A Warm November

Hello wonderful friends,
Thing have been changing quickly here. Erica is home in the USA for medical reasons, we should know in 2-3 weeks what her treatment and recovery schedule are going to look like. I will let you know more of what I will be doing once I know more. I have been to the island where we will be building the guesthouse and orphanage and this next week we will be getting the licenses for building and will be breaking ground on the wall around the land that officially claims the land for the church in the next couple of weeks. The way land ownership works in Bissau is extremely confusing, Im still trying to wrap my head around it, but the important thing to take away is building will be starting soon!

My Kriol is coming along, but dont ask me to go to the market and buy sourkraut because I dont know the word for sourkraut yet...not to mention that is more of a German thing so there probably isnt a word for sourkraut.
I had the orphans at the childrens home tell me their life story and it was one of the most emotionally raw things I have ever done. Just thinking about it makes me want to cry again. It is unbelievable what many of the children that we are helping have been through.

One of the children, JC, was kiddnapped by a Senegalize man who said he was going to put him into school in Dakar. Instead he was forced to be a talibe, a street boy, and if he didnt return each day with a dollar and a kilo of rice or he would be severly beaten. They forced him to learn the Koran. He met a Guinean woman in the Market in Dakar who offered to pay for him to return to Bissau. His story didnt end there, but I get so teary eyed thinking of it that I will have to continue it later. I took videos of each of their life stories and I will let you know when I have them subtitled and uploaded onto YouTube.

Anyway it is getting late and I get to celebrate thanksgiving tomorrow so I should get some sleep, so I am going to sign off, I love you all,
Jason

We're melting!

Hello! It’s been quite a while since we’ve written. We’ve had more limited access to internet in the past week or so. We’re hoping to have that fixed soon.
We’ve often joked about Bissau being a place where someone could easily market a successful fad diet, but I think the truth in that is astounding. In the last month, Jason has lost 20 lbs and Erica has lost 15. The increased heat and just daily physical output of living here is much higher and food has to be planned for and thought of in advance. So, the idea for a fad diet here might still be on, you never know. Neither of us has had intestinal sickness or anything that would cause us to lose weight so fast, it’s just environmental factors, I think. Jason eats a TON here (yesterday, his Kriol teacher, Fernando, was here and we fed him lunch also. I gave both men the same amount of food and Fernando was shocked at how much was on his plate. Jason ate seconds) and we’ve also had to double the amount we feed Sheba and she is not gaining weight at all with the increase (she hasn’t lost any, either). Jenny Craig, step aside, there’s a better guarantee in town. It’s like living in a Bikram Yoga room.
I am not sure whether last time I was here I was just the victim of a truly terrible cook or what, but the food here has been actually very good! We’ve found lots of things we enjoy and I am learning to cook well. It’s a slow process and I often make mistakes, but it’s a lot of fun!
We’ve gotten moved into our house and are slowly setting it up. A few nights ago, it rained SO hard and we went to the porch to enjoy the fresh air and danced in the rain on our porch. I talked to the guy who is going to make our furniture—things like shelves and chairs and such—out of bamboo. We’re excited to get the furniture and put things away once we do. Right now, most everything we have in our house was given to us by the Atkins and our church here. We have a bed, lots of dishes and silverware, a shelf, a table and a mirror and some buckets that we bought to hold water and seal up dry food so rats won’t get it at night. Each morning, the rats have left us little poop-presents in the kitchen and on the back porch, so we know they’re coming into the house, but they haven’t eaten anything yet. A few days ago, a whole herd of ants went crazy on Sheba’s food. They filled the bag and were everywhere. We sprayed the outside of the bag with bug killer and sealed the entire bag in its own container for a few days and all of the ants have died. They are biting ants and since Jason has now had several nasty ant bites, he has a certain joy in vengeance towards them.
This is the house from the front. We’d appreciate your continued prayers for our health and safety. I am still trying to figure out what is happening with my health right now and we will let you know as soon as we find out more information. Sheba has been a fantastic guard dog! This morning, there was a guy who came to our door trying to get us to pay him to work. He woke us up early in the morning yelling to us from outside. When we got dressed and got to the door, he wanted to landscape the yard. We told him a number of times that we were going to do that ourselves, but he was very persistent. When he saw Sheba, however, he backed off. Later today, a man came to the house asking for money. Now, we’ve prayed over Sheba that God would give her discernment about when to react and when not to. Our friend, Ruthie was here when the man came asking for money and she told us we should let her deal with him and she was very insistent that we should go inside the house. Sheba was barking and growling and all her hair was up on her back. She was FIERCE. When the man left, Ruthie explained that he is with a group from Senegal that is well-known for trying to trick people into giving them money for tribal ceremonies. Ruthie was really glad Sheba was acting the way she was and told us it made the man leave. Every Guinean who is our friend tells us they are SO glad we have Sheba. They say she takes the place of many night guards, and I think that’s true. She wakes up a lot in the night and goes and checks the entire house. We feel SO safe knowing she’s always on duty.
We love you and hope things are going well!
Jason and Erica

All in a day's work

So, we've been adjusting to all kinds of things here. We've learned that accomplishing things takes WAY longer than you think it will and that the journey is more the goal than the end product. Just a couple days ago, I went to get a taxi to go downtown. As I was walking to the road, a guy walked up and asked if I wanted a taxi ride. Now, it's only a five minute walk to the road to where tons of taxis drive by, but I thought, "Why not, I'll save myself some time and take this guy up on his offer." I agreed thinking he would get in the car he was leaning on and we would go. He went to go get a change of clothes, some food, some gas for his car, oil, and a friend....everyone needs a friend when they go do stuff, right?
As I was waiting for this guy, I wanted nothing more than to just say, "Hey, never mind, I'll walk out and get a taxi at the road," but I thought maybe this was a way I could learn some patience and appreciation of the culture. I waited for probably ten or fifteen minutes and then the car was ready to be started....without keys. A few guys came and pushed the car down a small hill, but it didn't quite catch. A woman came by and asked the taxi driver for a ride as well and she and I helped the guys pull the car back up the hill and try for running start #2. It worked and the taxi took another few minutes to turn around and we were on our way. The driver was a really sweet person, though and helped me find the place I was looking for even though I wasn't real clear on its location.
I am learning to slow myself down. Greet people before thinking about business (and somehow not forget about business then, either), stop to talk to people who are just hanging out in the road, wait for the taxi in the road, etc. It's going well, and I am also sure that people are extending a lot of grace to me as I am not following cultural norms yet.
We're celebrating the small things like our success this week in managing to avoid the exuberant seating assistant at church who likes to forcibly seat us in the front row at church. We celebrated in a quiet way as we sat in the middle of the congregation and were able to watch everyone else and figure out what to do.
I can't wait to see the things that we'll learn in six months or a year. It's fun and exciting to look into this culture and enjoy aspects of it so much!
My camera cord is missing right now, when I find it, I will post pictures.

