Pruning

It's cutting season. (When the rains come...everything gets cut, even this palm tree.) Wouldn't you like to have this guy's job?

Each evening walking home from work I see piles of freshly cut branches and bushes. It got me thinking about how our gardeners prune our bushes so they will look better next year.

Wouldn't you know the Bible says something about that:

"He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful."--John 15:2

Ah, the life lessons in Africa.

Sleep is highly over-rated

How dumb of me to forget that Thursday nights are wedding nights! Let me tell you, at 1.30 this morning I remembered. After the hundredth time rolling over in my bed and cursing the loud apartment shaking music, (I think people are tone deaf, the music was horrible.) the light bulb went off...it's Thursday night, someone’s getting married.

Yeah. Joy. Whoopee.

Lucky for me I wasn't invited, though the music was loud enough, I dreamed I was there. It was beautiful.

So, to those of you getting married this summer, thanks for not playing loud, bad, apartment shaking music. We are all grateful.

I don’t think the bad music was the only problem; mosquitoes have taken over my house.

Power, what power?

Apparently everyone but the Mission Baptiste knew that the power was going to go out today! Our guard, Sisa, told us, "It's a schedule outage." I guess us missionaries should start listening to the radio.

I wonder how I would understand it anyway...

So, while the power is out I can't connect to the server or work on a video (it's on a desktop, no power...no desktop). With work coming to a halt, my supervisor, Mary Beth, and I went on an outing. Apparently our neighbor had made half of her house into an exhibit full of Indonesia products for her friends in Cote d’Ivoire to buy. It was beautiful.

After we took a look at the building that is being worked on next to my office. It is the new office (we need more working space, the region is growing, thank the Lord!). We wanted to visualize colors and all the possibilities this neighbor's house had shown us. (Don't know if it will happen, but we wanted to dream a little.)

I am about to take Mary Beth and her husband, Deron, to the airport for their two week trip to Burkina Faso. Emily left on Monday to go to Senegal. So, that means I am the only Media person in town.

Good thing I have a lot of work to do...

African transport

So, Emily and I got adventurous last week preparing for her parents arrival. We decided to go to Louis’ house the way she goes back and forth to ours. (Louis is our house helper.) Now, Louis takes three different kinds of transportation to get from her house to ours and three kinds to get back.

The first is a Woro-Woro or a set route taxi. It is about 200cfa or 40 cents to get it at her house and take it to the next mode of transport a bateaubus or a boat taxi for 150cfa about 25-30 cents. This takes us across the lagoon from the other side of the downtown area to our little island.

Then another Woro-Woro (100 cfa, 15 cents) to our neighborhood, where she gets out and walks about 30 minutes to our home, or sometimes a red taxi (more expensive at over a dollar) all they way to the house, works all day then repeats the trip in reverse.

It's a two hour round trip.

Wednesday, we braved the bad weather to go with her. It didn’t start really raining until we got to the other side of downtown. And then it poured. We were soaked by the time we got to her tiny house. The road in front was already bad, but the day before the rain washed it away even more.

We visited with her kids, her sister and her sister’s kids, all who live in a tiny two room apartment. That’s not two bedrooms, it’s just two rooms.

As the rain poured outside we sat crowded together talking about life and God. It was a great time and even though they are so cramped they are all full of joy and happiness. If only we could all be so content in life.

My fight

Do you remember a time where you were intent on studying a subject of God's word? Has the Devil ever tempted you in that area?

Well, for the last week or so, I've worked on a lesson about spiritual warfare. Boy, it's been enlightening.

In it I wrote that, “Satan uses things in our everyday life to gain the upper hand to move us into personal conflict with what God wants for our lives.
Satan uses our personal lives, families and friends, to make us discouraged and to feel defeated.”

Yeah, Satan is a crafty little sucker.

I’ve been discouraged about my lack of French speaking ability for a while now. But, yesterday in our English Bible study they told me my English was bad! I just can’t win!

My friends are moving on in life. They are getting married and starting families. I’m not. I haven’t attended a single one of their weddings. They are starting awesome new jobs and moving to places unknown.

You get the idea. Here I was think I’m doing this great thing, trying to help American churches prepare for the ever present spiritual warfare in West Africa and I couldn’t see Satan was using it on me.

So, today, I am rejoicing!

