Changes

        I cannot believe it, but I have officially been in The Gambia for 6 months!  In many ways it feels like I just arrived yesterday; especially when I struggle through what should be a basic Wolof conversation or cannot do simple tasks without help.  In other ways it feels like I have been here forever.  This place truly feels like my home on earth, as if God had prepared it a long time ago for me and was just waiting for my arrival.  The people and relationships I am building are very special and I even have moments where I can communicate in Wolof!  As many of you know I struggle with embracing change; if someone was in my seat at Starbucks in the morning it would almost ruin my day (I hate to admit that, but I am being honest).  Well, not only is there no Starbucks here I now acknowledge that life is always changing and I am getting much better at rolling with those changes.  I naively thought that after the changes of the last year (leaving full time employment as a Physician Assistant, selling my house, re-homing my dogs, leaving friends and family to move thousands of miles away and many more) that there would be a rhythm of life once I arrived here.  Well, in some ways there is but it is punctuated with changes.  This week a team member is going back to the US for one year of furlough ministry and a family working with another ministry here in The Gambia is moving into our compound for language study.  So, the day to day dynamics of life on our compound will be changing.  While I will miss our team member and I still struggle a little with the changes I know this is the path God has chosen for me and I am doing my best to embrace them.  Some days are better than other at embracing all of this, so please keep us in your prayers.  For more on what 6 months of life here is like and all the changes make sure you are subscribed to my Newsletter (go to my website to subscribe) and look for an update in the next week.