Picture Post: Worth 1,000 Words

Brent driving through the big city market at "Hope"

Market Colors and Crowds

Claire found a nest!

Not thrilled with how our tiled bathroom turned out, but the mason was skilled at masonry not tiling, AND at least it's not a latrine!!

Claire's friend who lives near her Auntie Shelly & Auntie Brittany's house

Ethan and his soccer buddies near his aunties' house

Kids make incredible toys from tin cans

More friends

Water-totin' mama near the mango tree

At the pump - this is as close as we get to running water at our house

Smile like it's easy.  ;)

Hard work

Just love this pic

Trying to set up electric at the aunties' house

Our lil gull is a growin' - Happy 5th Claire

Such a card!

Almost got them all

Living room furniture thanks to some colleagues!

First successful from scratch cake & icing for our birthday girl

got the screens up in the windows, now we need a ceiling to close up the house.

Propane stove (European size) and some useful furniture we had made for our kitchen storage

Our front porch. Soon we hope to have a screen door to keep people from wandering into the house

Draw water from the pump, put into the 55 gal barrel, filter through the Katadyn filter to make it drinkable

African Sunset

Soccer field down the hill from our house

Laundry & Ponderings on "How"

Standing on the porch looking out at the clothes line.

Doing my part of the laundry while Claire "helps."

Ponderings on How...

I'm watching the clothes billow in the sun and breeze while they hang on the line. It's very peaceful. I'm thankful for calming visuals like this just when I need them. I've been thinking about our interactions with neighbors in this pre-language stage. It's made me contemplate how on earth we can reach these people who need to know Him. Then looking at laundry, I consider again – I can control nothing. Not the wind. Not the sun. Not the hearts of people who need to hear of His love. Not even the length of my own life. 

How do we keep from becoming discouraged while doing what we know God has called us to do? How can we possibly do what we have hoped to set out to do? Just like doing laundry, I need to do my part of washing and hanging the clothes & let God do the part of controlling the wind and sun to dry them. I do my part in ministering and He always does His... the sun and wind are there on days I don't do laundry too. He ministers to hearts in powerful words I do not have & will continue to minister even when I am not here.

Hmm. Plant the seed, it will get watered, it's God's job to grow it.

Lord, help me keep you in focus here – to know that You love us each one & You are doing a work in me as much as in those I hope to minister to. Help me with my faults and sins. Thank You for the daily reminders like laundry to lift my heart!

Good ole hymn:

Higher Ground

I m pressing on the upward way
New heights I'm gaining every day
Still praying as I onward bound
"Lord, plant my feet on higher ground."

####Chorus:
Lord, lift me up and let me stand
By faith on heaven's table land
A higher plane than I have found
Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.

My heart has no desire to stay
Where doubts arise and fears dismay
Tho' some may dwell where these
abound
My prayer, my aim is higher ground.

####

I want to live above the world
Tho' satan's darts at me are hurled
For faith has caught the joyful sound
The song of saints on higher ground.

####

I want to scale the utmost height
And catch a gleam of glory bright
But still I'll pray till heaven I've found
"Lord, lead me on to higher ground."
####

Picture Post - Glimpses of Africa

Tarantula-sized guardian of the bathtub (one we did not use) at our friend's house.

Kids flock to my family.

Me & my love of my life/ awesome companion on this wild adventure!

Awesomeness in a tree.

A regular road in these parts

Our cuties in a cabana - just kidding! It's a mud hut.

A friend's village - notice the natural fence of cactus

Vehicle at the compound in the capital

Yes, that's chickens tied to the top of a taxi.

Beautiful African Sunset

Ethan's first day in Africa, he played in charcoal - pic reminds me to pray for our neighbors here

Flaming Bread to kill flies eggs/germs

Local 2 mo.old orphan baby, who is now cared for by a colleague

Rough Roads

Road Trips to the Middle of No Where

We've been in Africa for 3 weeks or so now. We've driven a lot on really bad roads. There are some that are literally pock-marked by gigantic pot holes. We knew the roads would be bad, but not this bad & we have some worse ones to travel yet! So far, not much of a problem with motion-sickness thanks to Dramamine. Though on our last trip, Laura's Dramamine did not kick in right away & she ended up with vertigo & a 5 hour trip took much longer due to the needing to stop for her to toss her cookies 8 or so times. At one point we stopped to try to allow her meds to kick in and she laid down on the road, to try to stop the spinning, strategically resting in front of our vehicle to keep from getting hit by trucks bounding down the dirt road. Villagers came out of the bushes to stare and ask if we were ok. Some people took pictures! They were really curious & concerned for this sick foreigner. I bet it was quite a sight to see a white woman laying on the road with her husband kneeling, fanning her with a hand fan! 

