Dry season is definitely upon us. We wake up surrounded by a misty fog that makes me want to snuggle further down under my sleeping bag and snooze some more. It doesn't help that it has become downright cold. (Where IS the snooze button on that pesky rooster!?!) You are probably chuckling..." Cold?...in Africa?... are you kidding me?". YES, cold! I looked the thermometer the other morning at around 7:30 am and it was 54 degrees Farenheit. By noon it was back up to 96 degrees, so it is quite a jump. Roy was laughing at me the other day because I was complaining about how cold it was. With a snappy comeback I informed him that he should not be laughing because people can die from the cold, you know! For some reason that just made him laugh harder... CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? In the morning we can see our breath...in the afternoon we are sweating. It makes it a little hard to realize that it is the Christmas season, what with the warm weather, green grass and the complete absence of advertisements and promotional sales. What a blessing to be free of all of the materialism and clutter.
The semester is coming to a close, so the students are taking their exams. In fact, even as I am writing this, I am administering my students as they take their English examination. I wonder if we, as americans, truly understand how blessed we are to have a chance for education. Many of my students never got to have formal high school training, and those that did recieved a much lower level of education than you and I did. In addition to that, their education is done almost entirely by rote memory, rather than by comprehension. They did not leave school equipped with the tools needed to gain more understanding on their own. Whatever they managed to memorize in school is all take away with them. As many of them have completed our preparatory courses now, and begin to pursue higher education, they are faced not only with the challenges of going to school what is now their third or even fourth or fifth language, but in addition to that, they are changing from a rote memory method of education, to a comprehension method of learning. What a jump! Please keep them in your prayers as they endeavor, as adults, to learn how to learn for themselves so that they can stay firmly planted in the truths of God's Word. To add to the challenge, most of them are first generation Christians, and thus they have never seen Christianity lived out in front of them. Concepts like integrity, and being above reproach are unknowns to them. In a country and a culture in which right and wrong are based on your position, this is difficult. Abuse of power, and financial corruption are the norm rather than the exception... so much so, that the idea of accountability and honesty are more foreign than dishonesty. Please pray for these students as they attempt to take what they have learned and live it out in a way that goes against the current of their culture and even their own families. That takes courage!

Happy Thanksgiving!

>>> OUR THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I trust you had a wonderful holiday! Many people have asked me to tell them what we had for our Thanksgiving dinner...so, I am going to do my best to describe it.
First of all, you may be disappointed to hear that we did not have anything exotic. Exotic happens enough the rest of the time, we decided to change things up and go for as close to normal as possible. :) In that frame of mind, we had to start off by giving up on Turkey (no one here has even heard of a 20 pound bird here)...so, chickens were the next closest thing. Ironically, we even had a hard time buying some of those...but, after much effort, we triumphed. This meant waking up at 2 am, 3 am, 4 am, etc. to the lovely choir of competing cock-a doodlers. FUN - especially since their house is right outside our bedroom window!!! Thursday was not possible for us, since school was in session (Thanksgiving is not a holiday here)...so, we had our feast on Saturday! Saturday morning, we had a quick breakfast of cinnamon rolls, then headed out to kill the birds. You would have really enjoyed it. Dad knows how to wing the chicken around in a full circle, and then flick his wrist and snap it's neck. The head comes off in his hand and the headless body flops frantically around on the ground for a few minutes. Caleb and Seth (and Roy, although he would never admit it) all wanted to learn how to do it. SO, our entire family went out... on what was our thanksgiving morning, to cheer, film, and photograph the events as the "menfolk" attempted to "wring" the chickens necks (and first, they had to catch them...). You want to talk about entertainment... You all had a football game, but I can guarantee you that we had more laughs and fun than you did! It was hilarious!
But, back to the food... We then fried up the chicken, then put it into the pressure cooker. If we had not done that, we might as well of had beef jerky... these chickens out here are TOUGH!!! Clare and I had already worked the day before to cook up sweet potatoes - which were then made into sweet potato pie and sweet potato casserole, homemade oatmeal rolls, and coconut custard pie (using coconut I had previously grated, roasted, and dried). We then put a squash in our solar oven and pulled out some much treasured jars of pickles and olives! I am telling you... we ate like kings! We even had cool whip for our sweet potato pie and our coconut custard pie! Clare got a kick out of our way of making cool whip, so she took a picture.
At any rate, I have decided that being thankful really has absolutely NOTHING to do with what you have or don't have. Life is so much simpler, yet harder here... and yet, I find myself being much more thankful. I am grateful for so many things and yet as I mentally list them, I realize that many people in the western world would not even notice them as blessings, and yet so many people here don't even have these things at all. I am thankful for firewood, bandaids, spices, parmesan cheese, powdered milk, sunshine, and the ability to read... just to name a few. I am thankful when I manage to get all of the clothes off the line and folded without getting bitten by any ants, and I am thankful that my children are well (other than the occasional bouts of ringworm). I am grateful to be daily astounded by the beauty and variety of God's creation outside my backdoor, bugs, butterflies, birds, etc. AND, I am grateful for YOU! Thank you so much for your prayers and support... and for caring enough to read the crazy rantings of one woman...taking one day at a time...relying completely on the one true God!

Yesterday, in the Diploma class, as we were covering Erikson's Stages of Development, we came to Intimacy versus Isolation. For those of you unfamiliar with Erikson, this stage describes what is commonly encountered in the 18-35 year old range. In this stage, according to the theory, we as human being grapple with the issue of creating truly intimate relationships rather than spending our days in isolation. It specifically looks at this age group as one seeks a marriage partner and begins a family. My diploma class is made up entirely of men, most of whom are married and have a family. However, in this culture marriage is not viewed the same as you and I do. The conversation went something like this...
Me: So, why do you think this age group seeks a wife?
Class: So that you will have someone to cook for you, wash your clothes and help make the farm.
Me: What if you could live alone and have someone just bring meals to you and wash your clothes for you?
Class: Well, then you would need children also.
Me: Alright then, what if someone brought you some children, said that you could have them, and then did the work of raising them for you.
Class: Well, the children need to actually be your own.
Me: OK, then the children are yours and someone else raises them for you, why do you need a wife?
Class: Uh........???

Interesting, isn't it. How do you translate the concept of emotional intimacy between a man and wife to a culture that does not even understand that. On the other hand, they understand the biblical idea of the friendship between David and Jonathan much better than we do, because they are closer to members of their own gender than they are to their wives. Our culture, where men smile and nod at each other, and exchange gun stories or sports trivia, does not understand it as well. I commented to my class that my husband was my best friend and they were shocked! :)
In contrast, today I proceeded still further in translating Pride and Prejudice into Krio for my Certificate level class, who, surprisingly... are thoroughly enjoying the story. We dealt with the idea that it is foolish to marry someone just for the sake of their inheritance, rather than for who they are... and that marriage is not something to be taken lightly. Interestingly enough, that concept seemed to translate just fine.! I have so much to learn. :)
I sometimes feel like my life is a paradox of characters. I sometimes feel like June Cleaver in Leave it to Beaver... wearing my long skirts as I cook and bake everything from scratch... until I trip over one of my three stones that make up my stove/oven... and then I remember that I probably have a lot more in common with the mother of the Swiss Family Robinson. I can relate to Amelia Earhart, as I carefully tread the fine line of teaching men in a male dominated culture... one in which women are simply workers, without much of a voice... and yet at the same time I often feel like Christy - thrown in over my head with no idea of what I have gotten myself into.
Here is the coolest thing... I have developed - at least momentarily.... a fearlessness that says "Let the chips fall where they may, I will continue on the path I know that God has for me" I am no longer afraid of opposition or failure. God is in control of both circumstances and timing. I have nothing to fear. So, I dive from one literary comparison to the other in my day to day adventures, knowing the end of the story is in God's capable hands - so I just enjoy the adventures, the suspense, the ups and the downs...all the while knowing it will all turn out just right in the end.

One year ago yesterday, we landed in Freetown. Can you believe it? It seems like a lifetime ago, and yet it was yesterday... I look at how we have changed and grown, and I HOPE that we have brought as much as we have received.

Whipped up Entertainment!

As you have all gathered by now, living here is not simple and often requires thinking outside the lines. On the flip side, we enjoy such luxuries as tree-ripened tropical fruit and year-long sunshine. The other day, we got some fresh coconut,so we grated it, roasted it, and made coconut custard pie from scratch (no drooling please). We wanted to make some cool whip for the top of it, but as we do not have electricity, and our manual handmixer is in the crates... this posed a problem. I took a shish-ka-bob skewer, bent one end into a loop (somewhat like a paperclip) and put the other end into my husband cordless drill (Isn't he nice to let me borrow it?) Voila! A hand mixer!! I am delighted to report that not only did it work...but, the pie was excellent! :) The funniest part was the clean-up however. We had mixed it in a large canning jar. Jeepy (our genet) was very interested in the whipped cream, so we put the jar on the floor to see what he would do. He circled it suspiciously a few times...and then went for it. As you can see from the photos, he pretty much dived in. The kids got a huge kick out of watching him lick it clean from the inside with the front half of his body also on the inside of the jar. How cool is that... dinner AND entertainment!

