Motherhood Moments #23

Sometimes motherhood looks like this...

a painting party for the ladies in our group. Sometimes motherhood isn't always just about motherly duties like diapers and 2 AM feedings - it is about being a woman who spends time away from her family for her sanity. The ladies in our MAF group got together today to paint, share lunch, and talk about ministry with one another. I was excited that I got to "adult" today! :-)

Stevie the Gecko

There is one thing homes in tropical environments have in common - house geckos. They are wonderful little creatures they crawl all over your ceiling and windows and eat all the little insects (flies, mosquitoes, ants, and roaches). Our house just so happens to have a plethora of them! At any given time, I can name the locations of at least five.

Our little girl has taken a liking to these cute little guys and continuously asks to pet one. Well, daddy did one better and caught the one that was in her room. We placed him in a terrarium.

We named him Stevie (like the gecko in "Madagascar"). Baby girl loves watching him and wants him to "sit" next to her when she plays.

Stevie is a cute little guy who is very active. Sweet pea had lots of fun gathering sticks and leaves for his home. She even helped me to search for bugs to feed him. Because of his small size, we stuck to small things like ants and baby cockroaches (which there are always plenty).

Unfortunately, after keeping him trapped for a week, he managed to escape. But don't feel bad, he crawled right back up into sweet pea's room. It was fun for her to see a gecko up close for a while and learn how to take care of a pet. But she still wants for him to come to her when she calls so she can pet him! Perhaps we should get a bird.

Glimmers

"And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise." Phillipians 4:8 (NLT)

In our culture, customer service is a big deal. But for those in customer service jobs, sometimes it seems you can have a perfect record and have that reputation broken by one complaint. One customer who was not happy goes on your permanent record and you job goes into jeopardy. Soon, every performance review goes back to this one mistake, even if it was years ago. When applying for another job, your one mistake can be mentioned and shared.

I often hear of so many businesses being discredited after one mistake. After 3 years of service, your cable bill was too high this month, you complain to your friends and now everyone knows. You didn't like your hair cut from your normal hair dresser and now you are in the process of getting her fired because she wouldn't give you a refund. Believe me when I say the negative always trumps the positive when it comes to customer service.

In a country with so many issues (poverty, disease, corruption etc.), it is very easy to look in and see all the bad. But if we only focused on the bad things as Christians, we would spend all our time talking about when Jesus lost his temper in the temple or how this person did this sin and this person is sinning right now. If I sat here, in Congo, and focused on only the bad, I would easily burnout. I could become depressed about the man with a permanent limp from polio, the children forced to beg on the street because their parents can’t feed them, or the way the “roulage” hassle me for money because they didn't get paid this month.

No. I can’t and I won’t. We recently had a meeting for our entire program to discuss our ministry plan; in other words, why we are here and what are we trying to accomplish. The word of the day was “glimmer.” We are not medical missionaries and cannot heal the broken man, but we fly in medical missionaries. We are not nutritionists who teach parents how to correctly feed their family with their meager income, but we fly in nutritionists. We don’t go around handing out money to every poor person we see because that often exacerbates the problem, but we share the gospel to feed their hearts. Even though we accomplish these deeds, we don’t always see the rewards or the benefits that occur. But occasionally, God will give us a glimmer of hope. We will meet a person who benefited from one of the medical missionaries and is alive today to share their story. We will visit a small village and see the children with full bellies. We will meet someone of authority who is attending church and is eager to learn about God and how to change the hearts of his coworkers. Much like a match struck in a dark room, God’s light will always shine through the darkness.

Will I chose today to look at the light and be content or will I chose to focus on what little I can see in the dark and be unhappy?

Guest Blog by Papa Spann

In a little under a month from now, Kevin's parents (Mimi and Papa Spann) will be making the long trek to Africa to visit us! We are so excited to have them come to our "neck of the woods" and experience what life is like for us in Africa. That being said, wouldn't it be nice to hear an "outsider's" perspective on their first time visiting another continent/culture/third world country? So we asked the parents to write a few posts about their thoughts, their experiences, and overall opinions on stepping outside of their comfort zone. 

