End of Summer Update

July was a crazy and exciting month. After we were delayed in Utah an extra week due to a broken truck, a friend graciously towed our RV up to MAF HQ in Idaho. Our time in Idaho allowed Noel to have face to face meetings with those on his team. Teresa enjoyed having time with girl friends whom she had served with in Central Asia.

David joined us a few days after we arrived in Idaho just in time to help us drive back down to Utah and pick up our fixed truck. We then headed to Hailey, Idaho for the weekend to have time with Noel’s sister and her family and Nana and Papaw. We hiked, spent time in the hot tub, played games with the nephews, and even had some time at the lake. As always, David and Teresa played lots of games. During this visit their go-to’s were Qwixx and Querkel.

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Trying to get our truck fixed was stressful but we saw God’s hand throughout the process. First, we found a shop that would look at it right away even though we had to wait for parts to actually fix it. This same shop was able to get the part needed to fix the truck even thought it is hard to find parts due to shortages. The RV park we were at in Utah had a spot open up for us even on the 4th of July weekend. Then our friend was able to tow us up to Idaho a week later as we waited some more for the needed parts. Lastly, another friend let us borrow their truck in Idaho for errands and then to go retrieve our fixed truck. So many things to be thankful for.

The first week in August, Noel flew to Liberia with another MAF pilot. MAF was lending a pilot to Samaritan’s Purse for a few months to help out. Noel’s job was to help the pilot become familiar with the airstrips and procedures there. It was a quick trip with full days. He was glad to get caught up with old friends and former co-workers. For those of you that remember our Liberian pilot, Joshua, he is progressing well with his training and continues gaining experience.

Our second week in August was spent in Gig Harbor, WA near friends we served with in Central Asia. It was great to get caught up with them, experience some cooler weather, and enjoy the northwest. One afternoon, we gathered with two families that we had studied language with. These are friends that became like family to us as we learned language together and later worked together. Our visit was timely as we were able to pray together in person for a land that we all love so much and to discuss all that was going on. Below is a picture of our whole language team in 2009 and the other from last week.

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Now we are heading south towards California. The rest of this month will be in Oregon before we transition to northern CA. Our plan is to be near Winter and David in October.

I would be negligent if I didn’t ask you to pray for Central Asia and all that is going on there. Our heart is heavy for so many that are suffering through no fault of their own. We realize there are so many things going on that we don’t understand. But we also know that we serve a God who loves this people even more than we do. Just so you know, our former team is safe and relocated to a country close by. We are thankful for God’s provision in this. Pray for direction for them as the next few months will be difficult as they process all that has happened and figure out what is next.