Pressing on

Jonathan and Naomi are still pressing on in the preparation phase of language and culture learning in order to serve in a church-planting work in West Africa. They know that God is working in their lives, shaping, and preparing them for ministry, and they thank Him for putting it in your hearts to be part of that work through prayer.

They thank the Lord for His provision of a new language helper for Jonathan. It was someone that he was already getting to know; he is in the same life stage as Jonathan’s other helper (single guy, working), but is from a completely different area with different experiences. He is now splitting his study between the two language helpers.

Jonathan feels comfortable with language in terms of day-to-day living, however, there is a lot he still does not comprehend in terms of deeper conversation, and his speaking ability lags well behind his comprehension. Pray that his language helpers will help him spend more time in his formal speaking sessions i.e. telling stories, describing processes like ‘how to brush your teeth.’  He also needs to find people outside these sessions who are willing to be recorded talking about life or their work. This is also proving challenging.

A believer that Jonathan and Naomi know well has been looking to move house for a long time without success. They suggested that he could live with them and he has accepted their invitation. Pray with them, as they need to look for a new house, as the current one is not suitable.

They still have quite a way to go with French and culture study, but they have started to discuss the future. The next stage is going to be incredibly stressful and difficult and they really need to step into it convinced that it is somewhere God is clearly leading them. Jonathan and Naomi have chatted through options and read some people group assessments but as yet have no thoughts or feelings in any direction. The issue of co-workers is still a key one for them.