Funny T-shirts

Most recent entries for the funny t-shirt contest:

1. I (heart) Dallas Foot-ball - This was on a pink tee being worn by a young man approx. 20 years of age, and while that is funny... it is even funnier to realize that here "football" means soccer.
2. Google- I have to wonder what this guy thinks that means.
3. Raging Crocodile Round-up - I'm not even sure what that one means.
4. As I was riding down the road, I passed several people walking in single file. The first one was wearing a shirt that said We're bringing sexy back". The person walking right behind him was an old lady wearing a shirt that said "Italians do it better". I am fairly sure that it was not very "missionary-ish" to laugh at that one, but it was just too funny!
5. AND... last but not least... one of our Bible School students came to class wearing a shirt that said "O'Colleen - Kiss me, I'm American" and it had a four-leaf clover shape in the colors of the American flag.

ENJOY! ;)

I have really been wondering whether or not I am getting through. I teach the Bible School students from 11:00 to 2:00 each day and they have not been all that responsive. If I LIKED to hear myself talk, that would not be a problem...but, I teach with more of a Socratic method...you know, a line of questioning (somewhat like a 2-year-old) that leads the student to think for themselves. I also try to get them to discuss as much as possible. In short, unresponsive students make me nervous. I think it is also because, teaching cross-culturally, I depend on the feedback to know that they understand.
I found out yesterday that they ARE hearing me. WHEW!!! The students each take a turn either leading the worship or preaching. Yesterday was our Wednesday night service, and the worship leader referred to Job ( which we are covering in our English class) as someone who praised God even in his trials. The preacher took his sermon from the book of Job, chapter one, and did a fabulous job covering the concepts we discussed in class. Isn't God good! I didn't want to teach this class. I came here planning on setting up a clinic, and instead, ended up teaching...WITHOUT any curriculum or books. I said no at first because I didn't see how I could possibly teach the students AND my kids. Now I am teaching 7 classes for the Bible School, none of which have a textbook or curriculum, AND I am teaching my own three children...without a curriculum.
I can honestly witness to the fact that GOD CAN! Whatever you are facing today, no matter how impossible it seems... you think you can't do it! Well, YOU probably can't. BUT, I personally promise... GOD CAN!

Today I had the unique privilege of translating Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice into Krio, which is probably an unusual thing to put on a resume. One of the classes I am teaching is English Literature - Certificate level. I have tried to cover the fact that Literature is made up of prose and poetry... although trying to explain poetry in another culture to someone who speaks a different language is a challenge, I have to say. I explained it as words that have a drum beat in them. That seemed to work better than anything else. In prose, of course we have fiction and non-fiction, that was fairly straight forward. But now we are covering examples of different eras of Literature. I don't have many things on hand, so I am using what I have. The best part was... THEY LOVED IT!!! In a culture in which marriages are arranged, the idea of being preoccupied with finding a wealthy husband for your girls... well, that it is just logical. For Mrs. Bennet to be so silly about it, well that is downright funny!!! It would seem that what truly makes a good author is the ability to get down to what really makes us tick... those universal tendencies to foolishness and humor... and portray them in a way that allows us to relate across time and culture. Amazing... and really fun!!! I have always enjoyed reading... but this puts a whole new spin on things.
The best part is that, since I am teaching in a Bible School, I can point out to my students that God is the "author" of the Bible, and He has the ultimate ability to see into the hearts of men across time and culture. He portrays things with grace and humor in such a way that we have the opportunity to see ourselves in truth. He is the "author AND finisher of our faith..." How cool is that? I feel so fortunate to be able to explore with my class, all of the dimensions of literature and how, really, we as "mortal man" are not all that different from each other. I wonder if Jane Austen would have ever imagined that she would be used to teach spiritual concepts to people in Sierra Leone, West Africa.

I am very happy to report that Dad and Clare arrived safely yesterday afternoon. As they drove up in our little blue van (we call it a Nice Toy because according to the front it is a Nissan and the back says it is a Toyota), all of the Bible School children were so excited that they had to be called back in order to keep them from being run over!! As the van stopped, and the door slid open, Dad stepped out and was immediately mobbed by happy children clamoring to greet him...so much so, that Clare couldn't even get out to hug all of the children that were calling her name as well. It was really neat... and suddenly, I got a little glimpse of what heaven is going to be like for them someday... as they set foot into the "pearly gates"... probably even before they can get in... they are going to be mobbed by happy people, all clamoring to welcome them... and to say thank you! Amazing!
That is what we are all here on earth for. You may say, " I am not a missionary, I couldn't do something like that..." That is absolutely not true. Anyone of you who witnesses to your neighbor, coworker, or friend is a missionary. If you support a missionary, pray for a missionary, or even pray for the unsaved... you ARE doing the work of a missionary. We COULD NOT be here, doing this work, if someone were not at home doing the labor of prayer, and the work of financial support. YOU are an essential part... of a TEAM... that is doing this work to bring more people into heaven and the joy of eternal life with the father.
I know that I am waxing a little eloquent today, but I have been thinking about this. Many of you know Jake Schierling, missionary to Sierra Leone and Nigeria. He died recently after spending 67 of his 89 years in spreading the word that anyone can have eternal life in heaven. I am in awe of him, and can well imagine the tears of joy as a mob welcomed him into the gates of heaven. BUT... please remember that those who helped send and support and pray for him will be welcomed the same way. We are a team.
Thank you to all of you who are on our team. I am awed and humbled by you and your willingness to serve God so faithfully, without having the chance to see it with your own eyes. I will do my best to represent our team the best I can, so that we can all have a big party together in heaven.
To Uncle Jake... we love you and are everyday inspired by your work, your love, your memory, and your undying devotion and passion to see others experience the joy of the Father's presence. Your vision lives on in us... until the day that Christ returns.

It is a beautiful day here. The sky is a gorgeous deep blue with big fluffy white clouds slowly floating by as if they too were enjoying the day so much that they don't want to go anywhere. I can tell that dry season is coming because several of the birds and butterflies that disappear during the wet months have returned and have added their songs to the already large chorus of regular residents. Many of them, like the scarlet bishop and the bee-eater, have very bright colors... probably God's way of brightening up the dry brown landscape of dry season. For now though, while all is still green, they add a glorious dimension of color. Have I talked you into coming to visit us yet? No?... well I'll just keep trying. :)
In a practical way, I can tell that dry season is coming. My laundry is dry by 2 or 3 o'clock in the afternoon, unless it is really heavy, like jeans. Just last week, I was still having to rehang everything the next day, except for the really light stuff, just to get it dry. Isn't it funny how the "winds of change" are blowing.
Roy should be getting back from Freetown within about the next hour, and is bringing Dad and Clare with him after their 4 month absence. So we are going to party tonight!!! Tomorrow is Seth's birthday and he will be turning nine. It is hard to believe that we have been here almost a year, and yet at the same time I am often amazed at how much we have acclimated. God is good... all the time... and everywhere.

Well now I am in trouble. I know that it is a most basic thing for those who wear eye-glassesto just simply keep them on the face, and there is no problem. Oh but for me there is a problem, in the process of getting older ( uh oh, did I actually just admit that ???) I am starting to notice that although I am near-sighted, sometimes I need to remove my glasses for things that are close. Yes, I know... but I refuse to admit to the bi-f... word! So, I simply take them off when I am reading, etc. Now I have lost them. We all lose our glasses from time to time... but this is a little more challenging. It is 9:30 at night - so any looking I do is by candle light or flashlight. Roy is gone to Freetown, so I can't ask him to help. The kids are all in bed. In addition to that, I still have to go outside for hot water for my shower, and am a little leery that in my near-sighted condition, I will not see a snake before he sees me. Oh well... as they say here... "How for do". I know that it is a little thing, but it is just one of the ways that little things are just a little more "interesting" here. On the upside, I get to be warm while I am blind! :) Is there such a thing as a solar-charged tracking device for glasses???

