Wake Up, Dry Bones! Learning to Listen...

"Good morning, world! How was your night?"
"Praise God! How is your body?"
"Fine, by the grace of God. Praise God!"

or, "Oh - I have a slight cold - the weather, it is dusty and cold, yeh, yeh, yeh - but praise God, eh?"

The above, slightly paraphrased, is a typical morning exchange. Essentially, every greeting has something to do with praising God and I think to myself, really Mary, what's your problem? God's name is not always the first thing on my mind and I do not always thank Him for bringing me safely to another day. I think part of the difference is that Africans live in the present as they really don't have much of another choice; planning is difficult as there are often unforeseen things that come up and not much is too reliable.

The past couple of days has brought encounters with a bunch of people and I'm been so humbled by their stories. Monday night a bunch of Methodists from PA showed up. They've been driving all over the country for the past week visiting the sister churches here in SL that their churches back in PA support. Their job is to try to get a feel for the people, culture, and conditions here in SL, report back to their home churches and try to garner more support for the work being done here.

Okay - just got a serious whiff of what smells like pot...look out for my writing to stop making any sense....hopefully it's something else burning...

Back to it. Even though they were only at the MTC for one night, I really enjoyed talking to these PA folks. It has been so encouraging and heart-warming to hear about how much foreign aid is all over SL. Not just $ being invested, but a real effort to work at a local level WITH the Sierra Leonians so that they have ownership and the work will sustain itself. The infrastructure here was devastated by the war (I don't know how great it was before that time...) and while there is progress being made, it's slow. A number of people here have told me they see "light at the end of the tunnel." They are pleased with the president and say he has made massive strides over the past three years. There is, for example, great amounts of construction happening here in Bo - mainly to the roads. They are leveling, paving and fixing places for run-off during the rainy season (which I wish would arrive for at least a few days...). There is also a real heart among a lot of people here to help their fellow countrypersons - even when they, themselves, have little to give. They seem, to me, living examples of one's inability to outgive God - something I would like to have the faith to practice on a deeper level. Perhaps the more one has, the harder it is to actually give it up! Or to trust that God will "out-bless" me when I bless others. This bears more thought....All to say, I was blessed by the example of some Saloners (this is my new term for "Sierra Leonians") who were giving of their time and taking time from their jobs to accompany these white folks from America and work alongside them. I'll talk more about some of their work in a moment....

BUT - back to this group from PA. In their travels, they have visited a number of churches (the sister churches) and a number of schools that are connected with these churches. They have also visited hospitals and driven through numerous villages as they've driven from one place to another (most often on horribly rutted, dusty roads - a couple of times all 4 wheels were off the ground and, in fact, the drivers were having to use the emergency brake to try to make it safely around/over/up? the ruts). On one of their vehicles, the brakes broke so the driver fashioned a brake pad from stuff he found on the side of the road and they were able to get it to a shop to be fixed. Crazy. Anyway, outside one village they encountered a group of girls and women who were painted white. They were heading out to the bush for initiation. A number of these girls will not return as they will bleed to death and/or get terrible infections from which they will die. Yes, you may have guessed it. Their parents have often paid lots of leones for this initiation which is a euphemism for genital mutilation. In one source I read that 85-98% of Saloner women have been excised. Apparently the incidence of this rite in SL is among the highest in west Africa and a lot of its power is due to secret societies; there is social exclusion if one is not a part and it's believed that the ceremony is central in the rite of passage to adulthood with all that is entailed in being a "woman" in SL (which, in all honesty, has plenty of drawbacks!). The amazing thing about the group's encounter with these girls is that they were able to take loads of "snaps" so I asked for copies and if they arrive in a timely fashion (once the team returns to the States) I will share them with you. I can hardly wrap my mind around it - although I get it intellectually and can understand the pressure involved and the notion of "this is always the way it's been". But to what degree is that bondage? And how does God feel about it? There's a rule for the girls at CRC that this WILL NOT happen, but once they are "reunified" (at 17) they have freedom to make their own choices. The staff here (and in the States) need much wisdom to figure out how to deal with this issue from spiritual, cultural and medical perspectives - especially because if the statistics are accurate, the female staff here are experienced in this rite. One can hardly turn to the men for help as I imagine most of them don't know any other way either. An area for prayer!

