"That's a dead person traveling," said somebody in our group, pointing
to a fairly large dust devil passing nearby. "He's on a voyage."
"Yes," added another person, "that is what our parents taught us and
what their parents taught them."
"What do you think?" someone asked, turning to me. "Is that somebody's
soul?"
"Where is he going?" I asked innocently.
"We don't know. Just that way," they reply.
We are just leaving the hottest part of the year now. Temperatures are
cooling down to a more comfortable 100 in the day and 90 at night. But
for a while, we would see several dust devils every day. These
mini-twisters are not very dangerous unless there is large items like
tin or planks around for it to throw around.
"I can tell you what I think. And you can tell me what you think. But
how will we know what it really is?" I asked. "The Bible tells us
whether or not this is the soul of a dead person traveling. The Bible
says that the soul who sins shall die (Ezekiel 18:4). On the day that a
person dies, his plans die with him. He doesn't plan any more voyages
(Psalm 146:4). The dead do not know anything, and they do not work
(Ecclesiastes 9:5,10)."
"That's right," piped up a lady who finally had the courage to speak her
thoughts. She had studied this topic before and knew what the Bible
teaches. "Those dust devils are just some wind blowing dust and sand
around."
I am amazed at how often the people cling to their traditional beliefs
when they know from Scripture that those beliefs are false. African
culture is fine to the extent that it does not conflict with truth. This
culture has many good things to teach us. But the people choose to
continue living in fear of the spirits and in fear of revenge from their
dead relatives and friends.
May God help us to bring freedom and peace to the lives of these dear
people around us.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
How to Make a Brick
First, get a bucket and a rope and haul up a bunch of water from the
well. The water is about 30 feet down. Dump the water into a basin until
it is full. Then put the basin of water on your head, walk over to where
you want to dig dirt, and dump the water on the ground. Bricks are made
in dry season when the dirt is very hard, so the water will help to
soften the ground.
Barefoot, so you don't ruin your cheap plastic shoes, dig with a hoe or
pick or shovel any dirt that is soft enough to move and pile it in a
heap. Continue until you have a large hole with a large pile of mud
beside it. Mix in some straw with the mud.
Now, take your wooden form for two bricks at a time, lay it on the
ground, and fill each side with mud. Level the mud with your hands and
fingers. Then lift up the form to leave two rectangular piles of wet mud
to harden in the sun for a few days. Continue the process over and over
again until you have rows of mud bricks drying in the sun.
After the bricks have sunbaked for a few days, look for a scrap of metal
- a broken knife, a piece of a hoe, a scrap of an old motorbike,
anything to scrape with, and chip off the rough edges and the mud that
oozed out beneath the form when you were forming the brick.
Now it is time to make a pile to fire the bricks. Arrange the bricks in
layers in the shape of a square or rectangle maybe 10 feet across. Every
third layer, shuffle the bricks so that there are empty spaces between
the bricks. These spaces are for the charcoal. Continue making layers
1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3, ... until the bricks are used up. Layers 1 and 2
leave small holes to fill with charcoal so that the fire will travel up
the stack and find the layer 3s. Layer 3, leave lots of spaces all over
and fill with charcoal which will burn and heat up the stack.
Once the stack is all built, it looks like a square pyramid. Now coat it
with a layer of wet mud all around to seal in the smoke and heat.
At night, so you don't bake in the sun, light a fire with sticks at the
bottom of the stack. As the fire follows the charcoal strategically
placed all through the stack, it eventually heats the whole stack until
it glows on the inside.
After a few days the bricks are cool enough to remove and use.
What a lot of work! Each brick sells for about $0.08. Transport via
oxcart to where you want it is about $0.02 per brick.
well. The water is about 30 feet down. Dump the water into a basin until
it is full. Then put the basin of water on your head, walk over to where
you want to dig dirt, and dump the water on the ground. Bricks are made
in dry season when the dirt is very hard, so the water will help to
soften the ground.
Barefoot, so you don't ruin your cheap plastic shoes, dig with a hoe or
pick or shovel any dirt that is soft enough to move and pile it in a
heap. Continue until you have a large hole with a large pile of mud
beside it. Mix in some straw with the mud.
Now, take your wooden form for two bricks at a time, lay it on the
ground, and fill each side with mud. Level the mud with your hands and
fingers. Then lift up the form to leave two rectangular piles of wet mud
to harden in the sun for a few days. Continue the process over and over
again until you have rows of mud bricks drying in the sun.
