There's No Place Like Africa

Our Home

It is incredible to finally be here. As you can imagine, it was no small feat trying to pack everything we could possibly need in Africa in our suitcases. I look around our home and I'm pretty amazed at what we were able to bring in our luggage. Pillows, blankets, you name it, if it fit, we brought it. I even brought Dashida soup stock. Still, we miss America and its crazy the things you find yourself missing. We miss grass, bright green beautiful grass, and I miss hot water. Everyone told me I wouldn't miss it because it’s so hot here, well I miss it. Taking a cold shower in the morning is hard on the system. We also miss Texas scenery. You’d think that after years of living in Texas with its flat open spaces, and DFW with its huge buildings, that what would there be to miss in the area of scenery. Let’s just say beauty is all perception, it has a lot to do with where you’ve been and where you are at now. A local kid recently told me my running water was “beautiful”. I think he actually meant wonderful, but it doesn’t matter, he was trying to convey that it was great, and he liked it very much. He doesn’t have any at his house.

village well local mission drilled

We are getting use to all our new houseguests, new that is to us. We have lots, and lots of lizards. Every time you turn around there's one on the wall, by your foot, even crawling out of the pan. You can't get rid of them so you just get to learn to live with them. The kids wouldn't use one of the showers because when we first arrived and opened the shower door there was about ten lizards on the wall. We just have to learn to all live together. There is too many of them and they were here first. They're helping us in keeping the mosquito population down, so I guess, they are doing us the favor. Still, it’s hard not to scream when one comes crawling out of the dish you just grabbed to put cereal in.

We are still acclimating. We thought the triple digits would be no problem for us, coming from Texas but, it has been the biggest challenge so far. See in Texas you have air conditioning. So you always have the ability to get relief from the heat. Not the case here. Most missionaries have swamp coolers and are able to cool their homes but we couldn't fit one in our luggage. They provide relief till April, then because of the humidity they won't work and then the truly hot humid season emerges. The red dirt that covers everything here, inside and outside is something our lungs have had to get use to. Within days we all had minor respiratory things going on. Hannah had the worst of it and ended up seeing a Dr. after having difficulty breathing. The neat thing about this was the Doctor, a Belgian Missionary had two daughters my daughters ages and this is how they met. Turned out they shared a love for string instruments.

The dust and pollution is so thick that at times it looks like your driving in fog but its dust. Driving is for the brave at heart and as of yet I haven't mustered up the courage. Skip is driving everywhere and sees it as a big adventure; I am a little slower at seeing the fun in it. Cars here are surrounded by bikes, motor cycles, donkey carts and even wagons pulled by humans. I'm not scared of them hitting me; we have a big vehicle, kind of tank like, it’s what that vehicle could do to a person on a bike.

I've never had good depth perception and here the bikes seem like they are right next to you. I've even let out a couple of shrieks when I thought the side view mirrors were going to knock someone out.

I'm going to start a contest of largest load on two wheels. So far the maximum number I've seen  has been three. Husband, wife, baby, I'm not counting the packages. I see this quite often and I wonder if the mom is ever a back seat driver. I could see Skip and I doing this. I let out a yell at a bump in the road, he gets mad and we'd all fall over. Then I'd be all mad at him for making me smash the baby. The baby would be screaming and our packages would be scattered all over the road. This is not funny, I'm sure this has happened here. That is why Skip will never be riding me and our baby on two wheels. (I know Hannah, Janaya and David are to big to be babies:)

Okay so I know this isn't two wheels, but it was so packed out I had to include it in my contest.  All this on the roof of the car plus about 14 people inside.  You should have seen the tires.

Miracles

Mountains move with His grace, His words. Things happen because God’s word does not return to Him void.  It goes and accomplishes that which He has sent it to do. It is His word written or spoken to your heart when it comes alive and is ignited by faith that will move mountains. It will accomplish things humanly impossible. People sometimes use the word miracle lightly. To some miracles happen everyday, to others they reserve the word for great feats, things outside of their realm of possibilities. Yet to the one needing a miracle small or large, it really doesn’t matter if others would classify their need as a “a miracle”. For the one needing the help, it is a miracle when the right person shows up at the right time. It’s a miracle when something is given in a country where things cost 4-5 times what your use to and there was no way you could buy it. It’s a miracle when your small and no one knows you yet people in the government want to help you and open doors for you. It’s a miracle when people you don’t know want to partner up with you and help you with a vision God has placed on your heart. It’s a miracle when you didn’t know how you're going to get where God is calling you and suddenly you find yourself there. I’ve seen miracles, in fact, I feel like I’m living one now. Believe me when I tell you miracles happen today. Whatever is outside your realm of possibilities, whatever you think is impossible for God, I want you to know that it isn’t.