Here is the first in our guest blog series...

“I’m just fine right here Mrs. Flood”

The above quote was made by Kevin when his kindergarten teacher was moving all of his classmates to different tables.  Kevin was comfortable where he was and wasn't interested in change.  Since you are reading this on Kevin and Tasha’s blog you probably have a sense for how much change has occurred in their lives in the past five years or so.  Apparently he has learned to at least adapt to change.

In about a month, Debby and I will be getting on a plane to visit Kevin, Tasha, and our granddaughter.  We already know about many of the differences between our lives here and what life is like in Kinshasa.  Unpredictable electrical power (ours was just off for 2 days), water that must be purified before drinking, and the constant crush of life in a different culture are all things we are aware of and are somewhat prepared for.  But, it’s not the change in the daily routine that concerns me.  Up to this point in my life the realities and  struggles of people living in third world countries have come from news clips on TV that  get quickly pushed out of my mind at the end of the six o’clock news.  How will I react to what I am about to encounter?  I have never seen the level of need that exists there.  How will my heart react to what my eyes see?  Could it be that my heart is saying, “I’m just fine right here....God”?

What Does Tasha Do All Day?...Part 2

In my last post, I had mentioned that I wrote a letter to one of our churches who had asked I speak a little about my personal call to ministry here in Africa. There was such a positive outpouring from what I wrote that I felt it was something that was meant to be shared with everyone. The first part of the letter talked a little about my personal call to ministry and where is stands right now. In the second part of the letter (found below), I wrote down what my day to day life literally looks like. Please feel free to ask questions!

I wake up with baby girl and nurse her. After nursing, I make breakfast. How long this takes depends on if there is any electricity or not. If there is no electricity, I will use the propane stove. Breakfast is usually eggs (from our chickens, or local, or a mix), fresh fruit, and sometimes local bread. If there is no electricity and it is a very hot morning, we will do yogurt and fruit (otherwise, it will spoil).

After breakfast, we must clear the table and wipe the floor down or ants will fill the floor very quickly. All dishes to the sink. Then, baby girl and I will try to do playtime.

If there is electricity, I will sneak out to start washing laundry (which takes about 3 hours to wash), or hang laundry (indoor to keep flies away), or filter water so that we have fresh water available and ready in bottles (which takes a while).

If there is no electricity and it is not too muggy outside (too many mosquitos), sweet pea and I will go outside to walk around the yard. We also feed and water the rabbits and gather eggs (if the guinea fowl is not sitting on them).

Lunch time comes during the hottest part of the day, so lunch becomes less desirable to make in the heat, but I manage. Especially if I have to cook it on a hot propane eye! After lunch is naptime. I make Adah wash her hands and feet and then I will nurse her to sleep. If there is no electricity, this becomes a difficult chore, holding and rocking a sweaty baby. During sweet pea’s naptime, I will try to do some Bible time before napping myself.

After baby girl gets up, we do more chores – sometimes stuffing the cloth diapers, sometimes ironing (things get pretty rough when they are dried indoors), sometimes bleaching and rinsing off fruits and vegetables, sometimes washing and bleaching dishes, sometimes folding laundry, and sometimes prepping our dinner. All of this depends on if there is electricity or not (or water). On the days with no electricity, I get a break from work, but not from the heat.  Some days, baby girl and I just sit in the dark bedroom with a small fan watching Sesame Street trying to stay cooled off.  If there has been no electricity all day, we have to run the generator to keep the refrigerator cool, and we might get to turn on one AC unit!!!

Usually right before daddy gets home, it will be beginning to cool down and we will go walking up and down the street, greeting people. But we always dress up in our skirts because you always go out in your best dressed.

