This past week has been a blessing. Bethany had her 4th birthday, we were able to "chat" with family on Skype(Greg and Jean, Heidi and BABY MADDIE!!) and we found a language helper! Plus, an extra blessing for us: we now have A/C in our bedrooms for the hot nights!! Praise the Lord!
We have been looking for a language helper to aid us in learning Kriol, and envying friends who have "regular language lessons" daily. Well, God has blessed us with a language teacher starting this Thursday! She is able to meet with us each Thursday to speak with us in Kriol and teach us. PRAISE THE LORD!! :) Next Tuesday, I (Jared) have invited a group of three men to our house for lunch. They are the men who drive around in a pick-up truck all day and take care of the community(i.e. pick up trash etc.). They stopped by our house today to pick up the old A/C units, and so I offered to have them over for lunch or tea if they ever had need of a break. Then Darren (one of the three) suggested, "How about next Tuesday? We could eat lunch with you." I found out their skin names, and they are my brother-in-law, my nephew, and (I think) my uncle. I did my best to use Kriol when talking to them, but it's still limited. Next week when they come to eat lunch I'll talk with them, and have a short Bible Study planned. Please pray for God's Word to dig deep into their hearts, and for me to share it well. Perhaps one of these men will turn to God as a result of this encounter? Pray for a good lunch and time in God's Word with them.
It was really cool to "see" Greg and Jean and talk with them. It's been awhile. We are amazed at what a big girl Maddie (our neice) is getting to be! :) Praise the Lord for the opportunity to see them all and stay in touch with them.
It can get REALLY hot here. We have already experienced some days where it reaches the mid-nineties, and this is "spring". It's going to get hotter, but God has blessed us. Up to this point we were blessed with fans. Today, we were given A/C! PRAISE THE LORD! A non-indigenous man from the church has been working with me on the house we are living in. He replaced all the screens which had tears in them, and also installed new air conditioners in each bedroom! A/C is not a necessity, but it sure is nice! What a blessing. Praise the Lord with us for Alan, and all of his hard work. He was even nice enough to let me help! :)
Our Kriol team, which is spread out over the NT(Northern Territory) is currently preparing for a BELT/SALT course. This is going to be excellent for discipling young indigenous believers and helping them grow in Christ! Please pray for the people(indigenous folk) who are currently translating all of the materials/lessons into Kriol. Also, pray for the men and women who will be taking the course.
That's a lot for now! Thanks for your prayers! God is anwering them one by one. :)