Going back?

Guess what! As of today, I am planning a return trip to the little island nation I love so much.  In fact, we bought a ticket for part of the trip today!! I am really excited for this, just dropping a line to say that, if all goes according to plan, there will be a few more updates on this here blog this summer :) Happy travels.

One Week.

Well, I’ve been home for one week today.  It feels like longer.  At the beginning of the trip I was obsessed with looking for what the grand life lesson that I was going to take away from this trip would be.  Tessa told me that sometimes you have to walk away before you know what you walked away with.  And you may have to go a little beyond just walking away.  I know I did learn a lot.  I learned about what a life of missions looks like.  It doesn’t look like what we all see on little one week mission trips, because it’s not a week, it’s a life.  I learned about the power of relationships, and the effort it takes to build them.  

I also learned what a powerful thing language is.  It is mighty to separate when there is a barrier, it is a mighty tool for the Kingdom when that barrier is crossed.  The only way someone will ever listen to you is if you put in the effort to speak their heart language.  I met people who spoke English as their 2nd or 3rd language.  It was enough for chatting about the weather or the activities of the day.  But I learned that if I was really going to touch their lives on a heart level, I would have to speak the language their heart spoke.  It would be like someone trying to really know my heart using Spanish, it’s not the language my heart speaks.  And I’m coming to realize that that isn’t just a lesson for people serving among members of a different people group.  It’s for us all, you have to care about what that other person cares about for them to care about what you have to say.  It takes the effort to learn the language.  

I will also admit that I saw myself not making the most out of the trip.  Not really seeking God with all that I was so that I could see all that He wanted accomplished.  I saw my laziness.  I learned that in whatever God calls a person to, wherever He puts them, constant discipline and work is required to truly be all that He created us to be.  I guess I already knew that, I just saw it played out a bit this summer.  And it’s really easy for satan to come in and make this lesson look truly burdensome.  But it’s not, it’s the realization that God has something more for His children than drudgery and constant mess ups and “I don’t feel like it days.”  It is a life of learning to love God so fully that the work required to maintain our faith and our spirit of service to the Father is our highest joy.  God exposes where we still need work not so that we can hate ourselves and give up, but so that we can acknowledge our need for a Savior and rejoice in the fact that the Father is longing and able to do this good work in us.  “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Phil. 1:6.  So friends, be confident.  The Father is faithful.  Rejoice in His ability and willingness to grow us and mold us into the image of His Son, and seek each day for the evidence of this good work.  And revel in learning to love your Abba more and more.  God chose us who are not perfect, that His glory might be revealed in His ability to work in us and through us, how great is that!?

[As always, I’m a big fan of comments]

Trains, Planes, and Automobiles: the journey home.

And here we are, in the US, and here we have been for the past three days, but posts that are just a tad late add spice to life right?  We left Tana on Tuesday morning at 12 am on a huge, nice, empty plane that meant everyone got a row to themselves so we actually did sleep a bit.  Then there was Paris.  I paid for a bathroom for the first time and was quite surprised that such an expensive WC smelled like that...  Then there was the purchasing of train tickets for the next day and getting to the hotel via the metro, a grumpy taxi driver, some suitcase toting in the rain, and an almost wipeout in the middle of the metro station on my part.  Our hotel room looked out right on the back of the train station, the rows and rows of platforms made a really cool view.  The next morning we took a train from Paris to Frankfurt Germany.  Most of the seats on this train were in rows, facing one way, however there were the unlucky few of us who were in the sets of four that faced each other with a table in the middle.  Mom and dad had a row, I had a table.  No one came for the seat next to me so I was at my leisure to lean over and enjoy the great big window.  Across from me sat a pretty blond girl, probably in her early 20’s.  She seemed nice enough but I couldn’t ever determine if she was French or Germany or if she even spoke English, so there was no conversation to be had.  Then, just before departure the seat beside her was filled by a young, towering, handsome, blond haired, blue eyed, German fella.  I decided his name was Hans, and since none of us started a conversation with the other two for the whole 5 hr ride, I never had to be disillusioned by the fact that it was not.  It was at this point that I decided that the girl needed to be German and planned a brilliant love story for the two of them, I mean, meeting on an international train on the way home from some adventure, what more could you want.  They failed to cooperate.  They never talked to each other.  From what I could see they never even looked at each other.  When they both nodded off I thought, Great! Their heads will bump, they will wake up, start talking.... Never happened.  Thus love did not bloom on that train, what a shame.  

