video clip

I have no idea where the video clip went! I spent a long time downloading it. I'll try again! In case it doesn't work, I'll add a couple photos.

a beautiful evening

Before too much time gets away from me, I wanted to tell you about an amazing evening exactly one week ago. We were invited to a children's concert put on by a private school that we know well and also a large institute for handicapped children. Our friend directed the entire thing and played the keyboard. It was so moving to see these children performing together, helping each other and just making a joyful noise. The image is forever engraved in my mind of a father going up on stage afterward and picking up his son who was a grown man and carrying him down the isle and all the way out to his car. There were many scenes that brought tears to my eyes that evening. It was beautiful in every way. Here's a short video clip of one song they sang. The choir of the Africa Development Bank also performed along with the children.

a trip through the desert

We left for our long trek to the south of the country right on time at 7AM. We thought there were 8 people going but when they all showed up, we were 9 so every seat in our 9 passenger van was taken. The goal of our trip was to meet with and follow-up people along the way who had shown interest in the good news; some had had several visits and others just one or none. As is the case with most things here, there was not a clear plan and we kind of “flew by the seat of our pants” most of the time. The first stop was after about 5 hours. We pulled up to a literal hole in the wall and one of the guys said “this is a great restaurant”. It was right by the side of the road, very dusty and dirty but they served huge chicken sandwiches that were pretty good and very cheap. After lunch the guys met with a man who had been waiting for 3 years for a visit (he’s a very influential man in the place of worship & extremely fearful of anyone finding out about his interest) and the women met with a young mother and her 2 year old son. Her story was heart-breaking and so much like others I have heard over the years; abuse and mistreatment of the worst kind and all in front of her young son. She firmly believes in our message and says she would have lost her mind or committed suicide had she not had this faith. She cannot leave the situation, though she has every right to, because she would lose her son. We had a good time of encouraging her and praying for her. We didn’t leave that town until after 5PM and wanted to make the ferry before dark to get to an island we were going to. We arrived just in time, took the ferry across and drove another hour to a town where we would spend the night. The hotel was about a 2-Star and very clean. Breakfast was pretty good, though the coffee was like black car oil! We went next door to a coffee shop and got delicious coffee later. By the time we got around to eating dinner it was about 9PM. In this town, there’s a guy who’s made a decision and gone under the water and growing. He joined us and brought a friend. He was so happy we were there; starved for fellowship. The next morning he showed up at the hotel and took us around town. The day seemed kind of without purpose and wasted because the other 2 contacts who knew we were coming had closed their telephones, obviously not wanting to meet with us. They say this happens all the time! They sometimes drive for 4-5 hours to make a visit and the person closes their phone. The day was redeemed when our friend showed up with 4 other friends and we went out to the beach (yes, 13 in our van) to sit and talk and drink coffee. It turned into an incredible time of sharing our message from beginning to end with these young guys. The 13 of us were crowded into a small area of the coffee shop, talking in whispered tones for almost 3 hours! Finally at 10PM we said we could continue our conversation around dinner. We found a nice fast-food place and ordered our food. I really hate eating at 11PM but what could we do? It was well after midnight when we finally got back to the hotel. If all these young men would come to faith, there would be a nice nucleus on that island to work with. It is a very dark place and just a handful of workers. The next morning after breakfast we went on to the next stop which was 2 hours further south. This hotel was a minus 1-Star hotel. It cost $7/person/night so we couldn’t complain. We got settled and went over to visit a center where they buy & distribute food to refugees from the country next door where all the fighting is. There are 40,000 of them in this little town. We pooled our money and gave them a donation to buy more food. (actually the guys went with them and bought the food) The people of this town have all opened their homes and are keeping 6-10 people as they have no money and no place to go. They come to this center every day and get bread & basic foods. They were thinking it would be for a month but now it has stretched into 4! While sitting around the center, all 9 of us, big bowls of food started appearing and we realized they were serving us lunch. They put out a beautiful spread of food and invited us all to sit around a table right in the middle of the warehouse, surrounded by cases of oil, milk, macaroni, etc. I think they were honored that we came to visit and encourage them in the great work they’re doing. We went home and had a rest in the afternoon as it was well over 100 degrees and the town was kind of shut down. It came back to life again around 6PM and we went out to walk around. The guys went back to the center and we girls went for a walk to find a coffee shop and see who we might be able to talk to. We walked for ages and finally stopped a young girl to ask where we might find a “mixed” coffee shop. (most are just for men) She started to explain and then said “I’ll walk with you”. We literally walked a couple of miles and then came to an outdoor place where there were tables to sit at and moms & children at a playground. This girl that came with us stayed and we enjoyed getting to know her. She said she believed that it was a “divine encounter” that she met us. We found out her house was nowhere near the coffee shop but she had walked all that way to be with us. This town has absolutely NO witness of any kind and is incredibly dark. It was overwhelming to think of the needs there. We went up on the mountain overlooking the city and had coffee at sunset, then went back down to the town and ate dinner at 8. Sleep was hard to come by with our saggy mattresses, bright street lights and no air-conditioning! Breakfast the next morning was a piece of pound cake wrapped in foil (some of which were moldy) and a cup of tea. We again went and found a coffee shop next door. We left for our long trip home at 8AM. The highways are SO dangerous and it was stressful driving (Darrell and I split the driving). 1,350 km later, we arrived home at 4:30PM, praising God for his protection and help. The needs are huge and way too few workers. But we serve a very BIG God and we have to believe that he can multiply our efforts and prayers to fulfill his purposes.
Photos: the entrance to our -1 star hotel. an old village remade into a tourist spot