Later down the road, we had to stop due to traffic backed up by two trucks stuck in the mud. One had overturned and the other determined it could not pass without tipping once it made it to the middle of the bog. Africans are so resourceful. They took a tire off the overturned truck to allow the other one space to pass and the traffic cleared up in 45 minutes! Thankfully, a dose of Dramamine started to take effect during that stop, and the swerving and constant bumping did not bother Laura anymore. We got in well after dark – not a great idea to drive at night here. It's dark with no street lights, so pot-holes jump out at you, and you never know what will be crossing the road (even at 10pm): people, cows, sheep, ducks... Needless to say, we rested up for a few days after that rough trip. All throughout we kept thanking the Lord that our car had A/C & was able to keep trekking after getting some bad gas that caused us to stall 15 times while we were driving. Reaching out to the unreached doesn't come without some challenges. Thankfully, we've had some decent road trips since this one.

In the Village

First village orientation.

So our village orientation has begun. We’ve spent a week living in a hut & pumping water from a well & learning some greetings. We’ve watched women carry huge buckets on their heads, seen men come back from the fields with a harvest of maize, peanuts, and manioc. It’s hot and dusty in the village. It’s been interesting. There are some big bugs in the latrine at night, & nightly trips to the latrine are disliked by every member of our family, but oh well, nature calls. Hut life isn’t so bad, but not my favorite either. It’s definitely doable and I can see the value of being in a village.

The village community is different from city life & as new-comers, we had a bit of adjusting to do. Each day, we would have 20-30 kids come to the yard to see our “too-ba-boo” children (foreigners or white people). Lots of kids wanted to touch our daughter’s red hair. She felt overwhelmed by all the little reaching hands. Some kids were nice and wanted to befriend us. Others were just amazed to see people so different. Young kids would stare and laugh sometimes. Some teens brought a new friend each day to come and take pictures of us on their cell phones. We felt odd in this new celebrity role. As our son played soccer with the other children, I felt like our kids were taking part in a daily routine of monkey-in-the-middle, where our kids were the in the middle. Watching foreigners is like watching TV for villagers. The adults on the other hand, were quite friendly and helpful – always greeting us and shooing away impolite gawkers. Our last night in this village, we had a dance party. (Those of you who don’t agree with dancing, don’t faint.) It was a way to make a memory, one African woman told me as we danced and laughed. They seemed impressed with my dance skills (that would never happen in the States!). I felt sad leaving the village, knowing that I may never see them again & knowing how badly they needed to know of the love of God. I will continue to pray for the two followers I met, that their light will be bright and not go out. I am praying that the whole village will be lead to the right path by the light of these two.

African Markets

First Market Trips

We had the opportunity during our first few weeks in the capital, to take a few market trips. One we were able to walk to. It was a HOT day & the market was a tad smelly. We saw amazingly different things. It was colorful and crowded. We weaved in and out and bought what we thought we needed. We learned so many things, like what was better to buy elsewhere, and how much to buy, etc. The butcher shop part was the least appetizing. Raw meat was laying out with flies swarming around while the butcher whacked at the meat. Some of the bones he pounded until they were like shrapnel. I'm so glad we learned that we could buy refrigerated meat elsewhere (and yes, we pressure cook it all!). It was fun to see the various beans in different shapes and sizes and colors. It was interesting to learn that you need to buy and eat your bananas & oranges while they are still green. Things ripen from the inside out in this climate. Oh, and watch out for small stones in the local rice!

At one point we were in the center of this covered market area (tin roofs or umbrellas for other stalls) and our kids started feeling boxed in. I was mentally prepared for it to be slightly unpleasant and overwhelming. Claire started climbing me, literally. She kept telling me there were too many people. Brent and I took turns holding her and telling her to either look up at the ceiling or to close her eyes. We were so thankful for the missionary guiding us around. She helped Claire pick out a bracelet & Ethan a ball. The terrifying trip to market was not so bad for them in the end.

