A Few Things

The technological limitations around here require that I be in a great frame of mind before sitting down to blog or to read anyone else's blog. And commenting on your blogs has been impossible. So, pardon the delay in new postings -- I just haven't had enough patience and time stored up until now. Let's see, it's only taken me one hour to get this far!!!

PET UPDATES:
Thank you to each of you who offered help during our recent pet crisis. Susie is in a shelter and will soon, hopefully, be adopted into a wonderful home. Thanks to Brigette and Cyndy, Emma is in good hands at our home. She's still needing a loving permanent home. Let me know if you'd like to take her in or know someone who wants a cat with personality. She really is fun! Did I mention that she comes to me when I call her? -- just like a dog!! And if you are holding Sheba food or a can of tuna, she runs to you for sure, even if she doesn't know you!

USA BOUND!!
I will be arriving in Denver on the evening of July 21. Jim will be arriving on the evening of August 1. We have a lot to do on the house to get it ready for renting,. But it can't be alllllllll work and no play -- we decided that I didn't need to stay here until Jim could go -- I'm free to go anytime, duh! So, I'll have more "girlfriend-time" than I originally thought. Email me with times you are free so that I can hook up with my "peeps!" in the greater Denver area! Jeri will join us for the last couple of days in Denver. We're selling her cute little blue Tracker -- anyone interested? If not, we'll put it on EBay.

Then, we're on to Alaska on the 11th of August, Jeri on the 13th. Joey arrives in Alaska on the 12th. Brad's wedding is the 19th. Around the 24th Joey heads back to Australia, Jeri to Thailand, and we return for one or two days to Denver before leaving on August 26 for Nigeria. It will be so great to see family and friends in Alaska. And I'm looking at a picture of Brad holding two beautiful halibut -- can't wait to eat fish and go fishing!!! Can we say "Little Su?"

CHURCH HOME:
We believe we've truly landed on a church home. The irony is that it was the first place Jim wanted to visit, even before I got here in February. But the guy he worked with who told him about it never responded to his requests for more info about it ... until recently. So, we've been there the past two weeks and we love it!! It's under a huge, I mean huge, yellow and white striped tent -- open air type. The sound systems works amazingly well and the fans help circulate the hot air. Anyway the important things are:

the worship is fantastic (most of the singing is done while kneeling, a terrific way to begin the service -- such a reminder of surrender and preparing our hearts; individuals alternate singing with the music or just privately praying; at some point I'm ready to stand but I wait until the masses are standing which happens near the end of the worship time);

the preaching is unlike anything we've heard here (it's actually "teaching," people bring notebooks and use them; it's not the "you should" stuff nor is it the "give to God and God will give to you" pep rallies we've seen too often);

the people don't grab us and introduce us to the pastors because they need our money (we're always the only white people in any church we've been in since the first one where we saw one guy once; maybe the ohibos don't go to church because they're so sick of everyone "honoring" them so that they'll give money!!)

they have a balanced approach to money, are very generous in their giving to other churches and missions, don't send out letters begging non-members to give to their fundraisers, etc. (the money-stuff is really bad in most churches -- four offerings, multi-millionaire pastors, etc. It's that whole "appeasing the gods" thing I've blogged about before -- a mix of animism and western "health/wealth" doctrine)

Anyway, we have great hope that this is a place we can really get plugged into (when we return). It's called The Carpenter's Church. We are so thankful!!

CAMP LIFE:
The mass exodus has begun as schools are ending and families are leaving until the end of August. Usually, the men leave for a couple of weeks and then come back to work. We have new families who will be arriving in the next two months -- unfortunately, they'll be coming to a ghost town with few people to help them adjust to life here. I'm recruiting a couple of new-arrivers to take on the welcome role while the rest of us are gone.

Lucy's well. Her two youngest brothers have been in the hospital with different problems. Due to poor medical treatment, small things turn into big things pretty quickly. Her father is expecting her to pay all of the medical bills because he hasn't been paid (government job) in 3
months and Lucy's the only one in the family with income. We gifted her some of the total and loaned her some of it but we don't want her to have to pay it all; it seems to us that her father should take on the responsibility of getting a loan from someone for the rest of it. Most people don't use banks -- they borrow from friends or they form little savings groups with people they trust -- each person pays the same amount into the pot each month (like N10,000) and one person gets the pot for that month (so, for a group of six friends that's N60,000 to one person each month). Instant gratification for the first one, slow rewards without interest for the last one to get their turn. (Prince is in something like this, was the one to set it up, so had to be the last one to get the money. But, finally, he got his N120,000 and could finish paying for Glory's head -- which, translated, means "paying her bride price".)

No pictures this time around -- I don't have the extra three hours it would take. 'will try again, soon!!