Neighborly November

November Edition

Hello random people that read my blog (and the non random people as well!), 

How are you? I hope this letter finds you well. It is almost November and I don’t have a clever intro.

-Mali: Things have been peaceful lately, praise God. Back in January the French brought in a lot of troops and things kind of settled down. But now they are gradually (or at least talking about it) taking their troops out. Please pray that as the troops leave that the Islamists will not make trouble once again. Pray that the new president, IBK, will have wisdom in knowing how to handle the situation.

-My parents: My parents are back! We have set up a time for us to skype every week, so that is nice.  What’s more I will get to see them at Christmas!! My first Christmas with them in 6 years! I am pretty excited and sometimes when I think about it I do a hop, skip, and a jump… When they arrived my dad hurt his back from carrying luggage. Please pray for health for him so that he can be as active as he normally is without feeling pain. In addition, he will be going back to Kayes sometime to pick up and move our stuff to Bamako – something that will be difficult for him with his back as it is (it is already difficult, my sisters and I did a lot of heavy lifting when we were doing the initial packing in 2012). My mom has been learning the ropes of an ESL ministry that exists in Bamako. Please pray that she will learn quickly and be able to teach classes soon. Pray also that she realizes that this is where God was preparing her to be.

-Missionaries: Well, I asked you to pray about this month, and soon after we received news. The people who threatened to shut down the ministry finally came. The Brazilians were out of town and got a phone call when they came. I mentioned previously that they were unable to leave the country – this is because their passports were taken away. We recently received news that the passports are supposed to be returned on November 19. Please pray that this happens! This has been a very stressful time for them and getting their passports would mean they can go to Brazil for a while and rest.

- Water situation: For almost a month the city of Dakar was experiencing a water shortage. The reason is due to damage, in two places, to the pipe that supplies water to the city from the Senegal River that defines the northern border of the country. This pipe supplies 40% of the city’s  water needs. There were Senegalese who would stand in line for hours to get just a bucketful of water. This damage is akin to if something happened to the LA aqueduct – if the got contaminated or somehow a large portion of the water was diverted away – LA would have a difficult time. For a few weeks things went back to normal but now the water has officially been cut off, from Tuesday to this Thursday/Friday/Saturday depending on who you listen to. The water is being cut off so water company can install a new piece that just arrived from France which is supposed to completely fix things.

I think that is all for now. We think that the weather has turned – the last few days have been rather cool. Go into November making a choice to be grateful for the little things. 

Ruthanne

Something Different

               People often question whether people working in support positions are “real” missionaries. Although I know that I am, sometimes I wonder. My parents are church planters. They learn the language, interact with the people, rely on their support, do Bible studies with the people, etc. I don’t really have to do any of that. There are many teachers who don’t learn the language. For many, the interaction we get with the people is the taxi drivers, Orange credit sellers, store people, and school workers (guards, custodians). Working at DA, we don’t have to raise support, we can rely on our stipend. Teachers don’t have to do Bible studies or any teaching to the people… “Isn’t that what the “real” missionaries are for?” (This could be a whole other blog post, but it does relate to this topic.)

Another thing I don’t have to worry about is housing. It is provided for me. And what’s more, it is very nice! I feel spoiled and sometimes I wonder if I’m  really serving while being here. I have a “plush” lifestyle and I am a place that I love. It is no trouble for me to live here in Dakar. Many people complain that it is not easy to live here and I’m like, “Are you kidding me??” For me, it would be difficult to live in the States.

And so, with all these thoughts going through my head I started wondering what could I do to serve God? To reach the people? I don’t know how quickly outreach came to mind, but it eventually did.

At first I balked, thinking, “No way!” But it kept coming up. So the question was, “Why not go on outreach?” It is a time when God uses us to help bring the Good News to the people. It is a good opportunity for students to see what their parents might be doing. It gives the students a taste of being a missionary. And it is a powerful thing, as Uncle Evan reminds us, to see that many teenagers volunteer to give up their weekend to go to the bush and work.

In high school I only went on outreach twice. I planned to go my freshman year but then circumstances made it so that I couldn’t. Even though I think that was a good thing in the end – I wasn’t ready – I kind of became bitter about outreach. I would scoff at it for the next year or so whenever it was mentioned. Eventually, for some reason or other I decided to go on outreach. But I don’t think I was really doing it for the right reasons, I was doing it because “every good Christian/person at DA goes on outreach.” So I went and I had a good time. So the next time here was another outreach I signed up right away. Then, I signed up a 3^rd time. But I didn’t go a third time. One of my good friends decided not to go and that struck me. I was like, “What? You can not go on outreach? Especially once you’ve already been on one?” So, a few days before that 3^rd outreach I went to Uncle Evan and backed out. One small part of my mind was thinking I would hang out with my friend, but the other part was wondering what my motivation for going on outreach was – especially if I didn’t want to go partly because a friend wasn’t going!

After that, the enxt time there was an outreach, I didn’t sign up. My friend did and when I asked her about it she said, “Of course I ‘m going. I love outreach. It was just that one time that I wasn’t going.” But I didn’t go, not on that one or any that followed while I was in high school. Do I regret it? No. I think my friend not going made me wonder what my true motivation was. After that, I was never sure why I wanted to go: to serve God, or to be with friends and to be a “good Christian.”

Fast forward five years and we are at the present day. I want to go on outreach because of that question that has been on my mind: “How can I serve God and the Senegalese people?” One of the reasons I hesitate is because I don’t want to spend three days in the hot sun wearing skirts and using squatty potties. But then I think, “Really? You are going to not go on outreach because it will be uncomfortable? Isn’t this what you are searching for? What is more important to you: serving God or your comfort?” I remind myself of Romans 8:18, “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” Will those three days compare to what can be read about in Hebrews 11:32-37?

Am I willing to serve God for a measly 3 days so that his kingdom can be advanced?