Ben and Tabea, who serve in Asia-Pacific, praise the Lord that their co-workers were able to go on a two-day trip last month and get some official paperwork signed; a step further towards them being able to serve as a team in the mountain region. It felt very out of their control and could have gone either way; therefore, this was an amazing answer to prayer! Continue to pray that the door will stay open.
At this stage, Ben and Tabea need to focus on culture study more than language study in order to prepare for the final evaluation. For example, they have a list of 30 cultural topics that they already know quite a lot about, and now all they need to do is ask a language helper about each one of these topics (requiring a two-hour language session for each topic), and try to turn those assumptions into conclusions for a cultural write up. They are also thankful for the guidance that they were able to get from the language consultant for the last stretch of their language and culture study in the city. They estimate that this might take them around three to four months to complete, when they include all the planning, language sessions and writing.
Praise Points:
- Official permissions gained
- Clear goals to finish their language and culture study
- A great new language helper (another answer to prayer)
Prayer Points:
- Minor health issues with the kids
- Energy and discipline to work hard on culture study
- Ways to entertain the boys when they are bored at home
- That the boys will learn the local language again (they lost all that they had previously gained whilst on home assignment). This makes it much harder for them to play with their national friends.