A couple of other things in our dinner conversation got me really thinking. The first was that I heard Brima's story. He was one of the drivers for the group. During the worst of the war (when it hit Freetown in 1996 or so) he was about 16 and was working at a home for disabled children north of Freetown. The area is surrounded by water on three sides and the rebels arrived. A rocket and a bomb were thrown into the compound and staff at the home were understandably worried about their safety and the safety of the children. They decided to escape; the only way was through the water, however, so they waited for a low tide and then literally carried the handicapped and disabled children for a number of days until they were able to reach Freetown. Not only did none of them know how to swim, but they were CARRYING up to 3 children on their backs. They made it safely to Freetown. The rebels bombed the home (which apparently had been state of the art and really a fine place). Brima lost all of his belongings but escaped with his life. One of the children he carried is now a pastor and has quite a large and thriving church. By all reports, he is a great preacher and evangelist. Amazing. Brima is not bitter; in fact he thanks God for what he has now and the opportunities in his life. He is married and says he has all he needs. Can I make a potion of this guy, put it in a bottle and take doses every day?!

Hearing these stories makes my heart hurt. I truly can't imagine the depths of pain and am overwhelmingly grateful that God decided to make me who I am. Although I know He gives sufficient grace for every circumstance, I am in awe of the level of forgiveness and grace offered by these people who have suffered so much. Am I capable of extending such forgiveness and grace? In my own power, certainly not! There is no-one who was not affected by the war in one way or another and now, the rebels live among the civilians. Brima told us that just as it was hard to tell who was a rebel during the war (they would often wear civilian clothes and just mingle with the common people; sometimes one could tell a rebel only when the machete or gun came out and they were after you) now they are reintegrated into the population. In fact, one of the Saloner guys who is here now (more about this group in a minute) has two rebels working for him. CAN YOU IMAGINE?! I suppose one way to go about making sense of it is to think about the depths of pain and frustration in the hearts of those that would then cause them to wreak such havoc on others. The truth is, we are all capable of such action and it is only God's grace and the power of the Holy Spirit in one's life that causes one to act in any kind of Christ-like way. And while I may not go about cutting off people's hands or ears, or just plain old shooting them, I am fully capable of murder and mutilation in my heart - by my thoughts and words toward others. And, really, doesn't God judge the heart?! People are people are people and I'm thinking that we in the West really have no leg to stand on in our judgment of and interpretation of what we see or think we see in other parts of the world. Sobering. And, again, another prayer target: for wisdom and for God's heart and eyes to feel and see what He does - for right interpretation that we might bring the redemptive power of Jesus to the situations in which we find ourselves, wherever that might be.

Speaking of redemption, the devotion offered by Jeff, the PA group's team leader, just "happened" to be from Ezekiel 37. In this chapter, Ezekiel sees in a vision a valley of dry bones and he prophecies to the bones to rise up. They do, but there is still no life in them. God then tells Ezekiel to prophecy to breath and spirit; he does and breath and spirit then comes over the bones and they lived. The bones had said their hope was lost - but now, with the miracle of breath and spirit, God notes that they will now know that He is Lord; they shall live because of His Spirit.

It strikes me that all over SL, that which has been dead and without hope is coming to life. It also strikes me that it is the miracle of power and "life" that points to Jesus. His work is always accompanied by new life. I have wondered about accomplishing tasks here and felt selfish b/c I think God is doing more in me than I am doing for anybody else - but as I've reflected on these conversations, read emails from dear and wise friends, had little comments from people who had no idea they were speaking directly into my life, etc. - I am coming to see that as God increases His breath and spirit in me, I breathe out more and more of Him and THAT is what makes a difference to the people with whom I come in contact. It is HIM that is life, not how wonderfully I might arrange the library or to what degree I can help Mamie understand "hyperbole" or how much shampoo I leave with Fudia when I depart - it is His life in me that I offer to others. And that is not always measured in tangible ways. I'm learning to be okay with that.

BUT, dry bones coming to life is certainly happening in practical ways, too. The group that is here now will be here until Thursday. John (who comes to SL twice a year and has been doing so for maybe 10 years or so?) is here with three Saloners. He is an expert in electrical systems and installing solar panels - so he works at hospitals and schools. He is offering some solutions to some very dark and dangerous steps here at the MTC (I am strongly suggesting that he strongly suggest to the powers that be - some of whom might be reading! - that it would be GREAT to have solar in place here for fan and electric service on a regular basis! :)) but his real work in this area will be training of locals who want to learn about these systems. He and his guys are out at a school today I believe. While my eyes did glaze over as he was explaining circuits and parts and shipping and adapters and local shops and procedures,etc. etc. etc. I was again struck by the level of commitment and aid being offered - and, again, by the enthusiasm of these Saloners who have taken time off from their own jobs to better the situations of their fellow Saloners. John said that he has asked if sites would just prefer the $ and apparently all have said, "NO!" They really value the relationships that are built and they want to work together. So John and his wife continue to eat into their retirement money as they bring teams over; she is with another team at a hospital in Freetown where they're working on training staff with ultrasound equipment and doing outreach clinic work. By the way, he and his wife are part of the team that I met on the ferry when I first arrived 2 weeks ago. Part of that original team has gone home and a new one has arrived (that are in Freetown with the wife). John, Josie, Abu and Joseph will be back for dinner tonight so I will hear about their work today.