Emotional Culture Adaptation

Two days ago, we woke up to the sound of women wailing. An 8-year-old child passed away in our neighborhood during the night and everyone gathered at a house two away from ours to mourn together. She died of a very high fever, they took her to the hospital but there was nothing that could be done. It haunts me in ways, would it have made a difference if I had offered her mother some information about how to purify water, what if it was completely preventable, what if.... But all the what-ifs in the world are not going to make a difference now. We are here and we are working as hard as possible to get started the things we hope will make that kind of impact. There will be mornings we won't wake up to the sound of wailing and maybe it is be because someone has learned to washed their hands well or has purified their drinking water or did know how to keep someone hydrated if they have diarrhea. We're looking forward to those mornings. For now, we grieve with the people who experienced this loss recently and try to pray the serenity prayer.

"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change

Courage to change the things I can

And the wisdom to notice the difference."

Author Unknown

Guineans grieve very differently than we do. A large group of pepole gathered and chanted the wailing songs and cried loudly. They waited at the house near us until a large number of people had gathered and then they walked together to where I can only assume the burial was conducted. Then they returned to and sang and cried a while longer. There were people in the road who were wailing all day. One woman ran up and down the road by our windows screaming and singing, others curled in half and wept from the depths of their hearts. It was the sound of absolute heartbreak. I was struck by how different this is from how we handle grief in the USA. Much of the way that we grieve is very silent--that is what seems sincere to us because it's what we're used to. We are very aware of our impact on others and try to minimize any chance we make someone uncomfortable. The wailing in the streets was like an invitation to what I see as a very personal affair, and I think it was meant that way. I was laying in bed early in the morning and just wept with them silently in my American way of experiencing sadness.
At MTI, we spent a day talking about loss and grieving and they used verses from the Bible from all places that talk about different kinds and ways of showing grief. I took away from the lesson that it's critical to access emotions and deal with them fully in my own way before they abcess. For me, it usually means crying quietly, but not always. For a Guinean woman, it might look very different. Both are valid ways to handle loss.The flip-side of grieving outwardly is that most emotions are openly expressed here. Laughter is loud, conversations get loud and spirited easily and people here usually don't hold grudges long. It made me wonder if keeping emotions out in the open might be a great idea. Once you've cried out and expressed all you were feeling, what's left but to move on? Once you've had a huge argument and said all you had to say, you just call it done where if you hold it in and get upset, you never quite let it go the same way. Then, when it's time to laugh, you can do so openly and fully as well.
Since arriving, I have wanted nothing more than to start working. Now don't get me wrong, we are working, we're learning language, we're learning how to run a household in a whole new world, we're starting off and it takes time. But I, in all of my American "get 'er done" mentality, just ITCH to get to writing lesson plans, talking business, making what I would call progress. I have to keep stopping to realize this IS progress we're making right now. The picture below is of us Skype-ing with some family and friends recently. That in itself was a whole new skill-set to learn. Cooking is a MAJOR learning experience for me. Last time I was here, I just snacked most of the time, now I am starting to cook....and it's SO different than cooking has ever been. We got our water filter out and have cleaned it and it's just now filtering its first CLEAN water for us! I went and got medicine for Sheba today and learned more Kriol on the way. I have hired my friend, Ruthie to help me with the work of washing and cleaning so I can have time to work on teaching and things when we move. We pay her about $30 per month for 10 hours a week of work and it is a good wage for someone here. We're learning how to carve out time for us and spend time with people just talking and getting to know them. It's all a process and we're learning to walk at a pace that's reasonable.
Thanks for reading these thoughts about recent experiences. We love you tons!

The odd menagerie blog post...

This blog post is kind of an odd assortment of thoughts, feelings, experiences, etc.
I am on my way over to Emily Atkins' kitchen for the next couple of hours. We're attempting to make some salsa that a friend, Catalina, showed me in Washington DC. Hope we get it right, if so, our tastebuds will be duly rewarded! :)

About our current place in the journey:
I have been absorbing all that's going on rather slowly. This transition has been different on every level from the last transition. Last time, I think the way I prepared myself and set to work here in such a hurry was great, but not sustainable. This time, I feel like we're preparing for more of a marathon than a sprint. We're taking our time to pick a place to live, think about the things we might want in our house that will help us feel at home (for me, that's things like having good bedding on my bed and a pressure cooker in the kitchen; for Jason, it's having an internet connection that's easy to use and knowing the doors lock well--no cheesy locks). I think this will be a time of being ready for the long-haul. We're sinking our teeth in.

Colossians 1:10-12

This past Spring, we spent from January to May running and training to run races. We ran lots of 5Ks and one 10K. It's my long-term goal to run a half marathon the next time we're home and 4 yers from now, I want to run a full marathon. Once we've done that, we want to stay in shape to keep running at that level for as long as we can. The video here is of part of our race in the Bolder Boulder this year. Our life is a lot like our race training right now. Sustainability and long-term vision are important to us at this point.
This is a brief video from our 10K race this year.

Hebrews 12:1

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Thanks for being with us:
Jason is in the bathroom right now using a hand-pump water filter to get us clean water for the day. We're thankful to have running water and filters to make it drinkable! Sheba is napping on her bed wishing she could curl up in our clothes, and I am writing you. It's like having you here in our house. We can feel your hugs, your encouraging words, your jokes and smiles. I can imagine each of you hanging out with us here right now and I know what you'd be doing.
There was a large spider on the wall this morning. It was one of the kinds that when you hit it with the fly swatter, all its legs fall off. I should take a video of it some time, you kinda have to see it to believe it. Anyway, I kept laughing because I was thinking of different ones of you and how you would react; from friends who would say "It's a spider, they eat other bugs, let it live in your house" to those who would be climbing the tallest thing in the room and just screaming. The spider was too high for me to reach so I was going to leave it alone, but Jason decided to swat it. It was over our bed, so when he hit it, its legs showered down on the sheets around its body. What inefficient spiders! Jason was a bit awestruck--he's heard about these spiders, but I don't think he realized they REALLY did lose their legs when you hit them.
Thank you all for pouring into our lives. As we spend ourselves and our hearts here, we are pouring out to people and God uses you to pour into us. Sometimes, when I talk to someone here, I see them through the eyes of the people who send us. There is tremendous love, compassion, sensitivity, humor, and joy we receive from you and it is so uplifting. Thank you for your heart for Africa.

