Thursday, June 13, 2002
MAY/JUNE DEMARS FAMILY UPDATE

"When I looked at him I said in despair, 'Oh, Lord, I cannot do this. Please let me go somewhere else so I can cry in a corner. I am not able to speak to this man.' When I say to the Lord, 'I cannot do this,' I always receive the answer, --I have known that for a long time, but it is good that you know it too, for now you can let Me do it. And I said, 'Lord, then You do it.' --And He did."----Marching Orders fro the End Battle, Corrie ten Boom Dear Ministry and Prayer Partners,

HAPPENINGS: We have continued to get things set up in our house, get familiar with Tabou and the existing churches, and locate tutors for language learning. Believe it or not, it has taken this long to get these matters in order, and some are still not complete. Cindy has become more familiar with the markets in town and because of the foods available/not available has learned to
cook several African dishes. She and the children are also trying to find an end to the school year for 2001-2002. Guy seems to have spent quite a bit of the time sick with either malaria or intestinal infections. Derrick and Erin have gotten a dachshund canine to keep them company. We found out that these pets are excellent snake hunters and many missionaries throughout West Africa have them as pets for that very reason. Our new pet, in his lifetime, has already killed numerous small snakes and has even cornered a spitting cobra.

DIFFICULTIES: We must confess that these past few weeks have been most difficult. We were warned about culture shock in our missionary training and thought our family would somehow escape that part of adjustments, but we were wrong. It hit us full force from every direction. We thought with many of the Liberians living here in Tabou as refugees would be able to communicate with us with ease considering their country is Anglophone, but their English is just a mere dialect of our own language. So we face this as well French speakers and Grebo speakers. We have been chewed out more times than once because we had the audacity to move here without being able to speak their language. It is frustrating on all sides. In other areas of adjusting; all the strategies and plans that we had once made and felt led to begin have crumbled to pieces and has left us bewildered and overwhelmed in looking for direction.

PRAYERS ANSWERED: Our travels have been safe. We specifically requested prayer for Guy as he traveled into Liberia. The Lord had His hand upon Guy for both trips made into the war torn country. The last trip turned out to be a bad experience and we can't thank you enough for your prayers. This is another one of those 'plans we made' that have changed. Until things settle down a bit, we won't be able to travel into Liberia as our job originally required. Many of you have been aware of sickness that has crept up, especially with Guy. We are glad to report that he is on his feet and doing well. We also have our tutors in place for language learning.

PRAYER REQUESTS
1. Pray that our ears would be open to understand the Grebo language and our tongues would be loosed to speak it.
2. Continue to pray as we compile a worldview study for the Grebo people. This needs to be accurate and up-to-date recorded findings on their belief system and how they view life so that Christians can better reach them with the Gospel.
3. We will be traveling to Ghana, the country bordering Cote d' Ivoire on the east, on June 30 - July 6. Pray for our travel and for a smooth border crossing. This will be for our spiritual retreat as well as many other missionary families. Pray also for a refreshing time for our whole family.
4.We desire creativity in strategically reaching the Grebo with the spiritual barriers we have found. At times we find ourselves becoming easily discouraged. Pray that we stay focused on God's plans instead of our own.
5. Continue to pray that we will GROW IN CHRIST and that God would continue to CULTIVATE A LOVE in us for the people.

Thanks so much for your prayer support, encouraging emails, and letters. We would love to hear from you. Please keep in mind that we are unable to receive photos via email as well as forwards. Should we receive a forward or attachment from you, it will automatically be deleted unless we have made arrangements otherwise. This is due to risk of 'catching a virus' on our computer.
Thanks for your understanding in this matter.

In His Name,
Guy, Cindy, Derrick, and Erin DeMars
Missionaries to West Africa

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