We have officially spent our first 3 days in the African bush! It’s been an interesting adjustment, to say the least. In the matter of a week, we have moved in with an African family, taken lots of bucket baths, blown lots of bubbles with precious kids, slept under the stars at night, and eaten lots of peanut butter sandwiches. We are thrilled to finally be out in the village, meeting sweet African women & children and attempting to show them a bit of the face of Jesus and His love!

This all sounds good and wonderful, and it certainly is. Living in obedience is definitely fulfilling, and it makes me love Jesus more. However, I can say with assurance that the life of a cross-cultural missionary is often less than glamorous. Maybe it goes without saying, but Erin and I have gotten a quick lesson in obediently serving Christ no matter what it may cost- and it has been a difficult lesson to swallow!

Sleeping under a mosquito net, power outages, attempting to speak a completely foreign language, and constantly getting stared at (constantly) become immediately frustrating when you add temperatures of over 100 degrees to the mix. Our patience, love, and grace have been tested in many ways in just the past 3 days. Even children have verbally opposed the Gospel to us. I have learned a lot about how selfish I am, and I have learned how great of a task it is to love people enough to come to them and share Christ right where they are. 2 mornings ago I woke up looking at a donkey 3 feet from my mat. Is it worth it? Absolutely.

My absolute favorite verse, Acts 20:24, became real to me in a whole new way this week:

“I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me- the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.”

In this life, I’ve only been given one task from God- to tell others of the beautiful grace He has provided me with. We’re commanded to share it with others- but what will it take? I consider my life and comforts worth nothing to me, as long as it means testifying to what Christ has done for me. In a race, the runner is not always feeling absolutely superb, but the finish line is certainly worth the run. I’ve decided that, no matter how many times a rooster wakes me up in the middle of the night, getting the Good News to the Songhai people is 100000% worth it.

That being said, please pray for us. Pray that we’ll be able to adjust to the heat, miraculously learn a ton of language quickly, and that God’s sheep would hear His voice and be drawn to our compound. Pray that our bodies would adjust so that we can focus on our ministry rather than just trying to “beat the heat.” Praise Him that we have had such a welcoming host family here in the village, whom we share a compound with and interact with daily! We are so so so so thankful for your prayers!

Pray for Pastor Jason today as he preaches.  He has been off for two Sundays and has had a great vacation.  It will be exciting to hear him again.  Pray for clarity as he communicates what the Lord has laid upon his heart.

Please be in prayer for Pastor Jason today as he finishes up preparing for his message.  I am sure he had a great week of vacation.  You know when you come back from vacation there are lots of things to catch up on.  Pray that the Spirit guides him and energizes him as he prepares himself for tomorrows sermon.

Wow…what a powerful video that will lead you to pray in many ways.

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/23007915]

Where do you fit in?

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/24581193]

Here are the names of some students that our college team is meeting with and sharing the Gospel with in East Asia this week.
Words from the field:
Our friend Simon has now heard the fully story in his language and still rejects it. We will get a chance to see him again this week. Pray that the story will be shared completely and clearly again and the Holy Spirit will soften his heart to the story.

Here is a list of people we already have appointments with:
Young, Bubble, Seven, Anly, Ivy, Vera,D d fly, Katrina
(girls above)
Jason, Week line, Xin xing, Jack
(guys above)

*Often East Asian students have odd English names.  They get to pick there own and many times the names they choose are not English names at all – i.e. DD fly and Week Line.

Today three of our college students have left to work as summer interns with Calderwood Baptist Church in East Kilbride, Scotland.  Alex Jane, Rosie, and Taylor will be co-laboring with our church partner focusing on youth.

For the month of June, they will be in the schools about every day sharing Christ in open assembly, classes and in conversations in the hallway.  Praise the Lord for the United Kingdoms that allow faith based activities in public schools.

Please pray for traveling mercies and a quick turn-over to get used to the time zone in Scotland.  Pray that the Holy Spirit will open up doors for spiritual conversations.

You know that time last summer when I took a 3-week French 101 class, and I almost drowned in notecards, and I was soon speaking basic French in my sleep? Try cramming that amount of information into your brain in one week. Erin & I have spent the last 4 days with our cawundiko (teacher), B, learning Zarma- and it has been sooooo much information! We are so so so thankful, however, that we have this opportunity. Because I have a notebook full of Zarma words, it will make the transition to Boubon so much easier. For instance, when someone asks where my bellybutton is, I’ll be able to show them because I know the words for “where” and “bellybutton.” Or, if someone tells me there is an unhappy hippo in the village, I’ll be able to run to safety rather than being trampled before I have time to pull out my handy-dandy Zarma-English dictionary and figure out what’s going on! So you see, we are very thankful for this week of language training.

B has been so sweet and incredibly patient. We have asked her question after question for 6 hours a day, and she still has patience even when I mix up the phrases “I’m hungry” (Ay harey) and “my ears” (Ay hangaey) at least 12 times a day (because I get hungry often). I’m so thankful for B!

So far, my favorite phrase to say in Zarma is “atinni atalata.” It actually just means Monday Tuesday, but it’s fun to say with an African accent. So, when I come back to the States, if I say some fun phrase but you don’t know what it means, don’t be impressed- I’m probably just saying a bunch of nonsense! My most-used phrase so far is definitely “bong londi,” which is brain, because my bong londi has often felt a bit heavy from all the new words inside of it!

Throughout the week, I have often found myself asking why on earth I am sitting in an un-air-conditioned room studying the days of the week in an African language. There are certainly times of frustration (especially when I can’t distinguish between ears and food). But when those moments come, I am reminded of the ultimate reason we are even on this continent, and I am encouraged to keep a grateful and enthusiastic heart. The call of Christ to share the Gospel with all nations is worth the work. It’s worth slaving hours over foreign languages and driving 14 hours in a hot car. It’s worth saving my money to even go on this trip. It’s worth missing family and friends back in the States. Although I do love to travel, I would not be in this country if the Songhai people did not need Christ. Why are we here? We are here to share the Gospel with an unreached people group, and it is certainly worth the work. And amidst the notecards and sweat, there is no place I would rather be than in the will of my Master bringing glory to His worthy Name.

Please be in prayer for Living Hope today.  Pray that the Holy Spirit will work in our Adult Bible Fellowships and worship services.  May the Lord open up our eyes as we learn more about His love for us.  Pray for Pastor Matt Haste as he brings the Lord’s message today.  I know I am always blessed when he preaches.

Please be in prayer today for Pastor Matt Haste.  He will be preaching this Sunday.  Pray that he is protected from any unwanted distractions.  Pray that the Holy Spirit shows him the direction to go with the Lord’s message.  We are so blessed as a church to have Pastor Matt as a pastor.