Talking in Church:
A few days ago, I spoke at a women's group at church. I have no idea if the message I prepared was any good, but they were gracious and seemed appreciative--people here are SO kind. They tell you that you're doing a great job even when you slaughter the language completely, and they ask you to speak at meetings and groups on your first week here, just trusting us immediately. It's VERY humbling. Before I spoke, one of the women stood up and delegated different topics of prayer to each person in the group. The one that struck me most was the topic of prayer for women and marriages in Bissau. The way the woman talked about marriage was very telling. She said that there is an absolute war in in the spiritual realm over marriages. Marriage itself has become a battle here. She asked us to pray for God's intervention in marriage. The way she said it cannot be conveyed in words. Her eyes were alight with sincerity and the immediacy of this need. All at once, I saw these women in a whole new light, like fierce and sweet soldiers fighting for God's glory in their own families. They are like pillars of strength, and yet they are so fragile. Speaking before this group was absolutely the most humbling thing I have done in a while. All I wanted to do was pull up a seat and ask them to tell me their life stories and share with me about their strengths and experiences. I told them about how we've said goodbye to all of you and how it has been to leave the USA. I said that I've said goodbye to my family and dear friends knowing God has people for me to grow close to here, and I told them how glad I was to finally meet them!
I look forward to going back for women's group again this week. I know God is doing AMAZING things in the lives of women here and I am honored to witness it and play a role. Please pray that I approach all aspects of this with God's grace and heart.

No tene casa! (We have a house)

Somehow, it's just more fun to give things a headline in Kriol. Right now, that's kind of how I see my life. It has headlines, side-notes and subtitles and and they are NOT in English.
The real news is about the decision we made today! We chose a house to live in and we went and signed papers! I forgot to get a picture of the outside of the house, so the Pepto-Bismol wonder that it is will have to wait until another day for your viewing pleasure. :)
This is a picture of Jason with the landlord and the guys from MAFI here who have helped us find this wonderful house. The people in the picture, from left to right are: Adu (I think) our landlord, Pastor Felix, Jason (easy to spot in this crowd) and Fernando. It is House #1 from the Facebook post, it is the one with 24/7 electricity and a yard that will enjoy some improvement. The landlord seems like a really honest guy and has been hoping to find renters with integrity, so I am glad we can both be glad to have found each other. The picture with the 4 guys was taken on the front porch at our house.

After this picture is a picture of our kitchen at the house that we will move into. It's pretty nice and has a huge pantry. I was standing in the hallway that goes from the living room to the kitchen and the bedrooms to take this picture.

The next picture, and possibly the most fabulous is of the infamous shower-toilet. Both clean and efficient. Why perform only one bathroom function at a time? Now there is no need with the improved shower-toilet! Bidet not included, limited warranty. Side effects may include a ridiculously wet toilet seat and no shower curtain.

The next picture is of Jason and Jason Atkins in the machine shop at the Youth Center. The guys are both very technically minded, so this kind of collaboration is great for both of them. I believe they are building a metal door that was engineered by Jason Atkins. If one Jason is awesome at puzzle-solving, then two are awesome-er. Haha. I think these two have been waiting quite a while to get to work on some projects together. This machine shop was something that Jason Atkins built himself from brainstorm state to the present wonder that it is. It houses machines and parts that can perform almost any project you could imagine here. Jason has been a part of lots of different projects throughout the country as his machine shop has proved useful and his expertise invaluable. It's really cool as missionaries just starting out to see projects like this and imagine that we might some day have something like this that's useful to lots of people in many ways. We hope so anyway!

The final picture here is of me with what equals I believe $2 worth of cucumbers when they're in season. When things are in their growing season here, they grow like CRAZY and they are crazy cheap. Bet you can guess what we eat a lot of right now! Sadly, we arrived just after mango season, so we'll have to wait a whole year for mangos now. Unless we want some out of season, which isn't the worst idea. There are also TONS of limes here. They grow really well, and are the best limes I have ever tasted. I made limeade with them yesterday and liked it so much, I bought three kilos of limes ($4-and that was a bit expensive) and will be making LOTS of limeade tomorrow. The funny thing about the limes is that they are about the size of a ping-pong ball, so each one is tiny, but they're good!

Emily Atkins has been teaching me to cook here. She taught me to make this awesome Orange Beef today and it was better than a lot of Asian food I've had in the States. Seriosuly, Emily is an amazing cook and has mastered the art of cooking overseas where things are not available. She doesn't just make-do, she makes masterpieces in her kitchen. It's going to take me quite a while to reach this level of skill in my cooking! We've appreciated her help and the time she and Jason have put into helping us with this transition. They even came out to look at the houses we were debating over to give their input as people who've spent a lot of time here. We're truly blessed and really thankful.

Bu obi Kriol?

People around here are used to talking to Emily and Jason Atkins in Kriol, so they usually don't talk to us unless they know us already. Then, if I chime into a conversation (if I'm picking up what's being said), people look at me and ask "Bu obi Kriol?" and I say yes, but not well.
We had our first lesson in Kriol today with our friend, Fernando. He spent the entire lesson patiently talking to us in Kriol and trying to help us get a clue about what's going on. Even the Kriol that I speak is limited enough that people have a hard time knowing exactly what I mean.
It's the funniest thing to BE the foreigner. You realize that people are being nice just to talk to you because it takes them extra energy to give it a go. You are not the only person around that they could try talking to and it's kind that they even try!
We went to church yesterday and fought sleep. We were very tired to start with because our dog had kept us awake (we fought with Sheba to get her into her bed and off of us all night--we are sleeping on the floor right now) and then we'd gotten up early to go give a friend our baggage tickets so she might be able to look for our bag at the airport in Senegal. There are many things in that bag that we need. Pray they arrive!
We went to the downtown market today with Emily and Savannah Atkins. We got some basics for life in the next few weeks. We'll move into the Guest House in a few days and will spend a couple of weeks there while we get our house in order. During that time, Emily has said I can practice cooking in Bissau (she's been showing me how to cook affordably and with not too much difficulty using what's here) and that way I can come borrow anything that I forgot to get and ease into the process a bit. The Atkins have been a complete lifesaver for us! We are SO thankful for them!
Tonight, we go to our first leadership meeting at MAFI Church and we have no idea what's in store for us there! It should be fun!
We also decided that we should get a small scooter as our form of transportation. We're in the process of finding one right now and will get one as soon as possible. When we do, we'll have to send you a picture!
Tomorrow morning, we will also go look at another house here that is a possibility for us to live in and we will also go to Pastor Felix's house to look at some items that the church has there that we can borrow until we have enough to be able to float on our own. They have a bed for us (well, two twin beds) and a table and chairs and some other things. It's such a strange thing to be putting together a house in another country. I feel like I've done a lot of this in the past few years, but this is a whole new puzzle. I don't know what I even need.
We're going to borrow a stove that's a gas-powered stove and we won't have a fridge for a while. When we do get one, since we're in an apartment with electricity, I think we can get an electric one, but most of the fridges here are run off of propane and you change the propane tank every couple of weeks. I think we're going to need things that I can't even physically identify right now. :) We're really blessed by the people who are helping us get established.

