Some Christmas cheer I’ve spotted around town over the past  few days in Christmas colors:

Here is our local ATM machine.  I love the Santa  painted on the window with his own BTCI (Bank Togolese Commerce and Industry) ATM card in hand ready to get cash for Christmas! (The balloons in the left hand corner are also a nice, random touch)Here is one of the many rice trucks being sent to Kara from Togo’s President, Faure Gnassingbe.  He is making rice available at a very reduced price for people to buy for all of their parties over Christmas, The New Year, and Funeral Season (February in Kabiyeland).

And here is one of the 50 kilo bags of rice that are being sold for 10,000 cfa each (A little less than 22 dollars)  The bags read, ” Rice is my ‘Faure’ (A play on words because the word for strength in French is “force”) There is nothing better than that”.  Pretty good campaign move on President Faure’s part, if you ask me.  Presidential elections are scheduled for February 28th this year.

Do you ever have words that you read that strike a cord somewhere deep within your heart that God’s Spirit wants to resonate so that He can begin a transforming work in you?  When this happens to me I feel the anticipation build and keep repeating the words and longing to meditate on them.  The whole chapter of Isaiah 58 has blown me away as God has put on my heart the disciplines of fasting and sabbath-keeping and then led me to this chapter.  The words in verses 6,7 are especially blowing me away:

“Is this not the fast which I choose, to loosen the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and break every yoke?  Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into the house; when you see the naked, to cover him; And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?”

A purpose of the kind of fasting that God chooses being to divide my bread with the hungry seems so obvious but profound.  I don’t eat today because the money or food I already have for this meal I am giving to the hungry.  I fast so that I can buy clothes for this man who is naked with the food I would have used to buy my meal instead.  I fast so that I can spend concentrated time talking and sharing my heart with my children instead of worrying about what food I put in my mouth or how full my stomach is.  I fast from this meal so that I can spend time in prayer begging for God to break the bonds of slavery or wickedness in someone’s life, giving time to pour myself out before the Lord instead of filling my stomach.

I’m still thinking and asking God to reveal to me the deeper things of the fast that He chooses.  More later on the sabbath verses.  I would love to hear any insights you have to share on these subjects.

This year we did a Jesse Tree with our children (most) every night during the month of December leading up to Christmas.  We added a couple of days together when we had a late night here or there.  The Jesse Tree comes from the passage in Isaiah 11:1-2 “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.  And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.”  This prophesy of Jesus is the inspiration for the Jesse Tree which is an aid to advent, helping children know (and reminding adults of) the story of Jesus, beginning even before creation and up through the centuries, highlighted by imperfect and weak people chosen to be used in the line of the Savior, who would be born as a helpless baby.

Our children took turns coloring different ornaments each night and we talked about God’s plan through each person or story in the Bible that pointed to Jesus.  Our kids all really enjoyed this activity and we hope to do it every year.

Essowe and girls have been spending Christmas with us this year, so the girls helped us color the last few ornaments and tell the stories as we hung them on the tree (crooked as it may be…appropriate for a shoot!)  Christmas morning.  I loved how we were able to keep the focus off of the climax being physical gifts this year, and instead point to the anticipation of the ages… the Messiah…and now we await His second coming.

I want to post pictures over the next few days of the expected, and unexpected, places in our lives here that I see Holiday colors or images. Here are a few shots from our team’s school Christmas party on Saturday: kindergartners with teacher Miss Sarah, 6th graders with teacher Miss Bethany, the 6th graders history quiz (stockings with matching events with places), 4th graders with teacher Miss Jacque,  , and one of the snowmen (Aidan) made for the snowman competition

I feel a strong need to write a tribute to one of my dearest sisters in the Lord, who also happens to be Kabiye.  It is challenging to write about the beauty in her life because I know her in some intimate ways that I wouldn’t dare reveal at her request or in the raw exposure of a blog post.  I will only share things that she has shared with many people or that are personal for me about her.  She has endured more and suffered more in her life than I can describe or even imagine experiencing.  And yet her suffering is never without the end result of God being beautifully, humbly, and often in a largely unnoticed way glorified in and through her.  We have made one another our confidants, tellers of God’s truth to one other, and God has allowed us to share in one another’s struggles and triumphs over the years.  I am slow to deeply trust others with the recesses of my heart but time and again God has given me a safe, empathetic heart in her.  She has a gift for friendship that crosses cultural boundaries and many other missionaries, school teachers, interns, or visitors that have come to Togo view her as their closest Kabiye friend.  My love for her is so great that I often don’t recognize that we are from two different cultures.  Our hearts beat with the same culture of Christ and when I remember that we belong to different cultures in this world I find myself mildly shocked back into some of the realities of our limitations together for this lifetime.  I can’t wait to dwell with the Lord together in heaven with her.