We traveled by car to other markets (while someone watched our kids) to learn the ropes & were told we would not be able to remember it all the first time. They were right! This time, the market was crowded and maze-like. It spanned a large area & I refer to it as the “cave market” because it was a covered rocky area with rain dripping through – reminded me of being in a cave, only HOT. It was a huge place which will take me many times visiting before I can feel I've confidently mastered it. It was fun to see all the various produce available and the odd things you could find there. I liked this market but much prefer the idea of shopping with an experienced friend. We also had the chance to visit some Lebanese run stores that carried a lot of familiar (but expensive) French products. All in all, an interesting experience. Each time we come home from market was wash our shoes and feet and hands (you walk through some not so fun stuff, especially in the drippy rain). Ahh, the new shopping experience – what will I find next time?

Close encounters of the first kind

I've officially been in West Africa one week! Well, it's been fun. Today had some landmark events though. If you're squeamish about bathroom topics or scary small animals, don't bother reading any further.

So, I'm doing my business in the bathroom, and I see a flash of a small fury body along the floor. I put my feet up on the wall and finished up. Flushed and washed my hands. Then I sneaked out and trapped him in the bathroom. I didn't scream, though I wanted to a bit. I called a missionary who grew up here and told him what I caught and where.  He grabbed his broom and began the hunt. We heard banging and he came out with it, put it in a bag and saved it in the freezer.

I was a bit in disbelief. There was this sweet dead lil mouse (picture Beatrix Potter type) being saved in the freezer for another missionary's pet snake to eat. Ewww. Ok, we missionaries are a rare breed. But hey, I got kuddos for not screaming and for trapping it in the bathroom! :)

Today also marked the day that I got to see what having intestinal worms looked like (not anyone in our family). Of course, I am slightly medically minded, so I asked (yes, I asked!) to see when someone had the resident doc take a peek. Now I know what they look like. Good info for the future. We'll be taking worm meds as a preventative, I'd say.

So, my friends say, "Welcome to Africa!" I feel like I've officially joined a secret club. Hopefully, these experiences are the only "hazing" that the continent throws my way!  So good to be here - mice & all.

Beginnings in Africa - the big trip here

Beginnings

It's taken me 19 years that I know of to get to the mission field. So the three flights to get here seemed like a drop in a bucket when it comes to waiting. The kids did pretty well. Actually, great, considering Claire caught a cold & was sleepy on all flights and for days following (She's mostly over that now). I've asked for prayer for safety, health, and peace – well we got it. Previously, I had been, well, anxious to fly or even go to airports due to some previous rough trips. Pretty much since my dad's passing, I have dealt with some sort of anxiety - you begin to think about the brevity of life. No anxiety this trip though! Praise God for His peace!!! I have been asking for peace and receiving it in floods. We did wonderfully in all airports and on all flights. I was never scared nor even had an anxious moment. It's a wonderful feeling to be directly in the center of God's will. I am on the field in West Africa – finally. So thank you for your support in prayers and giving!!

I'm sitting in the guesthouse at night listening to African sounds through the screen windows as I am dripping with sweat. I feel gritty and hot, but very earthy, so for now I don't mind. I hear crickets. Women chatting loudly in a local language. I am not sure if they are arguing or very excited about something, but it sounds kinda angry (I've since been informed that they are not really angry). I don't mind the traffic noises. I like to hear my colleagues feet pounding the gravel trail around the compound when I wake up in the morning. I feel safe. It kinda feels like I'm at camp or something. My sentiments may change as we get out into the community tomorrow to go to the market. I'm sure there will be new sights and sounds and smells to get used to. It will be different when we arrive in the village. Right now we are with other missionaries in the capital, later we will be with just our two teammates in a sea of Africa faces. I am interested to see how I feel then, but for now, beginnings in Africa have been happy! I've been told that this country has no “honeymoon” phase as far as cultural adjustment goes. I think that it depends. For me, I have been walking towards this road for all my life & it just feels right. It's very weird, but I feel I'm home.

Below is the story of our recent hop over the pond for those of you who are interested in more details,feel free to read on.

