7 years in Benin

“…they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God.”

Nehemiah’s confident words reflect his understanding that without the hand of God, a monumental task could never be accomplished (Neh. 6.17).  We can relate.

Today is our 7th anniversary of the day we arrived in Benin, West Africa.  We arrived with fresh tears stinging our hearts from the previous day at the DFW airport.  How can we ever forget that day…a room full of ALL of our family, our dearest friends, our church elders and a corporate sendoff gently carried out by the sensitivity of the mighty Holy Spirit.  We were eager to get to Benin.  We had been prayed for on countless occasions.  The very specific call we received back in 1996 had reached its peak…now it was time to GO!  Somewhere deep in our hearts, the mission of reaching the Aja people with the Light of Christ still resonated in our spirits.  If it hadn’t been there, we would have never walked away from the tears of our family to walk down that ramp toward our plane.  But certainly more on the surface of our hearts was the pain of leaving and saying goodbye.  Our passion for reaching the Aja for Christ seemed almost eclipsed by the gut-wrenching hugs we gave each member of our family.  Did we wish, even at the last moment, that God would change his mind and not send us?  Yes, a little.  If the cup had passed and we had been redirected at the 11th hour, I’m not sure I would have balked.  Standing there squeezing tightly the hands of my Mom and Dad, I didn’t really want to get on that plane.  But we all knew we had to.  We all knew the sobbing would calm, (although I’m not sure it really did for quite some time), and we all knew that the Lord was at our side each step of the way.  

One of the first emails I sent home reflects some sense of where I was when I arrived:

“I know I am where God wants me to be, though I still wonder why.  I know why (really), but I still wonder…why?”
  
Seven long years later, I do know more of why I have been here, know more of some of what God has been doing through me, and even know a whole lot more of what God has been wanting to do IN me!  These years have been the most challenging of my life.  They have certainly been the most adventurous and fulfilling as well.  To speak of God’s refining work in my personal journey of faith would take up more blog space than I think Blogger affords me.  I have wrestled with the Lord’s refinement, not always wanting to go along with Him on the things He has been teaching me!  I have been rebellious, unintentional, and felt at times that this whole experience was way over my head.  But thank the Lord for His marvelous grace.  In His grace, I have discovered liberty, power over sin, and even a more clear sense of His mission.  In His grace, I have discovered gifts that the Lord has given me to use for building up the body of Christ.  In His grace, I have learned more about letting the Lord lead me, rather than getting ahead of Him and asking for His blessing to follow.  

In just over a year from now, we will be reversing this whole experience.  We will depart Benin and return to the States.  We will no longer maintain a home here in Benin and we will move into new areas of ministry Stateside.  In some ways, March 17th, 1999 seems like forever ago.  When I think about ALL the many experiences in between (good and very hard), it seems like it’s been much longer than it really has been.  But when I read back through the emails we sent home in the first few days after arriving in Benin, the emotions are still very fresh.  And then to think that we have to do it all again in the Spring of 2007…shedding tears on this side of the ocean and searching for those final parting words to encourage those to whom we say goodbye (except this time, searching for those intimate expressions in a foreign tongue).  It’s still over a year away, but it seems right around the corner, too!  

In school today, Tori was asked to write a prayer of peace for our family.  Praise God for this young girl’s sensitivity to what’s going on in our family!  (plus, isn’t she a good artist?!!) We are confident that the peace of God can reign in our hearts over these ensuing months and we are already witnessing fruit of our labor!!  We pray God will give us the strength to finish strong in this final year!

We are having a great time with Kelly’s folks here.  I’m sure you can tell by all the photos, the kids are really enjoying their Paw and Precious!  

What has God been doing in your lives in the last 7 years?  We’d love to hear from some of you about what God has shown you about Himself!  Please share and let’s encourage one another.

-Randy