“Another 5 Days”
I can’t believe that this time has come. I have really come full circle. I began this blog with a post 5 days before I left to Benin, and now I am writing one 5 days before I leave to come back home. I felt it only right to name it the same as the last. But although the name is the same, the post is much different. I will not be talking about 5 points of any kind or five things I’ve learned, I just wanted to share a few stories that have happened in the last while. As I come to the end of my trip, and I look back at all that God has learned and taught me, these stories show just how awesome God is and will stick in my head as a reminder of all that God has and will continue to do in Benin.
“The Village Lady”
In our last week in Benin, the DRIME team joined together with GAiN one last time to do village ministry. The GAiN team had a few people from North Carolina come in to officially dedicate a well they had sponsored as a church for this very village. It was very interesting. When we got to this village there was not very many people around and we actually started to do our ministry right in front of the voodoo temple of that village. After having trouble with our generator (which usually works just fine) we get through one drama and our generator gives up. We begin to pray and after a while we somehow get the idea of borrowing power from the only place nearby that supplies it- the voodoo temple. The one place that would be against God’s work, God ended up using for good. We were doing dramas not too shortly after that although there were not very many people in the village, most of them were there watching. After finishing our first drama set, we did an altar call and the majority of the people who were watching came up and gave their lives to Christ. You could see in some of there eyes that they really got it. Most of the time we do ministry amongst the several people who come up there are a few people who seem to be joking around when they come up. When it is a smaller group those people laughing and joking about stand out a whole lot more. This was how it was during this ministry time. It made me feel a bit discouraged. I had become very used to seeing a lot of people watch the dramas and then have most of those people make this big step to have Christ become their personal Lord and Savior. For some reason I had forgotten what God has been showing me this whole time, that he is bigger and greater than me. He was about to remind me. After the alter call, we had people come up if they wanted to be prayed for healing. Many people came up and each one was prayed for. After this, one lady pulled the speaker and the pastor from North Carolina aside to tell them something private. It was far from my ear but for some reason I felt the need to pray. Janna did as well. For me it was a bit different however, I felt the need to pray for something specific. I felt as though this lady had an issue with having children and that was what she was telling them. I said a prayer about it but I quickly forgot it because I thought it was the midwife in me coming up. Later on, after a whole day of ministry, we pulled the speaker aside (Alphonse who has been a great partner to work with from GAiN ) to give him a gift for how awesome it has been to work with him. He was overjoyed and he pulled us aside. He began to speak about how much joy he has had working with us. He talked about how uplifting it has been to know that there are people all over the world allowing God to work through them. He wanted to encourage us by telling us that God is working whether we can see it or not. He went on to talk about the lady who pulled him aside. She has spoken about how 8 years ago she had had two children but since then she has been unable to become pregnant. She had come back to this village (her mothers village) randomly to visit for a while. This random visit just happened to fall on the time we were there. She asked if God could heal her of her barrenness, and the pastor along with Alphonse said yes. They then began to pray for her and during the prayer she began to shake and cry. They continued to pray. At the end of the prayer they asked her what had happened. She spoke about how when the pastor prayed “that any dark spirit should be sent back to the pit of hell it came from” she began to loose feeling in her legs. She said she felt as though she was floating and that something came off from beneath her. She spoke about a lightness she had never felt before. The pastor told her that if she believed, God would give her a child in the next year. I for one believe that this will happen. Along with hearing what had happened to her personally, God was there to show his work not just to her or the pastor or Alphonse but also to Janna and I. I could have thought of ANY random thing to pray for. There were a MILLION things she have been talking to them about, but God talked to me about this specific thing. I wish I could better explain how amazing it was to hear what God had done in that moment, but I know the words are not full enough to explain it. I do hope that those who read this blog are able to see that God is truly amazing!
“George”
Money. Money is a huge setback here in Benin. Unlike DRIME in Canada, there are a lot more things that the team need to spend money on. The problem is, there is no money. We have been praying about this fact. Praying for guidance on the best use of the money we do have. Praying for support raising that will happen here in Benin shortly to go well. Money.
We recently got new neighbors in the apartment beside us. We never got to formally meet them but we often see them around. A couple of weeks ago doing ministry at the beach, we got pulled aside….but our neighbours! The one guy George spoke about how much he loved this ministry. He thought it amazing that these simple dramas we did pulled almost 200 aside from the partying they were doing on the beach. He began to comment on the production as a whole and soon after commented on how we desperately needed a new sound system (which is so very true). After that encounter on the beach with George, we began to see more and more of him. He began to come over a lot and we would get into long discussions about God and religion. He had many questions. Each conversation would bring us back to the ministry of DRIME. At one point in one of our conversations with him, he straight up asked us what our needs were for DRIME. Janna told him. As the conversation came to an end, George stood up and said that our conversations have challenged him and answered many questions he has had about being a Christian and Christianity in this world. He spoke about how he was still very blown away by the ministry we were a part of. He ended by saying that he would pay to buy a new sound system for the DRIME Benin team by the end of the month but in the meantime he would pay to rent one for us each week. He left and an hour later came back telling us where to pick our rented sound machine the day of ministry and with an envelope to pay for transportation for that week (even though it was enough for the month!). God really answered prayers for us on the money matter and at the same time he worked in the life of George building him in his faith. Praise God for the way He has been working in this last two months, in ways we can and cannot see!
Home in 5 days! See you all sooon!!!!
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Life
Life
I can’t believe how close I am to departure day. This trip has flown by so fast. Although I am not even close to being fluent in French, I have grown more accustomed to not understanding all of what people say and accustomed to thinking about my words before I speak. It’s been about two months now since I’ve been here and I feel as though God has brought me full circle. I am not sure how many of you have been reading or have at least read my first blog post. But It was the post I put up 5 days before my departure to Benin. I brought up 5 things that I wanted to keep with me in my heart and mind that God had been showing me. Number one: I am His Beloved and He is mine, number two: No more playing Defense, it’s all about the Offense, number three: He is in control, number four: It is His plans not mine, number five: there is no number five (take a look at my first post if you need to refresh on what all these entail). I am coming to the end of my journey here in Benin, but God is showing me more and more that it is just the beginning of my journey with Him. I know that He was speaking to me about these five points because they have been the building blocks to all that I have learned here in Benin. I wish….I REALLY WISH, I was a better writer who was able to express to you all that God has taught me in the last two months in a short, concise and clear blog post but as many of you have already discovered…I have not been blessed with the gift of writing. Therefore, you will have to pull me aside when I return if you desire to know all the juicy details.
