By Faith

I am back in Denver. Time in Sierra Leone was incredibly sweet and comfortable, and while I have numerous thoughts and stories to share, the process of where to begin seems quite overwhelming. So little by little I will go, but for today let me share with you the faith moment I had during my time away.

I am not one keen on emotional responses, particularly in situations or events where there seems to be an expectation to have one (say like in Africa). So I am often thankful when God works in the midst of my stubborn personality and brings me those moments in the mundane.

One of my biggest fears about leading a team was getting my team successfully from point A (US) to point B (Salone). I may or may not have had a few nightmarish dreams prior to leaving about losing teammates, and in all my previous trips to Sierra Leone traveling never went smoothly. So, while I and other prayed for 'travel mercies', I was not truly shocked to get to Accra, the capital of Ghana, and hear that they had overbooked our Kenya Airways flight and that we would be stuck in Ghana for two days. Of course we would. I was quite cranky but the fact that I had almost expected it made it worse. Throw in the mix that, in my quite limited opinion, Ghanians seem more equivalent to New Yorkers in their attitude of helpfulness as compared to their West African counterparts in Sierra Leone. A good reminder that Africa is not one country, but I digress.

My team left three weeks later and were of course all somewhat nervous about the return voyage via Ghana. In my clear-headed, logical course of thinking I had decided (hilarious) that if they simply got on their Kenya Airways flight on time that they would have no problems in Accra since the Delta flight would arrive and leave on schedule without massive overbooking. Thus, I got my team to the airport at an excessively early time to ensure they had seats and just in case gave a girl on my team calling card and contact information in case of an emergency. Good think I did. As I was coasting off to blissful sleep around midnight, I received a call that my team was stuck in Ghana for one day with still no confirmed flights for all team members. This time- Delta. Apparently the Delta employees in Accra decided they were tired and went home before my team could de-plane and receive their boarding passes. So while the Delta plane sat on the tarmac, a few hundred feet away my team was once again sucked into the black hole of Ghana.

Therefore, I had NO faith that I was getting out of Ghana without getting stuck and was quite premeditatively cranky about it. Eric had asked people to pray Stateside and I had petitioned all my Salone friends to pray for me too, but deep down I was already stuck in Ghana in my mind.

The night before I left as I was sitting in my little guesthouse room in Freetown, I realized (thank you Holy Spirit) that I didn't even have a mustard seed's worth of faith that I would make in through Ghana on schedule. And while the fact that I wasn't carrying seeds might please U.S. Customs, it definitely did not please or bring glory to God. It's funny once I stopped to consider my state of belief, since I realized that subconsciously I believed that Ghana was bigger than God. Which of course logically speaking is ridiculous, after all even singing vegetables know that God is bigger than the Boogie Man. But it is what I truly believed. How could I see God at work in a million ways in Sierra Leone or in my life but believe that God's power could not be made manifest in Accra.

So I went and laid my fears and doubts before the Father (thank you Jesus). And it was not a lot of faith that I was able to give. But I did feel strengthened and re-encouraged to depart.

If I say flights went smoothly, that would give most of you seasoned by American travel an improper idea of how things went down. But relatively speaking in the sense that I arrived on time for all my scheduled flights and had a seat on each, it did. This- is nothing short of the grace of God. And I am hear to tell you that indeed our God is bigger than Ghana. Thanks be to Him.

Incidentally, this is the kind of small moment, Big God story that might be shared during Testimony time at Church of the Nations in Sierra Leone. You would begin by saying, I wan fo tel God tanki. I have many of these moments that I am excited to share with you soon.

Sierra Leone Bound

I wrote this as a letter, but I thought I'd post it to my blog too...

This will soon be my view, and Buwa will soon be my greeting! As many of you already know, I am returning to Sierra Leone, a country in West Africa, tomorrow to continue working with the national teachers and the Children of the Nations education program. Returning has such a nice sound to it. I remember when I visited for the first time in 2008. Excitement met fear, and I wondered what in the world I thought I was doing. What happened that summer is that I met a lot of teachers, other adults, and children that were people just like me. They had strengths they shared, and I had mine. We took these gifts from the LORD and did life together. And I am excited to do this again.