Once daddy is home we talk and play for a while before starting supper. After dinner, we make sure to clean up the floor or roaches will eat the leftovers in the middle of the night. Then we will either have a bath or a thorough hand and feet washing. After we brush our teeth, we do book time, then prayer time, and then nursing (which is pretty miserable with a hot sweat baby and no electricity).

At the end of some days, not much is accomplished, but things take twice as long to do here. Like if I want to boil chicken, I have to use filtered water, which requires filtering, which requires electricity to take from a working faucet. If I want to eat the apple that was just dropped off by the vegetable lady; I have to let it soak in bleach water for 20 minutes. Then I have to scrub them. Then I have to rinse them in filtered water and thoroughly dry them.  Not a quick process.  If I run  low on laundry, it takes at least 3 hours to wash in the European machines (which are half the size of American ones), and then wait for a day for them to dry (inside or flies will lay eggs on them).

So, welcome to Africa! ;-) 

What Does Tasha Do All Day?...Part 1

I had recently been asked to share a little of what I do everyday. So, I wrote a letter to one of our churches talking about my personal call to ministry in Africa (part 1) and my daily life/chores (part 2). There was such a positive outpouring from what I wrote that I felt that it was something that was meant to be shared with everyone. Below you will find the first part of my letter concerning my ministry in Africa. I will later share with you what I do on a daily basis. Please feel free to comment!

A Summary on the Ministry of Motherhood in the Mission Field of Africa

Before coming to Africa, I had such grand ideas of what sorts of missions I would be involved in. Mission Aviation Fellowship is very open in the different types of ministries the spouses can join. I thought of teaching women to become self-sufficient so that they could take better care of their health; I thought of teaching English to women using the Bible so they can get better jobs; I thought of working with children, feeding those who are hungry. I am many grand ideas, but God had other plans for me.

Once arriving in Africa, I had the opportunity to meet the spouses and share in their ministries. One woman helps with a group called “The Tabitha Project.” They take women who worked on the streets (as current prostitutes or soon-to-be headed in that direction) and they teach them the Bible and forgiveness as well as a local trade (such as sewing or doing hair). Another wife volunteers at a local orphanage, holding the children and providing them with the personal attention they desire and lack due to overcrowding. Yet another wife has become involved with the “Matadi Center” which is similar to the Tabitha Project, taking at-risk women and children and giving them an opportunity to provide for themselves by learning a trade. All of these ministries appealed to me in so many ways. I even had a woman ask me to teach her English. All of the grand ideas I had were laid before me. What does a girl do with so many choices? PRAY!!!

I took it all to the Lord. I began praying in earnest and with eagerness, telling God how much each of these ministries would be a perfect fit for me - the skills I can provide; the testimonies I can share; the joy I have in my heart. Like the pieces to a puzzle all the opportunities were waiting in a box and I asked God if I could begin sorting them.  But God told me very clearly, “no, not yet.” I thought for sure God meant there was another opportunity waiting for me around the corner. So I waited. But nothing happened. I prayed again to God, crying out, “Here I am, Lord. Use me!” But God told me very clearly, “no, not yet.” Why was God denying me my chance to shine?

In the midst of my prayers, I was doing a women’s Bible study called “Discerning the Voice of God.” That Bible study was an absolute God-send for me. Working through this study I was able to more clearly hear God’s voice and discern his desires for me at this time in my life. God has asked me to take time to learn the culture and maybe even learn the local language called Lingala. He feels that my ministry is my daughter. While I was seeking self-gratification through ministries to help others, I was not looking before me at the chance to help my daughter grow closer to the Lord. I understand that there are many seasons in life, and perhaps my time to get involved in a local ministry will be soon, but not now.

While I want to share with everyone all the “great things” I am “accomplishing” by teaching locals all about God, I cannot. But I can tell you how my daughter faithfully bows her head before every meal and waits for me to pray. She even eagerly adds “Amen” to the end. I want to tell you about all the people I have met through local ministries, but I cannot. Instead, I can tell you about all the people I have met by taking walks with my daughter, who shines her little smile and wins the hearts of the locals. She even eagerly greets each person with a hand shake and says, “ça va?” to ask how they are in greeting.  I want to share with you all about people I have begun to teach English using a French Bible, but I cannot. Instead, I can tell you all the new English and French words my daughter has learned.

There was a time when I felt disappointed with the idea that I was not out there, helping people every day. But I have to be honest; God has shown me the error of my ways and taught me an important lesson.  The ministry of motherhood is a very important ministry that God has called me to do and I am eagerly taking this on with as much joy as I would have for any local ministry.

Dirty Feet

Africa is a dirty place. There is dirt and dust everywhere! The dirt and dust which lives among the streets and by the water banks culminates into mounds that get swept everywhere by the wind. The wind manages to push the dust into every nook and cranny and every crack and crease. It never fails, if you spent a few hours sweeping your home and then moping, you can walk barefooted across the floor and your feet are going to be dark with the dust. The doors and windows don’t have good seals so the dirt just seeps in through all the cracks. All of this worsens right before a storm when the winds fill the air with a cloud of dust. And after the storm, all that remains is mud everywhere. And at the end of each day, before going to bed, you must wash your feet.

But I am learning to not be upset by seeing my own dirty feet or the never-ending task of scrubbing them. They are becoming symbolic to me. I used to read the story about Jesus washing his disciples’ feet and it didn’t mean much at the time. What was the big deal? In America our feet are clean. I would almost be willing to volunteer to wash a stranger’s feet. They usually have socks and shoes on to protect their feet anyway. But in Africa, it is not that way.

Many people don’t own shoes, or if they do, they might just be borrowed. But because feet are the main source of transportation, protecting them are important. They will make their own coverings or find two different colored and sized flip flops and make them work. But as with other customs in many other countries, the Congolese take their shoes off when entering a home as a sign of respect, even if the floor is just as dirty as the outside ground. In fact, our sentinels don’t even wear shoes on our porch!

Bringing all of this around full circle, image washing a stranger’s feet. Not just any feet, but feet that have been wearing open sandals. Open sandals that do not block out the dirt and dust. Feet that have been a person’s livelihood, taking them to and from their destinations. Feet that have become harden by so much walking and dirt. And then image Jesus willingly washing those feet to show us His love. Perhaps the holy ground God was referring to when He asked Moses to remove his sandals, were the feet, and God was getting ready to wash them.

Late Night

I want to apologize for the gap in posts (again). These past few weeks have been a blur. We have been packing, sorting, dividing, purging, inventorying, purchasing, cramming, folding, weighing, and moving. Tired yet? If not, here is an outline.

Step one. We asked for guidance on what to bring and we were instructed to think about our daily routines and one by one write down everything we use. Just think about all the mini steps you go through each morning to get ready: soap, deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrush, vitamins, etc. After coming up with a list of some of these things, we proceeded to step two.

Step two, picture yourself in a third world country and ask other missionaries what items from the above list are available. If available, are they outrageously expensive? For example, is there a certain brand of toothpaste you like or will generic do? I have to use sensitive with extra fluoride on a daily basis, which is not available. Do you mind spending $35 on a single sippy cup or do you have space to pack them? Do you use Ziploc bags? Because they are not found at all, just like aluminum foil. Once you have marked this on your list, you may proceed to step three.

Step three - buy missing items from your list. Some of our supporting churches really came through for us and held a supply drive for us. There were so many things we did not own or we needed to purchase more of to have as back-up. For example, we needed thermometers and lots of them. We need them for the refrigerator, freezer, and oven because when you are dealing with intermittent electricity, food can quickly spoil. But hey, what's a little botulism among friends...also, do they make a trichinosis vaccine??? We also had to purchase lots of personal items like deodorant, toothpaste, Tylenol, first aid supplies, batteries, and baby wipes. You don't realize how much you use until you try to count up a three year's supply! Now that you have your missing supplies, move to step four.

