Monday, December 12, 2011
What'd you do today?
What did I do today, you ask? Well, while spending the day with our Story Crafter, I modeled for a photo shoot and shot a commercial for a Chinese health practice being run by Sierra Leonian refugees living in Mali. I think.
Testers
Each Story must be "tested" a minimum of two times. This involves going to a Sunny house and getting a group to sit down and listen to the Story, retell it, and answer a bunch of questions that we have about it. The questions are to ensure that the story has been appropriately contextualized while maintaining absolute Scriptural integrity (not comprehension questions). Finding willing testers has proven to be fairly difficult since we live in the capital where there is a lower concentration of Sunny people. And the families seem to be busier here in the city than in the village, which makes it tricky to try to get people to give you a couple hours of their day. We did locate some women who were willing to be testing groups...it ended up that the main women who did this for us were straight from our village and in the city for medical reasons. They'd been here for months and months and we were excited that not only would they be hearing the Stories, but that they would be returning to our home village where they could possibly and hopefully re-tell the Stories. Well, after a short time, both of these women ended up moving back to the village, leaving us virtually tester-less.
In the meantime, some colleagues met a Sunny woman who told them that she'd had a dream that white people were coming to tell her about Jesus! So we began testing our Stories with her. She seemed really hungry for the Word. And she helped us a lot. And then we found out that she's going to be visiting another country for a few months. We are trying to do as much with her as we can (for her and for us), but she's extremely busy and it's been difficult to be able to spend as much time with her as is needed.
So our biggest need right now is to find testing groups. To give you a point of reference, we have more testing sessions that need to happen than we have days left in Mali. We've been brainstorming ways to get all of these testing sessions done and it looks like we may be heading out to a village or two. We really need to be able to do multiple testing sessions a day and the only way we can really do this is by going to a Sunny village. So please be praying for that!
In the meantime, some colleagues met a Sunny woman who told them that she'd had a dream that white people were coming to tell her about Jesus! So we began testing our Stories with her. She seemed really hungry for the Word. And she helped us a lot. And then we found out that she's going to be visiting another country for a few months. We are trying to do as much with her as we can (for her and for us), but she's extremely busy and it's been difficult to be able to spend as much time with her as is needed.
So our biggest need right now is to find testing groups. To give you a point of reference, we have more testing sessions that need to happen than we have days left in Mali. We've been brainstorming ways to get all of these testing sessions done and it looks like we may be heading out to a village or two. We really need to be able to do multiple testing sessions a day and the only way we can really do this is by going to a Sunny village. So please be praying for that!
Milestone
My teammate, Sarah, returned to America at the end of her term in mid-October. I knew I would miss her, but it's just crazy when you spend literally 24/7 with a person for 18 months straight. It took a few days before I could convince myself that she wasn't coming back.
Well, when Sarah left, it provided a good milestone for Abby and I to take a step back from our work, evaluate where we're at, pray about our next steps, and strategize for the next few months (our terms end at the end of January). Long story short, Abby and I felt God leading us to make some (ridiculously lofty) goals to finish our Story Set. As we discussed tasks and due dates, I just stared at her as I had this internal conversation with God. I told Him that I knew He was wanting us to set these goals, but that they were ridiculous and impossible. Why don't we set some more...logical...goals? More realistic. God promptly reminded me that if we set Abby & Michelle sized goals then Abby & Michelle would get the glory. He also reminded me that He created logic. Not discovered, not defined, but created it. And therefore exists outside of it and is not bound by its limitations. So, we set the God-given, God-sized, ridiculously lofty, and humanly impossible goals. And guess what...He has already been meeting those goals. Abby and I both felt like God never promised that we would definitely finish...but we KNOW that He has told us to try with everything we've got.
