We had a great time in the hills just outside of town this afternoon with some friends who will soon be leaving for furlough for a year. It’s pretty much paradise for our boys, with so many places to run and climb and hide.
When we head for the hills, we never know who we’ll run across. We seem to attract a little attention. This guy rode up on his horse and was very friendly.
The setting sun finally gave us a break from the extreme heat, which has had the added pleasure of humidity lately.
We have been back in Chad a little over three months, and it seems like the months have flown by! The kids have adjusted really well and picked right back up with their neighbor friends. They participate in an Arabic lesson 3 times a week and include their friends in the lesson. It has been encouraging to not only see their Arabic improve, but their confidence and desire to learn more and more. Equally encouraging, Isaac specifically asks often about his friend’s beliefs. His closest friends here go to Quranic school three times each day! We are saddened by the reality that these children we love – and who have been a blessing to our family – are growing up right next to us without knowing the Truth of the gospel. Isaac has asked me to think of ways to talk to them about Jesus. He is concerned that they don’t know the one, true God. So, after we return from our travels next month, I hope to start sharing audio Bible stories in Arabic and provide a time for discussion with these young boys.
Thank God for our children’s adjustment and growth in Arabic.
Thank Him for providing them with friends who are respectful and trustworthy.
Thank God for Isaac’s heart to share the gospel with his friends whom he loves.
Pray that the story times will be well- received, and that the Truth will begin to sink into the hearts of these young boys.
Oh how strange this sounds to our American ears…
Or when you think about “providing for your household,” what about providing practice in self-denial and risk? After all, doesn’t Proverbs say, “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6)? Perhaps we lose too many of our children because they weren’t trained as soldiers. Maybe we trained them in comfort and security, and now they won’t leave it.
Or what about providing for the young ones the way Deuteronomy 11:19 says? Teach them the wartime manual of life when you are walking among the hostile hearers, and when you lie down under the mosquito nets, and when you rise in the 95-degree heat. Come, my precious children, learn from mommy and daddy what it means to live with joy in the service of the King.
No matter how many Western, comfort-assuming, security-demanding, risk-avoiding Christians think otherwise, the truth is that there are worse risks for our children than death. This is simple Bible-reality. Not easy. Just simple. It is not complex or hard to grasp. There are things vastly worse than death. Wasting your life is worse than losing it.
Read the full blog post here…
Josh sharing with FBC Glencoe
It’s been a busy and exciting summer for our family. At the end of May we visited FBC Glencoe, near Gadsden, AL to share about our ministry during their Sunday morning service. The pastor is Josh’s college roommate, so it was a lot of fun to see his family and catch up a bit.
VBS @ The Grove – The pastor led the whole VBS to kneel and pray for us
In June we participated in VBS at The Grove Baptist Church here in Huntsville before heading out on the road again, this time going west. We stopped for a few nights in Shreveport to visit friends before moving on to East Texas. We spent a week at First Baptist Liberty City, the church where Kimberly grew up, to teach the missions class at their VBS. We had a blast teaching 250 kids all about Chad!
From there we headed north of Dallas to Sherman, where we shared with Forest Avenue Baptist Church. The pastor and his wife are old friends of Kimberly, and after church we spent the afternoon catching up as a swarm of kids wreaked havoc in their house. The following morning we were up early headed southeast to Sulphur Springs, where Kimberly was born, to take her grandmother to lunch. Nana Lil is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s, so it was a bittersweet visit for Kimberly.
Memphis BBQ picnic with friends from Chad
After lunch it was off to Little Rock, AR, to spend the night before meeting some friends from Chad in Memphis the next day. We enjoyed lunch at a beautiful park, and we spent some time catching up while the kids played. After lunch it was on the road again, arriving back in Huntsville around dinner time, excited to sleep in our own beds for the first time in 2 weeks.
Praying for Chad (at HSBC)
We’ve been happy to have some time at our church in July. One thing we miss dearly in Chad is fellowship with our church family. We did visit one other church in July, about 2 hours south of us in Birmingham. Hunter Street Baptist Church is where Josh was a member when he met Kimberly, and they were members together for several years before moving to Huntsville. We went back to HSBC to visit with a number of Sunday school classes to share about our work, and Sunday evening they hosted a prayer time for us. Once again we were thankful for the chance to catch up with old friends and share an update on our ministry with people who’ve been tracking with us over this 9 year journey!
We knew we hadn’t blogged in awhile, but has it really been three months? So much has happened, so many things we’ve wanted to share, but life has been a bit crazy. We’ve traveled as a team to a town several hours south to explore ministry opportunities, we’ve celebrated Calla Grace’s one year birthday, we’ve seen off one teammate (Danielle) and welcomed back others (Keith, Tricia and kids). We’ve had some ups, some downs, and lots of just plugging along seeking to learn language and better understand how to share the gospel with these precious people.
Hopefully now we can make some time to share some of what God is doing out here in the East.
may Christ be exalted,
Josh & Kimberly
Here’s a few pics from our day of swimming at the new Hilton in N’Djamena. Isaac and I are here to pic up a new teammate, and Abdoulaye is along to help. It’s Abdoulaye’s first time swimming in a pool, and we had a blast!
Isaac went visiting for “Eid” (the holiday celebrating the end of the fasting month) this week and had many opportunities to greet Chadian friends. He came home and told me he wants to learn Arabic “faster” because he doesn’t always know how to respond when people talk to him.
I am encouraged by his desire to know more Arabic! When we arrived in Chad over 1 1/2 years ago, Isaac and Judah would look down at their feet if someone greeted them. After having a weekly children’s class with their English-speaking friends for the past year, they have learned basic greetings, actions, and some vocabulary. It has been a great boost for their confidence in speaking and interacting in the language; but, clearly, they need more.
Starting next week, we will let Isaac (and possibly Judah) have a short lesson for 15-20 minutes three times a week with my language helper after his school time with me and before I start my lessons. Hopefully, he will enjoy this time and be motivated to continue learning more and more!!
Being on the mission field means that our family has to be intentional about lots of things – including holidays. If Josh and I don’t prepare something for Easter, our kids won’t know it’s important. I read a great book by Noel Piper called Treasuring Christ in Our Traditions which was very good at helping me to think intentionally about holidays and family traditions. Here are the ways we prepare for and celebrate Easter. I’d love to hear what your family does to make the holiday a memorable one.
We are in the thick of hot season here, with temperatures above 110 most days. Frozen treats help us get through the afternoons, but we have to make everything ourselves. There’s no snow cone stands or ice cream shops around the corner. So, I created a quick and yummy 2 ingredient”ice cream” recipe that the boys can do almost alone. It is a winner in our house, so I thought I would share it with you!
Easy Banana Ice Cream
1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 mashed banana
Mix together and place in the freezer for 2 hours. Enjoy! (Makes one serving.)
Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén