Internship

All 12 interns are finally here after an eventful drive up from Accra, Ghana. They took a 4 hour “pit stop” on the side of the highway due to truck problems. By all accounts they were troopers. Today, we hiked up a small mountain to worship and to give them a view of Kabiyeland. The weather cooperated and it was beautiful. We are thrilled to have them here with us for the summer.  As you can see, they are making fast friends with our boys.  Please keep all of us in your prayers! I’ll write more later.

On again…off again…

We are having a difficult relationship with electricity these days.  Togo is experiencing an energy crisis and I’m experiencing an attitude crisis.  It seems like my tolerance level goes down as the heat goes up!  Keep all of us hot missionaries in your prayers as we sweat our way through the summer.  Thanks!

7 Random Things

My good friend, Sandi, tagged me to write 7 random tidbits of information about myself. So, here goes…

• One of my daily secret pleasures is watching birds. I love their brilliant colors, quirky behaviors, effortless flight and unique songs. Blessedly, we have a wide range of avian visitors to our yard due to having many trees. Thank you Lord!

 

• I have an irrational fear of being cold.When I think about living in a cold climate I start to feel a little bit panicky.Being from Iowa, Bryan doesn’t understand this one bit!

 

• I don’t like first impressions or meeting people for the first time. I always wish that I could skip that part and move ahead a few days.

 

• I loving learning about personality types, personality profiles, etc. It helps me to understand myself and others better. Plus, it’s just plain fascinating! Thankfully, I have a good friend, Becky, that can talk about this for hours with me. She likes it even more than I do!

 

• One of my favorite things is receiving a nice, long, informative handwritten letter in the mail. I save them and read them over and over again. Unfortunately, I don’t get too many and I probably write even less myself.

 

• I have a well hidden rebellious streak. It comes out in unexpected ways that surprise even me! Trust me, this is not something of which I am proud.

 

• I tend to be meticulous about hygiene for myself and my kids. I’m always picking at them. Yes, they hate it! It’s funny when you think about where I live! Togo is probably one of the dirtiest, stinkiest, and hottest places on the planet. Let’s just say, I’ve had to lower my standards of cleanliness and it hasn’t been easy!!!

 

That’s all…okay, I tag, Jen Ries, Rachel Spencer, and my sisters Jenny and Mandy. If you don’t have a blog- you can post your 7 tidbits in the comments of this post. Can’t wait to see yours!!!

The Long Good-bye, Part 3

I’ve been thinking a lot about reentry this week….the awkward hello. It’s going to be a challenge reintroducing myself to America and visa versa. The last time I really lived in the US, I was a college student. After Bryan returned from Uganda, we spent our dating days going to missions meetings looking for other like-minded couples who wanted to return to the mission field. We joined a team headed to Togo before we were even married. Everything we’ve done as a couple and family has been missions oriented. Another way to put it…it’s our identity. We’re missionaries.

I realize I don’t have to stop being a missionary once I stop living in Togo. In fact, I don’t think I could stop even if I wanted to. Telling others about Jesus and his amazing, redeeming love is part of who I am. But, living a missions lifestyle will be different in many ways. I will be operating in a different culture than an African one. The rules will change. That’s what I’ve been thinking about how the rules will change and how I’ll fit into this new system.

During my time in Togo, I’ve grown up spiritually. When I arrived, I knew a lot more about religion than about discipleship. The experiences, people, and culture have shaped me into the Christian I am today. I’ve become more open-minded about the kingdom of God and who is a member. I’ve become more convinced of God’s abounding grace towards me and others. I’ve become a hard-core believer that Satan absolutely hates those who follow Jesus and will stop at nothing to destroy them. I know without a shadow of a doubt that God is incredibly BIGGER and awesomely more POWERFUL than anything Satan can throw at his people. I am convicted that God through the power of the gospel is transforming lives for his glorious purposes!

I don’t want to just melt back into a type of American Christianity where going to church is merely a social event. I want to be a part of a body of believers that are being transformed by a devoted life to Jesus. I want to be able to say, “I don’t understand. ” or “I’ve sinned and I need help.” Bottom line, I’m afraid that I will be told by some to sit down and shut up. Rejected. It’s not like I’m a crusader, I won’t set out to change people’s minds or correct all of the “failings” of the American church. I just think being myself, speaking my mind, sharing my faith will lead to this. God is being good to me though, as I think through these potential challenges. He is reminding me of scriptures that are giving me confidence and humility at the same time! Only our great God can do that! Honestly, I am eager to worship and work together again with my American brothers and sisters. I’m just not going to play church.

Freedom and Funnies

Today was the LAST DAY of school!!! Even though I’m a teacher now, I still get the same giddy feeling of freedom that I did as a kid. In celebration of a great year, here are some funny things that were said either at home or at school.

Hannah had a headache and declared, “ I am mentally ill!”

