God is truly faithful. I am a big journal-er and one of my favorite aspects of it is getting to look back on how God answered prayers or taught me things or just reminded me of who He was regardless of what I was going through. I know God is faithful, but what a gift to see this SO tangibly through journal entries of pouring my heart out to Him and seeing how He responded. Our newsletters (and now these blog posts) are like a form of journaling and have proven to yield the same awe of God that journaling does. When I look back at where we started as brand new parents just seeking out which agency to choose to joining Avant to taking a vision trip to Senegal to departing for language school to arriving in Africa to having our two week old hospitalized for sepsis to this point of having lived for nearly two years in this beautiful, challenging place, I am amazed. God is faithful.
We have prayed for leading and He has led. We have prayed for Him to grow us in Christlikeness and painfully, tenderly He has. We have prayed for relationships to share the gospel and He has brought them in ways we never expected. We have asked Him to provide – finances, friendships, peace in heartache, a home, a car and on and on – and He has provided, in His timing. We pray that He is glorified in our lives and that we would be willing vessels for His purposes for the sake of His Name and the eternal state of the people of Senegal – we know He is and will faithfully do this.
Reading through old newsletters I thought I would share some of the entries that made me smile and reminded me of God’s faithfulness. Notes added today are in italics.
Newsletter 5, August 2020
“…we had planned to go to a training in Kansas City [with Avant] last month and, by God’s grace, we were able to attend… and are delighted to share that as of July 17th we were officially appointed with Avant! Praise God for His timing and providence in leading us to this awesome organization.”
“Since returning from our training we are jumping into developing our ministry team. …We are excited about the prospect of connecting with many different people to share our heart, vision and plans. It is a new season of life and one that is interesting to balance with Adam still working, having two small children and dealing with a global pandemic. We are thankful though for God allowing us to walk this journey during this time as He teaches us to fully rely on Him. To Him be the glory!”
Newsletter 6, October 2020
“We had originally planned to take [our vision] trip early next year, but about three weeks ago Adam and I were challenged to more intentionally seek God in prayer which made us realize that when we had talked about a vision trip in the past we had simply assumed that trying to go in the fall was not possible. Convicted that our assumptions were not something to base decisions on, we began to seriously pray about moving the timeline up. God has been so faithful to open the door from plane tickets to childcare to time off from work for Adam. We are even going to be able to attend an English camp during our time in Senegal which will give us a neat look at the ministry we would be joining!
This trip is really important in our missions process because it is one of the biggest things that will help us finalize Senegal as our location. It will allow us a glimpse into the culture and everyday life of Senegal. We will also be able to meet and get to know the team who is currently there and they will get to know us. And as an added bonus to going in October – we will get an idea of whether or not we can handle the hottest month in Senegal 🙂 (Adam isn’t sure that this qualified as a bonus) *this line is especially poignant as I type this on October 3rd and the heat is ramping up
Our prayer is that God will give absolute clarity about if this is where we should be headed and, if it is, that He will begin to grow in us a love and passion for Senegal and the people there. This whole process has been one of seeking Him and trusting that He knows where we will end up and when. In that, we have such peace and anticipation for how He will lead! What an amazing God He is!”
“Since our last newsletter we have been keeping busy with meeting people and building our ministry team. God has brought so many people into our lives who are not only partnering with us prayerfully, financially and with connections to others, but who have been pouring into our lives with such excitement and encouragement! We continue to see God’s faithfulness as He develops this team…We are also super excited to share that we have officially passed 50% of our monthly budget raised! This is much faster than either of us expected, especially with Adam working full time still! We are praising God for His provision and for the generosity of so many people. Once we return from our trip we plan to jump back into meeting with people.”
Newsletter 7, November 2020
“After getting the approval needed from our agency and the team on the ground, we are now officially assigned to Senegal! Even as I type this it feels a little surreal.”
“While we have always been open to the idea of homeschooling, we are super excited to have [Dakar Academy] as an option for schooling down the road, as well as a great place to build community.” *thankful for the year and half Mia spent at DA and to now be a homeschooling family and definitely thankful for our Christian community through DA!
