Devouring God's Word

Bear with me for a minute while I tell you something strange, before telling you something more important about our current work.

They're devouring God's Word. Unfortunately I'm talking about the roaches. Yes, ROACHES. We recently spent seven weeks away in Ghana, as you know, for the birth of baby Tess. One thing that always happens in our absence is the dreaded invasion of the roaches. They sort of have the run of the place when we're gone and we have to do some major exterminating when we come home. Actually it's more like hand-to-hand combat, but those are stories better told over dinner.

Anyhow, this time the roaches were literally gnawing away at two of our Bibles left behind. One is my French Bible I do essentially all my mission work with. They managed to buff the edges down quite a bit so that I can now open my Bible to the New Testament just by feeling around the edge. The second Bible was a keepsake copy of the Psalms I found for Juli. It's like an old grade school primer, black cover, large print, just the Psalms in old King James. The roaches really enjoyed it! They removed all the black faux leather on the cover except for one patch that, if I hold it just so, looks a lot like the shape of Greece.

People we know here are likewise hungry for God's Word. Juli mentioned that our storytelling sessions with Salifou have resumed. Salifou (SALLY-foo) runs the car wash, as you recall, and I go there several times a week to do a story. We have completed the book of Genesis and the patriarchal age. This morning we cracked the pages of Exodus and began the story of Moses. (We've moved the study time from the afternoons to the morning, so if you're praying that's about 5 am Missouri time :-)

Please pray for these guys. Salifou's wife just gave birth to their fifth child and hasn't been feeling well since. Vandals also came the other night and stole the spigot for his car wash along with the good buckets, and broke the rest of the things. It was pure meanness, whoever it was.
The next day the city came by to collect their monthly payment for his ''business license.'' Still, Salifou is absorbing the stories and seems encouraged by their message.

Kassoum is his young car wash guy. He's 18, appers to be pretty industrious, and at times catches things in the story that Salifou plainly misses. They tease him, because that's what you do when there's a ''kid'' around. Pray that he finds something really life changing in the sessions.

Diarra (JAR-uh) is our other regular participant. He's actually from Abidjan and came to Abengourou to visit his sister who lives about 200 yards up the hill. He came for a few weeks and has never left! He's about my age, knows the Koran quite a bit, and a knows a whole lot about a whole lot of things (politics, geography, history). Because he's out of work, I wonder why he's come to Abengourou ''for such a time as this,'' as the book of Esther says. Can God possibly have him right there on the wooden bench day after day just so he can hear the Good News of salvation before it's too late? I think so!

Ishmael is semi-regular. He's a student, studying computers, and likes to talk a lot. The first time he came I secretly hoped he wouldn't come back. But he's calmed down, maybe that he was able to impress me with his knowledge. He prays, meaning that as Muslim he fairly regularly observes the prayer times during the day. He also knows these early stories from their overlap with the Koran. But Ishmael also has a good dose of myth and superstition thrown in with some of the stories, things that the Bible would never say. We don't debate the details, but try to stick to the main point of the story.

Pray for us, please, while we keep moving forward in the weeks ahead with these guys. We'll let you know about some of our other possible sites soon so you can be praying for our selection of new storytelling groups. THANKS for your time--and prayers--today!

Back to Reality

We made it back to Abengourou on May 27th, the day after our 17th wedding anniversary and the day before Austin's 15th birthday. We ended up staying in Accra a little longer than planned to wait for Tess's passport and Certificate of Registered Birth Abroad from the US Embassy, making our total time away, almost 7 weeks.(We had only planned on 5) Needless to say we were glad to be back home, settled in one place, and to have more than 5 changes to clothing to pick from.

Damon jumped right back into the swing of life here by meeting with the leaders from several of the churches and holding storytelling sessions with Salifou at the car wash. He has visited several Djoula families and a few of those who were attending the storytelling sessions from the HIV support group. It appears that they aren't interested in continuing the sessions just yet because they are all very busy. It's hard to know if they really are just too busy or if they aren't interested. Damon is going to keep visiting them and try to resume the group. He'd also like to establish another one or two in the next few weeks. Pray that God will show him where to do this.

