Routine

We have been in West Africa for nearly 3 months now. And we are finally getting some sort of routine within our weekly activities. Of course that means anything can throw off our routine from day to day! 

We thought we could take a minute and let you in on a glimpse of what our week is like.

Mondays are sort of relaxing, get our week started days.  We help each other with house chores and watching kids. Denise attends an evening Bible study with a group of ladies (and Josh tags along) while Roy and Abby have all sorts of fun at home. 

Tuesday morning Denise and Abby go to a women's exercise group and grab groceries for the week. Our house helper comes each Tuesday-Friday to help clean house and watch the kids. Roy spends the morning preparing to teach a Bible study in French, and practices Fulfulde. Our language teacher comes on Tues, Thurs, and Fri afternoons. And on Tuesday evening Roy has begun a men's study with mostly Muslim believers. The men are discussing the Bible as Roy leads them in searching for truth. Tuesday is a long day as Roy is often sharing with this group until 11pm. 

Wednesday is another lighter day. Roy goes out in the morning to do his needs in town, whether it be visiting friends, shopping in the market, or recovering from a late night of little sleep. 

Thursdays are similar to Tuesdays. Roy visits with friends in the neighborhood, our language teacher comes in the afternoon, and Roy shares a Bible story in French with our night guard, again until 11pm or later.

Abby likes to draw on the white board after our class. Wouldn't she make a great teacher? 😊

Fridays are a weekly time of prayer at our business office. We take time to pray with our teammates in the morning. In the afternoon we have our last language class for the week. 

On Saturdays we are often invited to a family get-together, a party, or Denise has found a fun garage sale to attend. We normally grab a meal out as a family on the weekend when it is convenient.  Sundays we attend church. Roy often goes in the mornings and every other week we attend an English service in the evenings.

a turtle we found at a festival

While watching kids, washing dishes and clothes, studying languages when we can be kid-free, and keeping our house manageable, we find our weeks pretty busy. But we do see opportunities before us to share God's truths with those around us, and we try to take advantage of each opportunity to share with others.

Thank you for praying for us!

Curiosity leads to a gospel presentation.

I knew I was going to have a busy day. We expected to have visitors the following day and therefore I was in the market buying things for their arrival.

As I was checking my list I saw a man in a shop who had something we were running low on, and I greeted him with the intent to purchase from him.

He asked who I was and was curious about me. He asked where I was from, where I live, and what I was doing here. I told him I have come in peace to share about my faith in Jesus with others. I emphasized that I hope to talk about God in peace with others. Our relationship with God is important and I want others to understand how know God spiritually so we can be with God for eternity. He agreed this is an important subject to discuss.

I asked if he knew Jesus. He said that he knew of Jesus. He believes Jesus is a good prophet.  So I asked him if Jesus was just a prophet or is he more than a prophet?  It is my belief that he is more.  Then I asked him if he knew of the teachings of Jesus? He said no. I shared with him a verse from Jn 14:1-6. i asked him what this meant to him. I told him this means we need faith in Jesus to take the good road that approaches the throne of God. Only through Jesus can we approach God. 

We also talked about Jesus being equal with God. I know Jesus calls himself Son of God, but to the people of that day that meant being equal with God. The Jews wanted to kill Jesus for calling himself Son of God as this was blasphemy. 

I shared Jn 3:16. i asked him what this means to him? I said this tells us of God's love to us. if we have one sin in our life, we cannot approach God. We will die. But God sent us his only Son to give us life and allow us to have our sins forgiven and to have eternal life. I told him that I wanted him to know of Jesus who has forgiven my sins.  Because of my faith in Jesus I know I will be in heaven with God. The Word of God tells me this. 

i asked him if he would like a Bible to read about the teachings of Jesus. He said yes and told me what language he preferred. I found a shop in another market and bought a Bible. And he said he would like me to return and talk more about the teachings of Jesus. 

I have given him a Bible and began reading with him. I will not say yet that he is genuinely seeking, but he was curious and also listened to me present the Gospel, more than anyone else ever has, in my poor language ability. I plan to follow up with him weekly and tell stories from God's Word as long as he will let me.

Also our night guard has invited men to join our weekly Bible lessons that will start this week. Please pray for these men and for me as we discuss God's Word together.