Essowe was born into a very poor family in a Kabiye village.  She grew up only knowing animism as her family’s spiritual reality with God being a very uninterested distant part of anyone’s lives.  Ironically, her name in Kabiye (Essowe) means God is there.  Her mother divorced her father and left her and her two older siblings to fend for themselves when she was 9 years old.  Her father had lost a leg and so it was up to the children to plant and plow and harvest the fields to be able to eat the rest of the year.  She went for a very long period of time with no shoes and she remembered praying one day that if God could hear her that he would give her a pair of shoes.  She wandered to the market area that was empty from the busy market the day before and there on the ground by a rock were a pair of brand new flip-flops exactly her size waiting for her.  She slipped them on and a spark of faith in her heart for the Lord began to grow.  God gave her many other little provisions throughout her growing up years and one night after a time of much despair when she was 18 she was lying in her bed thinking about how to take her own life.  A few days prior, a YWAM volunteer that had come with a campaign to her village had given her a Bible and had underlined Romans 8:35-39.  She felt compelled to pick up the Bible and opened it up exactly to the verse that had been underlined.  As she began to read about nothing separating us from the love of God in Christ, her heart melted and she prayed again to him to show himself to her if he was real and to show her his love.  Over the next few days he delivered her out of her desperate situation, provided a way for her to go to school in town and eat even though she had no money and she began to devour the words of scripture falling quickly and ardently in love with Him.

The depth of Essowe’s faith astounded me when I first met her and began to share our hearts with one another 9 years ago.  She was my language teacher and quickly became one of my dearest friends.  She is two years older than me but her life experiences, especially when we first met, and her depth of faith surpassed mine greatly. I was humbled to know her and count her as my friend.  God has allowed me over these years to share in and experience many of her sorrows and many of her joys.  I treasure the time of grief and courage He allowed me to participate with her in as I held her and whispered the prayers of “Oh, God, help!  Help!” in Kabiye as we sat crying, stroking the still warm body of her 3 month old baby girl, Samto, who had died minutes before. I treasure the moments of sharing with her how God became everything for me when I was 16 and He was all I had.  I cherish her describing how she watched my first year of adjustment to life in Togo with a brand new baby, intense culture shock, and pale face trudging out to the office to meet with her 3 times a week to learn Kabiye, not being able to concentrate half the time and feeling so ridiculously dumb and incompetent. In her reflections she said she prayed so hard for me and saw how difficult life was and my inward struggles and learned to love God more as she watched Him give me strength for each day until after a year color began to come into my face and she could tell I didn’t have to try as hard each day to survive emotionally, spiritually, and sometimes physically.

She clings to Him as I do, and hope to do, when there’s nothing left to hold onto.  He is everything to her and she will stand for His truth always in every situation without compromise.  She has sensed the struggles of my heart many times without my having to say a word.  She comes with a scripture, a prayer, a word of truth that speaks to the very situation I am in.  I love her with the deepest affection and will miss her so much when we move to the states and then to Rwanda.  I’m so glad for the sake of her life situation and for  the sake of our friendship that this life is but a breath and that eternity is just a moment away.

Oh, Lord, give her a thousand blessings in the age to come for every trial she has endured by your strength and in your name here on earth during this lifetime.  Strengthen her by your grace, empower her with your unfailing love, let the testimony of her life increase in the glory given back to you. Provide everything and more for her and her daughters, as you always have.

Our phone line died at our house on Wednesday and we thought it would be back working on Thanksgiving day, but no cigar.  Then, we left for Lome’ on Friday for a 5 day trip.  I had planned to write my posts on Thursday evening and then schedule them to come out for the next few days.  So, I didn’t make the 30 posts in 30 days for nablopomo.  Phooey!  We’re back from Lome’ and our internet and phone line are still down.  So, to all of my 100s of faithful readers (hee hee!) I must post erratically when I can find time at a teammate’s house to get online and post something.

We had a wonderful time in Lome’ visiting with Marty and Murphy, spending some time with the Millers and our teachers:  Jacque, Bethany, and Sarah, and having a little family break at the beach.  Back in Kara, Christmas dust is in the air and we’re ready to decorate tomorrow at our house!  Love and blessings to all of you!  I love thinking about Jesus’ first coming this time of year and looking forward to his second coming soon!

Scripture on my mind today:  “The LORD reigns, let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad!  Clouds and thick darkness are all around him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.  Fire goes before him and burns up his adversaries all around.  His lightnings light up the world; the earth sees and trembles.  The mountains melt like wax before the LORD, before the Lord of all the earth.  The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all the peoples see his glory.  All worshipers of images are put to shame, who make their boast in worthless idols; worship him, all you gods!”   -Psalm 97:1-9

I’m posting something so this counts   David’s about to take the computer to record some old testament readings in Kabiye so I won’t be writing anything more tonight.  God is good.  I’m praying again tonight after last night’s methodical praying for all of our prayer partners.  There’s a lot on my mind and heart.  Goodnight!

