In less than two weeks, we will be landing in Guinea, Africa.  Our time in the U.S. is drawing to a close, and it is time to return to work in Guinea.  We are so excited to be going back to the land where God has called us to serve.  At the same time, it is sad to think that we will be saying goodbye to our beloved family and friends here.  Please keep us in prayer in the coming days as we finish storing, shipping, and packing in preparation for our departure.  Pray for safety on June 20 in particular as we fly to Guinea with our twin daughters, Amelie and Annika on our laps.  It will be a long journey for such little ones.  We will be in the air for a total of about sixteen hours with another twelve or so spent in airports or traveling to or from airports.

The past few weeks have been a flurry of activity.  One praise is that we were able to get a fantastic price on our plane tickets.  Another, is that we were able to ship more items to Guinea.  We will be especially thankful for a solar fridge and freezer that we were able to ship over.  Here are some other things we took for shipment recently.

Another big praise is that we will not be traveling alone.  Billie’s great friend and college roommate, Lisa, will be accompanying us.  Here presence will be a great help as we attempt to navigate airports and endure long hours in the airplane with two little ones.  She will also have the opportunity to get an idea of what we do in Guinea as we settle back into life there.  She will be with us about two weeks.  Please keep her in prayer as well.  Here is a picture of her.

In January, we placed an order for $1800 worth of Arabic Script Pular New Testaments.  Other missionaries placed orders as well so that many could be printed at once.  Since then, the New Testaments have been printed in South Korea and are currently being shipped to Guinea.  These New Testaments will be a valuable tool to share the Gospel.  The Pular language can be written with two different writing systems.  We have had the New Testament in Pular written in Roman script since about 2007.  Now, the New Testament will be available in Arabic script as well.  There are many people who could not or would not read the Roman script who will be able to read the Arabic script.  Here are some pictures of God’s Word for the Fulbe people written so that they can read and understand it:

This past week our sending church held its annual missions conference.  On Sunday morning, we had a baby dedication for Amelie and Annika to commit to raise them in the teachings of Christ.

In the evening service, the church prayed over us and commissioned us for our second term of service in Guinea.

You can’t see us in the picture above, but we are kneeling in front of all the people gathered around us.  We would appreciate your prayers as well as we return to Guinea for another term.

Our latest newsletter is now available to read online.  Click the image below to access it.  The newsletter is password protected.  If you do not know the password and would like to read the newsletter, please click on the Contact page and request a password using the contact form.

For a PDF version of both front and back, click this link:

Prayer Card

Thank you for praying for Guinea today as Conde was sworn in as the first democratically elected president since the West African nation’s independence from France in 1958.  According to a France24.com press release, Conde has promised to reform the military, review mining contracts, and develop the nations infrastructure to bring running water and electricity to more homes.

Please pray for Conde and Guinean nationals during this time of transition.

New Era for Guinea

Pray for the people of Guinea today and tomorrow as leaders from the international community assemble in Conakry to witness Alpha Conde be sworn in as president. His presidency will end more than two and a half decades of military rule in the West African nation:

Guinea’s Alpha Conde to be sworn in on Tuesday

The Guinean Supreme Court on Thursday certified the victory of Alpha Conde as the new president of Guinea.  Following this declaration, the challenger, Cellou Dalein Diallo conceded defeat.  Both candidates appealed for calm.  It seems that peace is prevailing as there have not been further outbreaks of violence.  Pray that Conde will be a man of integrity who will be a servant to the people of Guinea.

Read more here:  Guinea’s Diallo concedes election defeat to rival Conde

The Guinean government has declared a state of emergency due to outbreaks of violence following the announcement of the results of the presidential runoff election.  According to reports, at least seven people have been killed.  The results to Guinea’s election were announced on Monday evening.  The electoral commission declared Alpha Conde to be the winner with about 52 percent of the vote.  The challenger, Cellou Dalein Diallo is contesting the election results to the Guinean Supreme Court, alleging election fraud in certain areas of Guinea.  Read more at the following link:

Guinea declares state of emergency after poll clashes – BBC News

The results to the presidential runoff election in Guinea, which was held on November 7, are due to be announced today at 6 p.m. Guinea time (1 p.m. Eastern time).  Please pray that peace would reign in Guinea whatever the outcome.  There are fears that ethnic violence could break out, because one candidate is from Guinea’s largest ethnic group and the other candidate is from the second largest ethnic group.  Pray that the results would be accepted by all and that the new leader would be a man of integrity.