Day 29 - Preachin' the Gospel to Myself

We're on the home stretch now! Monday, I made my last batch of chipati bread to go with the pot of pinto beans we're living on this week. Weird that I've gone through one large and one small container of shortening this month, plus part of one small container that I had leftover in my cupboard to begin with. By the way, that one small container had been in my cupboard for almost 2 years...no cholesterol checks for us this April!

April 1st we end this crazy bean month with a dinner party so I had to do my grocery shopping today. The brisket was the big ticket item, but the orange juice and cereal are definitely the two things my family is most looking forward to eating again. I'll admit that the convenience of pouring cereal into a bowl is appealing after all the hot breakfasts I've had to prepare this month.

In times of great temptation, like when I really just want to ignore the beans and order a pizza, I've asked God, "Why again am I doing this? Really? You want me to go share the gospel? Have you seen what a mess I am?" So I've been thinking hard the past few days of what, exactly, we do on these trips. In short, we go out and spread the gospel.

I also remember that sometimes, it's just a good idea to preach that gospel to yourself every now and again so today I'd like to kill two birds with one stone: 1) I want to describe our methodology and 2) I'm gonna preach it to myself.

We are trained to share the gospel in a very specific and succinct way, following a brochure that we hand out to everyone we meet. By using the same basic presentation the team develops continuity in what message is going out to the people. It also helps translation go smoother. The method we use is called the "Good News / Bad News".

We are also trained to not quote the Bible, but to open up the Bible and read the scriptures aloud to whoever we are visiting with. You see, even if a person is not going to receive Jesus, they still honor the Bible as a holy book. The reverence the people give to the text is very humbling. Here in America many of us have multiple bibles in our homes - in some parts of Africa, it is a precious commodity.

So imagine I've come to your home, you have offered me a place to rest and we have made introductions. I tell you that I have traveled very far because I have something important to share with you, then I ask:

"Has anyone ever taken a Bible and shown you how you can know for sure that when you die you will be going to heaven? The Bible is filled with good news and with bad news. The bad news is about us, but the good news is all about God. I'm going to start with some bad news."

Romans 3:23 says "...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

Julie, remember that no matter how hard you try, you will never be perfect like God is perfect. Remember that "sin" doesn't mean you're a bad person, it just means you've "missed the mark" the mark of His perfection.

God's word also says in Romans 6:23 that "The wages of sin is death." A wage is what we are paid for something we have done so what this verse means is that my sinful choices have earned me death. Not necessarily a physical death, but a spiritual death. Since God is perfect and I am not, my sin keeps me separated from God.

Lord, thank you that I am alive. I remember how my old ways made me want to die and even now, when I give way to old patterns of thinking and acting, I see how lifeless those ways truly are.

Now for some good news. God loves us so much that he made a way for us to be close to him again. Romans 5:8 says: "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

If you were lying in bed dying of AIDS and I could come to you and offer to trade places with you, to take all your sick blood into me and give you all of my healthy blood, what would happen to you? Yes, you would live. What would happen to me? That's right, I would die.

Jesus, you did this for me. You stood in my place when you submitted to the cross. And you did it because you love me. You didn't make me clean up my act, you just loved me as I was. Even now, no matter how lost I get in my own struggles, you love me now - as is. It is my sin, my imperfection that should keep me separate from you, but no. You made a way. You made THE way. I don't deserve you, but I do love you, Jesus.

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works so that no one can boast." - Ephesians 2:8-9

God's gift of grace is freely offered. The only question is whether or not you want to receive it. All you have to do is say, "Yes Jesus, I put my faith in you." Faith means trusting him with your life. It is sort of like sitting here on my couch. When I took my seat I didn't first examine it to see how it was constructed, to know if it would hold me up or not. No, I simply sat down, trusting the couch was going to do it's part.

Thank you God, for making a way for me. I have trusted you with my life and I put my faith in you. As my day gets going help me to remember how trustworthy you truly are. Help me to rest in you when I feel overwhelmed. Help me to remember you.

John 5:24 assures me with the words of Jesus himself; "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life."

Yes Lord, even though I have not yet come to be with you in heaven, I know that you have brought new life to my time here on earth. I can see the crossover from death to life in what you've done for me here. You are good, so good to me. Thank you God!

So, that's it. It's been a while since I've worked through it all and of course, it's a little different preaching it to myself vs. sharing it with others face to face. Conversation works so much better than this one-sided blogging thing, but thank you for letting me share the Good News / Bad News with you today. You can all see how rough around the edges I am as a missionary, but it is so good to remember the truth of what God has done for us and it is good to preach to yourself sometimes. I know I needed it today just like I need Him everyday. I'll leave you with a picture of me sharing my testimony at a crusade meeting in Holo, Kenya.

God Bless You!

-Julie

Day 28 - Perseverence?

Have you ever taken a family vacation, the kind involving young children and a long drive? We have taken many of these trips. In fact, in 2004 David earned a one month sabbatical from his job and we decided to buy a camper and go west to explore and visit friends (look how cute little Ben and pre-pubescent Kaleb are in this picture)! I have to brag just a little bit on my kids because I'm sure they are the best travelers under age 18 in the whole USA - that is, until the last hour.

No matter what size trip we have taken, no matter how much fun we've had, no matter how perfect the trip has been, we always seem to have a nervous breakdown during the last hour of our drive home. It's a phenomenon that doesn't restrict itself to the kids either; there's a lot of whining going on, which means irritated grown-ups, the pee breaks increase (followed by a plea to hold it until we get home), the driver's back is aching, I enter some sort of catatonic state while trying to hold it all together and to top it all off, everybody's butt hurts. It's quite miserable, really.

