people we have met.) Language learning is full of ups and downs. One week it feels like you are learning so much, another week it feels like nothing will stay in your head. Some days the words come to your lips easily. Other days you stumble over the simplest phrases. Even in the same day, you can begin confidently, understanding a great deal only to have your positive feeling dashed by the inability to understand a new person you meet. It feels like for every two steps forward you take a step back. It is a long hard road, but every so often you get glimpses of why it is worth it.
This past Tuesday was an encouraging language day. We talked with lots of people that day. We sat down with neighbors and had extended conversations. It felt great. Then we made our way back to the house. It was around sunset, which is a time when our porch is cooler than the inside of our house, so we were playing with Grace on the steps, practicing walking and climbing. Then a neighbor we haven’t met before walked over and started talking to me (Tom) and very soon another neighbor had joined the conversation. These two neighbors have a very limited grasp of English, (possibly less than my grasp of their language) but it lead to an enjoyable conversation. They would struggle to use their English and I in turn would struggle with their language, and in so doing we talked about many things. There was laughter and learning going on, and the three of us were patient with each other as each tried to express himself in new ways.
When you have conversations like this it becomes clear that it is not only in language that we are different, but also in culture and worldview. At one point one of the men asked me (in the local language),
“What do you want to do after yo
ur two years here?” I replied that I didn’t know yet. Neither he nor the other man was content with this answer, so they asked again,“You don’t understand,” they said. “Maybe it won’t happen, but what do you want to do after two years? So I tried a different track.
I said, “Whatever God wants me to do, I will do.” They were still unsatisfied.
“So what will you do?” they asked.
“I will pray and ask God where he wants me to go next. Maybe we will stay here, maybe we will go to America, maybe even China, but I want to go where God says to go.” This really confused them.
“No, no,” they said. “You go where you want, and then if it is God’s will he will bless it. So where do you want to go?”
The conversation continued like this for almost thirty minutes back and forth. They were convinced I didn’t understand. But I explained again and again that I understood them quite well. At some point they finally accepted my answer, and after some more talk we each went our own way.
I wish I could say every day was this encouraging. The next day I felt like a fool when I couldn’t manage a simple greeting. Ups and downs…two steps forward, one step back.
PRAYERS ANSWERED
Grace is over her cold mostly (still a bit of a runny nose) and is sleeping better. The vote on Sunday happened smoothly and peacefully and passed easily. We will have to wait and see what the repercussions are in terms of government, tolerance and rights. The fighting in Chad has ended for now, but the problems remain. Thank you for all your prayers. We definitely see its fruit in our lives.
PRAYERS REQUESTED
Please keep praying for our understanding of the language and good relationships with neighbors. Pray that we would be able to keep studying diligently and practicing a lot. We are getting excited and thinking about our new teammates who will be joining us in late July. There are many things to do to get ready for their arrival including finding homes and/or apartments for them to live in. Pray that God would lead us to just the right spots—well built houses with good neighbors where they can learn language and make many friends. We have started to slowly wean Grace, pray as we decide how to go about the process
