YOU'RE GONNA START SOME PROBLEMS!

Over the past couple of weeks I have been having some conversations with my friend. He first told me that the Koran and the Bible are the same, and he seems very fascinated that I would not agree with him on that statement. I tell him that the Bible says things that I know he doesn’t agree with (like Jesus being God’s son) and I ask him, “Does the Koran say that?” About a week ago we stayed up until almost 2 in the morning talking about this subject. He would ask a question and I would explain to him what I believe and why I believe that. Personally, it’s very hard for me to believe that I can say that much in Pulaar and have someone understand me. There was a couple of times that I had to repeat myself but all in all I’m sharing my faith and I love it. So anyways I was talking to this friend the other day and he told me something very truthful that I knew took some thought on his part. He told me that when I start my job I will go out and talk to and meet all the people in the villages and if I find someone that wants to follow Jesus, it will mean problems. He reminded me that if the family continues to follow the way of Islam, the new believer might even get kicked out of the village. “What do you plan to do about that?” he asked me.
I stood there a while and then told him that I don’t know. I told him I would ask around and get back to him and then I tried to explain to him that things on this earth are not as important as eternal things. He didn’t think I understood his question so he then told me again…and I then repeated my answer back to him. We were both clear on the question, and then the Holy Spirit reminded me of a story of some believers of a “sister people group” in the country of Nigeria. I told him that there are some believers that are having their houses burned down by their families and all their livestock is being slaughtered because they are following Jesus. I then asked him, “What’s more important, your house on earth or God’s house in heaven. He quickly responded, “God’s house!” and the conversation changed because someone else walked up.
Persecution is something that is real and something that happens everyday for the local believers here in West Africa. Persecution has claimed many houses, cattle, jobs, and yes, even lives. Please pray for the work that is being done here in West Africa. Pray for the local believers that they can stand strong in their faith. Pray for the ones that have felt the persecution - that they can be assured of their salvation and that they can find the courage to still proclaim. Pray that the walls of persecution will not hinder the spread of the gospel but will open even more paths that lead to God’s Son. Also pray for the seekers, for the ones looking for the truth, the one that may even believe it, but can also see the consequences of this decision. Pray that they know what they’re getting themselves into, but also that they also know the reward that’s waiting for them at the end.
“I have come to set the world on fire…..” Luke 12:49 NLT

Now i find it!!!!

So yesterday I was hangout by my house talking to my friends, my broken Pulaar is coming along very nice, I think so at least. I was hangin out with the sheriff, that same guy that welded my lamp, as you can see in the blog below. We were talking about boats or something, I don’t know, I look up and I see a man walking around with a bunch of lamps! In Africa there are a lot of people who just walk around the city with a bunch of stuff just trying to make a living, some people like to call it walk-mart. Anyways, I call him over and look at them. No it didn’t have a stand with it but had the switch and socket, and the plug already assembled and with this fancy stretchy wire, (like on a telephone). I still would have needed the sheriff to make me that stand, but I could have saved the hassle of making the switch and all that stuff.

But missing out in all that fun of making it, and electrocuting myself twice. Nahhhh it was worth!!!!

I'M WAY TOO PROUD OF THIS!!!

So I’m here in Africa and as you know there are a lot of things that you don’t find here that are easy to find in America...like a lamp! I really wanted a lamp. My room had only one big light and it was on the other side of the room so it was kind of a hassle when I would be reading and then the sleepy bug would hit but I didn’t want to fall asleep with the light on and I didn’t want to get out of bed to turn it off. I know the problems of a missionary are sooooo hard!!! Anyways, I looked all over the city and I couldn’t find one anywhere. Most of the people had no idea what I was even asking for. I was really losing hope on trying to find a lamp. Then one day I was at a hardware store and I was getting nails so I could…nail something. I got the brightest idea in the world… “I can just make one!!!” It took another 30 minutes trying to ask the dude behind the counter if he had everything that I needed, and yes he did. I went and drew up my lamp. I took the drawing over to my good friend, the sheriff, and within 30 minutes he welded together a stand for the light with some re-bar. I went home, put it together and now I have a lamp!!!! I know I could have done more stuff to it real easily to make it look better (like put a sheet over it!!!) but when you look at this lamp, remember that it’s coming from Africa, and that the only tool that I had was a leatherman, a hammer and a welder. When you first look at it, it looks really ugly, but after that second look it looks like something a fancy designer would use. I'm sure you understand...one of those things that is so ugly it’s cool. Remember this is coming from someone who has over 2 years experience in interior design. I know what I’m talking about!!! (Thanks Ben and Todd)