That my French is SLOWLY improving. I have no problem following a conversation and I’ve become bolder in entering a conversation.

Rejoicing in my friends happy lives. I am so proud of so many of you.

I wish I could have been there…

To see you walk down the isle in your beautiful flowing dress.

Watching you eagerly await the entrance of the most beautiful woman you know.

As a new little one enters your life.

Celebrating your new job.

Packing boxes.

But, since I’m not and haven’t been, know I pray for you daily. I get excited for you and brag about you to my African friends.

I also want to thank my parents. They have made life in Africa so much more enjoyable with e-mails, chats, little packages of American goodies and movies.

Today, you are a witness to the defeat of Satan’s spiritual warfare in my life.

“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”—James 4:7


This is just a random picture that I like...

It’s a young Wala boy and his brother parading the best donkey in the village in front of the visitors. (Burkina Faso)

The following is a story I wrote for The Baptist Digest. The Baptist newspaper for Kansas-Nebraska.

Village hut becomes evangelism tool

La saison des pluies!

Its rainy season!

It has rained twice today. It woke me up by it this morning, the thunder is intense. And As I am writing this I look up and out my window to watch the rain fall.



We had planned on spending the afternoon at the beach, but God had other things planned for today…

Let me start by saying one thing: if you aren’t ready for an answer don’t ask people to pray!

Remember in the last two updates I asked for prayer about my language skills, that I would learn and God would give me opportunities to use French.

Well, that is what God did.

I started French classes (for the second time) two weeks ago and am starting to work on phrases. So, this morning after class I decided to practice what I had been learning by telling one of our guards about church yesterday.

Here I am standing on the street corner with Sisa (a Muslim man) and I tell him about or study of John 9 and Jesus healing the blind man before the man believed in him. Our pastor related it to how we as Christians should help everyone, not just other Christians. He was talking about AIDS victims. (Our church is discussing doing AIDS outreach for the local community.)

Sisa asked, “What is the church doing? Just praying? I told him no, the church is going to hold clinics, give medicine, food, and pray for those with AIDS. Then Sisa asked, “What is better, praying or giving medicine?”

Let me tell you, this conversation out passed my French knowledge. So, he told me to look up the French words and get back to him. Well, I did and still had a hard time…so after talking with Emily and looking up some more words I will meet with him again this evening.

Motivation to continue learning French.

Thank the Lord for the rain and chances to share about Him. All the in same day!

Eagerly Awaiting

“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.”
Romans 8: 18-21


Recently, Emily and I were watching a TV show (on DVD) and a character said, “I believe in Heaven. If I had to choose between this earth and Heaven, I would choose Heaven.”

Amen.

Yet, I am still here. So, what do I do? Romans 8 says we, creation waits eagerly. Do we really wait eagerly?

With the College and Career class at CBC in March I watched a sermon on missions. (If any of you are reading this can you e-mail me how to get that sermon. jesselyautey@yahoo.com) The speaker challenged those in the audience that we, as Christians, really don’t want to see God’s kingdom come.

If we did there still wouldn’t be over 3,000 people groups and almost 2 billion people in the Last Frontier (the 10/40 window) alone that still need to hear the name of Christ.

The big project I am working on right now is helping to develop training material for volunteers, partnering and engaging churches. Volunteers work with IMB personnel doing whatever is need to further God's kingdom. Partnering churches work with IMB personnel in a people group with more than 100,000 people and engaging churches take on the groups less than 100,000 in population. (They have help in the beginning from missionaries on the Engagement Team.)

In West Africa, about 40 people groups have IMB personnel working among them. The Hausa, Sokoto Fulani, Songhai, Tureg, Zerma, Jahanka, Wala, Wolof, Sereer are just a few that I worked with over the last year.

About 300 don’t have IMB personnel. I have visited the Senufo, Senara, Mossi, Konyanke, and many others. I've seen engaging churches and associations start by sharing the story of Jesus.

This project could bring hundreds of churches from America to West Africa with the sole goal: to start a Church Planting Movement.

That’s if we really are eagerly awaiting the kingdom of God.

For more information about partnering or engaging churches go to www.gowestafrica.org and click on Your Church on Missions.