From Africa

I have not written you yet because I didn't know what to say. There's so much to tell you and I want to say it right. Our journey here was one of the most difficult experiences of my life. I cried a lot and have been emotionally overwhelmed. It was an eye-opening experience and we certainly gained a lot by being able to see more of West Africa. We drove through Senegal and Gambia and finally into Guinea-Bissau. The picture in the car was taken at the beginning of our lengthy car trip. West Africa is not all the same, somehow, when we crossed the border into Guinea-Bissau, we felt different, much more at peace and much more secure. When we got to Bissau, I was shocked at how much has changed since I was here in 2007. The roads that were desperately potholed are now driveable, the city has lights at night in certain places and there are a lot of nice new buildings. I was told that since I was here, the city has more than doubled in size. There are a lot of people coming from other countries to here as refugees.
We arrived and realized that our immediate situation is not quite what we thought it would be and have adjusted accordingly with the gracious help of many friends. The picture to the left is of our friend, Emily Atkins and her daughter, Savannah. We are staying on their floor until we have a more permanent arrangement. This will be a few more days. We're working on getting a house and then after that's settled, a full job description. We went to church this morning and everyone there was very excited to have us. Apparently, they've all been hearing about us coming for a few months and are excited. It was quite a feeling just hoping we don't let them down somehow. There seems to be a lot of excitement, but we're still trying to get a really level-headed idea of what our immediate goals and plans are. Take one step at a time....we're here, now. That's a HUGE step.

For anyone wondering, Sheba is doing fine. She handles all the displacement better that us at this point. Pray that she doesn't get any more ticks. There have been a lot at the place we're staying right now, so she's been pretty loaded with them. She has a REALLY high quality tick collar and it does kill them when they bite her....most of the time. But they have to bite her and hang out for like an hour or so. Most of the ones we find on her are not doing too well by the time we pull them out, they're usually mostly dead. :) Sheba has discovered that she is the same size as most livestock here.
We will be blogging more often from now on, I promise, I just needed a week to get my feet and thoughts under me. This transition has been bizarre and fun and emotional and exhausting and exhilirating all at the same time. The picture below is Jason at one of the houses that we are considering renting. We have several very awesome choices to consider.

At the airport

I am waiting to board the plane and thinking about the culmination of amazing events that brought us to this point!
Right now, I am overwhelmed with thankfulness. I can't believe we've been planning to arrive at THIS moment since 2007 and are FINALLY HERE! It's amazing. Each of you has played a vital role and we are unbelievably thankful and excited to go into Africa with you in our hearts. You've loved us and supported and cared for us in ways we never dreamed possible and we've been blessed by so many of you.
We love you dearly and say farewell and thank you! Next blog is from Africa!

Journey ahead....

The map (which is clearly not in English, but is colorful and fun) indicates our route over the next nine days. On August 30th, we set out from Denver in a rental car. Along the way we will visit Jason's grandma and take some time to rest before we jump into the moving picture.

On September 5th, we will fly out of Dulles Airport bound for Dakar, Senegal. It is an 8-hour flight (not bad at ALL, huh?!) directly from DC to Dakar. Dakar, Senegal is a very big hub of activity and industry on the West Coast of Africa. It is an hour-long flight from there directly to Bissau City, but the flight costs about $600-$800 per person and a taxi costs a few hundred dollars total for us and Sheba and our luggage. It becomes a financial no-brainer. We will travel for two days by car to go from Dakar, Senegal to Bissau, Guinea-Bissau. We'll go through three countries: Senegal, The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau. The first day of travel by car will be in what's called a sept place. It's a seven-seater car that we can rent along with a driver who will take us halfway. Our first night in Africa will be spent in Ziguinchor (zig-in-shore), Senegal on the border. The border closes at 7pm, so we will stay in a hotel in a compound in Zig that night and we'll wait until morning to cross. The most exciting part of this jurney is where we get to meet our friends, the Atkins!!! They'll be waiting for us in Ziguinchor so we can travel with them the following day.

Finally, we will reach Bissau and will get to see our friends there. Jason will meet his first Guinean EVER on the 7th of September and we'll begin our process of entering the world of Guinea-Bissau and learning their culture and working with the church there.

**Please pray for safe travels for us and for non-eventfulness in the journey! Pray for wisdom and alertness and safe arrival of us and our bags.

Busyness and Goodbyes and Hellos

"When you say goodbye, I hope it hurts. If it does, then you know that you have loved and been loved well." ~Vivian Wilson at MTI

It has taken me several days just to write this. I think it's because it's difficult to say goodbye. I have loved and been loved well, but it's hard to admit that we're closing this time with you. Saying goodbye means acknowledging that I am going through loss. It means that I can't be glib and just tell you that "we'll see each other again" or "a few years isn't that long." While those things may be true or may not, they are not the answer to what I have to do. I have to tell you that you matter and I miss you. You've taken up residence in my heart and I'll feel the distinct lack of you in my life. Yeah, I know there's really good and exciting stuff ahead, I can't wait for it, but this stings. We had our final going away party tonight in Fort Collins. We were SO thankful to see so many friends there, it's like having a huge, wonderful family. The people in our lives embrace us like family and we're so glad for that! It makes goodbyes hard, but SO important to do right. I still don't have the hang of it yet...clearly, or I wouldn't be working on this for days only to erase it and start over after our last goodbye party. I have a lot of work to do yet.

