Praise God for an excellent three week visit from Sarah’s dad (grandpa Tom) and niece Katie Baker. We had a wonderful time connecting ‘face to face’ with this side of the family again.

Praise God for the many projects around the house that were finished during the months of March and April.  (This list is quite long and includes the unplanned but needed emptying of our septic tank.)

Pray for the LBT Ghana team meetings in early June–for safe travel, discernment and clarity of thought, creative solutions, and submission to God’s will.

Family water fights were popular as temperatures soared well above 100.

Most afternoons found a large group of kids playing soccer in our yard. Katie plays in the U.S. and was able to give Karissa some pointers.

As most of you know, Christina Riddle extended her original length of volunteer service to teach Karissa this entire school year. She continues to bless our family through her devoted care and has especially been a help this past year during school and work related travels. While Christina had enough support to get her started, she still needs $2,300 to meet her needs through the end of this school year in June. Please pray that God would provide for all of her needs.

The rains have begun to fall. Farming season is here. The Komba busily prepare their seed, plow the soil, and plant their crops—with the hope of a good harvest. They don’t have foreknowledge as to how the weather will be during the upcoming months or what will grow well this year, but they take what they know and apply themselves heartily to their labor. We feel like we’re somewhat in the same position. We feel called to this place at this time to aid the work of translating the Komba Scripture. We don’t know what the future holds but we take what we know (and are learning) and do this work. We are feeling like we’re moving forward—the work is “growing.”However, translating a book and having it reviewed is still not the harvest we ultimately desire. Pray with us that through better access and understanding of God’s Word that the church here would be prepared for works of service and attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Finally, after nearly 6 years I find myself doing some of the work I envisioned myself doing when I joined Lutheran Bible Translators. Okay I am not actually a translator but I am part of the translation team and help exegete the original text and help in forming the style and ideological approach to the translation. What exactly am I doing now that is making write this article? And why has it taken so long? Read the rest of this entry »

President and Mrs. Obama have scheduled a trip to Ghana on July 10 of this year. We send the president kudos for choosing Ghana as the first African nation he will visit after being elected.  Quoting from the New York Times: “The president and Mrs. Obama look forward to strengthening the U.S. relationship with one of our most trusted partners in sub-Saharan Africa, and to highlighting the critical role that sound governance and civil society play in promoting lasting development,” the White House said in a written statement announcing the trip on Saturday. Read the rest of this entry »