WHY MY HUSBAND IS AWESOME HERE

He makes people laugh and can laugh at himself.

He is learning every day to let me “vent” without putting on his Mr. Fix-it hat.

He can chill out and sleep anytime, anywhere. Great asset, as we live in a whirlwind much of the time.

He figured out how to fix the van enough to get us home (SIDEBAR: 10 of us were on a long journey after dark last week and the brakes kept locking up. Devin figured the problem, sent for a mechanic on a motorcycle because the bolt was too tight and he didn’t have tools, then proceeded to redo the fix several times without tools (once it was loosened), even continuing after hot brake fluid shot him right in the eyes), how to get the power redistributed, how to work and repair the water system. He can troubleshoot the truck, wire new buildings, make pancakes, tune up the generator, negotiate prices, deal with corrupt police, and make friends everywhere.

He can train locals with better practices, but can also let it go and watch things be done imperfectly without acting or feeling superior. In other words, he chooses his battles.

He really loves his family.

He always hopes.

He is a clean slate every morning.

He has a knack for bargaining, even when it includes lots of shouting.

He is musical and kind of a tech geek, but easily contented.

He is not a complainer (mostly) :)

He is honest and gracious at the same time in a corrupt working environment, where it is common and expected to breach contracts, or renegotiate or quit in the middle of work.

He studies his Bible and praises the Lord!

WHY IT IS GOOD TO BE HERE A WHILE

On Sunday, Stephanie's 25^th birthday, we went to two Fulani camps we hadn't visited before. Some of our schoolchildren live there, and the camps are two or three miles away. In addition to giving out children's clothes and bags of beans and playing bubbles, we just introduced ourselves and asked how everyone's health is. We were blessed with two eggs and a bucket of cream/milk/yogurt stuff called no-no in Hausa! How humbling to say "Yes, your little girl is eating dirt because she is clearly anemic – feed her eggs and milk… thank you" and then carry some away with us! But, we appreciated the gift. I am pretty sure I was sick because of sharing it in their presence Monday, but hey, I'll do it again! Some of the kids and even teenage girls ran from us – something I haven't had happen in a while, as the close by camps have seen us enough to where some babies may cry, but they don't run anymore J

Anyway, several people had ailments, so I agreed to come Monday morning at 9 and bring them to the clinic. Just to give you a picture of how it goes around here… I was ready to go around 9, but decided to take nurse Lucy to the camp instead, along with Mr. Haruna as translator. As we waited, two of the men we had met the day before came to the school to receive gifts for their sponsored children. I thought, hey, I can give them a ride home. It's a long walk. What should have been a short time stretched out as I sat sweating in the cab of Big Jim and talking about Sunday service with nurse Lucy, who attends a different church in the village. We finally went, 7 in the truck, about 10. Lucy was great, giving a few people malaria meds, talking nutrition, taking blood pressures and temperatures… We brought back 8 or so women and children who needed things Lucy didn't carry along to the camps. It makes me so proud to be a part of this.

But it was highly inconvenient.

When I arrived back I was trying to fight the guilt of not homeschooling the boys. My morning went from driving a few miles to taking a few hours. When I went to their room, Ben had vomited and had a garbage can by his bed. I patted him quickly (and thanked him for making it to the toilet!), but then had to immediately type and print a letter for Phyllis, who needed it to carry to a meeting right away. Then two or three other things kept me from checking on them. Then it was after 1:00 and time for a late lunch. The (sick) women and children I had carried back here to the clinic started to walk home, so I offered to drive them. Long story short, we cancelled homeschool.

As I was driving back around 1:30, I was thanking God for the opportunity. I was asking for the Holy Spirit's help in getting my heart aligned the whole time – not just AFTER. I'm not saying we saved a life, but I'm not saying we didn't, either. And still, it's so hard sometimes to balance family and ministry.

The next part of the story happened the next day. A group of seven more women and children walked in to the clinic. I was very happy to see them, as I knew a few of the faces were ones I couldn't find the day before, but had seen Sunday. They smiled and we greeted each other with thank yous, and I felt great about this new relationship. Long story short, they left the clinic (walking) in a huff. They didn't want to pay for medicines, and they didn't really want a check-up, just drugs for the road. I think it was a communication breakdown, because (thanks to the support of YOU), we can give medicines to those who can't pay. We were just giving a bill, and tragically, the total amount which had them so offended was 500 naira – just over three bucks. They left without the medicines, and angry! I didn't hear about it until they had walked out of sight.