The kids and I jumped right back into school, trying to make up for the extra time we lost when we were "stuck" in Burkina and "stuck" in Ghana. I've even suspended working at the clinic this month to really try to cram in those last few days so we can be DONE with the 2007-2008 school year and I can have enough time to prepare for the 2008-2009 school year before it starts in August.

The kids are all doing great. Tess is growing like a weed and continues to delight us all.

For those who come to this blog wanting in depth updates on the work, I'm really sorry that you aren't finding it. The problem is that I'm the computer person in the family and Damon is the one doing the "mission" work (for the most part). He has every intention of updating the blog with real ministry information but he's often busy or out of the house until late in the evening and we often have visitors then. When he finally gets a minute to himself, not being a computer person, the last thing he thinks about doing is sitting in front of a computer. Therefore, for the most part, you're stuck with me and the things I know most about, and that's family news, with a little ministry thrown in here and there.

Hope you're not too disappointed. Ü

Tessa Caroline Jones Has Arrived!

On May 3rd, 2008 at 12:05 am, Tessa Caroline Jones made her grand entrance into this world in Accra, Ghana, 10 minutes before a huge thunderstorm rolled in and knocked out the power. She weighed 7 lbs 3 oz and was 21 inches long. She has a head full of dark hair, and a sweet and calm disposition (thank you Lord!).

Juli says the labor was the hardest yet and it was a bit worrisome for the last 4 hours as there was some bleeding and the doctor suspected a placental abruption, but after doing several tests she decided that the problem was coming from something else and decided to continue with a natural labor. As it turns out the bleeding was from a hematoma on the baby side of the placenta and the doctor's good judgement call saved us from an unnecessary c-section, so we were pleased.

Tess is absolutely adored, spoiled by, and doted over constantly by her 5 older siblings. Mom and Dad hardly get a minute alone with her but that's okay because without a doubt she will never be lacking in love or attention. Take a peek here if you want to see for yourself how beautiful she is: http://picasaweb.google.com/damonjuli/TessaCaroline

Join us in thanking God for His newest blessing to the Jones family and thank YOU for praying along with us for a safe and healthy pregnancy and delivery. Your prayers made all the difference.

A Grand Time in Accra

We arrived in Accra on April 10th to await the arrival of Jones kid #6. While waiting we've had a really good time together as a family, relaxing, enjoying each other and enjoying a lot of the things we don't have in Ivory Coast. For one, the grocery stores are full of things from "home" like Dr Pepper and Mt Dew and Doritos and frozen broccoli, cheddar cheese, hot dogs and macaroni and cheese. We're not necessarily all the healthier for it but we are happier! Ü

We've enjoyed the internet and satellite tv at the guest house where we're staying as well as the managers of the guest house who have been surrogate grandparents to our kids. We've also enjoyed having a little anonimity and noat having to answer the doorbell and the myriad of requests it brings our way daily in Abengourou.

We've been attending Elim International Family church here in Accra and it's been wonderful to sit in padded chairs and worship in air conditioning, not to mention worshipping in English, hearing sermons in English and having Sunday school classes for the kids. Austin and Emily have been able to participate in the youth group with the church and have thoroughly enjoyed it. They love their African friends but being able to be with other N American kids, just like them and to speak English and talk about N American kid things, has been really good for them.

To see some pictures of our fun times, Emily's 13th birthday party, horseback riding, and go cart racing, take a look here http://picasaweb.google.com/damonjuli/Accra.

We're Still Here!

We know we're not the best bloggers in the blogosphere but our silence over the past month wasn't exactly our fault. We were somehow locked out of our blog and had a hard time getting logged in and posting. I think (i sure hope!) that the problem is solved and we can keep posting without a huge hassle everytime.

A quick run down of the past month:

Our crank shaft was resurfaced and put back into our car in Burkina Faso the week before Easter. Therefore, Damon flew to Burkina on Friday the 21st to pick it up. He arrived just in time because Tabitha Hauser had her baby, Anastasia Joy (means Resurrection Joy) on the 22nd. He was glad to be able to celebrate with them and welcome Ana into the world, and he was also able to help take care of Will and Sam so Brian could be with Tab. Damon headed back to Ivory Coast on Easter morning (our third Easter in a row to not be together as a family, but we were able to celebrate together today 2 weeks later) and made it back Monday around noon. The car then immediately went into the shop to have a pulley replaced then a few days later when in for a starter problem. We have it back now but are wondering what will happen next....Ü

