“There it is!” We all craned our necks to see out the airplane window. A long, brown river wound its way through rice paddies and villages. The Great River! Somewhere nestled along its banks was a rural village we called home five years ago. Somewhere along its shores lived a people precious to us; people with warm, brown eyes, and faces deeply etched with the stories of their lives.

“Lord, You are amazing,” I prayed. “You have done exactly what You said You would do. Your promises are all true! Here we are, and it is hard to believe.”

As we debarked from the plane, the stifling heat hit us like a wall. And that smell . . . yes, it smelled like Asia. We went through customs and baggage collection . . . and there were Adam Clay and his boys! Soon we were loading up the mission truck we used to own. The drive to our apartment wasn’t far, but we crept along slowly through the jumble of motorcycles, bicycles, peddlers pulling carts of wares, tuk tuks (three-wheeled motorcycle vehicles), busses, taxi vans, dogs, chickens, children playing in the filth of the streets, potholes, blaring horns, lawless intersections, traffic jams, and beggars coming up to the car window. I was glad it took a long time so I could soak in all the sights. Nothing surprised me, not even the legless man inching his way across the chaotic street. I felt at home. We were here where God had called us.

Finally, we pulled up to our apartment. Ruby and the girls were there. They had been cleaning our new home and had bought some fruit and other goodies along with a few necessary items for us. As we made our way to the gate, to our great joy, Mysa came out to greet us! She was in the capital city for the day and was getting ready to return to her village. Mysa was the subject of several of our articles in AF when we were here before. Her family adopted us and are now very supportive of the Clay and Church families. My pulse quickened as I ran towards her. “Mysa! I missed you so much! Where have the years gone?” A warm embrace erased all the years we had been apart.

Mysa’s face glowed. “I have missed you very much. Look at Jacob! He used to be just a little guy. And where is Grace?”

“She is studying in the States,” I explained. Time sure does change things. Now Mysa’s sons are in Turkey studying to become imams.

We can’t wait to get back to the Great River people. We are praying for Mysa and her family that they will come to accept Jesus as their personal Savior. We’re also praying for their boys that, as they study in Turkey, they will have an encounter with Jesus. Will you join us in our prayers?

For now we will be living in the capital city while we learn to read and write the language. Thankfully, our ability to speak the language is quickly returning, and we hope to keep building on that foundation. During the next four to six months, we will also be making trips to the area where the Great River people live. We will be scouting out possible places to move when we finish with language study. Please pray with us that God will give us language ability and will lead us to the location He has prepared for us. Thank you so much for all of your prayers and support!

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