Well, when Sarah left, it provided a good milestone for Abby and I to take a step back from our work, evaluate where we're at, pray about our next steps, and strategize for the next few months (our terms end at the end of January). Long story short, Abby and I felt God leading us to make some (ridiculously lofty) goals to finish our Story Set. As we discussed tasks and due dates, I just stared at her as I had this internal conversation with God. I told Him that I knew He was wanting us to set these goals, but that they were ridiculous and impossible. Why don't we set some more...logical...goals? More realistic. God promptly reminded me that if we set Abby & Michelle sized goals then Abby & Michelle would get the glory. He also reminded me that He created logic. Not discovered, not defined, but created it. And therefore exists outside of it and is not bound by its limitations. So, we set the God-given, God-sized, ridiculously lofty, and humanly impossible goals. And guess what...He has already been meeting those goals. Abby and I both felt like God never promised that we would definitely finish...but we KNOW that He has told us to try with everything we've got.
Sharks
I went straight from Kenya to Cape Town. It was, wow, just wow...probably the coolest place I've ever been. One day, we went out on a boat to go cage diving with some great white sharks. I was really, really, really looking forward to the awesomeness of it. But I was really, really, really not looking forward to having to wear a wetsuit, you know, in front of people and what-not. Well, I just geared myself up and decided it wasn't going to be a big deal and I just wouldn't be embarrassed about it.
So after we got out to where the sharks were, they started calling for people who wanted to go down in the cage first. My friends and I, of course, volunteered. So we had to go to a little area on the boat to get "fitted" for a wetsuit. This "fitting" consisted of some guy looking you up and down and then yelling at another guy what color (size) to get for you. I was thinking to myself, "Oh, good, at least it's colors and not sizes, so nobody will really know what size I am. (even though they can still see me)." So I just stood there while he looked at me straight-on and he hollers out something to the effect of, "Okay, I need a blue"...and then I make a half-turn...and he looks about halfway down and yells out, "Oooh...nope...better make it an orange!" Awesome.
So we move to the center of the (not all that large) boat, where everybody can see us, and put our wetsuits on. Really, I should re-phrase...we got put into our wetsuits. So I wait my turn and then the guy comes to help me get mine on. It was ridiculous. While he was trying to shimmy the legs on, he literally picked me up all the way off the ground. Then, he needed to get the sleeves on me. Apparently he usually has people hold onto this bar overhead so he can shimmy the sleeves down. Well...I had to do a little hop to reach the bar...and he thought that was pretty funny. So he starts giggling. Then I start giggling. Then my friends start giggling. Then...most of the people who could see what was going on start giggling. Good thing I wasn't already embarrassed about the whole wetsuit thing anyway.
Then, they start putting us in the cage and I was the first person to go in. And, well, I kind of started to freak out. Not because of the sharks, but because I am apparently claustrophobic. I was shoved into that wetsuit and the hood was pulled up tight and I had a mask covering my entire face except for my mouth. There was about a foot of air between the top of the ocean and the top of the cage. And I just started freaking out feeling like I couldn't breathe. BUT I eventually got it under control...and then it was fantastic. The water wasn't very clear that day so a shark had to be pretty much touching the cage before you could see it, but we got to see a TON of them. I think most of them were about 12 feet long...maybe 15...I don't know. It was probably one of my most favorite days ever. And one of my very favorite places ever.
So after we got out to where the sharks were, they started calling for people who wanted to go down in the cage first. My friends and I, of course, volunteered. So we had to go to a little area on the boat to get "fitted" for a wetsuit. This "fitting" consisted of some guy looking you up and down and then yelling at another guy what color (size) to get for you. I was thinking to myself, "Oh, good, at least it's colors and not sizes, so nobody will really know what size I am. (even though they can still see me)." So I just stood there while he looked at me straight-on and he hollers out something to the effect of, "Okay, I need a blue"...and then I make a half-turn...and he looks about halfway down and yells out, "Oooh...nope...better make it an orange!" Awesome.
So we move to the center of the (not all that large) boat, where everybody can see us, and put our wetsuits on. Really, I should re-phrase...we got put into our wetsuits. So I wait my turn and then the guy comes to help me get mine on. It was ridiculous. While he was trying to shimmy the legs on, he literally picked me up all the way off the ground. Then, he needed to get the sleeves on me. Apparently he usually has people hold onto this bar overhead so he can shimmy the sleeves down. Well...I had to do a little hop to reach the bar...and he thought that was pretty funny. So he starts giggling. Then I start giggling. Then my friends start giggling. Then...most of the people who could see what was going on start giggling. Good thing I wasn't already embarrassed about the whole wetsuit thing anyway.