For now I want to say that I feel like I have come full circle because it was if God had given me all the points for the dot-to-dot picture and during this trip He has helped me connect the dots and fill in the picture. I have never felt more like His beloved than I have in these past months. So much that it’s not just a feeling, it’s who I am. Now I can’t fully say “what” place I have with God in His whole grand scheme, but I CAN say that “I have a place”. It’s different these days. I wish I could explain to you how. I know I can say to those of you who are reading this that you too have a place with Him, and many of you will believe that but not understand it. I somehow, through His grace and wisdom understand that. I do know however that if you surrender to Him completely, and start looking for your place with Him, you will not only find it, but you too with understand it!
God has also shown me how real life is. How what He told us about there being a physical realm and a spiritual realm is true. We often live our lives just in the physical but God said we are in fact citizens of heaven. In my last post I spoke of how not everything has gone smoothly here and how we have had some rough points. Praise God for continually seeing us through. I must say that for my second point “no more playing defense, it’s all about the offense”, acknowledging the spiritual side of life has brought me closer to God. It has shown me more of who He is and that I do not have to be afraid….of anything. Neither do you! There are a few stories that I would love to share but feel they are more for face to face conversations. But I do want to say that the devil is real. Very real. As I stated in my first post, he is not playing around and he doesn’t wait for us to acknowledge him before he tries to make our lives separated from God. People around the world devote their lives to the devil and the destruction of Christ’s kingdom (Philippians 3:18-19). But in all this, God has given me courage to not fear the evil one and I cannot tell you how much more FULL life is now because I am standing in God’s light with my courage in him living in both the physical and spiritual realms of life.
I am growing more and more everyday. Not just as a person (even though I am) but just in life and being able to “experience” life. Everyday is the new adventure, this new shot at growing and living life to the fullest. The point I made about there being no number five seems so exciting now to me. The fact that there is no end of my journey with God opens up each day even more to how endless and even eternal life with God is. It fills me with such excitement and wonder!
Life is so much more full these days, my walk so much more purposeful. I cannot express in these typed words all that I have learned, but I can say it’s a lot. Not all of it has been easy to swallow mind you, but all of it has been worth the chew :p. If you desire to know more details about all that I speak about, feel free to ask me when I return home. Thank you all for your prayers and your support. I feel love pouring in from every direction! Blessings!
P.S HAPPY CANADA DAY! WHOOOO!
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Random:
Our leaders took us to a zoo!
We are also very patriotic today (who is our new friend you may be wondering? his name is Jon-Eh after our beloved John.A.Macdonald) :
I can’t believe how close I am to departure day. This trip has flown by so fast. Although I am not even close to being fluent in French, I have grown more accustomed to not understanding all of what people say and accustomed to thinking about my words before I speak. It’s been about two months now since I’ve been here and I feel as though God has brought me full circle. I am not sure how many of you have been reading or have at least read my first blog post. But It was the post I put up 5 days before my departure to Benin. I brought up 5 things that I wanted to keep with me in my heart and mind that God had been showing me. Number one: I am His Beloved and He is mine, number two: No more playing Defense, it’s all about the Offense, number three: He is in control, number four: It is His plans not mine, number five: there is no number five (take a look at my first post if you need to refresh on what all these entail). I am coming to the end of my journey here in Benin, but God is showing me more and more that it is just the beginning of my journey with Him. I know that He was speaking to me about these five points because they have been the building blocks to all that I have learned here in Benin. I wish….I REALLY WISH, I was a better writer who was able to express to you all that God has taught me in the last two months in a short, concise and clear blog post but as many of you have already discovered…I have not been blessed with the gift of writing. Therefore, you will have to pull me aside when I return if you desire to know all the juicy details.
For now I want to say that I feel like I have come full circle because it was if God had given me all the points for the dot-to-dot picture and during this trip He has helped me connect the dots and fill in the picture. I have never felt more like His beloved than I have in these past months. So much that it’s not just a feeling, it’s who I am. Now I can’t fully say “what” place I have with God in His whole grand scheme, but I CAN say that “I have a place”. It’s different these days. I wish I could explain to you how. I know I can say to those of you who are reading this that you too have a place with Him, and many of you will believe that but not understand it. I somehow, through His grace and wisdom understand that. I do know however that if you surrender to Him completely, and start looking for your place with Him, you will not only find it, but you too with understand it!
God has also shown me how real life is. How what He told us about there being a physical realm and a spiritual realm is true. We often live our lives just in the physical but God said we are in fact citizens of heaven. In my last post I spoke of how not everything has gone smoothly here and how we have had some rough points. Praise God for continually seeing us through. I must say that for my second point “no more playing defense, it’s all about the offense”, acknowledging the spiritual side of life has brought me closer to God. It has shown me more of who He is and that I do not have to be afraid….of anything. Neither do you! There are a few stories that I would love to share but feel they are more for face to face conversations. But I do want to say that the devil is real. Very real. As I stated in my first post, he is not playing around and he doesn’t wait for us to acknowledge him before he tries to make our lives separated from God. People around the world devote their lives to the devil and the destruction of Christ’s kingdom (Philippians 3:18-19). But in all this, God has given me courage to not fear the evil one and I cannot tell you how much more FULL life is now because I am standing in God’s light with my courage in him living in both the physical and spiritual realms of life.
I am growing more and more everyday. Not just as a person (even though I am) but just in life and being able to “experience” life. Everyday is the new adventure, this new shot at growing and living life to the fullest. The point I made about there being no number five seems so exciting now to me. The fact that there is no end of my journey with God opens up each day even more to how endless and even eternal life with God is. It fills me with such excitement and wonder!
Life is so much more full these days, my walk so much more purposeful. I cannot express in these typed words all that I have learned, but I can say it’s a lot. Not all of it has been easy to swallow mind you, but all of it has been worth the chew :p. If you desire to know more details about all that I speak about, feel free to ask me when I return home. Thank you all for your prayers and your support. I feel love pouring in from every direction! Blessings!
P.S HAPPY CANADA DAY! WHOOOO!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Random:
Our leaders took us to a zoo!