There were times along the ride that the scenery became monotonous when I tried and failed to study Biology or thought about writing out a blog to transcribe later only to decide that that would be too awkward facing to strangers.  Hans had a newspaper but asking to see it after he was done would have been futile, since it was in German.  

Getting off in Frankfurt City and finding and boarding the train to the airport may have been the hardest part of the trip.  Dropping three small-towners into a metro station in a different language with huge suitcases should be the next reality show.  But we made it.  At the airport we called to hotel we had a reservation for, since our flight to the US wasn’t until the next morning.  They sent their shuttle to get us and we had a lovely drive through a suburb of Frankfurt that looked like the set of the first Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, a delicious dinner in the hotel restaurant - a restaurant that came complete with dark wood furniture, stain glass pictures of German beer, and a group of men in the corner having a pint - ‘twas as quintessentially wonderful as can be.  

The next day was the flight home.  It was so weird walking to get inline with a slew of other Americans after being around quiet Malagasy and reserved Europeans for so long.  We are quite a loud culture my countrymen.  When we landed and walked into the Charlotte Airport a wall of heat and humidity hit us, welcome home.  Then a long trip through international security and a short flight back to Jacksonville sitting next to a kindly old man who told me of his life of traveling and advised me about future travel. Home.  

[Over the next few days I will be getting all the pictures up on Facebook and maybe a post or two more summing up what I learned and such. Stay tuned and thanks for reading]

The Great Forest Adventure!!

Hi friends!

The puppy seems to be on the mend and we are in the capitol city until our flight home tomorrow night.  Thus it is time for the great, gargantuan post detailing our adventure in the forest.  

Day 1-Monday

We got up around 5 this morning to get to the taxibus station by 7.  The trip is only about 40km but, because of the condition of the road, the breakdowns of the bus, and the number of stops the trip can take anywhere from 4 to 9 hrs.  This time it was just 4hrs so we got to Ankililaoka in time for lunch- chicken and rice in the hotel’s restaurant- and then we slept most of the rest of the afternoon.

Day 2.3.4-Tuesday.Wednesday.Thursday

Each of these days followed the same sort of order.  We would get up, walk to a coffee stand outside of the hotel to sip tea and coffee and eat boko-boko- little fried doughballs that America needs to start importing asap.  Then it was a 4km walk from town of Ankililaoka to the little village where we were actually working.  There are a few different ways to take this trip: there were two paths, one through the rice fields that included wadding though knee deep black water, the other seemed a bit longer but was dry, cutting through tall grasses, or, you could go by ox cart.  During the week we did all three multiple times.  

Now, I know that I have made reference before to the way that white people, vazaha, are an exciting rarity, called out to at every turn, and starred at wherever they go.  Well in the rural areas it’s even more dramatic.  We were the only two white people in town for the week and I would just walk down the street - with 10 kids following behind - imagining dinner table conversation that night.  “Well kids, did you see the white girls today?” “Yes daddy, I saw them, one of them was singing while they walked and then she tripped and fell over.”  “I followed them till they reached the edge of town daddy!”  “They were stopped waiting for the ox cart so I stood nearby and imitated the sound of their english dad.”  “That’s all great kids!”  

Out in the village I would sit while Tessa would teach.  It was an interesting feeling for this girl who loves to talk to be forced by the language barrier to sit still and smile at all of the children who came from all over town to stare at the white girls.  There were tons of children and most of the girls mine and Tessa’s age were already toting babies of their own around.  These girls were all very sweet but having them all crowd around you, yelling questions to you in a different language, thinking if they just speak loud enough you will understand, is a bit overwhelming.  The idea that I don’t actually speak their language, that I speak a different one, was completely foreign to them.  Sometimes they would give up on asking me and just try to find out for themselves.  For example, they were wondering why I had worn two shirts and, after asking me why a few times, they just grabbed the shirts to investigate.  They did the same to satisfy their curiosity about my freckles, asking Tessa if they would go away when I went back to America.  One afternoon they offered to braid my hair, which I really wanted since it meant no more washing my hair with freezing cold water out of a bucket.  I didn’t really know how that was going to go, since earlier that day they had asked why I had cut my hair short, since boys cut their hair short, not girls.  When I sat down on the mat to let them start braiding I was surrounded in seconds by all of the women and children, there was a long discussion about just how to brain it, and then combing and pulling in all directions.  But the results, though unlike any brains I have ever seen, did make the rest of the trip easier.  