What Happened Today:

Today was our day off.  David let me sleep in which was a rare treat. I got to walk this morning, which was good for my heart.  I cut all 4 of my boys’ hair today and they’re looking pretty sharp.  Hannah and I will get ours cut at the end of the week when we’re down in Lome’.  Hannah and I went to the Catholic store and she got some poster board for a project and I got a woven dress I’ve been eyeing for a couple of weeks.  My other two African dresses have fallen apart. We worked on our budget for our year in the state.  I got to talk to my sister twice!   David got a lot of repairs done around the house. And, Gabriel learned to ride his bike without training wheels on the grass today! Restful and productive.  Thank you, Lord!  Hannah and Elijah are both stuffy, but were put to bed early tonight with medicine and lots of water.  Praying for them to feel better quickly.

Today’s Menu:

breakfast: gluten-free banana coffee cake

lunch:  chicken flavored rice noodles, broth, and watermelon

dinner: Crockpot Pesto chicken and sweet potatoes and sauteed green beans, lemonade

Scripture on my mind today:  Sobered by this one “For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God, and put Him to open shame.” Hebrews 6:4-6

As God has continued to place helping within the medical field on my heart over the past 6 years, I have explored and researched many options for further education.  Because my undergrad degree is in Elementary and Special education, I do not have a strong science background of classes that I took during my years at Harding.  I have followed leads and looked to find ways to get some basic health assistant education. Right now, I am tentatively planning on completing three pre-requisites through online classes from January through June and applying this summer for a Medical Assistant Program at Columbia Basin College in Richland, WA that will begin in August 2010.  I am wanting to receive training in this area primarily to help with our team’s future ministry in Rwanda.  Secondarily, David and I also see the benefit of one of us having qualifications to get a temporary job outside of missions, if need be, over the next decade of our family’s life.  We see ahead the possibility of coming and going between the states over a season for our childrens’ transitions into college or other area of young adult life.

This is a one year program and at this point the college only accepts 18 to 20 people per year.  So, it is very competitive.  There are two areas that are considered for admissions.  One is a cumulative GPA over 4 specific general ed. courses and the other is based on the completion (minimum gpa of 2.0) of 3 specific Health Information Technology courses.   I have a high cumulative gpa in the required classes (3.9) and so I need to complete the three HIT courses to apply and have a good chance for admission.

So far, God has seemed to open the door on every level for me to go down the path of working towards this degree.  I had a very different experience trying to take pre-reqs and talking with people about the nursing program, which is actually 2 years, (although they provide exceptions for people exiting at 1 year.)  There is an online teacher that has been very friendly and helpful and has worked extra to help me be admitted into her class this winter quarter even though the class is already full from the first day of registration.  The program supervisor has also been very friendly and helpful and has given me high hopes for being accepted.  And, our supporting congregation has agreed to support us for a year after we leave Togo which would allow us to live in the Tri-Cities and for me to be enrolled in this course, as well as a time for our children to be in school and some re-grouping time as a family before we move on to Rwanda.

I don’t know how this journey will end.  But for the moment I’m looking forward to taking “Medical Terminology” online beginning in January.  I’ve ordered my books and my Mom is sending them in the mail soon. I took Chemistry online through OSU last year during winter quarter and God allowed our internet to be working at all of the scheduled times for taking tests online, which was a special grace.  I enjoyed that course and the Cellular Biology course I took last summer.  So, I’m looking forward to this one, too.  There really are so many things that have to fall into place.  So, please pray with me for God to make every detail come together (as only He can!)  if this is something within His will and plan for our family over the next couple of years.

What Today Looked Like:

This morning we had combined team worship at the Miller house with the Kabiye Leaders who have been in town over the weekend for a vision casting and planning for the future time with our team.  It was a first and really a blessed time to sit around and sing every other song in Kabiye or English and read scriptures and pray in both languages.  We all ate lunch together and then, as we’d arranged with Bryan Ries last night, he called and was able to talk with all of the leaders present over skype in Kabiye and give them encouragement and receive it from them.  This afternoon has been a time of rest (much needed for me).  Hannah’s class at school got up to over 100 combined points so their prize is a sleepover with the teachers at their apartment tonight.  She and her friends are excited!  Today is Michal Kennell’s birthday and she invited Elijah and Aidan over for a dress-up birthday supper, eating off of real china!  Elijah left the house in his nice polo, hair combed, and a bouquet of flowers in hand

Today’s Menu:

breakfast: corn porridge

lunch: rice and curry, something else beef sauce (good)

dinner: Gluten-Free Lasagna (I made two earlier in the week and froze this one)  sautéed green beans, lemonade

Scripture on my mind today:

Loving this one from Revelation lately as it’s continued to be brought up among us:  “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.  And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man.  he will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.  He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” Revelation 21:1-5

Part of his bride-sharing as one with Him in glory-perfect enough to be His mate-all things new-eternal bliss-this present life has only glimpses-I get so excited about resurrected eternity sometimes that it makes me cry.  I long for Him.