F L A M E

African Journals

"Chapter 3"

Since December we have asked you to pray for our son-in-the-Lord Bobo Co in regard to the serious accident he had in late December. Praise the Lord Bobo is back home in Bissau. He will still have more operations on his left leg that was severely broken. Your continued prayers for complete healing will be appreciated.

We are in Bissau now, brought here by our precious little Suzuki. It has brand new tires donated by a generous FLAME supporter. The bad news is both headlights are burned out and would cost $145 to replace so we now call it our “Cinderella car”. Cinderella had to be home by midnight and we have to be home by dark!

The heat of this climate has not bothered us as much on this trip as in the past. Perhaps we are learning to cope with it better. Also, this winter seems to have been a little cooler. We never get tired of watching the sun rise each day as it comes up over the water in front of our house. The brilliant starry skies are a delight to us and a wonderful setting for prayer. Life is simple here and the pace is slow. Most people do not have watches or clocks and we believe that is how “African time” came into being.

There are an increasing number of hungry people around us. As we get further into the dry season the numbers will increase. The approximately 700 pounds of rice our supporters sent in the container that arrived 12/12/08 is greatly appreciated. Children and adults were happy to receive toothbrushes and toothpaste. We had hundreds of toothbrushes and paste to give away. Giving out glasses has brought special joy to our hearts. People would try on pair after pair of donated prescription glasses and all of a sudden they would break out into a big smile. Then we would know they could see well again. We ask our supporters to save their old glasses that are usable and not scratched including bifocals for FLAME in the future.

Nene our neighbor and daughter-in-the-Lord came with her four children about six weeks ago to visit us. In the course of our conversation Nene mentioned they were cold at night. Cold to the local people here is any temperature under 75° F. The temperature at that time was getting down to 60° F for several nights. We had one blanket left to give away so we made Nene and her children very happy.

Recently the tiny flies we call “no-see-ums” that can even come through our screens were really bad. Thousands of these little critters would surround any source of light. This made it impossible for us to even read as they do bite and get into our eyes if we have a light close enough to read. However, it does provide a small source of entertainment for us to watch them fly through the candle flame and go down in smoke. Clarification: there were also some flies big enough to see – those were the ones we watched. The small “no-see-ums” just made the candle flame flicker. The next morning there are piles of these “no-see-ums” around where the candles were sitting. It is interesting to watch the little ants carry them away as our “little house keepers”. We could really like these little guys of they would stop biting Martha! She quickly did her own housekeeping and did not continue to feed the ants. She got them out of the house too.

Someone tried to break into our house through the kitchen door. The ripped a hole in Herb’s new screen in the upper portion of the door, reached in and tried to unlatch the door from the inside. Thankfully, it was locked with a key from the inside with a dead bolt latch so they could not get in. This reinforces out need for security. It looked like it was a child that did it. God has been our faithful protector. We lived in this house since 2005 and this is the first visible attempt to break in.

We had a real day of rejoicing here on January 31. A refrigerator repairman came from Bissau to repair our refrigerator. Herb was ecstatic! Martha was not far behind. The man spent three hours checking everything out, cleaning and adjusting it. No new parts were needed. The total cost for his three hours and transportation back to Bissau was a whopping $21. He was a friend of Joel’s so we did get a good price. We called for help and repairs on December 8 and got results January 31. Not very fast, but “Ah, this is Africa”. The refrigerator works fine now. We really appreciate things when we haven’t had them for a while. How much do you appreciate your refrigerator? Have you thanked God for it lately?

Martha made some brownies late one afternoon. She left them to cool until after dinner. When Herb went to put them in the refrigerator and freezing compartment (the only two “ant proof” places) the ants had invaded them. Herb had a real challenge trying to make sure he got all the ants off in the dark. We will never know for sure whether he got them all. They tasted fine with no “anty” flavors.

Martha may be braver than you think. She killed three “Trojan horses” in the computer but it still had serious problems. When we came to Bissau yesterday, we brought John Clite with is to connect with high speed internet to maximize our potential fighting virus or locating the problem if it was something else. John was able to locate the problem. He has to re-install Windows. Martha is brave but John is our hero!