As you can see, I got a haircut. I was starting to get a lot of people talking about my long hair, and I was even getting a lot of people asking me if they could braid my hair or add links to it. I knew that would get pretty close to a cultural line that I didn’t want to get near, yet. It was quite fun and a very different experience. And as most of ya’ll also know my hair during my college career got long; it was different and fun. Since I graduated high school I believe I’ve cut my hair 4 times. But before that, like the normal American I have had my hair cut by the same person almost my whole life. So when trying to figure out where I should get my hair cut I had to make a very difficult decision…I went to the place closest to my house. It was a fun time. I had about 4 people in the room watching me and I had to give the dude cutting my hair a couple of pointers. When cutting hair for guys he only knew one hair cut - shave it. And then I had to try to explain to everyone that if I shaved my head that it would burn. They just don’t understand about sunburns, they think it’s really funny. I didn’t ask him, but I’m pretty sure I was his first white guy. Another thing that I know ya’ll would like to hear, is how much I paid for this wonderful trim. I paid the guy one thousand Fcfa. And I knew I was giving the dude way too much, almost twice as much as what all my friends said they pay. But a thousand Fcfa is equal two about 2 and a half bucks and I just couldn’t bring myself to ask for change after I handed him a 1000.
Things are going great; it’s starting to get really hot and I got about 3 more months until rainy season starts. I don’t know if it gets even hotter. I might even try the shaven head if it does. I thought I was using a lot of sunscreen so I can’t image how much I would use on my head if there was no hair.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SENEGAL!

April 4th, 1960 in Senegal is the equivalent of the USA’s July 4th, 1776. I thought this would be a great time to tell you all a little about Senegal.
Senegal is a country filled with many different people groups, all of which have their own language, culture, tradition, animistic beliefs, and way life. I can think of eight right off the top of my head and there’s many more than that. Of the many different languages in Senegal, French is the official language, and Wolof is the national language. Pulaar is probably the third most spoken language in Senegal, but I haven’t done any research or anything on that.
The people on Senegal rely heavily on the land on which they live in with peanuts as one of their major exports. Senegal’s economy is greatly influenced by agriculture.
Senegal is a country of almost 20 million people. I’ve heard anywhere from 92% - 97% are Muslim - I guess it matters who’s doing the research. Actually last month they had a huge Islam convention in Dakar, the capital of Senegal. I really didn’t know what to think when I looked at the TV and I saw the president of Senegal talking to the person who claims to speak for every Muslim country. Senegal is just like many of the countries around the world that are filled with lost people who have little to no chance of having the gospel presented to them. April 4th will be a day filled with Senegalese people celebrating their country. Please join me on this day and pray for the people of Senegal. Pray for the missionaries in Senegal, the government, the schools, the people and their fields. Pray that April 4th is also a day for the Kingdom of God.

YEAH! I'M DEFINITELY IN AFRICA!

So, the other day after playing soccer I was taking a shower. You know the just the same ol’ same ol’. I actually was having a really good shower! I have a hot water heater, but I don’t use it on the account that it’s 150 degrees outside, but it sure is nice. So yeah, I was in the middle of washing my hair and I had my eyes closed. I opened them and I noticed that something was not right - there were colors that were not supposed to be. As most of ya’ll know I’m not really good with colors and my first thought was that it was red because of a big cut and it was blood all around me. After a second look I noticed that it wasn’t red, it was brown!!!!!!! I’m telling you that if I was wearing pants, I would have been scared right out of them!!! I jumped out of the water and stared at it a while. I watch as it turns to a lighter shade of brown and then back to that very nasty brown color again (you know what I’m talking about). After a couple of minutes I started thinking about my options and how I can get clean. I walk to my kitchen and get my 5 liter jug of water that I have sitting around just in case of a water emergency. I get everything all ready for a good old bucket bath, but I decided to wait and give the shower water one more try before the bucket bath. Sure enough, the water slowly turned back to the color that it should be. So…I took a shower.
I know not too long ago I talked about retrieving my cell phone in my septic system. But this one is different. There is a whole different mindset when expecting something dirty. I guess when you’re in Africa you can never let your guard down on stuff like that. I got a picture of that lovely water coming out of the sink and no there is no hidden tea packet or I didn’t get board and have too much fun playing with the photo programs on my computer, this picture is pure Africa!!!!

