Stella Turns Five!

With Josh and Kari moving back to Pasadena, we made a spontaneous trip to CA for Stella's 5th birthday in February! Who could resist the sweet invitation we received in the mail from Stella?! Our grandchildren are growing up so fast! 

Kari and Stella prepared in advance to make a completely homemade birthday party. Paper chain links from old book pages decorated the trees, and paper balls from the same source spun in the breeze. Stella and I wrapped Christmas lights around the trunks and limbs of the trees, a magical ambience once the sun went down. The kids took turns walloping a paper maché ball hung from a tree limb, making a mad-dash for the candy once it broke out. Friends enjoyed homemade soups, popcorn, and cakes. And, Grandma bought pink tulips to add to the occasion. It was a fun, joy-filled weekend! Happy Birthday to our sweet Stella! 

The God Who Reveals

It was back in December that I met Kingsley, who along with Charles (my last post), attends the West Africa Theological Seminary in Nigeria. I loved meeting and interacting with these young leaders in the church. When they speak of their heart for God, and their vision for the church, their faces glow with passion. Their warm smiles light up when they share about their families (their wife and children could not attend the conference). You can tell they love to learn and desire to keep on growing as leaders. Their servant hearts display a desire to become more like Jesus. I was both inspired and energized by these men! 

Kingsley is from Cameroon, (also a West African country), but has planted a church in Nigeria under the Liberian District while he attends seminary. He received the honor of ordination during our time at the District Conference of The Wesleyan Church of Liberia. A very special moment in his call to ministry, and one that we were happy to be a part of! 

Charles (L) and Kingsley (R)

 

Kingsley's Ordination

One afternoon while on a break from meetings, I had a fascinating conversation with Kingsley. I asked him how his people respond when they hear the news of Jesus for the first time. 

He explained how his ancestors believed in a god­. They knew there had to be a creator of the rivers and the mountains, someone greater than themselves. But whoever this god was; he was unapproachable. 

If someone lived a long life and was a good person all their life, they would be recognized at their death as someone who could connect with God–an intermediary for god and man. A messenger of sorts. Kingsley explained that such a person was buried close to the village, out of the honor and respect given to a good, long life. The people didn't see their ancestor as god, but as one who could intercede for them and as one who could identify with their human needs. 

Kingsley went on to say how the story of Jesus begins to form a link. People begin to see that what they have been longing for has been provided through Jesus. His human existence without sin, his death, and his resurrection opened up the way for man to approach God. Jesus became the intermediary between God and man. He is the One who intercedes on our behalf. He is not dead, but living.  And, as One who was fully human and fully divine, he understands our needs. Kingsley described how the God who desires to make himself known, did so, so that we can approach Him as a God of love, and One who desires relationship with man, which he made possible through Jesus.  

When Kingsley was telling me this, my mind immediately thought of the following verses from Romans, chapter one. For the truth about God is known to them instinctively. God has put this knowledge in their hearts. From the time the world was created, people have seen the earth and the sky and all that God made. They can clearly see his invisible qualities–his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God.

And this one from Romans 10 - And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”

The God who reveals Himself . . .  an approachable God. 

An African Perspective

I met Charles while in Liberia, a West African country. During our first two days of a week-long stay we drove to some rural villages before arriving in the capital city of Monrovia. One of the villages visited was where Charles grew up. I met his aunt whom he calls “mom,” not because his mother is no longer living, but because he addresses any woman who is older than him as "mom" or "mother" out of respect. In a recent email I received from him, he began with "Dear Mom."   

Charles is a student at the West African Theological Seminary (WATS) in Logos, Nigeria. He was back in his home country to attend the District Conference of The Wesleyan Church of Liberia. Following his seminary training, Charles intends to return to Liberia with his wife and two children to continue bringing the Gospel to his own people. While driving through his hometown, and walking into his village, the many smiles and wave of hands demonstrated the love and honor given to this young man. 

I'll never forget one conversation I had with Charles when he spoke of a desire to visit the United States, and in particular, Dennis and me. Up to this point in life, his only travel has included just two other African countries.  The disparity between our material resources made me uncomfortable with the thought of a visit.


Liberia has been ravaged by two successive civil wars. Though a peace agreement was signed in 2003, the country remains in economic upheaval. Eighty-five percent of the population lives below the international poverty line. Most would agree that the state of the country was far better 30 years ago. Many people are fortunate to have one meal a day. Available resources we consider basic are significantly limited. To obtain gasoline is a matter of pulling up to a “station” and gaining what one might afford from a number of glass jars sitting on a concrete slab.

When I asked Charles how he had achieved education and protection through the seasons of war, he told me of how an aunt had taken him from his village to Monrovia when he was just three years old. He would be the only one of his seven siblings who would receive a formal education. In 1990, during the civil war, his aunt took ill and died due to the lack of medical care in the city. With no family around, Charles decided the best thing he could do was to go back to his village. He walked along with hundreds of others who were fleeing Monrovia. It took him a week to get to his village on foot (a 3-hour drive for us). By the time he arrived, his legs and feet were swollen from walking under the hot African sun and having virtually nothing to eat. The only thing that kept him alive was chewing on sugar cane.  


What would Charles think if he knew of our excess? I responded out of my awkwardness with "We have so much!" 

I will never forget his response. He held up his hand, showing me his palm, holding his fingers tightly together. “You see, not all the fingers are the same size," he pointed out. "Some are taller than others. Some are shorter. The world is not balanced. We live in an imbalanced world.”

Sometimes there’s no way to explain the imbalances that I see or hear about in our travels. The tall finger of wealth, the little finger of poverty. The destruction of war and the security of peace. The effects of goodness and the devastation of evil. But, perhaps Charles’ response is as good an explanation as any. 

The world is not balanced. To try to reason it out seems impossible. Simply put, we live in an imbalanced world.