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.