A new definition of thanks

I'd like to start off my reporting with a poem I've been working on:
(with thanks to Jordy Williams, whose poem inspired a device in this one, and Christie Dasaro and Ruth Sallah, for helping me understand the language)

From west Africa I learned a phrase,
"Mungode Yesu"; it's Hausa,
so it means far more than
"Thank You Jesus" in my
pampered, perfect American.
For Hausa is the language
of bartering over patterned cloth
and smoked fish, the language hummed
by AIDS widows under thatched roofs,
moaned by malaria patients sharing a hospital bed,
of women who carry their babies from that
hospital, to bury them, and must fight
to live the next day. Mungode Yesu,
in the language that calls its people
five times a day to pronounce fear of Allah,
the language of sweat in the fields,
drought and blood and tears and widowhood,
partaken with wounds associated with that name,
in Hausa "Thank You Jesus"
testifies to the impossible
to hope where it was unknown,
mocks the darkness with the precious sounds,
"Mungode Yesu."

This is Mr. and Mrs. Sale Abdullah, M-background evangelists who welcomed us to their home last year. Sale went to heaven in January.

There and back again

I feel kind of bad that I didn't post at all while I was in Nigeria. Please understand that we had just one USB modem we were sharing among nine people, and a lot of the time it was very slow or didn't work at all. Thank you to those of you who prayed for us anyway. The Lord was there, and we are returning with much to do ahead of us. I am so thankful for how He continues to guide us. It has been a blessing to get to know the partners the Lord has brought us. Some of them are really strong in what they're doing; many others are struggling, but we know that the Lord does great things as His servants simply yield to Him.

I'll give a fuller report in a day or two, once my head is a little clearer. I've spent the last 42 hours or so traveling via cars and planes, so I'm a little out of it! Please pray for George, Claude and Mark, as Irene has interrupted their travels home.

Rejoice with me!

Well, I got the last courses exported Saturday night. It looks like I may have to redo the Computer Essentials ones--a few little mistakes, but still, I like it looking really good. Still, it's such a relief to have the big haul behind me.

I just got an e-mail from Travel the World Visas that my visa got shipped via FedEx today, and should be delivered Wednesday.

I've gotten word that we will be staying in a facility where we can all be in the same building, no more than two to a room (as the only woman going, I'll get my own apartment), close to ECWA headquarters, at a pretty good price. It sounds like it might even have running water!

Ruth replied to my e-mail; she got the material I sent her and is eager to help us with our conference.

Happy, happy, happy dance!!!

The team at the Colvins (Debbie Colvin is the lady in pink; David took the picture) for supper. Karogo, Nigeria

Shoot a cow.

That's a fun saying I picked up from Ruth, whom I can hardly wait to see in two weeks. She said it whenever things went wrong, and I thought, "I like it! It sounds Texan!"

The good news is that I have only one course left to publish. Everything that needs to be printed in Charlotte has been printed, and the things to be printed in California are in the works.

The bad news is sometimes these books fight me every update. I've read through and edited every subdocument, and have skimmed through the master document, fixing the settings and layout. Then as I skim through for a final check before exporting the PDF, I discover an error--a blank paragraph, a missing letter on a prominent heading or something. So I open the subdocument, fix it, and update the master document. Then I begin to scroll through again and realize that the update caused at least one graphic to disappear. I re-update hoping that will bring it back. It does; but now a cross-reference that was working fine the last 10 updates now points to the wrong place, and I know from experience that there's nothing to be done but get rid of the reference and do a hand-typed substitute. Then of course, I have to update again and make sure nothing has messed up this time...

I'm sure there's a spiritual application to this. And it probably has to do with the sanctification process of humans, how we can grow so much in the Lord and still never arrive at a pure heart in this life...always finding corrupted fibers that are so intertwined in our making that there is no scrutinizing how far their effects go.

Pandora just played "The Old Rugged Cross" for me. How appropriate to my train of thought, the compulsion to die daily...
with which I am well content, for as surely as this course will be published, I will be found sincere and blameless for the day of Christ, having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God (Philippians 1:11).

Frustration pacified

Well, things are looking a bit more encouraging for my visa! I finally was able to talk to a rep of the company that processes the payments and learned that the way the money orders are supposed to be made out has changed and they will be sending mine back. So I've sent them another one, and hopefully they will process it quickly! Then I've got to get all the other documentation I need together and send it to D.C., and as long as they get it back to me by the end of the month, I'm good to go!

This incident really led me to wonder about the place of frustration in the life of a disciple. To what extent should the "do not worry" "be anxious for nothing" trust in God override the normal human reaction when we're trying to accomplish something very important to us and keep getting hindered to the point of considering drastic options that may still not help? The ageless dichotomy of relinquish and responsibility. Just another art my Father is teaching me, as I remind myself not to be discouraged that I don't learn it faster.

Thank you for your prayers. How I thank my Father also for inviting us just to rest in Him.

Quick prayer request

I started the online application process for my visa several weeks ago. A visa to Nigeria costs $120, and last year I was able to pay via credit card. However, this year I tried several times and the transaction never went through. The alternative was to get a money order from the post office and send it to an office in Connecticut. So I did, and saw that it was delivered on June 4. But so far I still have not received the acknowledgment that the payment has been received. I sent an e-mail last Wednesday to the contact address they gave, and have not heard back from that either.
Please pray that my payment is accepted and credited quickly, and that I not be anxious about having to pay $120 again. I still am so eager to return to my friends and that inspirational hope I found last July in Nigeria. I can hardly wait to see all the Lord will do there!

Pages flying from processors to printers to planes!

Oops, so sorry to have dropped the blog for so long! I warned you I'd be busy!
Quick update on my progress:

• Orientation Guide done. Printing starts today!
• The Orientation Guide gives a great overview of TEN3's history, goals and calling. If you'd be interested in reading it, let me know!
• Principals Guide done, ready to be printed!
• Integrity Advance handout done. Will probably be printed in California.
• Writers Guide almost done. There's ALWAYS something to tweak with this one, so I'll probably wait until the deadline to stop working on it and call it ready.
• Material Development Guide much the same as the writers guide.
• Spreadsheet Essentials moving pretty fast. I'm maybe 1/3 of the way through it.
• Computer Essentials--Ray is still working through his pedagogical edit. Less than two chapters to go! Then I have some things to clean up on it.
• Bible course: George has it all written, praise the Lord! I've got to get to editing this one too, but it should go pretty fast.
• Teachers Guide: Please pray for Anthony as he works on this one despite many interruptions.

So my keyboard will be smoking for the next few weeks, but I'm enjoying it! So excited to have my tickets to go back to Nigeria purchased. Praying for the teachers, principals, writers and editors the Lord wants to work with us, for adequately prepared material, for open hearts and guided steps. Also still praying for the Transformational Education Center, which we are seeing as more and more critical to getting the 2-Year Tertiary Degree written!