When we came back to Guinea Bissau in December we brought a can of “Moringa” powder given to us by Martha’s sister, Esther. The moringa tree grows wild in most of Africa and the leaves, bean-like seedpods and flowers contain valuable vitamins, nutrients minerals and protein. We have found out the local name – Nene Badadji. The local people here have told us that people give the leaves to pigs when they are sick and it makes them well. As we say in America, “it’s time for a wake-up call”. If it makes the pigs well, how about the people? This very common tree could be the solution to healing sick people and be used as a proactive thing to keep them healthy like multivitamins plus. We are trying to educate and encourage the people to use this tree God has given them in abundance to safeguard their health. We wonder how many other plants and herbs growing wild could help people to live healthier lives. As time permits we will look into this.

Eric Youngren, owner of Island Energy Systems arrived on Saturday January 31 to oversee the installation on our solar power system (SPS). Eric also came prepared to train people on maintenance and operation. He donated two weeks of his time to help us. We now have eighty four 165 watt solar panels adorning our school roof. Each day God blesses us with sun. The system provides 14,000 watts of free, beautiful, clean power. It was so nice to have Eric living with us for two weeks. To have someone from our own culture and our own area was precious to us. The people here in Canchungo loved Eric and highly respected him. The sewing class gave him a great applause and welcome when he was introduced. The night before he left a special dinner hosted by the people of the church was held at Chenda’s house next door to us. They gave him some lovely Guinean clothes as a token of their love and appreciation for his work. One shirt and pants set was made by our assistant sewing instructor of patchwork using an electric machine. Wow. What a blessing he was! We asked God for His rich blessing on Eric’s life.

Jesus’ Industrial School has structure to keep it on course. The structure includes job descriptions, mandates, policies and an organizational chart. Our big challenge is to assess what good things we can bring from American culture and methods of operating a school, and to integrate them onto a very different culture in a developing country. Our assessment has to start with a mutually agreed upon definition of “good things”. There are things in Guinea Bissau culture that are good. For example they are a very relational people. They would give you the shirt off their back of they thought you needed it more than they did. This generosity leads them to into a custom of “resources are to be used, not hoarded”. It is a general rule that people expect that money and commodities will be used or spent as soon as they are available. To have resources and not use them is hoarding, which is considered to be unsociable. As a result of this custom we see our progress to teach them how to run a school as a hindrance. We constantly need wisdom and understanding to weave our way through all the cultural customs. We have to be sensitive to where the people here are coming from historically as well as culturally. This all requires patience and prayer.

In closing this chapter we would like to quote a Bible devotion taken from “Our Daily Bread” in March 1987 titled “A Book To Be Loved”.

I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word. Psalm 119:16. The Psalmist loved the Word of God. In Psalm 119, he said that he hid it in his heart (v. 11), he meditated on it “all the day” (v. 97), he declared it to be “sweeter than honey” (v. 103), and he let it direct his paths (v.105). And no wonder! He was experiencing its power.

Today we have the complete written revelation of God – the Bible. An unknown writer said, “This book is the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding; its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you. It is the traveler’s map, the pilgrim’s staff, the pilot’s compass, the soldier’s sword, and the Christian’s character. Here paradise is restored, heaven opened, and the gates of hell disclosed. Christ is its grand subject, our good its design, and the glory of God its end. It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently, prayerfully. It is a mine of wealth, a paradise of glory, and a river of pleasure. Follow its precepts and it will lead you to Calvary, to the empty tomb, to a resurrected life in Christ; yes, to glory itself, for eternity.”

Yes, the Bible is all that – and more. An entire lifetime of study and obedience could not exhaust its riches. Truly it is a Book to be loved! -D.C.E.

Please keep praying for us particularly in these next two weeks we will be in Guinea Bissau. We leave to come home on Saturday, March 7. Please pray for our safe return and that our luggage arrives with us.

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