That's what our home is like right now, here on day 28 of our Eating for Africa. What started off as a fun experiment full of food challenges and laughter has turned into a whiny, are-we-there-yet, pain in the butt!

Something we've been working as a family is to memorize the book of James. James is a book full of advice for Christian living. We're not gotten very far and in fact, we've spent this whole month in the same place:

"Consider it pure joy my brothers when you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking in anything."

Pure joy during trials? I confess that I'm not there yet. Okay, I confess that I'm far from there. Perseverance at this point in the game feels a lot like gritting my teeth. I've wondered if my discontent is a sign that we have acted outside God's will in our food experiment or if I'm even equipped to go share the gospel in the first place. Discontent turns me into a whiny kid in the back seat rather than the driver behind the wheel. Suppose now would be a good time for a rousing chorus of "Jesus take the wheel." Please, please Lord, take the wheel.


I've tried to avoid self-indulgent blog-rants here in the end because after-all, we chose this path. My memory might be getting fuzzy, but I'm almost certain it was my idea to begin with, so why complain? It's been a good trip. I guess we're just ready to get out of the car.

- Julie

P.S. This last picture is of our van in Uganda. We use a small fleet of these vans to move the team around during our trips.

Day 23 - Only One Week to Go!

I was asked to write a short article for our Leadership e-mail at Cypress Creek Church. Thought some of you might be interested in what I have to say so I'm making it my post for the day. Enjoy! -Julie

I want to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who supported the Big Daddy Weave fundraiser. I’m glad to be in a church body who not only encourages its members to “think outside the box” (regarding things like serving, missions, fundraisers, etc.) but who also says “yes” to it’s members when they come up with big ideas.

Proceeds from the concert will help build and equip the new church building in Kenya. Proceeds from the Mzungu Market and BBQ will help the team members with their fundraising efforts. God is good and we thank him for every ticket, trinket and BBQ plate sold, but there are still more funds to be raised. If a friend sends you a fundraising letter, please prayerfully consider if you can be a part of our mission.

“What exactly is that mission?” you might ask. In short, our mission is to spread the Gospel as commanded by Jesus (Matt 28:18-20). Our purpose is not just the church building, but rather the building up of a body of believers. By the time the American team arrives, the physical building is complete. Our job is to help fill it with people.

Team members go into the community with translators and visit hut-to-hut with the locals, sharing the Gospel and inviting people to the new church. We also send smaller teams into area schools and prisons to give gospel presentations. There is also crusade meeting every afternoon. These meetings are held outdoors in a public setting and involve music, testimonies and sharing of the Gospel. The week culminates with a grand opening of the new church. It is exciting to see how many people receive Jesus throughout the trip!

African church planting trips offer a unique opportunity, so if you ever get a chance to attend one I hope you take it. Learning to share the gospel in a succinct and effective way is valuable to all believers, but looking into someone’s eyes, sharing the gospel over and over again – having that be your work for the day – well, there’s nothing quite like it! More importantly, you get to enjoy the diversity of God’s family and witness the heavenly birth of new siblings.

I will leave you with the same invitation Pastor Morris gave me before I agreed to take my first trip to Kenya:

“Come, come to Africa and you will see.”

Breaking Blog Silence

Okay, I know it has been several days since I last posted but to be perfectly honest, there was a lot of grumpiness going on around here. Kaleb is in countdown mode to the day he can eat cereal for breakfast again, we ate the same over-sized pot of beans for almost 5 days (boring) and my own perseverance is waining as I have started dreaming of pizza! My patience is also getting thin with the question of "What's for breakfast (lunch or dinner) Mom?" Do they expect me to give a different answer? "Ugali, eggs or beans kids. Which will it be?" All in all, nothing too fun to report.

Last night, however, was a fun night. Our church hosted Big Daddy Weave as a fundraiser for the African church plant. Proceeds from ticket sales went directly to the cost of the physical building in Bondo. Alongside the concert, we sold BBQ dinners and hosted a "Mzungu Market" to raise money for the team member expenses. Getting to Africa, as I've said before, is a mixture of resourcefulness and trusting God. Although last night was hard work, it was fun work and I absolutely loved that our main worship center was rockin'!

I haven't heard the final numbers yet, but I do know that tickets were sold out which I think means somewhere around $6,000 was raised for the church in Bondo. I have no idea yet what BBQ/Market sales were like, but we actually sold out of brisket too and the Market packed up much lighter than when we started.

Other fundraising news: my baskets haven't sold very well. Everyone finds them interesting and I have a lot of curious people checking out the construction, but no buyers. Oh well, you never know until you try. Not that those baskets were going to go far in my fundraising account, but every bit helps.

I have to report also that we haven't saved as much grocery money eating beans this month as I had expected. It might have something to do with the fact that I actually lost $100 cash from my grocery money early in the month (total bummer). Maybe this is revealing that our grocery budget is too small to begin with? Not sure yet, we still have 9 days to go.

There were several people at the concert last night telling me how much they are enjoying this blog and asking how our "bean thing" was going. Weird that so many people are reading who I had no idea were following this craziness. Guess that's blog life for you. Hey, if you're one of those people and you know some other people who might find our little experiment funny (or torturous) forward it to them. We've always wanted to cast this net far so feel free spread the word.

Thank you to all who have offered to financially sponsor our beans and rice month. If anyone else is interested in helping out in this way, please see the sidebar for more information.

I had a great time last night visiting with the folks from World Vision, KLOV Radio and Big Daddy, telling them all about our mission for this summer. As a team, we are trusting that God will work out the details for this trip, including the finances. We're thankful for every plate of BBQ, every trinket and every ticket we sold yesterday. Every good and perfect gift comes from God and today my goal is to share that truth with my kids in a convincing way. Who knows? Maybe we'll all stop complaining.

