Dear Friends and Family,
We could really use some extra prayer right this very moment and over the next few weeks. There was so much to put in the last letter that I didn't even venture into family stuff, which was OK at the time since, though we were all sick, nothing was too serious. This is still true. The problem is that it has dragged on for quite some time now-- I personally have been feeling sub-par for about two months-- severe bronchitis that lasted over six weeks and now horrible sores in my mouth that make it hurt to eat and even talk. Jesse has had several sinus infections on top of his regular fibro pain and seems to be having more migraines with that than usual. The boys have had a mix of sore throats, bronchitis, and ear infections and have all been on antibiotics. Two months without even a day of everyone feeling good has really begun to wear on all of us. We were hoping it would all be over before the next waves of guests arrived, but the engineering team came yesterday and we are still sick.
There are other things prompting me to ask for extra prayer now as well. We have a wonderful girl named Neema (Grace) that watches Elliot on weekday mornings so I can go down to Discovery School. She was my first Burundian friend and is like a younger sister to me. Her mother had a stroke three weeks ago and went to be with the Lord this past Saturday. She herself is only 23 and she has five younger brothers and sisters. Our hearts are hurting for their family, and we have also sorely felt the lack of her presence here in our home over the past two weeks. It has been a struggle to get anything done for the school.
Also, there are some disagreements that keep cropping up within the leadership team Jesse is a part of. This weighs heavily on Jesse.
We covet your prayers for healing, for wisdom, for rest... Thank you for standing with us and holding up our arms.
In Him,
Joy, for Jesse, Zach, Micah, and Elliot, too
PS- You can find out more of what this looks like on a daily basis by visiting our blog <http://spotlightburundi.blogspot.com>