This year, I am taking a leap of faith and adding Teacher Team Leader and Team Host to my in-country responsibilities. This had led to a busy season of preparation, but I look forward to being stretched and grown in new ways. As team leader, I am leading our team of 8 to work with the national teachers through inservices, co-teaching, co-planning, and modeling. Our inservices will cover assessments, teaching English as a second language, math strategies, cognitive development, being a Christian who is an educator, the reading and writing continuum, and leadership development within the school. When the teacher team leaves on July 3, I will be stepping fully into the role of Team Host. As the host, I will be working with the other Children of the Nations teams as a liaison between them and the national staff. It will be a wonderful opportunity to see other pieces of the puzzle that are building strong community and future leaders in the area of Banta Mokelleh. Perhaps, most importantly, it will give me more time to spend with my padi, or friends, in this special place.

I would like to ask for your prayer during my six weeks away. Summer is a busy season, but knowing that you are petitioning the Father on behalf of myself, our team, and Sierra Leone will be an immense encouragement. I know that HE can do great things in this nation, and my prayer is that I can be a part of it.

Please join me in praying:

v F For COTN (cotni.org), in its mission and vision as an organization in Sierra Leone.

v v For safety and health for myself, my team, and all the teams coming and going this summer.

v F For unexciting plane flights that come with no delays or problems.

vv For excellent interpersonal relationships between the team and the national teachers.

v F For an attitude of servanthood from both the national staff and the international visitors.

v F For cultural differences to enhance, rather than destroy, relationships.

v F For the LORD to meet team members where they are at and reveal more of Himself to them.

v F For personal wisdom, grace, and clarity in duties or conflicts that may arise as Team Host.

v v For personal faithfulness in spending time in prayer and rest before the LORD .

v F For our marriage to be strengthened as Eric and I are apart this Summer.

I value your prayers. What a blessing it is to have good and faithful friends on both sides of the Atlantic!

Better

5 years ago and a few more days the Dallas Mavericks were playing for the first time in the NBA Finals. They were going to make 2006 special by winning, but sadly on our fourth day of marriage they started losing- badly. In ended that same way (the finals, not our honeymoon).

Tomorrow is my anniversary, and tonight the Mavs gave us a 5th game win to lead the series 3-2. I am glad to say that just like the Mavs, our marriage is better after 5 years.

Love you Eric (way more than Dirk...).

Fortunes, Flying Solo, and Future

Last night, I got Chinese take-out, always an excellent choice on a solo Saturday night. I even got two fortune cookies since Eric was not around for sharing. Where is Eric, you might ask... Well Eric is gone, gone, gone for Air Force chaplain training. Gone to the tune of 3 months, which for us will be a record. Before this, the longest was 3 weeks, and two things were much better about that time apart:

1. Weeks
2. I was the one gone.

But, we will survive. Minus my bout of emotional crying during good-byes at the airport that may make you think otherwise, I am doing fine. I've lined the kitchen cabinets, killed hoards of moths (what's up with this moth attack, Denver??), duct taped a window (re: moths), and eaten take-out Chinese by myself on a Saturday night. The latter is my biggest feat yet. It's come as a shock to realize how much Eric entertains me!

But back to fortunes- for I was lucky enough to get two. When I opened them, I had to laugh...


First of all, anyone who knows me well knows my best ideas always come in the shower. Seriously. I think my successful interventions for my students have always come between shampoo and conditioner. So really, I got this fortune in the bag. It's more like a cheerleader "Keep up the great thinking" reminder. Perfect.

And then, onto Changes... I feel like I could mostly sum up life right now with that word. Eric being gone and beginning what will hopefully become a career in the AF is biggest change Numero Uno. Then there's the fact that I will be gone in Sierra Leone for 6 weeks and trying out team leader and team host. And how about that half my friends are leaving Denver (crazies) and leaving me to my own devices, like Saturday night Chinese and the urge to walk up to random people and befriend them. Which leads into my favorite question, "What are you doing in 2012?" To which I reply, "We are living in ambiguity" which is code for 'We will have no idea what changes are coming for a long, long time'...