We are also very patriotic today (who is our new friend you may be wondering? his name is Jon-Eh after our beloved John.A.Macdonald) :
Monday, June 21, 2010
"One Month"
"One Month"
Hello all! Can you believe it? I have just passed the 1 month mark and I have about 3 weeks left before I return home. Thanks for keepig up with my blog! I hope that you are able to get the full picture of how things are going here in Benin.
All in all, God has been showing himself faithful, loving and all powerful. It is so amazing to see all that He is doing here in Benin. In 4 days of ministry in the small traditional villages, we saw more than 150 people come to know God; and these 150 people were raised knowing voodoo and only voodoo. In this past month I have seen our DRIME Benin leaders take on more and more responsibility and now they have their own DRIME team which they lead. The heart and passion this small group of Christians have for their own people to know the one true God is overwhelming and humbling.
God has not only been working in Benin and in the lives of the Beninese but also in my life. It has been such a blessing to be here. As I come to the end of my trip however I am faced with the problem of needing $1000 to provide for the rest of my DRIME expenses. I am more than grateful - I am blessed to have all the financial and prayerful support from all of you who have graciously given before and during my time here. Through your support God has been showing me more and more how amazing He is. I fully trust and believe that God will see me through this trip in all aspects, including the financial. But I also know that I need to do my part which leads me to my next question:
Would you be able and willing to further support the work God is doing here in Benin? Would you help me financially so that I am able to reach my goal? If this is something you want to do, please follow the directions below. Know that it would be such a huge blessing if you can! Also remember that I already feel extremely blessed by your support and I know I would not be here without you. Please take time to prayerfully consider further financial support.
I would also like to ask if you could continue to pray for me and my team here in Benin. Although my blog speaks of all the amazing things God is doing, we do face some struggles. The devil is not happy with the work God is doing here so I ask that you pray for our protection - physically, spiritually and emotionally. All glory goes to God and will continue to go to Him as we serve!! Thank you once again for all your support. I pray the Lord will fill all your cups with blessings until they overflow. Thank you all and God Bless!
-------------------------------------------------------
Giving Instructions:
Online:
- Go to www.powertochange.org
- Click “Ways to Give” on the toolbar at the top of the screen
- Click on “Support a Ministry”
- Choose DRIME & follow the prompts
- In the place for “Notes”.
“For Abigail Ndukwe – DRIME Benin Base Plant 2010 – 402020”
By Mail:
- Mail a cheque to (on the enclosed return envelope):
Power to Change Ministries
ATTN: Donations
PO Box 300
Vancouver, BC
V6C 2X3
- **NOTE** : Please make cheques payable to “Power to Change Ministries” or “DRIME” and include a separate note (You can use the back of this side of the insert) and include the following information on it:
This is a one time gift for Abigail Ndukwe (#402020)- DRIME Benin Base Plant 2010.
**Please make sure the applicant’s name is NOT written anywhere on the cheque**
- Abigail
Hello all! Can you believe it? I have just passed the 1 month mark and I have about 3 weeks left before I return home. Thanks for keepig up with my blog! I hope that you are able to get the full picture of how things are going here in Benin.
All in all, God has been showing himself faithful, loving and all powerful. It is so amazing to see all that He is doing here in Benin. In 4 days of ministry in the small traditional villages, we saw more than 150 people come to know God; and these 150 people were raised knowing voodoo and only voodoo. In this past month I have seen our DRIME Benin leaders take on more and more responsibility and now they have their own DRIME team which they lead. The heart and passion this small group of Christians have for their own people to know the one true God is overwhelming and humbling.
God has not only been working in Benin and in the lives of the Beninese but also in my life. It has been such a blessing to be here. As I come to the end of my trip however I am faced with the problem of needing $1000 to provide for the rest of my DRIME expenses. I am more than grateful - I am blessed to have all the financial and prayerful support from all of you who have graciously given before and during my time here. Through your support God has been showing me more and more how amazing He is. I fully trust and believe that God will see me through this trip in all aspects, including the financial. But I also know that I need to do my part which leads me to my next question:
Would you be able and willing to further support the work God is doing here in Benin? Would you help me financially so that I am able to reach my goal? If this is something you want to do, please follow the directions below. Know that it would be such a huge blessing if you can! Also remember that I already feel extremely blessed by your support and I know I would not be here without you. Please take time to prayerfully consider further financial support.
I would also like to ask if you could continue to pray for me and my team here in Benin. Although my blog speaks of all the amazing things God is doing, we do face some struggles. The devil is not happy with the work God is doing here so I ask that you pray for our protection - physically, spiritually and emotionally. All glory goes to God and will continue to go to Him as we serve!! Thank you once again for all your support. I pray the Lord will fill all your cups with blessings until they overflow. Thank you all and God Bless!
-------------------------------------------------------
Giving Instructions:
Online:
- Go to www.powertochange.org
- Click “Ways to Give” on the toolbar at the top of the screen
- Click on “Support a Ministry”
- Choose DRIME & follow the prompts
- In the place for “Notes”.
“For Abigail Ndukwe – DRIME Benin Base Plant 2010 – 402020”
By Mail:
- Mail a cheque to (on the enclosed return envelope):
Power to Change Ministries
ATTN: Donations
PO Box 300
Vancouver, BC
V6C 2X3
- **NOTE** : Please make cheques payable to “Power to Change Ministries” or “DRIME” and include a separate note (You can use the back of this side of the insert) and include the following information on it:
This is a one time gift for Abigail Ndukwe (#402020)- DRIME Benin Base Plant 2010.
**Please make sure the applicant’s name is NOT written anywhere on the cheque**
- Abigail
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
It's been a while I know....
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Sunday June 6th – Sunday June 13th 2010
This last week was the busiest week we have had since I have arrived by far!! Let me start from the very beginning….it’s a very good place to start.
Sunday June 6th – We had a high school team arrive all the way from Nigeria to have some drama training with us. This team consisted of 4 boys, 7 girls and two female chaperones. This day was spent getting all the last minute details imto order for their training time with us. The training time was planned to happen on the 7th to the 9th. Before this however, we went to meet up with them and make sure they were all settled in to their hotel rooms. This in itself took quite a bit of time, but by God’s grace we got home in the evening to get a few hours of shut eye before our next three crazy busy days began.
