As many of you know,we have been in Germany since June 24th when we arrived from Côte d'Ivoire for a long needed break. One of the things I was able to do last week was to take off in a powered para-glider that a friend of ours has and fly for about 10 minutes. a para-glider is very similar to a parachute so there is a lot of crossover. However, running with a 60lbs motor on your back while keeping the lines out of the propeller and giving the motor gas at the same time is a hoot. The sensation of leaving the ground below you is so opposite from the feeling of arriving under canopy. That was an experience worth repeating! Here is the clip, albeit poor, it is definitely me. Of course now the question is; how can I get one of these to RCI?

Dedication of the Bible in Cebaara of Korhogo

As I sit here after 2 hours of speeches, songs, sermons and prayer I can't help but think of how faithful God has been to us and to the Senoufo people in allowing us to see this day. Just yesterday I was able to buy a case of Bibles fresh off the press for re-distribution to those we know who read this language. As we listened to Pastor Dossongomon read the list of all of those who have collaborated in the translation of the Bible I could not help but think of the faithfulness of God towards us through the faithful efforts of his people. As he read through the list of those individuals who had contributed to this accomplishment he had to stop several times to let us know that many of them where no longer among the living. Among those who are still living, very few could even be at the Dedication. None of our WorldVenture colleagues, who had had a hand in guiding the translation team during the past 40 years, could be here today.

We were informed that the Cebaara Bible is only the 3rd Bible to have been entirely translated since translations have been happening in Côte d'Ivoire. This is not only a religious event but a social and cultural event which elevates the Cebaara language to the ranks of languages which have a Bible!

As the Pastor Soungalo shared, language is the soul of a people and for some reason God in His grace has permitted and made it possible that the Gospel be heard and told in multiple languages of the world. From the day of Pentecost to today, telling the Story in the mother tongue has been an important aspect of what it is to be a follower of Jesus. On that day in Jerusalem people from around the world gathered for other reasons, heard about why Christ had suffered and how He had risen from the dead. Soungalo pointed out the Pentecost was a divine reversal of the confusion created at the Tower of Babel so many thousands of years earlier.

The best part of the ceremony was when the organizers called on a young girl 14 years of age and had her read from Deuteronomy 6.1-10. As I sat there and listened I could not help but think that this is the main reason for all of this noise, to hear God's Word ring out at this gathering of well over 5000 people. As the fete came to a close and the last prayer was prayed we streamed down from our seats out onto the parade grounds and began to dance in praise to the God who allowed this day to be. I think there will rarely be a day like this, this side of Glory where we will find so much joy and unity at hearing God speak.

As the celebration came to a close and we spoke with so many friends and acquaintances it was with tears in our eyes realizing that the years of faithful service has come to this. To see the eyes of those who read Cebaara light-up as they read passages they have always read in Bambara or French is a rewarding experience and one we hope to see repeated often in our fellowships.

God has done an amazing thing to allow us to see this day. Our prayer is that we will be able to practice what the whole Word of God teaches in our context of Côte d'Ivoire. God is faithful and this day we have witnessed that He is all of that and more!
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About Parties and Presidents

Last Sunday in churches all over Côte d'Ivoire the announcement was made that the Cebaara Bible Dedication planned for the 4th of September (this Saturday), had once again been postponed. It is because there has been a concerted effort on the part of some of the organizers that the President of Côte d'Ivoire be invited to the party. It was only last week that we learned of the "high interest" of the president to be there for the dedication. The problem was that the 4th would not be possible and so in good Ivorian fashion, everything is put on hold until such time that the President can find time in his busy calendar to attend such a dedication. Of course this does not take into account that the WorldVenture Board Representative had to toss out his flight tickets again, nor that this means that the Bible will not be available for we don't know how long, and that all of our other plans for trips, meetings and a hundred other things have to be adjusted.

But who's to complain. In this country where only recently anyone was allowed to say anything that might be construed as being an attack on the government and its leaders, such an attitude is entirely understandable. There is an up side to this delay however and that is that the entire country will be presented with the fact that there is an important Christian community in the north of Côte d'Ivoire. This is important because much of the fuel for this 8 year long conflict has been the notion held by many Christians in southern Côte d'Ivoire that everyone in the north are Muslims and foreigners who should simply be eliminated. At the beginning of the conflict there was a concerted effort on the part of some "Christians" in southern Côte d'Ivoire to characterize the conflict as that of Muslims trying to take over the country. This failed to take into account that the north of Côte d'Ivoire is far more diverse than that. This attitude was evident, sadly enough, in the multitude of prayer vigils organized by Christians in blind support of the government, going so far as actually collecting money in churches to support the war effort against their brothers from the north. Many times during this conflict we have hung our heads in shame at the attitude of our so called brethren from southern Côte d'Ivoire. With that background one can understand better why having the President present for the Dedication of the Cebaara Bible might be so important.

Another and by far less important reason for having the President come to the Dedication is that normally his office will more than likely foot the bill for the manifestation. This of course helps us think big and as a result he will get a "free" platform, so to speak, for his presidential campaign. Incidentally, the presidential elections are programmed for the end of October this year, again! Like the Dedication, this does not mean they will actually take place the end of October!
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2 Weeks and Counting

Long before I was born and well into my adult life there has been a translation project taking place in northern Côte d'Ivoire which has come to an end. The translation part of the project has been over for several years now and the final manuscripts have been in the hands of the Alliance Biblique (United Bible Society) for several years now. Last January we were contacted concerning this project and we were told that the final product would be printed by the end of May 2010. Being used to disappointment, we were not sure what to make of this news right then. However, true to their word this time, the Alliance has delivered and even as I write these words the final shipment of Cebaara Bibles is making its way north to Korhogo, the capital of the north and the cultural and traditional center for the Cebaara speaking peoples.

"Excited" is a feeble term to describe the feeling in our churches across the region as they anticipate the arrival of this treasure. For the past several months we have been planning and working on a dedication celebration for its arrival to which the President of Côte d'Ivoire has been invited. This dedication is planned for the 4th of September in Korhogo. There has been a special cloth made for the festivities which will be sewn into a hundred different styles and sizes by thousands of tailors to clothe the 10.000 faithful expected to attend this celebration. Of course, when a president makes the decision to come to such a fête there are implications which go far beyond any one person's ability to appreciate. In this case and under the actual tension that already exists in a country that has not been at peace for almost 8 years, an event of this size and of this kind can have serious outcomes. Our prayer is that as we celebrate the publishing of the first edition of the Cebaara Bible that its message of true peace with God would ring out as we celebrate together the accomplishment of such a weighty task. To be able to read the Bible in one's own language brings new meaning to old stories which are now "told" in words that make far better sense than anything you have seen or heard up until now.

We just met last night with the organization crew in Korhogo and our budget for this party is now set at a little less that $20.000 USD. When a president arrives and during a time like this only 2 months before the re-scheduled elections, you cannot sit back and enjoy the scenery! That will come in two more weeks!

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Just some of what's been happening

We have been in the US a grand total of 3 weeks and we have been through 6 different western states, seen hundreds of friends and colleagues, eaten far more than what has been good for us, spent more money than we ever intended and yes, we are still married and even talking to each other.

I have officially entered the 21st century I am told. I recently purchased a Blackberry which I am actually attempting to use to write this blog. So far I like it alright though I do find the keys mighty close together. It is supposed to change the way I communicate but I must say that so far Angelika is not impressed!

About one week ago we drove to Denver, Colorado to pick up Keo Kognon, the director of the Bethel Bible Institute where I teach in Korhogo, north Cote d'Ivoire. He arrived on the 3rd of July and spent the 4th sleeping and catching up on lost sleep. We arrived on the morning of the 5th after driving for 23 hours straight.

