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.