I was so excited last Sunday when Mama Vivian and Mama Collette asked me to come to the ladies group and teach them how to make pizza… yeah, might not seem like much, but I get excited for any opportunity to hang out with them and build relationships.
Tim was telling us last night during a debrief that building relationships is more important to the Gabonese then getting the job done... not that way in the US.
Please continue to pray for how I fit into the body that is the Rougier church... haven't really figured out which body part I'm supposed to be yet.
But in addition to hanging out with the ladies I also need to figure out how to buy the food. Since we have teams here right now; I will ask either our neighbor (Chou Chou) or one of the kids at church to help me take a taxi to Mbolo (grocery store).
Thursday, July 16, 2009
On our second team
Or actually our third, considering we have two teams here now. One is currently down in Bongolo and the other is here with us in Libreville. They will be switching places this Saturday. Then we will have a few days next week when both teams are here and have 42 people staying in the house!!
I don't mean to blame teams for my lack of blogging, but when they are here we don't spend much time on the internet because we want to get to know them.
I don't know that I had many expectations of the teams, but I definitely thought that we would be the ones teaching and they would be the ones learning... turns out it really went both ways. A high school student in the first team from Lancaster, PA taught me that we need to let what happens here impact our lives and not let it be just a two week, 3 month, or one year experience… but something that changes who we are.
God is definitely changing who I am - we're still working on Leanne being a servant and not whining about it, still working on not having to have her way all the time, still working on her ability to love and encourage others, so much to work on with Leanne...(okay sorry coming back to first person again)
Every night we do a debrief time with the team and it is neat to hear what they see and how it makes them feel… how God is speaking to them through these experiences…
I love experiencing things with the teams… they see the differences that I have forgotten by now…
I don't mean to blame teams for my lack of blogging, but when they are here we don't spend much time on the internet because we want to get to know them.
I don't know that I had many expectations of the teams, but I definitely thought that we would be the ones teaching and they would be the ones learning... turns out it really went both ways. A high school student in the first team from Lancaster, PA taught me that we need to let what happens here impact our lives and not let it be just a two week, 3 month, or one year experience… but something that changes who we are.
God is definitely changing who I am - we're still working on Leanne being a servant and not whining about it, still working on not having to have her way all the time, still working on her ability to love and encourage others, so much to work on with Leanne...(okay sorry coming back to first person again)
Every night we do a debrief time with the team and it is neat to hear what they see and how it makes them feel… how God is speaking to them through these experiences…
I love experiencing things with the teams… they see the differences that I have forgotten by now…
Friday, July 3, 2009
Hope House
God answered four prayer requests that the kids at the orphanage. Wanted to share them with you...
The teachers are off of their strike... we'd been praying for this for a few weeks.
Wendy's (a guy - not sure of spelling but that's how it sounds) his toothache is better, also been praying about this for a few weeks
Sabrina's broken heart is better... not sure if this was physical or spiritual, but she said it was better
A lady from their church has donated land for the Hope House. The person they are renting from will be putting their house on the market and selling it and they had no where to go. Please pray for money to be able to build on the land.
Sabrina said today that one of her favorite things was when we came to visit with them on Wednesdays... please continue to pray for these kids
The teachers are off of their strike... we'd been praying for this for a few weeks.
Wendy's (a guy - not sure of spelling but that's how it sounds) his toothache is better, also been praying about this for a few weeks
Sabrina's broken heart is better... not sure if this was physical or spiritual, but she said it was better
A lady from their church has donated land for the Hope House. The person they are renting from will be putting their house on the market and selling it and they had no where to go. Please pray for money to be able to build on the land.
Sabrina said today that one of her favorite things was when we came to visit with them on Wednesdays... please continue to pray for these kids
Another plug...
Reading a book called "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan... here's an excerpt:
"Now I am a husband, a father of four, and the pastor of a church in Southern California. Until just a few years ago I was quite happy with how God was working in me and in the church. Then God began changing my heart. This took place largely during the times I spent reading His Word. The conviction I felt through the teachings of Scripture, coupled with several experiences in third-world countries, changed everything. Some serious paradigm shattering happened in my life and consequently in our church."
"The result is that I've never felt more alive, and neither has Cornerstone Church. It's exhilarating to be part of a group of believers who are willing to think biblically rather than conventionally, to be part of a body where radical living is becoming the norm."
I know what you all are thinking, and yes Gabon does count as a third-world country... so come on!
"Now I am a husband, a father of four, and the pastor of a church in Southern California. Until just a few years ago I was quite happy with how God was working in me and in the church. Then God began changing my heart. This took place largely during the times I spent reading His Word. The conviction I felt through the teachings of Scripture, coupled with several experiences in third-world countries, changed everything. Some serious paradigm shattering happened in my life and consequently in our church."
"The result is that I've never felt more alive, and neither has Cornerstone Church. It's exhilarating to be part of a group of believers who are willing to think biblically rather than conventionally, to be part of a body where radical living is becoming the norm."
I know what you all are thinking, and yes Gabon does count as a third-world country... so come on!
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