Our journeys have taken us far and wide.  During the past couple weeks, we have been in Tennessee and Georgia.  We shared about our ministry at two churches in Tennessee.  The people there were so friendly.

First, we visited Tazewell.  It is a charming small town near the Cumberland Gap.  The leader of the women’s missionary group put us up in her guest cabin nearby.  Every day we were greeted by gorgeous mountain views.  We shared about our ministry at the church on Sunday morning, and I preached.  On Sunday evening, the church had its vacation Bible school commencement which we attended.  On Monday, a couple from the church took us out on Lake Norris in their pontoon boat.  It was a lot of fun.  On Monday evening, we shared with the women’s missionary group.

Next, we moved on to the Knoxville area.  It is a beautiful part of the country.  One day, a friend who was hosting us took us into the Smoky Mountains and Gatlinburg.  I found out that Smoky Mountain National Park is the most visited national park in the U.S.  On Sunday morning, we spoke to the junior high, high school, and college students about our ministry.  In the evening, we shared about our ministry with the whole church, and I preached.

All too soon, it was time to move on to the next stop on our journey.  We drove three hours south to Woodstock, Georgia.  We stayed with some dear friends there and had a meeting with a pastor.  We have also had the chance to visit with several friends in the area.  On Sunday, we will be sharing in a Sunday school class at a church here.  Then, we will be heading to north Georgia to visit some friends for a day, and next, it is on to Columbus, Ohio, to share at one final church before heading back to our home in northwest Ohio.

While traveling and sharing can take a lot of energy, it so neat to see the things that God does along the way.  We get to meet so many wonderful people.  We see so many beautiful sights.  We renew old friendships and strike up new ones.  God has truly blessed us every time we have ventured out to champion the needs of the Fulbe people, in particular their need for the Gospel.  We praise the Lord for all he has done.

Thank you so much for your prayers.  By God’s grace, we arrived safely at Detroit Airport yesterday at about 2:30 p.m.  Our arrival was right on time.  All our luggage also arrived and nothing was stolen along the way.   Our travel time included about 15 hours in the air and another six in airports.

Our home church has already blessed us by finding a place for us to live and a vehicle for us to drive temporarily.  Today, I was able to renew my drivers license, but Billie is going to have to take all her driving exams again, including both written and driving portions, since her license expired over six months ago.

In the next week or so, we will be transitioning into our new schedule here in Northwest Ohio.  Please continue to pray especially that God would open up opportunities for us to share about our ministry at churches in the coming months.

December 26 was David’s 30th birthday. We planned to get together with our colleagues at 8 p.m. for cake, cookies, prayer, and worship. At 7:30, after the buffet was set and the cookies were just coming out of the oven, a co-worker called to cancel. They had already baked a birthday cake for David when they remembered it was the first night of a country-wide 8 p.m. curfew. The wife quickly brought the cake to us, returning to her own home minutes before eight o’clock.

Just a few minutes after 8, gunfire could be heard all around our home. David quickly ran in from the office, bringing the computer with him. We turned on our two way radios so we could be in contact with our colleagues, turned off all our solar lights so we wouldn’t draw unnecessary attention to our home, locked all the outside doors and retreated to our bedroom on the back side of the house, the furthest room from the street. We prayed that a stray bullet wouldn’t hit us, our car, or our solar panels.

As we waited for the gunfire to stop, we watched a recently borrowed movie. About half way through, an extremely loud bang came from the office building that sits just beside our bedroom. “What was that?” I asked. David paused the movie, turned, with wide eyes and said, “I don’t know, and I’m not going to look.”

At about 11 p.m. the shooting stopped and David was able to go to the office to call his mom for a birthday chat. He opened the office door and saw that a stray bullet had come through the tin roof and landed beside his office chair.

It was later reported that soldiers were firing into the air to both to honor the late president, and to celebrate the fact that the new president is a military man.

We were thankful there was no serious damage to anyone or anything, and we were able to reschedule David’s party for the next day.

The year 2008 marks the 50th anniversary of Guinea’s independence from France.  In honor of the occasion, our colleague, Eugene, wrote the following that I wish to share:

“We prefer liberty in poverty to slavery in riches.” On these words the Republic of Guinea fought for and gained independence from colonial rule. During the next five decades true liberty has proven elusive as political, socioeconomic, and religious (spiritual) poverty gnawed at the very fabric of individual and national life.  (more…)

Time and again, God has proven himself faithful to answer prayer. With that record, you would think our first instinct in every situation would be to lift it to the Lord in prayer. Unfortunately, this is not always the case.