We've arrived near the end of this rainy season. What a view as our plane descended upon the orange clay  contrasting against all the lush greenery! Walking off the plane onto the tarmack, we were hit by a wall of heat and humidity. I had been told about it, but thought it was an exaggeration until we walked smack into it. We were instantly offered help by men who wanted to get our luggage. I picked out one and directed him in French. All our bags and trunks made it. (Now we pray they get successfully toted up country.) The woman customs officer wanted to know if I spoke French or English. I told her English, hoping she would not know as much of my language. I was right. She asked for money outright & I told her I couldn't & that my man (the guy who I was paying to lug my cart of 6 bags) was walking away with our bags! Got out of paying that bribe & nothing was confiscated. Thank the Lord!

Our ride to the guesthouse from the airport here was so surreal! They drove us at night, with no street lights. There are no lanes for the traffic. You just have to carefully & quickly squeeze in. You might need to use your horn so someone sees your vehicle. There were scores of people carrying things in their arms and on there heads in large basins to sell to passers-by. People would come up to the window of the car to try to sell us apples, or bread, or flashlights. It was amazingly bumpy at times and other parts were very smooth (here in the paved capital). It was dirty and all the small buildings had rusty corrugated tin roofs on them. Unfortunately there is trash strewn everywhere across this beautiful city. We turned down one street and our colleague who was driving shouted out in French to let us through to the man (a local guy with no authority) who had blocked the road with a tree branch. The road block was for a marriage party. We finally turned around and found an alternate route. It was interesting to find out that that sort of arguing is expected here as part of the social game that people play. We got in and cried as we were reunited with other missionaries that we had not seen since they were in the States. It sure is good to be here, in the center of God's will for our lives. Thanks for helping us on our way!

Hurry Up and Wait!

I hear that this is the lifestyle that many missionaries experience: Hurry Up and Wait.

They hurry to get in line at a bank in Africa only to find out it takes waiting most of the day and they will have to come back the next day to start all over. They hurry up to get trained before heading to the field for their first term and then wait for funds to come in. They wait for medical issues to clear up and then hurry to get visas and then wait at airports for their visas and passports to arrive by fed-ex before rushing to their flight only to sit for 9 hours and then wait for a connection for another 8 hour flight. I've been told this by other missionaries and have only experienced some firsthand.

Right now, we are rushing to get visas and paperwork for international health insurance set up in order to get on those long kind of flights in a few weeks. It's sort of surreal that this is finally happening. I am still prepared for some delay to come, but hopeful that we are in the home stretch of just getting to the field. I've been called since I was 14. If there is another delay, I can wait, but today I am hopeful that my life's calling will actually become tangible. I have been working to get to the field (mind you, I lived in France for a year and that was a mission!) and each step has been a part of this calling. I've come to grips with the fact that each step is a journey. It all comes down to how He called me, "I want you to BE a missionary." He didn't say, "I want you to DO missions." This hurry up and wait is a grand part of being a missionary in which I learn another fruit of the spirit: Patience.

Lots of work to do in the next few weeks. Not sure if I will get to blog again before we get to the field, so the next time I write, I might be writing from African soil !!
Something we've been looking forward to for a LONG time. 

Looking forward (photo credits?? sorry)

PS - New donation address as of  Sept. 2012
Brollier
c/o Judy Trollinger
1384 Meadow Springs Dr.
Lilburn, GA 30047 USA 
(Judy's email address coming soon.) Our email will stay the same, but we will end up with limited web access.

Thanks for all your prayers and gifts! This is only possible through God's and your help.
Donations can be given Online as well: see the yellow donate button on the left.

West Africa Wheels!!

We have some news (that a lot of you who get our newsletters already know!)...

We have a VEHICLE in West Africa, waiting there for us right now! YAY!!

This sounds cool, but let me tell you how cool.

We were given a goal:
Raise $50,000 to buy and ship a 4x4 rugged vehicle to Africa. Wow, that was pill to swallow. It seemed like an impossible goal.

We are close to heading to Africa now, and we have not raised the full amount. In fact, we're $20,000 short!

But God...
(You've all heard that "But God..." thing, right?)

Anyway, but God had other plans! Yes! *pumping fist in the air with "wahoo" excitement*

God planned for us to help out our colleagues in Africa. This young couple has just the type of vehicle we need, but it's too huge for just the two of them. They'd like to get something more appropriate.
So for $20,000, they sold us their vehicle! (They will use the money towards a smaller one for them) and we don't have to spend valuable time raising thousands of more dollars.

