There and back again

Jeannette suggested that we call this blog post "Home again, home again, jiggety jig," which would have been cute, but Mother Goose is not nearly as cool as Tolkien.  The point is, we are home after...

1600 miles,
5 states,
sleeping in 4 different beds, (thank you all for your generous hospitality)
6 people with terrible sickness,
4 Wycliffe presentations to churches or church leadership,
2 home meetings to share Wycliffe,
and lots of new friends!

We think the kids would be happy to never ride in the car again...ever.

However, we are very thankful for the time spent with family, old friends, and new friends.  We love you all!  Thanks for sharing your lives with us.

Nostril-freezing cold

The temperature in Musoma, Tanzania today was a comfortable 72 degrees.  However, in the Arctic north (aka Minnesota), this is what we saw.  {these images have not been altered in any way, the truth is shocking enough}

At 4:00pm it was -10 degrees...and that's not even factoring the windchill!

By 7:00pm we were down to -20 degrees.  (just wait, it gets worse)

Oh yeah, -30 degrees at 10:00pm. 

And finally, well you can see for yourself.  At 4:30am my mom was awake and noticed this wonder of nature. 
If you listen very carefully you can hear "pops" outside when pockets of warm air collide with objects...what!?!  Is this science fiction?  Where are we?  I guess this is where I grew up.  My parents say, "oh it's not so bad, my nostrils haven't frozen together yet."  I wonder, does it even get this cold on the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro?  We're thankful that the people of Minnesota have such warm hearts.  Thanks friends, we'll see you again soon.

the 9 {continued}

Today we continue looking at the 9 languages we will be serving in Tanzania.


Zinza - 138,000 people



The Zinza people received a copy of Genesis "the Book of the Beginning" in their own language and said, "Reading this book is not only sweet to my ears, but adds to my understanding!"



Zanaki - 100,000 people

The Zanaki people are so thankful to have the Bible translated into their language because the Swahili words, "aren't deep words to us, they don't go inside us like Zanaki words do."

We don't have any stories for the Jita, Ngoreme, Kabwa, and Kwaya peoples.  That's why we're looking forward to meeting these people and learning their stories.  Pray for these 9 people groups.


(Resources: http://www.thetask.net and http://www.ethnologue.com)

the 9

In Tanzania, we will be working with mother-tongue speakers from 9 different language groups.  The languages are related but still distinct enough to need their own separate Bible translations.  They are: Ikizu, Ikoma, Kabwa, Kwaya, Jita, Ngoreme, Simbiti, Zanaki, and Zinza.  These languages are spoken by over 800,000 people in the Mara region of northwest Tanzania.

Ikizu - 132,000 people

The Ikizu people were concerned that their culture would die out as young people leave the village...but now with Scripture written in their language their culture is preserved.



Ikoma - 36,000 people

 The Ikoma people worshipped the tusks of an elephant...but now are being saved as they read God's Word.

Simbiti - 98,000 people

The Christmas story (Luke 1+2) has been translated into the Simbiti language and people can purchase copies for $.30 (US) or 400 shillings.

Stay tuned for more stories....


(resources: http://www.thetask.net and http://www.ethnologue.com/home.asp)

Staring at blank walls

So here we are...staring at blank walls and empty corners in our house.  This was our home for 7 years.  Now it's time to say goodbye.  Suddenly this "leap of faith" is becoming frighteningly real.  All of our possessions are in boxes, we've taken van loads of donations to the local Rescue Mission, and we are moving to a new home.  From this point forward we will probably always live out of suitcases and boxes.  At one point, Kara panicked, "Daddy, all we have in the fridge is noodles!"

The question we wrestle with is this, can we be thankful for noodles and boxes?  Honestly, it's difficult.  You can pray for us.  We know God's Word says, "do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God" (Philippians 4:6).  And, "give thanks in all circumstances" (I Thessalonians 5:18).  Therefore we are very intentional in our family prayer times to begin with thanksgiving, then to bring our requests.  When we think about God's infinite grace, His faithful love toward us, and the gift of His Holy Spirit, we really do have so much to be thankful for.

Here's a few more things we're thankful for...
a strong marriage,
health and safety,
friends who encourage us,
family who loves us,
a house to live in,
ministry partners who support us,
two sending churches,
worship music,
white chocolate mochas,
pizza,
and the list goes on.....