Here is an interesting thing for you. I was teaching Diploma level English today (so please, overlook any type-o I may make in this blog :). I teach using the Bible, in order that they may learn the English that they will need in studying God's word to preach, as many of them have English bibles. For example, last semester, we went through the book of Matthew, reading only the parables. We went around the room, with each student reading one verse aloud to the class, then translating it into Krio. Any word with which they were not familiar became our vocabulary word. We looked at all of it's possible meanings and it's part of speech. In this way, they practice reading English aloud, learn new vocabulary, and are required to demonstrate comprehension by translating it into their own words. I encourage each of them to understand the meaning of each word, each sentence, and the passage as a whole.
Today, we were looking a Job, which is our passage for the semester. In coming across the idea that, as satan said, Job would curse God and die; we landed in an interesting discussion. In Krio, to curse someone is to verbally abuse them and is quite serious, especially if you curse the person's mother. However, to swear on them is to bring on an evil spell to bring them harm. This is almost the opposite of how we would look at it, right. Well, here comes the interesting issue. God cursed the ground after Adam and Eve ate the fruit. Uh oh! How do you explain that - because to them this is bad, and according to our dictionary this is an evil act. Can God do evil? - this was the next question. How can a Holy and righteous God curse something.
Here was my answer, and let me know if you have any better thoughts...
God cursed the ground by His word, and when God speaks, it happens... "and God spoke and there was light...". However, we, as human's call it a curse because he spoke something into being that we perceive as being bad. God's intention, on the other hand, was good in that He cursed the ground so that Adam and all of mankind would continue to remember their need for him, that all good things, including crops, come from God. We call it a curse, but the end result is a blessing.
We as humans speak evil on someone, but are impotent to cause it to occur. God speaks blessings over some things and curses over others... fully able to cause it to come to pass... and yet always for the end result to be a blessing "...for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose...".
I am often amazed at how having to explain biblical concepts cross-culturally has the end result of ME coming away with a better understanding of God.
Isn't that cool? :) I hope it did the same for you.

School is officially back in session!!! It has been difficult waiting these past few months, not sure where God was leading. But now, we are beginning to see how He was bringing everything together. We are so pleased that the school can begin to go forward again. It is going to be interesting and challenging. Roy teaches everyday, all day, with only an hour off on four of the five days, and none on the fifth day. I am perpetually impressed with my knowledgeable and versatile husband. He is teaching such courses as Church History, Mathematics, and New Testament Greek... along with many others. This is going to be a family effort, as the kids are going to have to learn to be even more self directed with home-school, I am going to have to do a lot of prep work for home-school (since I don't have my curriculum, I also don't have any workbooks) so that they have work to be self-directed with. Wish us luck!!! :)
Today, when I headed up to class, I left them with their math homework and also with an assignment to write a short poem on a subject of their own choosing. Seth included a Krio phrase in his. When I told him that he had done well and that I though it was neat that he had included Krio... he responded with "What? That isn't English?" I am not sure if that means that he is acclimating well, or that I am doing a really poor job teaching English to him!!! :)
At any rate, these months of waiting for God's direction have taught me a lot of things that I HOPE I can hold on to. One of them is that if we don't try to "facilitate" things along and wait, in peace, with readiness, for God's perfect timing - He really can do so much more than we can possibly ask or imagine. Secondly - Bad days are just blessings that haven't bloomed yet. Thirdly, sometimes the most important things we do are the ones that we do on the way to where we are going, i.e. the interruptions, the distractions, can be the most important tasks that God had in mind for you to do today. I don't know if you have ever struggled with these ideas, but I sure have. I am going to add this to my long list of things I REALLY hope I can remember tomorrow. :)

School starts up again next week, or so we are planning. The Bible School students are very excited. This semester is going to be very interesting, as the teaching load that was previously split between four of us, is now going to be divided by 3. Roy has 8 classes to teach and I have 5 (this along with teaching homeschool to my three children, WITHOUT my curriculum that is still sitting in the deep water key). Rev. Samson Tsado (the principal) has even more to teach. It should be interesting, especially since the wheels are starting to slowly turn towards setting up a clinic. I don't think boredom is going to be a problem. I am having some serious doubts about how we are going to juggle it all... but there I go again... forgetting all the times that God has proven that He can do anything. It's going to be interesting, I am sure. Rieght now we are prepping for classes, trying to get the shipment cleared, and preparing for Dad and Clare to return next week - all the while getting interrupted 2-10 times per hour. Here is how it usually goes...
"Konk konk"
Kushay, na who dat? (hello, who is it?)
Na me. (It's me)
Whoda na na me? (Who is "it's me"?)
Well, na ME !!! ( in other words, it's me... duh!)
Well, of course! :) This conversation will even occur when it is pitch dark and no one can see anyone else at all. For this reason, we named our two cats Whodat, and Namee. The funniest part is that no one gets the joke but us - I thought they would find it funny. Oh well.

Blind to blessings

I have been thinking a lot about blessings. I walked back in to see the woman whose arm and leg were broken when the tree fell on her. I have not been able to see her for sometime since it is not safe for me to go alone and everyone is busy on their farms right now. Now, the people here laugh at the "white man" because we walk quickly everywhere, but I am here to tell you that although they look as if they are walking at a leisurely pace, it is not easy to keep up. They really move quickly.
As I was following my companion, I found that I had to spend the majority of my time looking at my feet. It is very important to stay alert for rocks, tree roots, mud puddles (which are very slippery), ant colonies, and (more importantly) snakes. All around us was the breathtaking beauty of a wild and tropical land, bursting with green foilage and blue skies... and I spent my time looking at my feet. Now, I don't know if it is just me, and I will just get used to it with time and be able to look up more... I hope so... but, for now this was my viewpoint.
It occurred to me, especially since I am now preparing to teach this next semesters course on Human Development, that when life is consumed with the critical need to just survive and NOT die...one's focus tends to be on the here and now... your next step... your feet - and as a result, you miss out on so much of the beauty and blessing the God surrounds you with every day. In the Human development class, it is more of a focus on Maslow's Hierarchy of needs; the premise that until your basic needs are met (food, clothing, and shelter) you have no thought to pursue ideals or fulfillment. That is very real here, where the focus is on surviving and having food for the day, not the interior decorating of your house or whether or not you are happy in your job. These things are irrelevant.
Spiritually, it has a huge significance. We (or at least I) can get lost in the here and now, watching our feet, making sure that nothing bad happens... but guess what... "in this world we WILL have trouble...but be not dismayed... God's Word will be a lamp onto our feet... so, lift up your eyes to the hills, for that is where your strength comes from.... for I (Jesus) have overcome the world..."

Gives you something to think about doesn't it. I think I am going to be chewing on this one for a while. :)
How many blessings did YOU miss today... just because you weren't paying attention.

We have had a new challenge, the generator has decided to resign. Roy laughs because it cracked it's crank case, which is a line from "The God's Must Be Crazy", a favorite movie in our family. While we don't have electric lights or anything, and we only use it for the fridge a couple of times a week, we do depend on it for charging our computer batteries and cell phones. This creates a problem, if we don't have computers or cellphones, we have no way to communicate with the outside world. Fortunately, God has blessed me with a very intelligent husband who has rigged up a way. we had a small solar panel someone had donated, but was missing any attachments. Roy rigged up a way to connect it to our car battery and then use the 12-volt adapters for the computer so that we can charge our computer and our cell phones. I am SO IMPRESSED and relieved. The computer is also needed for school and keeping all of you up to date with what is going on, so it is important. Praise God for his providing the donated panel, and the intelligence with which he has blessed my husband.

Update on Mr. Y.Y.

A few days ago, I wrote about Mr. Y.Y. and his gaping wound. Here are some photos of it several days later. Roy decided that we needed to measure it. :) Anyway, this is the cleaned up version after cleaning and several days of anitbiotic treatment. For those of you who are medical, please don't look too closely as I know that I did not not do a great job. But, praise God, it seems to be healing well without any sign of infection. I hope to pull out the stitches in the next few days. We are so thankful that it is doing well. Please continue to pray for him that it would heal completely so that he can
return to his farm and provide for his family.

The Crutch Maker

One of the young students (Joseph), came asking for a job so that he could have money to eat. Around the time Mr. Y.Y. wounded his leg and needed a crutch, one of the young students (Joseph), came asking for a job so that he could have money to eat. In order to give him a job, I worked with Joseph and showed him how to fashion an adjustable crutch using straight sticks, cut from trees, and old inner tubes, cut into strips. He did a fantastic job, so I commisioned him to make another of the same size and one that was a child's size to have on hand. He went to work and returned later on with a beautifully made crutch. I was so impressed with his desire to go above and beyond (he had even stripped the bark off the sticks to make them smooth and found a lightweight wood so that it would not be so heavy) He is now my "Official Crutch Maker". You should have seen his smile when I told him that... ear to ear!!! :)

Blackberries OR abundance

Many of the people here have harvested their groundnuts (peanuts) and are spending long hours from daybreak to long past dark, protecting their rice from a variety of creatures, monkeys,, cutting grass (a cross between a very large rat and a groundhog), and birds. One or more members of the family must always be there to protect the precious heads of rice as they swell to fullness under the hot sun. I am struck by the survival perspective of the people here. They don't even imagine abundance, they simply strain towards the hope that they might have almost enough. Not having "feeding" for a day or two is practically normal, and pretty much expected. A good harvest is one that will allow them to eat for the year and plant a farm of equal size next year. The very idea of having "enough" is a luxurious thought.
Yet, God is a God of abundance. He can do abundantly more than all that we ask or imagine... How can the people here possibly even grasp that idea?? To be really honest, I am not sure that I do. I am coming to the realization that the God that I think I believe in is actually confined to the cell of my imagination. We were discussing the children of Israel in Bible study the other morning (we are going through Hebrews) and Noah asked why the children of Israel didn't understand about the greatness of God when His wonders and signs were right in front of them. Good question, right?? I think I often pridefully think that I would not be like them... but, I really am. How quickly I forget, or worse, don't even notice His blessings and interventions in my life.
As I pondered this I started to get hungry... Hungry to experience the God that really is, the one that can shatter my world with His abundance, fracture my expectations with His goodness, and explode my imagination with His blessings. I want to shudder with awe-filled terror at the unlimited power of the God who shook Mt. Sinai with His voice, parted the Red Sea with His hand, and sent fire from heaven to Elijah's altar, yet still speaks to each of us with a still small voice in the quiet of our hearts...
Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote:
Earth's crammed with Heaven,
And every common bush afire with God,
But only he who sees takes off his shoes-
The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries

I don't want to be a berry eater when there is a chance to set people free...do you?