Until tomorrow (I promise) -

Julie

Jennifer Knapp Rocks!

Sorry again for the delay in posting. The past few days have been full with all manner of schooling, domestic tasks and fundraising efforts (almost done with those baskets & about to mail letters). I also wasn't feeling well for a couple of days so my creative energy was low for writing.


Food wise we've been on the bean track as I'm sure you figured out by Dave's video in the last post. He had been waiting since we started this thing to post that video...it was weird, huh?


One funny thing happened yesterday when I ran to Cosco. I went there to stock up on tropical fruit and nutella and across the aisle, in the freezer section, I see the word "chipati" on a package. Sure enough, they sell pre-made chipati at Cosco in a package of 30! Boy, had I known that before that fateful Sunday when I cooked 40 of them for a meeting, my life would have been much easier. Of course I bought some (only $6) but I'm pleased to report that my kids like the taste of their mother's chipati over the Cosco version, probably because Mom's chipati is cooked in Crisco and the Cosco version is cooked on a dry griddle. Still for those of you who shop Cosco and have a hankering for beans, this chipati taste good and gets the job done.


Right now, Austin is hosting the South by Southwest Music Festival (SXSW for those in the know) and it brought with it a special treat...Jennifer Knapp. Jennifer Knapp has been a favorite Christian singer of ours for several years, but after enjoying some measure of popularity she literally vanished from the music scene. I'll admit, we've done our share of speculating over the 6 years that she spent in hiding - Was it a sin issue? Did the Christian music business have too many hypocrites for her? Did they try to mold her into something she wasn't?


Whatever her reasons for hiatus, we were THRILLED to hear that she was playing a little gig in Austin last night. Even though we didn't have wristbands for the festival, we went down to the concert anyhow and were lucky enough to get a seat at her show. Just a girl and a guitar, but her venue was an old Episcopal church with great acoustics.


I do not exaggerate when I say that one day, when I die and go to heaven, I hope I get to sing like Jennifer Knapp. What a gift she has! Her voice is powerful yet she has such beautiful control of it. At first I had a hard time just enjoying the show because I was hanging on every lyric of her new material searching for clues to why she disappeared. It was just hard to relax and enjoy when I was listening for innuendo. Then she sang one of her older songs, Martyrs & Thieves. Of course, she has no way of knowing it, but I am deeply connected to that song. During my season of dancing for the Lord, I cannot tell you how vividly I imagined dancing to that song. There were many private dance sessions in my living room where I tried to work out the details, but no matter how far I'd get, I would always find myself standing still, eyes closed, mesmerized by her voice.


Hearing her sing it live in that old church made me cry. And even though I sat perfectly still (mesmerized once again) on the inside, I was dancing.


May God bless you today with something that makes you dance on the inside!



- Julie

Battles & Beans

Julie has had a busy day of running around all over town. So, I am writing today's post. Most of you will be grateful that I am not the main blog writer. I've been think a lot about preparing for battle. I just finished reading one of Kaleb's books called "A Long Way Home." It is the second book in a series about a boy that is wrongly accused of murder. Somehow he is taken prisoner by terrorists. How he has been taken by terrorists is part of the mystery that has not been revealed yet. So, he spends his time on the run from these terrorists while also trying to prove his innocence. There are several encounters with the terrorists where he has to fight them. The years of martial arts training that he has had comes in useful. He studied hard at the feet of a martial arts master. That's where my preparing for battle thoughts started from. He spent years mastering the martial arts so, when he was in a dangerous situation he knew exactly what to do.

I've been noticing the opposite in my life. I have not been spending enough time preparing for battle. Instead, I end up in the situation where I am praying for help in hard times. How much better would difficult situations or temptation be if I had spent more time studying at the foot of THE master? Getting to know his thoughts and his voice.

I'm reminded of a Native American story I heard years ago. Most of the story has faded from my memory, but the main idea dealt with two dogs that were fighting. A boy asked, "How do you know which dog will win?" The man replied, "whichever one I feed more." If I spend more time "feeding" on the world's junk, that dog will easily win.

As Julie posted last week, we felt so gross after eating the junk food on Ben's birthday. Eating the bean's, rice and potato combinations hasn't always been the most exciting of flavors, but they have sustained us well. One day of junk food and we really felt it. I may be over spiritualizing this, but I feel that God is showing me something during this process. I need to feed the right dog. I need to be feeding on the food that is going to give me strength and sustain me for when the hard times come. Am I making sense?

With that said, I couldn't post without a little humor. So, enjoy this video.

Day 14 - Irio is MmmMmm Good!

What a beautiful day we had today here in the Texas Hill Country! Sorry for all of you still experiencing winter weather, but we had sunny skies and 78 degrees. I stripped off my church clothes and donned my overalls and flip-flops as fast as I could so I could get outside and do a little yard work.

For those who know us, we are not master gardeners. In fact, the expression "black thumbs" is used liberally around here to describe our level of mastery in the garden. Last year we suffered another year of drought which had our rivers almost dry and our neighborhood on water rationing. Needless to say, we stopped watering the yard. Now, after a good rainy winter, there's no shortage of work to be done in the yard.

One of the weekend tasks was clearing a flower bed in the back to get it ready for replanting. For the 7 years we have lived here, there is an ugly bush-thing in that bed that I have wanted removed. Ben and I hacked at it yesterday and got it down to the stump. Today, Kaleb went after the rest. He wasn't thrilled about the job, but he faithfully went after it because we asked him to do it. There were times when he needed guidance and help from Dave, but after a little sweat and whole lot of persistence, the job was finally done.

