Soccer

The latest family news here is that Carrie joined her school's girl's soccer team. She has been working very hard learning her skills and gaining endurance.

This Saturday Carrie's team had a game, so we enjoyed watching her play. She played back near her team's goal and did a good job of keeping the ball moving the other direction. If you look closely at the picture, you will notice that she is actually floating above the ground. Wow! I guess she enjoys soccer more than we though she did!

Thomas went along to help cheer for Carrie.

Building in progress

Life in the village has been tense lately. Down stream a cycle of revenge killing and ambushes is ongoing. The folks from our village have to pass through danger zones on their way to town. We would appreciate your prayers for their safety.

This is a friend of mine named Rigo. He is a good carpenter. On the day I took his picture he was involved in helping a neighbor build his house. Lately he has been involved in building something even better.

In the village, an exciting thing is happening. A group of men have joined together in leading the believers in a weekly Bible study. Rigo is one of them. They meet with our partners, Vicky and Robbie, who help them go over the coming lesson, then they practice on their own, and present the lesson on Sunday.

As great as that news is there is even better news. This group of men decided a few weeks ago that a village downstream needs the Gospel. Recently they gained permission from that village’s officials and have started teaching there too. We are thankful for Rigo and his companions and for the sacrifices they are making. It is a privilege for us to see the Scriptures we have translated being put to good use. It encourages us to press on.

Trip North #3

Once I had my boots on, I was ready to go back to our village in the mountains. Pictured with me is Steve, our current pilot. We had a good visit as we headed north.

The cloud cover kept us at a high altitude until we were over the airstrip. Steve took a few loops around the pattern to get us low enough to make our approach. We don’t usually come so high, so I was busy taking pictures of the village.

The people were glad to see me and made me feel welcome. It wasn’t too long before I was asked to repair a machete and fix a radio. They had a small harvest last year due to bad weather during harvest season; yet, in spite of that, several people have come by to give me rice to eat while I’m here.

I have been getting in lots of time with my translation helper. In this picture he is going over corrections I had for a chapter in Genesis. Last night I went to a meeting in which several men were preparing to teach this Sunday’s lesson. It was gratifying to see these guys growing spiritually and to see them using some of the Bible portions I have already translated. It sounds like they will be starting an outreach to a village downstream in the near future. That is great news!