Saturday, February 21, 2009

It is already Saturday afternoon. Tomorrow we have a church service and then everyone will begin to leave to go to their various places of ministry. It has been a long time in Africa for us but a rich time of meeting both nationals and US missionaries.

The cultural, medical and spiritual challenges are numerous but we know our God is not frustrated or without the wisdom or power to handle it all. We just need to do what little part we are called to do.

We are to meet with the ReachGlobal director and our team after the last session tonight and that will conclude our responsibilities. I am trying to figure out when I will pack. We have some things we are bringing home for the Westers whose home church is Oakdale not far from us. We are glad we can do the favor.

Yesterday afternoon they offered a shopping excursion. Alan was not feeling well so I went ahead, cramming into a bus that clearly was built to carry one third less of us…oh well. Rules for safety and hygiene may not exist, at least I am not seeing evidence of it.
The Africans we are working with on a leadership level are by God’s grace educated and very sharp recognizing and addressing some of this in the context of the church and reaching out to their communities.

Anyway, we headed off in intense heat and humidity. When we arrived almost immediately the vendors were shoving their wares in our faces naming prices. The shops are long, narrow and dark. I would go in to look at something and felt like I was in a sauna. The sweat was literally running off of me to the extent that I had to change my clothes when I got back because they were very damp. I purchased some material, a necklace and some sandals. I really didn’t like the atmosphere and was wishing Alan could have come with me.

The ministries are so exciting to hear about. Everyday they have someone in the morning and evening give a story of people coming to Christ and how that came about or the open doors that are happening. Many of them are Muslim which is exciting.

This will probably be it until we get home. Think about today how maybe you could reach out to someone you know with the message of hope.

Love, Edie

2 comments:

dbecker said...

Praying for you as you travel. May you have discernment and wisdom in how to best be of help. Thanks for loving people wherever you are...that is evident! Tracking with you!

Anonymous said...

Sorry Al is not feeling well. Praying that traveling will go smoothly and that you will have some time to rest up and COOL OFF! :) It is 19 degrees here as I write this.

Much love