I guess it comes as no surprise to anyone that sees me on a regular basis, but I have really only just come to this conclusion. You see, I have always thought of myself as “strawberry blonde” because that is what I was growing up and I think even if I look back at my wedding pictures I was still strawberry blonde (I can’t confirm that because I don’t have them with me here). I don’t really know when I started to turn brown, but many would say better that then grey. (No, my brain has not turned to complete mush having gone away to work on my masters and I am getting to a point here). The change in colour was so gradual over time that I never really paid much attention to it and that is very much like our Christian walk. Our goal is to be more like Jesus and we make little decisions daily that may not seem like much or mean anything to anyone else, but are slowly transforming us and changing us. There are the occasional milestones along the way that allow us to look back and say, “Wow, look how far I have come!” There are also those moments when we are really tired and overworked and don’t choose as wisely as we would like to and wonder if we will ever make it. But all the while, God is using the good and the bad to mold us and make us into what He wants us to be.
I had a really great time in studying in Germany. I learned many things, and met many great people. There are moments when I wished that the time would go on and on and then there were moments when I couldn’t wait to get back to Niger. I am still hoping that some of the people I met might give Niger a try sometime in the near future. Thanks to all of you who prayed for me during that time, it did my heart good to know that the boys were praying that –I wouldn’t be too lonely and I wouldn’t get too stressed! I have until August 15 to finish up assignments on two of my courses (the one I finished while in Germany) and so this will be a particularly busy time for me.
We are expecting a team from Canada in a week. Please pray for their health, safety and effective ministry. Also pray that all the details of preparations would come together for them.
The boys’ school is still short on staff for the coming year. We don’t know who will be teaching Ben’s grade 3 / 4 class, or covering the principal’s leave, or art or music. There are others that are planning on coming but don’t have support in place yet. But we have been encouraged to hear that someone might be coming from one of our supporting churches! Please pray for this person that God will direct him through this process and also please continue to lift up the other needs of Sahel Academy through the coming year.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Saturday, July 10, 2010
She’s almost home.
Sunday Jennifer will be back from her classes in Germany. Things have gone relatively well for her so far. She’s completed her coursework for the second class and received a final grade of … 100%! The boys say that Dad’s cooking is okay but too much BBQ. I had hoped to go away with the boys but never made it. Originally I thought we’d make the three day trip to Accra, Ghana. When things didn’t come together I thought we might take some friends to Ouagadougou for a couple of days this week but that didn’t pan out either. Thursday I discovered that it was probably for the best. Driving through town the car suddenly died. I called the garage and after quick inspection it was discovered that the timing belt had snapped… Now if you’re familiar with timing belts you know that generally means rebuilding the motor. Late Friday afternoon the mechanic called. He said that 90% of the time, a snapped timing belt means secondary damage to the motor. My car fell in to the other ten percent—only the timing belt. I’m particularly thankful; not only did they not have to rebuild the engine, if I had taken either of the trips the car would have broken down in the middle of no place in Burkina on a road known to have problems with bandits… Thank you Lord.
The other thing that happened here this week was much more disturbing. Spring rains have been slow coming and the famine is getting worse as livestock that usually are feeding on new grasses are rapidly dying off from starvation. Friday our house-help told us that a young woman from his wife’s neighbourhood had been kidnapped and then butchered as a sacrifice in order to produce rain. That neighbourhood did in fact have a violent thunderstorm this week that included large hail stones. When his wife rode a bush-taxi out to her mother’s home, people in the van were commenting how rain had indeed followed the sacrifice. Our house-help is a conservative Muslim who rejects involvement with the fetishers and was happy to learn that, in fact, hail in the Bible was not a sign of God’s favour but of judgement. In fact the storm had been so violent that a number of homes were seriously damaged or destroyed, including his mother-in-law’s. She is now sleeping in a shelter in the front yard because of large cracks in the cement which threaten to bring the roof down as happened next door. Please pray that good rains will come soon providing food to the herds that remain and to calm desperate hearts that are tempted with desperate measures.