Before giving Graham a haircut he worriedly begged, “Mom, please don’t give me a hedgehog!” (Interpretation: no mohawk)

Elijah during an argument with Graham stated in frustration, “Graham, you don’t have my mind!”

Overheard during recess, “Hey, let’s pretend we’re kids!”

Owen and Gabe love to argue for fun. Here’s a typical one:

Gabe, “No, Owen.”

Owen, “No, Gabe.”

Gabe, “No, Owen.”

Owen, “No, Gabe.”

Gabe, “No, Owen.”

Owen, “No, Gabe.”

And on and on and on….matter of fact, it’s sorta entertaining to listen to them too!

 

Just this morning, as Graham was getting ready for school.

I said, “G, you really need to get dressed.”

Graham said, “Of course, I won’t forget to get dressed. I’d be naked!”

Then a few moments later with a big smile, “ Unless it was naked day at school. Then we’d all be naked!!!”

I said, “No, that wouldn’t be a good idea. I’m wearing clothes today.”

A few minutes later he walks into the kitchen is his underwear, “Well, what if it was underwear day at school?!”

“Graham, would you please just go get dressed?”

“Okay.”

Here’s a comical conversation I had with Owen a few weeks ago.

Owen said standing naked in front of me with costume in hand, “Momma? Can I wear my Spiderman costume?”

I said, “Yes, just please put on your underwear first.”

Owen responded, “But, Spiderman doesn’t wear underwear!”

“Yes, he does, Owen.”

“No, he doesn’t.”

“Yes, I know for a fact that Spiderman does wear underwear.”

“No, he doesn’t. I not wear underwear!”

“Yes, he does. He needs underwear to-“

At this point I sorta see myself from the outside. Why am I arguing with my three year old about this? And anyway, does Spiderman wear underwear? I have no clue. Do you?

Super Cute Kids

We took school pictures today with our new school t-shirts!  Aren’t they cool?  Thanks so much Joy! We have one more week of regular school before summer school begins.  Miss Rachel leaves next Monday for the US.  Please pray for her as she readjusts to American life.  She has done an outstanding job teaching 3rd grade this semester.  She will be missed!

WAMR 2007

We attended the annual West Africa Missionary Retreat this week in Elmina, Ghana. There were missionaries from Burkina Faso, Togo, Benin, Ghana and Ivory Coast.

Joe McReynolds from Atlanta came to be our speaker. He did a fantastic job! He encouraged us all in many areas, but the message I’m taking home is to be real before God… to let him in to heal and love me so I can love others more. Very good stuff. The parents took turns teaching VBS-type classes to the kids while the rest of the grown-ups were listening to Joe. In the afternoons we were free to enjoy the beach or visit the nearby slave castle.

This retreat was a much anticipated event for our entire family. As you can imagine, the pressures of ministering and just living in a different culture can add up. We were ready for a break! It was a refreshing time to be with like-minded Christians and to simply play together as a family. We have two more days in Accra to grocery shop and wait on our truck repairs. (Remember the wheel?) Then, we’ll head back to Kara to continue school and prepare for the summer internship. Keep us in your prayers!!! P.S. I added photos from our trip on my photos page.  Check it out.

Seeing Red

On Monday, the internet wasn’t working…no email, no websites, no blogging. The electricity wasn’t working….no fans, no laundry. The bank ATM wasn’t working…no salaries for our employees for the month and no cash for grocery shopping. The truck wasn’t working (the entire wheel came off!)….no transportation and no WAMR. In the midst of all of these circumstances, it was the day I had set aside to plan the meals for the entire internship. (Six weeks worth of breakfast, lunch and dinner.) I needed to do this because I needed to know how much of what to buy in Accra the following week….if we got to go!

Needless to say, my mood wasn’t the greatest. I had really been looking forward to WAMR and Accra. I had been thinking a lot the week before about how nice it would be to see my friends, enjoy the ocean, be encouraged by the speaker, and to go out on a date with Bryan! It was with this disappointed mindset that I started to make lunch. I knew that I was in serious trouble if my mood didn’t start to change soon. So, I decided to listen to a John Piper sermon the scripture text was Romans 8 :28.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

I started to smile to myself thinking, “Lord you sure do know what I need to hear!” During the sermon, my heart changed, instead of thinking of all that I might miss while my missionary friends were in Ghana. I started thinking about what God had prepared for me in Kara. I confessed that I thought I knew the best way to spend my time. (Going to the beach, of course!) I reflected on all the many, many times that I’ve kicked and screamed against God’s plans for me because to my eyes they didn’t look very promising. And usually, after much rebellion admitting that God’s way was best after all. I thought, “I’m tired of living like that! I want to live like I believe in this matter. God is on my side! He proved it by giving his own son.” At the end of the sermon, I was still seeing red, but this time it was the red blood of Christ.

By the end of Monday, all of the above issues were worked out. Our truck repaired, the internet and ATM working and I had planned for 126 meals. (For those of you familiar with Africa, that in itself is a miracle.) Isn’t God good…all the time?