Made me think a little bit about this whole fundraising process. Nobody really wants to do it, but we step forward because we want to obey what God has called us to do. It's uncomfortable for sure and it definately takes effort, but with guidance from our Heavenly Father and help from others, the job gets done.

I hope the new butterfly bush I am planting takes root and grows strong and I also hope the new church in Bondo that we are helping to plant takes root and grows strong as well. Please keep praying for the new church and for our team as we step forward into this endeavor.

Shifting gears - let me tell you about tonight's authentic African chakula (meal). I prepared a chicken stew with a side of Irio, a traditional Kenyan dish. It is made from potatoes, corn, kidney beans and spinach all cooked until soft and then mushed together. I'm told Kenyans roll it into a ball with their right hand (don't ask me to explain what they do with their left hand) then use it to sop-up whatever stew they are eating.

Today's pictures document the process. Let me tell you, it did not look appetizing and making it reminded me of a little kid playing with his food. However, it was actually pretty good and we had a lot of fun eating with our hands instead of using utensils! Even Eli, the grumpy one when it comes to this whole African food thing, enjoyed his meal. By the end, he wasn't just pinching up bites of food, he instead picked up handfuls to shove into his mouth! What a nut!

Hope you all get some of this fabulous weather we've been enjoying. Be blessed as you step into your work week!

Until next time -

Julie

Days 12 and 13: Happy Birthday Ben!

Let me start by saying how sorry I am not to have posted these past few days. My computer access was interrupted and then we became very busy CELEBRATING BENJAMIN'S 9th BIRTHDAY!

As you can see by the photographs, this birthday was all about the FOOD! No African chakulas for this birthday boy! We started the day with donuts AND chocolate chip banana bread. Lunch consisted of cheeseburgers and BBQ chips. For dinner it was pizza and chocolate cake. Did I mention the soda and Cheetos?

And did I mention this lump in my gut?

Dave and I have both found it interesting that we were, personally, doing just fine eating a limited menu of African related foods - until we started eating all that junk on Ben's birthday. Remnants (aka leftovers) were around today and I found myself reaching for the Cheetos and Chips more than once...yuck. I don't even enjoy those items in my regular life yet today, with the thought of the beans and rice that awaited me for dinner, I couldn't get enough!

We have also observed that all that junk food did not sustain us or the kids as well as healthier foods do. That whole "spiking/dipping" blood-sugar thing really is true! Yet even though intellectually I can recognize this, I still find myself grumpy turning away from the junk. I actually pouted as I served up my beans for dinner.

Wish I could spin this in some brilliant way and quote you a scripture to illuminate the flawed condition of man, but I just can't right now. I'm missing my Cheetos.

Pray for us!

- Julie

Day 9 - S*x Talk

Did you enjoy our little video yesterday? That pretty much sums up things on the food front around here.

We are starting to get into a groove. I actually made a bean-burger today served on flat bread...not homemade (thank you Cosco) but it was good and the kids felt like they were getting a treat. Remember, our boundaries during the week are African ingredients not necessarily prepared in an African way. Mid afternoons are the hardest for all of us so I'm going to need to work out a better snack situation. No other food interest to report.

I had a "teenagers and dating" talk with a friend of mine today that brought to mind a story I would like to share with you.

During our time in Africa, not only do we travel hut to hut sharing the gospel, but we also work with local student groups taking teams into the schools to have assemblies. How refreshing to have the gospel message welcomed in school as opposed to being censored like we do here in America! On Saturday of our trips, we participate in Student Conferences. These conferences are held in one school but attended by secondary students from a variety of schools in the area (High Schoolers). The schools perform for one another, officials make speeches and our team shares a message about living the Christian life. Both years I attended conferences, we have ended the day dividing the group into genders to have s*x talks and answer questions. The students are able to anonymously write down any question they have and we sort through them (for duplicates) and try to answer as many as possible.

My first year at a conference I had a wonderful, poignant experience that I hope never to forget. My second year was also profound, but in a much more humbling way, still, I hope never to forget it either.

You see, we had translator issues during our girls assembly and because of it, we weren't well understood. In addition, the translator was one of the female teachers and she seemed anxious to shut everything down so that the girls could get home before sundown. We did not get through many of the questions under these circumstances. It was frustrating and because I was the adult woman on our team trying to help younger team members through this experience, I felt like I had failed in some way.

I should stop to explain here that one question/comment was repeated numerous times in the stack of notes we were given from the students; it was a question regarding fear of s*x. It was asked in a variety of ways and I was all prepared to give a nice, neat, Christian answer for how s*x was designed by God and it was good within the context of marriage. Circumstances never allowed me to answer that question, which would turn out to be a good thing.

The girls session was ended abruptly and I was frustrated. As the students poured out of the classroom, I stepped outside for fresh air. I was irritated to see that the boys assembly was apparently going quite well on the other side of the school yard. Looked as though they were focused and embroiled in deep conversation. Boo-hoo for me (yes, my pity-party had begun).

Then a young lady named Agatha introduced herself. She explained that her question was never answered and she wondered if I might speak with her about it. We stepped aside for privacy as she explained to me how she had been raped earlier in the school year and was now fearful that she was going to die. She despaired that all of her parent's hard work to finance her education was now for nothing since she would more than likely die of AIDS. She then asked me if her rape meant she would no longer be welcomed in heaven.

I'm leaving out many details, but I assure you that her story was horrific. I did my best to assure her that she was the victim and that God did not pass judgement on her at all. I explained how faith in Jesus Christ was the way into heaven, pure and simple. Her salvation was secure. I tried to love on her and share God's love with her. I also encouraged her to seek counsel from a trusted female teacher at her school.