Monday June 7th- Wednesday June 9th- We jammed packed each of these days with tons of training for the kids. Starting at 9:30 in the morning we would gather the team together and brief them in the events for the day and then after it was down to business. In the three days they were here, we trained them in 5 dramas. We also had time with them to do a little bit of evangelism training where they learned how these dramas can be used to share the gospel and how they could share the gospel with these dramas using their own personal stories and experiences to tie into their ministry time. It was very nice for all of use to be able to train in English again! Apart from training, we also took time out for team time where we played a lot of games with the kids and bonded with them. It was such a pleasure working with them and being able to see how the youth of Nigeria have a heart to minister to their peers. We were told that there is already a scheduled time for them to perform some dramas at their chapel a week from now! All we can say is praise God for working through these kids in those three days. They were such a blessing to have around and on top of that they nearly made us cry as they expressed their feelings about the mini workshop we gave them. One of the chaperones expressed that they all had so much joy in their hearts that if you were to cut them open we wouldn’t be able to contain the joy that would pour out. Another thing said was that for some of the kids, it was the best thing that has ever happened to them! Janna, Jamie and I don’t believe we deserve what is being said but we receive it, and give it all to God. Without Him we would not have made it through the three days.
On top of the training time we had with the team from Nigeria in these three days, we also had two leaders meetings which took place right after the training time on Monday and Wednesday. As this was the last week before bootcamp (the first training time for the newly formed DRIME Benin team) the DRIME Benin leaders had many things to do and therefore so did we. As many of you who read the midway report know, we were having difficulties finding a place for bootcamp. Thank you all for your prayers because on Monday (5 days from bootcamp) we finally got a place. Other things needed to come into place however like the food, electricity and sound systems.
Thursday June 10th- Things for the food and electricity were beginning to work on but we still needed to buy a boombox/ sound system for the Benin team so that they wouldn’t have to lug out the MASSIVE (seriously it takes two people to lift it) sound system out during every practice, and because we would be training the new team in more than one group, we needed another system to use during boot camp. On top of this, electricity is different here. Even though we had to work things out and pay for electricity while we used the space, the electricity only came from one room so we also needed to buy extension cords that would stretch down this long hallway we had and into each of the 3 spread out rooms we would be using. So on Thursday, Janna headed out to find a new sound system and extension cords To make a long story short things were not successful and we needed to head out the next day to try again.
Friday June 11th – This was a long hectic ay of errands that all needed to be done before bootcamp. But to spare you all the boring details, all went well with the three of us and the four leaders all getting in pretty late with an early rise in front of us.
Saturday June 12th – Sunday June 13th – IT FINALLY CAME!!!! I cannot express enough how proud I am of the Benin leaders for getting things all together. It has been a stressful and frustrating last few weeks but all has come together. Bootcamp was such a hectic but fun time. The leaders really gave it their all and put their whole hearts into it. It was such an amazing time watching them lead, and train THEIR DRIME team! During this time however there was a bit of worry rising up in us. We worried that the team would not be ready enough to do ministry on the Sunday evening and that the team in itself may be too large for the team to handle right at this moment. I love it when God speaks loud and clear, and even more so when He rebukes the thoughts of His children to show Himself bigger than what we know. Ministry time finally came and as the team stepped out to perform, the dramas were done as best as possible, but not as great as we had wanted them, but as Janna, Jamie and I looked up our attentions were taken away from the dramas to the conversations being had by the members with the audience members. God rebuked our previous thoughts and had to reshow us the real reason why we even use the dramas. They are just a gateway to open up the hearts of those who watch them. The new Benin DRIME members were deep into conversation with those watching and we were reminded, it’s not about how perfect the dramas are but instead about God and God alone. At the end of ministry about 25-30 people came up for the alter call. Because of how busy things have been lately, it has been easy to focus solely on the job on earth instead of the work from heaven. Thankfully God gave us a little love slap to bring us back to having His heart and being under his guidance.
After the ministry time the leaders did debriefing with their new DRIME team and we could see that God was working even more than we knew in this two day bootcamp. It was such a blessing to hear all the things the members learnt or enjoyed or experienced. It was a blessing to see that they were blessed. The very first comment made touched the hearts of each of the leaders as well as Janna, Jamie and I. One of the members named Aldo said in response to the question of how their DRIME bootcamp experience was:
“I have never experienced such joy or felt such a sense of family than I have in these last two days.”
This one comment set my heart into complete ease. This team will be JUST FINE when we leave because they are now a family and God is their father.
I wanted to thank all of you who have been praying for the bootcamp event as well as this whole trip in general. I can see God moving in Benin with such a gentle force. For now, these are the quick details as to what all has been going on. I wish I could express things better, but I shall be home soon enough to explain things, to those who wish to know, face to face. Thank you again for all your prayers!!!!!
Random Things:
- I have a flip-flop tan. I came home one night and I was quite filthy. I got into the shower and looked at my feet and thought…ewww my feet are soooo dirty. Turns out they weren’t that bad, but instead….I had a really bad flip-flop tan.
- Um I found out something quite disgusting at the end of bootcamp. RATS CAN CLIMB VERTICAL WALLS! We came in from ministry to the building we were using and in one room a mouse scurries out. I jump a bit but not as much as when I shortly after see a rat run in the opposite direction. Then I was sitting there across from Jamie and my eyes got big and Jamie turns around and both of us experience the same rat crawling up the corner of the wall!!!!! A vertical….VERTICAL cement wall!!!!! And it wasn’t a short wall either!!
- I think I am going to buy EVERY John Eldredge book out there! Jamie is stocked up on the here and they are often set the topic for our devotional times together. Right now I am reading "Walkig with God" and I am desperately wanting to get the wokbook when I get home because it's such a good,uplifting and challanging read! I just finished "Epic" and I plan to read "Desire" next. It's been such a great thing having his books here. I STRONGLY encourage EVERYONE to pick up one of his books....it will challange you to work with God more closley!
- We have less than one month left here...and every night...we have decided to share our "Africanisms" for the day. These are the things we loved from the that day that we wont get back in Canada. Last nights Africanism I would have to say is....the thunderstorm. We had such a CRAZY thunderstorm last night where the thunder shoock the whole house and the lightning lit all of our rooms....but the poswer and sense of fear we experienced was the best part! I LOVE African Thunderstorms!!!!
