September 22- ready for rain

Hello everyone!

Prayer Requests Up Front:
-School- continues to go apace, and we’re starting to get the hang of things, but Elijah is still having a hard time adjusting to online high-school. Will you pray for him, that he would find a rhythm and build habits to help him succeed? And please pray for Rebekah and I as we try to help him without robbing him of too much independence.
- Ministry- Please pray for the growing home-visit program, and for an upcoming meeting with a large group of government health officials to describe our goals to them for their approval.
- Travel- The whole fam is driving to Kenya this week for a meeting. While we’re there we’ll get caught up on some medical appointments. Please pray for safe roads, no car trouble, and a time of rest and encouragement.

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Here’s a montage of random life photos from this month. Descriptions on the photos.
As usual, Rebekah’s comments in italics.

Another beautiful lake evening

Some Zeke silliness

This kid keeps us laughing!

Rebekah was psyched to find some autumn decorations

Debra’s first ever game of Chubby Bunny

I was the champ with 6 mallows

Some friends with a boat invited us to go sailing!

Luke boards the vessel

Trying to touch the rolling waves

Bek has mastered from-scratch corn tortillas…

Tostadas!

An uneasy relationship

Zeke woke up early and had a chip picnic with the cat

Teaching our African friends to toast…

Home-grown black beans.

This month was filled with busy life and ministry.
We’ve spent some time at the lake cooling off as we wait for the rain. It should have arrived by now- we anticipate in the next week or so, and then it’ll rain frequently until April-May when it will stop for 5ish months. We’re ready for the rains to come back, cool things off, beat down the dust, and bring on mango season!

This month we said by to our friend Helena as she and her family moved to Dar es Salaam. It was a hard goodbye, but we’re praying the very best for them! (Helena was my first Tanzanian friend. Motherhood and loving the Lord is truly all we have in common, but it never ceases to amaze me how those two things are plenty to create a friendship. She was gracious and patient with us and humbly cleaned up after us as we struggled to learn life here in the sharp learning curve we encountered. I’m convinced our house would have been a giant heap of sand if it hadn’t been for her help. It was a hard departure, but we trust the Lord is leading them to Dar, and will provide for them there as they begin a new life in an entirely different culture and surrounding than they’ve ever known or experienced.)

Dropping H off at the train station

H and Z checking the fridge for a snack

A beautiful soul!

Working the garden together

You don’t know there are ants in your wall ‘til they SWARM.

It was a moving day from Hell as they emerged from he wall into a storm of bug-killer

Weevils in the popcorn.

Weevils are one of our nemesis here.

Ministry continues- the language is also progressing, but slowly.
I(Josh) am out 5ish times a week doing evangelism, home-visits and Bible studies. It’s a wonderful opportunity to sit and talk with people and a great encouragement. One of the great things about Africa is openness to spiritual topics. You can walk up to almost anyone and strike up a spiritual conversation, and even if you come from polar opposite belief-systems, you can still have long and interesting conversations.
We are also trying (trying is the key word) to be active members of our church here, Azimio Baptist Church. It’s a challenge, as “wazungu”(foreigners) are simply treated differently. But we did a workday with the church to dig a septic tank(the last bathroom got vandalized by our Islamic neighbors), are hosting a small group at our house, and are taking part in regular worship. Being a part of a healthy church is something that both Rebekah and I are missing terribly right now. (We recently had a conversation about this and both agree that aside from close friends and family, being a part of a healthy church is what we miss the most about home) We love Azimio, but not speaking the language fluently yet, coupled with the vastly different cultural practices make attending corporate worship on Sunday more chore than joy. We are looking forward to visiting Nairobi for a couple of weeks and taking part in a more familiar style of service, and singing and praying in our heart language! (I’ve warned Josh that I may just cry through the service)
In other news, this week they got the privilege of attending an” Uchumba” service for our worker Isaac and his fiancee Sarah. This is a service where the engagement is officially announced before the church, after the two families have completed negotiations about the union. Isaac and his family killed and roasted a goat this week to share with Sarah’s family. During the meal they finalized negotiations on the marriage. Isaac paid 1.5million shillings in bride price(about 10 months net wages) and saved up to buy a ring. Pictures of the service below. It is a cool custom to see the communal aspect of this relationship and how the church family is included in the celebration, and in keeping these two young people accountable to loving one another in a God-honoring way.

Bride to be makes her entrance

Isaac walking in to his hype song

Jana pulling fan-duty to keep Sarah cool

Praying together

He gives her the engagement ring in front of everyone

Instead of a ring, Isaac get’s a watch

afterward we got to take up little gifts for the couple

Zeke near the end of a 4 hour service

Church work day- digging a septic tank

Out sharing the Good News in Nkungwe

I’m a sorry excuse for a wound-care nurse.

Kelly(right) and Fideli(left) sharing in Nkungwe

Healthy Church study at Azimio

My little shadows in the village- sweet, sweet kids!

This Bibi(grandma) in Membe was so thrilled to get a gift of some sheets.

That’s the short September update. Thanks for your encouragement and prayers!

Follow our Facebook group for a little bit more frequent updates(trying to be better about this):

Email us at M28StoreyFam@gmail.com if you want to support us financially. One need we’re raising for right now is the annual MK(missionary kid) camp in South Africa at the end of the year. Let us know if you want to be a part of helping MKs from all over Africa gather together for a time of fellowship and fun. This is a formative time for MKs to meet and get to know other MKs who just “get it”.

Have a great Fall, for those of you in the Northern hemisphere!