July 4 - Happy Fourth!

4 Jul 2009 – Day 24

Apematho! (eh, wo fo)

We thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. We’re reminded again how important your prayers are to us. This Friday we talked about perseverance -- Remember, “We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first.” “We want you to show the same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised!” And, “So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised!” Run the race for the prize that lasts!

The teacher team goes home today. Sounds like it went well again. Cari was a bit sad it didn’t work out for her to help, but……she has managed to pick up a long-term substitute teaching position! Turns out three of the homeschoolers need a crash British Literature course before returning to the States in August. Cari’s taking them through Canterbury Tales right now. Melody Ebersole mentioned to me the other day how wonderful it was that Cari could do this, how grateful, etc… She and Russ are surprised to see how much their son, Nate, has enjoyed writing poetry! I commented that if anyone could get teens excited about iambic pentameter it would have to be Cari (then we had a brief chuckle at Cari’s expense). I saw her lesson plan on the dining room table and they’re in for a treat. Whenever I see the boys now (playing soccer, ping pong, etc.) I make sure to warn them (how tough a teacher she is, how she fails more students than she passes, shouldn’t you be home studying?, etc.).

We’ve eaten out twice this week. Thursday we were invited over to the Ebersoles for a Togolese barbecue. Several Togolese and the Ebersole boys, Steven and Nate, cooked up local cuisine, including fu-fu (like mashed potatoes but sooooo starchy it’s eaten with the fingers), beef, pork, and snake. We sat around the barbecue fires, lit the tiki torches, and had a good time of fellowship. Cari and I both tried the snake (puff adder), and sure enough, it tastes just like chicken. Ironically, Russ was late because he was at the hospital taking care of a snake bite victim. The patient ended up dying. (Our general approach to snake bites is to admit everyone for observation. If they start to develop signs of poisoning then we start the anti-toxin, but it’s too expensive and precious to give to everyone who comes in with a bite. As Michael Gayle laconically informed me two years ago – “only about 1/3 of the bites are actually poisonous”…..comforting thought, Michael, thanks). Anyway, the family brought this man in 3 days after the bite and in full cardiac arrest, so we tried to help but there really wasn’t much we could do for him at that point.

Then last night we were invited over to the Harris’ for dinner. Again, traditional African fare plus a pot of spaghetti for the boys (and Andy?). The Harris’ are from South Africa so we had a mix of tastes. It was delicious again. No snake this time. They are considering joining staff at the new hospital up in Mango (the outreach project to predominantly Muslims in the north). He’s a surgeon and she’s an anesthesiologist so they would be a great asset to the medical work. It was fun to hear their story, especially as we’ve just returned from our April trip to eSikhawini. Drew has really enjoyed their two boys, Peter and Robert, who are gracious enough to let him in on ping pong, tether ball, and Settlers games.

Another Cari farm-girl story! The other day I heard a piercing scream from the kitchen. For its character and decibel level and the gasps for air that succeeded it, the best I could surmise was that she was cornered by a python, or a viper, or at least one of the little sand snakes. Fearing for our lives, I glanced around for a weapon to fight the beast as I leapt from the sofa and quickly ran thither. Alas, no snake was found. No scorpion or other beast either. Instead, a wee poor field mouse she had frightened. Trapped in a kitchen drawer it was, now paralyzed with fear by the pitch of her screams. Since then we’ve learned two things: 1) Cari, lover of mice and one-time owner of a pet mouse whose name escapes me at the moment, apparently doesn’t think they belong in the kitchen; and 2) Togolese mice aren’t very fond of peanut butter, at least when used as bait (but the ants love it).

Come to Africa!!!! Missionary advantage #1 – you can go to work in flip flops and shorts!!!


Mawu ne no kpuli wo (May God go with you)

Yours in the service of our LORD,

CADT (The Robertsons)