Dear friends,
Is it just us, or has the world gone crazy?  We're doing well, and we're healthy. We get some news from our neighbors and from limited communication via WhatsApp. We're currently in town on a much needed break with all the pros and cons of the internet. We're thankful God remains faithful no matter what's going on in the world around us. We've had a few challenges since we moved into the village. We've seen each other when we reach our limits. We've scratched the hair off our heads trying to figure things out. (Not literally, we actually still have hair). We've wondered what in the world we're doing. We've tried to understand what it is God brought us here for. We never thought we'd leave our country to go to a village with churches already there. We never thought we'd go into a village by ourselves. We never thought Micah would be our only child. We never thought we'd be here. And here we are. Now what? When we first began this journey, we felt overwhelmed when we quit our jobs and moved half way across the country to a missionary training center. Later, we felt overwhelmed when we moved to a big city in a foreign country. We'd entered into the water, it was up to our knees, then our waists, soon it was over our heads, we were swimming. We got carried out to sea, slowly, we lost sight of shore. Then we moved into a village. The waves started picking up, a storm was blowing in. And here we are. Are we foolish? Are we walking by faith? It's all a matter of perspective. Are we wasting our lives? Will anyone see God's love in us? Will we ever get a chance to teach about God's love? How do we teach about love in a context where fear and shame are the primary motivators? Are we truly motivated by the love of God? Is this what happens when you go five months without the internet? Paul once wrote, "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable." -1 Cor. 15:19. Asaph wrote, "I think of God, and I moan, overwhelmed with longing for his help. I think of the good old days, long since ended. Has the Lord rejected me forever? Will he never again be kind to me?" He continued to write, "Oh God, your ways are holy, is there any god as mighty as you?" -Psalm 77. There have been times when we've felt like Paul and Asaph, but our feelings don't change reality. Reality starts with God, comes from God, and centers around God. And he's made us part of his family, we are his sons and daughters, and nothing can change this, that is reality. Our neighbors here don't know that. I guess that's a reason why we're here.
Meanwhile we're moving forward with language learning. We're starting to venture out of our Swahili comfort zones and dare to speak in Kikisi. In the mornings you might find us walking down to the lake, toothbrushes in hand, to see if the fishermen are dividing out their catch. Or we might be filling up buckets to water our garden in an attempt to coax out some greens. In the evenings, sometimes we'll be sitting down by the lake, visiting with people as they untangle their nets. Other times, we'll be at the field, trying to keep up with the younger guys playing soccer. Occasionally, there will be community events which we try to go to. The more we get out, the more people are slowly getting used to us, although I feel we're still largely a mystery to them, as they often are to us. At least they figured out that we eat their food. We found out that no one was selling us food during our first month here because they thought that we only ate food from cans. Nope, we don't. So what else do we do? We spend a lot of time cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, teaching Micah school, teaching English classes before the virus, taking Kikisi classes, and making visits to people we're trying to build relationships with. As we're doing these things, we're in awe of the beauty of God's creation all around us here, except when we're too stressed out to notice. Will you keep praying for us as we continue to seek God’s guidance for our family? Will you pray that God would provide some good friends for Micah? Will you pray that God would give Rachelle the strength she needs to take care of her family and interact with her neighbors each day? Will you pray for Neil to be sensitive to the needs of his family? And will you pray for the Kisi people that one day soon they will fall in love with their Creator? Thanks for doing your part to keep us afloat from afar. Your prayers are noticed and appreciated. Together forever members of God's family, -Neil and Rachelle