Day two of Kswahili class and I am a bit overwhelmed….wait not a bit…a lot! I’ve just came from class and the verse in Philippians 4:13 is going over and over in my mind. I am trusting that although I know I cannot do this within my own strength or knowledge, I can do it because it is Christ who is providing the strength and knowledge.

There are 2 issues that prevent the learning process being so easy for me. First, leaving high school before finishing left a huge void of knowledge, especially grammar, etc. Although I went back later, the process of learning was not as in-depth as it would have been had I finished high school straight through. Of course in order to have finished school this way I would not have the most incredible son and daughter who were born to me when I was a teenager. So, if I had to do it over again, I would do it the same way!

Although it is difficult to learn without many of the basics, I know with hard work, determination and total dependence on Christ, I will eventually learn it. Sometimes I think because of my lack of knowledge, it has caused me many times over the years to work harder to achieve my goals. Therefore, I became more proficient in the areas I had to work harder in. I am trusting this will be true once again.

The second issue is that all of the students in our class not only have their secondary college degree’s, all of them speak more than one language and have gone through language courses previously. Also, all of them have already been working in their current positions here in Africa for at least a few months, so their exposure to the Kswahili language is helping them catch on quickly.

It may seem that both of these issues are issues that would not be easily overcome, and that is so. However, God would not have brought me here to be equipped with this tool if He were not going to provide the knowledge needed to attain it. As I am finding with the life of a missionary, easy is not a part of the process! Thus far, many things have been difficult, yet here I am on the mission field having overcome them all through Christ.

Just think if it were easy, what a boring message I would be writing. Now you will be waiting to see how it all turns out. Eventually, because of these challenges, I will be writing home praise reports of how God helped me learn this language. So, all in all, maybe it should be this way where I can give Him praise and glory instead of thinking I did it on my own.

If you’d like to offer up some prayers on my behalf….it would be in order to do so quickly! We were given 6 pages of homework……………

Love to all,

Joy Breedlove

Missionary – East Africa