Yes, that really is a lizard Autumn is holding! It was huge (according to my calculations!) and alive! Crazy girl!
Wow, it has already been two weeks! Sometimes it seems just like yesterday that we arrived, and other times it seems like we have been here for months! :-) We are doing well, we have our episodes of culture shock but are making it. There is such a very different worldview here! Every time we leave our courtyard we are a the highlight. The children run up yelling "Toubaboo", which means white person. We do definitely stick out!
If we haven't already said it enough, the driving is CRAZY here! I hold my breathe whenever we have to go anywhere. To top things off, I have to start learning to drive a stick shift this week! Please pray for that!
We have realized how much we have to rely on God here..........in the states if someone gets sick, you call 911 or get help from a neighbor; here, we can't speak the language well and they definitely don't have a 911 service. Our trust is in the Lord, He brought us here and He will take care of us.
Language learning has been good. We have tutors come in 4 days a week to teach us. Mondays are our busiest day with 4 hours of French. By the time the day is over our brains are mush! We think that we are doing really well saying certain phrases, so when we go out in the neighborhood we try them on our neighbors. We get a lot of laughter, I wonder if that Arkansas accent comes over in our french! :-)
Everyday living just takes longer here. To wash dishes (yes by hand, no dishwasher!), I have to boil water. When we go to the market and buy fruits and vegetables, I have to wash them well and then soak them in bleach water for 20 minutes. We only wash clothes once a week at the office, so we do have to do some by hand. (I can't wait to arrive in Abidjan so I can buy a washer and dryer!)
But overall, I have to admit the experience has been much better that I had anticipated. Our apprentice leaders are wonderful and have been a great help! We had to laugh the other night when we was looking in our medicine cabinet.............we brought enough medicine to last our entire term (and we have more in our air freight to Abidjan!). I guess we are prepared if any missionary in our city gets sick! ;-)
We did find out that we will be leaving Mali two months earlier. We will be going to Abidjan a week before Christmas. We are excited to meet our team mates, they have been a great help!
We will be going out to stay in the village this month, so keep this in your prayers. Also, pray that we will stay healthly physically, emotionally and most importantly spiritually.
Send us a comment or email. We do love to hear what is going on it your life.
In Christ,
Teresa
6 comments:
Fall is in the air here. The weather lately has been magnificent. Things at school are pretty much the same. I was called to a church in Holden Missouri back in July and today God blessed me with the opportunity to do my first baptism. I will put you on our prayer list and keep it updated with your ministry. Way to go Autumn, don’t let those little lizards scare you. I was wondering, do you use catsup and mustard with those or just eat them plain? Praise the Lord for all of you.
Hello everyone -- we sure do miss you - but we love the updates. We will be praying for you guys this week. It has been a stressful time here - travis's stepdad pasted away a week ago - long week with the funeral and work and school. The leaves have all changed colors but it was close to 80 outside today. So how hot is hot there?
Praying for ya,
Sarah and Travis
It is always so nice to hear from you all. I was sharing with Megan this morning how it feels like we are right there experiencing everything with you. I am surprised that the tail didn't come off of that lizard. Did Autumn get to go over to that one girl's house on Thursday? How did that go? Does it help to practice the language. I am so excited that you will also be in your new home before Christmas. You must be mastering the language so well that they believe you can just move on. ??LOL?? Well just wanted to let you know that the church and we are praying for you. Love you all. Take care and may the Grace of God be yours. Sharon
It's been a beautiful weekend here but the browns here don't compare your browns!! ha! I saw Autumn holding tha lizard and snickered to myself thinking what Sandy would of done if she would of just seen the thing! ha! I know you all will continue to do good with the language and even though people are snickering they are respecting you for trying to learn their language! Keep going and keep in touch!
that's an awesome pic of me with that cute lizard!! o but it stared at me like it was going kill me when it got a chance! :D
Hopefully life will feel like a breeze here. STill no dishwasher, but you don't have to boil the water!
Can't wait to see you.
Heather
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