IT'S OFFICIAL - I'VE EXPERIENCED CULTURE SHOCK

As most of ya’ll know, the two months before I got here I spent training with the IMB. It was a great time where I was able to grow and learn about my job. There was one topic that was stressed a lot and I thought that it was never going to bother me. Yep, you guessed it, culture shock. There were tons of people that came to speak about the stages of culture shock, how to prevent it, how to recognize it in your colleagues, what to do about it, and how to overcome it. There even was this cool little video that a missionary from India made about culture shock. They must have shown it to us like five times.
My Sundays are just like your Sundays. In the morning I usually eat breakfast and then get ready to go to church. It’s probably not just like your church, but me and the other missionaries in this city have what you call “house church”. We sing, pray, someone teaches, all the same stuff that you would do. Anyways, this Sunday was different. When I woke up I remembered that all my colleagues were on a little vacation in a town about six hrs away. They asked me to come but, I thought I didn’t need a vacation. I thought I was fine; I love it here in Kolda! So, instead of going some where to worship God, I decided to worship in my place. I had a real nice peaceful morning. It started to become lunch time and I was thinking about my choices. Usually I just find a place in town to eat or I’ll eat at one of my friend’s houses with them. Today I cooked lunch and started watching a movie on my computer. After, I studied Pulaar a little, read a little and then I put in another movie. It was around six in the afternoon. I looked outside and I noticed that my night guard had already shown up and he was hangin out with some of my neighbors. For some reason I couldn’t get enough courage to get up and go outside to talk to them. So, I cooked dinner, watched another movie and called it an early night. I was not proud of myself knowing that I spent the whole day in my house and never even changed out of the clothes that I slept in.
So the next day was Monday. I wake up do my same morning routine and then go to my Pulaar class. I came home to eat lunch and do the only thing that I know - dive right back into the culture. I decided to leave my motorcycle at my house and walk to the market. I had a few things that I needed so I thought I would go on a little shopping spree. I bought a spatula, a mouse pad, some light bulbs, and I spent about an hour talking with the people in the clothes market. There’s this place that gets these big bags of clothes from America, Europe, and all those places and you just go looking through the piles until you find something that you want. I almost bought this shirt that was from a Doctor’s convention in Houston. It was perty cool with a big Texas Flag on it. So during my adventure I randomly met the chief of my neighborhood. He was a fun dude and was very interested in my job and why I was here. His friend was very curious that I believe that Jesus Christ is GOD. He asked a lot of questions that I was able to answer. I just hope that the door will still be open once my language gets stronger and I can answer some of the deeper question.
I went home, put my stuff away and hung out with my friend, the Sheriff and his family. They were all really worried about me because they knew I spent the entire day in my house on Sunday. They were asking me tons of questions thinking that I was sick or something. I finally said, “I’m white. You’re black. I was tired, and I’m not used to living in Africa!!” I know they didn’t understand but they did understand enough that I’m going to live and that I don’t need to eat some special plant that will make me poop or something.
I love my job. I’m starting to like this language, and most importantly, I love my Lord. And because I love Him, I’m trying to love the Fulakunda. Some days are a lot harder than others, but I’m here for a reason and to do that I know I have to live amongst the Fulakunda. I eat what they eat, I smell what they smell, I’m trying to talk what they talk, and I sweat like they sweat. Please pray that I can remember God’s love for these people. Pray that I will keep my eyes on the only one that can give me the rest that I need. Pray that I will be more like him.