After the bricks have sunbaked for a few days, look for a scrap of metal
- a broken knife, a piece of a hoe, a scrap of an old motorbike,
anything to scrape with, and chip off the rough edges and the mud that
oozed out beneath the form when you were forming the brick.
Now it is time to make a pile to fire the bricks. Arrange the bricks in
layers in the shape of a square or rectangle maybe 10 feet across. Every
third layer, shuffle the bricks so that there are empty spaces between
the bricks. These spaces are for the charcoal. Continue making layers
1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3, ... until the bricks are used up. Layers 1 and 2
leave small holes to fill with charcoal so that the fire will travel up
the stack and find the layer 3s. Layer 3, leave lots of spaces all over
and fill with charcoal which will burn and heat up the stack.
Once the stack is all built, it looks like a square pyramid. Now coat it
with a layer of wet mud all around to seal in the smoke and heat.
At night, so you don't bake in the sun, light a fire with sticks at the
bottom of the stack. As the fire follows the charcoal strategically
placed all through the stack, it eventually heats the whole stack until
it glows on the inside.
After a few days the bricks are cool enough to remove and use.
What a lot of work! Each brick sells for about $0.08. Transport via
oxcart to where you want it is about $0.02 per brick.
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Old Lady
Jonathan and I arrived at church early today. As we sat and waited for
people to come so we could start church I noticed an old lady sitting
next to her hut. She looked like she was eating. I believe I felt
impressed by the Holy Spirit that I should go and visit her. Why not?
I'm just sitting here not accomplishing much. I continued to watch her
at a distance and waited until it looked like she had finished eating. I
didn't want to interrupt her.
people to come so we could start church I noticed an old lady sitting
next to her hut. She looked like she was eating. I believe I felt
impressed by the Holy Spirit that I should go and visit her. Why not?
I'm just sitting here not accomplishing much. I continued to watch her
at a distance and waited until it looked like she had finished eating. I
didn't want to interrupt her.
This old lady lives very close to the church. When sitting on the
benches at church we can see right into her yard yet it is a little ways
away. As soon as she got up and started walking around I got up and
walked over to see her. "What shall I say to her? She doesn't understand
French," I thought. We shook hands and said, "Lopia, Lopia" several
times. I repeated after her as she spoke some more Nangere words that I
didn't understand but she seemed to be happy that at least I was saying
something in her language. The old lady pointed at the pile of bricks
that are being made for the church. Then I pointed at the bricks too and
said, "Brick". She said, "Brick." "Good" I thought, "at least she knows
the word for brick in French." I tried to tell her in French that the
bricks were being made for the church but of course she didn't understand.
Next I tried to talk to her about the mangoes. This time of year
everyone is eating mangoes because there are mangoes everywhere.
Pointing at the mango tree I said, "Mango, you eat lots of mangoes." and
I motioned with my hands putting my hands to my mouth. I was trying to
talk to her about how everyone is eating mangoes and she must be eating
a lot too. To my surprise she started saying many words that I didn't
understand and then she disappeared behind her succo wall close to her
hut. Then the thought hit me. "Oh, no, she thinks I'm asking her to give
me some mangoes!" Sure enough, a minute lady she came out with three
green mangoes while washing them in some dirty water. I tried to explain
to her that I wasn't asking for mangoes but seeing this was impossible
to communicate, since she basically doesn't know a word of French, I
took them with thanks. I said, "Merci beaucoup (thank you a lot), merci
beaucoup." and she repeated after me, "Merci beaucoup, merci beaucoup."
Repeating after each other was one of the only ways to find words to say!
Then pointing at the church I tried to convince her that I wanted her to
come to church. After a little bit she disappeared behind her succo
again and then appeared again this time with a stick in hand as to say,
"I'm ready to go now!" I walked slowly with her following me toward the
church but about half way there she hesitated. She pointed at her dirty
old shirt and then at my dress which I'm sure she thought was very
beautiful. "Ca va, ca, va" I said, meaning it is just fine; she can come
to church even if she doesn't have nice clothes on. At the church she
shook everyones hands but then immediately turned to leave. I was
disappointed. I wanted her to stay and enjoy church with us. Quickly
pulling a nature picture book out I motioned for her to sit down and
look at pictures with me. She did and seemed to enjoy it for a short
while but she was eager to leave so after about 4 or 5 pictures she got
up and walked back home.
Next week I plan to bring her a new shirt and give it to her. I hope
that this will help her see that we care about her and hopefully she
will then feel comfortable coming to church in her new shirt.
New Church!