The other thing that happened here this week was much more disturbing. Spring rains have been slow coming and the famine is getting worse as livestock that usually are feeding on new grasses are rapidly dying off from starvation. Friday our house-help told us that a young woman from his wife’s neighbourhood had been kidnapped and then butchered as a sacrifice in order to produce rain. That neighbourhood did in fact have a violent thunderstorm this week that included large hail stones. When his wife rode a bush-taxi out to her mother’s home, people in the van were commenting how rain had indeed followed the sacrifice. Our house-help is a conservative Muslim who rejects involvement with the fetishers and was happy to learn that, in fact, hail in the Bible was not a sign of God’s favour but of judgement. In fact the storm had been so violent that a number of homes were seriously damaged or destroyed, including his mother-in-law’s. She is now sleeping in a shelter in the front yard because of large cracks in the cement which threaten to bring the roof down as happened next door. Please pray that good rains will come soon providing food to the herds that remain and to calm desperate hearts that are tempted with desperate measures.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
The butcher's counter
I had and experience today that reminded me of an old friend whom I dearly love and respect. I was standing at the butcher’s counter in the grocery store, trying to figure out what I knew how to cook while Jenn is away. The guy behind the counter with whom we’ve chitchatted at various times looked at me said, “You teach music don’t you.”
“No,” I replied, “I have taught math on occasion but mostly I teach theology.”
“Oh, you mean like the Bible.”
“Yup”
“Are you protestant? I have a bible somebody gave me a long time ago, and I like to read it but you know sometimes Jesus says things that I just don’t understand, could you explain it to me?”
I now have an appointment Sunday afternoon to visit him and his wife to talk about the Bible. That unexpected moment took me back to some debates that happened in my former church. When I first started there, our denominational handbook suggested that pastors should make 15 visits a week. (It was changed a year or two later.)None of the pastors I had known made that many calls in a week and the pastors I knew seemed to suggest that it was a ministry model from a bygone era. However some church members figured it was “in the Manual” and ought to be done. After all, Rev. Knoll did it.
At that time, John Knoll was a retired pastor participating in our church. Early on he’d taken me around to meet people in the community, and prayed with me weekly. I appreciated him and still do. During the time that I was wrestling with the issue someone commented to me, “Oh yeah, if John sees someone in the grocery store and says “hi,” he counts that as a visit.” I’ve never asked John how he “counted” his visits but I can see something like that being true. You see Rev. Knoll is someone who always lives “on mission.” I can believe John would have taken notice of a chance conversation at a grocery store, because he is always looking for opportunities that the Lord is putting in his path, takes every opportunity to follow them up. That’s one reason why I respect him.
I know there are times when I’m ready to retreat. I’ve punched in my time card and my shift is over and I want to just check out for awhile. But being a Christian is not a nine-to-five job, and often God puts opportunities where we’d least expect them, including the butcher’s counter at the grocery store. I don’t know where this opportunity will lead but I’m trying to stay, “on mission” regardless.
“No,” I replied, “I have taught math on occasion but mostly I teach theology.”
“Oh, you mean like the Bible.”
“Yup”
“Are you protestant? I have a bible somebody gave me a long time ago, and I like to read it but you know sometimes Jesus says things that I just don’t understand, could you explain it to me?”
I now have an appointment Sunday afternoon to visit him and his wife to talk about the Bible. That unexpected moment took me back to some debates that happened in my former church. When I first started there, our denominational handbook suggested that pastors should make 15 visits a week. (It was changed a year or two later.)None of the pastors I had known made that many calls in a week and the pastors I knew seemed to suggest that it was a ministry model from a bygone era. However some church members figured it was “in the Manual” and ought to be done. After all, Rev. Knoll did it.