It has been very rainy here the last few days, which is actually a blessing. August is generally much more rainy that it was, and many are concerned that we have not gotten enough rain to hold us out through the dry season. We are all actually glad to see the rain for that reason. Roy is feeling much better from his stomach flu, although still not 100%. Abby's malaria is calming down. Her fevers have not been nearly as high and she is able to eat a little. But, now Caleb is throwing up. I think he has caught whatever Roy had. One upside is that cement floors are a whole lot easier to clean than carpet! Keep us in your prayers. I just can't shake the feeling that we are on the cusp of God's action time. We have been riding the wave of "waiting" for some time now, and it seems that it is about to break and carry us to where He wants us to be.

At 9:30 pm last night, just as I was going to bed, I heard a noise on the front porch. Abby heard it too and called me to say that she thought someone was on the front porch. Sure enough, there stood Mr. Y.Y. leaning against the wall. He pulled up his pant leg to show me his wound - a gash that was about 4 inches long and gaping about 3 inches wide. It was so deep that I could see the layers of skin, fatty tissue, muscle, and even ligaments. Fortunately, I have one suture needle with thread, that I had hoped not to need. Praise God, he provides! I called Roy to help me, cleaned the wound as best I could, slathered it full of antibiotic ointment, and began to stitch it shut. Now, I enjoyed our suture lab in my tropical medicine course, but my little pig foot that I sutured had neat cleanly sliced incisions, with no blood. They were not gaping, and did not complain at the total lack of anesthetic. Poor Mr. Y.Y. had to endure having his painful gaping wound stitched shut without anything to numb it. Roy held his hand and prayed while I stitched by the light of my head lamp in the pitch dark, rainy, night. As I stitched, I kept thinking "they didn't teach us about this in class..." I know that my stitches would not win any prizes. They were not neat and close. I did not bunch the skin up well in order to lessen scarring. I was just desperately trying to keep the wound somewhat closed, and yet at the same time allow for treatment of any potential infection, since I could not clean the wound all that well. I also was trying to make my one and only suture last for the entire wound. I am SO glad God uses the underqualified. He only can make these stitches stay, keep infection out, and allow the muscle to regain it's strength. Please pray for Mr. Y.Y.
Shortly after we went to bed, Roy began to have a bad case of diarrhea and vomiting. I think he was probably up 5 or 6 times in the course of the night with episodes. He began to run a fever, and Abby had been running a fever before bed as well. I am not sure what we are in for here, but I prayed yesterday that God will help me to be willing for HIS plan and not my own. I had realized that so often I tend to come up with good ideas for God to do, and then expectantly wait for Him to carry them out. THAT is NOT submission to God. Submission to God means that I simply obey Him... even if He never uses me for anything... my job is just to OBEY.
Well, here I am...obeying...with God's help...trusting in One who I know is completely able...especially when I am not.

Survivor

Ok... so, I guess I am on a little bit of a reality show theme. Yesterday it was Extreme Home Makeover, today it is Survivor. I have to admit it... I am not a fan of the Survivor shows (gasp... yeah, I know). When the first one was advertised, I thought it would be really cool, until I discovered that it was not so much about making sure to survive as it is about making sure that no one else does. I was bitterly disappointed. I found a version of Survivor on PBS that sent a group of people out to the prairie to survive like in the old pioneer days. Now THAT was an interesting show.
I say all that to say this, I spent the last three days doing the following...
1. Making beef jerky (from still-with-the-hide-on to dried and ready to eat)
2. Making candles using the leftover wax and pouring it into molds of Papaya leaf stems
3. Canning carrots, green beans, and grapefruit
4. Baking bread
5. Walking about 24 miles (divided in three different days), 3 miles of which were with a
broken flip-flop.
So...I have decided to host my own Survivor show. My family is probably the only participants (unless one of you want to come out and join us for a while, in which case you are definitely welcome!) I promise there would be no cutthroat tactics or secret alliances. THIS game is all about team work. Working together and making sure that we all make it to the end is the whole objective.
As I was thinking about all of this, I had a light bulb moment ( of course, there is no electricity here, so actual illumination occurred. Still...) THAT is what we are all about. We are here in Africa and as Christians we ALL are here on this earth to work together so that as many people as possible make it to the final ceremony... the great wedding feast in Heaven. If we play it right, we get to have as many people there as we wish. No limit on team size! We are all in a secret alliance together and the other team is not visible to the naked eye. I refuse to kick anybody off, in fact, we are trying to get as many people to join as possible.
So, let's strategize... I'll take this area since I am already here, you take your neighborhood, and we will tell as many people as we possibly can, as quickly as we can, because we don't know when the whistle will blow for the end of the game (okay, so maybe it's a trumpet, but you get the idea). This mission is not impossible :) (because ALL things are possible with God...) but let me tell you... the finish line is looming and there is much to be done. On your mark... get set...
GO!!!!

Funny Shirt contest

I've got another funny t-shirt for you. I saw one on a young man that said "TY HELPED ME". I can only assume that it is referring to the home makeover show... but the funny thing is that the young man wearing the shirt cannot possibly have any idea about the meaning of the saying. Ironically, we ARE remodeling our kitchen right now... although I doubt that it is anything of which Ty would want to take part. I will try to post a photo.
Laugh, and have a good day.

I woke up this morning to the beginnings of a death wail. In this culture, people do not supress or hold back their grief. In fact, if news comes that someone has died, the family members will wail loudly for quite some time, and can be heard 1/4 mile away, sometimes farther. It isn't such a bad thing, really... and is probably more healthy than our western approach to grief. At any rate, it is difficult to wake up to. I jumped out of bed as Abby came running in to tell me that a bunch of women, carrying a child, were coming to the veranda. YIKES! That'll get the cobwebs out!!! I dressed as fast as I could and went running out the door. It turns out that little Mohammed (less than 2 yrs) had woken up with a high fever, to the point that he had a febrile seizure. After a quick assessment, I mashed an adult tab of Motrin (thanks again Bible Study Ladies), dosed it for his approximate size, got him to take it (he was sick enough not to spit it out) and sent him to the hospital for a quinine injection. I think that he had malaria as no other problems had presented themselves. I felt so bad for the mother... but here is the neat thing... he isn't actually her child. She had a daughter and about 3 months later her sister had a son. Her sister had complications from birth, almost died, and consequently spent several months in the hospital recovering from surgery. In the interim, her breastmilk dried up, so Kunku, her sister, started nursing little Mohammed for her. This would be the equivalent of breastfeeding twins... and here they breast feed up until about 2 yrs of age. Would you do that for someone elses child? To meet them, you would never know that one of them was not her child, and when he had a seizure, she began to wail as if it were her own. WOW!

MK Boot Camp

Homeschool today was a minilecture series. Guestspeaker: Yours Truly. Subject: When In Rome... DON'T! We spent some time discussing the difference between right vs. wrong type issues and cultural issues. Biblical values ought to be our measuring stick for any culture, and beyond that, different is exactly that... different. We discussed the benefit of knowing two different ways of living, because it gives you the option to choose which one best fits the present need, but that if the difference is truly against bible teaching, you DON'T do as the Romans do... no matter where you are. :) I am trying to get my kids to see the strength that they have in God's principles and the benefits they have in being caught between two worlds. I can't help but think of Dave Polluck, whose passion it was to help missionary kids adjust to bi-cultural living. It is a hard thing in some ways, but has a great deal of blessing as well, if it is handled right. I just hope I am handling it right. My kids seem to understand, but our illustration to help them understand is a little funny. We have to sift all of our flour here, not to make it nice and smooth, but to get all of the bugs and foreign objects out. Roy explained to them that they need to sift everything through the filter of God's word so that they can pull out all of the "bugs" (things that are actually wrong to do) and then the flour can be used in whichever way they wish. (Funny, even our illustrations have changed!)
Dave Polluck, up in heaven, thank you for investing your life so that this MK and her MK kids, could benefit. Thank you too, to Ruth Van Reken for her life work.