After a few hours of sleep we were off to New Life Fellowship where we enjoyed some great fellowship with some dear friends. In the meantime Keo was off to another church, North Metro in Denver with Jim Copeland from WorldVenture's mobilisation department.

That afternoon we spent time visiting with Bob and Pam Hubbard (OT Professor at North Park Seminary in Chicago) and their two kids, Ben and Matt. Matt and his wife own an apartment in downtown Denver which was nothing less than amazing. It was also great to spend time with Ben who spent about 9 weeks in Cote d'Ivoire with me back in 1996.., I think, when he was 18 and I was younger! Age is getting to me.

After two whirlwind days at our home office and touching base with other friends in the area we took off Wednesday morning heading west on our way back to Oregon. Stopping to see friends along the way we arrived in Hillsboro at about 6h00 Thursday morning and after travelling for another 24 hours. Thursday night Angelika spent the night at Mark Colligan's place with his boys while he spent the night at hospital with Liz, his wife who is nearing the end of a loosing battle with cancer.

Friday afternoon we were off the our church family camp at Camp Tadmor where we had a blast shooting each other in their paint ball course as well as eating too much and swimming in the lake. Saturday evening we got home at 22h30 and slept for a few hours before heading to Lincoln City at 6h00 to make their 8h30 service.

After a day at Faith Baptist in Lincoln City we headed home arriving tired and with aching hearts as we watch our sister Liz slipping away. It is hard to know where, what, when... then we remember that God is.

Es klopft bei Wanja in der Nacht

In the German children’s story Es klopft bei Wanja in der Nacht, by Tilde Michels, we find Wanja sleeping warmly in his hunting cabin in the woods during a snow storm when he hears someone tapping on his door. He gets up to see who it is to find a hare freezing and asking to come in for the night. Wanja lets him in, puts some more wood in the stove and climbs back in bed. Not much later the hare and Wanja are awakened by a shivering fox knocking on the door asking to spend the night in the hunter’s cabin out of the snow storm. Wanja lets him in much to the consternation of the hare. After letting him in they all bed down for the rest of the night when a short time later they hear again a knocking at the door. Wanja getting up once again opens the door to find a very cold bear asking if he could not spend the night in the hunter’s cabin. The fox is not too fond of the idea but as the hare in his regard had kept his peace so did he with regards to the bear.

Early the next morning each one of Wanja’s guests creep out of the hunter’s cabin being careful not to wake up the others, first the hare, then the fox and finally the bear. In the morning when Wanja wakes up he finds that the cabin is empty and he scratches his head thinking that it must have all been a simple dream. Stepping outside Wanja sees the tracks of his three guests in the fresh fallen snow and in the words of Tilde Michels:

Der Wanja schaut und nickt und lacht: (Wanja looks, nods and laughs)
„Wir haben wirklich diese Nacht (We really spent this night)
gemeinsam friedlich zugebracht. – (together in peace. – )
Was so ein Schneesturm alles macht!“ (And that is what a snow storm can do!)

I always get a buzz out of this story. Wanja joyfully and simply says that the adversity (in this case the snow storm) faced by each of his guests that night, brought together the most unlikely housemates for the night. For Wanja’s guests the snow storm was too much and each one found himself sleeping in a cabin with someone who, on any other day, might have made him their noon meal. The hare was fearful of the fox, the fox of the bear, and let us not forget that Wanja was sleeping in a hunter’s cabin which is not the best of places to sleep even if you are a bear. Enemies, all sleeping in one room in the middle of the forest because of a snow storm.

“Snow storms” are not our favorite times in life and we would all like to avoid them if possible. God has a way of bringing us together with some characters we would rather not be with through “snow storms”. I have asked my self numerous times in the past several years why He has placed us in Bouaké on a campus full of French soldiers. I can think of a lot of other people with whom I would rather be living and working. Our “snow storm” has of course been the continuing civil unrest in Côte d'Ivoire. We would love to see elections take place and for everything to get back to “normal”. Somehow however, I have a feeling that this is a bit of an illusion. So it is at the end of three months of home assignment in Germany, we are in the middle of preparing our return to our “snow storm” where, incidentally, we hope to find no real snow!

One of the highlights of the past several months for us has been getting back in contact with many of our friends and supporters here in Germany. We have enjoyed a number of different things ranging from cold winter walks to fantastic meals together while working on various and sundry projects. But the best has been the challenge to persevere in our walk with the Father through our fellowship here in Germany. Theirs is not an easy lot to follow Christ in a country like this where, to proclaim your attachment to God is a bit like saying you have a dreaded infectious disease. We have been inspired by those who have, through difficult life situations, remained faithful. Preparing to leave Germany and hop back into our West African roles we are a bit sad. We will not miss the cold and the snow but we will miss the fellowship.

Many of you know that we had a party to celebrate 50 years of marriage for my folks. We flew from Germany to Oregon the 13th of October for 2 weeks to spend some time together as a family. On Saturday, the 25th of October we celebrated my folks’ 50th along with relatives from all over the state and about 200 friends. It was a lot of fun seeing people we hadn’t seen in years. Following the party our entire family headed off for several days together on the Oregon Coast.

For the first time in 10 years my parents had all of their children together, all at the same time and in one place, with all of their spouses and assorted offspring. We made a squad of 19 individuals all together. We were able to spend a couple of days together and had a wild time cooking, playing, looking at photos, and walking on the beach in Yachats, Oregon. The range in ages made for some interesting conversations and creative cooking combinations. One outstanding blessing for us was the great weather we had on the Oregon coast the end of October. It was shorts and t-shirts weather on the beach and some of the younger ones even found themselves rolling in a very cold surf, albeit unintentionally. Great times like these come far too seldom it would seem. We thank God for each occasion He gives us to be with family.

Once again I find myself out of room having written far too much for your tired eyes. Thanks for letting us share with you our variously unsettled lives. May you have a great holiday season full of thankfulness for what God has done in your lives.


Rod and Angelika

Guests and Elections

It has been said that having guests in one's home is better than accumulating riches. If that is the case then we have become extremely wealthy in the last three months. As I sit here at the end of a very long and full summer of ministry and fellowship, I am beginning to believe this saying. During this summer we have hosted no less than 50 people, all but 4 spending at least one night and many of them several. Of these guests we hosted 24 Americans, 26 Ivorians and one guy from France... that is not counting the 200 plus French troops that live on this campus with us. Overall most of our guests were a joy to have and we are richer for their visits. After nearly 3 years on this campus with few visitors, this summer seems like its the turn about on that score. Most of our guests were young the youngest being nearly a year old and the oldest… let's say he was older than me!

Some of these arrived and left on public transport and some arrived in private cars. Some we had to pickup either in Abidjan or in Bamako, Mali. During their different stays they all had to eat and some of them even took baths! Some came to work with orphans in a local orphanage and some were here for a break. Some came for work related issues and some just for kicks. Perhaps the greatest thing about hosting all of these people was the pleasure of getting to see them connect with each other. Some of our guests came knowing better French than we do and others without any other language than English to get them through the day. As a result we had many interesting and at times confusing conversations around the table as we tried to integrate everyone.

It was a challenge to deal with young American kids who have, as we can testify, very different values from their Ivorian counterparts. It was a challenge to integrate young Ivorians with young Americans and to have them work together. At times it was too much for us as we will admit but then again to be challenged is a great thing. Life without challenges is like a plant growing without a dry spell. It would never learn to sink its roots deep to find good sources without the challenge of the dry season. So it is we have come through a challenging summer with a ton of guests, the last two of which we just put on their flight back to Oregon last night. Did we have fun? You bet! Did it tire us out? Sure! Will we do it again? Absolutely! “Bring- em-on!” is what I say.

