Millet Curtain

No one said he had AIDS.
He lay on the dirt
like a small child without a pillow.

We didn’t know how much he
could understand our greeting
from beneath his groaning nothing-blanket;
we did it for his mother’s grateful eyes.

Maybe he could hear us
from behind the millet curtain,
greeting the elderly lady who
fed him and maybe who
dressed him, sometimes.

Today he has remembered to put on underwear.
But even the long loose shirt cannot hide
every rib we count, his face
sunken to reveal the cheek bones,
jaw bones, white teeth, red eyes,
skin thin-stretched over bones and shrinking organs.

The woman says he is sick.

Ay Corey kang go Molli ra

Ay bay kang boreykulu mana faham wone tirra. Amma, ay ga ba kang ay Afrique borey ga faham, zama ay gonda sanizey a se.

Zarma borey, da ay cele, AY GA BA NI!
Ay go ga ni faaji.
Ay ga Irikoy sabu ni se.

Fati Myma, Irikoy ma konda cimi ni se. Cimi, da cimibeeri, da baafuna. Irikoy ma konda arrawaso hanno kang bay Yesu ni se, da Irikoy ma ni konda nwari, da bani, da coro hanno, da coro kang bay Yesu. Fati Myma, ay go ga adduwa ni se, kang ni ma du gabi, ni ma ci borey boobo Yesu bong, ni ma du farha Yesu ra. Ay ga ba ni gumo!

Fati Bubacar Beeri, ay go ga ni faaji. Ay faaji ni suru, da ni care-bandayang da ay. Ay go ga adduwa ni se, kang ni ma faham Yesu baafuna ni se, kang ni ma du cimibeeri, kang ni ma du Yesu, da ni ma te Yesu sani. Ay go ga adduwa ni se, kang Irikoy ma konda ni se bani, da cimi, da Yesu baakasinay.

Bubacar, ay go ga adduwa ni se, mo. Irikoy ma konda ni se biya bani, da cimibeeri, da Irikoy sani, da gabi ga te Yesu saniboobo. Ni ma te Yesu sani, zama ni ma ti Molli Yesu Alfaga. Ay go ga Irikoy ba ga ni no gabi kang ni ma ci Molli boreykulu se Yesu sani, da Yesu cimi. Irikoy go ga ni ba gumo. Ni mana dirgan kang Yesu ga no jineykulu kang ni gonda moradu se. Mo, Irikoy ga ni no haykulu kang ni gonda biya moradu se. Ni ma miila bong Yesu sani zarakulu.

Sadi, Ay go ga ni faaji. Ay ga ba ga te cowyang da ni, da ay ga ba ga ti ni beeri. Waati kang ni maa Irikoy sani, ni ma maa hanno, da boori. Irikoy gonda cimi. Ni ma maa, ni ma te. Zama ay ga ba ni. Ay ga ba ga di ni beene ra! Irikoy ma konda cimibeeri ni se!

Irikoy, Ay Yesu, Ay Baba, fonda goy ni goy Molli ra. Ay go ga Ni sabu gumo zama ni baa ay Molli borey, da Molli boreykulu. Ni ma te borey se hannokulu. Iri ga ni beerundi zarakulu. Iri ga ni sabu, zama ni Iri zunubu teeri. Ni faham sanikulu, da Iri beerundi ni Iri biya ra, carebanda. Ka, ga te iri se. Zama Iri ti ni izey kayna. Yesu mayo ra, Amen.

Cardboard Testimonies from West Africa

I know some of these people!!! Kinda long, I know, but worth watching.

Brayma

Brayma. What will become of you? You are so handsome, so much like your father. He is seeking, searching, he is beginning to follow. You are young, sweet, spoiled. You know the Arabic words of the call to prayer by heart. You know what it means to be a Muslim.

Will you see the desire for God in your father? Will you learn truth from him? What will you choose to believe?

Brayma? Are you well? Have you been injured while you work? Do you have malaria? If you get sick, who will take you to the doctor? You are too old to go for free. I hope your father is willing to spend his money on you. Brayma, make sure that you watch out for your little brothers and sisters. Don't ever hit girls, but protect them. And Brayma, remember that Yesu loves you. He always will. You can always go to Him. He has the answers. He knows how it feels to hurt. He's worth trusting, even more than your dad. And I know that you have a faithful man for your father. Don't forget to say thank you to him. Listen to what he says to you.

I don't know if you know it, but I love you. I'm not sure I knew I love you before, in time to tell you. But I do. I'm over here in America, loving you. But someone loves you more: Yesu.

Brayma, Irikoy ma konda cimi ni se. Cimi, da cimibeeri, da bani, da bina kani.
Irikoy ma konda baafuna da fonda hanno ni se. Nda Brayma, ni ma maa Yesu waati kang a ci haykulu ni se. Ni maa. Zama Yesu go ga ni ba gumo, oho, baa soho.

I love the little ones

Rukea I miss your smiling, silly face! May many Jesus people share truth with you and love you.

Lay for the Little Girls

You three
around your work
innocently
you follow

the example of
your mother
and women's work
is not toil for you.

It is your play
as you laugh,
and tease;
as you pound,
and sift,

your hearts light,
too young for
the weary sorrow
that your mothers bear.

What will your eyes see
as the years come,
your soft hands hardened
when play becomes work?