MK = Missionary Kid

Dave Polluck and Ruth Van Reken co-authored the book "Third Culture Kids"

Simple pleasures

I found a jar of bubbles in Freetown this last trip.  Yesterday, I took it out and started blowing bubbles for the kids.  They were amazed and thought it was wonderful.  In fact, withing about 2 minutes I had 10 kids jumping at every bubble, trying to catch it.  Sometimes it is just the simple little things in life that bring the most pleasure.  It was so much fun!  I wish I could have gotten a picture of their faces as they jumped and ran after the bubbles with total joy.  Blow some bubbles today and think of how lucky we are to have the simple pleasures in life! :)

The "non-drivers side"

On one of my many trips to the nursing registrars office, I had a unique experience. As many of you know, parts of the world drive on the left-hand side of the road and in those countries, the cars have the steering wheel on the right side. Many of those vehicles end up in Sierra Leone. We drive on the right-hand side of the road here, but there are left-hand and right-hand vehicles throughout the country. My taxi on this particular trip was a right-hand drive car and I ended up in the front passenger seat. Now, I am not generally a back seat driver, nor am I one to have a white-knuckled grip on the door handle and a foot through the floor...BUT... riding in the left-hand front passenger seat on the right-hand side of the road is a truly disconcerting experience. Your entire body is screaming at you that you are the driver, but there is no steering wheel and no brakes. On top of that, imagine the craziest driver you have ever known.... well, suffice it to say that traffic laws are more of a suggestion here. It was definitely... um... an adventure.
Let me switch tracks for a minute. I have my nursing license now after 9 months of waiting and multiple trips to Freetown. I am so excited... and TERRIFIED. Suddenly I realize how utterly inept I am and how little I know. It would be so much easier to just not do it, then there is no risk of getting it wrong, making a mistake, misdiagnosing someone, or having to watch someone die simply because the needed procedure or medicine is not available. According to me, at this point, anyone could do it better.
So often in scripture we see that God uses the little guy, like David, the one is who is not qualified and the least expected. We comfort ourselves with this thought, that God can still use us even though we are not the most likely candidate. But many of us, once God actually calls on us to do something big, act more like Moses. We say, "but, God I am really not so good at speaking in front of people..." The very thing that we find comforting when we want to be used, becomes terrifying when He actually starts to use us... a lot like the left front passenger seat on a right sided road... God is driving, but we would be a lot more comfortable if it were all in OUR control... and more in our comfort zone, if there were not so many risks and so much at stake.

It all comes down to trust...

Do I (and you too) trust God enough to be capable of using the weak and underqualified even when the weak and underqualified is me (or you)?
The answer should be yes, and I am praying that God will help my answer to be yes.
Beware...
if you say yes,
you are in for a wild ride and there is not telling what God can do... :)

Got home late yesterday evening from a 5 day trip to Freetown. We had only planned on 3 days, but that's just the way that it goes. I am very happy to report that I have an actual nursing license in my hand - I am now a registered and licensed nurse in Sierra Leone!!! Praise GOD! My license is good for a laugh though. My photo lacks the line-up, deer-in-the-headlights look that is so typical of drivers licenses. However, I have compensated for that by having a "christmas ornament" look... you know the one that occurs when you try to take a head shot from about a foot away. Anyway, I think it still looks enough like me to be recognizable. :)
We were also able to get Roy in to see a Doctor, and his hemoglobin is 10.2. He had been taking iron tablets for a week prior to the lab test, so I shudder to think what his hemoglobin may have been when he was just finishing his bout with malaria. It definitely explains his tiredness. I was fairly certain that the problem was a low hemoglobin, but it was helpful to know for sure that there were no other factors involved. We were able to stock up on groceries and even found CHOCOLATE CHIPS!!!! I was SO excited! I also was able to find some more cheese and some applesauce, so we are going to live high on the hog over the next month!
Richard and Paula Miller and their 2 girls, Faith and Grace, graciously allowed us to stay at their home for the days that we were in Freetown. We were so blessed to sit and talk with them. It was a blessing financially that we did not have to pay for a resthouse, but more than that, I found that the fellowship of other missionaries really had been something I was hungry for. It was such a pleasure to laugh together at life and it's mysteries and at the blessings and burdens of ministry. In addition to that, their responses were always that of prayer and scripture, but not in a preachy way, just a down to earth, God-is-big-enough sort of way. One of the things about the body of Christ is that we all have different roles and gifts, which is taught often enough that you are probably saying "well, yeah... duh". But too often, even though we buy into that belief, we are discontented with our own gifts and long to do something bigger or more important. Richard and Paula have a really neat work that they are doing as missionaries, and they are very effective, but even if they weren't... just encouraging and praying for someone else who is in ministry is VERY important. Not only that, but they fed us like kings, making meat for Roy since we had not had any in a month. That is a BIG deal.
So many of you have said to me at different times that you "couldn't do what I am doing" but you shouldn't. I am PROFOUNDLY grateful to those of you who pray for us and support us and encourage us. You faithfully doing what God calls you to do PLUS me doing what God has called me to do EQUALS the body of Christ, working to build His kingdom. One part of the body is not more important or more significant. We tend to think so, but our perspective is skewed just like my nursing license photo. Just because my nose LOOKS excessively large and prominent, doesn't mean that it actually is... thank God! :) In God's accurate view, we are all equal in significance and importance.
We are back in Kabala now, and though I know that things will not be easy (why would they start now?) I have a renewed hope in the fact that I am not alone. I am a part (doesn't matter which part) of a body of believers who are working to build God's kingdom and He is in control. WOW!

I heard a fun story yesterday from my Okada driver (Okadas are a motorcycle version of a taxi service). It turns out that the Kuranko people have a story to explain why goats don't like to go in the water - which is actually true, they DO NOT like to go in water.
At the beginning of the world, God made all the land creatures and then started to make the creatures that live in the water. He told the land creatures that they were to be separate from the water creatures and therefore they needed to cover their eyes while he created the water creatures. The goat decided to be smart and peek between his cloven hooves. So, he watched as God created the alligator, hippopotamus, whale and many other fearsome creatures. Because of that, while other animals will wade in and cross a river, the goat absolutely refuses. He says, "I know what is in there and I don't want to have anything to do with it."
Just an interesting tidbit for the day. Hope it made you smile!

Well, in the last half hour I have had 5 medical cases on my front porch, only one of which is simple. While I enjoy being challenged, I often struggle with feeling completely inadequate for the task at hand. One of these such cases is a girl named Mantene who is now 10 years old, but has the size of a 7-8 year-old. According to her family, she has had trouble with periodic bouts of fever and abdominal pain, along with continual abdominal distension ever since she started eating solid food. These bouts happen every few weeks. She is presently on my porch, and she seems on the verge of tears. It breaks my heart that any child should suffer with ongoing pain like this, but her parents have taken her to several hospitals and have not recieved any answers. I am trying to help, but have no lab, no medicines (except motrin and peptobismol) and my only reference books are "Where There Is No Doctor" ( not enough info for this) and "Manson's Tropical Diseases" (too much info). Lord - HELP!!!!
Roy is feeling better, but still tires quickly. The kids are all healthy - for that I am SO grateful!
More than that, we serve a God who CAN! - and I am so grateful that none of this is about me, or what I can or can"t do - it is all about HIM!

I decreased the snake population of Sierra Leone by one again today! I know that it is not much... but one step at a time, right!!! It is always disconcerting when you find one in a place that you don't expect. I am always careful in places that I know that they like to be, under rocks and pieces of wood, in tall grass, etc. However, this one I found on the porch, out in the open, trying to squirm under the water barrel. I solemnly informed him, in no uncertain terms, that THIS WAS NOT HIS ROOM! I think he figured it out! :} I have to laugh though. See, in this part of the world there are a lot of different types of snakes, and all of them except two are poisonous. So the only good snake is a dead snake...literally! And, they are VERY good - quite tasty! Unfortunately, this one was too small to be worth the work, so instead Jeepy (the genet) gets a feast. Oh well, I would gladly forego the eating of snake in favor of not finding a big one on my front doorstep.
I found the snake about 15 minutes after my friend Namissa and I had been chatting on that same area of porch for about an hour. During our chat, the guinea fowl kept running through, acting strangely. I am wondering now if she was dealing with the snake during that time, in which case, God really protected us. Namissa is such an inspiration to me in so many ways, not the least of which is her complete trust in her God. She has an aunt who has had a severely prolapsed uterus for over a year. Namissa , in a time when many families are financially struggling, is selling her groundnut harvest to pay for her aunts surgery. I told Namissa that I admired the way that she was taking care of her aunt without ever a word of complaint. She looked at me, surprised, and said, "Why would I complain? God won't give me any load that is too much! He is the one taking care of me and everything that I need. He gives to me to help my aunt too! I don't have to worry for tomorrow."
Point taken!
I hope I can remember this tomorrow, too!

