April, 2010 Prayer Letter

Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;

And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us,

and hath given himself for us

an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour….

See then that ye walk circumspectly,

not as fools, but as wise,

Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

Eph 5:1-2, 15-16

“People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa…. I never made a sacrifice. We ought not to talk of ‘sacrifice’ when we remember the great sacrifice which He made who left His Father’s throne on high to give Himself for us.” (David Livingstone, speech at Cambridge University, December 4, 1857) We’d have to echo Mr. Livingstone’s thoughts! Being even just a tiny part of what God is doing in West Africa and having the privilege of loving Him and loving others through His ministry in Niger hardly seems like a sacrifice. Saying goodbye to friends and family is always sad, but each hug is full of His hope for the future and the knowledge that this is how God has called our family to “walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us… to redeem the time…” Thus, although we are under-supported (We are at about 79%, leaving us $1,500/month short of our total support need), we are eagerly anticipating and preparing for our return to Niamey this summer.

There are, however, a few remaining hurdles as we approach our desired late July departure date.

1. We need an additional $5-6000 to purchase our airline tickets. We hope to make those reservations by the end of the month of May, and are hoping to leave by the end of July. This will give us about 2 weeks before Brendan and Rebekah start school. If you would like to contribute to our passage fund, please mark the gift designated to our “Passage” subaccount.

2. There are several steps we need to take to secure the permission of both our sending church and our mission board to return to the field with less than the recommended amount of support, including a detailed plan and budget. If you are one of those persons to whom the Lord has been speaking about possibly supporting this work, please let us know as soon as possible to help with that budgetary process.

3. The 4-bedroom apartment we had hoped to rent upon our return to Niamey is no longer available for long-term leasing. Please pray that God opens up the doors for both immediate short-term housing as we return and also affordable long-term housing, which will have to be procured after our arrival.

We’ve recently been asking ourselves the question, “What are we doing right now that requires faith?” remembering that biblical faith is “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not yet seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) Another way to think about this type of trust: Are we confiding our lives to “…Him so completely that we are unafraid to put ourselves in situations where we will be in trouble if He doesn’t come through?” (Francis Chan, Crazy Love, p. 124)

God’s Word promises us that "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river…” (Jeremiah 17:7-8) This verse reminds us of a tree we’d occasionally drive past as we headed out to the plateau west of town for picnics and campfires. Can you see the Niger River behind and below in the background? We’ve driven past this tree several times a year now for the past 10 years and it is obvious that its roots spread far and deep, and that those roots have access to water, absolutely critical for life and growth when your home is the desert. During dry season, it looks like a skeleton; but each June, after the first few early rains, the tree is covered with buds and the promise of new life in those developing leaves. God’s creation preaches a powerful message to us each time we look at this photo or see that tree.

God has also used watching Rebekah, “fly,” this year as a cheerleader to repeatedly illustrate that sometimes when He asks us to trust Him, He is encouraging us to trust Him to work in the hearts of others - His people - as He uses them to both throw and catch us. How would God have you participate in this step of faith with us?

All because of Jesus,

Tim, Richelle,

Brendan, Rebekah Joy, Nadia, Anna, Victoria, Jonathan, Elsie Mae and Mary Michelle Wright

Wordless Wednesday - She plays IN the toy box... literally!

"Gossip" ...or perhaps ~

~ you called the game "Telephone?"

...You know, the one where you whispered something into your neighbor's ear... all the way around the circle... and when it got back to around to you, the last person repeated aloud what they had heard? How those words could metamorphisis!

That's what I thought of the other day...

One day last week, Elsie Mae walked back over to the school with me to pick up the kids (and buy a Pepsi from the vending machines... one of the hidden advantages of living next door to the school, when you need a quick gulp of caffeine). On our way into the building, someone was walking out and didn't see my little girl... and as they pushed the big, heavy metal door open, it ran right over her big toe. Many tears, a good amount of blood, an ice pack, ibuprofen and one very sore foot later, she was doing much better, but I was a little concerned that maybe her toe was broken due to the amount of swelling.

When it was time for her to go to school the next morning, there was no way we were getting a shoe on her foot, so I took her to school with socks and explained to her teachers what had happened. And this is where the story gets a little funny.

By the time this story reached the office, the story was that Elsie Mae wasn't wearing shoes because we wanted to toughen her feet up before we returned to Niger Now, I have been walking 1.5-2 miles most days barefoot because that prevents shin splints, keeps the torn calf muscle I've been trying to rehabilitate from aching AND has the added benefit of toughening up my wimpy feet quite accustomed to comfy winter boots... so I'm pretty sure I know how and why someone might think that, however that was never discussed or mentioned when I dropped her off at school.

*giggle* *giggle*

And you should have heard Tim laugh when I got home and told him...

I love it when God puts something absolutely hilarious in our days for no reason other than to make us laugh! Oh yes, by the way... just over a week later, her toe, according to her, is "awwlllll bedder."