While we were at MTI, we spent a day talking about hellos and goodbyes. They challenged and encouraged us to "say goodbye well." Often, I insulate my feelings when I'm facing difficulty and the risk of hurting. I've done that a lot this year thinking it would protect me, but it just makes me act weird. Jason doesn't like it much. :) What I didn't know is that it's important for us to feel that hurt so we can move through it and into healthy "hellos" on the other side. When we say goodbye and do it well, we are giving the gift of a full-hearted hello to the group we'll join afterward. Goodbyes have a process and a culmination. We have said goodbye to many people at this point and have more to say in the coming days. We hope to convey to each of you just how much you've meant to us and that it will be a personal loss to us not to be able to spend time with you and enjoy the closeness we've enjoyed with you. And we also look forward to thoroughly embracing the hearts of people we don't even know yet in Guinea-Bissau. These are times of great paradox. It involves a lot of the unknown, God's great provision that comes in our eleventh hour, sadness that is sweet, joy that is full and moments that cement themselves to our memory.

"Closing time: Open all the doors and let you out into the world ...
Closing time: You don't have to go home but you can't stay here...
Closing time: Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."

These words are strong for me when I am going through times of transition. I like the comfort of knowing that looking at the end of a chapter means that there's a beginning at the turn of the next page. This is a new beginning. It is a time to be sad and happy. That's comforting in a way because it helps me know that this is all pretty normal.

The song above is beautiful and has granted me deep solace. I know that no matter where I am, He is right there with me and I am not alone. I can stop striving and take rest. Rest is beautiful and is right. Recently, I realized that in the USA, often we can value "busyness"....seriously, when was the last time you talked to someone and asked them how they were and they said "Busy!" It happens all the time. The tone I use when I tell people I've been "busy" sounds like I expect them to be proud of me for being that way. It's like, "See, I've got a lot going on, it's why we haven't gotten together, I am important" and busy-ness becomes a badge we wear. What if the next time someone asked "What have you been up to?" or "How are you?" I said, "I've been resting and allowing myself to recharge," or "I've had fun." Maybe if I'd give myself a chance to recharge and rest, I'd find that I was able to communicate what people mean to me and focus on them rather than hope they notice my "Been-Busy-Badge." What if instead of being busy and important, I said, "You're so important to me and I value the time I spend with you. I'm ready to invest in you in whatever way I can." It's so much easier to want close friends who walk with me through the hard things than to be a close friend who walks with someone through something difficult. If I allowed myself to rest in God's arms, maybe I could be that friend. Maybe being productive and being "busy" are diametrically opposed. Perhaps rest can bring more thorough satisfaction when we do work. God did set a great example by resting one day in seven, after all. Just sayin.

Missionary Flash Mob

We had a flash mob yesterday at MTI. We planned it ahead of time and didn't tell anyone in our class. Our South African instructor, Robin, had no idea we were planning it, but he sure jumped in and went along! You can see that some of the classmates are shocked. :) Much of the material we covered in class was fairly heavy, so when we decided to have fun, we went all out.

The night that we babysat, we also created a video of the kids here at MTI. Give it a watch if you'd like. It's fairly funny. :)

Silence before the storm

A quick word before I begin this blog, a few people commented about our previous blog, and I wanted to clarify what I had said. When I said that it is not our job to determine "right" and "wrong" in Guinea-Bissau, I am saying that in regard to the culture there, and in no way mean to negate the idea of absolute truth.
Back to this blog.

We're just 2.5 weeks from our actual flight to Guinea-Bissau, and in ways, I feel no more prepared than I did a year ago. Our last 2.5 weeks, however, have made a difference in the feeling of emotional, mental and spiritual preparedness.
How have we prepared? Oh....in so many ways.
There was yesterday when we spent time preparing for grief and acknowledging all of the things we're experiencing loss with. We cried and actually felt the feelings we've been suppressing for so long. It struck me that distance from each of you is a great loss where we miss the closeness with you and are grieving the lack of that. We hope that a new kind of relationship can spring up where we are able to enjoy a deepening of our relationships even as we're far away.
We spent time preparing to deal with stress in a way that was beyond anything I expected. We had a real-life simulation of very stressful events that missionaries might face. It was very intense and very unexpected. We experienced a lot of stress and then later examined our reactions and behaviors. I can't even describe to you the many things I learned about myself in that time! It's a lesson that's valuable and challenging on so many levels.
A few days later, we learned about the unsettling, resettling and chaos process of leaving for the field. The staff here had a makeshift "bridge" to simulate the various stages of transition. The bridge involved unstable chairs and a series of yoga balls to walk on. We practiced crossing the bridge and talked about the effect that chaos and unsettling and resettling have on relationships. This made us realize just how flexible and patient and kind you've all been to us as we're now in the middle of the bridge undergoing CHAOS! We know we haven't been as present and gracious at times as we would like to be, and we are thankful for your grace. Thank you for your support that has shown through patience and understanding.
We've spent time learning how to handle cross-cultural encounters with grace and understanding, and now the challenge is to apply the head-knowledge we've obtained. We spent time doing simulations of various cultures so that we could examine our pre-judgements and thus become more aware of how we see the world.
We have one full day of training left and then half a day on Friday and we're done at MTI. We are going to miss the people here so much. Just having a community of people going through the same strange thing we're going through has been so vital.
A week ago, I organized a parents' night out for the parents here. The singles and marrieds-without-kids (often, its easier to just lump in with the singles) were matched up with particular families and were given family-specific instructions. There was dinnertime....a unique experience for all 21 adults and 23 children, and then play time. Many parents confided to us that they hadn't had a date night in so long they couldn't remember the last one. We, of course, played with the kids and had a blast. Jason played the part of the bridge troll for over an hour and I helped put babies to bed.
We've been tremendously blessed by the kids here and are sitting beside the playground now listening to them play before dinner on our second to last night in this unique place. This has been a place of rest and renewal and has also greatly prepared us for what's ahead. As we go forward, we will be glad we did this.
We'll update you again soon. We've sent out a newsletter and hope you've received it by now. The next one will be sent while we're in AFRICA!!!

