Back Online!

Written on
FRIDAY NIGHT
OCT 28 2005


As of 7:30p tonight, we are back online! It's been 2 weeks without a phone line so we've missed blogging and more importantly, catching up on other blogs!

During our absence:
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The baby-naming ceremony was at our house for Adrien and his wife...and their baby boy...named...Jeremiah (Jeremie in French; with those little accent things).

Another baby was born just last night to Gabriel and his wife…a baby girl! Miracles, I tell you, when a baby is born healthy here in Benin! Praise the Lord!! Gabriel came to my house earlier in the evening just to tell me that his wife had gone into labor and that they had rushed her to the clinic…then a few hours later deep at night, to tell me the good news! He was so thrilled he could have busted. He was full of praises for our Almighty God. Since we just named the son of his other wife (the boy was named Etienne, the French name for Stephen), I would suspect we’ll get another invitation for this new girl with the other wife. Don’t ask about the polygamy, too complicated.

Our friend for many years, Joseph (also our landlord and our former language teacher and former evangelist and teacher) declared a divorce from his first wife, Josephine, last weekend. It was an ugly scene apparently, and their girls are devastated. His wife (and what he once called his best friend from when they were younger) has been told to leave the house and return to her family. Last year about this time, Joseph was secretly engaged in the taking of a second wife, unknown to any us of around him and in rebellion to church practice. The second wife had a baby boy in August and now it is believed that instead of trying to manage two homes, he just needed to divorce the first and is supposedly having the other woman move in…can’t see that working…we know his girls and they love their Mom (kids stay with the father in situations like this because he has the official rights). Divorce is ugly in any culture. After disfellowshipping Joseph in December of last year (hoping for repentance), our hearts have wavered back and forth…certainly angry about the secrecy, betrayal, and the consequences of his actions on his family and the church…but missing our special friendship we’ve enjoyed with Joseph since the day we arrived in Benin in 1999. Even Thursday, Kelly was in town talking with the phone company when Joseph pulled up on his motorcycle…they had a nice cordial visit. Upon returning home, we mulled over how to exert our influence to get Joseph back into the church (not a well-thought-out-thought; just emotions). And then to find out just today of the events that took place last weekend. Pray for Joseph’s repentance and a strong measure of comfort for Josephine and the girls.

I spent the afternoon and evening (from 3:30p – 9p) going with a church leader, Matthias (mah-tee-ahs), to the leprosy treatment center. Matthias’ cohort, named Janvier (john-vee-ay) has the beginning stages of leprosy and was in need of some treatment, so they took him to the leprosy center last week. Then they got word that Janvier’s uncle had died, so Matthias was going to again have to make the 2-hour trip on a motorcycle to go and get him. I was already scheduled to teach in Matthias’ village (Ainahoue; yee-nah-way) in the evening, so we left a little early and we went to get Janvier with our truck (I “thought” we could make the run in about an hour). About half-way down the road, Matthias says, “you know, when I was there last, the road was kinda bad.” I take notice when I hear that. “How bad…is it passable?” Matthias very calmly said, “let’s just wait and see.” As the storm rages around us and the rain starts pouring down, the sighs from the passenger side seem as ominous as the clouds and lightning around us. As we head down the dirty path, I can tell pretty quickly that this particular road is not passable…we were skidding and sliding like we were on ice. So we managed to turn around and Matthias suggested we go back home. Ever the optimist (or more likely a glutton for making everyone happy), I said, “well I bet we could come at it from the other direction.” Matthias was happy (mission accomplished). So we head WAY out of the way (no longer fitting into the 1-hour route)….only to find ourselves slipping and sliding on another dirt path! And this time, we just about slid off into the deep ditch. So with me driving and four Africans (only one I knew) pushing, the Lord got us back on the road and we eventually made it to the sign on the road “Leprosy Treatment Center”. I was thrilled! Then I asked, “how much farther off this road is it…I can’t see the facility, can you?” Matthias most optimistically replied, “only 3 more kilometers” (that’s 2.5 miles). And this was not even a road…roads have visible flooring and some semblance of pathway. This was just a warn-out mud puddle that lasted for a few miles. Not near as eager to people-please, I flagged down a motorcycle and I told Matthias, “we’re gonna negotiate with this guy to take you down this path and get Janvier and bring him back to the truck…I’m not risking us getting stuck here!” In typical African form, Matthias spent 10 minutes negotiating the price, starting at $2 and finally ending up at the equivalent of $1.45. At this point, candidly I will admit to being a frustrated American rather than a selfless servant. As I watched the sunset with nothing but anxiety, I was imagining having to spend the night on this lonely dirt path in the middle of Nowhere, West Africa! So I sat there, for almost an entire hour, turned on the car and AC and thought, “I deserve a nap.” That didn’t last a wink before passerby-after-passerby knocked on the window to see what the troubled white man needed, obviously out of place and possibly in need of assistance. I was amiable at first, then I just ignored them. Real missionary-like, huh? Guess I should have seized the moment for a spontaneous roadside evangelistic campaign.