Now I understood more clearly all those "fear about s*x" questions. They weren't fearful of the natural act of intercourse, they were scared that all s*x led to physical death - literally.

I don't totally understand the reasons why so many Africans are still un-educated about safe s*x and the spread of disease. I do know a little bit about tribal practices and ridiculous superstitions that affect the s*x life of many African men - like the belief that if you have s*x with a virgin you will rid yourself of AIDS. This may explain why rape is so prevalent many places in Africa. I don't know. All I do know is that young Agatha is just one of many young ladies dealing with the shame and fear of being raped.

I pouted for a while after that conference and I believe God let me go through that process so I would better understand the difference between His agenda and my own. You see, my American view of success meant confidence, compliments and lots of students coming to the Lord. I left that experience feeling like an utter failure.

In retrospect I have to believe that no matter how poorly I felt like the rest of that day went, perhaps God had me there for that ONE. I know for a fact that God cares for that one girl and he knows her by name: Agatha.

As I recount this story to you I feel sad once again that my heart can sometimes be so contrary to God's and I feel sorrow for Agatha. However, I stand firm in believing that no matter what cultural differences exist in the world, there is only one true answer - one path to lasting change.

His name is Jesus.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." - John 3:16-17

- Julie

[FYI, I had to misspell the word s*x throughout this posting because apparently there are perverts who like to hijack other people's web addresses and use them for their own perverted purposes...ugh.]

How 'Bout Some More Beans Mr. Haggard?

This video pretty much sums up life around here on Day 8!

- Julie & Dave

Bag, Basket or Barn?

I was exhausted when I got home last night so I'm double-posting today. Above is a picture of today's special African treat...bottled Orange Fanta (imported straight from Mexico - ha!)

Today was our first team meeting and our team leaders decided to support our "eating like an African" efforts by preparing a lunch of beans and rice. I was in charge of the chipati. Okay, it was special making it once - a little more challenging making it for guests - but making it for our whole team was HARD work! My empathy for my African sisters grew a lot this morning as I rolled out and deep fried about 40 of those artery clogging treats! I'm pretty sure I used more shortening this morning alone than I have collectively in my entire life. That's not what I want to spend my time talking about though.

This morning I woke up early to start on the chipati and the whole fundraising thing was weighing heavy on my mind. After years of wrestling with my own doubt, skepticism and fear, I've come to believe that when God calls us to do something that is beyond ourselves (like financing a trip to Africa) we must respond with a balance between resourcefulness and trust. Not sure I'm explaining it clearly, but our faith should be active. God wants us to take action, not just sit there and expect him to do everything for us - yet at the same time we are to trust him to provide for everything.

I won't pretend to be a theologian, but I'll tell you what I know from the Bible. Scripture tells us to be industrious and hard working like an ant. It tells us to be good stewards of all God's blessings in our lives and to tithe our first fruits. Jesus sent out his disciples to minister in villages and told them not to take anything with them (including money) but to rely on his provision through the generosity of others. The Apostle Paul was a tent-maker, yet he also received support from other believers.

Scripture also tells us that God loves a cheerful giver. I'll be honest, that is not always me. Maybe that's what was weighing on my mind today.

As is often the case with God, wouldn't you know that today's sermon was all about having a generous heart? Our pastor even referenced some of the same scriptures I was pondering to myself early this morning. If you have the time, you might visit our church website (see sidebar for link) and listen for yourself. Here are my take-aways:

There are 3 basic mindsets that effect generosity in a person's life: The bag, the basket or the barn.

"You have planted much but harvest little. You eat but are not satisfied. You drink but are still thirsty. You put on clothes but cannot keep warm. Your wages disappear as though you were putting them in a bag filled with holes." - Haggai 1:6

Bag people believe that we do not have enough to afford being generous. We focus on our money, or lack of it, and all the things we want to do with the money we don't have. No matter how much money we may acquire, if we have a "hole in the bag" mindset, we will never feel satisfied and we will always worry.

"If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands...the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessing will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God...Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed." - Deuteronomy 28:1-5

"If you give, you will receive." - Luke 6:38a

Basket minded people are like the little boy with the loaves and fishes. He didn't have much in his basket that day, but he willingly let God use what he had and 5,000 people were fed. Basket minded people receive and give willingly from what they have.

"Honor the Lord with your wealth and the first part of your harvest. Then your barns will be full of grain, and your barrels will be overflowing with wine." - Proverbs 3:9-10

Barn people are faithful stewards of God's blessings and they trust God with what they have. Barn people know that all the money and stuff belong to God anyhow and so they gratefully give back to him. When they do, they are blessed with barns overflowing. You see, when we are faithful with a little, God knows we will be faithful with more.

Yikes! I have to admit that I waffle back and forth between being a bag and a basket. First, I need to repent from my lack of trusting God with my finances and secondly I need to change my way of thinking. Truly, when I stop to consider, I KNOW how blessed I am. Truly, I'm living in a barn but because I keep looking down at the dirt floor, I forget how great it is. If I can remember to look up, up to God who has provided generously in my life, I feel humbled, grateful, satisfied and generous.

How about you? Are you a bag, a basket or a barn? I'd love to hear stories of how God grew you in this area because frankly, I can use the encouragement. Leave your comments below.

May God Bless You This Week!

- Julie

Day 6 - Big Daddy Weave & Baskets for Bondo: Let the Fundraising Begin!

Today we joined some of our fellow team members in parking cars for the local Market Day. Market Day is a big deal for our hometown because it draws shoppers from all over the Hill Country area. For as long as we have lived here, our friend, Jay McDonald has parked cars in a field owned by the Johnsons (the WWII Vet I mentioned in an earlier post). Jay has always been generous with sharing the blessings of that field with numerous people working towards fundraising of one kind or another.

