Safari

After our meeting in Kenya, we were able to take some vacation time and go on a Safari. It was incredible. We stayed in "luxury" tents in the middle of a conservancy... meaning, the animals could come to our tents at night. The tents had bucket showers, toilets, & sinks... meaning we could shower, flush the toilet, & wash our hands. After our evening safaris they filled up our big buckets with HOT water so we could take a nice show before dinner. While we were at dinner they put hot water bottles in our bed to warm it up for the cold evening, along with our turn down service. After dark, we had guards that walked us from place to place carrying spears, you know, just in case a lion showed up. In fact, our first night a lion was spotted between tents 3 & 4... we were staying in tent 4. Chandler was fussing and we heard growling outside our tent. We decided it was just a warthog. It wasn't until the next morning that we found out it was a LION! We went out in the mornings and evenings to look for animals. We saw lots of animals!

you bought that at a red-light?!

As we were sitting at a red-light (first of all surprised that they work & are followed) we noticed a guy selling a camping chair. You know, the kind that fold up with a cup holder. We watched him spot 2 ex-pat girls on a scooter and proceed to show them all this chair has to offer. He used his hands in Vana White fashion, opened the chair, sat in it, pretended to take a drink from the cup holder, and then show them how it could easily be folded up. Remember, I said we were sitting at a red-light while watching this. So were the girls on the scooter. It's amazing what you can buy here, straight out of your window while stopped for a brief amount of time. I decided to compile some pictures of things you can buy at a red-light and share them with you. I must say the only thing we've ever actually bought at a red-light is phone credit and maybe some snacks. But it's often that they have me drawn into their items and almost convince me... much like an infomercial.

soccer ball shaped mini-fridge, anyone?

our version of fast food

I've been needing a walk clock

this is product distribution at it's finest. meet the customers needs where they are... car seat & steering wheel covers.

grey parrot - who happen to live for about 50 years

in case your shoes break...

because everyone needs a passport cover & toys

good night!

she's just a kid...

When we arrived here, we were introduced to a young girl (mid-teens) who would be available this summer to help watch Chandler while I was doing language study. We'll call her "Frances." Frances is sweet. We cannot communicate with her because she speaks French, and at the time, we could only say Bon Jour! Over time we have gotten to a place where we can communicate with each other. Often, not in full sentences, but between her broken English and our broken French AND the little bit of Hausa we both know, we communicate. We've grown to love her.

We knew that she would soon be going back to school and we'd have to figure out something else during language so I can fully focus. We also knew that she is promised to be married next year. That's not abnormal in her culture. She's from an Islamic family and her people group is still very traditional when it comes to marriage. They typically marry young. Most girls don't go to school because they're learning what to do to be a wife & mother. Even though we cannot talk to her on any deep level, we've tried to show her the Love of Christ through our actions. She seems to enjoy hanging out at our house. And if the baby is sleeping, she really enjoys helping in our language lessons, even gets a good laugh out of it.

Yesterday, we got some news. One of our language helpers was talking with Frances' uncle and asked that he share the news with us. Remember, Frances is supposed to be married next summer. The news, you ask... she's getting married next week. NEXT WEEK!

My heart is heavy on so many levels. I know that this is cultural to be married this young. I know it in my head, but I don't understand it. When I look at Frances, I see my younger cousins. I love those 3 girls with all my heart. As they're enjoying high school and no where near thinking about marriage, a girl their same age on the other side of the ocean is having to deal with so many emotions. And even being cultural, I still see that she's a teenage girl. I don't like not being able to understand these parts of culture. My heart is heavy too because she's not a believer. There's nothing saying she still cannot accept Christ. She is definitely not too far from His reach, but marriage makes it much more difficult. She will be very very submissive to her husband. I'm not sure he knows that she works for and spends time with Christians. If he doesn't, I wonder how he'll react to that.

We've been invited to the wedding. Even asked to buy some of the wedding cloth (matching outfits for the Fondrens!). It's an absolute honor to be invited and included. But it is such a bitter-sweet moment for me. I'm thankful that we're making relationships here that allow us to be invited to important events and at the same time I'm heart broken for Frances.

