Greetings from the other side of the pond (for most of you), I can’t believe that it’s March. Where has the time gone? If you think time passes too quickly at home, you should try coming here for a bit. It seems like days should take longer at the equator, but there must be some sort of a time-warp phenomenon that occurs here in Congo. As many of you are already aware, that means that our June 20th departure for the USA is coming up very rapidly.

These past few weeks have found us in a whirlwind of tasks with short deadlines. Danielle has been busily corresponding with new arrivals (short and long-term), nearly all of whom are set to arrive in Brazzaville on the 29-31st of March. There are so many details to work out, beginning with housing. Please keep the Marsh family in your prayers over the next month, as they make their rounds saying goodbye to everyone back home and prepare to come here to serve long-term (they leave from NY on the 29th ). Please also keep our construction team in prayer as we try to get their house completed before they get here! That’s where I have been busy. We were able to get a shell of a building that stands on the mission housing compound, so that we can turn it into a house. Now, the race against the clock is on, and we are making progress daily. I only pray that it will be finished before the end of the month. It looks possible and, with the Lord’s help, I believe it can happen.

Once again, God has placed a person here at just the right time to fill a new need that wasn’t there when they arrived with us. As I have mentioned before, God’s perfect timing strikes again. Steve and Peggy Briggs came here for 2 and a half months, in the middle of January. She is a nurse, and he is just one of those all-round handy guys (not medical).

There was plenty for Peggy to do, but I had only one big job that I was saving till he got here. It took us a little over 2 days to do that. All of a sudden, we learned that the Marshes were coming at the end of March, and there was no place to house them. Steve’s help has been indispensable in preparing their house. He has helped with brick work, concrete work, plumbing, and I’m not sure what other things. Praise the Lord for providing him, even though we had no idea we’d need him!

We are trying not to think too much about coming home because there is so much to do here. It’s hard though; there is so much good food we miss! Oh yeah, and people, too. Sorry about that! I feel like I can’t leave; there is so much work to be done! It almost feels like the list gets longer every time I get a job done. I never realized just how big of a job this was going to be, but it’s not a bad thing. It keeps me busy, and I like that.Michael is doing very well. He has been doing better with school this year than ever before! He is becoming even more independent in his learning, as well as getting taller and more mature. Just about every other day he changes his mind whether or not he wants to go home. I think that being here has been really good for him.

Please praise God along with us!

Prayer Requests:

Continuing Wisdom in repairs for Art
Preparation for Leaving the field Well
Grace in our continuing adaptation to a full team here
Marsh Family’s arrival end of March
Support Needs
Travel home in Summer 2010