutes, so we plan to try that.

Please continue to pray for our Mossi people. If it was frustrating to be in the States and not being able to minister to those for whom we felt called it is so much more so here. We can even see and touch them here, but not even communicate in French let alone their heart language. I’ve got several faces etched in my memory. We just pray that the Lord will be working in their hearts. We’ve heard from many that there are Mossi in many French services.

Thanks for remembering us. We feel so far away, but you are all with us in our hearts!

I can't get our pictures to upload now. I'll try to soon.

Heather

Leaving

It's been so long since I've had a chance to post, but so much is going on. We have finished our orientation and are making the rounds to see family and friends. I've lectured the kids quite extensively on the consequence of disobedience, but just now our family is experiencing the price of obedience. Jesus told those seeking to follow him to count the cost. We trust that God's way is best and we are looking forward to the opportunity He is giving to us to join Him where He is working in West Africa.

The kids have been saying goodbye to friends, cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents. We have had a good time visiting with all of them. We are looking forward to a lot of new hellos in West Africa.

We have had great opportunities to speak in several churches and are enjoying getting to share our desire for the peoples of West Africa to come to Christ.

We will be traveling Wednesday and Thursday afternoon will arrive in Abidjan!

Thanks for your prayers for us.