Going with the flow

Sunday morning at 9:00 we were supposed to show up at a certain place for a bap. service and dinner together with our brothers & sisters here. Of course, we showed up right on time and there wasn't a soul there. We received a call from a friend, asking us if we could pick her up at a nearby Metro stop which we did. We got back to find a few people arriving. The place is a huge house with a beautiful yard where they set up a blow-up pool which would be the bap. pool. With a hose and a trickle of water, they began to fill this enormous pool with ice cold water! There was a flurry of activity trying to find someone with the key for the house (where the service was to be held) but they never were able to track it down. Plans quickly changed. About 50 people crowded under a fig tree, sitting on bricks, logs, the ground and began to worship the Lord. Only minutes into the service, they called me over and asked if I would be willing to drive our van to pick up some people who were getting bap. I went with another girl and we got stuck in an awful traffic jam and 1 1/2 hours later returned with the 5 people we'd gone to pick up! A Lib. family was among the group and the mom was getting bap so it was well worth it to me to be able to bring her. The service was still going when we got back! (I think they were stalling so the pool would have time to fill!) There must have been some sore behinds sitting on those rocks! It was thrilling to listen to the testimonies of the 8 candidates. Some have suffered greatly to follow our Lord. The clapping and cheering and tears as each one went under the water was so moving. Almost 4 hours after arriving, we were ready to have our meal together. Many had planned on the ovens in the house to heat their food but of course that didn't happen since they never found the key! It all turned out just fine and we had a wonderful time of fellowship with everyone. We were asked to take a bunch of people home in our van afterward (10 to be exact). We drove way out into the country to take two families home. It was pretty amazing to realize what they have to go through to get to ch'ch every week; some take 2 or 3 buses and then walk a long distance. Kind of embarrassing to think what keeps us from going to ch'ch sometimes. A full 6 hours after leaving the house, we arrived home exhausted but happy to have witnessed such a wonderful occasion. Several times during the day we found ourselves saying "if I were doing this, I would have..." But we weren't in charge and just had to go with the flow, as unorganized and crazy as it seemed at times. We were blessed beyond words.

Our romantic getaway

On May 30th we celebrated 30 years of marriage. We planned a trip to Italy for the occasion. It truly was a trip of a lifetime. We had never done anything like this before and felt a bit guilty spending all that money on ourselves! Even besides the airplane tickets and hotels, everything was so expensive but we decided that 30 years was worth every penny so we tried to forget and enjoy! Darrell and I are not very good tourists. I guess we've seen so many ancient ruins and sites over the past 30 years, that we weren't really that enthralled with the Roman ruins. We also don't have an artistic bone in our bodies so looking at hundreds of paintings did not thrill us either. We did pay money to see the Vatican/Sistine Chapel and the Colosseum but other than that we decided not to waste our money on museums, especially after we paid 10 Euro each to visit a museum we had been told was the most famous in the world. They told us it would take 3-4 hours to see it all. We were done in less than 30 minutes:)
The thing we enjoyed most was sitting at sidewalk cafes watching the crowds go by, walking all over the cities of Rome & Florence on cobblestone streets and looking in small shops, eating yummy pizza and lots of Gelato (wonderful Italian ice cream). We also enjoyed sitting in the beautiful hotel lounges, reading and relaxing. A few things that stood out about Italy were the huge number of motorbikes everywhere, people walking their dogs of every size and breed, huge ancient churches on every corner. In fact everything was just huge and old! The train ride from Rome to Florence went through beautiful countryside. It was simply a little bit of paradise and we enjoyed every minute. Thinking back on where life's path has taken us, we certainly do have much to celebrate as we remember God's amazing grace and goodness in our lives! Here's to another 30 years.