Merry {first} Christmas!

While Trey was in Kenya, I found out some things about Little Man that I wasn't sure of. Based on his name, people had told us that he was from an Islamic family. I confirmed this by asking some of the older kids where he is currently living. They said they knew for sure because the first couple of days he was there he performed his prayers 5 times a day. Then when he realized no one else was doing it, he stopped. I had them ask him {he's still learning French and doesn't always understand mine :)} if he still knew the prayers. He said yes. My eyes began to open and my mind began to race and my heart began to melt. What did we ever do to deserve to be this kid's parents? What a privilege.

Trey returned the Monday before Christmas. Little Man asked me if he could be at the airport when "papa" came back. I told him unfortunately that wouldn't work out, but we would be back to see him soon. It worked out that Little Man {and a friend} were able to stay the night with us Tuesday night. This was HUGE. First, he got to see what our life was like. He got to see how we would love him in our home, provide for him, and essentially how things work in our home. Trey took him to see the beach for the first time. He tried {but didn't like} pizza. He played with blocks for the first time. He broke one of Chandler's toys, the first of many I'm sure. He opened his first Christmas gifts. And Chandler stole them, again not the only time this will happen. It was a great night. The next day I made lunch and he wasn't ready to eat. I asked him to eat since we needed to get on the road to head back to Sakété. He took a few bites, pushed the food away and walked out the front door. I thought he was going to play with Barley {the dog} as he had done before. Then I heard the gate to the road open and shut. I took off, yelling at Trey, afraid of what was going on. I go out to find him throwing up. We tried to ask him what was going on. He wouldn't talk. We asked if he wasn't feeling well. Silence. We assured him we weren't mad, just wanted to know why he threw up. Silence. We then got the friend {who's much older} to talk to him in the local language. Silence. So then we enlisted Rigo, the man who helps around our house and seems to have a way with kids. Rigo talked, Little Man answered. Apparently, he wasn't hungry, but thought I'd be mad if he didn't eat what I made him. So he tried, it hurt his stomach, so he threw it up. We told him it was ok. We weren't mad, just concerned. He then took a 2 hour nap - knocked out, snoring kind of nap - which he doesn't take naps anymore.

All in all, it was a good two days. But it only got better for this mama's heart. Remember when I said he came from an Islamic family, well that means that this Christmas was the first time he's ever celebrated Jesus' birth. I don't think that God made Trey sick so that we would be able to spend Christmas with Little Man, but I do think that God blessed us with the opportunity to spend his first Christmas with him in the midst of our trials. We sat there and watched as he heard the Christmas story for the first time. We watched as scripture was read and the birth of our Savior was made the most important. And then we watched as he excitedly opened his Christmas gifts. That night, we invited him to stay the night at our friend's apartment with us. He agreed to staying in the same room with us & Chandler. When bedtime came, tears started coming. We aren't sure exactly why… maybe he was just overwhelmed with everything, but eventually he made his way into our room and to the palette we made for him next to Chandler. I sat there and rubbed his back until he was asleep. Trey and I slept soundly having our 2 kids under one roof - our little family of four.

When we decided to adopt an older child, I accepted the fact that we wouldn't see a lot of his "firsts." You know, first smile, first laugh, first word, first steps, first solid foods, first holidays… all of those typical firsts. But God showed me differently. They may not be all the same "firsts" that Chandler had, but there are surprisingly a lot - first Christmas, first American food, first time at the beach, first time playing with blocks, and the list will go on and continue to grow.

We are still a little ways out from having Little Man permanently in our home, but every day is one step closer. And having days and nights like those mentioned above is an incredible insight into our future. We are so thankful that God has given us the opportunity to have another child and the opportunity to currently build a relationship with him. After we had Chandler, I wondered how it was possible to have more children and love them the same. I even asked other mothers how they did it. Their answer was that it just happens. Now, I understand. It just happens.

not our plans...

Many are the plans in the mind of a man,

but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.

Proverbs 19:21 ESV

We had ministry plans while our team from Olive was here. They were giving Trey the opportunity to reach out to the surrounding community, to make our presence known there. He was going into the surrounding area, talking to people, sharing Bible stories, making connections, and letting people know he was showing the Jesus Film on Thursday night. Things went well. There was a village to the north that was welcoming and inviting. There's potential there. Everything was good. There was nothing bad about that week...

