Saturday was full of drama around our house.  David woke up and unlocked the doors to find our guard, Mr. B so sick he couldn’t walk. David took him to a colleague who used to be a nurse. She recommended he be taken to a local clinic for further examination. After trips to two clinics, David was able to find a doctor who knew what he was talking about. He then returned home to have lunch.

After lunch, David went to several pharmacies to fill Mr. B’s prescriptions. When he returned, I went out to open the gate for him and heard our two year old neighbor screaming. His grandma said he put his hand in a pot of boiling sauce. She wanted to know if I could help them. I had no clue about treating burns, so I ran inside and called our colleague. She came over right away and showed me how to treat a burn.

Now the toddler comes to our house every day at 4 o’clock for treatment. I am getting better at cleaning and dressing his wounds, but my hands still shake when I have to pull dead skin off his little hand. He should be totally healed within a week or two, and Mr. B will be well in a few weeks if he takes all his medicine, too.

I’m grateful for opportunities like these to reach out to those around us. It’s fulfilling to share the love of Christ in a tangible way. It also gives me hope that they’ll be more open to the Gospel when my language skills are sufficient to share it with them.

Last Tuesday at the invitation of ‘John’, our home owner, we visited Gar, a village we had never before been to. Gar sits just outside our city and is only a few minutes away by car.

When we entered John’s family compound, we were welcomed by all and immediately given a platter of freshly roasted goat and sheep. I always pray that God will do two things when I find myself in situations like that: 1. That God will help me to swallow the food I eat, and not throw it back up and 2. That I won’t get Montezuma’s revenge from eating raw and undercooked foods. (more…)

In August I ordered 100 small, wooden, hand carved spoons from Amadou; a basket, spoon, and shoe vendor in the market.  I gave him a prototype and told him he could choose a design to burn on the handles.  I intend to glue a magnet to the back of each spoon and give them to friends to hang on their fridges as a reminder to pray for us.

When we returned from our travels in late October, I went to the market to pick up the spoons.  Since David had never met Amadou, he came with me.  When we arrived at his booth, Amadou greeted us warmly, sliding over on his small bench so we could sit down.  He was very happy to meet David and pulled out two tiny spoons he had carved with our initials on them; ‘B’ for Bella and ‘D’ for Daawuuda, our Fulbe names.  They were really nice gifts that he took a lot of time making.  As is culturally appropriate, we thanked him profusely and began counting out our 100 wooden spoons from a bag he retrieved from far under his dark booth.

As I began to count, Amadou gave David another gift; a hand woven, grass trivet that read “Daouda love Bela.”  Again we exclaimed how kind it was of him to make such a wonderful gift for us.  It really was touching.  I continued counting.

Before David had time to hand me the trivet, Amadou pulled out the nicest pair of goat skin and tire- tread- soled shoes I have ever seen.  Amadou said the shoes were a gift for me.  David exclaimed, “Wow!  You’re giving us a lot of gifts today!”  Amadou explained that the last time he saw me; he looked at my feet and wanted to make me a pair of shoes.  I tried them on.  Of course, they were a perfect fit.

I was so very blessed by his no-strings-attached generosity.  Amadou generously gave out of his talents to show his appreciation of our friendship.  I wondered what we had to offer him.  I didn’t buy any gifts in either France or Ghana to share with friends like Amadou.  What could we give that would match his extravagance?  When I returned home, I wrapped a Pular New Testament.  I’ll give it to him the next time I go the market.  I’m sure Amadou’s gifts to us cost far more than our gift to him, but ours has an eternal value to which no pair of shoes can compare.

This Monday, September 1st, marks the start of Ramadan.  It is for the duration of this month that Muslims around the globe are called to observe one of the 5 pillars of their faith by fasting from sunup to sundown as a means of tipping the scales of judgment towards favor with God.  Most Muslims believe that it was during the month of Ramadan that the Torah, the Psalms, the Gospels, and the Qur’an were all sent from heaven.  Though the exact day of the month is disputed, most Muslims believe that the anniversary of the night during which the Prophet Muhammad began to receive the Qur’an from the angel Gabriel is a night of special power.  The Prophet Muhammad taught that Ramadan is a season during which the gates of heaven are open and the gates of hell closed.

Historians tell us that the Christians with whom Muhammad had contact prayed 6 times a day.  It is believed that this practice so profoundly impacted the Prophet Muhammad that he prescribed daily prayer as essential for all followers of Allah.  Pray that our lives might once again be ‘prayer-shaped’ enough to change the destiny of Muslims around the world!

“And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19

Georgia arrived in Guinea very early Tuesday morning, February 26. At the airport we were able to see her deboard the plane and walk across the tarmac to the airport terminal. She was one of the first people off the plane so we expected her to get through customs and pick up her luggage quickly. She had very detailed airport instructions and knew exactly what to expect once inside. We went around to the exit ramp to wait for her. Billie held her welcome sign and we waited… and we waited some more.

As time passed we knew something must have come up. Was someone hassling her for a bribe? Was she stuck at the customs table? Had her luggage not shown up? Nearly the last person out of the terminal, we spotted her pulling only her carry-on bag behind her. Both of her checked pieces of luggage did not arrive.

In fact, her luggage did not show up for another four days. She borrowed Billie’s clothing and made due with what she had in her carry-on pieces. Georgia’s first week in Guinea turned her into a real Pioneer!

Finally, the morning we were to leave Conakry for Labe, she and David went to the airport at 3 am to look for it one last time. The airport security officer wouldn’t let David go in with Georgia, so she had to brave the French speakers on her own. Getting past locked doors, money demanding customs agents and into the luggage area were the first hurdles. Once inside she spotted her bags and had to swipe them away from a would be thief before the lady could take off with them.

Back past the money demanding customs agents and the aggressive porters, she triumphantly came pulling her bags behind her. Then her fanny pack burst open and her passport and glasses went flying. She was bale to retrieve her passport, but she lost her reading glasses. In fact, she lost two of her three pairs of reading glasses in Conakry within 6 hours! What an eventful first week on the mission field!

We’re so glad that Georgia’s bags arrived with all contents in tact and not a day too late. She’s doing really well adjusting to life and ministry in Guinea and is taking off with her French. She has already set up her home, been to the market, planned a vegetable garden, planted flowers around the house and met many other missionaries in Guinea.

Pray for Georgia as she lives and serves with us her first term.

We want to begin to introduce you to the people in our lives so that you can pray for them. Here is Mr. B. He guards our house and helps out with various chores. He is married and has several children. He knows many Bible stories and enjoys sharing them with us (he has worked for missionaries for many years). Like any faithful Muslim, he prays five times a day and attends the mosque on Fridays. Pray that God would take care of Mr. B and his family. Pray that God’s Word would take root in his heart, and that he would understand what it means to become a follower of Jesus. Pray that we will find many opportunities to share the Gospel with him and that our lives would be a testimony to him as well. We believe he is very close to the Kingdom.