The most recent bit of dry bones experience took place this morning. I met up with Rev. Koroma who is a tutor here (he works with 7th, 8th and 9th graders on Language Arts in the afternoons and he and I have been working together). He had invited me to see his work. He lives just across the street in a parsonage attached to his church. He is a Baptist pastor who comes out of an Islamic background and because he is a Christian, his family has renounced him. He has 42 siblings! One of them is a paramount chief and got this position (according to Rev. Koroma) because they prayed to Jesus for him to get this position rather than engaging in voodoo and witchcraft which the other candidates were doing. As a result of his victory, the brother has given Reverend his "staff of authority" and the staff is in Rev. Koroma's house. It seems that this brother is on the verge of becoming a Christian if he isn't one already; that wasn't quite clear to me. In other good news, Rev. Koroma told me that his dying father actually asked him to pray for him. He said it's like the thief on the cross at the Crucifixion; his father can barely speak so Rev. Koroma told him to just say "Amen" at the end if he agreed and wanted to be with Jesus. He did! Talk about dry bones getting new life! God is good. But there are family members who are openly hostile to him because of his Christianity and because of this experience, he wanted to talk about President Obama and the plans for a community center near the site of 9/11. He says his "eyes narrow" and he is "not liking the direction" of what seems to be Obama's approval of the center. I reassured him that the President doesn't have the ultimate say and then we talked about media bias and an article I had read on the intention of the center according to the man whose plan it is (whose name I can't remember). I think he felt a lot better after our conversation and was reassured that the opening of a center would not necessarily mean that the President is a Muslim or that Muslims who might use the center are being provocative and showing approval for the actions of the terrorists. I reassured him that not all Muslims are out to kill Americans (even though he said there were those here in Bo who were quite pleased on 9/11) and that God might use all of this controversy to His glory.

But back to his work...
So this morning we walked to his church and he showed me the nursery school/kindergarten he is building. He hopes it will be done within a year. Each class will have 10-14 children and there will be around 40 students all together. He is raising some money locally. The push for early childhood education is quite new in SL and the government is not currently financing it. For now, the children meet in his church. There are 4 teachers who are all volunteer; one is his wife. Since the government is not involved, there is no money to pay the teachers and they're not really qualified; he hopes to send them for some distance learning this summer. The little children wear school uniforms and money from Sunday offerings pays their transportation to school.

He, himself, in addition to being a tutor (which brings in some money) is paid $100/month (yes - that is correct) for his teaching job in a large public junior/secondary school. He says it should be more because more money comes in but it gets pocketed by administration and since they doctor the books, staff don't see any of it and it's not spent on the resources for which the money is allocated. Xerox machine? Non-existent. Teacher's lounge? A concrete room with some benches. Period. Tests? Except for 3rd quarter exams, they are handwritten on the board and students write down all questions and then answer them.

He teaches religious/moral education which is a compulsory course. There are 1700 kids that come from 8 - 12:45 and then in the afternoon come an equal number of secondary students. This is only one of a number of schools right here - MANY MANY YOUNG PEOPLE! I'll write more about school stuff later but for now, suffice it to say that I love talking with him about education and while there are obviously incredible differences between education here and in the U.S. there are certain underlying issues that are common and some of the frustrations are exactly the same. While we don't cane our students (on the way to his school there were about 6 students lined up with their hands out receiving switches from a cane for some infraction) there have been plenty of times I've wished I could! (before everyone freaks out, those of you who are teachers know what I mean...). And I think I'm a proponent of suggesting all students in the U.S. should stand when a teacher walks in the room - probably the only time in my life groups will stand for me - LOVE IT! Can you imagine trying to implement this in the U.S.?! Revolt, revolution and uproar would ensue.

I got some good pictures of all the school sites but since I neglected to bring anything to connect my camera to my computer (and these pictures were taken on my camera rather than my phone) you will not be seeing any of them. Sorry.

Alright, I'm aware of the very non-linear progression of this particular piece of writing and while I can't blame it on marijuana (the smell is gone) I think I can blame it on the fact that I'm hungry. Chicken & couscous for lunch - with some lettuce that froze last night which Fudia seems to think is salvageable - I'm not convinced but I need to go check it out. I also have a very cold Diet Coke which I CANNOT WAIT to drink - so off I go. I leave you with the Krio phrase of the day: we go si bak (see you later!).