Step four (a) inventory and (b) attempt to fit everything into tubs/luggage. These two were pretty much hopelessly merged into one big mess. All items needed to be checked for HAZMAT before final packing. We ended up removing RainX, rubbing alcohol, and aerosol cans of bug spray. As we inventoried, we placed the item(s) in the shipping tubs to make sure they would fit...

We are limited by weight and space on what we can bring with us. Keeping this in mind, the goal is to be pragmatic with what we take. Let's face it, a Keurig single cup coffee make is not going to be a useful item in Africa. We needed to simplify and step four (a) and (b) turned into step five - purging!

We purged a large supply of winter clothing (we did just spend a winter in Canada!); we purged electronic kitchen gadgets (they are supposed to have 220V, same as Europe, but the voltage [if present] has been measured anywhere between 300V and 90V); we purged large paintings and extra picture frames; we purged unused baby toys; we purged extra tools (Kevin cried); we purged, and we purged, and we purged until we thought everything would fit....then we repeated step five.

Step six - fold, squish, and stuff! We were blessed to have a handful of helpers that day as we removed everything from the tubs, and separated all articles into piles by category. We had a pile for the kitchen, a pile of tools, a pile of linens, a pile of toiletries, a pile of crafts, and a pile of electronics. If something happened to one of our tubs en route, it would be devastating if we had "all of our eggs in one basket", so we split up the category items and put a little in each box. As we placed an item into a box, the box number had to be labeled on the inventory list for future reference. We also re-visited step five...

Step seven - weigh each tub. We had to make sure each tub was under 150 lbs or it would have required additional work in order to ship. So, we weighed boxes, moved articles around, re-inventoried the items, re-weighed...and got re-acquainted with step five...again....

Step eight - sigh with relief that we finished... at 11 pm...the night before we left for Idaho...

1,903 lbs, 125 cubic ft, 12 bins, & 1 tool box...our shipment is READY!!!

Bittersweet Beginnings

I don’t often write descriptive entries about daily life, but I wanted to share about our journey to Canada. Part of being a missionary is the journey and the lessons learned along the way. Everything, both good and bad, should be shared as a way of being honest about how God is working in our lives. That being said, today marked the beginning of a new chapter in our lives. We are officially missionaries on the journey to language school, which will aid us in the field in Africa.

This trip actually began on Friday evening, August 17^th. Volunteers from our home congregation (Highland View) came to help us set up for the biggest yard sale of our lives by pricing items and just spending time with us. On Saturday, August 18^th, we sold most of our belongings. More volunteers from a local church supporting us (High Places) came by to help us with setting us, selling, managing the items, loading items for people who purchased said items, and packing up our leftover items. What a huge help! We could not have done it without them! On top of that, one of our friends came by to mow our lawn!

Sunday, August 19^th, our home congregation gave us a going away commissioning service that brought tears to our eyes! It was complete with a slide show of our journey with the church! Afterwards, Kevin, Adah, and I gathered at the front of the church and everyone crowded around us to pray over us! I don’t believe there was a dry eye in the building! Then, it was completed with a potluck meal! Yummy! Do the blessings stop there? No! Many more volunteers from church came to our home at 6 PM to help us finish packing, load up the trailer, and clean up our now almost empty home! I can honestly say we would NOT be on the road now if not for all the help! I only wish I had thought to take a picture or two!

This brings us to the good-byes. Since we will be able to visit home, Kevin and I do not feel like it is a real good-bye. It is more of a “see you later.” We are on the road now and it just feels like we are going on another Ministry Partnership trip or a vacation (maybe we have been on the road too much)! Since we are technically going away to school/college, we will be home for Christmas. But for our family, it still feels like good-bye. With a 12 week old baby, our family is saying good-bye to this age, this moment in her life, this impressionable time where she is constantly learning. But we understand that sacrifices are to be made for the glory of God. It does not mean they are easy. There is a saying that I really like: God does not call the prepared, he prepares the called. We are called and he is preparing us for our journey to Africa. He is who is comforting us now during these bittersweet beginnings.