6 months

On January 1st it had been 6 months since we boarded a plane with our 6 month old and headed to Madagascar.

Sometimes I can’t believe it’s been that long ago and on other days I wonder how it could have only been that long ago. Does that make sense? I’ve been wanting to do a 6 month update for a while, but when I sit down to write it the thoughts don’t seem to line up. They all just rush together and I end up just sitting in awe of all He has done. While I am still very much in awe of His faithfulness, I figured it was time to put it on paper so to speak and share it with you.

6 months ago we truly left everything we knew. Thankfully, the One who had already given us “all that we knew” is the same One who led us here to new things to know. We have dived into a culture that has welcomed us with open arms. Sweet & friendly people who quite possibly don’t know how to be mean to someone even if they tried, have become our friends and some have become like family. Our language teachers have been wonderfully patient and encouraging. We have gone from saying simple greetings to now being able to keep up a dialogue with friends & strangers alike. Ryleigh has grown from barely sitting up on her own to cruising around on our furniture.

The Lord’s blessings have been abundant in the small & the big details. I feel as if I’m continually saying how much your prayers mean to us but at the same time I’m scared that I can never adequately express how much we appreciate them. The tracts we hand out, the conversations we have, the ministry opportunities that are presented, the Bibles that have been purchased, etc. etc. etc. – all are because of the Lord and His answering of your faithful prayers.

After living “on the road” for the 1st half of 2011, we have made a home here in Antsirabe. Now, in Feburary we will move to Tulear. We’d be lying if we said we weren’t the tiniest bit excited to think this may actually be our home for a good little while – perhaps the longest we’ve been in one place since we were married 4 ½ years ago! We ask that you still be praying for our language abilities. We have come a long way but there is still so far to go in being able to express the Gospel in an understandable way to the Mahafaly people, especially considering they will not be able to read it for themselves. Upon arriving in Tulear, we will begin studying the Mahafaly dialect of the Malagasy language that we have learned. We will also start working on memorizing story sets from the Bible.

Tulear is a big & exciting move – it will also mean changes in our day to day routine. Please be praying for us as we adjust to all of the newness – especially Ryleigh! Know we will keep you posted on what’s going on! Thank you!