Monday, May 31, 2010
"Why Men Love Ribs"
"Why Men Love Ribs"
A small quick post this time, as it wasn’t too long since I’ve posted last and not much has happened since then. The only story I offer you if a funny moment that has happened between Jamie, Janna and I. I have repeatedly spoken about how much getting to know the Beninese leaders has been, but I also have really enjoyed getting to know the two of my teammates. Janna is such a strong leader. She always has things so well organized. I love her positive spirit and encouraging manner. I have learned to be more open to things and to take time to think over things from her. Jamie has got to be one of the funniest people I have ever met. I cannot go a day without smiling or laughing here because of him. Joy is inbuilt into his very essence and emits from his very being. I have learned to be more open to joy and to God’s blessings from Jamie.
A few times each week we spend time in devotions together. From this the unity of our team is building, and we are each growing in our relationship with God together. The funny moment I spoke of happened during one of our devotional times. We were speaking about the image of God and how as humans we cannot fully understand God but He shows his image in different ways. We spoke about how amazing it was for us that males can see God in one way, and how females can see Him in a different way, but these views help show more of the fullness of His image when we share with each other. We then got into this conversation about how God is so amazing because He created relationship between male and female to help us understand Him better. We then brought up an interesting moment where one of our leaders at church was trying to explain that another leader had gone over and was speaking to his fiancée. He said that that leader was Adam and that the lady was his “rib”. We spoke about this for some time and all of a sudden Jamie bursts out laughing! Janna and I confused, asked Jamie what he was laughing about. It took him some time to compose himself and then he tells us what he was thinking. He said that while we spoke about the ribs being a completion for some men, one thought came into his mind…..”OHHH That’s why Men love to eat ribs so much!!!”. We all had a great laugh about that.
A small quick post this time, as it wasn’t too long since I’ve posted last and not much has happened since then. The only story I offer you if a funny moment that has happened between Jamie, Janna and I. I have repeatedly spoken about how much getting to know the Beninese leaders has been, but I also have really enjoyed getting to know the two of my teammates. Janna is such a strong leader. She always has things so well organized. I love her positive spirit and encouraging manner. I have learned to be more open to things and to take time to think over things from her. Jamie has got to be one of the funniest people I have ever met. I cannot go a day without smiling or laughing here because of him. Joy is inbuilt into his very essence and emits from his very being. I have learned to be more open to joy and to God’s blessings from Jamie.
A few times each week we spend time in devotions together. From this the unity of our team is building, and we are each growing in our relationship with God together. The funny moment I spoke of happened during one of our devotional times. We were speaking about the image of God and how as humans we cannot fully understand God but He shows his image in different ways. We spoke about how amazing it was for us that males can see God in one way, and how females can see Him in a different way, but these views help show more of the fullness of His image when we share with each other. We then got into this conversation about how God is so amazing because He created relationship between male and female to help us understand Him better. We then brought up an interesting moment where one of our leaders at church was trying to explain that another leader had gone over and was speaking to his fiancée. He said that that leader was Adam and that the lady was his “rib”. We spoke about this for some time and all of a sudden Jamie bursts out laughing! Janna and I confused, asked Jamie what he was laughing about. It took him some time to compose himself and then he tells us what he was thinking. He said that while we spoke about the ribs being a completion for some men, one thought came into his mind…..”OHHH That’s why Men love to eat ribs so much!!!”. We all had a great laugh about that.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Random Events and Random Thoughts
Update:
We have finished recruiting for the DRIME team and both our DRIME info meetings. The leaders have been super great in their work over the past few weeks. Although there has been so much for them to plan out and work through, they have all done things with no complaint. They are now going though the interview process to get to know the future members better and talk of the first ever DRIME Benin Bootcamp is being discussed. Everything is coming together so fast its crazy! I can’t believe I have been here for 3 whole weeks!!! As a team Jamie, Janna and I have been having devotionals together and in most of our times together we have talked a lot about the Armor of God and how every day is a spiritual battle. It has really kept us praying and trusting in God for his will to be done and for us to have protection. In seeing how things are coming together so quickly with the Base Planting, I can’t help but think that satan is not happy with the work God is doing and will begin to try and discourage our leaders as they work so hard. I ask that those of you who take the time to read this blog, will keep our leaders and the entire team to be here in Benin, in your prayers. Jamie brought out this book today called “EPIC” by John Elderidge and it talked about 3 things. One of those things is that We are at war. This war is a war that will not only bring glory to Gods name but is also a love story. This is a battle for the human heart. I think back to our last night of ministry. We were on a beach and 50 people surrendered their lives up to God. To see how God is moving here, how he is fighting so furiously and passionately for the hearts of his most prized creation. Because of this I ask for more prayers so that any attacks we get back from the evil one, will be thwarted. Thanks friends!!!! Blessings :) !
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Random event number one:
Janna and I got our hair done together.
We both went to the salon together and we both spent about 11 hours sitting on wooden chairs having our hair braided.
I have never been in such a long lasting state of pain before.
It was such an interesting time. When we arrived, the place was already full. It was 8:30 in the morning! They set us up on the side of the building because all of the inside and the front porch area were filled by customers already. Not more than one and a half braids in for the two of us, it began to rain. Heavy Rain! I don’t really know how to explain it to someone who hasn’t seen African rain, but it is what I picture the rains being when God flooded the world during Noah’s time! So as the rain started to pour, the girls working on our hair stood us up, picked up our chairs and extensions and we al rushed to a little covering on the side. This covering may have stopped the rain from pouring straight down on our heads it however did not protect us from the wind which blew the rain onto the rest of our bodies. After a few hours of rain and watching the water in front of us pool up and flow like a river, the rain stopped. It was nice at first, but all of a sudden the sun was shining bright in the sky and instead of the two of us being poured on, we were being beat by the hot rays of the sun. Although we were still under a covering, the heat from the sun scorched any part of our bodies that were exposed. As the day went on and the sun moved, the girls doing our hair would rotate the chair just to get us out of the sun. It was quite humorous. Where Janna was sitting however seemed to be impossible for keeping her out of the sun, so the girls decided to move her completely. They picked up her chair, all her extensions and they all moved across the street to a cement patch by another building much bigger and that shed a lot more shade. Nearing the end of our hair braiding experience, of course it ends the same way it began. As Janna was sitting outside in the open air, it began to rain again! So her and the girls that were doing her hair picked up everything and ran back for cover. All in all it was a pretty interesting day which ended with great pain on our heads, frowning faces but GORGEOUS hair.
