Thank you for those that prayed with us this past week as we and leadership looked at what comes next since our plan A for language study is off the table. We wanted to share with you what the next steps look like for us and ask you to continue to pray.
Our goal for this year remains to get a good grasp of Sudanese Arabic. Because the language schools were shut down we are very grateful for our language acquisition training as we will be utilizing it this year (and have already started) to learn the Arabic without a formal school. The best place for us to learn Sudanese Arabic is South Sudan.
We asked you to pray for three things this past week.
1) That God would keep our hearts at peace through this time of unknown. We’d like to ask that you continue to pray Matt 6:26-33 for us in this regards. We have felt your prayers this week in regards to this
2) That their would be unity on our team as to the next step for our family. God has really answered this prayer, in a large meeting this past Friday there was complete unity among our team and us that the best place for us to study language is in Melut South Sudan. Melut is on the Nile River in the upper nile state of South Sudan.
3) That God would move mountains and make his way plain in such a way that all could say this is of God. We are still seeing this play out as there are many logistics that need to happen but we have seen God move several mountains already. The problem with relocation is that there is no housing for our family in Melut, there is a large plane that could bring in housing supplies leaving at the end of the month but the pre-fab house requires minimum four weeks lead time. As we looked at details God provided a pre-fab the size we need that has become available and can be taken in at the end of the month. Gideon Theological School has offered to allow us to live on campus and is going to purchase the pre-fab (we will pay rent) and then use it for visiting professors when we are done with it.
We feel very blessed by answered prayer. We are asking you to pray for several logistics “our mountains” that must be moved in order to get us into South Sudan before Kenya elections. These are:
- the flight moving massive supplies (including the prefab) will be able to fly out at the end of this month
- That our family will be able to charter a flight to get in before mid february (which is when we must be out of Kenya for elections)
- to gather up the necessary supplies for life in Melut.
- for the SIM Sudan Logistics team as they coordinate so many travels these next two months.
- for the Lord to provide language helpers in Melut so that we can better communicate with the local people
More details on how this looks will follow. We are excited to move forward into South Sudan, to learn from and love the Southern Sudanese in Melut this year!
Praying with a MIGHTY SHOUT God will lay those “mountains” flat!
continuing to pray for direction and peace for you and your family.
So awesome to see how God has answered our prayers!! Continuing to pray for you guys!
“Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever. Who can proclaim the mighty acts of the Lord or fully declare His praise? (Ps.106:1-2) We join you in praising God–He truly is awesome and His ways are perfect. Thank you, J– and Abuk, for giving us this glimpse of His love, might, wisdom, sovereignty, and provision. We’ll keep praying for you and with you (and countless others) to the sovereign, mighty Lord.
Dear J– and Abuk,
You are a testimony to the body of Christ. As we sit at home in comfort you are making provisions to fly a prefabricated home to a country of which you no not of to learn a language to minister to a people whose language and customs you are learning. You are surely fulfilling the will of our Lord. We are praying that all mountains in your way come tumbling down and that all logistics line up in your favor so that you can finish the work that you set out to accomplish in the name of our Lord and Savior. Don’t worry, His ways are not our ways. He will come through for you because all things work together for good to those who are called according to his purpose. We are praying for you!.
So excited to see how God has worked already and we know that He will continue to move those mountains! Prayed Matt 6:26-33 for you today, as you requested. May the peace that passes ALL understanding guard your hearts today in Christ Jesus.