There are so many things in this situation to pray for. Pray first for her salvation. And not only hers, but her husband's and her family's. Pray for her emotions. Many of us know what it's like to be married, but I cannot fathom doing it so young. Pray for her future, that her & her husband will have a relationship and it won't just be an arrangement. And pray for us, as we figure all of this out and attend the ceremonies. Pray that we will be able to not only know what this culture does, but understand it as well.

Kenya

We had a wonderful time at our meeting in Kenya. First, the weather was amazing. When we were in Burkina Faso last year it was incredibly HOT and I promised myself I would never complain about being cold again. Now, I don't like cold weather... at all. I'd rather be in a hot climate... but when it's sooooo hot, you make promises that you intend to keep. The retreat center we were at in Kenya is in the mountains. So while the weather off the mountain is  decent (70s-80s) on the mountain it's much cooler (60s-70s). It was funny at night. There are no heaters so we slept bundled up and had to wrap Chandler up too! During the day it was nice to wear a jacket for once in Africa!

We spent most of our time in meetings that focused on refreshing us. We talked about having a passion for our ministry and the people around us. We had other meetings that talked about ways to help our ministry. One of the organizations that can come alongside and help us is Baptist Global Response (you should check them out!). It's great to trade ideas with others in ministry and hear stories of how the Lord is working around West Africa and the world.

We had one day off and we decided to take a taxi into Nairobi. We went to the mall. This was an exciting day, since there aren't any malls in Benin. There's like 10 in Nairobi. We ate lunch at a restaurant comparable to Panera Bread. We walked into this 3 story mall and found a touch screen map. We were astonished. Trey went and saw a movie in the nice movie theater (the new Superman movie) with another friend and me and a friend went shopping at the Maasai artisan market that sets up in the parking garage. My best purchase from the day is a Christmas ornament made of banana leaves of Santa riding a camel. Awesome. We ended the day at a Brazilian steak house that serves "exotic" meats. Due to newer laws in Kenya, they are no longer allowed to serve zebra, giraffe, and things like that. However, we ate lots of beef, chicken, lamb, sausages, pork, etc. It was all you can eat and absolutely delicious. We really enjoyed our trip to Kenya, but were thankful to get back home and get our house set up!

Chandler Renee - 4 months

Every month that I sit down to write these blogs, it's hard to think back to the beginning of the month and see how much has changed. She celebrated her daddy on Father's day by giving him some Dunkin' Donuts coffee! Quickly becoming a running theme in Chandler's life is adventure. She is already a world traveler, with 2 visas in her passport at just 4 months old! This month she traveled to Kenya and went on a Safari! Not many American babies can say they've been held by a Maasai person in Kenya, or that her cries called the lions to us. She also attended her very first VBS! She's advanced :) A volunteer team from Oklahoma came to do VBS for the kids while the parents attended the meetings. She did a great job staying in the nursery all day and playing with the other babies.

Chandler continues to change daily! This month she started to laugh more. She also does a better job with her hands and reaching out and grabbing for things. She really enjoys playing with her feet and doing her best to get them in her mouth. We think she'll be quite the talker, since she talks most of the day as it is. And the day before she turned 4 months she decided to roll from her back to her front several times... she hasn't done it since that day, though :)

I decided to do my own measurements, since she wouldn't have a 4 month "official" check up. She's now 24.5" long, 14 pounds 8 ounces, and her head is 17.25" around.

Happy Father's Day, Dad!

Lessons Learned on Safari: The Body

We recently took a trip to Kenya for a meeting with others in our area. We decided to add a safari onto the end of our trip. I mean, when in Rome, right?! We took game drives in the morning and evenings. During the evening game drives we noticed many different species of animals gathering together to eat in an open grassy field. We asked our guide about it and he said that they gather together to protect each other from the predators. He explained how each species is good at something. One has a good sense of smell, the other good vision, the other can make a loud warning sign, and some can sense movement through their feet. As we sat there and watched, it became a beautiful picture of the Body of Christ.

"For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot says, 'Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,' it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. And if the ear says, 'Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,' it is not for this reason any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired."

1 Corinthians 12:14-18

We are each given specific gifts for the purpose of creating one body. God provided us with this visual while we were on the safari. It could not have been a more perfect moment. His Creation so perfectly displayed how we as a church work together to encourage each other, support each other, teach, preach, and share the Gospel among the nations. Praise God that we are not expected to do everything, but we can work together to get the job done.