Sad for us, but Jay went home to the Lord this past October. It was a little weird to be out there without him and it was my first time since he left us. Still, I have to imagine Jay was smiling down on us as kids did their "come park in our lot" dance wearing clown costumes and funny hats. He would have been pleased to see how hospitable Dave and our friends, Tom and Brenda, were to the people passing through. Jay was great at loving people and I think our little parking lot team was following in his footsteps pretty well yesterday. But I digress...

What I wanted to discuss today are different things we are doing for fundraising and ways you could be involved.

1. BIG DADDY WEAVE - March 21st, our church will host a Big Daddy Weave concert. Chris and Conrad will be opening for the Big Daddy. All proceeds go towards funding the church building itself in Bondo, Kenya. If you anywhere in our area, you should come down and see this show. There is no bad seat in our church and it will be a relatively "intimate" affair. You can purchase tickets through our church website for $15.00. Just go to http://cypresscreekchurch.com/ and look for the Big Daddy link.

2. MZUNGU MARKET & BBQ DINNER - Both before the concert on the 21st. The market features a wide variety of African treasures priced for every budget. The stuff is so cool it is hard to let it go, but we will do it for our good cause. Proceeds of the market and the dinner benefit the team members for the Bondo church plant.

FYI, K-LOVE Radio will be broadcasting remotely from our church that whole afternoon leading to the concert. The Market will be open for business through the afternoon so stop by to meet your favorite DJs and shop without the crowds!

3. MARKET DAY PARKING - Again, for those of you local, we will probably be parking cars at the Johnson field for the next few Market Days. So mark your calendars for the first Saturday of each month and leave your car with us! It's for a great cause:)

4. BASKETS FOR BONDO - Okay, this is a personal plug, but I was inspired by my Kenyan brothers and sisters to start becoming more resourceful, so I've figured out a way to weave baskets using recycled magazines. I think they're sorta cool. I am currently selling Easter baskets (see the pictures) for $15 a piece. Each basket is a unique work of art and a guaranteed one of a kind so let me know if you want one and I'll be in touch.

5. EATING FOR AFRICA - Our food experiment is two-fold. 1) we are trying to save our own money and 2) we are hoping to get support from others. Would you consider "sponsoring" our March Madness for $1 or more per day? If the answer is yes, please contact us at gobondo.jacobsen@gmail.com and we will send you all the information. We're the only missionaries I've heard of yet with dumpster diving children so don't you want to be a part of all this fun?

I'll keep you updated on our fundraising efforts because I find this process to be so illuminating and faith challenging. I hope you will hang with us on our journey and I would love it if you would pray for us as we take these steps towards our summer missions work.

Thanks for being with us this weekend -

Julie and Dave

Day Five - Dumpster Diving?!

I knew today would be tough on the kids, but I had no idea it would be as tough as it was. Friday is our homeschool co-op day. It is also the day everyone orders out for lunch. Knowing my kids would be passing on take-out today, I brought a special treat; Nutella & banana on chipati bread.

Before anyone cries foul, let me explain. In my research on African foods, I discovered that chocolate nut butters are a Kenyan treat. I knew that "ground nuts", aka peanuts, were grown in Kenya and I knew Africa was a leading manufacturer of peanut butter, but I had never heard of chocolate nut butter. My friend Tracy had and she turned me on to Nutella. YUM! I confess, I have used it sparingly this week to get over some sugar withdrawal "humps". Today was one of those humps we were trying to clear so I put together what I'm calling chipati-dogs (banana wrapped in a Nutella coated chipati bread).

I teach some classes at co-op and today, my kids started eating lunch while I was still cleaning up after my second class. The next thing I know, kids are coming to tell me how Eli was eating out of the trash. I didn't believe them, but later on Eli confirmed the rumor. It was true! He had pulled a leftover sandwich out of the garbage and was eating it! Yuck, yet very African.

Because while it's true that we are trying to eat like an African for a month, we are consuming a higher quantity of food than the average African. Yes, there are metropolitan cities in Kenya where you can find pretty much anything you want just like any other city, but the average Kenyan is not wealthy enough to eat 3 square meals a day.

I'm more familiar with the village areas and only vaguely familiar at that. What I saw were people gleaning sugar cane from the fields or sharing a piece of jack fruit for breakfast. While my gracious host provided friendly foods to the Muzungus, I saw students being offered slices of white bread and a bottled soda for lunch. I saw children picking up grains of rice out of the dirt to eat them and yes, there are people gleaning nourishment from the garbage. Do a google search on the Kibera slum of Nairobi and see for yourself. Not that every African is eating garbage, but many of them do only eat one main meal a day.

I suppose Eli was only trying to be "authentic" when he rescued that sandwich from the trash. At the very least, he provided me with a bloggable moment. Hmm...it's only day 5, isn't it?

Hope you have a great weekend!

- Julie

Day 4 - Pineapple: The International Sign of Hospitality

When we lived in Boston, I took a tour of Salem where I learned that Pineapple was known as the international sign of hospitality. Pineapples were placed in windows as a signal to people that you were home and would receive visitors. Many older homes in Massachusetts use a decorative garland of fruit over their front door at Christmas containing pineapples as the centerpiece. It was in Boston that I fell in love with the idea of pineapples. They are such friendly fruit!

Tonight we had our first dinner guests since beginning our African month. Our dear friends, the Ziolas, bravely joined us for an authentic African chakula of red beans and chipati. For dessert, we had pineapple. Now, I may have fallen in love with the idea of pineapple while living in Boston, but it was eating pineapple grown in Uganda that made me fall in love with the fruit itself. Seriously, the best pineapple in the world can be found in Kenya and Uganda!

