Hey everyone!
We’re back in Conakry to get the container. This time we will be bringing it home! We’re tired of waiting, so we met with some people today and worked out the details on the final price. The people were friendly and helpful. We’re glad that it’s going to be over with. We kept telling the kids all the great things we have in the container, so the wait is hard on everyone. (It makes them pray harder knowing a lot of the stuff is for them!) Praise God for this answered prayer!
Carol had a bout with malaria these past couple of weeks. Her symptoms were so low (probably due to the doxycyclin) that we did not think she had malaria. The body aches and fatigue didn’t go away for almost a week though, so we tested her and it came back positive. She took a three-day treatment and on the third day was back at school again. She’s well rested and fully recovered now. I got to teach all 35 kids for a couple of days and poor Carol, who was already sick enough, had to eat my cooking. We made it through though and we’ll be more prepared next time if she has similar symptoms.
TMICA had a guest stop by from the US Embassy last weekend. He came with a large entourage and toured the school. Most of Sambouya also came out and they put on a traditional Malinke dance and song that was quite entertaining. He couldn’t stay long, but we had a nice visit with him. We’re looking forward to whoever comes next in our stream of visitors this year.
Carol and I are starting to make some friends in Sambouya and our Malinka is starting to improve. It’s very exciting to start understanding what people are saying to us! My favorite reaction though, is when I speak Malinka to someone in the city and they just become dumbfounded. Tobabos (white people) are supposed to speak French, so they often call their friends over just to show us off. We would love continued prayer, as would our fellow missionaries, for language development. We really enjoy spending time in the village, but sometimes find it hard to make time after a long and busy day. It’s difficult to see funerals in the villages, know that these people are lost and dying and not be able to really share with them.
Thanksgiving was very good here. Fried chicken again this year, mashed potatoes, salad, curry and a few other things too. We ate, we enjoyed and we played Rummikub. Plus, I won twice which meant I didn’t have to do the dishes! We got to speak to our families briefly, but not long enough. For those we didn’t get a chance to talk to; we love you and miss you and remember you in our prayers often. We hope you all had a wonderful and thankful holiday!
This will also probably be the last emails we get to send until after the new year, we wish everyone a very merry Christmas and a great start to the new year! We truly do not miss the gifts, traditions or food (maybe the food just a little bit) this time of year. We really just miss each of you. So come visit Guinea for Christmas and make our holidays great! Just kidding. Though you are welcome to visit anytime. The King was born, and we work on the task to hasten His return. Thank you for supporting and helping us to finish the work.
Lots of love from Guinea,
Shannon and Carol
Friday, November 30, 2007
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
From an Internet Cafe in Conakry
Hello everyone,
Just a quick update. I'm actually writing this in an internet cafe in Conakry. We (me and all the men) are here to pick up the container which is finally coming out! Nothing is easy in Guinea though. They're telling us the taxes and fees amount to about $10,000, about twice what we expected to pay (besides the fact that we're a NGO and technically tax exempt). We're working on all the details today and hopefully the container will come out tonight or tomorrow morning at a more reasonable rate.
We got some gas tanks from Conakry so we're running the refrigerator half days now. It's good to have cold water again. We will not travel to Conakry to pick up more gas tanks though, so please continue to pray that Faranah will get some.
Another student went home this past week. Nearly every student from the Labe region has left now. The only reason we can see is that the school is Christian. A couple of moms came and visited thinking of taking their students back home but decided to let them stay in the end. The families of these students must be feeling a lot of pressure from the Muslim communities or leaders. We rarely consider what the parents and families of our students must face when they send their children to us. Please pray for the families of our students who seem to be facing more persecution than even we are!
Dry season is here. 2 weeks without rain now. The grass is slowly turning brown and the dust is starting to pick up. The nights are still cool though, so we have nothing to complain about!
The governor of the Faranah region came to visit the school this past week. There are only 7 regions of Guinea so only 8 governors if you include the one from the capital. He was very friendly and even knew one of our students who is the son of an official from the ministry of finance. We also had a film crew stop by who are doing a documentary on the education system of Guinea. I think we're officially famous now!
I'm not sure when our next e-mail will come. The bill we got for our usage last month was outrageous, so we're not using it again until we figure out why it was so high.
No other news here. We're all healthy and well and thinking of you all often.
God bless you all for your thoughts and prayers!
Love,
Shannon and Carol
Everyone is healthy and doing well.
Just a quick update. I'm actually writing this in an internet cafe in Conakry. We (me and all the men) are here to pick up the container which is finally coming out! Nothing is easy in Guinea though. They're telling us the taxes and fees amount to about $10,000, about twice what we expected to pay (besides the fact that we're a NGO and technically tax exempt). We're working on all the details today and hopefully the container will come out tonight or tomorrow morning at a more reasonable rate.
We got some gas tanks from Conakry so we're running the refrigerator half days now. It's good to have cold water again. We will not travel to Conakry to pick up more gas tanks though, so please continue to pray that Faranah will get some.
