2023 Review
/Even though we are well into the new year, I wanted to write a newsletter looking back at 2023 and reminding myself(and you) of all that God has done. In Genesis chapter 28 Jacob raised a stone at Bethel as a reminder and monument to the covenant he made there with God. Joshua and Samuel did something similar. It is good to be reminded of the ways God has blessed, challenged, and even disciplined us. So my prayer is that this short letter would be a reminder to me and my family about the goodness of God, and perhaps encourage those who read it as well. As usual, Rebekah’s comments in italics.
2023 started with the end of my parents visit, and ended with a visit from our dear friends the Sundmans. It is SO sweet to have people come and visit us! You can’t begin to understand Tanzania unless you experience it in all its beautiful, crazy, messy, complex, frustrating glory. Mom and Dad were real troopers, even hazarding a road trip to Mwanza(13 hours away) with a screeching cat in the car(who we were taking to get spayed)…(We had tried to drug her with valium before leaving but she was so neurotic that the valium just didn’t cut it. So, we pulled over and gave her another little dose. This seemed to maybe sort of work, but really, it didn’t. She was in a loosely woven basket that had a lid on it in the very back with two of the boys. The lid was held down by one of their legs, but that didn’t always work. She got out at one point and snuck under the back seats into the center, tearing all over the middle row passengers before climbing up and over into the front with my Josh and me. She was in sheer panic mode, and being afraid for the wellbeing of my arms and legs, and also for Josh’s ability to drive uninhibited by a terror filled 4 pound kitten, I grabbed her by her scruff, to which she responded VERY poorly. The boys passed the basket up and once I had her safely inserted back in the basket, we pulled over and put her in our foot locker that was on top of our car. We know…but also, please keep your thoughts to yourself about this. She was just fine. We checked on her at the gas station where we could hear her screeching from the top of the car. We put a strap around her neck and I attempted to take her under-grown, enraged self for a walk so she could pee, but she just ran frantically barely hovering over the ground while the Tanzanians working at the gas station watched on in awe and didn’t put an ounce of effort toward containing their laughter. Back up in the basket she went after having a little food and water, until we arrived at our destination where we dropped her off at the vet. We often recount the absurdity of that story and laugh about it. It was well worth it though, because cats in heat are really hard to live with, and we’d have a perpetual stream of kittens with as many strays live around us. She was also a much more pleasant cat after her hormones weren’t raging. On the way home we have her a LITTLE more valium than before, for good measure. We had borrowed a cat carrier from the vet (that I sent back by bus) and at one point I asked the boys in the back if she seemed ok. Luke said, “I think so. Well, I don’t know. I said her name and tapped the side and her tongue is just kinda hanging out of her mouth..” HA! She was completely stoned on valium (safely so, so don’t get all up in arms!), which made a much more pleasant ride home for us all!)
A couple weeks into January we learned of the destruction of 200+ homes in Ujiji, and our church sprang into action to help meet needs of displaced families. Many of our friends and family also sent support and prayed for the relief project, which was funded through SEND Relief, a Baptist organization. It was an awesome team effort including multiple churches in Ujiji, our missions partners here, and SEND Relief(who approved an $11,000 grant in 2 days!). 230 families(1000+people) were served with temporary shelter and food supplies, 400 people heard the gospel, and over a dozen baptisms resulted.
On February 14 we learned of the sudden, tragic death of Rebekah’s mother, Mary. The waves of grief continue to crash onto Rebekah’s consciousness at unexpected times, but God has been gracious to provide slow and steady healing. This year has been full of sorrowful “firsts” without Mary for all of us, but true to his word, when we have cast our burdens on the Lord, He has sustained us(Ps55:22).
Church members came over to mourn with and comfort rebekah
March was a travel month as we drove (20 hours each way) to Nairobi for a homeschool conference, education testing for the boys, and some work meetings. It was beautiful and actually less stressful than flying, AND cheaper(which is usually my highest priority). We had a great visit with some of our Nairobi friends and met some new folks from around Africa. We also got to scratch our “regular life” itch by eating out, bowling, and pushing shopping carts! (Until you have lived in a place devoid of such things, it’s really hard to imagine how simple things like these could be so exciting. We feel like kids in a candy store when we come to Nairobi. Not only because of the amenities, but also because it’s a really nostalgic place for all of us, even Zeke, and really does feel like home to some extent.) March was also the month of the much anticipated wedding- Sarah and Isaac tied the knot, FINALLY! Isaac saved for the bride price for a year and a half and put up with a bunch of extra demands from Sarah’s uncle(who directs the process more than the father of the bride). In true local style, they were pregnant within a couple months, and their daughter Rebekah was born in mid-January! She is the second baby to be named after Bek in the last year.