Roy is doing much better, thanks to all of you who were praying. He was able to be up almost all day today and was even able to tolerate riding in to town on a motorcycle to get some parts for the generator. I was really glad of this, mostly because I want to see him well, but also because it would have otherwise been necessary for me to buy the parts and I am fairly certain that would not have ended well. It has been two weeks since he started feeling sick and he says he feels like he is at about 85%. Praise God for his healing - I am convinced that it is only God that has allowed him to heal as quickly as he has. Praise God for the power of prayer!

I have to add an addendum to my prior note. I like to "collect" funny sights. For example, as a family we have a contest to see who sees the funniest tee-shirt being worn. Remember that most of the clothing that is sold here comes from around the world and many people don't even know the meaning of the print on the tee-shirt they are wearing - this leads to some irony. We saw a young man of about 30 wearing a tee-shirt that said "THIS IS WHAT A REAL GRANDMA LOOKS LIKE". Another contest we have going is the most unusual sight on a motorcyle. I saw three men, plus the driver (making four total) on ONE honda. The funniest part was that it was coming straight towards me and they all wanted to see what was ahead and so they were leaning a little to each side. From my perspective, it looked like a four-headed man on a motorcycle coming my way! I have also seen two men and a goat on a motorcycle! Well, contest continues - I'll keep you posted.

I went grocery shopping today - no big deal right? Well, I though of all of you as I was returning. See, Everything I buy has to come back with me on a motorcycle. So, I came back with a 50 lb. bag of flour perched on the handle bars in front of the driver, I had a back pack full of tin cans, etc and between us I clutched a 24 pack of Coke ( a nice splurge) and 30 eggs. Yes, you read correctly 30 eggs in a flat open carton with no lid, all slid into a plastic bag. Now, I do have to explain that this is not paved road that I am talking about here - it probably would not even be considered a road where you come from, so it was a challenge, but I am happy to say that I arrived at home with all 30 eggs still intact and not on my shirt. I was so pleased. Another successful trip to the grocery store!! What I did today is really nothing. When we first arrived in the country, we purchased full size mattresses in town and they were carried out to the Bible school on motorcycles. I have also seen queen sized wooden bed frames - yes frames being carried by the passenger on the back of a honda. Where there is a will there is a way! I just though you would enjoy this - I wish I could post a pic - Oh well!

Banana Blessings

Several weeks ago we bought a large stalk of bananas that were still green. The kids were dying to have bananas since it had been a while and were very frustrated and impatient. Even to me and the people here who are very accustomed to bananas and their rate of maturing, it seemed extremely slow. Now, just as Roy is getting better and I have another woman I am caring for how has been very sick and unable to eat, the bananas are ripening daily and to perfection... in fact, they are some of the best ones that we have had since we have been here, and that is saying something.
I am so grateful because banana and homemade bread are about the only things he can eat as of yet - God's timing truly is perfect. So often I am impatient and feel that He is taking too long. In my selfish viewpoint, I have the perfect idea of when things should happen ( which is usually right now) and perceive that God has let me down when He doesn't do things when I expect. And then, in the true perfection of God's will, all things come to "fruition" and ripen at the right time for the need. Why was I impatient again??? :) I have a funny feeling that the bananas are not going to run out until the need does.

Sorry for that last blog. Is there a rule about how long a blog can be, because I think I may have doubled it? Anyway, I just have to say that God is awesome and more than I can ask or imagine. Yesterday morning Roy woke up and actually ate a half of a banana and was able to drink without difficulty. Today, he even ate some bread and was able to move from his bed. I can't praise God enough. So, I guess this dependence thing really works! Gotta remember this tomorrow. :)

Well, it has been a busy week here in Lake Wobegon! I have found that all the men are still good looking, although a little yellow, all the children are very much above average, but the women are not all that strong (namely me - the rest of them are impressively so!) Let me explain!!
We don't get visitors very often in our neck of the woods so we really enjoyed having the chance to visit with Jan Nickle and her niece on Friday through Saturday. Jan was my 4th-6th grade teacher and now works in Freetown with an organization that helps to prevent human trafficking - a VERY important work. Her niece is visiting for 6 weeks and was a pleasure to meet. Then, on Monday we had the blessing of more company. Richard and Paula Miller and their daughters, Faith and Grace, whom I mentioned in a prior blog, came to stay for a few days. What a blessing that was! They are such an encouragement to us and blessed us in so many ways. The kids had an absolute blast together and can't wait till they come again!!! However, Roy started running a fever on Monday and we thought he was just catching a cold. On Tuesday it became apparent that such was not the case - it was malaria. For those of you who are unfamiliar with malaria, it tends to hit every person differently. Textbooks will present it as fever and severe chills and joint aches. Roy had all of that, including the temps of 104 +. In addition to that however, it can cause vomiting and stomach pain as well as jaundice. Roy decided to opt for the complete african experience and had it all. Now that didn't worry me too much. I got him on medication for treatment right away and also started him immediately on Oral Rehydration Solution ( something other parts of the world use when IV fluids are not available to treat dehydration) However, I started to worry when by Saturday he was still running fevers that thrived in spite of ibuprofen, and could hardly drink due to the stomach pain. In fact, he threw up again. I started to look for ways to get him to Freetown to a hospital if he did not improve by morning. During the middle of all of this, a woman about 2 miles away via a bush path was injured when a tree fell down on top of her during a storm. I walked with one of our pastors to try and help because the tree broke her right upper arm, her left femur, and severely bruised her ribs and her right lower leg. Having seen the tree, I am amazed that she is even alive. The tree had to be at least 3 feet in diameter. Praise God! However, I can't tell you how insufficient I felt. The books just don't cover this sort of stuff. We walked to the hut, in the rain, stopping to kill a snake on the way and seeing several others. When we arrived, we had to wait a little bit while the men in the family finished their islamic prayers. Then they led us into a hut that was completely dark. In fact, I couldn't even tell where the walls were. The woman was lying on the floor and the only light I had with which to assess her was a flashlight that was almost out of batteries. They had applied "native medicine", but after applying it, her arm had swollen more and her hand was completely cold and had lost quite a bit of it's sensation. In fact, she had two large blisters about the size of a silver dollar on her forearm because they had been trying to warm her by the fire and she had not felt that it was too hot. I asked them to unwrap it and was relieved when her circulation returned. I repositioned her arm and as I did the bones grated against each other. She groaned - and that was the only time during the examination that she cried out at all. I then had them reapply their medicine and I put a splint on over top of that wrapping the covering over the blisters so as to keep them from bursting. Her leg still had good circulation. I instructed them on how to check her circulation and left her some Motrin. I prayed for her before I left, with their permission of course. But, I left thinking "how do you prepare for something like this?" How do you examine a person well, especially when you don't have the experience already for something like this, in a pitch black room with five people helping you hold a splint in place. Let's be honest - there are only so many things that you can fix with motrin and bandaids. I felt so helpless to help her, so helpless to help my husband, and helpless is exactly where God wanted me. See, in the middle of all this, the generator absolutely refused to work and the batteries to our phones all died except one(that one was on it's last leg and beeping at me) and so did the computer batteries. I told God that he needed to make the generator start so that I could call someone for advice and help as to what hospital to go to and to contact someone to drive us - and then I heard it... that still small voice that said "Faith, I'm not going to. You don't need to ask anyone else what to do... I WANT you to only have me...and I want you to find out that it is enough."
WOW!
Sure enough, the generator didn't start.
I realized that I only THOUGHT I was depending on God - but secretly, I thought I was sufficient and I could do it! Why do we spend so much time trying to be self sufficient - yes, to a certain extent it is commendable. But, wouldn't it be more commendable to be DEpendent on God. When I am weak, then HE is strong. Yes, I need to the best that I can and be diligent and not lazy. But, I need to do it with the understanding that it will never be enough and even what I do, I can only do because HE enables me to. I am nothing without HIM.
So, that is today's sermon folks (at least to me) and that is the news from Lake Wobegon, where all the women are dependent, all the men are good looking (albeit still yellow), and all God's children are above average as long as they remain rooted in HIM

OK! So, I am forty today! Yea, confession is good for the soul! The funny thing is that turning forty doesn't bother me at all! I feel younger than I did at thirty and I was much more upset when I turned 19. I think at that time I just wasn't ready to be done being a teenager. I spent the whole time being responsible and suddenly realized that I had wasted my chance to be foolish and wild. Now I have spent the next 20 years realizing that I am not 18 anymore - so now 4o is not a big deal. I have planned my life very strategically in that I have stayed in a culture that worships youth while I was young and now that I am getting old, I moved to an area of the world that esteems age. I think that we should all follow this plan - then everyone would be happy. The places that value age and wisdom would have a lot of it, and the places that value youth would not have anyone around who was wise enough to realize how foolish they were being - ignorance is bliss and all that. Or, better yet, they would get sick of the lack of wisdom and start to value age. After all, to get old is an accomplishment. In fact, I think that our definition of age is all messed up! I agree with Abe Lincoln when he said that "Age is not the number of days in your life, but the amount of life in your days". And someone else said that anyone who is not learning is old, it is the excitement and interest in the day to come that keeps you young. Proverbs 31 talks about a 'wife of noble character ...who laughs at the days to come..." I am here in a new world in which everyday is a learning experience and there is no way to plan or predict or even control what happens next. How can I do anything but laugh at the days to come. If all this is really true, then I am having an "un-birthday" because I am actually getting younger, one day at a time.