My Third Culture Thoughts

Kids of missionaries have been called MKs (missionary kids) for a long time. MKs have now been renamed. Perhaps it's because we as a society thrive on renaming things, or because MK was taken by some other acronym, perhaps for no reason at all, but there’s a new term for them. TCK—Third Culture Kid—and it refers to the situation arising from people who are raised in a culture other than their own. It has nothing to do with being in a third world country, but refers to the third culture that begins when a family or person travels from their “home” culture to another culture. An American moving overseas will never be fully American again, but they will never fully embody the culture that they’re living in either. A third culture results from the situation leaving that person or family in a fairly narrow category field.
Jason and I realized today that we will not be entirely American. We will not be entirely African, Guinean, Fula, Balanta, or any other culture. There will be no point at which we blend in...ever. We will be a third culture family. Like something from another planet; or a poorly-written Science-Fiction novel. The people we’ll relate to the best will be expatriates, other missionaries and military people who've been deployed. We're in the process of adopting a culture of our very own.
Here at MTI, they talk to us a lot about paradox. As an English Major, paradox excites me. It’s ideas like beauty in sadness, joy in pain, etc. It’s very real. My life is no longer straight-forward. I haven’t known what word to apply to it, but have felt that in a very real way for a while. It means that I won't just think in a single language, but a menagerie of languages. I will think half a sentence in English and the other half in Kriol. Jokes that are funny in one language aren't funny in another. People who relate to one half of me will likely be confused by the other.
As we go to Guinea-Bissau, it is not our intention to determine "right" and "wrong" as we view in their culture, but to examine "different." Guineans are very light-hearted people, and some of the things they joke about will not seem appropriate to our American sense of humor. Just because they offend our feelings does not mean that what they've done is wrong. Maybe we need to lighten up. Maybe it is funny that we're so white. And maybe it is funny to reply back in the same way! Of course, there are still distinctions of right and wrong, but maybe a lot of things are just different and we can enjoy them. We're being taught to suspend judgement, to wait to decide what we're seeing until we can understand it. Maybe we can become students of the culture of Guinea-Bissau and maybe we can understand it well enough to function well within it. We'll never function seamlessly. When we walk down the street, we'll always be called "White things with no color" and when we go to the market, we'll always be charged the unofficial "white tax," the goal is not to blend in, but to function genuinely and well. With God's grace, we can do that!

A quiet place

We arrived at MTI today. It's where we'll spend the next three weeks working through culture shock and other personal and challenging aspects of being missionaries.

There's a book I am in the process of reading right now, too. It's called "Through the Outhouse Floor". The thing I love about this book and the reason I am mentioning it here is that it addresses the fact that missionary life is not a popcorn candy ball with sugar coating. It's downright tough somtimes. There are days when we won't be able to tolerate the smell of garbage or the sight of hungry people any more. There are times when, on a somewhat selfish level, we won't be able to handle another mosquito bite, another bug in our house, another disease we caught. And yet, there's grace and peace in the midst of even those moments. This book covers many of those challenging aspects and advises people how to pray for missionaries. I guess when you'r understanding how to pray for missionaries, it's also probably going to help you be a better one, too. :) The cool thing about the book, and I'm realizing it about our lives as well, is that it's also not a big "complaint-fest" it's a balanced perspective. Sometimes, when the ants crawl in your chocolate frosting, you mix them in....they are brown after all. And other times, when your clothes mold, all you can do is laugh/cry/move on.

We're so excited to be at MTI. We arrived late today. We had complications with our third rabies vaccines. They are supposed to be done at a particular time, so we drove back from San Antonio in time to get the vaccines before leaving town again to go to MTI....only to find out that they sheduled us incorrectly and we didn't make the appointment. Apparently, the "African" sense of planning can occur anywhere. As we walked in the doors at MTI, we had missed Orientation completely, but no one was upset. There was a room full of people who were sitting down for dinner, and they were all talking about where they were going, how they'd been called there, the challenges and joys of fundraising, and so on. It was SO incredibly good to walk into a room FULL of people who understand where we are right now.

Being busy with work in a traditional job is something that's easy to comprehend, but being busy as a missionary is weird. You spend a lot of time with people, and when you do, you try to make sure you prioritize that time with those people. You have TONS to do, but you don't do it because your time is about people. This is a wonderful thing, and one of our favorite parts of our new job, but the funny thing is, we never look that busy to anyone. Haha. We just look like we wander around chatting with folks and having fun. Then, behind the scenes, we work like Santa's workshop. Some of you have seen it, no doubt, but hopefully not often. :)

Either way, it's both restful and restorative to be surrounded by these people who are in the same place we're in. We look forward to classes like "Keeping the Sabbath" (something we're AWFUL at).

Please pray for this to be a wonderful time of learning and growth for us. We hope to be better equipped at the end of these 3 weeks!

We're also finding that we're unique here. We're the only people being sent from a local church. It's funny because everyone we've talked to outside of here asks if we're going through a local church, but the majority of missionaries we meet are going through organizations. It's something we're really excited about. We get to walk into a country and ask the locals what they want and serve them in their area of need specifically. A lot of organizations do that as well, but we are excited to see the literal workings of it.

Thank you for being you. The thing we've been enormously aware of lately is how VERY blessed we are to have each of you. Your sincerity, love, prayers, and you sharing your lives with us as well are so important.

I've got to go to bed, but hope you sleep well and we'll give updates about MTI as we go. Thanks for providing us the funding to be prepared enough to attend a class like this. I think the training will be vital.

Oh, and if anyone is looking for reading material, "Through the Outhouse Floor" is a great book. And I'm not one to recommend books. ;)

Cars and trucks and SUVs! Oh my!

New Mexico, Arizona, more New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Colorado. Those are the states we'll have been in by the end of this week! We're counting down days, just a little over a month until we leave for Africa! This road trip has been wonderful! We've seen and spent time with so many amazing people and realize that we're SO very blessed! We're learning that God knows exactly what we need and it's a beautiful thing!

We decided to count the number of trucks vs. cars in Texas as we drove a stretch from Midland to San Angelo today and we got a little carried away, but here's what we saw!

Cars: 59

Pickup Trucks: 136

Semi Trucks: 40

SUVs: 84 (many of these looked like modified pickup trucks, but we counted them as SUVs)

Whataburgers: 6

Historical Landmarks: 7

Roadkill: eeewww.

Tumbleweeds: 1

Texas Flags: 3

USA Flags: 5

Country Music Radio Stations in any given place: about 50% of the stations available (yes, this means I am in heaven, and Jason is resigned to his fate)

Speaking of transportation, when we arrive in Bissau, we'll be using bicycles and taxis for transportation. Taxis aren't like they are here, you don't call them, but they drive in a constant circuit. There are more taxis than personally-owned vehicles. You just go stand on the road and wait (usually much less than a minute) and a taxi comes by. You hold up your fingers for the number of people you want to put in the taxi and a taxi with room in it will stop. THEN, you negotiate the price. The government sets the prices, but people still love to see if they can get more, and sometimes they drive off without letting you in. Most of the time, it works out just fine and you get wherever you're going for a dollar or so.

