We are excited to update you! We have had so many blessings come our way that we are sure many of you must be praying for us. God is so good!
Our new home on campus is a real gift to us. We enjoy being on the ground floor and having a little yard with flowers and trees. Although we get our share of bugs, spiders and icky critters, they are much fewer than we expected. (Luanne is still alive after being scared “almost to death” by a few gigantic spiders!)
After two months of waiting, the school delivered new furniture to our home yesterday. We were expecting a desk and a couch. Instead we have a desk, a couch, two living room chairs, an end table, a coffee table, a tea cabinet, and a large, beautiful bookcase. So now we are living in relative luxury!
We also feel blessed to have been able to purchase an electric bike. Since we live on the very edge of our city, transportation is a bit of an issue. After considering the many safety issues involved, we decided to take the plunge and purchase an electric bike. We’ve had it now for about a month and feel fairly comfortable riding it. Even so, it’s a challenge riding in the city where traffic is congested and traffic rules are subject to individual interpretation! But the bike saves us a lot of time and money.
We are especially excited and encouraged as we have gradually been able to plant a few seeds with some students. They are beginning to trust us and several have been to our home for a visit. Often they bring up questions or comments that allow us to share more with them. It is just so amazing how our Father works these things out! Thank you for praying with us for these young people.
Our English classes are going well (although Joe isn’t too fond of lesson planning). In addition, we keep busy with language learning. So our days are full.
This last week our school held a basketball tournament, pitting the various academic departments against each other. The Foreign Language Department team played great! It was fun to watch with the students.
The other great news we want to tell you about is that we have been welcomed into a local team and now feel that we have the fellowship and support we often lacked last year. We already knew most of the members of the team and feel very comfortable with their approach here. They offer us encouragement, insight into what others are doing, strategy ideas, and access to a lot of materials. Last weekend eleven team members joined together at one of this country’s famous scenic areas for a time of praise and worship, meetings and recreation. This is a very definite answer to prayer and we praise God for his faithfulness!
We think of all of you often, and want you to know that we couldn’t be here without you… Thank you!