Jonathan and Naomi are preparing to serve in a church-planting work in West Africa. They are now into rainy season and have experienced flooding in the city streets.
They recently moved to their new home, closer to their host family. It is dark (little natural daylight enters) and there are many friendly creatures like big millipedes and cockroaches… Please pray for them to know contentment and that they would humbly learn the lessons their heavenly Father wants to teach them.
African hospitality works so differently to that in the UK… their Saturday plans were changed when a friend came to their new home in the late afternoon. They were glad to have enough dinner to go round. The man that visited lived opposite their old house and it was encouraging for them that he wanted to visit. A testimony to God’s grace in how He has answered prayer and helped them make friends near their old home. Now that Jonathan and Naomi have moved, they value your prayers as they seek to get to know their new neighbours.
A dear African friend who helps Naomi in the home told them about a man who arrived at their house with a broken car (her husband is a mechanic and a friend of a friend had recommended him). It took a month to fix the car… and the man slept and ate at their house all that time. This was someone they had never met before.
Jonathan and Naomi have lots to learn about culture and the applications of verses like 1 Peter 4:9 “Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.” have much bigger ramifications. Please continue to pray that the Lord would change them to make them more relevant to African people and for much grace in building relationships in their new neighbourhood and church. So many dear people are shackled in darkness and they long for them to find Christ.
The Senegalese school year starts in October and both their boys have places at a local school with a Christian ethos. The main reason for sending them to school is to help them with their French and to learn how to fit into life and community in West Africa. Please pray for them – there will be a huge number of new things for them to get used to.
Unfortunately, Jonathan had to cancel some sessions last week due to illness. This is the first time he has been too ill to go to class and so they thank the Lord for the good health he has enjoyed so far. He has been ill for a week and is still not completely better. Pray for the health of the rest of the family too.