We've also learned that Texas, New Mexico and Arizona don't have the same kinds of problems with bears that we do in Colorado. It totally shocks us to see trash cans in the middle of nowhere that look perfectly accessible to a bear. We're so used to having to be smarter than the average bear just to throw things away. It seems so weird!

We also had a powerful time in prayer a few days ago as we were just spending time together and talking. We began discussing how we were feeling about leaving and the entire process. I was talking to Jason about how I feel scared of so many things sometimes. I get scared that something will happen to him, or to family or friends while we're away, etc. As we were talking, (and I was crying) Jason began to pray against fear. It reminded me of my first night in Africa. I didn't sleep for about three nights. Every sound was unfamiliar, the smells were strange and the night was SO dark. It wasn't until my third morning of waking up more tired than I went to bed that I realized that I was dealing with fear. It can cripple me so completely. I like to plan and have things well within my control, and it's both good and very hard for me to be out of control of my own life. That morning, I sat in my bed and prayed against fear in my life. I prayed for peace and for protection from fear. For the rest of my six months in Africa, I slept incredibly well. I fell asleep immediately, I woke refreshed. It didn't matter if there were women wailing outside, or bullfrogs so loud you literally had trouble hearing people talk, or if I was covered in mosquito bites, or even if someone was banging around on the roof above my head (which did happen!). I slept and I was rested. It just showed me how real God was in my life and how much He wants to be involved in each part of my day, even to go so far as protecting my sleep.

I know from first hand experience what fear can do in my life and I was so thankful to have Jason there with my this time to recognize it and pray for me. We are thankful that we can write you and ask for prayer any time. And we'll probably write you a lot in our first month there!

A few new things have developed in regard to our settling in for Bissau as well. The pastor at the church found us an apartment that we will live in for 3 months and then we can decide to either stay longer in that apartment or find somewhere else. The important things we know about the house is that it has a wall around it (good for safety) and has a toilet. That's what we need! They wanted to make sure I had a chance to make decisions about where I live. Also, we've arranged to exchange writing lessons and some TOEFL books with a friend in Bissau for him teaching us Kriol. I have lost a lot of what I knew in Kriol, and Jason will need to start at the beginning. He knows his greetings, but so far that's all. (Though I must say, he's very good at greeting people for someone who's never been there)

On the road again...

I am writing this blog from the car. We're in Santa Fe, NM at the moment. We are on day #2 of our road trip to visit friends, family and supporters! New Mexico is beautiful with its red dirt and dramatic landscape.

We camped last night in Villanueva State Park. It was stunning and peaceful. We left the rainfly off of the tent and just fell asleep listening to the crickets and looking at the stars. It is very different from the snappy chill of nights in Colorado, and yet so peaceful and calm.

Life often seems to run very non-stop for us, and we love the pace. Keeping up is a challenge and rewarding. Then, every once on a while, we take a breath and pause, and that's what it was like to camp and relax last night. I'm beginning to learn that there are times to stop doing things. Times to just enjoy, and of course, times to be ridiculously busy. It's good to experience both. Sometimes, God has to almost hit me over the head with restful times. I can be so determined to accomplish things that I don't stop. This was one of those times. We were driving along and had no idea where we were going to camp (and like I said in the last blog, I LOVE to plan, so it was a little irksome to me not to know where we were going to end up for the evening). Saw a sign and had no idea it would be a place we could go and recharge.

Things are also beginning to fall in place. I am now married to the most technologically savvy man I could imagine. We also just got our visas finalized and got them emailed to us. It's amazing in this day and age, no more mailing your passport, you can send it in email. We've also been told that a place to live has been found for us. It'll take us through our first three months in Bissau. Pastor Bobo wanted to make sure that I would be able to choose a place I felt comfortable once we were there, so this temporary housing is part of the picture! While we're on the road, Jason is beginning to work on building a website for MAFI Church, as well. Soon, we'll be able to show you what they're all about on the internet.

The best part of leaving is to look back and see our journey up to this point. We have spent many years with Guinea-Bissau on the horizon in one way or another. Years ago when we met the missionaries who started the Youth Center, we were in Golden, CO and Guinea-Bissau jumped right onto our radar there. Our goals and plans have changed, but the country has remained the same. We've been amazed and excited to watch our plans morph as we've gone along.

I got an email today through the website from someone who has recently been in Bissau and plans to return at the soonest possible time because the country has just seeped into part of who they are. It does that. It is a place with so much need, so much beauty, and so much pain all right next to each other. And you take each day in stride knowing all parts will factor into your day. So, we hope sincerely that you'll come visit. Bring friends even! :) There's no shortage of things to be done. From teaching to building to preaching, we'll find the right place for you! Just be careful, if you spend time there, you might just want to go back.

We are so excited and blessed to have so many wonderful people who are praying for us and supporting us. It's wonderful to get to go visit each of you and spend some time with you before we leave. From here, we go to Albuquerque, NM tonight. We'd like to thank all of you, also for being so conveniently located fairly near each other. It makes things like this so much easier. :) Love you all! Look for more posts from the road as we go. Check out the video below!

Thoughts on the craziest plan I've ever made

Erica here!

As a planner, I like to have my world be predictable in a way. I like to pack it full of things, but I get a certain joy out of the fact that I can put events in my planner on my phone and watch them happen with relative dependability. Well, I'm realizing that this is the craziest, most out of my control plan I've ever made.

This is my little family. Just the three of us. And somehow, it's my whole world. It's a very different proposition to take my family to Africa rather than just myself. It's very different to move to Guinea-Bissau than to have a 6 month hiatus from life and go there with return tickets purchased before I even set foot on an airplane. This is definitely very different. The best way I can describe the feeling is to relate it to the way it felt years ago as a kid on Splash Mountain in Disney World. You're in this cave going along watching puppets sing, having fun, safely in the tracks and having a pretty good idea of what's ahead. Then, you see the bright light at the end of the tunnel and you get this rush of exhiliration. When you finally get to the top of it, you can no longer see the tracks in front of you, just blue sky ahead and no ground in sight. You know it's there, but you also know there's a plunge ahead, too. Your stomach rises into your chest and you tense every muscle in anticipation and then whooosh! Yep, it's pretty much exactly like that. This safe, comfortable life is behind us and the blue sky is ahead. The picture below is the view from the apartment we moved out of on Saturday.