Registration at first village

Trey with Chief

And then Friday came. Friday morning we set out with the team to host an eye clinic in that village to the north. It was great. They were grateful hosts. Such sweet people and children. My heart broke as a little boy asked me what we were doing here. I explained to him it was glasses for reading and that mainly older people would need them. He looked at me and asked if we could fix this... pointing to his brother's club foot. That's a reality here. There are lots of medical needs and we can't fix all of them. I told him no, but that we would pray for someone to be able to come and help him. And then we continued to talk about their life. The team did great! Everyone who came to get tested for glasses heard the gospel. And all who heard, said they want to follow Jesus. I, being skeptical, don't believe that everyone truly means that... but I know that I know that I know they clearly heard the Gospel that day. And because of that eye clinic, we will be welcomed back with open arms. And we will be going back there.

Andrea checking glasses

Rachel & Tiffany testing eyes

Registration at second village

Friday afternoon we headed to a village to the south, one that our friends at Arbre de Vie have connections with. On the drive we passed a teenage girl walking the opposite direction of us wearing a Baptist shirt. We stopped and talked with her. We were shocked to see her since we knew there was only one Baptist church in this very vast area. We asked her about the church and she said we would see it if we continued ahead. So we continued. And we came upon a teenage guy wearing Baptist cloth. Again, we stopped. Shocked. He was going to same direction we were, so in a very African fashion, we told him to hop in the back of the truck and we'd drop him where he was going. As he got in a moto passed us carrying the teenage girl and her parents... going in our direction. We were confused and excited all at the same time. Finally we reached the church. Ashley, driving the car in front of us, pulled over to make sure we didn't miss it. We stopped, thinking we were dropping our new Baptist friends off there. They said no, we're going with you to the eye clinic!

Danny checking eyes for a pastor

We continued to the school where the eye clinic was being hosted. We got everything set up and then had a minute to talk. Trey quickly realized the two pastors had been at two of his trainings. Before when they told him where they were located, he hadn't heard of the town, so he wasn't able to keep the place in his mind. The teenage boy speaks great French, so he assisted us in the eye clinic. The pastors jumped in and helped share the gospel to everyone who came through. I spent time talking with the daughters and through them, talked with the wives. It was really great. It was not our plans to go to this village. It was not our plans to have someone announce the eye clinic the day before. It was not our plans to pick up random people in the village. But it was God's plan.

Kristen with pastors' daughters

Trey with pastor's son

Because of this clinic, we've developed a great relationship with these pastors. We've talked with them about church planting. They already have a vision for this and have already been working towards it. We are grateful for the opportunity to come alongside these two families in their ministry. We are grateful that we could not avoid His plans that day.

Anthony, Pastor Barnabi, Pastor Michel, Trey, Kristen, & Chandler

Photo Catch Up: June

Just because we've been rather inactive here, does not mean we haven't been active. In fact, that's the reason we've been inactive... so much going on. In an effort to get all caught up, here's some pictures (& descriptions) from the month of June!

We started the month welcoming Anthony! He stayed with us through mid-August, assisting us in ministry, research, and just being a friend!

We assisted with a medical team in Ganvie who helped to plant a Baptist church out there. Here's some pictures from their first service.

Guest Blogger: It's all part of the adventure

Recently we had a team from the Baptist Collegiate Ministries of the University of West Florida. Trey and I met at BCM, so there is a special place in our heart for BCM's. The team was 9 people - 1 leader and 8 college age students (5 girls and 3 guys). One of them was Emily Erland. She did a fabulous job taking you inside a few moments of their trip here. This blog post is worth the read!

Emily is from Nashville, Tennessee and is 23 years old. She graduated from the University of West Florida in the summer of 2013 with a degree in English, while also playing on the women's basketball team. She currently serves as the BCM Associate at UWF. She's been on some overseas mission trips with FCA in Europe leading sports camps for kids, as well as some mission trips in the states. Earlier this year, during Spring Break she went on another mission trip with BCM to Miami. In her spare time she loves to read, write, and go to the beach. You can follow her blog here.