True or False?

I was recently challenged to take this passage of Scripture and substitute my name in for the word "charity" or "love" (depending on which version of the Bible used - I left a blank for the purposes of this post). Quite convicting... because with Christ, all things are possible and I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me... However, I most often try and follow Christ in my own power and strength... If you substitute your name in for each blank, do you feel as convicted as I?

_________________ suffereth long, and is kind; _________________ envieth not; _________________ vaunteth not itself,_________________ is not puffed up,

_________________ doth not behave itself unseemly, _________________ seeketh not her own, _________________ is not easily provoked, _________________ thinketh no evil;

_________________ rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;

_________________ beareth all things, _________________ believeth all things, _________________ hopeth all things, _________________ endureth all things....

...When _________________ was a child, she spake as a child, she understood as a child, she thought as a child: but when _________________ became a (wo)man, she put away childish things... (from 1 Corinthians 13).

-------------------------------------

Original photo at "As for me and my house."

Multitude Monday ~ 1000 Gifts

#38 New friends, a little farther along the road, who are willing to give of themselves and their time to share some of the wisdom God has given as they've parented their family.

#39 cafe français

#40 clean bathrooms

#41 freshly folded laundry

#42 many verses memorized and meditated upon because of AWANA.

#43 baby goats what we hope to see soon.

#44 late night walks, just the two of us.

#45 fun and beautiful music performed by the school bands and choirs.

#46 ranch blts, french fries and soda shared with a still shakey girl after her guild audition.

#47 listening to her talk over our quick lunch without competition and about whatever she wanted - the topic was why her eyes are so green when both of her parents' eyes are blue.

#48 for how simple genetic science has captured her imagination.

#49 field trips to the farm.

#50 flower basket because I was the one with the most daughters.

#51 hard moments when Scripture confronts the reality of a sinful heart.

#52 an evening and late night full of family, friends, fun and laughter... so much laughter.

#53 river monsters while cuddling with the daughters.

#54 the delight of anticpating a visit with my incredible friend... in just a few more weeks.

#55 a working washing machine

#56 the one who called to get the men here to fix the washing machine so that it is working again.

#57 pay day.

Her Story ~

Victoria's Testimony

"When I was saved, it was in 2007. I realized I needed to clean my heart, but I couldn't. I tried to do the right thing, but I couldn't always."

"I was doing home school and thinking about our letter 'A' sentence: 'As in Adam all will die but in Christ, eternal life is nigh.' I stopped and asked Mama if we could pray. I needed Jesus to come in and clean up my heart 'cause I wasn't doing it good myself. Now Jesus lives in heaven and ind my heart. Sometimes I still sin, but every time I try to stop and ask Jesus to forgive me. He makes me not want to sin."

The Perfect Field Trip for a 3 Year Old PreSchooler

And if you had ANY doubts... just look at that smile!

Teach them Diligently

Sure, it takes longer...

... A WHOLE LOT longer...

...but lots of laughs are guaranteed

when you let your toddler be the one to load and unload the dryer.

+

Think of all she's learning

&

all you'll learn, too!

Almost Wordless Wednesday - Such a Blessing!

Just so you know, since I don't have a photo... he did let her back up out of the water! *grin* Seriously, though, we are so thankful for the encouragement it is when you can see the Holy Spirit's work in one of your children.

Restrained

You guess which one it is...

Multitude Monday ~ 1000 Gifts

#21 the joy on his face as he realizes he's "unlocked the code" and all those scribbles on the page really do mean something and he can figure it out all by himself... with patience!

#22 three little bodies all snuggled together for an afternoon nap.

#23 rediscovering the amazing magnificence of "Les Miserables" all over again through the eyes and ears of my daughter. (Original photos found here.)

#24 blonde pigtails.

#25 renting a suit for his first formal banquet.

#26 reading a blog post about something that I really wanted to attend but didn't... because he wanted us around for his first formal banquet.

#27 surprise! a bright pink gift bag filled with goodies left hanging on Elsie Mae's coat hook at school.

#28 sweet little girl voice repeating and reapeating the words "around the corner, around the world, a soul needs Jesus, someone who's never heard..."

#29 listening to that same, sweet little voice share her testimony standing in the baptismal waters... after struggling long and hard with the question: "Do I do what I want or do I choose to obey?"

#30 the yellow splashes of dandylions everywhere.

#31 pizza and milkshakes with grandparents on a Sunday night.

#32 that even if the sun could no longer shine, we'd still have light because He spoke the light into existence before He created the sun and the stars... and He is the Light of the world.

#33 kids collecting sticks to burn... to roast marshmellows and make smores on a Friday night.

#34 studying His holiness.

#35 great merciful kindness toward me.

#36 His forever enduring truth.

#37 that both merciful kindness and enduring truth exist in the One and Only.

Mondays and everyday, gratitude should be my practice...

...counting to 1000 and beyond.