So it's a 2005 Land Cruiser, with just about 40K miles on it, and it's not seen much off-roading (super sweet deal). It's in good condish - as per our West Africa Branch mechanic.

Can we say... THANK YOU, LORD!!!

Type of vehicle we're getting - not an actual pic of it.

 PS- Sorry for the delayed news, we've been tossing strep throat back and forth around our house. Pray that we stay well and the enemy does not gain ground.

Today's Missionaries - Do they connect or not?

Most missionaries no longer board a ship to leave their families forever and pack all their belongings in a wooden box (coffin) and head off to a mission field, one from which they will never return (that was old-school. Do people still say "old-school"?). 

Missionaries used to write their families a snail-mail letter and wait for a few weeks to months for their letter to arrive in their family's mailbox. Then they would wait to get a letter back a few weeks to months after that to receive a reply. Wow! Nothing was instant. 

Times have changed.

Now we can e-mail if we get near a larger city that has internet available - yes there are still places in the world that lack internet coverage and electricity and running water (where we will be stationed in West Africa for one).

Sure, we can take a plane and arrive in a matter of 24 hours sometimes, instead of 3 months at sea (like our container cargo which still takes to arrive even today). I much prefer jet-lag and a day of motion sickness to 3 months of sea-sickness!

Even so, there are lots of non-instant things to consider about living on the mission field. All food must be made from scratch (I'll save that explanation for another post).

Never-the-less, we are blessed. There is the possibility to connect with my mom, with you, with churches and partners. It's amazing how much technology has advanced to make this possible!

 Today, missionaries have access to many advances in technology that aid in making "leaving their comfort zone," well - slightly less abrasive.   Still, are they really connected??

Missionaries, in spite of all the other tasks they have to keep up with,

 now have to struggle to remain current. 

I'm currently researching online (while Stateside so it doesn't take forever to load). I search for how to make my blog be more compatible with mobile users because most people are moving in that direction. I don't want to lose contact.

We care about all our partners and we pray for them too. You are our lifeline - connection.

 It's hard for missionaries to stay in touch, and in spite of technological advances some connections are getting lost. 

Why?

• Some don't have e-mail - yes, there is still a generation (ones who don't read this blog either).
• Some no longer read e-mails because they get too much junk mail.
• Some only check Facebook - or twitter (still have to look into that, is it worth it?).
• Some people used to support our ministry until they lost their jobs, and then they feel bad and lose contact too. It's OK.
• Some just pass away. There is an older generation of church people that are very into missions that support us until they die. We're so thankful, but what do you do when they go home? 

How do we reach new friends and keep contact when we are miles away with spotty internet connections that we have to travel 4 hours to reach? The best way is through advocates. People, like you maybe, who share our need and our story and keep connected for us.

 Just wondering if there are any new advocates out there? Please write me. I appreciate your comments.

Share the Cure - an ounce of prevention a pound of cure!

Thought I would share a LINK to spread proactive prevention.
I know it says it's for breast cancer prevention, but knowing what my dad did to keep his type cancer at bay for a year and a half (when given 6 months or so to live), I'd recommend a lot of these preventions to anyone fighting cancer or to those who want to live healthy and "Think Green." If you're not interested in the preventions specific to breast cancer, you'll want to open the link and scroll to where they begin numbering items you can do to live green (about page 10 in an Adobe Acrobat reader).

Here's the link- please share: PDF for a healthy lifestyle

In memory of my dad, Rod, a great man, full of wisdom.

(PDF made available through the blog The Silver Pen)

Teaching the ABC's to little ones

photo credit Microsoft Office

I have two children; one reads really well & the other doesn't - yet!
One has a keen interest in reading and  began to read before age 4. Now Ethan's almost 7! Of course, he had some help with a wonderful Christian pre-k daycare that was run by former Bible translator missionaries. They used some great tactics and introduced the alphabet to him by focusing on one letter a week. Each story, project, craft, and snack would then correspond with the letter of the week. Brilliant!

My other child, Claire, is now 4 and is home educated. She loves books, but hates to perform. It used to be that if you asked her a letter, she'd get shy and then mad that you asked her. We had to find some ways to teach the alphabet without making it seem like work. (We also had to deal with some letter confusion simply because she was learning French by immersion at the same time she was learning the American alphabet - same letters basically but a different sound!). She's doing great now, and it's likely due to consistency (mostly on my husband's part - God love him, he's so great!)

