Family Update

Since we've added Caleb to the family, it's time for a family update! Our friends, the McIntire's took this photo of our family of four. Crystal started Wolof language school this week, three hours per day, four days per week. Chad enjoys his French school, four hours per day, five days per week. Crystal's mom, Ethel, and sister, Ginger stayed with us for 5 weeks to help with the late stage of pregnancy and after the birth. Chase loved having all the attention from them!
One week after they left, Chad's mom, Joyce, arrived to spend five weeks with us. Chase loves having Grandmothers living in the house with us! Joyce arrived just in time to help us out in the absence of a housekeeper, whom we fired because we suspected that she was stealing from us. God protected us, though, as she didn't steal nearly as much as she could have. He also protected us in another incident when Chad was pick-pocketed on public transportation. The thief took only his already broken cell phone and not his wallet which had a considerable amount of money in it to pay for doctor visits later that day.
Good things are happening, too! We have made some really good friends here already. You've seen pictures of the Diop and Dione families in the Blog. Chad has a good friend in his French classes, Mohammed, and another friend in our neighbor, Mustafa. The work is going well, though slowly, on the new staircase to the roof, and as soon as it is finished, work will start on the hut on the roof. We are all excited about that! More good news, we recently learned that Chad will get to take two seminary classes (total of 6 credit hours) prior to our regional meeting in July. They will be intense classes, crammed into one week each, but will really help him reach the 20 credit hours that he has to have by the end of our first term (three years).
So some days are good and some days are hard, but through it all we are learning to trust God completely!