Anyway, I did go ahead and review and revise my lesson I was still planning on giving when we got back to their village. Then about 6:45p, Matthias and Janvier showed up. I was so happy, but honestly I was already overwhelmed about driving those slippery muddy roads at night (after 7p) that I didn’t even greet Janvier in the proper Aja greeting. Now it was pitch black dark and we’re still navigating small dirt roads with lots of school kids, bicyclers and motorcycles (and a few other daring autos as well)…not my favorite time to be driving. I was so tired that I hardly even spoke to my two friends until we got back on the highway (we do have a paved road here, you know…only one though). We returned to their village (they are too far out for electricity) and found the meeting place abandoned and also pitch black dark…I guess since we were 2 hours late they gave up on us. We then drove to the other side of the village where I was to just “drop Janvier off.” That’s an American concept you know. You don’t do curb-side drop-offs here. I was trying to do it when I got the look from Matthias that said, “get out of the air conditioned car, you silly American, and come in to greet all the family that has gathered for Janvier’s uncles’ funeral.” Yes, the Lord reminded me that I was there to be Light and I promptly agreed and we were able to be a blessing to Janvier’s cousin who had lost his dad. My flesh is often weak, but praise God for His Spirit.

I came back home about 9p and found our phone back on and Kelly looking at her sister’s new blog. We’re so excited to have the phone line back working again!

Other items (w/PICTURES): **UPDATE: SORRY NO PICS JUST YET...HAVING SOME TROUBLE...CHECK BACK SATURDAY**
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We had a great visit with our friends, Andy and Melissa Johnson, last weekend. They are missionaries in Burkina Faso to the north of us and we loved having them here for 2 nights. What a blessing it is to share fellowship and community, even when you have to drive hours to find it! We are excited about seeing some of our other missionary friends from Togo (a half-day’s drive for them) at Tori’s birthday party in just over a week (a cowgirl theme…at the beach!...pics to come)

Here’s some fun pictures of the kids….Tori and Timothy love playing together (even if they competitively bring out the antagonistic side of one another!)…they loved having a Pringles Picnic on our front porch surrounded by our dachshunds (Booker and Sparkle).

Timo is also shown having a super time making chocolate pudding with Mommy! Tori had a homework assignment to go on a tour around our house to explore the wonderful world of God’s creations…here she is inspecting some exotic West African bug with her magnifying glass. The picture at the bottom is of Laurance, our dear friend who helps us several days a week with cleaning the house and with the kids...what would we do without her?! When Kelly’s doing school with Tori and I’m working, Laurance is a lifesaver with Jonathan and Lael…here she even gets a little overwhelmed when both kids are hungry at the same time!

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We have our monthly leaders’ meeting tomorrow and then Sunday is our cluster-wide convention (again, every month, rotating between the different villages where we have congregations). This Sunday is the grand opening of our church plant at Gbotayidohoue (remember “bow-tie” for short). This past week, we baptized 55 young people! There are several adults already in the church and I’m told another 15-20 baptisms will be Sunday morning before worship. God is doing something really big there…and I’m thrilled because this church plant is primarily the work of Aja Christians).

NOTE:
HarvestSunday at the Richland Hills Church of Christ is coming soon…November 13th. We are joining our home church in praying for a provision of over $1.3 million for reaching lost people through domestic and international mission efforts!

That’s all for now…had a lot to tell after being out of pocket for 2 weeks!
Blessings,
Randy