Over the river and threw the woods?!?

I was on a research trip to the East, lost as normal! The good thing about being lost is that the Fulakunda people are always willing to help. Also because they’re cattle herders they know the area better than my GPS. I was hoping that I could get to a certain town by lunch time. Everyone I talked to mentioned that I would have to cross a river, but they acted like it would be no problem to get across. So what happens when I get to the river?














I remember seeing some high school kids about 300 yards back so I decide to turn around and ask them about the river. They tell me that the river isn’t that deep and that I could easily pass, just as they did. So I got back to the river to so see if it’s possible to cross. And there is only one way to do that! I leave my ride on the bank and I go in to check how deep it is.

After the exploratory mission of seeing the depth of the river, I decide the water is few inches too deep and didn’t want to take the risk or push the bike threw. If I was on a bicycle, I would have crossed in a second. But as you can see in the picture, it’s a little bigger than a bicycle. So I turn around to find another way around!

A BIG CHANGE!

If you keep up with all the convention news you know that there are some major changes coming. In the month of June will be re-organizing with the intention of better reaching the lost and facilitating missionaries better. This change is affecting me as well as people all over the world.
My direct supervisor, the leader of the Fulakunda team, has been called to oversee a much larger area and multiple people groups. Since my supervisor will be moving in the middle of July, I will need to make somes changes as well.
It's been a while trying to figure out what I can and can't do. I have many things that I enjoy about my job and where I am right now. It didn't take long for me to realize this change means letting go of some of those things. I was initially given some options to work with two other people groups where I could still use my Pulaar to communicate or I could choose a different research job. If you have spent time with me, you know that I don't listen well, so I chose my own option. I really wanted to continue my research while still still respecting the guidelines of my organization. Are you wondering what that means?
In the first week of July, I will be moving to a town about 400 km (250 miles) to the east. Pulaar speakers are not the majority in this town, but they do live in surrounding areas. I will be able to use this town as a base to cover a new area of the Fulakunda and continue the research I've been doing. There are two other families that live and work in this town. I will be a memeber of their team and help them out anyway that's needed, but I will still get to have the Fulakunda research as my main focus. For this, I am thankful!
Please pray for my last month in Kolda. Saying good-bye will be difficult since this has been my family for the past eighteen months. Pray for the transitions of my new and old supervisors and for me. Change is never easy. Also, please pray for the entire orgnaization as we begin making these changes. Pray that we ALL remember that no matter where or when, we still need to keep Jesus as our number one priority.