The big difference is knowing that God's hand is under us. It's a bit like that moment in Indiana Jones when he takes the "leap of faith" (which I still maintain is more like a big step than a "leap," but I'll take that up with the director some time) and just steps out and it isn't until after he finds the ground that you can see it. I know He's there and it's a great thing to feel safe in that knowledge.

So, whether it's "whoosh" or a step-leap thing, this is happening! We are spending this week with Jason's family and then we've got a wedding for a good friend this weekend. After the wedding, we set off to visit friends and family in the Southern States and come home on the same day that Sheba goes to the vet for a tooth cleaning, we get our third and final Rabies vaccine and we head off to MTI in Colorado Springs for three weeks of preparation for being hard targets to kidnapping and processing culture shock. In the meantime, we're working to secure extortion insurance, trying to get our final "from home" newsletter to you all and so on. It's a lot, but it's good. I never thought I would be thinking logically about kidnapping and using the word extortion in daily use, and it's still a bit of a stretch, I get that sense of "holy cow, I said that and meant it and that's insane" when I say it. But I know it's good and God is in control. I've learned just what Tetanus really is and why we're so glad to have a vaccine for it here in the USA and I've been amazed at how much God has blessed my life. Guinea-Bissau and our time there is an extension of that blessing.

Jason has finished his job and this is our first day working together to accomplish the dreams that God has given us. We're officially on payrole with Red Rocks Church and have gotten bank accounts all worked out and managed for this venture.

I look ahead wondering what comical errors we're about to make, what adventures we're going to have and what stories we'll come back with. It's best to look forward and enjoy the memories but not dwell there. Africa is waiting for us. There is God's calling on the horizon and His amazing grace is sustaining and blessing us. We're ready for the plunge!

We've shared wonderful memories with so many of you and look forward to sharing our new experiences with you as we move somewhere far different from here. We hope you'll continue to laugh and cry with us as we go along and that we can do the same with you over email, Skype, letters, etc. The next two months will be a flurry of goodbyes and tears and laughter and memories to keep in our pockets as we embark.

US adds Bissau to Human Trafficking Blacklist

Today the US government added Guinea-Bissau to it's "Human Trafficking Blacklist" which is a list of countries that may receive US sanctions due to human trafficking.

The unfortunate victims that Erica and I will be working with as we build and run an orphanage are in part caused by this lack of protection. Hopefully this will eventually influence the direction of Bissau for the better.

Jason

Road Trip!

This is our planned route for coming to visit several of our close friends and family members this summer. We're planning to see as many people along this route as possible and will be leaving Colorado on July 17, returning on August 1 in time for MTI training in Colorado Springs for three weeks! If you're along this route, please let us know, we'd love to come see you!
If you live in CO, we're planning to schedule a going away party in a city near you. It's important to us as we prepare to leave to get to spend time with the folks who are praying for and supporting us as we're in Africa. Your time means the world to us and we are SO very thankful to have you with us.
We're less than three months from our departure date and all momentum is moving us forward. It feels so good, but almost weird to have our departure date nearing, instead of it being this obscure thing out in the future, it's getting closer each moment. HOW AWESOME!
We love you all bunches!
(For friends in Illinois area, we're going to be heading through IL on our way to the airport in Washington DC-we're flying out from DC because it's actually cheaper and less complicated that way. We do plan to stop in IL, so let us know if you'll be around at the beginning of September!)

Ticket!

We have bought our tickets. We are flying out on the 5th of September :) MTI starts Aug. 1!

Things lining up for a departure date!

Hey, friends!
We've been so busy we haven't posted here in a while. Oops. :)

Things are going well with plans for Bissau. We've been talking to the pastor of Mafi Church, Pastor Bobo, in Guinea-Bissau and he is very excited to have us come and join the work going on there. He has a lot of truly awesome ideas about things we could be doing once we get there and we're thrilled to step in alongside that work and join in. Initially, we'll be working at a Children's Home (orphanage) in the city to prepare it for an increase in numbers as well as teach life skills (eating healthy, washing hands, proper self care, learning strategies, etc) to the kids already there. We're also planning to begin working as discipleship leaders at the church for young people there. We'll be taking language classes to get adjusted, and once we're more settled in, we're planning to take a short trip to see the other projects in some nearby villages, some on nearby islands, etc, so we can see where we may end up spending a large amount of our time as missionaries in Bissau.

Red Rocks Church, here, has continued to be a great help to us as we prepare to leave. They've been in contact with YFC and are currently discussing timing for release of our funds from YFC. Those conversations are going well, and God is truly blessing this transition.

All plans line up for us to be leaving for Bissau at the end of July. Hopefully it can be like Jason's birthday present. :)

We SO appreciate your love and support and value that you took the time to read this and stay up to date.

Watch for our newsletter, it will have a logo on the outer envelope that looks somewhat similar to the heading on this webpage. It will say, "Jason and Erica serve Guinea Bissau".

New Sending/Receiving organization

So A LOT has happened in the past 90 days. First of all, we are fully funded. Yay! Due primarily to a heavy, yet exciting, decision to move from YFC as our sending organization to Red Rocks Church (our church). Red Rocks has blessed us by deciding to handle our donations and not ask a service fee of us. Funding has also continued to come in and we find ourselves SO incredibly blessed by all of you!


Friends, those wonderful individuals, are stepping forward to handle other dynamics like sending out letters and helping us stay in touch or finding us a safe place to stay once we are in Africa. Thank you!


God is moving, changing the world (not renting a U-haul for those of you that think that way) and our lives. All of a sudden we have a path under us. Once we are in Guinea Bissau, we will be working with the local church and we will do what the church tells us they need, while Erica and I listen, learn and follow. I am very excited about this because we can rule out bringing fish to quench their thirst or water to satiate hunger. We'll be sure that what we do is applicable and needed to the people we live among.


We are currently waiting to hear back from a church called Mafi in Guinea Bissau to see if they will be our receiving church. We expect this reply on African time, so it could be a little while or it could happen quickly. Once we receive this confirmation, we can start the process with YFC to get all of the launch fund money that has been donated so far switched from YFC to Red Rocks Chuch.


Once that is done, we'll have a couple of minor logistics (like we are still going to MTI) and we leave! So as it stands right now, we believe we will leave some time between March and late June. It is up to that path that is only known by one, -God alone understands the way to it and He alone knows where it dwells.


Thanks for your love, prayers and friendship!