At the same time we have been approached by several different groups who have expressed an interest in renting part or all of the ICA campus in Bouaké. It is good news as we are hearing more and more of troop withdrawal from the French command in Abidjan. Officially they have said that following the November 30^th elections that they will begin withdrawal. Of course we all wonder about these elections. Will they happen or not? It would seem that the official word is “Yes!” Of course much of that is political rhetoric with which we are quite familiar. So goes that saga of the now 6 year war in Côte d'Ivoire which has really been a relatively peaceful war if such is possible. The latest street talk is that elections will probably not happen until February 2009, which is still a crap shoot if you ask me. National elections seem to be the new “fix everybody's problem” solution that the International Community is trying to sell in a world where we know that elections will fix nothing. How do you go through life knowing that?

Back in Bouaké... On the 2nd Attempt!

Finally last night at about 17h30 I rolled into Bouaké where the roads were uncharacteristically free. Having spent too many days on the road it was good to get back to what we find familiar albeit frustrating at times. It seems that the rebels have accepted whatever it was that their chiefs have told them and they are once again going to let traffic flow after a fashion, normally. When we saw them parading about the other night it looked like it was war again. Just to rectify my last story, at about 22h30 the rebels opened the blockade creating a blockade of another sort as all the vehicles on either side of the barriers tried to get through at once creating a 2 hour traffic jamb for probably 2 kilometers.

I was not there but back in Korhogo where I rested easy and was able to help assemble the new antenna for the Radio Sinaï. They had received the hardware from HCJB earlier in the week but had no idea how to assemble and install it. We worked through the morning and by 15h00 we had most of it together and straightened out. Now they simply need to adjust the wave lengths and then I get to climb to the top again and lower the old antenna and mount the new. Sounds simple but it has to be done while hanging off a 42 meter tower which I cannot sit inside. After working on some larger towers, I am beginning to hate this thing! Oh well, at least we think that we can be sure that it is not going to fall over any time soon. And hopefully Radio Sinaï can be back on the air in full force.

Rod Ragsdale

please reply to: rags@worldventure.net

cell: (225) 05.29.23.46 (Côte d'Ivoire)

Skype: rod.ragsdale

Blog : ragsdalerag.blogspot.com

Blocked at Bouaké

Today I find myself once again in Korhogo after trying in vain last night to enter Bouaké. It would seem that the rebels in Bouaké are once again dissatisfied with the promised “payments” for laying down their arms and they have sealed off the city to all vehicles coming from either the north or the south. 

Yesterday morning, after about two weeks on the road I was looking forward to returning home to my own bed and seeing the guys I had left in charge of things on the Bouaké campus. Angelika and our short term girls had left from Ferké direct to Bouaké with one vehicle and I took the second to pick- up our trailer and a few other items in Korhogo where I had to see several people before heading for Bouaké

By about 12h00 noon I was on the road. When I arrived in Katiola (50 km north of Bouaké) I received a message from Angelika saying that the roads in Bouaké were all blocked. They had made it to a friend's place on the northwest side of town and were waiting it out. Not being sure if I should proceed or not I stopped to greet the pastor Coulibaly Amegnan in Katiola. We talked for about two hours while we waited to hear from Angelika. She finally called to let me know that the roads were open and that the way was clear.

With this assurance I asked for the road and set off for Bouaké. Arriving in at the outskirts of Bouaké I realize that there was a problem. Having lived in this precarious country for several years it seems that many people have learned to not drive into what looks like a confused situation. I stopped well outside of town along with others to find out what the story was. Of course the stories were many and varied. Some said that the road was blocked because the rebels were demanding 5 million CFA (about $12.250) per soldier for laying down their arms and returning to civilian life. Now that is a lot of cash and I am sure that no one ever promised that much but when you have guns you can say anything you want!

As for us, that is to say, me along with hundreds of other travelers, we were blocked waiting for things to clear. After waiting about two hours the rumor began circulating that we might be there for the night. Incidentally, what had been promised was 255.000 CFA ($625) which is apparently unsatisfactory for a soldier with a gun.

With that in mind and the fact that I was carrying too much cash, I thought that either I had better try to sneak in through one of the back roads or return to Korhogo where I had work to do on the radio tower anyway. After one aborted attempt to avoid a rebel blockade I decided it smarter to return to Korhogo before it got too late. According to those within the city limits life was going normally. It was only at the sensitive roads that the traffic was stopped.

So it was that last night at about 20h00 I rolled back into Korhogo having knocked on our door at Bouaké without gaining entrance. According to the news reports this morning the road is still blocked, the rebels permitting passage to only those trucks with foreign plates. And so the saga continues as this country tries to find its way out of a war that has continued for too long and borne far too few benefits for its people.

Why I Think the War is Over

By now I would suspect that most of you reading this note have heard of my most recent bout with typhoid. It would seem that the rumors are accurate and that I am once again trying to get a clear bill of health. The last time I had this filthy disease was right at the beginning of the war in Côte d'Ivoire after our evacuation from Korhogo. Now that I am down again might be a sign that the war is officially over! Of course it could also be a sign that I drank some dirty water or ingested some foul food. Chances are it is the later. Even so, we are hoping that the war is over as well!

Since we last sat down and wrote one of these things we have been to Benin and back where we helped with the installation of new guy wires on the 80 meter medium wave tower for Trans-World Radio. On that trip we spent a considerable amount of time on the side of the road with a broken down vehicle and in the end a fair wad of cash as well. Even so the trip was a success and we returned to Bouaké in good form.

However, because of the length of that trip due to vehicle problems we took the decision to pursue the purchase of another vehicle. This we did in April of this year. We purchased a Toyota Land Cruiser through an organization in Gibraltar who sells exclusively to missions and other NGO's working in Africa. Our vehicle was shipped directly from the factory in Japan and ready for pick-up the 18th of April. Yes, we traveled to Gibraltar and picked up our car in order to drive in back south to Côte d'Ivoire. We took about 3 weeks traveling the length of Morocco to Nouakchott, Mauritania and on to Dakar, Senegal. After a few days in Dakar we traveled on to Bamako, Mali and then south to Côte d'Ivoire. It was a very interesting trip full of surprises and not at all boring. We were glad to be home however, having seen more desert that we care to see for a while.

By the time we got home we had about 3 weeks to get ready for the first of a host of Short-Term teams. As well as ST's I had to finish with the course work at Bethel Bible Institute. I had about 6 weeks of work to squeeze into about 3 weeks of classes. It was a challenge and may have contributed to my current laid-up state.

As for the ST teams, our first installment came in the form of 5 individuals from Madras Conservative Baptist Church out of Oregon. Dana St. John led the team and did a superb job. We split the team during their stay so as profit the most from their passage. The three guys and I along with Nicodème, one of our local carpenters and his crew traveled to Tiongofolokaha and had the thrill of putting on the new church roof. We were able to finish the task in 3 days before returning to Bouaké and Abidjan for their return flight to the US.

During their stay we also had a visit from Jonathan Finley, a WorldVenture worker in Paris, France and two pastors from his home state of California. Jonathan was interested in exploring ways in which we could use multi- cultural teams coming from France and the US in our leadership training programs here in Côte d'Ivoire. It was a lot of fun being together and seeing the interaction. Needless to say though, our time spent with all these folks together took a lot of coordination and extra time, but highly worth the time.