This Sabbath morning my husband I a left home extra early for church at
Dobgae. We wanted to do church at Dobgae and also go to church at the
new church that we just built recently. We have been wanting to put up a
church close to home in Bere for a long time and recently we finally got
the land and put up a church. Praise the Lord! Today was the first
Sabbath for that church to have a full service and naturally we felt it
important for us to be there too.
Dobgae. We wanted to do church at Dobgae and also go to church at the
new church that we just built recently. We have been wanting to put up a
church close to home in Bere for a long time and recently we finally got
the land and put up a church. Praise the Lord! Today was the first
Sabbath for that church to have a full service and naturally we felt it
important for us to be there too.
As we drove up to the new church that is only about a 10 minute walk
from our home we were very happy to see lots of people in the church. It
was nearly full! Of course a lot of people probably came mainly out of
curiosity but hopefully they will become members some day. It was so
nice also to see several people there that we have been personally
working with. Fredrick preached a very good sermon. God has given him
talent and we praise God that he is using it for God's work. We are very
excited about this new church. It is surrounded by lots and lots of
people that need to learn about Jesus. Please pray the Lord's blessing
on this church.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Who Sinned?
"There's one question," the man said at our Bible study, "that I don't understand. When an innocent child dies, whose fault is it? Is it a sin of the mother or the father or is it some sin of the uncle? I've asked a lot of people and nobody seems to really know."
In this culture, people believe that when a child dies, he is being punished for the sin of somebody in his family. After the death of a child, the family and neighbors chatter about which person they think has some hidden sin and what that hidden sin might be.
"What do you think?" he asked.
"It doesn't matter what I think, although I'm happy to share my opinion. But let's look at a couple Bible texts first to see if we can find an answer."
John 9:1-7 Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. 2 And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" 3 Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. 4 I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." 6 When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. 7 And He said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing.
With excitement, he realized that while the exact circumstances in this story were different, the question and root issue were the same. This passage helped a lot. I suggested that he read the rest of the chapter when he got home, as it discusses this question in more detail. At the end Jesus brings out a lesson on spiritual blindness.
"But if your neighbors came to you with this question, what would you tell them?" he persisted.
"What I say can be helpful, but others can argue that they think something different. But if we approach people with answers from God's Word, they can't argue with that. Let's look at another verse," I suggest, as Melody points to a passage in Ezekiel.
Ezekiel 18:19-20 "Yet you say, 'Why should the son not bear the guilt of the father?' Because the son has done what is lawful and right, and has kept all My statutes and observed them, he shall surely live. 20 The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself."
As he finishes reading this passage, a big smile of surprise and satisfaction spreads across his face. "That's enough. It couldn't be clearer. Now we know the answer to this difficult question! Thank you!"
"Thank God," I reply. "It is the Holy Spirit who brings texts to the thoughts and gives us wisdom."
(We did briefly touch on the topic that sometimes innocent people do suffer from other sins. For example, an alcoholic pregnant woman harms her baby. The son may be affected by his parents' sins, but he does not bear their guilt.)
In this culture, people believe that when a child dies, he is being punished for the sin of somebody in his family. After the death of a child, the family and neighbors chatter about which person they think has some hidden sin and what that hidden sin might be.
"What do you think?" he asked.
"It doesn't matter what I think, although I'm happy to share my opinion. But let's look at a couple Bible texts first to see if we can find an answer."
John 9:1-7 Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. 2 And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" 3 Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. 4 I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." 6 When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. 7 And He said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing.
With excitement, he realized that while the exact circumstances in this story were different, the question and root issue were the same. This passage helped a lot. I suggested that he read the rest of the chapter when he got home, as it discusses this question in more detail. At the end Jesus brings out a lesson on spiritual blindness.
"But if your neighbors came to you with this question, what would you tell them?" he persisted.
"What I say can be helpful, but others can argue that they think something different. But if we approach people with answers from God's Word, they can't argue with that. Let's look at another verse," I suggest, as Melody points to a passage in Ezekiel.
Ezekiel 18:19-20 "Yet you say, 'Why should the son not bear the guilt of the father?' Because the son has done what is lawful and right, and has kept all My statutes and observed them, he shall surely live. 20 The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself."
As he finishes reading this passage, a big smile of surprise and satisfaction spreads across his face. "That's enough. It couldn't be clearer. Now we know the answer to this difficult question! Thank you!"
"Thank God," I reply. "It is the Holy Spirit who brings texts to the thoughts and gives us wisdom."
(We did briefly touch on the topic that sometimes innocent people do suffer from other sins. For example, an alcoholic pregnant woman harms her baby. The son may be affected by his parents' sins, but he does not bear their guilt.)
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