The weeks go by...

Well, I was told by my future brother-in-law that it's good to keep the blog posts up to date, even if nothing unusual or extremely exciting has taken place. But here are some pictures that I've taken recently. First, this is a typical African style bubu (sp?) I had made to wear to church and things. I wanted to get a pretty loud fabric since I might as well go all out, and I think I succeeded.












I thought I would show people the lovely Chaco tan that I've acquired while here, though this picture doesn't really do it justice. It would be more severe around the back straps if I didn't wear full-length pants everyday. And don't worry, I'm sportin' a great farmer's tan around the neck and arms to match.














While playing in part of a softball tournament in Niamey, TK somehow pulled a muscle in his leg that days later developed a pretty disgusting bruise across the majority of his thigh. I thought it was blogworthy, especially since it got considerably larger than even this.














Now for serious posting, I will ask that y'all pray for our friend Adama, he is a Bissa who knows English which is great for us. We have shared the Gospel with him, and he knows a lot about the Bible. However, he's stuck in a very pluralistic mindset. He loves me and TK, but I don't think it goes beyond us being his nassara friends. We've been trying to be more intentional with our conversations with him, and last night we were able to share more very clearly what we believe what was accomplished by Christ on the cross for those who believe and follow him. He seemed to really be thinking about it, which isn't usually the case. Pray that the Lord would bother his heart.

Also, I will ask that y'all would pray for something back in the States. I found out this morning that the wife of one of my closest co-workers from the summer, who just had a baby, has been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in the hip, spine, and liver that I think may have spread to various other parts of her body. My heart is so broken for Krisit, Chuck, their boys, and their family at this time. Please pray, really pray, for miraculous healing for Kristi from the Lord. Please also pray for the Lord to grant strength and peace to Chuck and the family, the peace of Christ that surpasses all understanding as we rest in Him in all things. It is so hard to even believe that's possible in such a situation, but the Lord is eternally good.

Miss you all!

Life in Africa

Well, I just got back from my halfway point retreat in Niamey, Niger, and I thought while I was already posting I'd do another one to share some things that are a pretty common part of my life here. Above is the picture of us re-entering the Burkina border. We're chewing on some brochettes (shishkabob) of sheep (probably) which are pretty common. You can get five for about a dollar, but you have to pick the meat off of the bone, gristle, and skin that real Africans would eat.

This is our neighbor Albert (Al-bear), who is a believer, actually a Christian musician. He is Mossi, not Bissa. He is a great friend to us and takes it upon himself to visit and help us whenever he sees fit. While he is one of our closest friends in Ouaga, we don't know hardly any and his English, although increasing quickly, is not at all proficient. So we basically sit in silence or express things using basic vocabularies, hand motions, and a French-English dictionary.










Below are two little girls who live in our compound. The little one on the right is named Solen. She's such a cutie, and T.K. and I always greet her. She's shy, but we can tell she likes us because she always comes to shake our hands while looking at the ground, and when she passes by our door, we can see her looking for us through the window. One day she got brave enough to come inside and she had these strange horns in her hair.













This picture is me standing in the non-loti where T.K. and I will wonder around in the afternoons looking for Bissa to share the gospel or a story with.













And below is a picture that would totally blow me away if I saw it on an American highway. However, on an African road it is very normal to see any kind of vehicle loaded with stuff twice it's actually height on top. Usually this would include people and animals on top as well.

Ghana

Last week we returned from our two week trip to Ghana. In all, it was a very good trip, and as you can see above, it's a beautiful country. For the first week, we were joined by Jay and three men from a church in Clarkesville, TN. T.K. was in one village named Nomassom (sp?) with two of the men, and Jay and I were with another man in a village named Nagboo. The second week, T.K. and I were in our respective villages by ourselves continuing the ministry that we had begun the first. That was a difficult week, to be alone where you can't communicate very well and most around you are completely lost, but it was a good time of relying on intimacy with and strength from the Lord. While in the villages we stayed with host families who provided us a place to stay and cooked for us. This is the family I stayed with; the man to my right is the head of household, and the three women holding babies are his wives. For the record, Africans do not always look this depressed. They were laughing and smiling right before this picture. They think that they should look serious and respectable in photos, and smiling is childish in their minds.











But if you give the kids a chance in front of the camera, they act a fool for you- usually striking a karate pose...























unless their teachers yell at them and tell them to look serious.













The village of Nagboo is really more of a town. Within the church, there are only two believing men, which breaks my heart. This is the building where the church meets. These men are trying, but they are not very learned in the faith and suffer persecution in the form of ridicule often. Nagboo is a very Muslim entrenched village, so when we went out to share the Gospel with people, our time often turned into answering questions about Christianity. Often it seemed like a game of let's stump the Christians. Most of these Muslims don't know anything about the Koran, and even if they did, we have nothing to fear. Nonetheless, I pray that we were able to bring to light the truth of the Gospel and put thoughts in peoples heads that the Holy Spirit will stir up. The Lord did seem to really be working in the hearts of two brothers who we gave Bibles and who saw the Jesus film. I know they have been reading and hopefully they will be pierced by the heart to receive the mercy of God in Christ. There was another man who seemed to be very interested in the message of Jesus. Please pray for all of these men, especially in light of the social and family pressures of Islam.










On a funny note, if you know me at all you know that I'm not a fan of spiders. Well, the room I stayed in while in Ghana was quite infested with them, making it quite a memorable stay. Now you may look at the photo and say, "They just look like daddy-long-legs," but the photo doesn't do them justice- they were big. The other photo is of a delicacy I was feg I believe on two occassions while in Ghana- tongue (probably of a goat or sheep).






















Last, this video shows what I experienced one evening before dinner as I was sitting quietly by myself reading in my family's compound. It was the end of Ramadan, and evidently that means girls will got from house to house singing and dancing, followed by a stampede of children. I was cornered pretty rapidly and just sat in my seat to observe until it was over.