By the time the Californians and the Madras team left we were just a little tired. It didn't matter though; I had another team coming in from Bamako on the 4th and so I high-tailed it back up to Korhogo to be there when they arrived. This team was from Houghton College and they were coming to help us roof the church in Kanoroba, south and west for Korhogo about 100 km. On the morning of the 5th with trailers loaded and team in tow, we traveled to Kanoroba. Upon arriving we began to set up for the work ahead. Once again, Nicodème and his crew were essential to the completion of the Kanoroba church roof. By Saturday night we had the roof on and that Sunday we had a fantastic time of praise in the newly roofed chapel. By Sunday evening we were back in Korhogo and by Wednesday the Houghton team was back in Bamako ready to return to the US.

I was able to get in a few more hours of classes with my students that week before retuning to Bouaké. On Friday Angelika and I traveled back to Abidjan again to pickup another ST'er from Atlanta, Georgia. This one came as a surprise and we were pleased that she stepped up even though she had wanted to be in Guinea. Courtney is a nursing student and is here for 4 weeks trying to see what nursing in this part of the world looks like. After retuning from Abidjan with Courtney on Saturday, I decided to travel the next day to Korhogo to finish the last of my classes. I was feeling a bit off as I took off Sunday morning. I made the trip without difficulty but arrived very tired. It was there that the end began.

The Sounds of the Bats

The comforting sounds of the fruit bats (Eidolon helvum) squabbling as they sort out their sleeping quarters for the day is a familiar sound to anyone living in this part of the world. All night these bats have been foraging throughout the country side looking for ripe bananas, mangoes, papayas, guavas, baobab flowers and numerous other sweet meats and flowers from which they gain the needed energy for another day of hanging upside-down in the trees that populate the Bouaké campus. Because of the disappearance of many of the forests around Bouaké these creatures find the campus more attractive than ever before.

They begin to pick out their roosting sites at about 4h30 and continue until 6h00 or so when the sun begins to show its light. This provides for quite the chorus as they all try to get into the right spot for the day where they will be well hidden and with the right companions. In the process males call out to make sure that they attract the right females with whom they will do so specialized “squabbling” in an effort to make sure that the trees remain full of fruit bats.

This noise that we old timers find so comforting and familiar is one which creates quite the stir for any newcomer. It has been described as similar to that of a small hammer hitting the side of a steel hulled sunken ship. Having never hit the side of a sunken steel hulled ship while under water, this is difficult to verify that this is actually the case although it does provide for an interesting image. If you think about it in these terms however, you could get the impression that you are a fish at 5h00 in the morning until you hear the muezzin call for prayer!

Fruit bats may be seen by the thousands in the old kapok tree groves on the Plateau in the city of Abidjan. At dusk in Abidjan if one looks to the sky these bats can be seen flying off out to the fields where they will feed all night before returning to the center of the largest city in Côte d'Ivoire to spend the day squabbling over roosting spots, mating rights, view points and numerous other seemingly mundane issues, strangely mirroring what is going on in the streets of the city below them. This large population of bats supports a relatively large colony of black kites (Milvus migrans) as well which can often be seen flying among the clouds of bats at dusk as they fly out to their feeding grounds. They can pick out a small and infirmed bat fairly easily, usually avoiding the healthy and bigger bats.

The one drawback of having fruit bats around is that the fruit takes a beating as it is fruit that they eat. It is not uncommon to find that if you want to eat a fresh mango you are going to have to share part of it with a fruit bat. Not that big of a deal unless of course the bat has had the whole night to eat that mango you were waiting to pick when it was just so. Then it can be aggravating. My bet is though, with all of the mangoes our forefathers planted on this campus, it will be a long time before we are forced to share every mango with a bat. Oh yes, we also have a small colony of black kites that have found nesting in our kapok grove a desirable spot for rearing their young and teaching them the delights of fresh fruit bat dinner while on the wing.

Tabaski and Christmas in Bouake

What has Tabaski and Christmas in common you ask? Nothing really in my opinion. Also the market here and the supermarket in Europe and the US don’t have much in common. It’s only that both holidays are close together this year. Yesterday, I drove through our sheep market. I have never seen so many sheep in one place in my life. Actually it’s a big empty place here in the City of Bouake, where cars drive through easily. Only the last few weeks it’s filled with thousands of sheep.

Wednesday, 19th December, uncountable lots of sheep are going to be sacrificed for the forgiveness of sins, here in Bouake and everywhere in the Muslim world. Tabaski or El-Eid is one of the biggest holidays in Islam. It’s to remember Abraham offering his son Ishmael on the alter and God provided a ram to be used for the sacrifice instead. While few in our surroundings will celebrate Christmas, Jesu’s Birthday, a few days later.

Rom. 6, 10: „The death he died, he died to sin once for all.“ Hebr. 7, 27: „He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.” John 1, 29 + 32: When John saw Jesus coming toward him he said: „Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. I would not have known him.“

How are we spending our Christmas season? Rod drove up to Korhogo for two weeks to teach at the Bible school. This week he has a module on Islam. He is coming back to Bouake, Dec. 22nd. Angelika stayed in Bouake to shop in the sheep market. No! She visited Mariam, a friend from church, whose husband converted to Islam, last year. This summer, a rival (a 2nd wife of her husband) moved in with a baby and a two year old girl. The small apartment got pretty tight for Mariam and her 3 children. Not only that. There are lots of problems in the Coulibaly family. Mariam does need a lot of prayer and encouragement out of God’s Word. Today, I visited another young lady from church who just delivered her 3rd child two weeks ago. A few days ago her husband died from an incurable disease. She also needs a lot of prayer and encouragement. Furthermore, I am encouraging Celine, a young girl of 19 years, who will get baptized with about 20 other young people. Celine is the only believer in her Muslim family. On Wednesday, she will help her mom preparing the Tabaski lamb. But Christmas and her baptism a few days later will not be celebrated in her family, not to mention to be noticed. That’s why a few friends of her are going to surprise her and I am going to help them with it.

“Hear the sound of the nations calling? Hear the sound of the fatherless crying? Who will go for us? Who will shout to the corners of the earth that Christ is King?”

(Israel Houghton – „We speak to Nations“©2001 Integrity’s Praise Music)

Wishing you a Merry Christmas

Joyeux Noel

Fröhliche Weihnachten

Rod and Angelika

Our Three Week Saga

Well it has been 6 weeks since leaving the land of round doorknobs, slow traffic and restaurants on every corner (the US for those who may not have had the “joy” of passing through that country). Since our return to Côte d'Ivoire we have made a trip to Parakou, Benin and part way back. And herein lays a story.

Breakdown – #1
Before leaving for Parakou 3 weeks ago, we had been to Korhogo twice to teach. All of this with a vehicle that was beginning to give us a few minor concerns but which seemed to be holding its own. On our way north through Burkina Faso we had a relatively uneventful trip until we hit the town of Boromo, halfway between Bobo-Dioulasso and Ouagadougou. It was about 17h00 when I noticed a gradual loss of power which very quickly became a total loss of power as the motor stopped all together. Our Toyota Hilux, having about 260.000 km on the odometer, seems to be a candidate for such events as we found out three weeks ago.

After getting towed back to Boromo, where we spent the night in a nice little hotel, we discovered the next morning that we had a faulty fuel pump. That may not sound like much if you are used to gasoline/petrol engines. Toyota engines in Africa are, for the most part, diesel/gasoil. To loose a fuel pump is not good. In the end we were able to get towed to Ouagadougou (over 175 km in the dark) by a crew that decided it would be better to be half drunk before leaving. As we flew down the dark highway with Alfa Blondie blaring into the night, I was thankful that we had had the insight to send Angelika on ahead on the bus that morning to Ouaga.

