Summer adventures!
/Greeting from Tanzania in the dry season!
We’re back in Kigoma after our summer travels, and trying to get enough internet signal to put up this update! It’s been a struggle, but I think we’re going to make it! (we have “fiber”, but it’s new to this area where so much of the population still doesn’t have simply electricity and there’s only one company that provides it, and they only have one repairman, so…..)
Prayer requests up front:
-Homeschool for the boys is something that takes up a lot of time and energy! We’re excited about the school year, but continue to struggle with making sure the boys are all getting the education they need. We thank God for a supportive community here to help us out!
-Pray for our partner church here, Azimio Baptist Church, that they would be unified in purpose and not tire of working to fulfill the Great Commission!
-Pray for a new missionary family who arrived here in Kigoma to work with our larger IMB team- transitions are so hard, but they are doing great and are a great addition to our community here.
Just after I sent the last update we headed out for a whirlwind world tour! We left Kigoma, flew to Dar es Salaam, then Amsterdam, then Dallas, then Omaha. All in all it was about 36 hours of travel, and as exhausted as we were, it was wonderful to be greeted by some wonderful friends and have a peaceful place to stay. We are forever grateful to the Padilla family for welcoming us so well! (and feeding us like kings! Berries, meats, cheeses, crackers, cold cut sandwiches, steaks, fresh salads…..mercy!)
Omaha was wonderful as we got to worship together with our sending church, Emmaus Bible Church for the first time in 2 and 1/2 years. What a blessing! (I warned them I’d cry through part of the service, and cry I did.)
From there we drove to Grand Junction, CO and spent a week with my family. We got to see four of my six siblings there and celebrate the 4th of July. We also got to spend the next couple of weeks with Elijah.
We drove to Denver on July 7th for the memorial service for Rebekah’s mom, Mary. This was a really important but hard time- Bek felt like she was going through the grieving process all over again as she experienced CO/WY for the first time without her mom. We were happy to see a lot of old friends and family during this part of the trip as well.
We next stopped up in Laramie, WY for a day to visit my brother Nate(making it 5/6 siblings seen- sorry Matt!) and his family. We also got a chance to run up and hike Vedawoo, a place very special to both Bek and I.
We then drove back to Omaha with a quick pitstop in Gothenburg, NE to see Shane-O, Kerry, and their growing goat herd.
Omaha was a couple days of last-minute appointments, packing and visits, then we were off to Amsterdam!
We stopped in Amsterdam for a week for a meeting with missionaries from all over Sub-Saharan Africa. We came in jet lagged, but had a good time that week being encouraged about the plans the Lord has for us in Tanzania, and the plans He has for Africa as a continent. Did you know that by 2060, half of all Christians in the world will be located in sub-saharan Africa? Numerically speaking, this continent will be the epicenter of Christianity in the next few decades, which makes the task of supporting African churches as they seek to be biblically faithful all the more important!
One of the biggest blessings of the meeting was the many volunteers who came to do a kids/youth program. The boys had a wonderful time connecting with other kids and the volunteers were amazing!
The Netherlands was a very interesting place- everything just so, super clean, very pastoral. It was lovely and peaceful to visit.
After our meeting ended we got in a rental van(bigger than I wanted!) and drove to Paris for a couple of days. Rebekah has always dreamed of going to Paris (just not sure my daydreams about it included 4 young, exhausted and sick little boys…)! We stayed in the tiniest AirBnB we’ve ever done as a family, and found out how expensive public transport is in the big city! We got to see the Louvre, Notre Dame(from the outside), eat some amazing ice cream, visit with some friends who are in Paris for language training, ride scooters along the Seine, walk around the Eiffel Tower, and have a meal with my second cousins who live near the Bastille. It was exhausting but good. Next we go we’ll leave the kids at home…
From Paris we drove to Switzerland to see the Alps. This was a highlight of the trip, for sure! Switzerland doesn’t seem real- nearly everywhere you look it is post-card beautiful. (When we were journeying to our airbnb I informed Josh I wouldn’t be leaving Switzerland, probably ever. It didn’t work. Four days was simply not enough time!) Rebekah likened the Alps to the drama-queen of mountain ranges (because why be a mountain when you can be a MOUNTAIN?!) . We stayed in a little town called Chateau D’Oex, and got to ride up a gondola to see the mountains, take some nice hikes, see the waterfalls at Lauterbrunen, and visit an old castle/museum. Also, cheese. Oh, the cheese! (and the ice blue rivers and lakes, Lupines, chalets, window boxes crowded with red flowers, cows with bells grazing and gracing the mountainsides with adorably cheerful cowbell sounds, and the list goes on…)
From Switzerland we drove back up to Amsterdam through Germany, stayed the night in a cottage near the airport(got in a quick and frigid swim in the Atlantic), and got back on a plane. At the Amsterdam airport we met up with our “sisters” Debra and Kari, and we all flew back to Dar/Kigoma together.
Vacation
The week we got home a medical clinic team from Kentucky arrived, and on Monday we started a big medical/dental clinic outreach in a small village about 45 minutes out of town. We went like gang-busters all week, and the Lord blessed our time with safety and lots of evangelism. We continue to pray for the new believers in the Mkuti area. The next week we returned to do some home-visits in the surrounding area, and will now go back regularly for some short-term discipleship training in local churches.
One other quick story- last week at church a young man(JM) came up after the service and said that he had come to church that day to hear the good news, and wanted to be saved. He has practiced witchcraft his whole life and testified to how he was ruled by fear- of others, of evil spirits, and of God. We shared the story of the demoniac from Mark 6, and JM confessed and believed! That evening a few of the men from church went to visit him at home and he brought out all of his witchcraft supplies(pictured below) and burned them up(also picture below). Be praying for this man as he tries to lead his family and stay true to the faith. He is sure to face persecution from the people who know his history. Witchcraft is VERY common here and there is a tangible physical effect of the spiritual battles being fought.
In two weeks Elijah will come home after his summer in the States to work- we’re ready to have him back!
That’s it for our update for now. Thanks for loving us well. We got to connect with many of you while we travelled, and you all took care of us so well! Thanks also to those who contribute financially to our work here. Your faithful giving makes it all possible, including meeting like the one we had in Amsterdam!
Love, the Storeys