It’s the question that I’ve been dreading answering ever since we got back to America: “How was Africa?”

Don’t get me wrong; it’s not that I didn’t enjoy my time there. No, the problem is, I just don’t know where to begin. I can’t sum it up in a few words or sentences or even in a blog post. I won’t be able to show you what I’ve seen – a picture isn’t enough. And I can’t make you feel what I felt over there. I can’t fully communicate the things that the Lord taught me while I was there – mostly because they’re things that He is still teaching me and will continue to teach me.

So here’s my best shot at it.

 

We landed in the Cotonou, Benin airport in a haze –we’d been travelling for probably about 30 hours. The drive to Trey and Kristen’s house was surreal for me. Even in the darkness of night, it was evident that I was in a place like nowhere I had ever been before. The poverty was evident: trash in the streets, buildings and homes made of scrap materials, bumpy dirt roads. And there were people everywhere: women carrying baskets on their heads, children mostly naked or in the streets or strapped to a mother’s back. And so many motorcycles – only inches from our car, driving on every side of us.

We spent most of our mornings in the bush – deep in the jungles/forests of Bohicon, a few hours north of Cotonou. The people there were even more impoverished. Most lived in tiny huts side by side. We broke into groups and went hut to hut, where the people would invite us in. I was so humbled by the kindness and hospitality we were shown by these families – though they had next to nothing, they would offer us everything they had. They would bring out stools and benches, giving us a place to sit, while they would sit on the floor. Many of the families passed around a bowl of water for us all to drink from. One man even offered our group money to buy fresh water with as we were leaving his home.

When we were in the houses, we told them that we had come thousands of miles to share something with them. We often started from the beginning – that we were all created in the image of God, but that sin had caused us to be separated from God. We shared about Jesus – and that He came so that humanity could again be in perfect relationship with God. We shared that they, too, could have a personal relationship with God. Many of them believed the message of God and received it with joy.

On the last day that we did evangelism, some of the church people brought instruments and we all walked down the dirt roads singing and dancing. It was so beautiful to hear the high-pitched voices of the African women and to see their strength as they danced, moving their shoulders and their backs to the rhythm of the music. It was such a beautiful worship to the Lord. And, as we worshipped, a crowd would form. Kids and adults alike would run from their huts and begin following us. It might have been both the worship and our white skin – rarely seen in their village – that peaked their curiosity. Excited shouts of “yovo” (which means “white person”) were heard throughout the village. When a large crowd would form around us, we would stop the music and one of us would walk into the middle and begin speaking to the people.

I was able to speak to one of the crowds. I shared with them the simple message of the Gospel. I also told them that we had not come to condemn them, but to share love and life with them. I told them that we hadn’t just come to share with them our beliefs – it was much more than that. We had come to share with them the God-given purpose for all of our lives. At the end, I asked if anyone wanted to believe and begin following Christ. And honestly, I didn’t really expect anyone to say yes. I assumed that they probably didn’t understand what I was talking about – that I hadn’t made any sense to them. But about 25 kids and a few adults, too, raised their hands. But I still doubted. I clarified, telling them that this was a serious decision – that they must live for God and not for themselves now. Still, they looked me straight in the eyes and their hands remained in the air even when I explained the costs of following Jesus – waiting, perhaps, for me to believe with the same simple and childlike faith as they had. So we all prayed together. The Gospel really is simple – we just so often try to complicate it.

We were able to experience the African church while we were there, too. I was inspired by the faith of those at church – many had walked miles just to be there and to hear the message. There were many kids there, too – some of whom had come to church on their own accord, without their parents at all. The worship was really beautiful – much like the singing and dancing in the streets. Some of our group even joined in the dancing.   

On one of the last days, we went to visit an orphanage. I was so inspired by the vision of the missionaries, Jon and Ashley, who keep the orphanage. They have about thirty kids there, all from different backgrounds – some who have lost both parents, some who have lost one, some whose parents didn’t want them or couldn’t afford them, some who have been sex-trafficked. Jon and Ashley said that their purpose was not to pack the orphanage out and fill it with as many kids as possible, but that their purpose was to invest in the kids who were there – giving each of them a real life. They are literally making disciples.

