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| Waiting...luckily, someone found a winter tire that fit! |
("Welcome!" - in unconventional french:)
We have arrived!
After an eventful drive from the capital city, that is. A busted tire and being stuck behind an accident made the 9 hour drive take 13, but Sunday, Sept. 22 we made it to our new home in Mango, Togo.
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| First day at the english school for missionary kids |
And what a lovely home it is!
In spite of arriving late Sunday night, the kids were off to school Monday morning, and by lunch time their response to “How was school?” was “Awesome!” Thank you, Lord! We truly don’t take that for granted, and in the weeks since, their positive welcome has only continued. Ranging from 2 months to 17 years old, our kids have enjoyed getting to know the couple dozen missionary kiddos around.
We arrived to Mango at the tail-end of the wet season, so the days following our arrival were hot and humid (it’s usually hot and dry). The heat has been one of the biggest changes for us, as our last location had pretty consistently moderate temperatures. We are told it’s still the cool season (a “chilly” 27º some days!) but we have had days where it is upwards of 38º (100º F). We are typically sweating profusely, changing shirts multiple times a day, and trying to figure out the best way to keep the house cool. Windows open? Close them late morning? Open them again? Splurge and use a little A/C? (So thankful for A/C in our rooms!!)
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| Smoothies anyone? Thank you, deep freeze! |
Overall, we feel grateful for this location and how well they have received us. It has been nurturing for our souls to be so welcomed, and we have quickly connected with others here. Even the children have been welcomed! A few days in, one of the older missionaries who does maintenance came by and asked if Kai would like a ride on the tractor to go watch the guys dumping loads of rocks and dirt. He didn’t need to ask twice!
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| Quick friends! |
In all honesty, though, we have found ourselves repeatedly overwhelmed with sadness for this change of direction. I was walking in the local market and automatically started using the national language of Burundi, which made my heart ache as I realized I would need to start over in order to communicate with those around us here (thankfully, french goes further here, so that’s a great start!). Jesh has continued to receive texts from work colleagues saying they miss him, and he is reminded what (who!) he has left behind. Even looking at the overgrown garden bed in front of our new home and being reminded of the pots and garden beds we had slowly nurtured and developed is a reminder that we are starting over. We certainly had our plans and hopes and dreams for a future there, and the fact that it will not come to fruition is hard to fully get our heads around.
As much as we grieve what we have left behind, we are hopeful that God can and will enlarge our hearts for the work and ministry we have the privilege of being a part of here. This team is excited and motivated about sharing the hope of the gospel, and their enthusiasm is contagious! We are reminded that many have not been given the opportunity to hear about Christ, and it’s exciting to think of getting to be part of a team who longs to change that.
There is much more that we can share, and we will continue to keep communications open. That said, the best way to hear about the day to day stuff is by joining our Facebook group, Thiessens2Africa. We will have much more freedom to share details in that space!
In the meantime, I’ll leave you with a few photos of our craziest cutie! He's a busy kid, but it's been great having more time with him these days since I'm not in and out of the house teaching at the school (the kids come home for some work, but otherwise they have a high-energy teacher who handles their education like a boss!).
By Julie
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| Yup, we still have lizards |
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| Exploring the market together |
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| Play School time! |
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| No paint? No problem! |