Random event number two:
Did you know….Janna can’t whistle? It’s nothing to be ashamed of but I felt the need to help her learn how. This desire to make her learn slowly turned from a mission to help, to a mission to laugh. What do I mean? Well, I guess you would have to say that Jamie and I had more fun than we should have trying to teach Janna to whistle. First, I thought it would be funny to try and have Janna learn how to hold her lips properly while whistling. This soon become more entertaining than educational. I eventually told her that puckering her lips and trying to kiss my hand would be the best way to learn. So I sat there and Janna puckered away and tried to kiss my hand while I continually moved it away from her lips every time she tried. Next Jamie thought he had a better way of learning to pucker. He told Janna that it helps if she put her tongue between her top teeth and her upper lip. So Janna begins to hold her tongue there and blow but this was short lived because Jamie and I couldn’t hold in the laughter for too long. All in all, Janna still doesn’t know how to whistle, and she probably will never learn while in Benin here with us.
Random event number three:
Laundry is bitter sweet. So we all share the work in keeping things together here, and often enough we divide up the chores as best as possible. I happen to not mind (even like) washing clothes by hand so I was happily given this task. There is something peaceful about sitting on our roof as the sun is rising, washing clothes and singing to my Jesus. This is the sweet part. The bitter part I have discovered is that, the more you wash, the softer your skin gets, the easier your skin rubs off!!! I now have skin that has been rubbed and cut open on four of my five fingers on my right hand just because of washing our clothes. This my friends is the BITTER part of laundry. Random….I know.
Random event number four:
Jamie is a night owl. he like myself, doesn’t go to bed early or wake up late. The only thing about Jamie is, he can’t seem to stay awake for anyyyyy movie we watch. It’s actually quite humorous. He never objects to watching a movie but without fail Janna and I look over to always find him fast asleep. And this is not just the slight dozing off that a lot of people when they are tired and watching a movie. This is full out knocked out sleeping and even more so, the second the movie is over Jamie is awake and ready to face the day (night)! It’s just so funny because he sleeps during EVERY movie!
Random event number five:
I got a call from my dad the other day and as I was discussing with him in the kitchen while Jamie was going for a cookie. I was chuckling to myself a bit because Jamie jumped back because what Jamie calls a “Giant Ant of Doom” came out from our cookie jar. This chuckle didn’t last very long at all as a GIANT cockroach came sauntering out of our cupboard. While still on the phone and as my dad was in mid-sentence, I shout “COCKROACH, COCKROACH, JAMIE KILL IT!” On the other end of the line my dad, not impressed by my extreme lack of courage says “Why don’t YOU kill?!” and cleverly I respond by saying “Why do I have to kill it?! Jamie’s here!”.
Oh....Jamie Got his hair braided too!!! hhhahahah j/k
Update:
We have finished recruiting for the DRIME team and both our DRIME info meetings. The leaders have been super great in their work over the past few weeks. Although there has been so much for them to plan out and work through, they have all done things with no complaint. They are now going though the interview process to get to know the future members better and talk of the first ever DRIME Benin Bootcamp is being discussed. Everything is coming together so fast its crazy! I can’t believe I have been here for 3 whole weeks!!! As a team Jamie, Janna and I have been having devotionals together and in most of our times together we have talked a lot about the Armor of God and how every day is a spiritual battle. It has really kept us praying and trusting in God for his will to be done and for us to have protection. In seeing how things are coming together so quickly with the Base Planting, I can’t help but think that satan is not happy with the work God is doing and will begin to try and discourage our leaders as they work so hard. I ask that those of you who take the time to read this blog, will keep our leaders and the entire team to be here in Benin, in your prayers. Jamie brought out this book today called “EPIC” by John Elderidge and it talked about 3 things. One of those things is that We are at war. This war is a war that will not only bring glory to Gods name but is also a love story. This is a battle for the human heart. I think back to our last night of ministry. We were on a beach and 50 people surrendered their lives up to God. To see how God is moving here, how he is fighting so furiously and passionately for the hearts of his most prized creation. Because of this I ask for more prayers so that any attacks we get back from the evil one, will be thwarted. Thanks friends!!!! Blessings :) !
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Random event number one:
Janna and I got our hair done together.
We both went to the salon together and we both spent about 11 hours sitting on wooden chairs having our hair braided.
I have never been in such a long lasting state of pain before.
It was such an interesting time. When we arrived, the place was already full. It was 8:30 in the morning! They set us up on the side of the building because all of the inside and the front porch area were filled by customers already. Not more than one and a half braids in for the two of us, it began to rain. Heavy Rain! I don’t really know how to explain it to someone who hasn’t seen African rain, but it is what I picture the rains being when God flooded the world during Noah’s time! So as the rain started to pour, the girls working on our hair stood us up, picked up our chairs and extensions and we al rushed to a little covering on the side. This covering may have stopped the rain from pouring straight down on our heads it however did not protect us from the wind which blew the rain onto the rest of our bodies. After a few hours of rain and watching the water in front of us pool up and flow like a river, the rain stopped. It was nice at first, but all of a sudden the sun was shining bright in the sky and instead of the two of us being poured on, we were being beat by the hot rays of the sun. Although we were still under a covering, the heat from the sun scorched any part of our bodies that were exposed. As the day went on and the sun moved, the girls doing our hair would rotate the chair just to get us out of the sun. It was quite humorous. Where Janna was sitting however seemed to be impossible for keeping her out of the sun, so the girls decided to move her completely. They picked up her chair, all her extensions and they all moved across the street to a cement patch by another building much bigger and that shed a lot more shade. Nearing the end of our hair braiding experience, of course it ends the same way it began. As Janna was sitting outside in the open air, it began to rain again! So her and the girls that were doing her hair picked up everything and ran back for cover. All in all it was a pretty interesting day which ended with great pain on our heads, frowning faces but GORGEOUS hair.
