(Pics: Going up the hairpin turns; Tom at one of the many beautiful views; Tom with Sahara's dad; our two cute kids)
Less than a week ago I returned home from my trip to the third island. It was quite the trip. I went to do research, to learn about the island and to see if our team should extend its sights to working there. A long time ago our group had a worker there—a doctor with a big heart who touched many lives. It was amazing to see that after 10 years, his legacy lives on.
What’s different about the third island compared to our island?
Many things. To begin with, it’s more beautiful. The mountains are numerous and ragged and laced with rivers and waterfalls. The roads, which snake through the island, have steep grades and turns easily worthy of San Francisco.
Secondly, the people: this island is the most densely populated and farmland extends up into the mountaintops! Everywhere you look there are people or the signs of people. The people have an entrepreneurial spirit. They work hard and believe that if you work hard you can start small and build something great. They are much more independent. People can do what they want. Individuals make their own decisions whether it is about whom they wish to marry, how they live, what faith they practice, or what business they get involved in.
Finally, the language is different. At root our island and this island have the same language, but there are many differences, especially in the most common, day to day phrases like “What’s your name?” I had a lot of trouble being understood. Thankfully, I was traveling with an excellent French speaker.
I want to share two experiences of the trip. The first happened on Sunday. We took a grand tour of the island, driving the full loop. After about two hours of driving we started to climb a road that took (I am told, I didn’t count) more than 50 switchbacks. The climb was worth it as we soon reached a small village where a special meeting was going on. There were 17 people there. Four of them were women, the wives of some of the men there. We had a very special time with these brothers and sisters doing all the things that we normally do on Sundays. It was a very encouraging morning.
The second experience happened on Monday.
I have an island brother friend (Sahara) who studies in the capital but is from the island I was visiting. He happened to be back home on the island as well and invited me to his home. So we set off to visit his home village...on foot. There are no roads to his home, and the only way to get there is a 2-3 hour hike up the side of a mountain. We made the long beautiful climb without a drop of water! During the month of fasting, it would be seen as extremely rude to drink on a public trail, and it was a well-used trail. I was astounded to see the men and women making the climb with heavy loads of cassava and other vegetables on their heads. Not only were they less out of breath than me and carrying heavier loads, but they didn’t seem to slip or stumble on a very steep and rocky terrain. I was simply amazed. It was great to walk around Sahara’s village and meet his family. It’s not every day that you get to see the town where your friend grew up. We took a different route down that was shorter but more treacherous.My legs were aching and a lump had formed in my throat by the time we stepped into a taxi to get a lift back to the hotel. But the pain in my legs and throat was worth it. The painful thirst reminded me of my Father’s thirst and desire to see all his lost children gathered into his
kingdom..PRAYERS ANSWERED
Tom had an excellent trip. Health, bags, and details all went smoothly. Megan and the kids survived just fine as well. We also just got back from an intense team goal setting weekend and are hopeful that all the things we talked about will result in some positive steps forward for our team. Beka’s mom has arrived and has already proved to be a wonderful servant, watching all the kids while we had our planning sessions! We continue to have many good conversations around the subject of fasting.
PRAYERS REQUESTED
The month of fasting will end in just a few days and will be followed by the biggest celebration day of the year. It is a wonderful time to connect with all our island friends and neighbors. Pray that God will give us the stamina to greet and see everyone we hope to see. Our goal setting retreat has brought about a lot of new challenges. Pray that we would be able to meet them with God’s help. Tom and Peter have developed colds. It’s making it hard to sleep at night. Pray particularly for Peter as we have trouble always knowing what is bothering him. Finally, please continue to pray as we consider our plans for the future (both as a team and as individuals).
