Sunrise in the village of Bole
If you are wondering, Bole is the small village where we live, just outside of the city of Neuchatel. When I last wrote, we were still in quarantine in our apartment and everyone was very excited to get out and explore. We have certainly had that opportunity and Switzerland is a beautiful place to learn French. We have been able to take hikes and runs in a beautiful gorge that is less than a mile from our apartment. In January we visited the city of Bern and were able to see the magnificent Bern Cathedral. This past month we celebrated 3 birthdays in our family: Noa (8), Anica and Micah (3). This included a trip to Grindelwald, a beautiful village nestled in the Alps, where we did some sledding, skiing and a pretty incredible train ride to the Jungfraujoch (see pictures).
Noa has been doing very well with school (all in French) and has made a number of friends even though she is frustrated she is not able to communicate as well as she would like (We think this may actually be helpful in getting her work done). We have also learned that the gradeschool game of "chasing boys" is an international one.
Maria, Micah and Anica are adapting well, although they complain their homeschool teacher (David) is too strict, takes them on too many hikes and is definitely not as good as their Grandpa Peter.
Maria and Noa are learning the ancient art of letter writing and are delighted when they place letters or postcards in "La Poste" dropbox and of course are thrilled to receive letters from their friends back home.
To give a little background, the Swiss government put some restrictions in place on January 18th that required our language school be moved into an online platform, so Josie and I have been doing our classes from our apartment. Josie attends the morning session while David watches the younger kids and visa versa for the afternoon. Thankfully, Noa has still been able to go to school 5 days per week. The other major part of those restrictions does not allow more than 5 people to be gathered together indoors which has significantly affected our ability to meet with French speaking families and practice French. We were initially concerned, but God has provided richly through La Rochette, our church community here. So far we have worked out a schedule in which David and Josie are able to have one-on-one practice a couple hours per week and Noa receives a couple hours of tutoring each week. All of this is provided by volunteers from La Rochette. We have also been able to physically attend church services which encourages our spirits and is good for our French. We trust that by August 20th (our last day of classes) we will be able to efficiently communicate in this language and look forward to a lifetime of continuing to learn it.
This past couple of months have also included a lot of planning for our move to Gabon later this year. Along with the hospital team at Bongolo we put together a food order and furniture which will be loaded onto a container in April and arrive before we get there in September. We have also learned that Christian Missionary Alliance (the "sending agency" of Bongolo hospital) has hired a teacher for Bongolo since there will be a large influx of children in 2021. Both Noa and Maria will attend the co-op school at Bongolo next year. This is a huge answer to prayer and very encouraging to us. We also learned that we have been exempt from an orientation in Colorado Springs which means we will be in Bongolo at least one month earlier than we initially thought. God willing, we will be there at the end of September 2021. In the meantime we will be working as hard as possible to become fluent in French and make sure that we don't leave any portions of Switzerland un-explored.
Some have asked us how they can be of support and we want to reiteratewe have had significant financial support which we are thankful for. As it stands at this time, with your financial support and the support of Samaritan's Purse, we are in a good place for the next 2 years. If you would like to provide something extra, the school co-op that will be at Bongolo sent a wish list of items they are asking to help equip the new school. Most of these are non-essentials, but will be loved by the kids at Bongolo (including our own). The Amazon link is provided here:
Please note that if you decide to order something it will automatically ship to the address of a Bongolo team member who will bring it to the transport container company. Items need to arrive at her house no later than April 10th.
Praise and Prayer:
- Praise for all of the support we have received from La Rochette and the opportunities we have to practice French
- Praise for all of the logistics coming together for our arrival in Bongolo
- Praise for the opportunity to enjoy God's beautiful creation in this country
- Prayer for continued wisdom and patience as Josie and I learn French: as much of a privilege as it is to learn a new language, it is also quite challenging!
- Prayer for continued patience with our younger children as they have little outlet for interaction with others and it has been difficult for them.
Thank you all for your prayer and support. We love hearing from you and would love to know how you are doing and how we can be in prayer for you. It has been humbling to experience how God's community has come around us to help us realize the vision God had placed on our lives many years ago. We know we serve a God who is faithful to His promises and are blessed to be part of a faithful community.
Soli Deo Gloria.
The Skavdahls
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| On the "Top of Europe" Jungfraujoch |
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| Waiting for the train |
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| Old stone bridge in the gorge |
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| Hiking in the Gorges de l'Areuse, a mile from our appartment |
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