We found some great tools in Sonlight's curriculum. We use the Alphabet Bingo, and Go A to Z game (which is basically two sets of Alphabet flashcards that you play "Go Fish" with), and also a box of 25 simple readers called Fun Tales. They are very helpful. We sound out the letters as we read and point to them & she has fun when she can guess the whole word as she hears us complete the sounds (very Sesame Street-esque, I know!). 

from Sonlight (see link above)

 We also use workbooks from Walgreens or even Wal-mart. Oh, and she loves Curious George, so we bought a Curious George alphabet book too. We even use Starfall.com. We point out letters wherever we go. We sometimes trace letters in a pan of sand (or even rice).  Sometimes, I make soft baked pretzels and we shape them into letter shapes (or you can pour pancakes in letter shapes - put the batter into a plastic baggie, close it, and snip the corner to make it into a type of frosting/decorating dispenser, if you know what I mean.). 

bought elsewhere

 Our latest addition to our alphabet resources includes a book,
 The Sleepy Little Alphabet by: Judy Sierra.
Claire really loves this one since she is into anything that has to do with mommies and babies. There are capital letters in the book that are the parents to lowercase letters. She loves that we say that the mommy "T" tucks the baby "t" in bed. So this gave me an idea!

Here's what I did:
You know those paint strips they have at your Home Improvement store or even Wal-mart - the ones with different shades of the same color? Most people use them to create a color palate for their walls, well...

I took two sets of several colors (think I picked reds, blues, oranges, greens, and purples - so 5 sets, 2 of each color).

On one set I wrote a capital letter on each space and on the matching set I wrote the matching lowercase letters. I alternated sets as I went through the alphabet so that A, B, C, D, E were not all on one card (helps memory to learn out of order too). (I wrote a diagonal line between some like the lowercase "g" since I'd like our children to be able to recognize the "g" of one font and the "g" of another as the same sound and letter (see photo below).

Then I set aside the capital letter sets and cut apart only the lowercase ones so that what your left with is cards to match the lowercase letters with the capitals.

My custom-made Mommy & Baby Letter Match Game used with J. Sierra's book.

How to play our Mommy and Baby Letter Match Game:
You say the name of the letter and tell your child to put the baby letter with the mommy letter (if that's what works with your kid!). Then if they can't find it you give a hint, "It's on the red card," for example (that narrows down their guess to just 4 or 5 letters to choose from). You do this until all are matched and keep track of the ones they needed help with so that you know what to focus on later. We keep the cards in a plastic zipper bag. Claire loved this game and wanted us to find the letters in The Sleepy Little Alphabet book as we went along! Hope this helps your kiddos as much as it's helping Claire. Enjoy!

A day in the life...

What is it like when a missionary is back in the States? 

Sounds like it would be a bit of a vacation, right? Then again, some people think that our time in France was a vacation too.  Hmmm.... something doesn't line up with this sort of thinking - Maybe because it's not a vacation (though we do plan times for that.)

So what do you do while on Home Assignment (Furlough or Time back in the States)?

1. We TRAVEL. (But wait? Don't you travel enough already?! Umm - yes.)

We're like nomads to some extent. We travel from state to state, staying with friends or family for a night here and there, sharing in churches and small gatherings along the way. People always ask us where we are from and where we live. Sometimes we tell them where we grew up and then that we are currently traveling and staying with friends. They would just give us that blank stare with their heads tilted to the side when we tell them that we have no home and all we own is on it's way to Africa or packed in our van (this time - last time we had a car!).  Thankfully, we are bunked down for a few months with friends while we travel to nearby states to share so we don't actually have to live out of our rental van.  We are SO thankful for a place to stay so we can have some stability.  Lots of people ask us why we do this sort of traveling. It's because we know people and supporters from Texas to Florida to New York to Ohio to Illinois and back down to Texas. (We don't even usually get a chance to make it to the West coast to see other friends and supporters.) It's a big circuit!