Random event number two:
Did you know….Janna can’t whistle? It’s nothing to be ashamed of but I felt the need to help her learn how. This desire to make her learn slowly turned from a mission to help, to a mission to laugh. What do I mean? Well, I guess you would have to say that Jamie and I had more fun than we should have trying to teach Janna to whistle. First, I thought it would be funny to try and have Janna learn how to hold her lips properly while whistling. This soon become more entertaining than educational. I eventually told her that puckering her lips and trying to kiss my hand would be the best way to learn. So I sat there and Janna puckered away and tried to kiss my hand while I continually moved it away from her lips every time she tried. Next Jamie thought he had a better way of learning to pucker. He told Janna that it helps if she put her tongue between her top teeth and her upper lip. So Janna begins to hold her tongue there and blow but this was short lived because Jamie and I couldn’t hold in the laughter for too long. All in all, Janna still doesn’t know how to whistle, and she probably will never learn while in Benin here with us.
Random event number three:
Laundry is bitter sweet. So we all share the work in keeping things together here, and often enough we divide up the chores as best as possible. I happen to not mind (even like) washing clothes by hand so I was happily given this task. There is something peaceful about sitting on our roof as the sun is rising, washing clothes and singing to my Jesus. This is the sweet part. The bitter part I have discovered is that, the more you wash, the softer your skin gets, the easier your skin rubs off!!! I now have skin that has been rubbed and cut open on four of my five fingers on my right hand just because of washing our clothes. This my friends is the BITTER part of laundry. Random….I know.
Random event number four:
Jamie is a night owl. he like myself, doesn’t go to bed early or wake up late. The only thing about Jamie is, he can’t seem to stay awake for anyyyyy movie we watch. It’s actually quite humorous. He never objects to watching a movie but without fail Janna and I look over to always find him fast asleep. And this is not just the slight dozing off that a lot of people when they are tired and watching a movie. This is full out knocked out sleeping and even more so, the second the movie is over Jamie is awake and ready to face the day (night)! It’s just so funny because he sleeps during EVERY movie!
Random event number five:
I got a call from my dad the other day and as I was discussing with him in the kitchen while Jamie was going for a cookie. I was chuckling to myself a bit because Jamie jumped back because what Jamie calls a “Giant Ant of Doom” came out from our cookie jar. This chuckle didn’t last very long at all as a GIANT cockroach came sauntering out of our cupboard. While still on the phone and as my dad was in mid-sentence, I shout “COCKROACH, COCKROACH, JAMIE KILL IT!” On the other end of the line my dad, not impressed by my extreme lack of courage says “Why don’t YOU kill?!” and cleverly I respond by saying “Why do I have to kill it?! Jamie’s here!”.
Oh....Jamie Got his hair braided too!!! hhhahahah j/k
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Well of Life
Imagine yourself walking in a desert. A scorching hot desert. Your camel just died, you haven’t eaten for days and this very fact seems incomparable to the other fact that you are so very thirsty. The heat from the sun feels like little daggers cutting through your skin as your natural milky smoothness becomes a new blistering surface. The day before, you felt like you could not go on anymore, but somehow you have made it to today where you truly feel like this is the end. You sink to the ground and review your life for the last time. You think of your happiest moments, your saddest, you think about how you hate sand, all the things you are proud of and all your shames. Your mouth is unable to salivate and the chalkiness is unbearable so you begin to close your eyes and hope that as you fade away into a deep sleep, that you will not wake up…..
Your dreams are shattered as you feel a small bit of shade and then something on your shoulder. You muster the strength to open your eyes and as you peer up, you see the figure of a man who has outstretched His hand on your shoulder. You think to yourself, “Oh, great! Not another mirage.” The figure then kneels down to you and pulls out a sheepskin and holds it to your mouth. All of a sudden it is as if life itself is being poured into your being from the sheepskin. The wet, cold and moist liquid not only caresses your mouth but also somewhat soothes the rest of your body. The idea of the man being a hallucination is destroyed at this very moment. The only thing this moment can be is ‘real’. The mystery man then picks you up and proceeds to carry you on his back. He begins to walk. The walk seems to have gone on forever. The man had begun to walk way before the sun was at its highest point and now it was dark out. The heat of the day was excruciating but not overwhelming for you because you didn’t have to use any of your own strength. Finally the man stops and carries you in his arms to a canopied area and places you on a cot (which happens to be far more comfortable than the sand you have been sleeping on). He pulls out the sheepskin bottle he had been using all day to slowly rehydrate you with and he walks over to a well nearby. He slowly pulls up the dangling bucket filled with the same refreshing substance and he refills the sheepskin. He then walks back to you and as he hands you the bag of water that seemed to bring you back to life, he gentle tells you to “rest”. As he walks away you muster up as much strength as you can to softly ask “Why?” The man turns and smiles and replies saying, “Because you needed my help. I have a lifetime supply of water in that one well, why not share it?” At that he walks away and you roll over in your cot to try and get comfy. As you face the inside of the canopied area you see even more cots laid out and filled with many others. The man laying beside you smiles and says to you, “Everyday he goes out and everyday He returns with someone. After he offers you what you need, he gives you the option of staying for as long as you choose. If you do stay, you’ll never thirst again!”
