Being New

We have completed just over three weeks here in Lubumbashi and it is still obvious that we are new here.  I don't know how long it will take before people stop looking at us and thinking, "Rookies!" but I'll be excited when that day comes.  Being new can be hard.  Language difficulty, cultural confusion, and a general feeling of being overwhelmed are all a part of being new.  We pray for the Lord's grace and peace as we deal with the opportunities that the Lord has given to us in this time.

Now that I mentioned the hard part in brief, I can say what I really want to say.  That is, being new can be great.  Being new can be exciting and fun.  Being new can allow you to lean even harder on God and fellow believers for the things that we are used to doing ourselves.  In this way, being new can be quite pleasant and can build your faith!  There are many examples that we could use, but I think there is one that sums them all up the best.  Earlier this week, the wife of one of the local pastors went into labor.  This was to be their 9th child.  As the labor progressed, it became clear that there was more than one baby making its way into the world.  After several hours of labor and surgery, three beautiful baby girls were born.  The first born was named Jillian and the second was named Macy.  We were shocked and honored that the family would choose to name two of these new lives after members of our family. After all, we had only known them for less than three weeks.  In this place, where people are bound together by communities, it is customary to name a child after visitors / guests and is considered a great honor.  How much more do you need to feel welcomed after that?  In this way we are invited, even as Rookies, to share in the joy of new life and to be a part of the community to which we would otherwise be strangers.

Already, there have been many people who have loved and helped us as we have gotten started with our new life and ministry here on the Africa Middle Field.  We are so thankful for all of those who have helped us as we have started this new chapter of our lives.  Being new is great.  Eventually, the newness is bound to wear off.  Eventually, we will get the hang of things...even the language.  But my hope and prayer is that we will never forget what it means to rely on God and others and to share in love and live with fellow believers.  Its good to be NEW!

Bonjour from Lubumbashi!

After a wonderful first week in Lubumbashi, we still can’t believe we are finally here. Our long journey by plane was met with answered prayers from the beginning. We didn’t have to pay for an overweight bag in San Antonio due to a computer glitch and just when we thought we would have to lug all 12 of our suitcases to our hotel in Washington D.C. for our overnight stay, a very kind agent with Ethiopian Air stored our bags at the airport overnight. Once we finally landed in Lubumbashi, we were greeted by the District Superintendent and 7 local pastors. We were so thankful, especially because we could not keep our kids awake. Macy even fell asleep on a bag while we were waiting for all the luggage to arrive. Needless to say, our first day was very rewarding as well as exhausting, but we made it through. In fact, thanks to our busy schedule the first day, we have not suffered too much jet lag.

We wish we could fill you in on every detail of our first week, but it would take a lot of space and a lot of reading. So, here are a few highlights:

Our house is more than we could have asked for. It is very close to the French school Macy is attending. She started yesterday and really seems to enjoy it.

While we still lack some basic furniture, we were able to get a stove and refrigerator on Saturday, which is vital to life here.

Electricity has been in and out, but when we do have it we take full advantage of it.

We are learning new French words and phrases and even having to change some we already learned. For example, the words we learned in Quebec for breakfast, lunch and dinner were petite déjuener, déjuener and diner. Here, they use déjuener, diner and souper. A sweet lady corrected me after I had been thanking everyone for breakfast, although I thought I was thanking them for lunch.

We bought a car that is in great condition and for less than we thought we might have to pay. Praise the Lord! Driving is very interesting and very crazy. Most cars are right side drivers, but they still drive on the right side of the road. And, our lovely SUV was imported from Japan, so some buttons in the car are in Japanese.

Gavin dedicated a church on Sunday with the District Superintendent. It was a very hot, but wonderful service. They translated the service into French for us, because most church services are in Swahili. It was a typical African service, so it lasted only 4 hours. We did have lunch after and a great time of fellowship and talking with pastors on the District.

We could go on and on, but the best part of this week has been getting to know our new home. We serve a faithful God, a God who is with us every step of our journey and we couldn’t be on this journey without Him.

Thank you for your prayers as we travelled here and even as we continue to settle into our new home in Africa. There is much to do and much to learn, but we are taking it one day at a time, trusting in God and resting in His peace.

Just Around the Corner

After 1,700 miles from Sherbrooke, Canada to Edmond, OK and another almost 500 miles from Edmond to San Antonio, TX a week later, we have had a great Christmas! We are trying to enjoy every moment with our families, eat as much Mexican food as possible and pack and repack our suitcases to get everything we own to fit. We got to see Santa and even had one last snow to enjoy, for at least 2 years, on Christmas day.

Even after 3 garage sales and selling most of our "stuff", packing a small crate to ship to Africa, moving to Canada with a car full of luggage holding the rest of our "stuff", studying French for 3 months and now spending Christmas with our families, getting a quote today to sell our car sent a wave of emotions through me. WE ARE MOVING TO AFRICA. Obviously, we have been preparing for this for the last 7 months, but something about selling this final large belonging overcame me. The great thing is, whatever we get will go towards a new car for us in the Congo; which we desperately need.

A final thought: over 2,000 years ago God sent His son to save His people from their sins. He sent His Son knowing that people would not accept Him and eventually put Him to death on a cross...for us. During Christ's time on earth he went through towns and villages teaching the Good News of the Kingdom of God. Matthew 9:37-38 says, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." We have been commissioned to share this great, amazing news with the entire world. What a great, yet humble God we serve.