Over a month ago, our neighborhood was once again plunged into darkness when thieves stole several important power lines (for the second time in six months). The electric company is not quick to make repairs here, and we knew better than to expect electricity any time soon. In the meantime, we made do with cold showers (no hot water heaters) and limited solar and battery power to charge our computers.

Then, last Thursday, I sent out an update to our prayer partners. In it, I asked for prayer that the power would be restored in our neighborhood. The very next day the repair work began! By Monday night, we had city power once again.

Don’t ever doubt the power of prayer. God listens, and he answers. Why don’t you take a moment and lift up your problems to the Lord right now?

According to the latest information we have received, the government has succeeded in pacifying the rebellious soldiers, and life in the capital is gradually returning to normal.  Gas stations and shops are reopening.  People are resuming their daily routines.  Please continue to pray for peace in Guinea.

Imagine if you did not have God’s Word, the Bible in your language. Imagine if all you had to rely upon for your spiritual nourishment was a few scattered Scripture portions and Bibles in other languages you could not read very well. Thanks to the hard work and dedication of the Pular Bible translation team and the blessing and favor of the Lord, the Pular translation of the New Testament has finally been completed and published. Distribution and sale in Guinea has begun.

On March 7, we had the privilege of attending the dedication ceremony of the Pular New Testament. With the publication of the New Testament in Pular, the Fulbe people now have access to God’s very Word in the language that is closest to their heart. It was a day of celebration for Fulbe believers and missionaries alike.

The work is far from complete, however. Work continues on the translation of the Old Testament. Work is also ongoing converting the New Testament from the Latin alphabet to the Arabic alphabet (Pular can be written with either Latin or Arabic letters) for publication. Many Fulbe only read the Arabic letters. Please be in prayer for these important projects.

Georgia arrived in Guinea very early Tuesday morning, February 26. At the airport we were able to see her deboard the plane and walk across the tarmac to the airport terminal. She was one of the first people off the plane so we expected her to get through customs and pick up her luggage quickly. She had very detailed airport instructions and knew exactly what to expect once inside. We went around to the exit ramp to wait for her. Billie held her welcome sign and we waited… and we waited some more.

As time passed we knew something must have come up. Was someone hassling her for a bribe? Was she stuck at the customs table? Had her luggage not shown up? Nearly the last person out of the terminal, we spotted her pulling only her carry-on bag behind her. Both of her checked pieces of luggage did not arrive.

In fact, her luggage did not show up for another four days. She borrowed Billie’s clothing and made due with what she had in her carry-on pieces. Georgia’s first week in Guinea turned her into a real Pioneer!

Finally, the morning we were to leave Conakry for Labe, she and David went to the airport at 3 am to look for it one last time. The airport security officer wouldn’t let David go in with Georgia, so she had to brave the French speakers on her own. Getting past locked doors, money demanding customs agents and into the luggage area were the first hurdles. Once inside she spotted her bags and had to swipe them away from a would be thief before the lady could take off with them.

Back past the money demanding customs agents and the aggressive porters, she triumphantly came pulling her bags behind her. Then her fanny pack burst open and her passport and glasses went flying. She was bale to retrieve her passport, but she lost her reading glasses. In fact, she lost two of her three pairs of reading glasses in Conakry within 6 hours! What an eventful first week on the mission field!

We’re so glad that Georgia’s bags arrived with all contents in tact and not a day too late. She’s doing really well adjusting to life and ministry in Guinea and is taking off with her French. She has already set up her home, been to the market, planned a vegetable garden, planted flowers around the house and met many other missionaries in Guinea.

Pray for Georgia as she lives and serves with us her first term.

We sat tensely listening for news this week as Guinea seemed perched on the brink of disaster. There were signs of unrest among the population including protests in various cities. Our own city, Labe, experienced a riot of its own as mobs of unruly students went on a rock-throwing rampage.

Rumors were flying fast and furious and no one seemed to know exactly what would happen. We stockpiled food and fuel in our home, mapped out evacuation routes, and prepared for the worst.

Praise God, the worst never came. Instead, after numerous meetings with government, social, and religious leaders, the trade unions decided to call off the strike planned for yesterday. Instead, the nation’s leaders are going to seek a solution through peaceful negotiations. We can all breathe easy, at least for now.

Thank you so much for your prayers this past week. We were overwhelmed by the amount of prayer and encouragement we received! Many political and social problems still exist in Guinea and we ask you to continue praying for the people here. Even more than they need peace in their country, they need the peace of God in their hearts that can only come through faith in Jesus Christ.