GiGi's Home in Kentucky

When our house sold way-too-quickly last January, Philip's grandmother let us use her empty house as our Kentucky home anytime we were in the area.  Since her house had already been on the market for months, we knew it could sell at any time.

We had friends lined up to host us in the event her house sold, but it didn't.  We knew we could be inconvenienced when someone wanted to show the house while we stayed there, but never once did that happen.  For all those months it was our family's little country haven where we enjoyed the wood stove in the winter and the huge yard in the summer.  We always joked, "The house will sell as soon as we're done with it."

Would you believe THE DAY we flew out, Philip's grandmother received an offer on her house?  THE DAY.  After seventeen months on the market, it closed last Friday, selling exactly when we were done with it.

God makes us laugh sometimes.

Merry Christmas

For Christmas we promised Emily she could get matching skirts made for her and her Kirsten doll.  It took the sweet child all of five minutes in the market to find the fabric she wanted. Pink, of course!  The tailor we met in 2011, who is a believer, had her skirts ready in a matter of days.  The headband and the baby wrap.......those are Emily's own creations with the scrap material!  Was this girl made for Africa, or what?

Out of the Desert

We received a phone call this week that went a little something like this: "Look outside, you might see a camel walking down the street."  That's a first!

 Sure enough, at the little "boutique" where we buy bread, yogurt, matches, and Fanta was a man riding a camel.

We ditched all pretense of not being American tourists and went tearing through the house grabbing cameras and yelling at the kids: "Get your shoes on!  Hurry, go outside!  Now!  There's a camel outside!  A CAMEL!"

The camel man must have noticed our commotion because he came over to us!

I'm not sure who had a better time: us seeing the camel or the neighborhood seeing us see the camel.

 The man was extremely nice and let the kids pet his camel.  Through the guard we learned that the man had been riding the camel for four days from the desert.

 Won't it be cool for Bible stories to start coming to life for our kids as they grow up in a place where women go to the well for water and travelers use camels for transportation?

First Two Weeks

Enjoy the front row seats to our first two weeks in West Africa....... 

Thank you Saturn Road Youth Group for the soundtrack!

Here to Stay

2011

Today marks the day we have been in Africa longer than we were here two years ago.  In 2011, when we came to bring our son home, it was "a trip."  For a month, we put our lives in the States on hold and came on a great adventure.  You can do a lot of things when you have a light at the end of the tunnel (or a departure ticket in hand).  In 2011, I never once complained about taking a cold shower because it was part of the experience.  This time, from day one, I pouted because if this is life as far as I can see, it's not so great.  In 2011, we could eat peanut sauce over rice and spaghetti every day for a month because it was just a month.  This time nutrition concerned me from day one because this is my children's childhood.

Another area in which the last trip was different than this move is in the area of spiritual passion.  Last time we came on a spiritual mountaintop.  This time I came feeling watched like a firefly caught in a glass jar, wounded by church politics, and unsure if I could trust our Father with where He was leading us.  What do I do with a God who says to count trials as source of joy?  How about a faith that costs me comfort?

Then, this week, He showed me Paul's words: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."  In this familiar verse was an unexpected peace:  If "keeping the faith" was guaranteed, he wouldn't have brought it up.  If  "keeping the faith" was easy, it wouldn't have been worth mentioning. 

There are some days when "keeping the faith" is the most I can hope for.

The great news is, on those days, God says it's enough.

The Rest of the Story

After my last post, we found whole, frozen chicken with minimal feathers attached for sale.  Super big YAY!  It took two days, but we bought more propane and ENJOYED every chocolatey bit of those brownies.   We also received wisdom from one of our friends who has served here for over ten years: “The first four months are survival.  If you get to the end of the day and all you’ve accomplished is you did not leave Africa, then it has been a success.”   I am clinging to that - so thankful for those who have gone before us and the prayers of you who are walking with us!

But that is only a piece of the picture.

One of the greatest joys of being in Africa is watching Philip thrive.  He is clearly meant for this life in this place.  Even the hobbies he had in the States are life skills here.  

I was making a Top Ten list of ways he is perfect for Africa, but it turned into a Top Thirteen:

1. Philip isn’t afraid to try, and he isn’t trying to impress anyone.  These are great assets when we’re guaranteed to make a million mistakes in the process of learning a new language.

2. Relationships.  Philip is all about relationships, Africa is all about relationships.  

3. He doesn’t live off schedules and checklists.  Perfect because schedules and checklists don’t work here.

4. He got one thing out of Boy Scouts: tying knots.

5. He enjoys driving, especially off-roading.  As we bump along a “road” that is nothing more than a patch of earth on which people drive, I have to remind myself off-roading is what people in the States do for recreation.

6. He knows cars.

7. He knows technology.

8. He knows video editing to share our experiences.

9. He enjoys experimenting with rocket stoves, earth bag houses, solar dehydrators, and water filtering systems.  He would do it just for fun, but it’s not just for fun anymore!

10. He needs nothing but family.  

11.  He is a servant and a leader.  Right now he is carefully leading me through this chaos, assuring me as often as necessary that God wants us here....and heating water on the stove as often as necessary for me to have a bucket bath.

12. His mom taught him to cook from scratch.  Spaghetti sauce, guacamole, kettle corn.  Hallelujah!

13. He has experience with poultry.  When he is given a live chicken, he accepts it.  (That makes one of us!)

Yesterday I told Philip, “With all the stress we’ve been under the last couple of months, we really shouldn’t be getting along this great.”  He agreed.  Being "front row" at this stage is not as much about what God is doing with us and the people of Africa, but what He is doing with us in our own family in Africa.  Maybe it’s because God has some really fun stuff in store for us to do, and He wants us to do it together.

“I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me….I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” Mathew 25: 35-36, 40

I just read in the book God’s Smuggler: “Don’t you see,“ Brother Andrew told us, “you cannot give a person something to eat unless you are there.  You cannot provide drink or clothes, or visit the sick and imprisoned, unless you are there.”

So we say: Here we are, Lord.

On The Road Again

Those of you who have seen our van over the past year, will probably appreciate seeing us now.......

Five days after arrival, we set out with Ruth and Linda on a survey trip, stopping in four cities/villages.  With all this gear (two bags on top, too!), we also have seven passengers in Ruth's SUV built for five. 

It's quite the experience.

I've learned on this road trip thus far that God gives us just what we need to get through to the next day.  Often I don't even know what I need, but He supplies.  Sometimes tomorrow holds delightful surprises of hot water or American treats.  Sometimes tomorrow holds the gentle whisper, "This is where you die to self."  

No two days are the same.