Over the last 2 weeks we have gotten 3 opportunities to go out to a nearby village to help refugee children learn a bit of English. The experience has gone a little like this:

Day 1: we discovered they know the alphabet song but the phrase “Hello, my name is ___.” was too much for them. Then, they all just… left the room? We decided to revamp our ideas for the next time.

Day 2: we called this game plan: games. Specifically, we chose “What Time is it, Mr. Fox?” to practice numbers and a game of catch to practice various categories of vocabulary. This eventually dissolved into a game of tag.

Day 3: that is today! It’s the final time we will head to the village for this group of children. We are going to try a few ideas with colors and shapes. Pray that the Lord will help us be creative. Most of all pray that these children will experience God’s through us in this short time we have with them.

We recently ate at a new restaurant in the city and it was fun to experience local and foreign food under one roof. The mural on the wall caught our attention too: traditional dress of the local people but featuring sushi and a burger. The fusion of cultures is fun to see!

During a recent trip to another country, I spotted these words painted above a shop door. It caused me to pause, and ask this question: What have I added to the Gospel? No faith, religion, or tradition is immune to adding rules and traditions–it’s crucial that we exam ourselves and our communities of faith.

We hear so often these words, “I hate religion.” Digging a little deeper almost always reveals that the person doesn’t hate God–they’re just having a hard time seeing past what people have done/added/distorted. What can cut through this tension? The powerful word of God, the deep love of Jesus, the ministry of the Holy Spirit, prayer, and authentic relationships between non-believers and non-believers. Lord, examine our hearts and straighten our paths. Let us worship in spirit and in truth, and have the eyes and hearts of Jesus as we represent you.

Please continue to pray for the doors to stay open in GM. While nothing seems imminent, continued conflict in the region, a recent court decision that could be considered censorship, “elections” in one of the occupied regions, and other rumblings are concerning. We believe that this place is very strategic for locals and also many closed countries and unreached or unengaged people groups–join us in interceding! Thank you!

Walking in our city is one of my favorite things to do. There are nooks and crannies everywhere with scenes like this–layers of daily life and rhythms–people living. What do you see?

One family (now a family of 4!) has returned from home assignment, and one is preparing to go on home assignment in a little over a month. There’s a lot of transition that has happened and is happening in GM. Please lift up this time of settling in and packing up, starting again and ending well, taking on and handing off–it’s a lot! The constant is that God is always at work (and He’s doing a lot!), and He never leaves–Praise Him!

Four countries were represented at Wednesday night Bible Study, and a very important snack question came up 🙂 What is this local fruit called in English? Our friends were surprised to learn that we don’t have a word for it, because it doesn’t exist in the US. Small and sour or sweet depending on its ripeness, alucha is its own thing entirely…and we like it!

Quotes from two young women who are diving into God’s Word for the first time:

*Talking about how some see the Bible as a bunch of do’s and don’ts “A” replied, “I see all of the beautiful do’s!”

**After taking the book of John home to read, “K” said, “It was so short. I wanted more.”

God is answering prayers–yours and ours. Spiritual hunger is growing, and we are so thankful for the opportunities that God is giving us to walk with these young women. Praise Him!

As we’ve been praying Psalm 24:7-10, we feel God opening up those ancient doors–thank you for praying. As we shared last week, two of our English students took copies of John home with them. At one student’s lesson on Monday, she told me that she read the whole thing, and wanted more! This hunger is an answer to prayer and so exciting–praise God! We had a great discussion about the book of John, the beliefs of different types of Christianity, and so much more. K has accepted an invitation to attend a Bible study at our house on Wednesday night. Please continue to pray for her as God opens her eyes and heart to himself.