At that time, John Knoll was a retired pastor participating in our church. Early on he’d taken me around to meet people in the community, and prayed with me weekly. I appreciated him and still do. During the time that I was wrestling with the issue someone commented to me, “Oh yeah, if John sees someone in the grocery store and says “hi,” he counts that as a visit.” I’ve never asked John how he “counted” his visits but I can see something like that being true. You see Rev. Knoll is someone who always lives “on mission.” I can believe John would have taken notice of a chance conversation at a grocery store, because he is always looking for opportunities that the Lord is putting in his path, takes every opportunity to follow them up. That’s one reason why I respect him.
I know there are times when I’m ready to retreat. I’ve punched in my time card and my shift is over and I want to just check out for awhile. But being a Christian is not a nine-to-five job, and often God puts opportunities where we’d least expect them, including the butcher’s counter at the grocery store. I don’t know where this opportunity will lead but I’m trying to stay, “on mission” regardless.
Monday, June 7, 2010
The weekend from Ouaga...
It’s been the weekend from … Ouaga. (Pronounced “waga”—kind of like Fozzy Bear on the Muppets—‘waga-waga’). It was a last minute impulsive decision to get away for a weekend. Jenn’s going to Germany to study. For a couple of weeks at the end of the month and I’m hoping to road trip with the boys to Ghana in order to find a beach. Thursday morning Jenn suggested we take off after I finishing teaching Friday to Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina. It’s about a 7-hr drive to a little step up the development ladder. The guest house is cheap and we could hideout and read books and maybe watch a DVD on the laptop. Someone had told me there was a new go-karts place in town too. It might be our only time away this summer as a family.
Friday morning Jenn tied down a few loose ends while I taught my class on the General Epistles. After the last of my students cleared out, I pumped up a soft tire and we were on the road. The road isn’t that bad, only a couple of rough spots with pot holes but they seem pretty good at fixing them up regularly. We’d pick up Visas the night before and so the border crossing was relatively simple. I made good time doing 100-130 km/h on the road with the occasional slow down as we came into small communities. The country side got greener almost as soon as we crossed the border. We were almost there, about 20 minutes from our destination and Bessie decided the grass was greener on the other side. Lumbering up onto the road, she seemed oblivious to my horn honking. At the last minute she seemed to clue in that something was coming but instead of stopping or turning around she bolted into my lane as my tires squealed. The cow’s nose caught my front signal light and her horn caught my windshield. My car slid to a stop, and with my side mirror dangling, I looked to see the large bovine lying in the road behind us. I sat there for a few moments not knowing what to do. In Niamey, I’d heard that owners sometimes expect you to pay for the animal if you hit it on the road. (Later in the weekend, a friend told us the local law stipulates that owners are responsible to keep their livestock off the road, and that in fact the herder had probably hid in the bushes when he saw the accident.) A local on bicycle off to the side just stood staring with his mouth open. The cow wasn’t his but no one else seemed to be around. First the head came up and then Bessie, with the wobbly legs of a new-born (re-born?) calf, stood up and lumbered off the road once more.
Saturday we did some light shopping, picked up some books for the church library, and borrowed some scotch tape to patch up the windshield and mirror. We never did find the new go-karts place but instead were directed to an old dilapidated kiddy amusement park where most of the rides didn’t work. Ben decided to try the blow up bouncy house and was having a great time until he landed the wrong way on his foot and started to wail, “I’m paralyzed! Help me! I’m dying!” A cold coke seemed to help the hypochondriac get over his ailments enough to try out the paddle boats.
Monday morning he did not fare so well. Around 5 AM I heard a yell and rush for the toilet followed by the telltales that this was no imaginary illness. After that none of us were sure that we were feeling alright but so far have done alright. Ben however has been “roaring at both ends” as my brother would say, and it looks like we may need to post-pone our trip home a day. At least Jenn was able to buy a pair of “Leo Poldo” underwear that were marked XL, but looked like they might barely fit Ben at a nearby street vender to help with some of the “roaring”.