Day 5-Friday

We got up at 7 to catch the bus home, this bus was much bigger, since it was going to the big city, not from.  The floor of the bus is covered in bags of beans and rice, so your feet don’t actually touch the ground and your legs are all scrunched up.  Also, since the bus is going into the big city we would stop in every town and village along the way to pick up more cargo, people, mail, you name it.  There is no refrigerated transport so animals, except for fish, travel live.  There was a chicken two rows ahead of us, he looked friendly enough, but I didn’t start a conversation or anything, since I’m pretty sure I ate his brother for dinner the night before.  With all of the added stops and a breakdown or two we got back to Toliara in 8hrs instead of 4.  Just in time to clean up, eat dinner, and then realize that the puppy was sick.  

I know that there is so much more that I didn’t mention, as soon as I get back to the states I’ll get all the pictures up on facebook.  Dear reader, please find it in your heart to be proud of me for finally getting this written after nursing a puppy back to health, weaving a rug, helping my parents get across the world for a visit, saying goodbye to Toliara, and riding backseat-middle for two days straight up to the capitol on the bumpiest, curviest roads in the world.  We leave tomorrow night to start the trek home, me, mom, and dad.  We are all ready to get back but I know I’m gonna miss this big island when I get back to my little one.  Please keep us in your prayers for the rest of the week, that sicknesses and tummy troubles would leave us all and stay away, that flights would work out and connections would be smooth, and that we would all have the energy and spunk needed to make this doozy of a trip!  Misotra!

whew!

Hello all of you dandy readers! We got back from the trip yesterday and simply not stopped since, which is of course why the witty, pithy, colorful description of our trip that I have every intention of writing is going to have to wait, my sincerest apologies.  When we got back we found that the dog we have been looking after was sick, right now it just looks like dehydration, but since we don't know what is causing it and he isn't very much fluid down, that has taken up a big chunk of the day.  We are also in the middle of getting mom and dad here, they are currently in the middle of flight 4 of 5, so very close! YAY! Please be praying for continued strength as they finish up. But soon dear readers, whoever you may be, soon I will deliver a full account of a very adventurous week of ox carts and staring children and rice and candlelight and broken down buses and really big smiles! God Bless!

Spaghetti, stars, and Ankililaoka

Last night we had the girls from the youth group over for a spaghetti dinner.  It was so much fun to hang out with them and play games.  As I have said before, they are all just so warm and fun and the language barrier just adds so much to the merriment!  I got to do some serious star gazing from the bed of the truck when we drove them all home, a great end to the evening, I’ll have to get a picture of the stars up here soon. 

Tessa and I are heading out tomorrow morning for a week working out in the ‘bush’ in a village called Ankililaoka.  We will be there Monday thru Friday staying in a hotel of sorts and hiking to the village everyday.  I’m really excited to see this more rural part of Mada and of course, the more rural the area, the better you can see the stars!  I have always loved to look at stars but I have never in my life been anywhere where you can see so many as here.  Just look up and spot the Milkyway or the Southern Cross, easy as a wink!  I know that this trip will stretch comfort and clean loving me, I look forward to it with both excitement and trepidation and will let you know how it all shakes out at the end of the week :D Please be praying that I look with eyes ready to see God at work around me and focus on Glory, not on comfort, as well of course, as a safe trip.  Also, my parents are coming at the end of the week! YAY! Please be praying for safe travels for them.

As a parting note, check out Psalm 44:1-3

O God, we have heard with our ears,

   our fathers have told us,

what deeds you performed in their days,

   in the days of old:

you with your own hand drove out the nations,

   but them you planted;

you afflicted the peoples,

   but them you set free;

for not by their own sword did they win the land,

   nor did their own arm save them,

but your right hand and your arm,

   and the light of your face,

   for you delighted in them.

