Daily Living

I’ve been reminded by many that I’ve slackened on my reports to you all. My reason—although inadequate—is that I’ve been waiting on pictures and stories to give.

Well, over recent conversations, I was reminded of how I detest the romantic view of the missionary life and how I always soured and rolled my eyes at any suggestion that they are the true laborers for Christ. Please! The truth is that we “missionaries” are living lives over here, and according to God’s brilliant orchestrations, life involves contact with other people. Consequently, I have an opportunity to share Christ—one way or another—every day in very much the same ways that you people over “there” do.

Basically what I’m trying to say is that I do not want to be guilty of feeding the idea that life mysteriously becomes exciting, exotic, and supernatural once a believer goes a certain distance from her home. Life got supernatural when she gave it to Christ. Life got exciting when she started living it for Christ.

That said, allow me to briefly chronicle some life stuff these past few months:

1. I successfully tackled an unprecedented feat in my life: I changed a tire on my own…in the rain…in a skirt! Disappointed? Well, I certainly felt a sense of accomplishment. It did have to rain, didn’t it? I suppose that the nervousness of the safety of the general area in which we were stranded added to the excitement though we resumed our trip without consequence.
2. I stalked and chased a herd of zebras and giraffes! No, they weren’t in my backyard. We had to drive a good 4 hours or so to a park reserve and convince the workers at the park to take us on one of their jeeps for the safari. A side note: the park had 4 beautiful Mercedes jeeps to tour with, but they were all out of gas or otherwise inoperable, so we gambled with a partially filled beat-up pick-up. No worries, we’ll manage!


3. I discovered we have access to wheat flour! I’ve never tasted bread so good and satisfying!
Below is a video of a special church service: gotta dance!

http://picasaweb.google.com/kariskronicles/FriendsOverHere#5403638050666912898

4. Road conditions have ceased to surprise me, but I still find humor in them. This road was too deep in swift-moving water still flowing from recent rains. Thankfully, we found another route--driving along the top of the dam. Other unfortunate roads include "freeways" with massive craters, bridges with planks of wood to reinforce on which you must drive or meet doom, and hills so steep and ruts so deep that it's a miracle anyone comes to the top successfully--much less a mac truck!



5. Students are still asking me if I’m secretly married, when I’m getting married, and why I’m not dating the first white man I see here in Nigeria.
6. I’ve seen my teenage self in several of my students who confessed loneliness, concern for their friends, and unexplainable dry seasons. It brings tears to my eyes because I know the right words to say, but there’s still nothing I can do to change the situation. God is God and I am not, and He has a plan I can only speculate about.

7. I’ve been asking for prayer for a girl I tutored last year. Another teacher reported to me that she led this girl to the Lord several weeks ago! I’ve struggled to keep my excitement under control because she has yet to come tell me herself. Continue to pray for her that Satan will lose completely and that she will grow to be a fervent follower of Christ.

8. Pyramid pictures never get old. I'm thankful for such a great community of singles although I don't always express my gratitude. They have kept me from diving completely into lesson plans and school stuff--enabling me to "have a life"


9. We invited some native Teve dancers to perform for us at Hillcrest for our Multicultural day. I tried to capture the way they twist and snake their body to the drums and flute-like instrument. Amazing and beautiful!


I could do more, but for now let this suffice. Life has its differences that remind me that I'm not in NC anymore, but the daily living is very much the same. I deal with some of the same frustrations and struggles. I still go to a normal job every morning. I still need a social circle where I feel like I belong. God has provided all that I need--which includes opportunities to share His love. May we all be "missionaries" every day of our daily life!

Playing Cards

“Life consists not in having good cards, but playing the cards you have well.” This is something I’m learning to do and something that the people here do well.

(oops, meant to post this a month ago...oh well, if you're lacking in reading material, you may enjoy..)

Rene left last Tuesday. I have to admit, it has affected me more than I expected. The volume of tears wasn’t proportional to the emotional shift I experienced, of which my students suffered the after-shock. I was unusually on edge for the rest of the week. Several times already I have looked around the room to share that humor that only a sister would understand only to realize that these jokes are once again preserved for the occasional email. Her last few days revealed the number of people whose hearts will forever bear her fingerprint. I am certainly not alone (though I realize my blogs rarely express the blessing she has been).

Other recent developments involve additions to my future resume. You may remember that Rene and I both are on our way to become Nigerian pop stars, being featured in a Christian music video. I am also becoming the dance instructor for every occasion. On an almost-monthly basis, I host a swing session with a friend I’ve coerced into being my partner. I’ve since been asked to co-teach country line dancing and square dancing as well as salsa. Talk about a cultural range!! Truly these opportunities are fun for me and help satisfy my dance cravings.

Tara and I had one of our compound guards visit us the other night. (I’m not sure if I’ve introduced Tara yet, but she is my new housemate. She teaches 1st grade here at Hillcrest since Dana has returned to the states. She’s fantastic!) It was somewhat of a surprise visit, which was actually kind of nice. Those happen often here, but not as much on my particular compound. I dished him out some dinner (a miracle that it stretched enough to feed the three of us) and prepared for a couple hours of eating, story-telling, and laughter. At the end of the evening, it felt good to have naturally done the culturally appropriate thing (all work plans aside), make him comfortable, and sincerely enjoy the whole ordeal.

This dinner visit was a timely one, for I was in need of a renewed love for this place. The people here are special, characterized by the simple enjoyment and love of life. Rarely do I have a conversation with a Nigerian without a bit of laughter in it. I love to greet a stranger and watch their face light up with that brilliant smile as if we were high school buddies meeting years later. When was the last time that has happened at Harris Teeter or the 7-11? We Christ-followers have something to smile and be happy about. I’ve found that simply living out that joy in confidence is one way to be a great blessing to all those around.

“Life consists not in having good cards, but playing the cards you have well.”