Another student went home this past week. Nearly every student from the Labe region has left now. The only reason we can see is that the school is Christian. A couple of moms came and visited thinking of taking their students back home but decided to let them stay in the end. The families of these students must be feeling a lot of pressure from the Muslim communities or leaders. We rarely consider what the parents and families of our students must face when they send their children to us. Please pray for the families of our students who seem to be facing more persecution than even we are!
Dry season is here. 2 weeks without rain now. The grass is slowly turning brown and the dust is starting to pick up. The nights are still cool though, so we have nothing to complain about!
The governor of the Faranah region came to visit the school this past week. There are only 7 regions of Guinea so only 8 governors if you include the one from the capital. He was very friendly and even knew one of our students who is the son of an official from the ministry of finance. We also had a film crew stop by who are doing a documentary on the education system of Guinea. I think we're officially famous now!
I'm not sure when our next e-mail will come. The bill we got for our usage last month was outrageous, so we're not using it again until we figure out why it was so high.
No other news here. We're all healthy and well and thinking of you all often.
God bless you all for your thoughts and prayers!
Love,
Shannon and Carol
Everyone is healthy and doing well.
Friday, November 02, 2007
Moving Into the New House
Hey family and friends,
The satellite is being quirky so hopefully the e-mails will go out today...
We have gotten all moved into our house! We've actually been sleeping there for an entire week now. It's somewhat difficult to take someone else's house you've been in before and turn it into your own, but I think we've made enough changes to make it really 'ours.' The best part of the whole thing is that we finally got to unpack! There were many things that we had completely forgotten about that we were surprised to find. The only downside to the move is that we still have no gas in Faranah so we're unable to cook in our home. We've also had to turn off the refrigerator to save the gas for cooking. We have enough gas to cook for a few more weeks, but we're hoping that Faranah will get some new tanks soon. I'll try to send some pictures of the place when we go to get the container...
Speaking of the container, it's here! (sort of) The container is at the port in Conakry, but until the paper work all goes through we can't go get it. It's actually been there for a couple of weeks so there's really no telling when we'll get the call. We're praying that the call will come sooner rather than later. When it does arrive all of the men here will be going to help with the process for a few days. We'll all need prayer for strength, the men for moving all of the things in the container and the women for running the school for a few days on their own.
Dry season is on our doorstep so we're enjoying the greenness of everything and any last drops of rain that God grants us. Everyone's health has been good. Mira got a little run down this past week and took 2 days off of teaching, which the two guys graciously took over. She is back in action and refreshed from her rest though. Fatigue is always a concern here, but especially so after the cooling rains leave us and the heat intensifies. Prayer over this is always appreciated.
After a snail pace start to our village ministry this year Carol and I have rededicated ourselves to meeting with villagers and studying the language. Carol claims she's not good at languages and if that's true then I'm just plain terrible. Please pray that God will use our weaknesses for His strength and glory. We really do love these people and hate to see them bowing down to an unlistening, uncaring god. Please pray for fertile hearts to plant the seeds in.
You're in our thoughts and prayers.
Love,
Shannon and Carol
The satellite is being quirky so hopefully the e-mails will go out today...
We have gotten all moved into our house! We've actually been sleeping there for an entire week now. It's somewhat difficult to take someone else's house you've been in before and turn it into your own, but I think we've made enough changes to make it really 'ours.' The best part of the whole thing is that we finally got to unpack! There were many things that we had completely forgotten about that we were surprised to find. The only downside to the move is that we still have no gas in Faranah so we're unable to cook in our home. We've also had to turn off the refrigerator to save the gas for cooking. We have enough gas to cook for a few more weeks, but we're hoping that Faranah will get some new tanks soon. I'll try to send some pictures of the place when we go to get the container...
Speaking of the container, it's here! (sort of) The container is at the port in Conakry, but until the paper work all goes through we can't go get it. It's actually been there for a couple of weeks so there's really no telling when we'll get the call. We're praying that the call will come sooner rather than later. When it does arrive all of the men here will be going to help with the process for a few days. We'll all need prayer for strength, the men for moving all of the things in the container and the women for running the school for a few days on their own.
Dry season is on our doorstep so we're enjoying the greenness of everything and any last drops of rain that God grants us. Everyone's health has been good. Mira got a little run down this past week and took 2 days off of teaching, which the two guys graciously took over. She is back in action and refreshed from her rest though. Fatigue is always a concern here, but especially so after the cooling rains leave us and the heat intensifies. Prayer over this is always appreciated.
After a snail pace start to our village ministry this year Carol and I have rededicated ourselves to meeting with villagers and studying the language. Carol claims she's not good at languages and if that's true then I'm just plain terrible. Please pray that God will use our weaknesses for His strength and glory. We really do love these people and hate to see them bowing down to an unlistening, uncaring god. Please pray for fertile hearts to plant the seeds in.
You're in our thoughts and prayers.
Love,
Shannon and Carol
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