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v On June 8, the staff of the
Evangelical Clinic moved into the new building we built for them
with funds that many of you provided. It is a very attractive,
functional structure, and Mark is most relieved to finally be done with
that project. v On June 26, David
Alexanian came from LA to Chageen to learn what being a missionary
is all about. He studied Kwong each day, made friends in the village,
helped us paint the delivery room of the clinic, spent time with the
neighbor kids, and finally, spent 36 hours living on his own in a grass
hut with a Kwong family several miles from us. He has since returned to
the States to begin medical school. He is the third short-termer we have
welcomed in our home this year. v On July 14, we
finished the translation of the Gospel of Luke and printed it out
for the first time. That was Mark’s birthday present (which was on the
15th.) During the next few months, we will test the text with
other readers to make sure it actually says what we think
it says. Some time towards the end of the year, a consultant with
Wycliffe will check it for heresy etc J.
Meanwhile we are making good progress on revising the book of Genesis.
We are up to chapter 16, and expect to finish it by the end of the year.
v On July 17, we celebrated 10 years of marriage. We are both much better people and much better missionaries for having taken the plunge. We have no regrets. v During a typical year in
Chageen we get about the same amount of precipitation as Chicago –
about 40 inches, which falls from mid June until the first week of
October. However, 2009 is not
turning out to be a typical year. During
the first three weeks of July alone more than 20 inches have fallen
– an average of about an inch a day. Not bad for the edges of the
Sahara desert. While a boon for our farmer friends, it
is a serious problem for our radio station. You may recall that we
built the station mostly underground, which means that in April when it
is 115° outside, it is still 85° in the studio. Nice! But alas, with
20 inches of rain in as many days, the pond behind the station has
filled to overflowing (hey, lakefront property!), and is leaking into
our studio. Five wheelbarrow loads of clay slowed the flow, but unless
the Lord slows the rainfall, we are going to have a long few months of
pushing a squeegee 24/7. So far, our guys have been able to continue
broadcasting. That’s all for now. |
Lambert treats the first patient in the new clinic building
David with his language helper Luke
Ten years and counting
The studio and tower on "lake Chageen" |