Replacing steel with Phillystrand:
After spending 2 days in Ouaga, we were able to get back on the road to Parakou on Monday the 12th. We arrived in Parakou without difficulty and spend two full weeks helping with the Trans-World Radio transmitter site doing a variety of things help them out. The main job for which we had come was to help put new guy cables on the tower which was already standing. This was a bit of a challenge as we hauled our poor old broken bones up and down the tower for 3 days attaching new cables to the tower and taking off the old lines. We were replacing steel cable with a product called “Phillystrand” which as we found is much lighter and relatively easy to work with. The re-guying of the tower went without a hitch and we finished well before we had to leave.

We were treated royally while there by South African friends, Garth and Fiona Kennedy, the project leader for the past several years. It was great to spend time with them as well, drinking tea, eating Marmite on bread and sweet chutneys on meat and other such things folks in South Africa do. I take my hat off to folks like the Kennedy’s. Although Garth could be a general contractor anywhere in the world and Fiona as a doctor could be raking in the cash at a hospital, they have chosen to spend several years in less than agreeable conditions, fighting malaria, typhoid fevers and the like, to serve in the installation of this transmitter site which will bring Christian programming back to the more remote areas of West Africa. Through this medium wave transmitter TWR along with SIM will be able to impact areas that until recently have had little or no Christian influence. It is also our hope that their presence in West Africa will be a big help to smaller stations like Radio Sinaï of Korhogo where we have been involved.

An amazing part of this part of the story is that when we arrived in Parakou the container with the Phillystrand had just cleared the port in Cotonou but it was still in Cotonou, half a day’s drive from Parakou. The container had been loaded on the train at the beginning of the week but it only arrived in Parakou the Sunday the 18th giving us just enough time to unpack and install the Phillystrand before having to leave.

It seems that God had those details all worked out. It also allowed us a little time to get to know the other engineers, Paul Cox (the new project leader) and Chuck (both with TWR) who have also contributed much of their time as well as Lazare, Souleymanne, Etienne, and some of the other guys from Benin helping with the project. It was an interesting 2 weeks during which time I learned a lot and gained an appreciation for what TWR and other Christian broadcasters are trying to do around the world.

Breakdown – #2
So it was with our useful contribution having come to an end, we asked for the road last Saturday and began our long return trip to Côte d'Ivoire. We made it to Ouaga without difficulty and the following day (Sunday) we began the last leg of our journey home. At 200 km out having just passed through Boromo, (this happens to be the very same town in which our fuel pump gave up the ghost!) I heard a noise which sounded ever so familiar. As soon as I heard it I knew that the crankshaft had broken. Looking at the engine we could see the fan belt pulley on the crankshaft wobble as we ran the engine. I knew that we were in trouble again. After making calls to Bobo-Dioulasso and Ouaga, we decided that it would be best to haul the truck back up the road to Ouaga where parts are more readily available.

Following several hours of dickering over a hauling price, we began the long road back to Ouagadougou about 3 meters behind a truck going at about 60 km/hr without brake lights to tell me when he was about to brake. As we were once again flying down the road behind this truck around which we could see nothing, trying to stay just behind him hoping that he wouldn’t swerve too quickly to avoid something we could not see and standing on the brake any time it felt as though he was about to slow down, I said to Angelika, “This is more exciting than a tandem skydive!” And I meant it when I said it. By the time we arrived at the garage we were nearly black from the poorly adjusted diesel motor of our tow truck. We would rather not think about what we were breathing.

The next morning after spending yet another night at the Nehlsen’s (director for Christian & Missionary Alliance of Burkina Faso, and an old classmate and colleague of mine) I went down to the garage to find my fears confirmed, the second broken crankshaft in less than four months. Needless to say I am less than impressed with our mechanic in Bouaké who assured me the last time that the crankshaft that he replaced was the correct one. So it is here when one does not have the time to do his own work. You only get what you get. This time we took the time to work through the replacement parts and match its numbers with those of the engine block. Of course I am still sitting here in Ouagadougou waiting to hear if the parts that we purchased are indeed the parts that will work.

How I really see it:
Now you may be thinking that this is a long string of bad luck which you would wish on no one. The fact of the matter is that we have been able to spend time with Steve and Amy Nehlsen that we would never have had had it not been for these breakdowns. We have been able to share our lives and our faith with our good friend Safiou who is still a Muslim after all these years. Although he is not practicing he has not to date been willing to follow Christ. While in Boromo I had several occasions to share with a young man who is involved in beekeeping and to encourage him and share ideas about how to modernize wisely. Boromo is also a town where one can at times see elephants in the vicinity which also makes it an interesting place to visit.

On our next visit we will find many good friends who have helped us in one way or another. The old man who loaned us his truck to haul us into Ouaga turns out to have lived for some time in Bouaké and knows several people with whom I am acquainted. All in all, our breakdowns, although we wish they had not happened, we can see how God just wanted us to spend a little more time in Boromo and in Ouaga than we had planned. We would like to be home just now but we are here and it would appear that it is the right place to be at this point. It has also allowed me the time to sit down and write down some of the stuff that has been going on just now. I guess that God really does know what he is doing. One last benefit of these difficulties is that we are looking at purchasing another vehicle in the near future so you can count on it, you will be hearing from this corner again!

I have been looking into another way to get to Bobo-Dioulasso and on to Côte d'Ivoire without having to pass through Boromo again! Of course, now that I have paid my dues the Boromo road spirits should be appeased and let us pass without any more trouble. With my luck though, I am probably going to be hit by and elephant!

We Bought the Farm!

Truth is a House!

For the first time in my life I am in dept up to my ears. Today Angelika and I signed a contract to purchase a house from my folks. With Thomas Moore, the lawyer hired to write up the contract as well as both mom and dad, we sat and read through the document which states that I am indebted to them until the house is paid for. This is a big step for the two of us who live in a cash society in Africa where this sort of a set-up is unheard of. The house that we purchased can be seen on Google if you do a search for: 163 NE Lincoln Ct. Hillsboro, OR 97124.

The second big step we took was to rent it out to a couple who has just returned to Oregon after a brief foray of two months to California. They were glad to find a place within their price range and such a nice place at that and we are thrilled to have renters from the first day that this house became our responsibility.

So it is that today we signed two contracts and have moved from being among those who mark on their tax returns that they own no home in the USA to those who mark that they do. We find ourselves among those who make regular contributions to the city and county for the better operation of things such as utilities, city centers, parks and office buildings. Who knows, maybe we are paying for stuff now that actually benefits us and those around us!

We Lost Some Friends

On the sad note, many of you may have heard the sad news concerning the crash of the Grand Caravan near White Pass, Washington at the beginning of this week. It was carrying 9 skydivers back to Shelton, Washington following the Caravan Boogie Star Skydiving Center of Star, Idaho. There were ten on board and as of yesterday searchers had found all of the victims of this tragic crash.

Knowing skydivers and having met some of these guys it is hard to imagine such a full loss. According to the reports that I have read, some authorities are asking if icing may not have been the cause of this crash. I would ask that you be in prayer for the families of these skydivers and the pilot. I know personally the owners of the plane and I have jumped with several of those who lost their lives in this accident. To loose so many in one accident of course has huge implications for their home drop zone in Snohomish, Washington. It will also impact the future operations of Kapowsin Air Sports in Shelton, Washington, the drop zone where this plane was based.

Planes are often rented from one DZ to another such as Farrington’s plane had been that weekend to the Star, Idaho for the “Caravan Boogie”. Unfortunately for the team from Snohomish and their families this accident ended the dreams and hopes of many at one time. Pray that those who are left would find their hope in God in the days and months to come. There are very few skydivers in my experience who would say that they are believers or followers of Jesus, which is just one more reason to pray for their families and friends. As one of the brothers of one of the guys lost in the accident said, “Skydivers form a tight bond with each other.” This tragedy is bound to have a significant impact on the entire family. My prayer is that it would cause many to ask what the purpose of life is, even when it is cut short as it has been for these great skydivers. As we say in skydiver, “All the best and Blue Skies!”