On Easter Sunday the kids and i along with our teammates, the Bledsoe's, Buregea's and Elizabeth Sorenson, took a badjan out to the village of Kodjina to celebrate at the regional church convention which had been going on there since the 20th. For the first time, the 16 churches decided to forego a big mission wide annual convention as they have in the past, and instead held 3 regional ones to make it easier and less expensive for people to attend. The verdict is still out on whether or not it was better than the one huge convention but we do know that things went well in Kodjina and we were glad to be able to celebrate Christ's resurrection with our brothers and sisters there.

On the 26th, we were honored to host Dr Suzie Snyder from CMF along with 2 missions pastors and a missions committee chairman from Highland Meadows Christian Church in Irving, TX and Hazeldell Church of Christ in Indianapolis, IN, for a week. They came to Ivory Coast to visit the HIV ministry and see how their churches could be involved in ministering to people with HIV/AIDS in Ivory Coast. We truly enjoyed their visit and their interest in the work. Please pray for them as they see where God is leading them as far as involvement in this ministry.

The Bible storytelling sessions at the car wash continue when possible. Damon has been encouraged by his lessons with Salifou and others who have started attending regularly. He's better placed to tell you all that has been happening there so i'll save that for him for another day. In the mean time please remember to pray for Salifou and others as well as those studying the Bible through the HIV support group, especially in our absence over the next month. Pray that God will continue to reveal Himself to them in many ways.

Speaking of our "absence" the time has come to move to Ghana. Baby is due in about 3 1/2 weeks so our family will be moving to Accra, Ghana for a month to await his or her arrival and then to attend the West African Missionary Retreat on May 10th. Damon is the president of the Association of Christian Church Missionaries in West Africa so his attendance is pretty important. The kids and i will enjoy getting to tag along. Ü While we're in Accra, besides having a baby, we'll continue homeschooling and Damon will have time to work on the mounds of paperwork, e-mails and office things that pile up and stay untended-to while we're here in Abengourou. We'll have e-mail access, Lord willing, so feel free to drop us a note any time! We'd love to hear from you.

What a Trip!

We're back from our trip to Burkina Faso. (Be sure to look at our web album! The link is on the right) We had a good time at the Nazinga game reserve where we met our friends and teammates, the Hauser's. We saw lots of elephants, antelope, baboons and other deer like creatures whose names I've forgotten. We were able to visit a demonstration farm near the capital of Ouagadougou and see some of the animals up close and personal including a waterbuck that tried to run Kate through with his horns from the other side of the fence. Thank goodness for chain link!

On our way from Ouagadougou to Bobodioulasso, the crank shaft in our engine decided to give up the ghost, so Damon and Brian towed it the remaining 238 kms to Bobo. They left the two pregnant women and their 7 children abandoned along side of the road in an unknown village. (okay, so we were at a bus stop but we like to tease them about it). Tabitha and the kids and I made the 4 hour trip by bus and arrived at the guest house, hot, tired, dirty, thirsty and very thankful to finally get horizontal.

While in Bobo we were able to meet some of the missionary friends that Damon made while he was there for Djoula language school last spring. The Schaeffer's, among others treated us to meals and a picnic on some rocks outside of town. It was good to finally get to meet them and spend some time with them.

From Bobo, we rented a car from the mechanic and headed to Banfora where the Hauser's live. They were gracious to not only open their home to us for a few days, but because of the car we ended up staying almost a week! While we were there, we had a lot of good meals and fellowship, a few games of The Settlers and were able to see a little of what their life is like in Burkina. In some ways it's similar to life here in Ivory Coast but in many others, it's vastly different. We were also able to visit a beautiful waterfall outside of their town and climb around on some big old rocks nearby.

The mechanic had told us that he thought the car would be ready to go by Feb22nd, so we hung around until then with our fingers crossed. When people began demonstrating over nation wide price increases, on Feb 19th, we began to get a little concerned since the mechanic wasn't able to work and order the extra parts needed. On Feb 20th, when they were still demonstrating, we began to think of alternate travel plans. Finally on Feb22nd, we boarded the 7 am bus for Bouaké and headed home.