Hospitality here in America seems very different than what we have experienced in Africa. There are very few people that I know who would be 100% okay with me just showing up on their doorstep un-announced, without invitation and not have anxiety on some level letting me into their house. Okay, we have some close friends who we have that relationship with, but I know I'm not always 100% peaceful about receiving spontaneous guests. I don't keep a straight enough house or a full enough pantry to be a good hostess on a whim.

When we walk the trails in Africa, we are sent out with one or two interpreters. We walk until we see a home with an open door, then we announce ourselves with a hearty "Odi-odi!" (Swahili for 'knock-knock, are you home?') I was told that if a door is open, that family is receiving visitors, but if the door is closed, they are not.

People not only stop what they are doing to sit down and visit with you, but they offer you the best seat that they have. Sometimes they offer the only seat that they have (which may only raise you a few inches off the ground). Both the Kenyan and Ugandan people are cordial and attentive to whatever you have to say. Their mannerisms are interesting; they don't really look you in the eye and when they listen they make small gutteral sounds to indicate they are hearing you. They also tend to have serious expressions, but when they smile...wow. Their faces just light up.

Here in the States, if I see somebody coming to my door holding a book, I assume it's a Jehovah-Witness and I try to hide. If I'm unsuccessful, I manage to politely send them on their way as fast as possible. Not so with the African people I have met. One thing I find fascinating is that they have respect for the Bible as a holy book whether they believe in it or not. So when we share the gospel in Africa we don't just spout off memorized portions of scripture, we actually open our Bibles and read from them so they can see that the words don't belong to us, but to God.

If I stop and consider what I have experienced, I can really learn a lot about hospitality from my African brothers and sisters. It's not about having nice things or plenty to offer, but about offering the best thing you've got - YOU.

How about it? Can we lay aside our American perfectionism long enough to just sit down and visit with each other? Can we quit being self-conscious about our shortcomings in order to "know" and "be known?"

Odi-odi! Are you home?

- Julie

Day 3 - Suffering?

Nothing spectacular to report on the food front. We were all about leftovers today. When I offered a choice between leftover beans or veggie stew the question was, "Do you have chipati to go with that stew?" When the answer was "no" we all opted for the beans.

There was a special treat today when a friend of ours brought cupcakes to a meeting we were having. They were to celebrate her 17 year old's birthday. Now, Kaleb was the only one of our children in attendance but he was sweet enough to nab cupcakes for each of his siblings. They were so ecstatic over those cupcakes you'd think we'd been fasting from junk for 3 months instead of 3 days!

Today we met with a local gentleman, Bill Johnson, who is a Marine Veteran of WWII. He was part of the surge on Iwo Jima. It was mine and Kaleb's second time to hear Mr. Johnson's war account, but I found myself once again transfixed to the details of his amazing story.

As he described the fervor of the young men volunteering for service after Pearl Harbor, I looked around the room at all the teenagers sitting there and wondered if they would have felt the same way. As he described the horror of war and the weight of responsibility in leading a group of 40 men on Iwo, I wondered if our boys had it in them to do the same. Then he posed a question to the group.

"What things do you think are worth fighting for?"

I don't know if they were being shy, reflective or just weren't engaged, but only one of the young men gave an answer. He said, "Freedom was worth fighting for." Mr. Johnson agreed.

Hearing how hard the servicemen worked in defense of our country and how unified and hard-working our country was in support of those men made me think about the comforts we surround ourselves with. Like food.

Now, food is necessary and I believe God gave us taste buds so we could enjoy the foods He provides, but here in the West we really take food for granted. It's so easy to run to the store to pick up any ingredient we want. Easier still to pay somebody else to cook it for us because we are too rushed to go through the process for ourselves. I'm not being judgemental here because I absolutely LOVE me some Mexican food on a Sunday afternoon and let's face it, my family would die if we had to live off the land (black thumbs over here). I just wonder what I would do in the face of true suffering. I've often commented that God must have known I was meant for this point in history because I probably would not have done well settling our country like a Pilgrim or pushing west in a covered wagon.

Which brings me back to Mr. Johnson. His time in Iwo-Jima was over when a hollow-tipped bullet ripped through his hand (which happened to be over his heart at the time) and landed him in a fox-hole with dead Japanese for a couple of days. Gangrene set in as he waited for a safe time to work his way out and back to safety (a relative term on Iwo Jima). He doesn't harbor bitterness over his experience, but he honestly wondered aloud over why he lived through the war and other men did not.

He found out afterward that he had an aunt praying specifically for him "to get shot in the hand and returned home safe." God was listening to her prayers, wasn't she? Knowing Mr. Johnson and all he means to so many people, I know it was clear that God's plan did not include him dying in the war. God is in control and he has a good plan for our lives.

So I'm trusting that God has me where he wants me. Suffering is part of life and God promises never to give us more than we can handle. The trick is handling it through His strength and not our own. I hope I remember these truths when my day of suffering comes. More importantly, I hope my children know Jesus before they have to face true crisis in their own lives.

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,
His love endures forever!

- Julie

Chipati Saves the Day!

My first trip to Kenya in '07 was filled with new experiences. Each day we partnered with translators and walked the trails visiting with people in their homes talking to them about Jesus then we came back together around 2:00 for lunch. Our hostess, Aidah Ogenga was (and is still) very protective of her Mzungu guests and makes sure to prepare American food that will not upset their systems (FYI, Mzungu means 'white man' in Swahili).


Then one day after a long dusty walk along the trails we were offered something new - a standard African meal - red beans and chipati bread. That, coupled with a bottled Orange Fanta or Bitter Lemon was like manna from heaven! Today, that manna came to our house.