Here in Africa, I’ve met Africans whose world is very small. They live day to day. They don’t really store up supplies. They buy their food, enough for the day. They wake up sell their vegetables and hope it’s a good day. Perhaps they’ll make a little extra and be able to save some. It might pay for their kids schooling or perhaps buy some used clothing for a dollar. It’s a simple life. For us however, coming from America we know how big and complicated the world is. We have to travel all over the world to raise funds, make sure we have emergency evacuation funds, medical insurance, and don’t even get me started on the kids schooling. Then there are all those awful diseases we could get here, and what if the stock market crashes in the US. Sometimes our knowledge keeps us from believing because all we see are the obstacles.

Recently, my daughter took out her cello and played for some African guest we had over. At that moment, they were able to hear and see an instrument they never knew existed. They heard sounds they had never heard before. My daughter complained because she didn’t play perfectly, I replied to her, “Honey they were just so delighted to see something, hear something, they had never heard before. It was a once in a lifetime chance." Suddenly their world just got a little bit bigger. See Africans know there is many things outside the tiny world here, many miracles bigger than what they can imagine. Americans can sometimes feel like we know everything, have seen everything, and you can’t surprise us. We can feel that miracles are for the ignorant. In the same way my daughter opened up an experience that no one could have imagined, God is coming from a kingdom so vast, beautiful and mighty we can’t imagine it. So in an instant, it is nothing for Him to draw open a veil and introduce you to something you’ve never experienced before. It could be in the realm of provision, of healing, and even a still small voice speaking and changing your life forever.
Don’t dismiss the impossible, it’s in the realm of possibilities for Him.
Judy

My Side of The Story

This is our last week in Texas. We will be leaving for Africa on Jan. 17. Sunday was our last service at our home church, Shady Grove in Grand Prairie. It was bittersweet, I was quite surprised at how emotional I got. I began to think of the past 12 years that we have spent there. When we first started attending Shady Grove we were pretty desperate for the Lord to change our lives. He did it, through small groups, love from our church family and all the awesome people He brought across our paths. Many sowed into us and believed in us and we are so grateful. We feel that we are carrying you in our hearts on this new adventure. I remember in those early baby filled days (I had 3 kids in 3 years!) all Skip and I wanted was to one day be small group leaders and graduate our Sunday School Class, First Principles.  It was a really big goal for us. As the Lord was ministering to me, this past Sunday, I began to think of how a pursuit for the presence of God changed everything for me. How it launched me into a seeking for His face that I had never known before. I am still on that pursuit and it has lead me down a path I never thought I'd be on. His presence has changed me, and He began to open doors before me. It is because I had fallen in love that I could not tell Him "no". The cry of my heart has been to say, "yes" to Him even before the question was asked.

In 2004 I went on a short-term mission trip with my husband and a team from the church to Burkina Faso, West Africa. I was going with the knowledge that my husband wanted our family to move there and do mission work. I was basically there to agree with that vision or to say, "Your crazy, no way are we moving there." I can tell you that I was under a bit of pressure. I didn't know what to expect. I had seen pictures, heard stories ect. but nothing could prepare me for how I felt there. I did not like it, to put it nicely. When I thought about moving the kids there, I cried. All I saw was dirt and mud and trash and shacks and well you've seen the commercials. Then one morning while looking out over the city, I saw my Father's heart for this place.  I saw how His eye is on the sparrow (being the least of the birds) and how this small, poor country was that sparrow. Let's just say He didn't order me to be a missionary there, I volunteered. Make no mistake, it is the small, the poor and the forgotten that your Heavenly Father is concerned about.  I, at that very moment, told Him I would make it my life's concern as well. I told Him if He would provide the way, we would go. Of course Skip (my husband) was overjoyed and now 6 years later we are finally leaving. We don't know when we will be back. This is not a one year commitment. It has taken us what feels like a lifetime to get to this place and the journey has not always been easy. Africa has always been on our minds. At times it was like a pipe dream other times like something that could happen once our children were grown. Now it is finally here. We couldn't be happier. There are still giants to be fought...but we so want to be like Caleb in this hour. We want to say with all our hearts, "we are able to go up and take this land." You know what was so incredible about Caleb was he wasn't looking at himself like the other Israelites, He was looking at his God.

So with eyes on Him, we are making this journey...and you can believe it when I say we plan on doing some exploits. After all , they are His glory stories and we will just be voices who get to declare what He has done.