Dear friends, Dear families,

Is it possible that 6 months have already passed since we left Liberia for Switzerland? Apparently so! Time flies, and we look back at the “sabbatical” months behind us with grateful eyes.

England

Our weeks in England were just as we had imagined. We were lulled by the rhythm of the College and benefited from the community aspect of life here: the spiritual input replenished our souls and spirits, the relationships helped us regain confidence in ourselves but also in “the other” and nature, and the “far from human activity” aspect offered us a chance to breathe without feeling any outside pressure.

Théotime, Siméon and Gabriel were “home-schooled” by Rachel from about 8.30am to 1pm. They went from math exercises to English vocabulary, sometimes even playing table soccer or ping-pong! They met Dutch friends and had a great time with them – and played countless games of chess!

Caleb was able to join the local village school! What a blessing. He was very brave and courageous and went every morning and 2 afternoons a week.

Our faith

The main purpose of our time here was to spend time with God. Reading His Word (the Bible), spending time in prayer and cultivating that intimate relationship we can have with Him. It’s amazing, when you take the time to “listen” to what you can hear. In silence, we have received much. We can say that we have received restorative grace and the momentum to continue our journey.

What happens next

We feel mentally ready to return home to Liberia. We were looking forward to finding our home (our bed!), our friends, our dog, the beach and the warmth (brrrr, the cold, we’re not used to it anymore!).

Quite a few things happened during our absence in Liberia, and we’ll take the time to update you once we’re back on site. But we can already tell you that reinforcements have arrived on board the “ELWA boat” and that our working conditions have improved. Melvina will not be returning to work at the dental clinic straight away, in order to be available for the family and everyone’s rehabilitation. We are also delighted to welcome the Schorer family (Melvina’s sister and her family) to spend Christmas with us in the tropics!

We wish you all a peaceful and happy Christmas!

Melvina and Nicolas, Théotime Siméon Gabriel and Caleb