Then, they start putting us in the cage and I was the first person to go in. And, well, I kind of started to freak out. Not because of the sharks, but because I am apparently claustrophobic. I was shoved into that wetsuit and the hood was pulled up tight and I had a mask covering my entire face except for my mouth. There was about a foot of air between the top of the ocean and the top of the cage. And I just started freaking out feeling like I couldn't breathe. BUT I eventually got it under control...and then it was fantastic. The water wasn't very clear that day so a shark had to be pretty much touching the cage before you could see it, but we got to see a TON of them. I think most of them were about 12 feet long...maybe 15...I don't know. It was probably one of my most favorite days ever. And one of my very favorite places ever.
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| Cape Town |
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| Cape Agulhas, the southiest point in Africa, where the two oceans meet |
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| Just a cool little sign at the southwestiest point of Africa |
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| Intense penguin moment |
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| seal! |
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| yummers |
What a slacker!/Why We Do What We Do
First of all...holy moley...I have been such a slacker and I know it! I have a (fairly) good reason, though. Our internet was completely turned off for a few weeks and we had to switch. Our current internet is sketchy at best and we get charged by how much we use it...so...here we are. But I'm going to do my best to play catch-up a little bit. Thank you for your patience/understanding/willingness to keep up with me even when I drop the ball!
A while back, I had the opportunity to go meet a team in Kenya. Two members of the team were from my church. I seriously cannot even begin to express how wonderful it was to see Brett (my pastor/former boss/friend) and Patti (my friend/prayer partner)! They encouraged me, prayed for me, asked me lots of questions, and listened to me talk incessantly. And it came at the perfect time...I needed a shot in the arm to come back home and sprint out these last few months of my term before it's time to head back to America.
While in Kenya, we went to distribute food to some villages out in the bush. We were able to participate in their indigenous worship services...always an incredible experience. As I sat there (and then stood there, and then "danced" there), I just got really overwhelmed with one question: When will it be the Sunny people's turn to worship Jesus? We know one Sunny believer, so we've never experienced a worship service where the music, prayer, and message were in Sunny. When we're with Nick (the one believer), he will pray in Sunny and it always moves me to tears. Anyway, as I sat there, I started struggling with feelings of jealousy that we (most likely) will never get to experience that. And then I was reminded that people have been working with this particular people group in Kenya for decades and they are just now seeing the fruit of their work. And it had to start somewhere. Back at Easter, I had a similar experience in Mali where a village had a handful of believers that had sprung up after the people had listened to a Story Set (like the one we're working on). So....allllll that to say...it is always good to be reminded of why we do what we do.
A while back, I had the opportunity to go meet a team in Kenya. Two members of the team were from my church. I seriously cannot even begin to express how wonderful it was to see Brett (my pastor/former boss/friend) and Patti (my friend/prayer partner)! They encouraged me, prayed for me, asked me lots of questions, and listened to me talk incessantly. And it came at the perfect time...I needed a shot in the arm to come back home and sprint out these last few months of my term before it's time to head back to America.
While in Kenya, we went to distribute food to some villages out in the bush. We were able to participate in their indigenous worship services...always an incredible experience. As I sat there (and then stood there, and then "danced" there), I just got really overwhelmed with one question: When will it be the Sunny people's turn to worship Jesus? We know one Sunny believer, so we've never experienced a worship service where the music, prayer, and message were in Sunny. When we're with Nick (the one believer), he will pray in Sunny and it always moves me to tears. Anyway, as I sat there, I started struggling with feelings of jealousy that we (most likely) will never get to experience that. And then I was reminded that people have been working with this particular people group in Kenya for decades and they are just now seeing the fruit of their work. And it had to start somewhere. Back at Easter, I had a similar experience in Mali where a village had a handful of believers that had sprung up after the people had listened to a Story Set (like the one we're working on). So....allllll that to say...it is always good to be reminded of why we do what we do.
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