Weeks of Smiles
We are still here! We went without any Internet for several weeks, which is why this update is very detailed.
The past several weeks have been full of celebrations. We celebrated Mr. W’s 93rd birthday with him in his home. He shared with us that he has been recognized as a war veteran for his time of service during WWII. He was an interpreter for the US army during that time.
We spent our time with students during 2 key holidays in our culture. We have been to several weddings this month as well. Auntie’s daughter had a traditional minority wedding celebrated by 400 people in their village. It was a night full of local food, dancing & music, and minority traditions. We pr’ed a special blessing over their family and we brought them a gift from America that symbolizes the meaning of marriage in the Father’s eyes.
This past weekend our friends were married inside the local community. It was our first time to take part in a like-minded wedding in this culture. The choir sang hymns at their reception and it was such a beautiful sound to hear praises lifted to the Father in another language.
We have two quick stories we’d like to share:
The manager of the orphanage told us before that we could no longer make visits or donations without government permission. We left this newly presented obstacle at the Father’s feet and asked Him to take care of it. He showed us once again that He is our provider and that He is in control! Our local sister has a connection within the government who is happy to help us get this document for all of our visits. We attended this man’s wedding last week. Please remember our new relationship with this man and ask for opportunities to share with him. Our visit to the orphanage two weeks ago was very successful thanks to the partnerships with you all back home. We were able to give them everything they asked for this month (a van full of booster seats and quiet books) and we have been welcomed to come again.
Thanks to your partnerships back home, more progress has been made with the Hani Sweet Spot. The foundation has been laid and the building structures are starting to rise. We had a meeting with our local partner last week about the upcoming stages and specific needs we could help with this month. He was able to exchange some of his tea from his tea business to obtain 1,000 good book radios at no cost! These radios present the entire OT and NT as well as hymns and p&w songs all in our language here. Our partnership with him will allow local partners to be supported as they distribute these radios to the lost. You may remember the story from this summer about Becky meeting a villager in the tea farms and then was asked to visit her home. Our friend told us that we would be giving one of these radios to this woman as part of the distribution!
If you would like more information about the Hani Sweet Spot and how you can specifically support this key part of our work, please send us a direct email and we’d love to connect with you.