Some News Links:
Seattle Times Article
Victim Profiles
Seattlepi.com
FOX 11 AZ

Wilderness Wanderings

It has now been 3 and ½ months since we set foot on this nation’s soil and it would seem that it is now time to get out of here. It has been an interesting few months filled with visits, phone calls, meetings, trips, fuel stations, restaurants, rain storms and sunny days. We have put over 5000 miles on our little Nissan Sentra and it is still rolling. We have hiked into some of the most beautiful county in God’s creation both in the Mountain Lakes Wilderness area in southern Oregon and in the Sister’s Wilderness area of Central Oregon. We were able to taste some of the best huckleberries in the world (the ones just picked off of the bush which don’t make it to the can) and enjoy the sound of the forest away from the highways and mechanized world we live in.

I don’t think one can beat the feeling of getting up in the early morning in the mountains, starting the fire while brewing coffee and watching the valley floor stir to life as the sun creeps up over the eastern trees and hills. It’s at moments like these that one is reminded that we serve an awesome God who has given us so much. It also forces one to reflect on the responsibility that we must have before God for the way in which we treat this creation. I don’t suppose that there are many other spots in the world where one gets such a profound sense of how great this world we live in really is. My guess is that if we were to live in Michigan, Georgia or some flat place like that, we would have a harder time coming to such conclusions.

Besides having been profoundly impressed and blown away by douglas firs, hemlocks, sugar pines, mountain lakes, springs and mossy glades, I have also found several books very interesting in the past few months. The one that topped my list for interesting recently has been The Starfish and the Spider – the Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations by Ori Brafman and Rod Beckstrom. The basic idea is that, “If you cut off a spider’s head, it dies; but if you cut off a starfish’s leg, it grows a new one, and that leg can grow into an entirely new starfish. Traditional top-down organizations are like spiders, but starfish organizations are changing the face of business and the world.”

They go one to describe seven principles of decentralization in the first half of the book before trying to give meaning to the legs of a decentralized organization in the following section. They finish by pointing out that hybrid organizations might do better in situations where there is still need for a central clearing house approach to business, such as your bank or a flight program. One of the things that struck me in particular is the principle that a “starfish” organization finds its raison d’être in its ideology rather than in a strong leader at the top with a clear “vision”, such as it is, as with a spider organization. Wow! That has some serious ramifications. You gotta read the book!

Another book that I have been reading is Jared Diamond’s book, Collapse – How Societies choose to Fail or Succeed. Perhaps that is why I have been thinking about the beauty of Oregon so much recently. According to his tell (and one does need to take him with a grain of salt) we are not all that far from what could be the end of western societies as we have come to know them in recent history. Of course much of his discussion is centered around our use or poor use of natural resources that we have and the huge conflicts of interests that are played out in a single valley of the United States which are amplified a million times in other parts of the world with far more dyer consequences. He does a good job of pulling one’s head up and making one ask how he could be more conscientious in the use of the resources at his disposal. Of course as I read this stuff from the perspective of life in Africa it certainly has other implications that the average American may not pick-up on simply because the impact of global warming may not be as severe. That is not to say that there may not be implications but all indications are that the tropical parts of this world may be affected far more severely by global warming.

I have found it disturbing that more Christians do not give this issue much thought. It seems that global warming has become a “liberal” discussion point which simply means that we who follow Christ need not be concerned. I am concerned that the “labeling” of an issue like this has taken so many good thinking people out of the discussion. I guess I would hope that more of us would find the strength and courage to begin thinking about a more sustainable industrialized world. Walking the forest paths of Oregon, running down streams and swimming in pristine mountain lakes has moved me with a sense of our responsibility to take better care of this place.

Now before you write me off altogether, let me end these ramblings by making mention of another idea that has recently caught my fancy. I have been impressed by some of the articles one can find online concerning “missio dei” or the sending of God/mission of God. There is an excellent summary of this concept found on Wikipedia which I recommend. Mission is not primarily an activity of the church, but an attribute of God. God is a missionary God.

“It is not the church that has a mission of salvation to fulfill in the world; it is the mission of the Son and the Spirit through the Father that includes the church. There is church because there is mission, not vice versa. The Church must not think its role is identical to the missio Dei; the Church is participating in the mission of God. The church's mission is a subset of a larger whole mission. That is, it is part of God's mission to the world and not the entirety of God's work in the world.”

“Our mission has not life of its own: only in the hands of the sending God can it truly be called mission. Not least since the missionary initiative comes from God alone … Mission is thereby seen as a movement from God to the world; the church is viewed as an instrument for that mission. There is church because there is mission, not vice versa. To participate in mission is to participate in the movement of God’s love toward people, since God is a fountain of sending love.”

Try wrapping your mind around that idea just a little. It has huge implications for us today. The reasons for the church’s existence have become fairly convoluted as the church and church organizations become more organized. This of course leads to a top down spider looking organism which no longer finds its life in an ideology but in its leader. When its leader falls the organization takes a hit and at times it is fatal. There is a foundational readjustment needed within the church to make the mission of God our raison d’être. This fundamental readjustment can make the difference between life or death of any given church. For too many years we have fought about the color of our floors, the songs that we sing, the clothes that we wear rather than the real reason that we get together in the first place.

The Wild and Crazy Month of May

The month of May came and went in a whirlwind which left me spinning. By the end of the month I had made three trips to Abidjan (5 hrs away), I had said goodbye to Angelika (as she flew off to Germany) and I had welcomed the 15th installment of the French LICORNE peacekeeping forces to our campus. Of course within the same month I tried to bring a close to a year of teaching at IBB (Bethel Bible Institute) in Korhogo (2,5 hrs away) and with the help of a great team from the US, put the roof on a church in the village of Dagba (at least 2 hrs away from Korhogo). All of that and I had papers to grade, packing to do, exams to write, and meetings to be at. In the end all got done or happened as it were and I find myself in Germany where I finally caught-up with Angelika!

One of the interesting things of note that happened the 3rd of June which in retrospect should have taken place at least 4 years ago, was a match between Côte d'Ivoire and Madagascar in the run off to the CAN (Africa Nations Cup) which took place in Bouaké. Our star player Didier Drogba was there along with the rest of the national team to trounce the Malagasy team 5-0! Of course it was a real celebration as for the first time since the beginning of the war we saw government troops along with the presidential guard sitting along side the former rebels cheering their team on for the win. It was exciting to see many faces in the stands who, since September 2002 have not set foot in Bouaké, there for the first time in five years to cheer on the national team. As one of the government officials said as they were leaving the stadium, “We Ivorians are made for celebration not for fighting, we do much better at dancing than shooting!” That was well said and we are praying that we will find more reasons for celebrating than for shooting.

Of course the roofing of a church is always a big thing in a village like Dagba. We were there for a little less than a week which meant early mornings and late afternoons. We worked solid from about 7h00 until 18h30 each evening. The team that came was composed of college guys all of which are in the middle of paying for school and looking for how to finish out their college years without too much dept. Not only did these guys raise the roof and the necessary funds for traveling to Côte d'Ivoire, but they also raised enough to roof the church again this year. That means that they raised $6000 extra each year to bring with them for roofing churches. Wow! And it was simply our job to welcome them and do a little organization and everything else happened just like that. Our national crew led by Nicodème was fantastic and they worked also like dogs to get the job done and safely. Our crane worked again lifting each truss without drop any on anyone which is always a good thing!

At the same time last month while I was with the crew in Dagba, Angelika was working with a couple of girls who had come to work with orphans. They had a great time painting and spending time with kids who otherwise have few distractions. Two American girls where an amazing distraction for them and we hope that through their time that the orphans were impacted with the love of Christ but also that the girls were impacted with the needs of kids in Africa.