2. We actually do WORK - from "home." There's lots of prep work for life overseas.

You think you have a lot of emails to catch up on, well so do we! Mainly because we don't always have internet access & our main form of communicating with supporters is through email and newsletters and blog updates. Brent mainly responds to email and I run the blog and take photos & edit our newsletters. We also have to prepare tailor-made PowerPoint presentations and sermons sometimes. It's a large task to accurately portray another culture, one we're headed to but have not been to yet. It requires research. We also answer lots of questions & try to write hand-written Thank-you notes to our many partners.
Currently, we are comparing our packing lists (4 of them!) to make sure all that we need for Africa is there or on it's way via our suitcases. We have lists of what we sent by container, what we purchased from 2 in-country missionaries, and what remains to be brought (OTC meds and personal items for 2 years). We get our physicals, shots, passports, visas, etc. in line. Oh, and if that doesn't seem like enough, we home school two kids.

3. We CRY tears of sorrow and joy.

It's amazing to return to your homeland after a year in another culture and language. We get to see our family and friends & meet people's new babies. We say "goodbye" to our moms and dads and grandparents and siblings and cousins for two years when we leave them, even though we just came back from being away for a year. We get to know so many friends' families better when we stay with them. We went to a Memorial Day party at my friends' aunt's house and I just cried. It was picturesque Americana! Something I had missed terribly while we were in France. We had a 4th of July party with some other Americans in France last year and it was close but not the same. You can't get yellow mustard there. French people were asking us what we were doing. It was great but odd. What a sense of relief I felt as I shared Memorial Day this year with Americans, some of whom were Veterans. I thought to myself, I will miss this for the next two years. Not much will be the same in Africa.We are all excited, but sometimes we feel sad knowing our kids will miss out on things like Little League. We are so filled with joy to see our kids turn into happy little travelers who can get along with anyone and adapt to almost any new situation with little trepidation.

4. We RELAX and do some family maintenance.

We, just like you, get overwhelmed or stressed out or tired or even sick. We have had to learn to add in times of rest and fun as a family in our travels. I personally need to sit and do a craft or read a book to relax a bit. Our kids need to watch a family film now and then. Brent and Ethan need to get outside to play sports. We need to soak in time with the Lord as we listen to praise music. We all need to sleep and take times to unwind. There is a lot of stress that comes with transitioning between cultures and being in a constant state of upheaval (think of how many times we have to pack and unpack!).

Please keep us in your prayers as we find balance.

This missionary life is hard 

even though it's the adventure of a lifetime!

I often ask myself, "WILL IT BE WORTH IT?"

Imagine if ...

• You were illiterate. 

That means right now you would not know what you were looking at. Someone would be reading it aloud to you. Do you remember the days when you didn't know how to read & what it felt like when you learned?

• Your language had no writing system - No alphabet.

That means you would never have a way to write down anything important. There would be no written signs (other than just pictures) indicating important cautions. You would have no way to send a letter to family far away. You would have no way of applying for a better job - you'd likely have a hard time just scraping by.

•  You did not have access to a Bible in your own language. 

Photo courtesy of the Seed Company.

That means you might not know God, or you'd have to take people at their word for what they tell you about Him - even if it was wrong. How would you draw closer to a distant, unknown God who loves you? You simply couldn't get a very deep relationship with Him without access to His Word.

Why am I having you Imagine 

your world like this?

Because this is the way it is for many around the globe. Many who have not heard. Many who have no access or if they do, they can not read what they have access to.

This is the world of people in my village-town in West Africa. The Konyanka have no Bible. No alphabet. No way to read it if they did.

Our family is headed to 

West Africa to live and work among the Konyanka. We plan to learn their language, develop a working writing system, and teach the people to read their own language while translating the Bible. It will be hard. It will take years. We will have to adapt to a bunch of new things - a whole new way of life. Is it going to be worth it?

I often write what I feel strongly about, so I apologize if sometimes it sounds like I am scared, or frustrated, or disappointed in what I may have to give up or do in order to live and serve in Africa. I often need a reminder - a good kick in the pants helps too!
It will cost me something, but it will be worth it.

It will be worth it to bring the Bible to the Konyanka people and teach them how to read in their own language. It will be worth it so that my African friends can know God. Our president at Pioneer Bible Translators (PBT) often reminds us,  "It will be worth it". 

PS-
 Photo credits disclaimer: All clip arts I use are royalty free. If I "borrow" a photo from somewhere else, I give credit to the original source; however, I do not recall whom to credit for the Rev. 7 photo. Sorry! Also, please ask before posting pics from my blog. Thanks.