Back in the US, Update#2

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Merry Christmas! We’ve been busy and blessed these past couple of months, so here’s an update of some of the things we’ve been up to(As always, Rebekah’s 2 cents in italics). But first, some prayer requests:

  • We head back to Africa on December 28th! Please pray for safe and smooth travel, and for the family/friends we are leaving behind in the States. (and for our hearts - it’s a very bitter sweet departure, indeed)

  • We are renting out our house in Colorado, so please pray the renters we found are a good fit!

  • We are returning to some uncertainty due to persecution and conflict in TZ(more on that below), but please pray for our friends and national partners- for perseverance in trials and joy in suffering.

  • Please pray for our friend “Neddy”, who is in the process of coming to join our team as a homeschool helper/teacher. She is a great answer to prayer!

One of the big to-do things when we’re back in the US is to get caught up on medical and dental issues. In that respect, this trip has been a success! We’ve had preventive visits, dental visits, a root canal, some dental crowns and fillings, and Rebekah had surgery to repair her esotropia (a HUGE praise)!! We’re heading back with clean bills of health. (Being able to get in for corrective surgery for my eyes was truly a miraculous act of God. I had an appointment only two weeks after my initial phone call with them, was told I was an excellent candidate and approved for surgery in that first visit, and had surgery scheduled within an hour of leaving the office. I was fully expecting follow up appointments would be necessary to determine if surgery was the best option, and for surgery to not be available during our short timeline in the States. What a relief to have it done! I feel like I have new eyes and continue to marvel at the Lord’s provision.)

We were blessed with the chance to buy a house 200 yards from my parents’ house here in Grand Junction. It’s been amazing being around the corner from them and has made this time in the States such a blessing! Luke went over most school afternoons and worked on homework with Grandma, and my dad frequently dropped in to say hey while walking the dog.
It added a fair bit of work to get things fixed up after we moved in, but it was (mostly) fun work and we think it’s ready for renters. We’re two weeks out from returning to Africa, which gives me palpitations (He’s JUST now getting palpitations. I’ve been waking in the wee hours of morning for WEEKS!) just writing it down this morning, so please pray we can get everything done!

In October we made a trip out to Virginia for a conference with the IMB. It was a great time connecting with some of our fellow laborers in the harvest field and reconnecting with some friends from our time living in Cheyenne, Maryland, and Turkey. We were able to make a quick day-trip to DC and show the boys some of the sights.

When we returned we snuck in a final camping trip with Mom and Dad at the end of October, staying in some cabins up in the Uncompaghre Forest. It was a sweet time of campfires, hiking, fishing, and games. We’re trying to treasure these times- it’ll be a couple years at least before we see them in person again!

In November we celebrated birthdays for Judah and Zeke, had a lovely visit from Rebekah’s sister and her family, and spent some time with old friends. Bek made a trip up to Ohio to visit her Dad. I(Josh) also got my driver’s license, but because I had let me old US license lapse I had to do a driving test. Rebekah found this scenario hilarious. (Because it was HILARIOUS that he had to drive a student driver car!) I also got to make a trip out to Omaha for a Simeon Trust workshop, which I attended with some of the men from our sending church. It was a really sweet time!

We’ve gotten to do all the wintery things here in CO, drinking hot cocoa in bulk, sledding, ice skating, and going up to cut down our Christmas trees. Speaking of trees, we were shocked to see the cost of a pre-cut tree these days! Ya’ll we can’t afford to stay in the US- we gotta’ go back to the land of cheap living!!
5 of 7 Storey siblings were in town for Thanksgiving, so we went and watched the lighting of the tree, hiked, and enjoyed the time together!

We are excited to announce that the Lord has answered our prayers for someone to come help teach the boys in Kigoma. Our new friend “Neddy” is in the application process with the IMB to come over and join us on the field! She’s a retired school teacher with 30+ years of experience mostly in 1-room schoolhouses in remote locations! Rebekah says that if she could make up the perfect candidate, it would be someone like Neddy! She continues to move through the process of applying with the IMB, and we hope she’ll be able to join us sometime this summer.

We were so blessed just this week to have our Kigoma sister Kari come visit us here in GJ. She is currently back in the States as she prepares to return to Kigoma in 2025 as a career missionary, and she took a week to come visit us. We’ve really enjoyed having her and showing her around western Colorado!

That’s it for now!

I’ll send a year-end update sometime in January and try to recap this crazy year! We love you all!

-You can follow us on FB HERE.
-Email us at M28StoreyFam@gmail.com

It’s the season of the Lottie Moon Christmas offering, the annual fundraising drive for the IMB. 100% of your donation through the LMCO goes to people on the mission field! We are thankful for the many people who have given sacrificially to allow us to stay on the field.
You can give once or regularly here: www.imb.org/give