For some reason, this is the picture that has popped out in my mind after being here in Benin for only 9 days. I have done lots of ministry with the newly chosen Benin leaders and have had two team meetings with them as well. These are 4 Beninese natives who have a passion for spreading the good news to their own people. People they don’t know personally, and have never met. They however strongly believe that they have a truth, love and life that their people need to really live. So it is as if they trudge away from their comfort area where the “well” is situated, to travel out just so they can give their people a taste of a water they may never have tasted before. I have been out there with them only a few days but doing 4 days straight of ministry I see how people react. Ministry here is different than with DRIME Vancouver. The leaders translate the dramas in Fon and French while the dramas are being performed! There are some people who laugh out loud who make the job of both the performers and the translators somewhat difficult. Some people in the crowd focus their attention on them instead of what is being shared with them. The leaders here however are so determined to get the good news out. They are not phased by what is going on, only driven by what God is doing in them. They are like the man in the story that leaves his well and heads back into the hot desert in search of anyone who may need a drop of water. The water of the good news however always proves to be more desired than the words of the heckling audience members. As I stated in my last blog, God is so good and is really working here in Benin. Every time we go out to minister, at least 10 people give their lives over to Christ (ad that is a very low estimate!). In this post however, I wanted to put a challenge out to the few who do read this blog. I am in a country right now that is not only surrounded by spiritual darkness but also physical poverty and yet there are people here who don’t allow these things to discourage or hinder their desire to do Gods work. I know as North American Christians we hear it a lot that we have more and we shouldn’t have a problem with giving of our time and ourselves because we have more of a comfortable existence but I myself as a student and former Trinity student know how its not always that easy to believe or do. Being here I see that you do not need anything but God to do God’s work (to live in fact). The 4 people that have been chosen to be leaders of the new DRIME base here in Benin have a passion to follow God that nothing else matters. This is my challenge for you. If you ever feel like you are being pulled to do something for God, or like God is calling you to do something, don’t allow the challenges of this world to become greater than God. I feel like often enough humans limit the work God can do in our lives because we don’t even try to allow it to happen. Being in Benin I am seeing people who don’t have the resources Canada has, and yet they head out to do ministry with such strong faith, they lead events with such enthusiasm and hope because they put their all in what God can do, not what they can do. I want to pass on encouragement to you today because I have been encouraged as well. It doesn’t matter who you are or how much you have, God is greater than it all. If He is calling to you, don’t block Him out with worry and stress and what you think you know about the way things work. All I know is that I wouldn’t be here if all my worries and fears came true. I know that the DRIME Benin team wouldn’t be touching so many lives, and moving along so fast if they didn’t fully open themselves up to what they know God can do. And I know that, what ever God is calling one of you to do He can do it and you don’t need to worry. Let Him work in your life. Let Him do big things in your life. Let Him bless you by using you in ways you could never imagine! Be Blessed friends!!!!
Your dreams are shattered as you feel a small bit of shade and then something on your shoulder. You muster the strength to open your eyes and as you peer up, you see the figure of a man who has outstretched His hand on your shoulder. You think to yourself, “Oh, great! Not another mirage.” The figure then kneels down to you and pulls out a sheepskin and holds it to your mouth. All of a sudden it is as if life itself is being poured into your being from the sheepskin. The wet, cold and moist liquid not only caresses your mouth but also somewhat soothes the rest of your body. The idea of the man being a hallucination is destroyed at this very moment. The only thing this moment can be is ‘real’. The mystery man then picks you up and proceeds to carry you on his back. He begins to walk. The walk seems to have gone on forever. The man had begun to walk way before the sun was at its highest point and now it was dark out. The heat of the day was excruciating but not overwhelming for you because you didn’t have to use any of your own strength. Finally the man stops and carries you in his arms to a canopied area and places you on a cot (which happens to be far more comfortable than the sand you have been sleeping on). He pulls out the sheepskin bottle he had been using all day to slowly rehydrate you with and he walks over to a well nearby. He slowly pulls up the dangling bucket filled with the same refreshing substance and he refills the sheepskin. He then walks back to you and as he hands you the bag of water that seemed to bring you back to life, he gentle tells you to “rest”. As he walks away you muster up as much strength as you can to softly ask “Why?” The man turns and smiles and replies saying, “Because you needed my help. I have a lifetime supply of water in that one well, why not share it?” At that he walks away and you roll over in your cot to try and get comfy. As you face the inside of the canopied area you see even more cots laid out and filled with many others. The man laying beside you smiles and says to you, “Everyday he goes out and everyday He returns with someone. After he offers you what you need, he gives you the option of staying for as long as you choose. If you do stay, you’ll never thirst again!”
For some reason, this is the picture that has popped out in my mind after being here in Benin for only 9 days. I have done lots of ministry with the newly chosen Benin leaders and have had two team meetings with them as well. These are 4 Beninese natives who have a passion for spreading the good news to their own people. People they don’t know personally, and have never met. They however strongly believe that they have a truth, love and life that their people need to really live. So it is as if they trudge away from their comfort area where the “well” is situated, to travel out just so they can give their people a taste of a water they may never have tasted before. I have been out there with them only a few days but doing 4 days straight of ministry I see how people react. Ministry here is different than with DRIME Vancouver. The leaders translate the dramas in Fon and French while the dramas are being performed! There are some people who laugh out loud who make the job of both the performers and the translators somewhat difficult. Some people in the crowd focus their attention on them instead of what is being shared with them. The leaders here however are so determined to get the good news out. They are not phased by what is going on, only driven by what God is doing in them. They are like the man in the story that leaves his well and heads back into the hot desert in search of anyone who may need a drop of water. The water of the good news however always proves to be more desired than the words of the heckling audience members. As I stated in my last blog, God is so good and is really working here in Benin. Every time we go out to minister, at least 10 people give their lives over to Christ (ad that is a very low estimate!). In this post however, I wanted to put a challenge out to the few who do read this blog. I am in a country right now that is not only surrounded by spiritual darkness but also physical poverty and yet there are people here who don’t allow these things to discourage or hinder their desire to do Gods work. I know as North American Christians we hear it a lot that we have more and we shouldn’t have a problem with giving of our time and ourselves because we have more of a comfortable existence but I myself as a student and former Trinity student know how its not always that easy to believe or do. Being here I see that you do not need anything but God to do God’s work (to live in fact). The 4 people that have been chosen to be leaders of the new DRIME base here in Benin have a passion to follow God that nothing else matters. This is my challenge for you. If you ever feel like you are being pulled to do something for God, or like God is calling you to do something, don’t allow the challenges of this world to become greater than God. I feel like often enough humans limit the work God can do in our lives because we don’t even try to allow it to happen. Being in Benin I am seeing people who don’t have the resources Canada has, and yet they head out to do ministry with such strong faith, they lead events with such enthusiasm and hope because they put their all in what God can do, not what they can do. I want to pass on encouragement to you today because I have been encouraged as well. It doesn’t matter who you are or how much you have, God is greater than it all. If He is calling to you, don’t block Him out with worry and stress and what you think you know about the way things work. All I know is that I wouldn’t be here if all my worries and fears came true. I know that the DRIME Benin team wouldn’t be touching so many lives, and moving along so fast if they didn’t fully open themselves up to what they know God can do. And I know that, what ever God is calling one of you to do He can do it and you don’t need to worry. Let Him work in your life. Let Him do big things in your life. Let Him bless you by using you in ways you could never imagine! Be Blessed friends!!!!
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