There's good news and there's bad news, but even the bad news is good news! Last week we had a scare and had to make an emergency appointment with Hannah's specialist in town to check on kidney bean-sized baby. The doctor said baby is doing great. Obviously that was good to hear but those words have become kind of hollow to us in this situation. It seems like too many doctors have told us that and ended up wrong.I have more help writing here than I did in Kankan
Hannah is now 11 weeks pregnant so we're over a quarter of the way there. On Friday our remaining shot count will be down to 400. Hannah has some pretty nasty bruises from the shots but we've had some pretty awesome help in giving them.
We also have our second to last home visit scheduled with our caseworker! We anticipated difficulty getting some business done over the holidays so we're happy to get rolling the first week of January. After that, we'll have one more home visit before our licenses are finalized!
This time last year we would have just returned from the zoo in Bamako and started preparing for a Peace Corps worker and his Indian family to spend Christmas with us. You may also remember that gunfire and riots against a branch of the military in Kankan kept us pretty close to the house for a couple days. (Because we think about Guinea almost every day, you'll probably read a lot of these TimeHop flashbacks in our writings.)
Dividing rice for our guards' Christmas gifts/
Hannah making Christmas lunch/
banana bread for our neighbor friend
Daniel leading worship practice
We wrote poetically last Christmas about how we felt it was easy to complain about being isolated from family this time of year especially after our grand family plans were upended. But the real Good News of Christmas- that Jesus wants to be with us-felt very near. And it still does.
Our Kankan neighbors weigh heavily on our hearts this week. We learned recently that one of the guards that helped watch the house we lived in passed away recently due to congestive heart failure. He had become a friend that we have already said goodbye to, but as a Muslim, his departure from this life strikes us on a deeper level. As sharp as our sadness is for him, the hope and joy Jesus brought are just as vivid.
We recently sent some money back to David to help support friends of ours who are struggling deeply in an economy that the World Economic Forum rated "the worst in the world" in 2014 before Ebola began to take a toll. (In the future, we're likely to ask you to send money to Guinea with us) Since no schools have been reopened, not only is no one receiving an education on any level, no teachers/professors are receiving any salaries to support their families. This spells disaster for people like Daniel.
Christmas Service in Kankan
Daniel's family is among the first Maninka believers in Kankan. After dropping out of University, Daniel floated with little direction until David asked him to intern with him for a while. After catching David's enthusiasm for ministry, Daniel returned to graduate from the University with a degree in linguistics. He got a job as an administrator for a mission (we partnered with) in Kankan, SIM. He started his own printing business on the side as well.
A professor friend teaching at the University in Kankan
At church he led the choir, took charge of the young adults, and does a majority of the translating for the sermons. But because of Ebola, SIM has temporarily left Guinea and with schools being closed, Daniels print shop isn't paying the bills either.
So what does he do with the time he has on his hands now? David tells us he has begun to direct Bible studies and seminars at The Center.
Daniel translating for an evangelism campaign
Jonas's story is similar: As an adjunct professor at the University, he and his wife lived on his $60/month salary...until the University didn't open this fall. He too got more deeply involved at the Center with sports ministry.
Jonas and his wife are in the front row next to Hannah
All that to say that for many people around the world, this Christmas (especially) won't be easy. So whether you find yourself in a picture perfect moment or an irritated moment of fury, try to remember the other people on whom Christmas also dawns:
...the people who are far from home
...the people who have to work on Christmas
...the people who have lost someone since last Christmas
...the people who are suffering the impact of disease and decay
...the people who are making sacrifices
...and most importantly, the people who don't even understand why it's such a big deal that God wants to be with us and made a way for that to happen.
Emmanuel: I think it's my favorite word in the whole Bible.
