Compassion International

I've added a link to Compassion International with my favorite ministry links. Check it out. Their ministry is a blessing worth looking into.

Cocoa

If you can look at this video, wonderful! Let me explain.

Cocoa is a really tasty plant. In the video you can see like a brain looking, slimy, white bunch of nuts. If you suck the slimy white stuff off of the outside of the nut, you can see the nut which is what is ground up to make chocolate. The slimy stuff tastes nothing like chocolate, but actually like appley, banana like. Another interesting thing about cocoa is that the fruit grows off the trunk of the tree rather than off of a branch like an apple or orange would do.

Wish you could taste it! As a matter of fact, I wish I could taste it right now!

Togo, my love

This is our presentation video. It is split into three sections. The first section shows pictures of the work done on the Cessna 206 by Ryan, our friend Lois, and Dale Fogg (ABWE Air). In western Africa during the dry season the Harmattan winds come down from the north carrying all kinds of dust from the Sahara Desert. This plane had seen two Harmattans before it got its bath when we arrived.

The second section shows pictures from our outreach ministries. We visited several different local churches and got to see several different stages of church plants. It is always neat to see how believers around the world worship the Lord. Even with a language barrier, the fellowship is evident. We had free access to the hospital. We got to see, and even participate with surgeries, and we got to play with, sing to, and spend as much time with the patients as we wanted to. We also took advantage of some freedom to explore evangelism on our own with our very own translator and friend, Komi. He is the one holding the guitar in the video.

Lastly are my favorite pictures, the pictures of the little deaf girls we got to teach sign language to. These little girls got to experience communication for the very first time. I was thrilled to get to be a part of this and I can't wait to get back to finish what we started with them.

The very last picture is of the Gnamssa family. The Gnamssa family is not saved, but on our very last day in Togo, they asked us to return so that we could disciple their 20+ children. They live just behind the aircraft hangar, so we got to spend some extra time with them there.

Snow and Ice!

We're having an ice storm! In case you were wondering, yes, I have been wearing my pea coat. It's cold, but we only get snow about once a year so we try to appreciate every moment of it. However, the snow here isn't soft. It usually snows at night and then turns into freezing rain. By the time you get outside to look at it it looks like it should be in a snow cone. The picture of the building is Piedmont Baptist College where I happen to live and work (do you think I should get paid for advertisement for posting this picture? :)), that I took this morning. The other picture is a bush after a whole day of freezing rain. Fun! Fun!

Leah (Genesis 29:16-35)

Leah. Of all the women in the Bible, I think Leah has got to be my favorite. Mostly because I'm most like her, ... sort of. No, actually because I think I can connect with her the most and I love the way the Lord handled her situation.

There was Leah, living with her crazy idolatrous father in the wilderness. Her odds of getting a dream husband, or a husband at all were slim. For one, she had something strange about her eyes. People probably distanced themselves from her because they didn't know how to look at her just right. Then you have the fact that her sister was drop dead gorgeous. You know the story, a stranger came into town, fell desperately in love with her younger sister and became engaged to her. Then Leah’s wacko father forced her to sleep with her sister's man on their wedding night. Then Leah’s new husband, Jacob, found out that he married the wrong girl. Imagine the explosion in the Jacob household the morning he woke up next to the wrong girl! (how he didn’t know, I’ll never know)

So there she was, married off by someone who didn't want her to someone who didn't want her. But God had a wonderful plan for her! She began to have children, boy children. Surely Jacob would love her now. The Bible says that God opened her womb when He saw that she was unloved. If anyone was unloved, this young woman was unloved.

She named her first son Reuben, meaning see, hoping that God would look on her affliction. Now, through a son, her husband would love her. Did God look on her affliction? Yes! But He didn't answer her prayer exactly as she had hoped for.

She had another son and she says this time that God has heard her. The son's name was Simeon which means heard. Had God heard her? Yes! But He didn't answer her prayer exactly as she had hoped. Jacob still didn't really love her.

She had a third son and named him Levi, meaning attached, hoping that this time her husband would become attached to her. However, things just weren't working out to Leah's expectations. She was looking for love in all the wrong places.

Finally, she had a fourth son and she named him Judah (praise), because she had finally learned where to place her priorities. She had had an idol called love. When she finally laid aside her own desires she was able to praise God through her circumstances. The most incredible thing about this part of the story is that when she decided to put God first, He blessed her as the mother of the tribe of Judah, the tribe of King David, and ultimately the mother of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now that's a blessing she could have never hoped for!

There are times in our own lives when we pity ourselves and even sometimes believe that no one could love us, but what I love about this story is that Leah felt so alone in her world, but that God treasured her enough that he paid special attention to her by blessing her womb and making her the mother of many nations. She was a jewel in God's eyes.

Goals for 2008

1. Drink more water, ...and like it!
2. Read the entire Bible through.
3. Read one book per month, ...again.
4. Move back to WA.
5. Start deputation to Togo.

1. So far, I've been doing much better on the water thing. 32oz+ per day. As far as liking it goes, ...

2. I've been following my Bible schedule pretty well. I did have a hard time last weekend when we traveled up to NY, but trying to catch up on three days worth of Bible reading took a long time, and I wasn't able to enjoy it as much. Genesis is one of my favorite books. When I don't know what to read next in my Bible reading, I always end up back in Genesis. Believe it or not, Leah is my favorite character, because God did such an amazing thing through her. I'll post what I wrote in my journal once about her in my next post.

3. I'm still working on a book I started a few months ago, but I figure that as long as I finish one book per month, I'm doing alright. Especially since this book is about the size of an encylopedia.

4. Move back to WA. My heart groans for it everyday.

5. Start deputation. I also dream about Togo everyday. We've both filled out our applications, but there is still more paperwork (or should I say computer work) to do. If we don't make it to candidate school in late February, we should have no problem getting there in July.

;)

Brief Update

We went to New York this year to spend Christmas with Ryan's parents. We also got to spend some time with Ryan's sister and brother-in-law, Erika and Michael and our two little nieces, Natalia and Ellia. Ryan also got to see his grandpa and talk to him one last time.

After that we came home and caught up on some cleaning and other household chores. I also got to see my best friend from high school, Harmony. Harmony and I used to ride our horses together on Camano Island when I lived there with my mom. She and her husband, Matt, were here to visit his family with their new baby, Colton. It was nice to see them and catch up with each other. Ryan and Matt were able to talk about airplanes since Matt is an air traffic controller. Matt and Harmony are looking into moving here to North Carolina this fall. Ironic huh?

Last Sunday, we got the phone call that Ryan's grandpa passed away that morning. Last Friday, we drove up to New York again for the funeral. Though it was a sad time for the family, it was a good time too. Ryan's grandpa was a marine in WWII and the Korean War. We only just found this out, but Grandpa studied aircraft maintenance when he was younger and he also started flight lessons. He was Ryan's hero, but He was also a true American Hero!

Ryan also started a new job today. He is now working with Pace Airlines at the same airport where he worked before. His new job will start him out with better pay and better benefits. This job will also provide better transfer options for him in the future. He'll be working on Boeing 737's, 757's and 767's. Honestly, I was shocked that he got it. He told me one day that he had dropped his resume off and I thought nothing of it. However, before we knew it, they called him in for an interview and asked him to start right away. I guess it's just one of those things you don't ask for, but the Lord provides it anyway. He's pretty excited about it and will be going several days of training before he can actually work on the airplanes.

Sorry this note is lacking in details, but I thought you might like to know what's been going on with us here in North Carolina and beyond.