Easter

Today, Monday, is a national holiday in Cote D'Ivoire--Easter Day

All business and government offices are closed to celebrate the risen Lord. How cool is that? It is because this country celebrates both Christian and Muslim holidays.

Saturday night we dyed Easter eggs! Fun times




















Sunday, I went to church with Emily and another couple and we looked forward to our 3 ½ hour service.

(This is the church where we have an English Bible study every Sunday night.) Well, each Bible study had to perform a short piece in celebration of Easter.

We sang.

That’s right…Emily and I stood up with our group and sang a song in English…in front of the whole church.

Our good friend Olivia stood next to me, literally shoving the mike in my face (a little uncomfortable, I think I did blush). But, we made it and the church loved that Emily and I involved ourselves in the churches activities.



I really enjoyed the Sermon on John 20: 1-10. The pastor focused on Christ resurrection and how we should celebrate. Easter was such a beautiful day with lots of dancing, singing and enjoying each others company.

Later, the whole mission gathered for a late lunch. I cooked zucchini! It was a great time of talking, relaxing and eating...

Back in Africa

How you know you are back in Africa:
10. Starting to sweat as soon as the cabin door of the airplane is open.
9. At the airport, you are accosted by people wanting to push your luggage to your car for you.
8. Stopped at a military check-point as you enter your neighborhood on the way home from the airport.
7. Not being able to sleep because you lay awake listening to the sounds of the neighborhood (which you had missed the whole time in the states and had a hard time sleeping without)
6. How can you forget in two weeks how slow the internet is here? (and its faster in Abidjan than most places)
5. You take a bath after Bible study even though you took one earlier in the day, just too much sticky sweat.
4. You leave for church fifteen minutes after it was supposed to start and you are right on-time. (and its a fifteen minute drive)
3. Because you are the only native English speaker in your English Bible study they elect you to sing the group song for the Easter service. (AHHHH!)
2. At the end of the Bible study the teacher asks you to tell about your trip to the states and to give what you had brought back for the group. (you didn't realize gifts were expected so you give them blessings)
1. You go to buy butter at a little kiosk (small corner store) and ask for butter and are handed small individually rapped packets to equal a whole stick.
0. You go to make icing for a cake and find ants had gotten in the powdered sugar bag while you were gone. Not to mention cake mix that had been eaten by mice.

Dad and I went through all my stored boxes looking for music CD's to load on our new toys, MP3 players.

Things to cherish about the states:
· Entering an American grocery store and walking the isles looking at all the pre-cooked, just add water/milk packaged food. (ahhh sweat memories)
· Walking softly, not because of the mud, but because of the snow and ice.
· Putting something over my nose and mouth to protect them from the cold, not dust storms!
· Spending a whole day at church and being able to understand the sermon and praise songs.
· Eating fast food
· Having white lines on the road
· Drivers sticking between the white lines on the road and following traffic laws.
· Red lights that work and no policeman in the middle of the intersection directing traffic.
· WEARING JEANS!
· Eating fast food

Missions Conference

My reason for returning to the states before the end of my term was to attended a Missions Conference at my parents church.



Sunday:
I visited Sunday School classes talking about how they could become involved in overseas missions and worked a West Africa booth at an International Food fellowships.




Monday:
The Awana's program invited me to speak to the kids about missions in Africa. They were great and it was a crazy hair day. Later, I met with the Missions Team to talk about how the church could pray for me.







Tuesday:
Joy in the Morning is the women's Bible study and I got to talk to the women about what I do and what they could do for missions. Then I met with the church staff for lunch so they could learn about missions in West Africa.


Wednesday:
I talked to the whole church during their service for about five minutes then raced upstairs to talk with the youth group. They were a great group and had lots of questions.

The Missions Conference was a great experience. The church is really excited about what God is doing all over the world and how they can be a part of it.

No Snow in Africa

I knew it was going to be cold leaving Africa and returning for two weeks to the States, but Snow?


Thanks to Centreville Baptist Church I a was able to experience SNOW in March! It is really cold here.

Aaron, my younger brother, and I got caught in a snow storm in Maryland. I do not miss snow storms...but the snow was pretty.

We got stuck in D.C. rush hour traffic, rain, ice and snow.

We had plans to go to New York City, but a friend called and said there was already 6 inches in New Jersey, so we turned around and went back home.

Luckily, we were in my dad's big truck and we had no problems.