All in all, I think that next year I am going to try to skip the month of May. Oh yea, I got a year older in May as well, another good reason to skip it next year!

Bonne Année 2007 !

As 2007 begins I thought that it would be reasonable that I write down a few reflections and notions concerning the year gone by and this year coming. First thing on my mind is to thank God that my father is now home and doing quite well for a 72 year old man who has been sliced open twice in the past 6 months by doctors trying to get him to feeling better. We have spoken several times on the phone with both him and my mother and it is good to hear they are doing well.

One big surprise over the holidays this year was to hear that my sister Carmel (Debbie), her husband Victor and their family flew back to the US for an early home assignment due to the failing health of Victor’s father. We were glad to hear that their field permitted an early departure due to family concerns. We are also glad for my folks who must be tickled pink to have more grand kids than expected at this time of year.

As for things in Côte d'Ivoire, they continue towards what we all hope will be a peaceful solution to the now, four and a half years of a divided country. As previously mentioned, we are now living under another UN resolution - 1721 which is more of the same and which has many people frustrated due to the constant ambiguity of the language used in calling for change. This resolution also calls for presidential elections this coming year in October, as has been the case for the past two years. In order for this to happen everyone agrees that there needs to be disarmament and a census taken which, will provide for open and fair elections. The rub comes in figuring out how to go about disarming and taking a census so that people can register to vote.

It sounds simple enough although in Côte d'Ivoire turning a rock over can be done a number of ways and with varied results, not to mention such a complicated affair as turning in weapons and getting one’s name on a list so as to be allowed to vote. The real solution is with the politicians who are still discussing from which side we should push to turn over the rock, not to mention how to deal with the results of a turned over rock! It leads one to believe in the end that most politicians must be half stoned any way and if not they probably need a good stoning! At times we wonder if they are even talking about the same rock!

Be that as it may, we have plans for this next year. At the Bouaké campus (former ICA) we are going to go forward as if there is a future. To put that dream in the ground we have an almond tree project under way even as I speak. We have about 70 almond trees in a nursery which we hope to plant in the next few months on campus. We have begun digging holes in which we will begin to put good soil to give our trees a fair chance at becoming mature and productive trees. Knowing very little about almond trees, I am going with the local advice I have been given which is to plant them no closer than 10 meters which leads me to believe that this is a tree of considerable size. Anyone out there who might have experience with the almond tree, please feel free to chime in with any advice you might have.

My major interest in planting almond trees however, is in with the flowers that will provide early foraging for my bees. Yes, we are still going after the bee deal. We have about 25 hives that are producing honey even as I write. I am excited about a project that we are hoping to get underway to provide each of our students at Bethel Bible Institute (IBB) in Korhogo with a hive, a bee hood and a smoker as well as instruction on how to produce quality honey. I am hoping to connect next week with an older man south of Korhogo who has received training in apiculture and who is willing to help us train the Bible school students. He is a believer and is excited about sharing his understanding with future pastors. Beekeeping is the kind of activity that is well adapted to rural village settings in northern Côte d'Ivoire and an activity which does not demand a lot of time and money to initiate and manage. The results are pretty good tasting too.

Of course we will continue our other activities of providing the best French military experience possible while hosting the Licorne Forces. We don’t have a lot to do with the guys staying on campus but we try to be as helpful and welcoming as possible. One of the realities of them being a long ways from family and home during the holidays is an openness which might not be true at other times and in other places. Keep us in mind as we play the role of being their hosts and also the caretakers of the campus which they have occupied while attempting to keep Côte d'Ivoire from degenerating into another Rwanda. I have begun meeting with four soldiers several times a week to help them with their English. We have had some interesting conversations. We hope to have them over soon for a meal where we can exchange on a more informal basis. Of course through all of this it is our hope that they will not only hear of Christ but that they will also see Christ through our lives.

As we enter into 2007 we will hope to continue working with our church in Bouaké and encouraging them to reach out to Muslims. There is and continues to be a certain resistance to sharing with Muslims concerning one’s faith. Many times it is simply because of a fear that in an honest discussion with a Muslim one may become convinced to follow Islam. This happens on occasion and is not an unreasonable concern. But as in so many areas of life, if one doesn’t dare to reach out, to do the unusual but to simply keep the status quo, nothing happens and nobody is challenged and no impact is made. Pray for us that we might be able to bring about change and impact this city through the lives that we touch. We do not want to settle for mediocrity when we serve a God who is anything but mediocre.

I continue to teach two days every two weeks at IBB as well as serving on several committees and boards of training institutions. All of that and the pressures of running the Bouaké campus can at times be overwhelming. Pray that I would find time to “smell the roses” and not get stung by the passing bee!

Continue to pray also for Angelika who is still very involved in women’s ministry through our churches in Bouaké and has numerous contacts with Muslim women in Bouaké. She and Abby Silué, one of the women from our church and good friend of ours, have been working faithfully together to edit Bible stories in Dioula (Jula) and telling them to several Muslim women. Pray for them as they walk the fine line of speaking the truth and not offending the sensibilities of those with whom they are sharing the truth of who God is and what He is like.

So it is that we enter into 2007 with hearts full of praise for the opportunities God places before us. We know that it is no simple thing to walk as Jesus walked but this is our prayer for ourselves as it is our prayer for those of you we know who might have taken the time to read this stuff. Bonne Année ! Que Dieu vous bénisse dans l’année 2007 !

Christmas Eve 2006

Written Christmas Eve, 2006 from Bouaké, Côte d'Ivoire

I am sitting here in Bouaké reminiscing just a bit this morning about my dad. We received a call from my mother this morning saying that dad was admitted to the hospital and had emergency surgery to remove an inflamed gallbladder. As many of you know my father has been on a 6 month course of chemotherapy due to colon cancer. Apparently a few days ago he began feeling pain associated with this inflammation. At that time the doctor ordered a CAT scan to determine where the pain was coming from. Upon the discovery that the pain was coming from an inflamed gallbladder he was scheduled to have surgery on the 26th of this month. Yesterday however, he woke up with considerable pain and the doctors decided to operate immediately.

Of course we have been thinking and praying for him for some time now as we have been relatively concerned about this colon cancer. Several months ago dad was operated on to remove a tumor from his colon before beginning chemotherapy. As you can imagine we are not at ease about this most recent development and we are waiting to hear what the results might be from the test to be done on the tissues removed during the surgery. This morning on the phone mom said that according to the doctor the gallbladder looked “normal”, whatever “normal” must be, aside from the inflammation. I cannot for the life of me think about what could be “normal” looking about a gallbladder outside of the body and lying in some tray waiting testing.

The last time I saw dad was last January when we were in South Africa for a short vacation and research trip. We were staying with my younger brother John and his family in Kempton Park and had a great time with the folks who were down to help take care of kids at a WorldVenture conference which had been organized for its missionaries. Another bonus was that my sister and her family were also there for that same conference. With Carmel and Victor’s four kids and Jean and Carol’s as well, we were quite the crew. By the time we left South Africa the Madsen family and my folks were off to the WorldVenture conference.

Before leaving South Africa however, we dropped by at the conference to say goodbye to everyone and spent a couple of hours with mom and dad who, at the ages of 72 and 71 respectively, were in the middle of running after 3 and 4 year old missionary kids, trying to keep track of them as well as have a good time. I guess that when you see that kind of service at that age one can’t help but be impressed. I know that I was! All that to say that this was the last time we saw the folks as we left shortly afterwards to return to Côte d'Ivoire where we had other pressing matters to attend to.

