)We live in a community that values children and being parents. The term of respect for a parent is to call them by the name of their first-born. So we are known as Mama Grace and Papa Grace, and will be no matter how many children we have while we are on the islands. Very few islanders know who Tom and Megan are, but maybe they have heard of Mama and Papa Grace. For some it is just easier to memorize one name for three people (especially when they are strange sounding English names like ours). For others they want to honor us and acknowledge us as parents, an important cultural milestone in someone’s life.
Beyond simply being parents, it changes our life here having a little baby. Grace is a wonderful icebreaker. With our limited language we may be hesitant to go and talk to someone, but Grace will wave and point and make the introduction for us. We may not know how to open a conversation on our own but we can always have Grace do “kwezi” (the respectful hand gesture done to superiors) and the relationship is started. Somehow having a baby makes us less strange and foreign. She is just like their one year olds- learning to stand and walk, fixating on a given s
yllable and babbling it happily, sometimes shy of strangers and other times curious about everything around her.Grace turned one yesterday. Islanders sometimes have big parties (that are really for the parents) for young children. They’ll have dancing and eating late into the night. We decided to go small and simple: cake, presents and friends. We are very proud of and thankful for our little one year old girl. She shapes our everyday. We look forward to the years to come, knowing that God will continue to bless her and provide for her.
PRAYERS ANSWERED
Grace turned one! We thank God for her. She liked the cake and all the attention. People were very generous and she has lots of new toys. Tom’s sermon at the French church went well. A large group prayer meeting the following night also went well. There are many exciting conversations and meetings going on amongst different people on the island. Pray that God would be glorified in all things.
PRAYERS REQUESTED
It was a hard week- some culture stress is setting in, plus Grace was waking up in the wee hours of the morning. Pray that we will have good attitudes even on the tough days and that we will get the rest we need. We are starting to delve into some of the harder parts of the language (noun classes, for those familiar with Bantu languages). Pray that we would have clarity of mind and good recall as we learn and practice language. As we get to know people better there are those interested in deepening their relationships with us. Pray that these relationships could develop for the right reasons and with good intentions.