And that’s what Jesus commands us to do – to go and to make disciples. He tells us to go to the nations – and I’m convinced now that the call is not only to spread hope and truth to those to whom we are sent, but it is also to bring a change within us who are going. It’s amazing to be in a place so unlike America and so unlike anything you’ve ever known before. It makes you have to strip away everything you once considered normal. There are a lot of cultural “norms” that we have in America, and so we believe that everyone MUST live this way or think this way or understand this way. But it’s not true. Stripping away all “normalcy” allows you to get to the core – the core of humanity and of life itself.

It makes the Gospel that much more real. Africa opened my eyes to the poverty of the world – not just physically, but spiritually. It may look a little different in America than it does in Africa, but we are all desperate for love, for purpose, for truth. We all want and need something – Someone – to put our hope in.

The Gospel transcends culture. It allows a privileged American girl from Florida to connect with a poor African child from Benin. Nothing and no one but Jesus can bridge that gap.

There’s a lot more I could say – I could talk about the African cuisine, not least of which was the pounded yam and the goat and the bush rat. I could mention the underground village and the king’s palace and the “fetish” market, where they sold voodoo statues and animals to sacrifice to the voodoo gods. I could talk about the boat ride in and through Ganvie, a village built entirely in the water. (Yes, IN the water – all of the houses and buildings are on “stilts.”) I could also mention the 40-hour trip home, which included renting a big, white church van to drive from Houston to Pensacola after 30 hours of plane rides and little to no sleep.

But, as we learned to say – it’s all part of the adventure.

Guest Blogger: Where's my Diet Pepsi?

After his second trip to West Africa, I asked Carl, my father-in-law (or Beau Père - handsome father - as they say in French) to make an appearance on our blog again. The first time he was nervous, but in the end enjoyed it. So, here we go again. Another post from my Beau Père...

Wait, No Diet Pepsi! Before I continue with that thought, let me share a few other thoughts with you. It is amazing to me what you learn about and how much you personally learn when you take a step of faith and trust God with a journey of love.

I was blessed to travel with five other individuals to Benin, West Africa. We had one common goal and that was to make a difference. I know that this is a common adage that is used, but it was true for us.

I want to share about the chemistry of a team of 11 (12 if you count the grandest of grand children, Chandler). This trek began at the Panama City Airport on Sunday afternoon March 16^th. We met with 12 large pieces of luggage plus all of our carry on’s (we were a sight to behold). To say we were excited is to under state the true emotion of what we were feeling. We finally were checked in and on our way to Benin. We skyped Trey, Kristen and Chandler from the airport, just to make sure they knew we were coming. They were ready for us to be there and they had made incredible preparations for us. So after a few hours (23 or so) we arrived in Benin.

Ready or not, Benin, we are here! After we gathered our luggage (the last piece of luggage off the plane was ours) and after walking into the sauna of the night, I began to realize that this team, group, comrades, friends, family, traveling companions, etc. were pretty impressive. Trey and Kristen had a great game plan laid out for us. The one word that still sticks in my mind that they emphasized was flexibility. This group of sojourners took that to heart.

Flexibility is really God’s call to get out of the boat and go where it’s not always comfortable, where your plans will change and where your faith is stretched.  Flexibility took our team into the small villages and the humble homes of the people who live in the West African country of Benin.  God gave us the opportunity to work with pastors and churches as they seek to carry out the Great Commission in their homeland.  I watched in awe as team members shared the stories of God’s Word to people who did not even speak their language.  They were constantly flexible.

As I flew home, I thought about the story of Abraham. God called him out to go to a land he did not know but God would show him.  Abraham ‘s journey was one of flexibility. I watch Trey and Kristen as they follow that same example going to an unfamiliar place and obedient to their calling.

Diet Pepsi is my drink of choice.  On this adventure I could have seen flexibility as drinking Coca light (diet coke).  However, true flexibility is the ability to bend my will to God’s will. To follow Him to those unknown places He leads.  To be His instrument, be it in Benin or Panama City.