Newsletter 19, December 2021
“In 26 short days we will be boarding a plane to move to France! This past month has been a frenzy of selling things, spending as much time as we can with people, organizing, selling some more, packing and…more selling…..We wanted to share all of that to try and relay how we are doing in this final month in the States. My mind often feels scattered and yet amidst these ups and downs and many emotions in trying to leave well, I see God’s steadfastness. I am so grateful for this experience. Through it I feel I’m seeing a side of God that is so tender – my heavenly Father holding my hand as we walk through the unknown and the grief of so many difficult good-byes. He truly is so worthy.”
Newsletter 23, April 2022
“We are officially less than one week away from our first [French] exams! While we envisioned a couple weeks of pretty intense studying leading up to our exams, our productivity has been severely limited due to more illness. Adam had a stomach bug last weekend which knocked him out for a solid two days. The day after he started to feel better I began to feel sick and then both kids came down with fevers and coughs which we are still dealing with (poor Desi is on day 6 of a fever). Thankfully Mia seems to be coming out of it and we anticipate Desmond won’t be far behind her. This round of sickness was especially stressful since it was compounded by anxiety over the upcoming exams and heightened homesickness (mainly for Selina).
This round of sickness has also brought a clearer picture of how dependent we are on God and how we want what He has for this time, even if it seems at odds with what we think is best (i.e. studying). With those thoughts we have felt a lot of peace and have been able to enjoy lots of extended snuggles with the kids when they weren’t feeling well. While we have still been studying whenever we can and have plans to study hard these final days leading up to the exams, we are grateful for this perspective shift and we entrust the outcome of our exams to the Lord.” *if this doesn’t sum up language school I don’t know what does
Newsletter 30, December 2022
“Somehow it is December and we have only 18 days until we move! The next time we send out a newsletter we will be living on a new continent! That’s wild!
Our final stretch of school has not looked the way we expected as we have battled various colds and illnesses for over two weeks which then culminated in positive Covid tests for Adam and I this past Saturday.” *see what I said about sickness defining language school?
“…we are thankful that God is not at all surprised by any of this. He has always known what our time in France would look like, including our final weeks. We trust His plan in all of this as well as what He has for each remaining day in Albertville. We also continue to praise Him for the community He has placed around us here. We had so many sweet friends who generously provided meals, groceries, baked goods, coffee, toys and activities for our kids and encouragement during our quarantine. We will truly miss the friendships we have here!”
“We recently found out that our housing in Dakar has been approved with the landlord!! This is such a huge answer to prayer – thank you for seeking the Lord on our behalf for this.” *and we just received word that our landlord approved us to have someone live in the house during our HMA next year!
Newsletter 35, May/June 2023
“Evie Grace Matzke joined our family Tuesday, April 25th. She weighed 8lbs 13oz and made a memorable entrance via unplanned home birth! Since her birth she has had two additional hospitalizations…The most recent one was quite scary as she was very sick—her initial bloodwork upon being admitted revealed she was septic…Thankfully, after five nights in the hospital, she began improving and has since continued to make a full recovery at home.
In addition to Evie’s illnesses, everyone else in our family dealt with fevers and other maladies in the first few weeks after Evie’s arrival. Her initial three weeks was honestly one of the most physically, emotionally and mentally exhausting times our family has ever experienced.
Yet we are SO grateful. Amidst all that I just mentioned we felt the Lord’s presence – sustaining us, encouraging us and providing for us as He always does. And we have been so blessed by all of you! Thank you for all of your prayers and encouraging messages. Your ongoing support of our family is a continual way in which we feel humbled and encouraged. Thank you!”
Newsletter 42, January 2024
“We have officially lived in Senegal for a year! And what a year it has been. God is SO faithful…We wanted to say a massive Thank you to all of our supporters. As we reflected on our first year in Africa we were blown away by God’s provision through the highs and the lows. You are a huge part of that provision. Your prayers, emails, messages, physical letters sent with Adam’s mom last month, time spent reading our newsletters and blog posts as well as your financial support are all means for us to be here and to continue on. We feel that our first year was one not just of surviving, but of thriving. Thank you for all you have done on our behalf and in response to God to make this so.”
If you’ve read this far, kudos to you! Do you sense a theme? God is faithful. May this blog post be an ebenezer marking His faithfulness. Excited to reflect again at 100 newsletters!
Much love,
Selina