Ministry still going on...

Hi. We are in the US, awaiting September 10th for Lisa's surgery.

We are holding on ok, but anxious for her to have some hearing again.

Meanwhile, we are getting reports of ministry back in Mali!

Freddy reports... He said the youth camp this year was great, and that he is continuing on in the study room with 12 students who are advancing well. (Note that this is great for the summer months, as summer attendence drops off dramatically.)

Reports are still coming from the women's literacy group who meets at our house. They are continuing on as well.

Pastor Youssouf has gone to Ouaga for a 3 month training course from Wycliffe Bible Translators as he will be helping Karin to form a translation team for the Senoufo dialect Shanara.

He is very important to the work in Kadiolo and surrounding area, but we trust the training will be worth his absense as he comes back to take part of the tranlsation project.

Ernie & Jan E have arrived in Bamako, and then will be down in Kadiolo soon.

Also, Bear (a new appointee to Mali) is visiting Requadts in Fourou right now...

Pray for him as he sees firsthand how God wants to use him in southern Mali.

Also as he returns to America, and is working on raising support...

We appreciate so much how so many of you have said you're praying for us.

It does mean a lot to us...

A couple of things to pray for:

Ben & Caleb start school next monday. Two new public schools. We are optimistic, but there are a lot of transitions for our kids to do well in these new settings.

Hilary is back at Dakar. She is so happy to be there, pray that she can do well this year, educationally, spiritually, and socially. We are proud of her.

Lisa has surgery coming up. Pray for her and the healing process.

Tom- Pray for me. I need to be patient, and level headed as there are so many ways I need to step up in this situation.

Thanks for stopping by,

Tom & Lisa Seward

Comings and goings

Hilary left today!

Hi. We were all a bit sad to see Hilary get on her plane today at DET Airport. She flies to JFK in New York, then transfers to a plane to Dakar, Senegal for school.

She was able to check her bags right through, so Lord willing her trip will be more simplified than her arrival trip. It was such a joy to have her this summer, especially because we won't see her at all this year. But we are so proud of the young lady she is becoming. God is so good.

She was a bit sad to leave, not being able to be hear to see Lisa finally get her bionic ear, but she's very excited about getting back into school!

Gord and Carole come and go...

Gord and Carole visited as well. They had 3 filled days with us. You may not know that they are missionaries in East Africa with AIM. They've been in many countries. Currently they take teams in to give them an intense cultural and missions training. It was so nice to talk with them, about the differences and simularities in Africa. (In our respective experiences...)

It was actually a visit to them when Lisa was 16 that she said "HEY! I could do this! I could be a missionary in Africa." So years later when we were serious about overseas, she said... "let's do Africa." You know the best parts of the rest of that story by now... . :D


If you've not heard yet, Lisa has her surgery scheduled for September 10th. She is excited to have some movement going on...

She will be very excited to hear again. We'll have to video her activation... and put it on YouTUBE. The africans will be very excited to watch that part....


Thanks for praying, and for once again stopping by!

Tom & Lisa Seward

More friends.

Hi. Sunday we shared a nice cookout with long time prayers and supporters, the Wesoleks. They had also invited our new friends, the Rileys. Ben & their son Josh have really hit it off.

We have really been enjoying our chance to re-connect with our friends at South Baptist church, croquet and all.. :D

This week, Gord and Carole are here as well. We fall into the same space on the planet's surface so rarely that we treasure our chances to talk and encourage one another...

Lisa is doing fairly well. She is so encouraged that the surgery is scheduled and there is an end in sight...

Hilary flies back to Africa on August 11th. So soon. Pray for her...

Thanks for stopping by, Tom & Lisa

Beware: If we get the chance, we'll take a picture with you, and post you on this blog as well. :D

We want to acknowledge you who have been so faithful as family, friends, supporters, and prayer warriors!

Lisa's update- Surgery scheduled!

Finally! Buckle your seatbelt!!

So we just had our mri and doc appointment yesterday. It went really well. The mri DID rule out any issues of clots or tumor, etc. So those were NOT found.

So the doctor sent her to a testing lab for balance to choose which ear to do surgery on first.

Lisa said it was like being trained in a g force machine for nasa.

They put her in a spinner chair, and spun her one way then the other until she was dizzy. (in this test, dizzy is good because that means your inner ear's balance is working properly. If you spin and spin and dont get dizzy, it means your inner ear balance is off...)

So the doctor wants to pick the ear with the worst balance to operate on, so failing this test is good. (That is my kind of test... I can fail tests with the best of them...) So they decided that though her right ear hears a bit better than her left, her right ear has the balance part gone... and her left is normal for balance. So the doctor will be doing a cochlear implant in her right ear to start with...

Yes! We finally scheduled her surgery! September 10th... So that is the day the implant will be installed, but it won't be "activated" until a couple of weeks later when the incision heals and any physical issues from surgery are looking good-er.

Then they will activate, and right away, she will be at a moderate hearing level...assuming all goes as normal with surgery. There are some risks with this surgery, but it is a much easier one than removing a tumor/etc...

Anyway, Lisa is pleased to be making progress...

Thanks so much for praying, it means a lot.

That seems silly to say, it doesn't convey the depth of care we feel each time someone says "I'm praying for you..." But it does mean a lot...

Someone just called last night from London, Ontario... I haven't spoken to her in person for many years, (I used to baby sit for her kids when I was a 12/13 yr old.)

She said, I'm following what is happening and am praying for your family, and for Lisa... Boy that meant so much. Thank you!

Thanks for praying, and stopping by today,

Tom & Lisa

County Fair

We had the chance to go to the county fair this week.
Caleb was amazed. He couldn't remember ever seeing a midway.
This time he was just at the right height requirement, so he rode the big rides with the big kids. They even let him drive his own bumper car... He spent the whole day with a big grin on his face...
The rest of us had a good time too.





We also saw one of my dad's favorite attractions at the fair.. Tractor pulls.
I forgot how loud they can be... :D Ben & I really enjoyed the event...



It was nice to decompress a bit, and do something we've not enjoyed for 3 years.
It was nice to be able to show the kids a lot of the 4H exhibits, and for them to see how rural kids get involved in those projects. (In Africa, we feel rural all the time... :D)

Thanks for stopping by
Tom & Lisa Seward