Tomorrow we move!

Dear Partners in the Gospel,

 

Our family has just finished our fourth week in Dakar, the capital city of Senegal. During our time here we have had new experiences, met fellow missionaries, made new friends, and seen God's grace demonstrated anew to us each day. These were surely four blessed weeks!

Tomorrow morning we will pack our truck with our belongings and head to the port to put it on the ferry bound for Ziguinchor in southern Senegal. The ferry departs tomorrow evening and we will travel over night in the Atlantic along the Senegalese coast and then take the Casamance River inland to Ziguinchor. From there we will drive in to Diouloulou and begin our new life in the village that we have loved and been praying for for over six years.

As we depart we have several things that we would ask you to pray for:

* Safe travels over Friday and Saturday

* That we would begin to get settled in and organized as we set up the apartment in Diouloulou

* For a great reunion with our friends and the believers in Diouloulou

* That from the moment we step foot in the village God would give us a heart to love and serve the people there

Thank you for being a part of our team and for giving, praying, and encouraging us as we serve the peoples of southern Senegal. We look forward to communicating with you soon and telling you of the great things that God accomplished as we serve in Diouloulou!

In Christ,

The Boyd Family

Romans 15:20

Headin' South in Two Weeks!

When I last posted two short months ago we were still in Quebec, Canada. My how much can happen in two months!

Our family has been in Dakar, the capital city of Senegal, for nearly three weeks now and things could not be going any better. We have met some great missionary colleagues who serve here in Senegal and God has already begun making them like family to us. We have gotten to serve with a Talibe boy ministry for a day as well as help at a Talibe boy clinic where 175 boys were treated. (We were in charge of showers and worm medicine.) We have also been working on our identity cards, which is the formal document that allows us to live long term in Senegal. And God in His grace has also allowed us to connect with two friends from Diouloulou who are in Dakar. All that and much, much more!

A week-and-a-half ago we started driving here in the city and that's when the adventure really kicked in! Since that time we have driven to every corner of Dakar, usually by mistake. When we drive it is not a matter of if we will get lost, but how bad we will get lost!

We deeply praise God for how well the children are adapting. They have been able to find joy, adventure, and fun in even the most mundane things (like getting lost driving!). We have all sensed the closeness of the Lord and are greatly strengthened by His grace as you pray for us.

Today we drove to the port and bought our tickets for the ferry that travels between Dakar and Ziguinchor in the south. On March the first, our family, our belongings, and our truck will board the ferry for the overnight trip south. From Ziguinchor we will drive to Diouloulou and began to get settled into life in the village.

Thank you all for your prayers, support, love, and encouragement. We will keep you updated on all that the Lord is doing as we pray, trust, and labor so that all Senegal might hear the Good  News of  Jesus!  

An Ever Present Help

"In the next two-and-a-half weeks we have to finish our classes, take a boatload of exams, pack up our apartment, say our good-byes, and travel from Canada to Florida. And we do not have any time to be sick!"

That is exactly what I was thinking two weeks ago, a little after midnight, as Thea lay on the couch sick. Not just sick, but that stomach-bug, throwing up kind of sick. But as she lay sick I was thinking more of myself than I was for her. Now I surely do not want my children to be sick and I hate seeing them feel bad, but when they are sick we can generally still function reasonably well as a family. I can finish classes, take exams, and pack cars when the kids are ill. I cannot, however, effectively do those things when I am sick.

And I thought those things about seven feet away from where Thea lay on the couch. I had determined that my seven feet proximity was a safe distance so as not to be contaminated with the germs that would make my already interesting next two weeks even more memorable. I was keeping a safe distance as to avoid possible contamination.

Now I am far from a germ-o-phobe, not even close, but I wanted to be prudent and wise with all that the next few weeks were going to bring into the life of our family.

As I normally do when the children are sick, I prayed with Thea and asked God for His help and I especially asked Him to be very near to Thea while she did not feel well.

And it was then that God got my attention: I was praying for God to be with Thea as I sat a safe seven feet away. In that moment it was not so much an indictment of my lack of compassion, though it surely was that. More so, it was a realization of the compassion of God in coming near to us. Our God is not a God who keeps a safe distance from us and idly watches as we suffer and struggle. He is a God who is near at hand. He tells us that He is an ever present help in time of need. Not a bystander who is afraid of being contaminated, but a caring God who is there with His people and is for His people.