PS. In hanging running errands in Ouaga today, I noticed a popping noise every time I turned. I popped the hood with another missionary and discovered that power steering fluid was missing its cap and was probably missing fluid as well. I don’t know how long that has been the case but it’s probably better that I didn’t drive home with it in that condition. For that we are thankful.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Sunday Surprises
We had a really interesting start to our week this week, around 4:30 am Sunday morning I woke up and decided that I needed to check that the door to the roof wasn’t locking the kids out. They had decided to sleep on the roof when the power which had been off most of the day still wasn’t on when they went to bed. I got to the door when I thought I heard a hard rainfall, only to realize that it was the shower flowing hard. I took one step out of my bedroom calling Dave while I realized that I was standing in an inch of water. Our water had quit about the time the power had gone off on Saturday morning and Dave had thought that it was starting to come back on in the night. So he had set up the big garbage bin that we use for a water reservoir in the shower to fill, but went to bed forgetting that the tap was on. Some time in the night the water had come on again and had flooded most of our houses (in some places an inch deep), by the time that I discovered it. Dave and I bailed out the house for the next two hours and there was a part of me that wanted to get really mad and blame him for the situation, but all I could think of was “of course this has to happen on a Sunday morning when Dave is going to be training some leaders in the church to teach and preaching in the evening and I am going to be teaching Sunday school!” It must have been the grace of God all around because despite going to bed miserable about the electricity and waking up to a flood the boys were actually in good spirits. Cole even encouraged me by saying “you know mom, with all the water that will be evaporating because of this the rains should come again sooner and we have been praying for rain!” He was right but this wasn’t what I had in mind. Thanks to all of you that have been praying for us through this difficult hot season, it could be easy to get disillusioned and discouraged, but you have carried us with your prayers and we are reminded over and over that these circumstances are temporary.
This was the last week of school for the boys. So it was marked with a special Gr.6 banquet (Gr. 7 is the year that the students move over to the high school building) that was Cole’s farewell to elementary school. They also had an awards ceremony at
the year end assembly where the boys each received bible memory verse awards. They are looking forward to sleeping in now that they don’t have to be up at 6am to get to school, but I’m not sure that they are looking forward to the extra chores that they will be responsible for now that they will have some free time. I have the opportunity to start my masters through Philadelphia Biblical University’s satellite campus in Kandern, Germany this summer (I was granted a 50% scholarship!). This is a MS Ed that has a lot of international education components, which I am hoping will help with our ministry here and bible components that I need for satisfying my ministerial candidate requirements. So I will be going to Germany for three weeks from June 18-July11. Please pray that I will be able to make the most of my time there and that I will be able to get the pre-course work and assignments done without too much difficulty. Also, pray for Dave and the boys, 
they are planning to go on a “road trip” while I am away and are going to see if our car can make it to Ghana and back –hopefully in one piece. Also, please pray for a team that is supposed to be coming from Canada at the end of July as they have been having some difficulties.
This was the last week of school for the boys. So it was marked with a special Gr.6 banquet (Gr. 7 is the year that the students move over to the high school building) that was Cole’s farewell to elementary school. They also had an awards ceremony at
the year end assembly where the boys each received bible memory verse awards. They are looking forward to sleeping in now that they don’t have to be up at 6am to get to school, but I’m not sure that they are looking forward to the extra chores that they will be responsible for now that they will have some free time. I have the opportunity to start my masters through Philadelphia Biblical University’s satellite campus in Kandern, Germany this summer (I was granted a 50% scholarship!). This is a MS Ed that has a lot of international education components, which I am hoping will help with our ministry here and bible components that I need for satisfying my ministerial candidate requirements. So I will be going to Germany for three weeks from June 18-July11. Please pray that I will be able to make the most of my time there and that I will be able to get the pre-course work and assignments done without too much difficulty. Also, pray for Dave and the boys, 
they are planning to go on a “road trip” while I am away and are going to see if our car can make it to Ghana and back –hopefully in one piece. Also, please pray for a team that is supposed to be coming from Canada at the end of July as they have been having some difficulties.
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