Settling Into a Routine

Hello Everybody!

We hope and pray that all is well with you. It doesn't seem possible that we've already finished our 4th week of school, but the calendar doesn't lie. I guess that is one good thing about all the business; the time really does go by quickly.

Things have finally settled down since the teams left and we are all starting to find our routine. It seems likely though that it will soon be interrupted by the arrival of the container. In the last update I wrote that the container was still in New York and we were told it was scheduled to arrive on the 10th of October. Then on about the 5th we were told the ship was in Belgium and may not arrive until November. Finally, earlier this week, we heard that it was arriving on the 12th. If the container arrives intact before Christmas I think we'll all be relieved. It's something to pray about.

Pastor and his family have officially moved into their new house in Manya. So far they've gotten a very warm reception from their neighbors. Also, the kids enjoy having their own rooms now. That also means that we can move into their old house. It needs some fresh paint first so we'll probably do that this week and begin moving in next weekend. It will be nice to finally have our own space and be able to unpack all the luggage we brought. Plus we can spend more time with the people of Sambouya.

School has been going very well. The new students are starting to catch on and some of the behavior problems have died down as a result. Our students still need prayer though. Two of the students have returned home because of homesickness and another probably for religious reasons. His parents gave an outlandish excuse for taking him back home, but it's likely that they were pressured by other family or community members to not let him attend a Christian school. Many of the students that we accepted from that region of Guinea never even showed up. Though most areas of Guinea seem at least open to Christianity, some are still strongly opposed.

We also have a prayer request for gas. The gas tanks that we use for cooking and refrigeration are running low and for some reason Farannah does not have any this year. Refrigeration is not essential of course, and we can always just cook outside on an open fire if we have to, but we'd rather not.

Everyone is well and healthy at the moment. The rain is still falling nearly every day so the temperatures are staying cooler. When it stops, probably at the end of this month, the temperature rises and stays high. That's when we really need prayer for strength and energy, but if you start praying now we would really appreciate it!!!

That's the news from Guinea.

Love,
Shannon and Carol