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| Is this really November?! Go Florida! |
So many questions and almost all of them are good questions. This past week we met with over a dozen people on their way to Africa. As we talked with them about our experiences in Africa it brought back many stories of our first days, our first thoughts, our first memories. (If you’re interested in some of those stories click on old blogs from Chad.)
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| Our 2 oldest |
Their questions kept coming and we did our best to answer, and I think our answers are helpful, but even as we answer, there is the niggling feeling of an inconvenient truth: You can’t really know what it’s like until you’ve lived it. We wish we could prepare them, keep them from making some of the same mistakes, help them understand the depth of culture, but it all takes time.
When we’re in America, we get these same basic kinds of questions about life in Africa wherever we go, but somehow it’s different when you’re talking to people getting ready to go themselves. They aren’t listening out of polite curiosity. They are mining us for knowledge and wisdom that will help them on their great adventure ahead. They have made a decision to leave behind their comfortable, familiar lives to enter into the unknown, and so they are a wise to go into it with their eyes wide-open.
The exciting thing is that they are going! They will learn. They will experience the things they are asking millions of questions about and they will never be the same. They will find their own answers to all the things we’ve been talking about. They are stepping into a new world that’s incredibly thrilling and at the same time incredibly hard. We don’t try to hide it from them, we tell them how hard it will be. Thankfully, none of them are walking into this blind. They know it’s going to be hard. Entering a new culture is a struggle and hopefully ultimately a joy, but they won’t really know until they get there!
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| Our youngest |
PRAYERS ANSWERED
Our week in Georgia was great! We were very encouraged by being able to interact with everyone at the office as well as all the new people preparing to go to Africa in the future. We even found someone who is interested in joining our team on Clove Island! We were able to meet with one of our former teammates while we were in Georgia— it was great to connect again! We were able to reconnect with more family that we hadn’t seen in years— another blessing!
PRAYERS REQUESTED
The leader of our NGO on the islands met with an island governor. It was a good meeting. Our leader was able to be honest and open. The governor will be talking with his advisors about our group— continue to pray for favor and an increasing openness on the islands to dialogue about the things that are really important. Our teammate is returning to the islands in just a couple weeks— pray for her preparations and goodbyes. We are in Florida and tomorrow morning the roadtrip continues as we head back north. It will take a week before we are back in the Boston area— pray for our kids that they will continue to transition well. Pray especially for our youngest who has the hardest time with all the traveling. Continue to pray for protection and healing for Megan’s back.