The bus ride was extremely interesting and harrowing and definitely an experience I'm not sure I want to relive 7 months pregnant and with 5 kids in tow. Ü I won't bore you with all of the details but the trip, which usually takes 8 hours by private car, only took 7 on the bus, and that included a border crossing with 65 people and 6 stops including one that lasted almost an hour. Wow.

Friday night, the 22nd, we stayed at the former Baptist boarding school for missionary kids in Bouaké which is now the headquarters for the French peace keeping forces in Ivory Coast in "rebel" territory. We had a wonderful evening with the Ragsdale's, the only missionaries back in the area and then headed back to Abengourou on Saturday morning with our teammate, Henri who met us in Bouaké with the clinic's landrover. It felt wonderful to be back in our own home Saturday evening.

Sunday however, Damon and i the two youngest girls went to Abidjan to pick up our teammates, Bernie and Kelly Bledsoe who had been on furlough for the past year, and a new short term teammate, Elizabeth Sorenson, who is a nurse and will be helping us in the clinic for the next year. We were glad to see them and glad that they are here even though getting back on the road the next day wasn't much fun!

Now we're getting back into the swing of things here with school and the clinic and the Bible storytelling. Today, Damon is in the village of Bettié (3 hour drive) for a meeting with the church leaders. We are also trying to find parts for our car and figure out how to get them to Burkina so that the car can be fixed and Damon can go and pick it up before we need it to get to Ghana to have a baby. Never a dull moment around here! Ü

Speaking of the baby, the third toxoplasmosis screen came back negative so we're going to assume that toxoplasmosis isn't a concern for now. We haven't done a follow up ultrasound to check on the baby's growth but i have finally started gaining some weight and the dr was encouraged by that. We'll do another ultrasound at my next appointment on the 17th. Thanks for your prayers.

We're heading off on a trip to Burkina Faso tomorrow so I wanted to get in a quick, general update before we head off. Our old team mates, Brian and Tabitha Hauser have moved to Banfora, Burkina Faso to begin working with the ethnic Jula people there, so we thought we'd take advantage of their hospitality and overrun them with Joneses. At the present, they are what Grace calls a "short" family since they only have two kids, but #3 is due to make her arrival in early April so they are on their way to keeping up with the Joneses. (Adds a whole new meaning to the phrase doesn't it? Ü)

The construction on the lab has been going really quickly. The structure actually has a roof on it now and is ready for plumbing and electricity and interior work. Unfortunately, we're out of money, so things will come to a stop for awhile. EGPAF (The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation) has said they are interested in helping us finish the project so we are praying that our proposal is approved and the lab can continue. It will really be a huge help to the clinic, and especially to the HIV+ population.

Speaking of the HIV+ population, Damon continues the Chronological Bible Story telling sessions with a few Djoula Muslim members of the People Living With AIDS support group, every two weeks. The group is small but it seems to be going well. Pray that those who attend will continue to be faithful and that their hearts and minds will be opened to see God's plan from the very beginning was to save the world through His Son. The picture attached to this post is a few members of the PLWA support group in front of the new lab construction.

The other CBS group that Damon is leading with Salifou at the car wash is really going well. They meet 2 or 3 times a week and the group has grown. Not only Salifou and the young men that work at the car wash, listen, a few taxi drivers have begun stopping in regularly when they see Damon there on the man under the palm trees, telling the stories from the Bible. They have had several good discussions and Damon always comes home encouraged by their sessions. Pray that God will open their hearts and minds to His truth.

Jones baby #6 appears to be doing okay. Keep Juli's pregnancy in your prayers if you will though. At her last dr's visit, the dr thought the baby was measuring a little small for its age and one of her lab tests came back as possibly positive for toxoplasmosis. (Not a great thing while you're pregnant) The dr believes the test was a false positive so she redid the test. At the end of February when we head to Abidjan to pick up our teammates who have been on furlough, Juli will see the dr again, get the results of the blood test and have another ultrasound to monitor the growth of the baby. Pray that all of the results are fine and that we had nothing to worry about. Ü (Even though we're not worrying....just praying)

We'll let you know how our trip turned out when we get back. Who knows...we may even share a few pictures too! We plan to spend a night at Nazinga animal reserve which is well known for it's elephant population, so there may be a few good ones to share.