Meet Gift

The New Life Homes school is the primary education for all 32 children living at New Life Homes. An additional 30 students come from the local community. While teaching preschool in Swaziland I had one student from the local community--Gift.

And a gift he certainly was! Gift proved to be a tenacious learner. With no previous English language exposure, Gift grew by leaps and bounds. I also developed a warm relationship with his Mom, as she walked him a mile to and from school each day. She even made me a traditional Swazi dress!

I was delighted to receive an update on Gift today. Gift continues to attend New Life Homes school. He will be entering grade five next year. His mother has become a teacher's aid at the school, and is really thriving in her new role. I can't wait to reconnect with Gift and his mother again. 

From James 1:17: "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change."

A Midcourt Celebration

As some of you may realize, we are nearing the beginning of football season. I am a big sports fan, particularly of college football. It just so happens that college football provides an excellent metaphor for our support raising efforts. Last year, the national title football game pitted Alabama vs. LSU. Alabama dominated nearly every aspect of the game, to the point where LSU could not even move the ball past the 50-yard line. Needless to say, Alabama won. A few weeks later, Alabama and LSU met again, this time on the basketball court. When the team dribbled the ball past midcourt, all of the Alabama fans went crazy with sarcastic cheering. 

Well friends, we too are at the halfway point in raising our financial support. We are grateful for all of you who have decided to prayfully and financially support what God is doing in Swaziland. These next few (hectic) months are going to be awesome as we are confident that God will provide and move us beyond the goal line. That celebration will even louder than those Alabama fans.

P.S. If you would like to be part of moving us beyond the goal line, just click the "GIVE" button to the right of this post.

The Unexpected

Even unexpected change should, of course, be expected.

Knowing that we'll be departing to a developing country in just a few months, we have prepared for change. We are well aware how flexible we need to be. We know things won't necessarily go as planned. Yet even in the midst of all this mental preparedness, change is not easy to handle.

In the span of two days, we became aware of changes in our housing plans both here in Davis and abroad. We learned of an unexpected 3-week training we need to attend. Mandi learned of a change in her teaching assignment. We are not certain how all these changes will impact preparing to leave or finishing our job and school responsibilities well. 

One thing that we can expect and rely on is God's unchanging nature. We find a lot of peace in knowing that the big things of life, the things that matter, are unwavering.

As James writes, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." James 1:17 

Please pray that we find a place to live in Davis before the end of September. We are specifically looking for a private or semi-private arrangement for the months of October and November. Pray for the packing, selling, and redistributing process that has begun as well. At times it is overwhelming.