Clean Clothes

Today we did laundry, and it was fun.  We have no washer or dryer here, so I had to fill up two tubs with water from my shower. Uh-oh! The shower ran out of water halfway through filling the first tub, so I had to get water from the big barrel of water that is kept in the house for just this type of thing!  

I set myself up on the edge of the porch with our box of dirty clothes, a tub of soapy water for washing, and a tub of clean water for rinsing.  This soon attracted the notice of our littlest campers, Annalee, Isaac, Abigail, and Aili.  Ahh, helpers!  Soon I had little hands helping me dump dirty clothes in the water, swishing them around, ringing out the soapy water and putting them in the clean water, more swishing, more ringing, and finally shaking out excess water and finding places for them to dry.  To them it was helping and water play on a hot day rolled into one.  They had such a great time splashing in the water and brought playfulness and laughter to an otherwise tedious chore!  

I’ve been thinking about my attitude concerning little setbacks, like starting to do your laundry by hand and finding out that you haven’‘t any running water, or starting to cook dinner for your family at the end of a long day just to find out that the stove isn’t working.    Initially, these problems can be so irritating.  We come from a country where we don’t deal with problems like this.  There would be public outcry in a community where water wasn’t readily available at all times.  When our stoves don’t work, we have them repaired or buy new ones.  However, after my initial frustration my problem solving side steps up, after all, the kids still need to eat and we still need clean clothes. Once I get to the problem solving stage, we always figure things out and there are no worries.  As I reflect on these things, I am deciding to start skipping the initial frustration phase of this cycle.  It’s pretty unpleasant and unproductive, and furthermore, experience has taught me that these things are inconveniences, minor irritations, but not real problems.   To prove my point, this morning turned out to be a lot of fun with my little friends, and Maddie, Michal and I now have enough clean clothes to last the rest of MK Camp! 

Daily Bread

When we decided to return to Togo to do mission work we knew that we were making a decision that is somewhat unique among missionary families.  We were taking our children to a place that is fairly isolated from other American children with the intention of staying through their high school years and without the intention of sending our children to boarding school.  The team we came to had several children their ages, but since that time they have all left.  Now Maddie and Michal are on their own.  

Each of our girls has struggled with this on their own, Mark and I have struggled as parents, and we have struggled with it as a family.  We have prayed, hoped, talked to other missionary families, reached out to families with children, and reassured our children that we will do whatever it takes to take care of all of their needs.  God has been great to answer our prayers in various ways.  For Michal, we anxiously await the arrival of her best friend as a permanent part of our team.  For Maddie, she has found a kindred spirit in Karissa, a missionary kid in Northern Ghana.  They are the same age, have the same interests, similar gifts, and they share the experience of growing up on the mission field.  

Maddie, Michal and I are currently in Tamalé, Ghana participating in MK Camp.  We are staying in a guesthouse with two other families, and during the day three more families join us so that we can worship, work, and play together.  The kids are working on a musical which they will perform next Wednesday.  We work together to use our limited resources to put meals together, and Maddie, Karissa, Michal, Colt, and often some of the younger kids talk and laugh and play their days away until they collapse in their beds at night.  

Next year Karissa’s family moves back to the U.S., and Maddie will be on her own again.  It makes me think of the Lord’s Prayer, that we ask God to “Give us this day our daily bread.”  THIS DAY, DAILY BREAD.  That means that we have to live in faith that he will give our daily bread again tomorrow, and the next day, and the next year…   Looking back on life, I know that God has never abandoned us, or left us in need with no help.  God has given us these two weeks with playing and laughter and companionship for my daughter, and I know that I can trust that next year he will again provide.  

December in March

When we planned our furlough we set the dates to come back in the middle of February which is the start of the hottest time of our year.  I questioned our sanity several times as we prepared to leave the nice, cool weather of the U.S., and certainly since we've been back to endure the 110 degree days!  This hot season is shaping up to fulfill its promise to amaze us with how hot and oppressive Togo can be in the months of March, April and May.

But this morning is different.  While sitting at the breakfast table with the girls, we noted that there was a dusty haze hanging in the air, and that the morning sun wasn't pouring through the windows with its usual boast of how just how bright and hot it would shine today.  It was one of those mornings when harmattan comes back for a brief visit, clouding out the intensity of the sun for a few days before the rainy season chases it off for the year in May or June.  Ahh, reprieve from the merciless heat!

As I proceeded through my day I noticed that I was feeling nostalgic.  It occurred to me that the thick haze of dust and semi-cool air has become as evocative of the holiday feeling as Christmas carols, cold weather, and a fire in the fire place!  I feel like we should be decorating the Christmas tree and getting out the Advent calendar.  I can already smell the sweet scent of Christmas cookies promising an indulgent treat!

It's funny how become conditioned to respond to certain things.  If you'd told me that dust and 83 degree weather would give me the warm fuzzies many years ago, I'd have thought you were crazy.  Sometimes I feel a bit crazy with the ways that we've changed and adjusted to life here, but I love how God can bring life's little pleasures, like that holiday feeling, even in unconventional ways!

Relishing Time With My Children

We are in week three of being back in Togo, and week two of school.   Most of you know that I have been very active in ministry here for the last few years, but this year I decided to put most of that on hold while I focus on teaching the girls and building relationships with new teammates.  If I let myself, I can get pretty stressed out thinking of what I am NOT doing in ministry.  The needs thereof certainly haven't diminished in the least, but I remind myself that I am a finite resource while God is not.

I so much enjoy teaching Maddie and Michal.  We have our moments of frustration together, but over all it is such a joy to get to spend so much time with them.  When I talk to my teammate Julia I am reminded of how it felt to have babies and toddlers.  Just to be able to steal enough to to use the bathroom undisturbed seemed like a luxury, and I looked forward to moments when I wasn't engaging with them.  Now my girls are so grown up and independent that I realize how short the next five years before Maddie goes to college will be.

So it's a lot of fun to help them grow and learn, make discoveries together, and just to be together.  It is so amazing to see how God created them with their own thoughts, their own understanding, their own ways of going about things, their perceptions, and their senses of humor.  Homeschooling feels like an opportunity to relish in the creation of my children.