We have not the strength to fight for ourselves, but He fights for us because He delights in us....Wow! This is something that I know I need to think about and truly realize more, such a humbling, encouraging, glorious truth. I pray that it encourages you today!

Lost in Translation...or, found

Over my time here there have been all sorts of funny things that have been said to me or Tessa and she has turned around and translated them to me, such as “One of them is my wife!!”  Luckily Tessa and I have similar senses of humor, so the things that she finds funny and translates for me are generally pretty good.  Today, when we were getting the bike tires fixed, we took it to the same place that had repaired our truck tires a few days ago.  When Tessa got back in the car she looked at me and said, “I’m not sure exactly what the man said but I think it was ‘No, we don’t fix bike tires, but for you my girlfriend, we will.’ ”  We decided it was that or he said that his girlfriend could fix them, which, if it were the case, would be a truly perfect match, the truck tire man with the bike tire lady!  Several times we have ordered at restaurants and gotten food that we were not quite expecting, one night I ordered a chocolate crepe with ice creme and got a honey crepe with whipped creme, the next time I repeated my order and got a chocolate crepe with ice creme, it adds a bit of spice to every meal to never really be sure what will come out of the kitchen.  

And then there is the trip itself, translating from what I had been expecting all last semester, an Africa adventure, to what it really has been.  And to be honest I’m not sure I can say what it has been.  Ya know those days when you bum around until you think you simply must do something?  Well I never expected to have those here, I came so that I wouldn’t have them.  But I have still had a few, there are days when Tessa is at one of her story crafting groups or working on computer work when I just lazily lay around.  A few time I have found something constructive to do, I made a braided rug for Tessa’s bedroom one day, and a budget for myself another.  It has just been interesting to see my response to these days, this feeling of I’m supposed to be DOING something.  But, in the midst of the few days of bumming I have had the chance to spend time with the nifty folks at Tessa’s church and try to build some sort of a relationship with the girls in the youth group here.  I have gotten to experience so many parts of this really unique culture.  I have gotten to see a beautiful beach and enjoy amazing balm breezy weather.  Next week Tessa and I will take an over crowded taxibus out to the forest where I will get to visit a village and see that whole side of Madagascar while Tessa works with her story crafting group out there.  And I have learned a lot about doing ministry for the long haul, about the differences between little one-week trips and living in a place for several years.  God has blessed me with a clearer image of the kind of ministry that my heart is burdened for.  I have been thinking about all of this a lot as I am coming to the close of my time here in Toliara before the week in the forest and then my parents coming for a week before the three of us head home.  I in no way regret coming, I actually lament leaving.  Nor do I regret the fact that I had several lazy days.  Rest is good, it’s important, it’s a blessing from God.  When it is applied properly that is.  I am not good at doing nothing.  There were several of those bum days when I got all in a tizy because I wasn’t doing anything, I wouldn’t have any good stories, etc.  When I should have been taking that time to delve into the Word, I should have been seeking rest with my Savior and focusing on what He was teaching me on this trip.  So I suppose that is my regret.  That I let my idea of how this summer was supposed to turn out slightly tarnish my perception of how it really has been, my enjoyment of what it really is.  But, looking at the calendar I still have a while before I will actually be back in the States and can say that the trip is over, done, ended, terminated.  And with the time that I have left I plan to just take whatever comes and not try to make it what it is not, what I think it ought to be.  If “God is most glorified in us when we are must satisfied in Him” [John Piper] then I need to be seeking God and seeing the opportunities that He is bringing my way, not seeking the opportunities that I think should be coming, expecting them to bring me to God.  My eyes must be on Abba.  And I hope, faithful reader who has come to the bottom of this long post, that this has encouraged you also, to put your eyes, your focus, your desire on Christ.  Not on the work you are doing for Him.  Let your motivation for each day, for each thing, start with Him.  He doesn’t disappoint.  If we start with Him, allow Him to give us a glimpse of His vision, each day, whatever it may hold, will live up to its potential to glorify Him!  I’ll stop here, since I know full well of my tendency to ramble, but as alway, I like comments, a lot.  And I hope and pray that this day, you will make time to delve into the Father and let him lead.  Have a beautiful day!