In Kigoma April brings the END of the showers and the beginning of the dry season. April was full of emergency dental visits, a TZ conference in Dar es Salaam, hiking to try(unsuccessfully) to find waterfalls, birthday parties, funerals, and baptisms. Some of the men at Azimio Baptist Church started a preaching cohort with me, and we’re still going strong today.
Me and my preaching cohort brothers(+jonathan)
In May Rebekah and I celebrated 18 years of wedded bliss(at least for me, more like 18 years of sanctification for her) with a sunrise kayak trip. Our favorite college students came for a mission trip visit from California Baptist University, and we continued with our weekly palliative care/mercy ministry. In May we also got back all the results of education testing, learning that one of our kids has some serious challenges, and we tried to start planning on how to help him learn what he needs in this very challenging educational environment.
Nothing like a sunrise kayak to celebrate 18 years!
((You couldn’t have picked a better picture of our kayak morning??)
June-August was a blur! We closed out our ministry activities here in Kigoma, flew to the states, visited our sending church(We love you, Emmaus Bible Church!),(spent some MUCH needed time with sweet old friends in Omaha!) saw family in CO, went to Mary’s memorial service in CO(ripping open some of those grief wounds from the spring), limped into a company conference in Amsterdam, then enjoyed seeing a little bit of France and Switzerland (When we first saw the towering peaks of Western Switzerland, I told Josh I wasn’t even going to leave. Never.) after the conference, returning to Kigoma in early August. Phew! I get tired just typing it! Our travel all went smoothly, thanks be to God, and all the travel was a net good, even with the hard parts. Elijah spent the summer in Grand Junction with my parents(thanks Mom and Dad!!), working and hanging out. We were glad to have him back home at the end of the month, and now he can say that he’s travelled internationally solo twice- a feat for a 15/16 year-old!
On our return we jumped back into ministry here. God has really opened doors for us to be working with churches and church leaders, and we’ve seen our ministry change to move through those doors. In September Josh started meeting with pastors and elders from a dozen churches in the area, working through a book and discussion on church health and following God’s design for the church. The book is written by an African pastor/teacher(Conrad Mbewe) and has been really helpful! It’s a blessing to host them in our home and discuss the topics in the book and what’s going on in life.
This year was marked by getting to know our Kigoma sisters, Kari and Debra, better and better. These two are a gift to us- both are serving a three year term as nurses, and they have truly become as sisters to us. We spend Sunday evenings together eating popcorn and smoothies, playing board games, and talking about life and ministry. We thank God for them!
In October, Luke and Joel got baptized in Lake Tanganyika by Onesimus. It was a joy to see them publicly profess their faith in obedience to Christ. We’re proud of them both!
In December, our friends Jonathan and Esther visited. We knew them from our small-group time together during COVID in the states, and they somewhat spontaneously decided to come spend a couple weeks with us! We did a murder mystery dinner party for Rebekah’s birthday, which was a lot of fun! Jonathan and Esther brought a pile of American goodies, and we got to celebrate Christmas together, which was sweet. I’ve written before about how difficult holidays are in another culture, but having familiar faces around really helps the celebration. I honeybaked a ham for Christmas dinner, and it was a hit (from that pig he butchered himself over a tarp on an old wooden table on our back patio!)! We even got to go up to Gombe National Park with them and see some chimps up close. On the way back we got caught in a classic Tanzanian downpour!
December is also when we tried our hand at slaughtering and butchering a sow in the back yard. This meant we got pork belly and I got to try my hand at bacon. It worked! Picture for proof. This felt like a major victory.
2023 was our second full year on the field, and we’re ever-grateful for the Lord’s grace throughout the season. Elijah turned 16, Judah turned 14, Joel turned 12, Luke 10 and Zeke turned 5. They all continue to grow in wisdom and stature, for which we praise God. They’re learning Swahili at varying rates, and making new friends all the time.
In 2024 we will be completing 3 years on the field, and heading back to the US for a stateside assignment. We hope to connect with as many people as we can manage. We’ll be based out of Grand Junction, CO, and making various trips to see family and friends. Let’s connect!!
As always, you can support us here through prayers, calls, messages, visits and more!
Follow us on Facebook at the group: African Storeybook
Send me an email at M28Storeyfam@gmail.com to be added to our mailing list.
Support us and thousands of other IMB missionaries financially at www.imb.org/give