Good thing we will settle happily.

Just 11 More Days

Kindergarten is coming to a close. Soon my students will only have memories of "how fun center time was" (the thing by which they define all "fun-ness") or of how they did or didn't learn everything they needed to learn in Kindergarten.

Today was a particularly sweet day with them. They worked independently as I feverishly DRA-ed (a verb many teachers are familiar with) and as I would send them away saying "Go ask a friend" and they would I marveled a moment at what progress they've made this year not only academically but also relationally.

I say this all the time to my colleagues, but I have an extremely kind class. Not always so well behaved, but very kind kids*.

Kids like...

My one who wants hair like Justin Bieber because his hair is so cool.

or

My one who promised to write me three different stories tonight because he is a writer.

or

My student who has written a whole "book series" (re: notebook paper meets tape) on the sequel to Jill from "Jack and Jill" the nursery rhyme.

0r

My student who wants to be a teacher when she grows up and thus informed me that she therefore needs to practice holding the pointer on the board daily.

or

My student who proves she's been listening by telling another student "That is not approriapte!"

Some days it's good to be a teacher. Especially as summer is coming.

*My college professor would not approve of me calling them kids as they are not baby goats. I digress...

A Response

There has been a lot of talk on facebook today filled with non-violent postings that appear to judge others' more ecstatic reactions to the news of Osama bin Laden's death.

I don't agree. I may not be a famous activist (many of whom I admire) with eloquent words but allow me to explain my thoughts from my Christian worldview.

I am glad this man is dead. He has perpetuated much evil in the world and would be continuing it now if he were still alive. Yes perhaps the LORD would have called him to repentance, but we are not called to guess "what-if" but instead are called to be advancing Christ's kingdom. This is why I work with education in Sierra Leone. And this is why we appoint leaders to help eradicate evil (and to call evil "evil") where we see it. And I believe that God is at work through leaders and nations (Proverbs 21:1), and that through them He does deliver justice and give us relief as we struggle here on earth waiting for His Kingdom.

So when I heard that bin Laden was dead, I was not relieved (God was still Sovereign when he was alive on Saturday), but I was glad and thankful. Thankful for the reminder that sin and evil will not reign victorious forever. Glad that as a Christian I can say "This man's repeated actions against many people of many nationalities and faiths were absolutely wrong and needed to be stopped." And to be glad they were stopped. Now many people were glad that would say they do not believe in Christ. Their gladness and mine speaks to the desire that recognizes evil and longs for something more. A desire that I believe points to the reality of God. This, I might add, is the same feeling we feel when the White Witch is defeated in C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia or Sauron is eradicated in J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings or Voldemort is destroyed in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter Series.

I was not, however, gleeful or giddy. Instead, I was sobered. Because I know that the only thing that separates me from bin Laden is the grace of the Holy Spirit in showing me my need of God, Jesus' conquering of sin at the resurrection, and the Father's love in drawing me to Himself and refusing to let me wander away toward the evil of my own devices. And the magnitude of this grace makes me feel small. But it does not keep me from naming an evil ruler an evil ruler or being glad that an evil ruler is gone.

Now, I would imagine that many of my friends might agree with me. And I recognize the sentiment of their posts and their disgust at sensationalism. But for my friends that are Christians, I would caution to not let the popularity of isolated quotes on non-violence or post-modernist thinking muddle our call or voice to the belief of absolute truth.

I do think the response of our President is a good one. He talked in his speech about how "Justice has been done." And then gave a reminder to America that we need to love our Muslim neighbors here and abroad.

Let's move forward reflectively in love.

Job Perks

One of many.

I was invited to the birthday party of one of my students this afternoon. The benefit of teaching at a neighborhood school is that it was a two minute detour from my commute home. In addition to continuing to connect with my student's family, I was also invited to watch him and his bff (also in my class) compete for my attention doing flips and twists.

And then I got in on the bouncing fun. And got a *now* six year old's description of where everyone else in my class lives in relationship to the bounce house. The only sad part was that I had to leave too soon.

Though I'm sure I'll relive the memory tomorrow- I did promise they could share about it at our morning share time.