Hiland Park team in pictures - part 2

We left Ouidah Sunday afternoon to head to Bohicon. This is the same place we went with Anthony when he came last year. This time Trey and Carl taught at the Bible school while the rest of the group went into surrounding villages. David headed back to Cotonou to take a flight home as he couldn't stay longer. Again, the guys taught on Baptist doctrine. It's a little different doing training here. Bohicon is further north, granted, not that far north. Anyway, they don't get much Biblical training. And the students at the school really enjoy having teachers outside of the norm. Everyone, students and wives, were focused and taking notes. They had great questions. They really wanted to understand Baptist doctrine and be able to follow the Bible as closely as possible. Trey and Carl really enjoyed teaching there.

The team was able to partner with a local Baptist church. In fact, it's the first Baptist church that was ever planted in all of Benin. The pastor of the church is the president of the Bible college. In the year 2020, he wants to invite all former IMB missionaries back to Bohicon/Abomey (the neighboring city) to see all that God has done in that community. His vision is to plant churches in every cartier (area or neighborhood) and surrounding village. He also wants to see his church grow. They are doing this by being active. The church members are going into their community and sharing the gospel. This area is also very wrapped up in voodoo. Also, it's a place known for royalty. It was the royal capital of Benin, before Benin was known as Benin. Got that?! That being said, there are many kings. Every small neighborhood and village has their own king. The people living there will follow what their king says. It's important to reach out to the leaders in order to reach the rest of the community.

The best part of this for the storying team was being able to go out with church members. We were able to encourage each other, even though some of us couldn't communicate. I went out with a group where no one spoke English. My French was tested! At the first house in the village, the pastor greeted the woman and then looked at me and in his broken English told me to tell a Bible story!! Thankfully I had been practicing a story in French, but all of the sudden I couldn't remember a word. I took a breath and started. My story was then translated into Fon, the local language... so if I messed up, the translator could correct it :) I did that again with another group of women, 2 of whom accepted Christ. Then, I told them I needed a break. It was very encouraging for me to see that I could tell a story in French... maybe not grammatically correct, but the point got across. But the most encouraging thing is that the Lord can use my broken French translated into Fon to bring people to Him. I'm so honored to be used by Him.

The other groups had similar stories. Many people coming to Christ. The church members were agreeing to come back and do Bible studies with them. Many from our group shared with kings or leaders of the villages. Some of those accepted Christ. We saw God at work in that community. The kids also really enjoyed having us around. It was great to be able to play with them, when many only speak Fon. Some of us even tried teaching "Jesus Loves Me" in English to them. They loved that.

The last day in town, Sally and I had the opportunity to share with a group of women. We taught on the Book of Esther and how God is at work through the entire story. Sally also shared her personal testimony of how God was at work in her life even in the small details. Often, the women were listening in the midst of children at the nearby school causing a ruckus. Honestly, at the end, I was surprised when the women had questions. Not because I didn't think they were paying attention, but because it was really loud at times and even hard for us to focus. We closed with a time of sharing prayer requests. We were challenged by the hurt in these women's lives. There were many struggling with health issues, one who's husband had been called to ministry many years ago but was running - now they had accepted the call and are now looking for exactly where, some who were struggling with fertility issues, and others who longed for their children to follow Christ. It was eye opening, to say the least. We considered ourselves blessed to be able to teach this women.

We were able to do some sightseeing. We visited the old king's palaces, which are almost in ruins now. The UNESCO organization has made a wonderful museum at one of them. It is said that in a certain building the spirit of the king still lives. Offerings and sacrifices must be made. And in one of the buildings, you must walk around it in a certain direction or the spirit will kill you. This just shows you what kind of a world the people live in in these towns. The spirit world is very really to them. They need salvation.

We were really thankful for the team from HPBC. It's great to have family and friends here. It's awesome for them to see our lives here. It's different. It's hot. It's challenging. But this is where God has us. We continue to pray for those who were trained during this trip and also those who came to Christ. We also pray for those who heard and did not accept, or heard and absolutely refused. We pray God will remind them of those Bible stories and bring them to Him. We have a team coming next week from University of West Florida BCM who will be going to the same area. We are praying now that some of those difficult people will be encountered again and hear a new Bible story.

And we need to end this with one of the best pictures from the entire time....