After I prayed, and saw the obvious lack of Christ-like reflection in my own life, I left my chair, entered the contamination zone, and sat by Thea as she lay on the couch. And as I rubbed my sick daughter's feet I thought of the nearness of God to His people and the comfort that brings.

As I type this, Thea feels great, I never got sick, I took all of my exams, and God has been near. It simply does not get any better than that.

My New Favorite Bloggers

Blogs can be informative, fun, and for missionaries, they can be used to keep people in the loop on what the Lord is doing in our lives and ministries as we serve in some far away places. They can also express what it is like to deal with change, different cultures, frustrations, and victories that we see and experience on the mission field.

With this in mind, Ezra and Thea have just launched themselves into the "blogosphere" (whatever that is!) and have each started a blog to chronicle the things they are experiencing as missionaries. They want to use this medium to be able to keep in touch with those they leave behind and to give them a taste of life from their point-of-view. As their parents, we also hope that this gives them another medium of thinking through the changes and transitions that are happening in their lives. We also hope that it will become a source of encouragement for them as others follow their writings, videos, and life from afar.

Ezra is writing at www.ezraboyd.blogspot.com and Thea at www.babystepsoffaith.blogspot.com. Take a few moments to check out their blogs, sign-up to follow them, consider leaving them a quick word of encouragement as they begin and join them on their journey.

"Semi-nomadic...like us"

Last night our family was reading a book together about a missionary in Uganda and she used the word "semi-nomadic" to describe a specific group of people that lived near her town. Thea asked, "What exactly does semi-nomadic mean?"   

I asked her what the word "nomadic" meant, to which she responded by saying that it meant to move from one place to another. I then asked her about the word "semi," like in semi-circle, and she said that it was something that was not total, but only partial or halfway. She then said, "So semi-nomadic means that these people move often, but not all the time. They are prone to move, but will often stay in one place for a period of time." I agreed with her assessment of the word just in time for her to add, "They are semi-nomadic...like us."

And the semi-nomads started packing some things up last week!

A Few Questions Before "Black Friday"

There is little doubt that our society suffers from a lack of contentment. Many families bury themselves in debt as they seek to keep pace with the proverbial Joneses. Many individuals move from job to job and career to career in search of more pay, better benefits, and the brass ring that always seems just out of reach. Marital discontentment causes many to hope for greener grass in another relationship. And rampant materialism permeates nearly every facet of American life. All the while the virtue of contentment is nowhere to be found.

Thankfully God's Word addresses these pressing issues with illuminating clarity. 1 Timothy 6:6-10 says, "Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows."

A few verses later the text continues by saying, "Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life" (1 Timothy 6:17-19).

When considering these verses, along with the rest of what the New Testament teaches on the subject, it seems that the key to contentment is not my finding contentment in money, possessions, or things, but in my finding contentment in Jesus. Contentment comes as I am able to live knowing that in Jesus I have a treasure that is worthy of giving all for (Matthew 13:44). True contentment comes when I value Jesus above any and everything else and then live like I value Jesus in that way. Contentment is essentially living like Jesus and Jesus alone is more than sufficient to satisfy every longing and desire of my life. This treasuring of Jesus loosens the grip of materialism over my life and frees me so that I can truly experience the all-satisfying pleasure of knowing Jesus Christ.

Consider these eleven questions that may help you determine your level of contentment. These questions are aimed at the heart so as you read and think about them be sensitive to what God may be saying to you:

1) Am I content with what I have and the circumstances of my life or am I striving for more and more?

2) If everything in my life was taken away, all of my material possessions, and I had nothing but Jesus Christ would I still be content?

3) Am I living as if I am taking nothing with me when I die?

4) In my life does Jesus look like an all-satisfying treasure?

5) Can I rightly distinguish between my needs and my wants?

6) What is tempting me to treasure it more than I treasure Jesus?

7) Am I discontent with the things of this world, yet content with where I am in my relationship with Jesus?

8) Do I live like I trust and hope in things or like I trust and hope in God?

9) Am I generous, ready to give and willing to share?

10) Am I living and giving in a way that shows it is more blessed to give than to receive?

11) Does Jesus have all of my life?

Contentment is not primarily about money and things. It is primarily about being satisfied with Jesus and treasuring Him above all else.

Without Words Wednesday