Will you be the first,
or a second wife,
and will your smile
abide, or die
with your first
or second child,
oppressed by the tears
you are forbidden to cry?

And what of your sweet,
child-clean souls,
knowing now only
a god you must appease,
a god far away
full of wrath
unable to keep
evil spirits at bay?

Excitement, and what I did.

Excitement.
It's like momentum.
It is building up, more.
And More, and MORE and MORE, and MORE!

It is knowing that I'm heading off, away from my home, family and all I know, into the great thrill of following God's call.

I know it will be crazy. Amazing, I'm sure, to see God's faithfulness in new ways. Testing, I'm positive, of my faith. I'll grow. Teach. Give, and receive of God every day. Experience fellowship in a way I could never in the States. Experience need in the same way. Experience fear, and learn more to rely on the King. My King-Papa.

Most of all I will be following God's calling on my life, and that in itself is surely satisfying.

But I bet you are all wondering what has actually been happening in my life, not what I'm feeling. Well today I:

• restrung a 12 string guitar, breaking only one new string, and (surprise!) it wasn't the high G!
• helped my mom put up our swamp cooler (it's getting warm out!)
• talked with my neighbor Betty for about an hour. It was awesome. We haven't got to do that in a long time.
• took a bike ride, and looked at the stars.
• Watched the stars come out!
• Worked on stuff for Camp Guamiski
• Called my guitar insurance people again.
• Took my little sis and bro to the park, endangering our skin (the sun was hot!)
• Went to prayer meeting
• and FINALLY posted on my blog!

Whew! I know I did more stuff than that! I just can't remember it all. :) I'm getting so old my memory is going away. He he. Goodnight all.

The Zerma Video

A video about the people group I will be serving in just a couple of months! Time goes by so quickly. It is only a couple of weeks until I go to Guatemala, and then my summer is going to fly by!

I have much to be thankful for tonight. People who love my church, me, in Jesus. Is there a greater blessing in life aside from Christ Himself? Tonight, I don't think so.

Strength found in friendships

Wow!

Wow. What a lovely week I've been having. I got to go visit a friend at her farm in almost-Nebraska. We had a delicious time visiting about everything from the pond we walked around to what life is like living in Africa. She has been to Uganda, and I am getting ready to go to West Africa, so we did talk about that alot. She even made me an African meal, complete with posho, and we ate it with our hands! The fellowship was the best part. There is nothing like sweet conversation while swinging on a homemade swing set!

But that was only the beginning. I got to see another good friend just a couple days after I got home. My little sister had to go to the orthodontist, and a friend I've known since I was 5 lives in the same town as her dentist, so YAY! we got to stay the night with her and her family! We even made time to ride horses in the morning before going into town. If making new friends is delightful, so is hanging out with an old one. Old friends rarely misunderstand you, and you know they will continue to love you, no matter what you do or have done. Even if they aren't coming from the same place as you, they know where you come from, and love you because of it! The best part of this visit, I think, was watching the sun rise in the cool morning air, while we walked to the edge of the pasture, visiting. If you all haven't figured it out yet: I love visiting!

God's blessings are always timed just right. Now I can dig into some of the work that is set before me with the strength found in friendships. God is so good to me!

Yay, Snow!

Today, little things bring us happiness.

Snow and ice,
Hot tea and warm soup,
A new rug beside the fresh Christmas tree,
Christmas plans,
Puppet skits (mo and I are working on one),
Children's quips,
Soda pop and
MUSIC.

Home is good, because Jesus is hope.
Without Christmas there would be no hope, no purpose, no Africa for me.
Thank you my King!!

Something, Finally.

I've finally feel like I'm getting somewhere in this long missions project.

My passport has come.
My application is finished, and my references requested.
I've nearly picked out my jobs.
And I've taken my first round of vaccinations.

I know that God is still at work in the unseen things even when it seems like I am not getting anything done. I know He has been at work in my heart, changing it, preparing and renewing me.

But it sure is nice to see something happening.

at home and away

Very much at home, my heart is in Africa. If you have the time to read this article, you may know why.

Soon I will be there. So I treasure my home moments.

Amid the family bustle of Thanksgiving I have had very little time for blogging. Hopefully I will be back to my online journal soon.

milliejo

direction

I know, it has been forever since I made a post.

I had a bacterial thingy--a nasty thingy-- that made my body and mind struggle for breath. Really. Even my lungs. But let us be praising God for antibiotics! He is so good. There are so many people in the world without access to these wonders, these drugs. We in America ought to be counting our blessings.

So suddenly it is November, and my thoughts are turning toward Thanksgiving and Christmas, toward holidays and home. It has been a long time since I spent my fall at home, not caught up in a whirlwind of school activity. The silence has been good for me.

Yet it has not always been silent. I must remember that even when my life slips away from beneath me in spite of all my planning, Jesus is still at the helm. I have plenty of work yet to do. My job is to do it faithfully, while remembering that Jesus is the one who truly does the work.

That is the danger of direction. So I am called to Africa. So what do I do with that calling? I can't ignore it--God is too big. I could try to accomplish it myself--I am too little. Only I can follow God, seek Him, love Him.

And really, I don't want to spend a minute of my life not basking in His love, His presence. Yet, shamefully, I seem to spend almost every minute in forgetfulness, in the spell of "busy," ignoring the joyful, bountiful, delight of Jesus Himself.

Forgive me Jesus-King.