First Term Updates – Cote d’Ivoire/Senegal

Just 2 more days, and our first year at ICA will be over. It’s so hard to believe. Other than during the holidays, we’ve really enjoyed our time here and are so thankful for how God led us to this school.

Our summer break will be short this year since the school is transitioning from a school calendar based on trimesters to one based on semesters. We only have a 5-week break, and for 2 of those weeks, we will have visitors from the States. For the first 3 weeks, Bob will be working on his science demonstration lab and I will be working on a better internet connection solution for the school, so we will be very busy. Before we know it, we’ll be in our second year here at ICA. 

Graduation here at ICA is, for some, a very tearful time. A lot of these kids have grown up together in a close environment and have become like family to each other. As they graduate, they are leaving for different places around the globe and are very unlikely to see each other again. Some are returning to the states to attend college while their parents remain here in Africa. Please pray for these families as this can be a difficult time; also continue to remember all the travelers over the next weeks.

All is calm here at ICA, if you can call the last full week of school before graduation ‘calm’. Please pray for the families that will be traveling within the next week to Bouake for all the graduation hoopla, and then home again. Even under the best of circumstances, travel here in West Africa is not something to look forward to. Also pray for the staff who will be leaving ICA and flying home to the US and Canada. We will miss them.

Also pray for a friend of ours who is considering whether the Lord wants her here at ICA next year. We desperately need her, but time is short and there are a lot of details to work out. We know it can happen if God is in it. We’d love to have her here!

I received a special blessing this past Sunday when someone I’ve never met surprised me by telling me in e-mail that her Sunday School class was praying for me, and asked me to share with her about ICA and my work here. I only know her through some correspondence about a product we are considering here at ICA. I guess we never know where we will meet someone else in the family of God, nor do we always realize how special our prayers are. Thank you for your prayers

So sorry this is late. I got so carried away troubleshooting network problems yesterday that I forgot what day it was. Although we ended up with several unrelated problems, all is back to working condition for now.

As all the teachers are wrapping up the end of the school year, some are also making plans for next year. Bob is busy designing a small science lab area for his junior high classroom. He’ll probably have to build it himself as the shop has projects already lined up for this next break. He’ll be able to partially finance it through some of your gifts. Thank you so much.

I am enjoying a return to health this week. I had been struggling with a mild case of malaria for 3 weeks, as well as a reaction to the medication. Sometimes, the cure is worse than the disease, but cleaning the malaria out of your system is necessary. Finally, it all seems to be gone. Thank you for those who have prayed.

I know a lot of you are preparing for Bible school and other summer projects. We’d like to hear about them so we can pray with you for God’s blessings.