Visitors

Beckies parents, Don and Marybeth, are here visiting Beckie for two weeks and it has been so fun having them stay in our house with us. It is both interesting and kind of strange to experience life with them as I seem to have already forgotten how different life here is sometimes most of the time. We had chips and cheese for lunch yesterday- 7 months since I've enjoyed that wonderful snack. (They brought with them a block of cheddar cheese and the two pound bag of El Matador corn chips- thanks guys for the work it took to get those here!)
I find myself continually looking forward to when my dad and brothers can experience life with me. They leave Grand Rapids to begin the long journey in only 14 days!!!
We are without water again as the city water is back off. When this happened last month Beckie and I did fine. We rationed well, used our grey water to flush the toilet, washed our clothes in rain water and managed to still have a tiny bit of water in our reserve tank when the city water came back. This time may be a little different. There are four of us in the house now. We've needed to shower and I couldn't wait for rain water to wash our clothes as we had been on the road for more than a week (more than two weeks in my case) and we were running out of clean skirts. It hasn't rained in a couple of nights and I'm afraid that the tank will soon be dry. Don and Marybeth may get to experience going to the borehole to collect water with us if it doesn't come back soon....
Anyway, it will be a busy couple of weeks. I'll see if I can get some of these visitors to write up their experiences so you can see through their eyes. 
I have a few prayer requests-

• Please be praying for Beckie's parents and their time here. Health, safety and great experiences!
• Please pray for my Dad and brothers (Nick and Benj) as they pack and prepare to come. There are MANY things that need their time and experience (plumbing, electrical, carpentry and vehicle maintenance and repair) both for the team and our ministry partners. I'm trying to prioritise and prepare so we can best use their time to honor God in the short weeks they are here.
• Please continue to pray for the team. We had a GREAT time away together. We want to continue to support and encourage each other in the work that God is calling us to to. We are also still facing attacks every day and need God's protection, guidance and direction. 

Praise requests-

• Praise God that I'm part of such an amazing team. I really love this group that has become as close as family. God really blesses me daily through them and I can't even begin to imagine living here without these guys!
• Praise God for all of the supplies that arrived with Beckie's parents. (and THANKS to all of you who sent stuff!) I got a bunch of much highter quality medical supplies (and now I can't wait to start the next IV with a cannula that will actually work!) and other things we needed. Only a very few things "got lost" in transit.

Thanks so much for your ongoing support, prayer and encouragement!!


The team last month on our team retreat. What a wonderful group!