So, we'll take the medicines and hunt them down and explain the clinic! It's a training issue for them. We didn't start off very well, but we have more chances. For this I am thankful.

The bummer of it all is that once again I saw the prejudice that exists against this people group. My friends, people who are Christian and working hard for this mission, all loudly agreed "Ah! These Fulani…!" as if they are the only folks around here who want to receive something for nothing and according to their own terms. They really are marginalized as a people group. How can we inspire hope and Christ's love? Prayer and thanksgiving are our best tools, I suppose.

What is happening in this school, Fulani children playing together with many different tribes, becoming friends, is something we couldn't stay long enough to see all the effects of. Those effects will continue after my lifetime, I am sure.

Medicine and education are SUCH a small piece of what is happening here! Thanks for your support!

WE ARE A TEAM!

Phyllis has been around for a whole week and will be here for another week plus, AND…

Stephanie Harris has arrived!! Yay! First of all, we love her. She is from Wenatchee and we are friends with her folks, too. She spent much of last year in Malawi, and most of this year in Burundi. After thinking everything was falling apart because of visa processing issues, the Lord came through and got her here early – in time to celebrate her birthday on Sunday. The boys got to spend some time with her when we were in Kenya, so they were very excited as we continued to pray for her arrival. The boarding students think she is just the BOMB, and came and said to me, "please ask Aunty Stephanie to come and play!" She has a ton of energy, is organized, knows a bunch of games, and has a great sense of humor and peace to get through the rough spots. She has a great Christian family heritage, and it is apparent in her life.

She is a real missionary, comfortable in the heat and flies in the meat/butcher section of the market, and with negotiating for a price (including walking off). I can't put into words how fun it was just to sit and play Rummikub with Phyllis and Stephanie last night. AND – we received all these wonderful boxes of things in a shipment from WFMC that I was looking at and thinking "OH MY…!!" Well, she has gone through and sorted and moved the bulk of them in the past few days. I don't even know how long that would have taken me. I am blessed beyond words. She has met with almost half of our teachers already, and is getting a good feel for the many needs our teachers have.

And, as if it couldn't get any better, today we received a package in the mail from part of our HOME team – the Abbotts. Silas is the one who manages this blog. It has the Jesus film in several languages spoken in our church, some favorite food and candy items (brownie mix and Stephanie to share it with!! YES!) , and even a late birthday present for Ben that he is going to LOVE. The timing is great as he is down with a tummy ache and fever right now – that and prayer and he should be "up" in time for dinner.

It's good to be part of a team and on the WINNING TEAM.

BEFORE THE COCK CROWS

It's always good to walk away from church on Sunday knowing for certain that you have a specific work to do in your life. Well, church here is different in a variety of ways, but after a recent service, we needed to take action in an unpredictable way…

Pastor was preaching on Ecclesiastes 3 – a time for every purpose under heaven. Well, at the same time and in the same space as church, two of our hens were trying to lay their eggs. If you have never been around hens beginning the process of egg laying, let me tell you, they make quite a fuss. Ours are especially fond of laying around the cement bags stored in the assembly hall out of the weather. Our wonderful rooster was backing them up. Imagine, five minutes of preaching interrupted with 4 minutes of crowing and bok bok bok-ing. Of course, some kids chased them out of the assembly hall, sneaking back in to sit quietly. Then a few minutes went by and there they were again BOK BOK BOK COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO! This time I had to chase them out myself and tried to guard the entry. Very noisy. One snuck in behind me and while I was trying to shoo her out the other entrance, the others came in too! This time we chased them way around the other side of the building and into the bush. Whew! At least ten minutes went by before they were back!

And on and on… People (especially the children) were cracking up, but the sermon kept on. Finally Pastor John says "leave them be." I mentioned that they were new to laying and had to make a big deal of it! Everyone in the church understood, we ignored as best as we could, and the preaching went on!

Now it is a time to build… a henhouse!

SEE WHAT YOU WANT TO SEE

Some people have asked us, have we seen God working miracles around us?