I have been thinking lately of balance. Life, especially the christian life is all about finding the balance between different things. I have really been feeling this lately as I endeavor to find the balance between helping and creating a dependency, speaking up and staying quiet, giving what you have freely to help others versus saving for the 'rainy day" that is sure to come. This is a challenge anywhere you are and in any walk of life, but I am finding that the pull between the two oppositional forces becomes much stronger and more apparent when you are placed in a different culture. For example, in your own culture and among your own peers, you are free to pick friends to whom you relate more closely than others. In ministry and missions, you have to balance that with being careful not to play favorites. It is often difficult to see the line between cultural differences and what is right or wrong. It reminds me of walking a tightrope, and while I can handle just about anything, heights is NOT one of them. I was pondering this whole subject and feeling the pressure of it as I read Ecclesiastes..."there is a time and a place for everything under the sun..." when it hit me like a ton of bricks. I AM walking a tightrope, and if I were doing it in my own strength I would have long since been an unsightly pancake of failure on rocks below...but I am NOT. I have a harness that, through prayer, is attached to something much stronger than I, who is above me, and is "able to keep me from falling". WOW!!! I feel so free now. I don't have to worry about being a little to the left or to the right, He will take care of me and can nudge or YANK (depending on my error) me back onto the fine line of balance. That is just SO COOL! I hope I can remember this tomorrow when I wake up...

Roy and I are attempting to find some ways of food preservation that will work out here. Obviously canning works for us, but we are wanting to find ways that anyone who lives here can do, even with very little resources. We found a solar food dryer that works on the concept of convection (no actual solar panel, electricity, or battery involved). However, we don't actually have plans for building one, just an illustration in a book. We are attempting to make it using only things that are readily on hand here in Kabala. If we can make it work, we are going to attempt to teach others how to dry various fruits and vegetables and store them so that fruits and vegetables ( and thus vitamin C, ribofavin, niacin, etc.) will be available in and out of season.
Roy and Mr. Noah (a carpenter and good friend) spent a day or two collaborating and have made a wooden box and a tray using glass suspended above a piece of roofing zinc that we painted black to be a reflective surface. The plan is that the green house effect will heat the air, causing it to rise into the top of the wooden box and that it will then circulate down through the food as it cools, carrying the moisture with it. We set it out today and the air b/w the glass and the zinc has heated to 165 F. I put some cabbage in the box in order to do a test run. Wish us luck!!! If anyone has any insights or ideas, please send them our way!

As the season changes to consistent rains, we are beginning to see and hear different wildlife around. For example, Seth is very interested in birds and was excited to see a pin-tailed wydah in front of our house. If you have a chance, look it up while you are on line, they are a really neat little bird. The male has an excessively long tail during the rainy season. We have now also acquired a fruit pigeon in our menagerie. The word pigeon is misleading as this is a wild bird that is really quite pretty. Almost every evening now, we hear monkeys on the hills behind our house. Unfortunately, it is also the season to watch out for snakes. So, pray for safety.
Well, I have another couple of cooking stories for you. I managed to can green beans. Now, before you start wondering what's the big deal with that, please remember that I have only ever canned once before(twice if you count freezer jam :) So, I am far from being expert. Coming into canning can be a little intimidating, but add to that the um... adventure...of using a pressure cooker over a campfire during rainy season. I almost stopped before I started when I read the cookbook - "maintaining an even pressure is essential to pressure canning" HAH! How in the world... But, faint heart never had vegetables in the off season so...I pulled my courage to the sticking place and now have jars of nicely sealed green beans sitting in my dining room. Praise God - with Him all things truly ARE possible!!! I was using a pressure cooker, not a pressure canner, with a seal that was questionable to say the least, and was at least 5 years old. Well, lets just say that I am glad it didn't blow up!!! :)
Then, today, I had another little um... adventure... I was baking in my big cast iron pot, I made crackers. They had browned quite nicely and were ready to come out when I hit my snag. The cookie sheet was stuck, and I mean STUCK! Roy couldn't even get them out. For those of you with teenage daughters who are saying, "why do I have to study science, it's not like I'm actually going to use it" - you now have your sarcastic reply -"Someday when you are making crackers in Africa, you are going to need to know that iron pots expand differently than cookie sheets when heat is applied." See, you learned something helpful today. Anyway, the solution was simple - a crowbar. Yes, today I made wheat thins in my oven and had to remove them with a crowbar. How can you do anything but laugh!
Two days ago, though, I think I crossed some sort of an ethical line. I taught the little African kids about Spam. There's just something wrong about that. In my defense, meat is scarce right now and Zwan ( our version of Spam) is the natural fallout of a need for meat flavored protien (sorry to any of you who are vegetarian, but I don't think you can be too offended since I am pretty sure it isn't even really meat) I was making fried rice, and in the absence of vegetables ( I hadn't gotten any green beans yet) I had to make it using only Zwan, onions, and eggs - oh, and a can of peas. My normal panel of 7 and under advisors were present and had a long discussion amongst themselves as to what it was that we were eating. One of the kids solemnly informed the others that he was pretty sure that those little squares were bouillion cubes. I told that it was meat - to which they responded "Na LIE" (I don't think that I need to translate that). SO, I introduced them to Spam. I hope I haven't done any permanent damage....

Abby and I returned from Freetown on Wed. We really praise God for safe travels and no car trouble on the way. We are REALLY thankful for some good friends who generously shared their hospitality with us while we were there. Richard and Paula Miller are missionaries who, while not new to Sierra Leone, have newly joined Ripe For Harvest. Have you ever met someone and felt that you had been friends with them for a long time already. Well, Richard and Paula are those kind of people. They are a gift from God - for sure and to top it off, they have two adorable girls who are such a blessing to Abby. Abby had a great time playing and relaxing with them for the time that we were in Freetown. What a blessing! Richard and Paula, and their daughters Faith and Grace, are using Bible storytelling to spread God's Word, with much the same vision as we have. Please add them to your prayer list - they are part of our team and could use your prayers.
Well, about my interview, I think it went well. The questions that arose were in regards to what type of work I want to do, why I want to do it here, and how I intend to work with structures already in place. The review board had some good insights, and will discuss together, after interviewing me. Next week I am to call them to see if I have been approved, and if so, to get my registration number. When I go to Freetown the next time, I am to go have my picture taken for an identification license. Please continue to pray, but I am encouraged.

I am headed to Freetown tomorrow to have my interview for a Sierra Leone nursing license. Many people have told me that it is okay for me to practice now, but I want to show respect for the laws of the land and be above approach. I am not sure what all is involved in an interview, and thus am a little bit nervous. I generally look meds up prior to giving them, so I don't run a lot off the top of my head. In addition to that, many of the medications here are manufactured in France, Nigeria, England, and other countries so I don't always recognize the names until I do some research. Please pray for me. In addition to that, in order to save cost only Abby and I are going. It was going to be just me, but we have some new friends in Freetown who just happen to have two girls :) So, Abby is going down for a visit. Please pray for safety for us. Roy and the boys are going to try to do some fun manly man stuff while we are away, so that should be fun for them. Well, I am preparing and trying to get meal stuff together for the manly men while I am gone, so I will update you in a few days.

We just got word that my grandma - my dad's mother- passed away this evening. Obviously, we are sad, but we can't be too sad because she has been waiting for the Lord to allow her to go to heaven for some time now. My grandparents, as some of you know, were missionaries in Nigeria for 43 years and my grandfather passed away about 2 years ago. She has been growing steadily weaker ever since that time and has been wishing to go to join her husband and her Heavenly Father. Well, she got her wish today. I can't help but wish that I could be there to see the resulting party. I am fairly sure that there is some serious Nigerian worship going on right now in the presence of God. What joy she must be having, hearing the words "Well done, good and faithful servant" and meeting all of the people who are in heaven because of her work and her witness! I just can't stay sad for very long when I think about it. The kids were tearful, but then we started to talk about the party that was going on in heaven. Later that night, as we were going to bed, lightening was flashing on the horizon. Abby said to me, "Look mom, the party in heaven is still going on, those are disco lights". Abby has never been to a disco, and I would be willing to bet that neither has grandma, but the idea of the joy of heaven is great to think about. The temporary here and now WILL someday be worth it all - let's take as many people along as possible. After all, it may "only take two to party" but "the more the merrier"- and heavens parties are beyond our wildest dreams.
Grandma (Gladys Marie Reifel), we love you, we miss you, you meant more to us than we can ever express, and... save me a place, I would be honored to sit next to you in worship in the Holy of Holies. Until then I will do my best to carry on your legacy, in His strength.