The day started shaky with a breakfast of ugali. In the American South it is known as corn grits and in Italy it is known as polenta. Corn meal (prominently white, not yellow) is a main ingredient of the Kenyan diet. For breakfast it is prepared like grits and I think served with milk. Today I served it with a variety of toppings to try. Everyone ate it but I think I heard more than once, "So Mom, how many times a week do we eat this?"


[If any of you have ideas for topping our ugali breakfast gruel, please send us the love!]


For lunch I prepared a roasted vegetable stew that is technically Navajo, but utilizes all African ingredients. Since Africans make a lot of vegetable stews, I decided to go for it. To make it authentic, I made my first batch of chipati bread.


Chipati is an unleavened bread made from white flour and cooked in oil. NOT a healthy dish, but oh it is YUMMY (note the thumbs up in Eli's picture above). Chipati is another staple to the Kenyan diet and it serves as both food and utensil at a meal. We used it to scoop our stew and a few people actually fought over the two pieces we had leftover. I enjoyed making the chipati dough and I felt "one" with the bread and with my African sisters. Now if I can get my hands on a coke bottle to use as a rolling pin - that would be authentic!


Lunch was a totally different experience from breakfast yet it ended with the same question, "How many times a week do we eat this?" I noted a more optimistic tone over the chipati than I did over the ugali.


Just wait until they get the dinner version of ugali this weekend. I'll leave you with a hint: it is prepared so thick that it too serves as both food and utensil at the meal. Yum?


Until next time,

Julie

Day One - March Madness Begins

Whew! This has been an interesting day. I can honestly say that we haven't suffered one bit, yet I've watched my children wrestling with their desire for the "untouchables" that is, the foods that are off limits this month.

Let me explain the perimeters of our food experiment. During the week I will attempt to utilize ingredients that are found in a typical Kenyan diet, but not necessarily used in a typically African way. Every Sunday will be an "authentic" day where I plan to cook traditional African dishes so if you live nearby you might be invited to share a Sunday chakula with us (Swahili for 'meal'). I also plan on making the Sunday chakula one involving meat.

Another caveat, since this is primarily about saving money towards our trip I will not waste food leftover from February just because it isn't African. You may occasionally hear about Hot Pockets or Cheerios but I'll tell you like we've told the kids, once they are gone, they are gone until April (and really, they are almost gone already).

You may be wondering what exactly is included in the typical Kenyan diet. The staple foods consist mainly of corn, maize, potatoes and beans. Greens such as kale or spinach, cucumbers, tomatoes and onions are also mainstays. Meats are used less frequently and are either grilled dry (as in no marinating or seasoning) or cooked into stews. Fruits include banana, mango, papaya, pineapple, oranges, lemons and limes. I'm no expert, but my experience and my research bring me to the following conclusion; the diet staples are the same as many places, (such as Mexico) but the difference is in the way it is seasoned and prepared.

And now, I introduce to you all the players in this game and what they have to say about Eating for Africa...

This is my husband, Dave, enjoying his lunch of black beans and rice. He is on-board with saving grocery money this month but I've heard him say on more than one occasion, "I sure hope we get some sponsors to make this all worthwhile." He says the thing he'll miss most this month is orange juice in the morning and cereal for breakfast. Let me tell you, this is a man who has eaten cereal for breakfast since he was a kid and giving it up is no small sacrifice!



Here is my 16 year old, Kaleb, embarrassed to be having his picture taken, but also happy with his lunch. Of all the kids, he is the most optimistic about our ability to lay aside our Standard American Diet (SAD) for a good cause. Cereal is a big loss for him as well. He isn't a kid who is quick to change his ways so we'll see how he does with the whole breakfast thing.


Bethsaida is 13 years old and becoming every bit a teenager. Saida can't wait until she is old enough to travel to Africa for herself so she is on-board with our little bit of March Madness. She is a little worried about laying aside her main food group...sugar. She isn't sure how she will survive without brownies. She said, "You mean I can't even make them for myself? What if I get hungry?" Good thing there's peanut butter in Africa. It may sustain her this month!

Eli, 11 years old, is our conscientious objector. He has a long list of fast foods he is mourning over. To hear him talk you'd think we eat nothing but Sonic every day - or pizza. Yes, pizza is the one food item that Eli is going to miss the most and I tell you, we do eat pizza at least once a week. He had a hard time with lunch today. Beans and rice of any kind are not his favorite food, but he muscled through it and I'm sure he'll do great once he gets into the swing of things.

Our youngest is Ben, age 8. He claims cheeseburgers are his new favorite food and the number one thing he'll miss. Fortunately, Ben's 9th birthday falls right in the middle of the month and will provide an "oasis" of yummy for us all (because at our house, the birthday boy gets to choose the food for his special day). Don't worry, even with the one day break we'll still be eating for Africa a full 30 days.


Finally you have me, the evil mastermind behind this scheme. The thing I'm going to miss the most is the convenience of eating out (which we do too much) or just throwing something easy in the oven. If given a recipe, I can cook, but I don't consider myself very versatile in my repertoire. Just coming up with a basic menu for one week of March was a huge undertaking for me. In this picture I am preparing our mid-day meal. FYI, most Africans eat their bigger meal at mid-day. I plan on doing the same thing this month so that will also be an area of change for us.

I really have no room to complain about anything, considering the majority of Kenyan kitchens look like this: What you're seeing here is the back side of the Pastor's house from a church we helped to open outside of Jinja, Uganda in the village of Mugaluka (summer '08). Make's you want to kiss your cooktop doesn't it ladies?
That's it for now. Hope you'll come back tomorrow to hear more!
Blessings to you all.

- Julie