The Month in Review: Bees, Family and Vacation

We wrote in our last post that John and Deb Bruihler came to the Elikya Center to teach beekeeping, tractor maintenance and how to sew a beekeeping suit. They were here for a total of five weeks and all went well. They had a very full schedule each week, which meant we had a very full schedule as well. We translated, showed them around the area, cooked meals and worked with members of the Hospitality Team we are training to show them a bit about the job. On top of all that, we continued to teach our English class three days a week. 

Deb and one of the sewing teachers, Yiko, work together to make a bee suit pattern.

The beekeeping students were very excited to receive a certificate of completion at the end of the beekeeping course

One of the most exciting parts of the last month was the return of Aaron and Michelle and meeting their baby girl, Soleil Elikya. It is so nice to have them home in Gemena and Soleil has been such a joy to have as a part of our team. It makes us even more excited to welcome our baby to the team later this year! We had three additional visitors during the past several weeks: Sam’s dad, Aaron’s mom and Sam’s aunt. Even though it was a very busy time, we thoroughly enjoyed having a few family members around.  We made sure to have a “family date night “with Sam’s dad (Pa) and it was a very sweet time together.

We enjoyed the extra company of our parents while we cooked dinners in the evening on our back porch

Sarah, Sam and Pa

After all the busyness, we loaded a truck and took a twelve-hour drive to cross the border into Central African Republic. Most of our guests flew back to the states and Aaron, Michelle, Sam and I enjoyed three extra days in the capital city, Bangui. This was a very refreshing time for us, especially since Sam and I have not left Gemena since July. It was like being in a different world…a world with fans, kitchens with stoves and ovens, air-conditioned restaurants, running water, grocery stores, hot showers, carrots, green peppers and cheese.

Sarah was particularly excited about eating cereal and toast for breakfast

We also used this time to spend with the Lord and prepare new ministry goals for this year. The time away was much-needed and we are excited to be back in Gemena to continue working with our English class, Hospitality Team and make preparations for a short-term team coming out in June.

Our date night in the city