Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika, God save Africa, the beloved country. God save us from the deep depths of our sins. God save us from the fear that is afraid of justice. God save us from the fear that is afraid of men. God save us all...
For this is a prelude. It is only a beginning. Strange things will be woven into it, by men you have never heard of, in places you have never seen. It is life you are going into...Call and dance, call and dance.
Excerpt from Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
Its been a bit of a crazy week since our arrival to Benin four days ago!! We arrived a day later than scheduled due to some engine trouble. We actually had to anchor at sea overnight for repairs. Despite what we believe as the evil one's attempt to keep us from entering the country, with God's hand our incredible engineers repaired the problem and we arrived the next day. This confirmed to us the hope that God is going to do some amazingly great things here in Benin! Otherwise, the evil one wouldn't be working so hard!
Tim has been very busy with immigration officials and consulate visits and providing all the necessary information and passports. I have spent the week scrubbing and stripping the floors of the hospital. We have cleaned every nook and cranny--literally everything and every surface in all the wards! It is cleaner than the hospitals back home, really. JACHO would be quite pleased :)
Our first impressions of Cotonou (limited as we have been out in the town only once since arrival): very, very friendly people; crowded and busy streets; polluted air; fairly modernized (street lights, traffic signs); colorful dress. We plan to make it out this weekend and explore more!
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4 comments:
Glad to hear you've arrived safely. Hey, you wanna come clean my house? I hear you have some practice with a rag and cleaning solution!
Hey there... Blessings to you! My son will arrive home from Gateway in Tyler tomorrow; he'll fly to Benin March 9 and will be a crew member for 12 months (although I have heard him say "IF I come home..." so who knows). I'm thankful for bloggers like yourself who give 'The Mom' the opportunity to 'get to know' my son's new family!
I've started a Facebook group for moms with kids on the Mercy Ship. If you have a mom that would be interested in joining, just send me her email address: sher@execevents.com
It's mainly support and a place to share photos, stories. etc.
Thank you for blogging! May God bless your misson...
Hello Hannah and Tim,
Wow, what a blessing that you are finally where God has been leading you two! What an adventure in faith, and in learning spiritual things. Gently, I would encourage you two, and your team, to not look upon delays and inconveniences (such as ship engine problems) as a work of "the enemy" but as a way of God being in control for His purposes in your mission. God is much more powerful than the enemy of our souls, and His mission is what you are embarked upon. So rather than look upon hard and inconvenient things as "bad", look upon them as God's design. Who knows better than He what lies ahead. Who knows? He could have been rescuing from some unforseen danger. Because your mission is in His Hand, I encourage you in love and faith to look upon things first as God's design and direction, and perhaps even delay, and last as an attack from the evil one.
With much love and prayer for you, Heidi Wallenborn-Cramer (Jason's mom and Naomi's mom-in-law)
We were away for the weekedn and I was so excited to come back and see if you had updated your blog : ) Yeah, you made it!!!!! Praying for you!!!
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