A community pot

One of the things we missed most in Malawi was being part of a community.  We did have some community in Malawi with the people we met, some Randy worked with and some we became familiar with at church but there was no time to develop much community with Randy working so much.  Here we have been blessed to find a community, even though we will all be going to different countries in the next 6-12 months.  There is the common bond of learning a new language.  There is the common bond of our motivation to do so as servants of our great God.  And there is often the common bond of similar life stage.  We have been pleased to find we are not the only people over 50 to do something as crazy as try to learn a new language once we are “over the hill”.  We have found two other 50 something couples here!  Friday night we had our first “50 something” dinner and game night. There is a group of singles here who have a bi-weekly “celebritaire” night out.  There are a few teams with game nights and a sports night for those avid fans.  Now we have added our “50 something” group to the mix.  One of the ladies found a fondue pot and a raclette pan at the resale shop.  She bought one and I the other so our first gathering I made fondue and we played cards.  Next time she will make raclette.  Amidst the daily challenges of language learning it has been really encouraging to find new friends to laugh with and enjoy a relaxing evening.  God is very good!  Not only does He give us what we need He has blessed us with good gifts that restore our strength.  A reprieve from the books and studying french!  We are thankful!