Just a quick note-
Roy just walked in from doing outreach in Bendugu (a village about 3.5 miles away). He is soaked to the skin and walking about 2 feet off the ground. He is soaked because it is rainy season and he got caught in a storm. He is walking 2 feet off the ground because in the course of the service tonight, the emam (muslim teacher) asked us to come and help build a church in their town. WHAT AN AMAZING THING!

Many of you may wonder what life is like here - so here is a way that you can experience it for yourselves... First, turn off the electrical main to your house and turn off the gas line. Cover over all of your mirrors (the only one we have is six inches in diameter but most people don't have one at all). Fill several buckets with water, then turn off the water main. The water in the buckets can be used for flushing the toilet, washing the dishes, etc. Now hire about 15 neighbor kids to camp out on your front porch without any other adults present. Assign each of your own children an imaginary minor ailment of some kind and then force yourself to treat it using only what you already have in the house. Plan on treating at least 10 ailments of various kinds for the kids that have now occupied the front porch. Next, plan all of your meals without using potatoes, cheese, meat, vegetables, or eggs and nothing from the fridge or freezer - oh, and cook it all outside over a fire and three stones. Each time you start a task, if one of the kids doesn't call you, interrupt yourself in 3 to 5 minute intervals. Now you have a taste.
Before you start thinking that it is impossible, think of the plus side. In order to have a full taste of what my life is like everyday, surround yourself with at least 20 different types of birds and have them singing all day long.Imagine tropical scenery out of each window. Buy a few fresh pineapple and mangoes to eat. Each and every time that you take care of an interruption or tend a wound, imagine yourself profusely thanked. Imagine each of the 15 kids on your porch as cute enough to be on a poster somewhere and most of them are smiling. All of the sudden it doesn't seem half bad, does it? In addition to that, you are NEVER bored. :)
Remember this to0... what I have just described to you is plush living compared to everyone else here. We have it really good - so we share what we can, give jobs where we can, and give as much Jesus to everyone as we can. That part of my life is part of yours too!
P.S. For those of you who may have been just brave enough to try this, even for one hour, kudos to you!!! I hope you had fun! I do!

Here's one for all of you who just need a good laugh today! Okay, first - two seemingly unrelated questions which I promise will make sense by the end of this.
#1 - Do you ever wonder what a recording artist imagines his or her hearers will be doing while listening to their music?
#2- Are you ever going about your business when suddenly you get a glimpse of what you may look like to others if they were watching?
Now, before you think I've eaten one too many bananas...let me explain. Yesterday I was in the duldrums, just a little. So, I put on my MP3 player and listened to some music while I went about my work. I was dancing away to Amy Grant's House of Love CD, singing out loud, and probably off-key as I am not generally guilty of perfect pitch. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that I was being watched... by a genet (Jeepy) and three cameleons (who will eventually be his lunch -and let me tell you, you haven't been eyeballed until you have been eyeballed by a cameleon) - when I got one of those glimpses... there I was, in my tie-dye dress, with my self-inflicted haircut, putting peanuts through a hand-crank meat-grinder in order to make peanutbutter (even PB&J isn't easy here - BUT it IS organic!) - but every few cranks I had to stop and make a grab for my underwear - which have started to fall down (you know that you have lost weight when your underwear don't stay up!) Suddenly, I thought about Amy Grant and that she probably never imagined that anyone would be in the middle of West Africa, singing her songs for three cameleons and a genet while making peanut butter and holding up their underwear- and suddenly it was all very funny. Right then, my music switched to Michael Card singing - God loves you...
THAT is my thought for the day - for YOU! God LOVES you! In fact, He loves YOU! Even in the funny moments that you would never publish on a blog if you were sane - He loves you and is delighted with you!
HAVE A GREAT DAY!

Well, Roy made it back just fine and we are now looking for new ways to minister. God is so cool! We have a pair of swallows who have made their nest on our porch. It was a big process to get them there as most of the people here knock down the nests. We, however, wanted them there as they eat mosquitos - a big bonus! Well, their young have hatched and yesterday we got to witness their first flight out of the nest. They were doing very well until it came time to reenter the nest which has a tunnel doorway up in the corner of the porch. I could almost hear their little voices, "This flying stuff is great! I think I'm getting the hang of this! WAIT! How do you land this thing...! The mother bird repeatedly flew out and then reentered with great patience trying to show her offspring that it really could be done. They eventually made it. The kids and I had a great time watching this, and then in the quiet of my heart the Lord said, "I have not forgotten you - I will keep showing you the way. Don't forget what my word says about the birds of the air and how they don't have to worry." What a visual lesson! God is good! Roy and I have started reviewing the picture bibles with a small group of guys and tomorrow Roy is going with a few of them to ask some nearby towns if we can start holding weekly services with them. In addition to that, I am going to start offering a health and wellness class to any of the area women who would like to come. Please pray for us as we look for the best ways we can serve God and help those around us.
So many people have said to me, "I could never do what you are doing". Well, I want to set the record straight. We are all fledgling birds out for our first trial flight - just trying to make it count and not completely crash and burn. For each of us God is there, quietly demonstrating the way it should be done, letting us know that he is there and will not desert us! I still worry what to fix for dinner ( esp without any beef, potatoes, cheese, or vegetables) and I still just live everyday the best I can obeying Him just for today - isn't that what we are ALL doing? Okay, so your noon is my evening and I wear less sweatshirts than you do - but other than that we are all the same. Well, there is one significant difference. I have gotten accustomed to having to search for pieces and parts of cameleons around my house and coming across tails, heads, whatever in the middle of my living room floor. (Jeepy eats cameleons and like any wild animal, he stashes some for later- so I have had to learn to find them before they stink) I think it's safe to guess that is NOT one of your daily obstacles - but he is just so COOL! :)
P.S.
To explain the new picture: Seth and his buddies were playing soccer one evening. Rain here can come up very quickly and with great gusto -so the game was unexpectedly rained out. They all ran to our porch and innovatively came up with a new game while they were waiting for the rain to stop. They each climbed in an empty rice bag and then hopped around like a potato sack race but playing soccer. It was a lot of fun to watch. On a side note, we put out two five gallon buckets under the edge of the roof (no eaves troughs) and within half an hour they were full.

Yesterday Dad and Clare left to return to the good ol' USA. Roy took them to the airport, so he will be back sometime today, if God gree... (That is a statement in Krio that is used whenever plans are discussed. I find the straight forward acknowledgement of God's plan to be so cool) Anyway, the kids are doing better than I thought, but it has still been a little of a sad day. We are not sure when they will be back, or if they will be back. However, we have to learn to be missionaries all by ourselves now. Roy and I had thought that we would be in the middle of teaching the next semesters classes right now, but as that plan has changed, we are looking at walking out to some nearby villages a couple of nights a week to some evangelism. Please pray for us that we will have God's leading in this. The rainy season makes this a little hard to plan as it tends to rain in the evenings and people are on their farms during the day. Abby has been going to help her friend Esther on their family farm. She really enjoys it and comes back so covered in dirt that you would think she was an African. She is a hard worker and is building some really good friendships. Seth's rash is improving, although he is still itchy about once a day. However, he does not seem to breaking out with any more. Caleb is doing well adjusting to things as well and he and Seth are thoroughly enjoying the abundance of mangoes this season. In fact, I often have to pull them up short on the consumption thereof - as diarrhea can be a direct result. ( But Mom, I've only had five and it's already lunch time... I'll still eat my supper, I promise...) I have been so blessed by my friendships here and the way that so many of the people here have stopped in to check on me and make sure that the kids and I don't need anything. Such kindness!

Good news! Mr. Y.Y. and Kumba had a healthy, beautiful baby girl! They are grinning from ear to ear and doing very well. Everyone here at the Bible School is so excited that you would think each person here had given birth themselves! It is such a wonderful thing and such a testimony to the miracle of God's hand. They have been married for 9 years and have been unable to have any children. That is very unusual in this culture. Mom and baby are both doing VERY well.
We just had the privelege of having our missions director, Gregg Verbuff come and visit us for just a few days. I am telling you, he is just such an encouragement and so spiritually grounded. He was like a breath of fresh air and yet solid in his view on God's word and on missions. We praise God for his visit and couldn't say enough good about him. God made sure that he got to see some fun things while he was here too, such as monkeys in the wild and a hammock bridge.
Seth has a really bad rash all over his neck, trunk, and arms. He has been miserably itchy and it started about 2 weeks ago. Please pray. We were able to go and see a British doctor in Freetown, but he said that he had not seen anything like it before. He gave us several medicines and they seem to be helping somewhat, but it is not completely going away. Please pray with us that the rash will resolve quickly.
Avacados are ripe now, so we are enjoying homemade guacamole and have discovered a way to make our own chips. It has been very enjoyable. Pineapple is also ripe now and you haven't had pineapple until you have had one that actually ripened in the tropics. We'll enjoy 2 or 3 on your behalf. We miss you all! Have a great day!