Geyman Steps

We just received word that Jacob's work permit has gone through! This is a huge answer to prayers! After applying for the work permit in October, we stepped out in faith and came to the country under tourist visas earlier this month. This allowed us to stay in the country for ninety days, but we would not be able to work in Tanzania. We thank God for this answer to prayer and everyone who prayed. Now that we have our work visa, the residence permit should come through allowing us to stay in the country for two years before renewal. In addition to the work permits, we started our first day of language learning and obtained our Tanzania driving license. Getting our licenses was something else! Imagine as best you can being stuffed inside a hot, humid cement building while everyone around you is cramming to fit through one single doorway. Only this time, eight soldiers armed with shortened pump action shotguns and AK-47s are blocking the entrance. For some reason, the lights ...

Esther and Tivoli are already three months old! Wow, a lot has happened in three months. Besides adding two sweethearts to our family, we have moved across the States,  spoke in seven churches, moved to Tanzania, and completed SIL orientation. Some days we have been literally exhausted, but we are grateful to God that he has kept us and given us grace through these past three months. Mapacha is the Swahili word for twins. To have twins is considered to be a huge blessing - a sign of God's double blessing and favour. I get the feeling they were not necessarily fond of this particular pose...In fact, half of my pictures looked this way. They are definitely calm, sweet babies, but they do have their moments! First mug shots! Shoot, I forgot the ruler. In the meantime, Esther was being a ham. And the other two. We found a playground at a shopping centre which the boys have visited often. Something familiar for them to play with ...

We landed in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, on January 13th. It has been a whirlwind since then, but I think we may finally be finding our feet in Tanzania! It is crazy to think that after so many years of preparation and training we are actually in Tanzania. Some first impressions are: the weather is HUMID, mangos and pineapple are in season, and the people are very friendly and welcoming. Travel & Transition Let’s just say, the last two weeks have been quite a challenge! For the last few days, we averaged between three to five hours of sleep a night in addition to travel and children. Though this past week has been exhausting, we are feeling incredibly blessed to be a part of God’s work in Tanzania. On Wednesday, we began learning about how to live in Tanzania. This involves everything from dealing with power outages and 240v electricity to not using your left hand when giving things to people.  Grateful Our last thought before leaving the States wa...

It is crazy to think that in four days we will be leaving for Tanzania. This Wednesday morning, we plan to drive to Washington, DC where we will pick up Dinah from the airport. We then stay the night in DC and catch our flight to Ethiopia in the morning. The first leg of our flight is 14 hours. After landing in Ethiopia, we have a  3-hour layover before catching the next 3-hour flight to Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania! Please be Praying O ur work visas have not come through yet and it does not look like they will before we arrive in Tanzania. We do not know exactly what this means for us yet. We are waiting to hear back from our organisation. Please pray for expediency of the process. Dinah will be flying alone this Wednesday from Spokane into Washington, DC. The boys have been really sensing the transition and have been easily distressed over small things. Everything they know is changing and different which is making life difficult for them to handle. Please pray that we ...