As I think about all that has happened since that short and intense visit together with the Madsen family, my folks and John’s family I am amazed that it was ever possible to have been together at all last January. Since April, when Dad was diagnosed with colon cancer, he has had colon surgery in which he had a tumor removed that turned out to be cancerous and has, since then, been doing chemotherapy. Then in November John’s oldest, Jean Marc, had emergency brain surgery to remove an olive sized tumor which turned out to be benign for which we thank God. And now for dad the doctors have determined it necessary to remove his gallbladder post haste on the 22nd only three days before Christmas.

In all this we are thankful that my brother Ray and his family are still in the US where they can come to the aid of our mother during these difficult days. And so it is that during this time of so much family joy and fun we would ask that you think of my old man and our mother who, this year, will be spending it in hospital and most likely alone. It is not that they begrudge our being overseas at all. On the contrary, my folks and Ray and his family are amongst our most ardent and committed supporters in our efforts here in Côte d'Ivoire, the Madsen’s in Uganda and John and Carol’s in South Africa. But that makes life particularly difficult at times like these when we would rather all be together and with the folks rather than spread out all over Africa and North America.

I know that neither mom nor dad would want us to be concerned about them at this time, knowing that they are in the hands of a God who knows far better than we what we need for each day. Mom is a rock and I believe that she will do fine regardless of what happens. Even so, it is difficult to think of them alone at this time. As she wrote us in a note today, “Pray but do not worry. The Lord is with us and we trust Him completely.” At times it is hard to do as she says but we know that anything else is to multiply folly with folly because the Lord is forever in full control of all that comes our way. We don’t like it sometimes but as Job so well reminds us when he needed hope, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.” I know this is true today and we look so forward to that day when He will stand on the earth.

1633 to 1721

1633 to 1721

As of the end of October Côte d'Ivoire is supposed to have had a new president according to the UN Security Counsel’s Resolution 1633 which has been, until the end of last month, the ambiguously worded document which permitted the actual president to remain in place as the actual president even though Côte d'Ivoire has had a UN named Prime Minister since last year at this time. In the former UN Resolution, 1633, the powers of the acting president were “limited” and the powers of the Prime Minister were “beefed up”. Just what that meant and how it was to be applied was left ambiguous last year.

According to last year’s resolution we were supposed to be identified and disarmed so as to open the way for elections. There was a significant difference of opinion as to whether the disarming of the different fighting factions should happen before, during or after the identification process. On one side you had folks saying that if they disarmed then the president would not allow a fair and open identification process to go forward.

On the other side you had folks saying that if disarmament didn’t take place that the entire identification process would be faulty, having not been done before the proper state authorities, state appointed judges and the like. In the end some people were identified and some people were disarmed. Not enough of either happened however so as to allow us to have elections this last October.

That said and the UN Resolution 1633 re-visited has resulted in a new UN Resolution 1721. This new resolution is about the same as last years, again “limiting” the authority of the President and “beefing up” the powers of the Prime Minister. Apparently the language is still fairly ambiguous as seen by the different kinds of messages we have heard from both the President and the Prime Minister.

As with 1633 the new UN Resolution 1721 does not supersede the Ivorian Constitution. This has also been a hotly debated issue as it would seem to some that for the past several years the constitution has hindered significantly the peace process. Much to the surprise of certain observers, the United States supported the strong constitutional clause along with Russia and China. France and several others traditional allies of the United States on the Security counsel had hoped to see a change in this regard.

The President has of course been very positive in his accolade for the new 1721 Resolution, saying that he is going to take his responsibility seriously as indicated by the constitution, bring an end to the war and organize elections. Just how he intends to do that is what frightens many in the north of the country.

One needs to understand that some of those who have been the most belligerent in their refusal to disarm are pro‑government militias in the south as opposed to rebels in the north. These militias have been active in harassing and exacting tribute of all sorts from anyone who might seem opposed to the current regime. Of course it must also be said that with this kind of talk the rebels in the north are in no hurry to lay down their weapons.

The Prime Minister on the other hand, when he spoke last night, left us all thinking that if he does what he has said he will this next year there may be some difficulty between him and the President who continues to claim that as a dully elected president, although his term was over in October 2005. According to the President he will retain all of his authority as president as stipulated in the Ivorian Constitution. It would seem that we are somehow at an impasse.

That said we should note that some observers feel that this year is going to be much the same as last year. We will make little steps toward peace and elections. Due to the ambiguity in the language of the UN Resolution 1721 however, there will continue to be some very different interpretations of a text which, in trying to please everybody has really pleased nobody to the extent that everybody reads it simply the way he thinks it should be read which means that even though it pleases nobody it really pleases everybody. I have to take my hat off to the UN! They should call this art or something! I know I don’t understand it!

Excuses, excuses

So, what does one write after not having written for over 3 months? Maybe “Sorry” would be a good place to start. Excuses? You bet, I could start an entirely different blog listing those but I don’t think it would make for very interesting reading.

Since our last entry we have hosted at least three other major groups here at the school, besides the French Military who we continue to provide housing for due to the continuing unrest in the country. Our most recent event was just yesterday with the arrival of 30 young girls from our churches in Bouaké. They came out to greet Angelika and Tiémogo (another lady who along with Angelika has been a counselor to the young women in our church). Greeting can mean saying “hello” or it can be as involved as spending the afternoon and evening together eating and talking and just sort of hanging out. Yesterday the 30 girls were here for one of the latter types of greetings!

This meant feeding them and the Tiémogo gave them and excellent talk on how to depend on God for things such as a husband, work, schooling, etc. Tiémogo has been married for a little more than half a year and during this time she and her husband have not had the joy of living in the same city together. Her husband studies in Abidjan and she has been teaching in Bouaké. Through all of this and the difficulties this causes her and her family she has remained faithful first to God, our fellowship, and to her new husband. She has been an inspiration to these young girls as well as an encouragement to the rest of us who see life from a different perspective.

After Tiémogo shared with the girls her journey as a young woman and how God lead her to her man we took some the girls to the water tower (13 meters high) and had them rappel off the sides. We had a good time and the girls enjoyed getting out there beyond the comfort zones. It is always interesting to see who is willing to try and then what happens when they get up top. Nobody refused to go down the rope once they were on the top! Of course some went down more willingly than others but all went down. I use a safety rope for the descent as you can see from the photos. Our water tower is of course nothing compared to Smith Rocks in Central Oregon but it works. One has the definite notion from that height that a fall would kill you or at least break you up a bit. It is a great teaching tool on trust. Just what does it mean to have faith in God, in someone, or in something? It is a lesson that I am still learning and on some days not so well.

Of course the really big news since I last blogged my way onto the web was the passage of our national football team to the World Cup in Germany. We had a rare opportunity to travel to Germany and attend the Côte d’Ivoire – Holland game in Stuttgart. After flying all night we met up with friends from the US who brought us tickets for the game and we had a great time cheering and meeting other Ivoirian fans there for the game. It was a wild a crazy thing to do but who could miss such an opportunity. As we were tight on time we did not get out of southern Germany to see family in the north but we did get a chance to spend time with Jens and Silke, Angelika’s cousin who is himself a very big football fan. It was a wild few days traveling from venue to venue. One of the great things about this World Cup was that, regardless of the place of the match, there were giant screens setup in fan parks in all of the game cities where you could watch the games alongside hundreds of other fans. Perhaps the wildest party we attended was in Berlin alongside a million other German fans cheering for the Germany-? game. We saw the final matches in Côte d'Ivoire having returned before the end of the first round. It was one of those once-in-a-lifetime kinds of experiences. It was great fun to be with friends and doing something like that together.

Hey, hope next time will be sooner than later, but then again, you may not! Tough, this is my blog!