Ready or not, here they come!

Last night I talked to two giggling and excited Discoverers, who have had an amazing time in their Bible translation project location, but are excited about coming back and seeing all their team mates again this week.  Their phone call was just what I needed, as I've been praying that God would prepare us in every way for our team's return.  Last week, I confess that I was feeling a bit reluctant to end this time period in which John and I have been living "alone" in the guest house, doing our Discovery office work during the day, cooking meals, visiting with friends; during those times I can easily forget I came with a team and feel like I am just back in Ghana, living and working here again.  Don't get me wrong....Discovery is John's and my passion, what we are excited about doing.....it can just be hard to plunge back into the whirlwind after experiencing the normality of everyday life for four weeks.  So hearing these two girls voices and how excited they were to talk with me was an answer to my prayer, preparing my heart to turn back towards living with 16 other people again for two weeks.

Last week was an incredibly productive week as far as our office work went, another real answer to prayer!  On Friday I finished a Discovery task that has been on my to-do list for a couple of years now.....and I was able to back up some files in preparation for the upcoming changes WBT is going to be making on our software programs when we return.  It felt really good to be able to get around to some of these not-urgent but very necessary tasks.  Then yesterday, it felt like everything changed; every time I started to do something it seemed like I got interrupted and had to change to a different task, then got interrupted and had to change to yet another different tasks, then I got interrupted......you get the picture!  John said it was part of our preparation for our team's return.....so I guess that was yet another answer to prayer!  

Sooo....I need to keep this blog update short as there are a lot of things to do today and tomorrow before the team returns.  I will try my best to send you an update before we leave Tamale, but if things are crazy, you may not hear from us until after we arrive in Accra.  Here's our updated calendar to aid you as you pray:

        Thursday July 19th        Discoverers return to Tamale
        Wednesday July 25th        Discovery team travels to Mole game reserve
        Friday July 27th                Discovery team travels to Accra (this will be a very long drive; best case scenario 15 to 16 hours.  We would very much                                         appreciate your prayers as we travel!)
        Wed Aug 1st        Discovery participants depart (leaders still in Accra)

Please pray for us as leaders also as beginning Monday July 23rd we will begin having one-on-one interviews with each of the participants.  This is a time when we talk about their experiences with them individually, an opportunity for them to process and for us to give them some feedback and direction.  We would really appreciate your prayers for us for wisdom and insight during these interviews, as well as patience and gentleness where needed.  

Thanks so much for your prayers throughout our trip, and during this time.  It is said that debrief is the most important part of the trip, that 85% of what participants learn happens at debrief!  Without this important bridge between life on the field and life at home, the gains of the trip can be lost!  So you can see how much we depend on and appreciate your prayer support during this time!

Until we blog again......
In His love;    Shevawn & John