Alessandro and Chantal Parrillo have been back in West Africa for two months. They are settled in and have a good routine, although flexibility is always necessary!
They resumed their language sessions six weeks ago.
Each morning they have their session while Chantal’s parents take care of the kids – they are so thankful for their help! They are also thankful for their language helper, but he is very tired which is effecting his work, so pray for him and for Alessandro and Chantal!
Recently a consultant visited to help them with learning the language and culture. She gave Alessandro and Chantal ideas for various activities they can do in order to make good progress.
Each day they have encouraging moments, such as when they see they are making progress or when they succeed in saying something correctly. However, there are discouraging moments as well, such as when they have a hard time expressing themselves, when they cannot make themselves understood, or when they discover some new tricky aspect of the language. It is part of the journey, so they persevere with determination, counting on God’s help to accomplish this huge task.
They continue to connect with their community and have had many opportunities to participate in various events. Since their arrival, there have been several funerals and, at this time of year, there are many more sacrifices done for those who have already died in the past. Alessandro and Chantal look forward to the day when the K…… people will hear that the final sacrifice has already been made!
This time around, it is more challenging for Samuel and Jolissa. Now that they are a bit older, they do not really enjoy going to visit the village families. They find it difficult to play with the other kids, since their way of playing is so different, and Samuel and Jolissa are often frustrated by their inability to communicate with them. Pray for them as a family to have the wisdom to know how to deal with this situation, since Alessandro and Chantal would love to see their kids thrive in the village.
It is now hot season and it is very HOT! It is difficult for them to sleep well at night and their energy is waning day by day.
Thank you for partnering with Alessandro and Chantal in prayer.