I see supernatural protection over us every time we go out in traffic, but this is a time I missed. Some of you are familiar with Bassey's beef casserole (YUM!!). It's steaks pounded to perfection and roasted in a delicious sauce full of onions and served with mashed potatoes… YUM. Well, the beef casserole was in the oven for a while before we realized we had run out of propane – known as cooking gas around here. It was about 4 p.m., and Devin had been on the road quite a bit this particular day. So, Bassey jumped in Big Jim and together they headed out for town, about 25 minutes from here. On the way into town, they suffered the fourth flat on a particular tire that, months ago, suffered a puncture when it crossed over a piece of rebar – known as iron rod here - marking the corner of someone's cassava farm. It has been repaired repeatedly, but he had made a commitment to me to seek out a replacement that very week. Let me tell you, in Nigeria you keep on fixing things as long as possible. Well, anyway, it was just a flat, and on a rear tire, so he stopped and changed it along the roadside and went and collected the propane.

On the way home, they felt a huge wobble in the front end, so they pulled into a fuel (say foo-WELL) station. They saw a softball sized blister on the front tire, and stood debating how to move. They had no spare??? The station owners told them they would take some money to watch the truck overnight, he should just leave the keys. Devin is a trusting guy, but… As they stood, they heard a huge POP! They looked, and the front tire now had steel belt coming out of a six inch split. Devin told Bassey, "it's holding air, jump in, let's go!" They drove the rest of the way home, no problem. He even drove a half hour the other direction the next morning because it was urgent he go to the bank.

So, can I call that a miracle? Well, I choose to honor God as our protector and provider, at the very least. Having a blow out on a front tire along Ajaokuta road in the dark would certainly be a stressful end to the day, to say the least. The new tires were expensive, but thanks to the wisdom of Pastor Les, "you'll probably be driving more than you can imagine," our auto budget is appropriately cushioned. I see it as a small miracle, and that's that!

SO THANKFUL!

These boarder children, I love them so much. Lawal was in the parlor a few days ago with a high fever - so high he was panting. I gave him cold water and acetaminophen, and tried to fan him (but he couldn't take the chills). I got him to stay under the ceiling fan at least by putting a Tom and Jerry DVD on the TV. After about 20 minutes his fever started to come down and he went back outside to lay in the shade. In the morning he went to the clinic and now, after two days of malaria medicine, he is fit as a fiddle.

The past few days he has brought me "bush fruit." Before he was sick, I saw the kids eating something and asked what it was, where it came from, what was its taste, how do you eat it…? He went to this tree on the other side of the river and brought me some. Again today, he brought us a little bowl of washed up bush fruit. These kids are so sweet to share what they have!

I am so thankful for the day-in-day-out relationships. To hold these kids hands, sing, receive from them, clean their wounds, tease them... It is giving me the time and trust to testify. Little by little.

Tonight I had the privilege to teach Bible study. Jack and Ben had their picture Bibles and had a little Bible study time with the boarder kids. I wasn't even upset that they skipped class. They started out on the perimeter of class (held in the Assembly Hall), but mid-lesson I had to say, "please, I know you are trying, but your noise is too distracting. Either move away or come to Bible study and sit down." They left, it was quiet, that's all I knew.

At dinner they told me they read from the Children's Devotional Bible for 45 minutes. Then they went to play soccer until dinner. Baruwa asked if they could keep the Bible for a while, and Jack said sure, just bring it back at dark because we would use it in the morning. Baruwa just brought it back.

God is so in love with these kids! All this love I have in my heart for them is just a taste of His love. I am so thankful to share it!

IT’S SO EASY!

When we were in Kenya, there was talk of "member care." Although the focus for the discussion was how the home office could support the field missionaries, it turned to the subject of the missionaries helping their support to support them. So, here is some of that for you!

It's so easy to turn a 7-year old boy's day around. We had been driving for an hour or two. Drive. Stop, heat, drive, stop, heat, wait… We went to the bank, which is connected to the post office, and suddenly the day was a great success for Ben!

For $2.30, Auntie Beeshee sent two drawings/cards from her children and two Air Heads candies. Air Heads! She used a regular 6" x 9" envelope, but she did have to take it to the post office and fill out a form that they attached to the front of the envelope. I am not exaggera ting when I tell you that a small act like that sends a big impact across the ocean. It communicates love, we miss you, and you are not forgotten!

A regular sized envelope (to send a card or letter) is 98 cents. You can drop it in your mailbox at home!