Last night we went to this Rock Quarry deep in the jungle way way outside town. It was amazing! God gave us this beautiful sunset on one side of the sky, contrasted by amazing lightning clouds on the other side. That was a blast, and riding on top of the landcrusier (literally on the top) through the bushy beaten path was probably the coolest thing I've ever done. I did get smacked in the face by a few branches though haha. That was yesterday, here is how my day was today...
Today is an Islamic holiday, so needless to say the city has been BUSY the last several days. People from all around come to the market in Bouaké (one of the biggest in West Africa) to buy food and animals to sacrifice to Allah. What I mean by that: there are literally thousands of cattle, goats, and sheep in the streets that are going to be slaughtered for the holiday. It's really interesting, though kind of sad at the same time to me. It's interesting how Satan never comes up with his own ideas, this all just speaks back to how things were in the Old Testament times with the Jews sacrificing animals; it is so bizarre to actually see it happening in person! I saw a guy holding a goat's head over a fire today! I think today is connected to Ramadan somehow...I know that they fast from 4am until 6pm.
This morning we had an interesting bible study. We studied John 2, about Jesus turning the water into wine at a Jewish wedding. Jewish weddings in those days lasted 7 days usually, and it was a very shameful thing to run out of wine or ceremonial washing water. The act of washing oneself was (and still is) very important before prayers in Judaism, and in Islam today. It refers back to the book of Numbers if you want to find it (I think chapter 15...). Not only is it practical in that it cleans you, but it also awakens you a bit so that you don't fall asleep in prayer. You wash your hands, feet, scalp, face, ears, mouth, and nostrils all 3 times. I think it's interesting not just that Jesus turns the water into wine, but that he turned all of the water used for ceremonial washing to do the job! This is symbolic on SO many levels - just think about it for a minute! Jesus used THAT water to make a point, probably several points. I really like the symbolism of how we are washed in the blood of Christ to cleanse us from sin, and how the washing water is wine...the very thing Jesus uses to represent his blood in the last supper.
After bible study we did some restoration work in the basement here, we are making it into this awesome game/hangout room. After that I took a trip with Angelika and some of the girls into town to visit one of the local Imam's and the butcher Angelika likes to use. It's a very honorable thing to do to visit someone during the day; every time I have done so they are just beaming with joy - taking the time to be with them is a huge compliment! So we went to the Imam (the "pastor" of a mosque) and spent some time there, and then his wife accompanied us as we visited the butcher. Afterwards, we headed home and got into our small groups and had some great life-sharing bonding time. I'd like to share a bit with you of what I shared with them.
So tonight we talked about expectations, fears, and current idols in our lives. Coming into Journey Corps I definitely had some expectations about how the year was going to go and what I'd be doing. God, being the sovereign and gracious Lord he is, graciously stripped away those expectations and began preparing me to just do as he tells me to do each day. So naturally I thought that I had overcome my preconceived notions of what God was supposed to do in and through me for the next year. I was wrong. Have you ever read the "Screwtape Letters" by CS Lewis? It's a series of correspondences between a high ranking demon and a lower ranking one regarding the latter's "patient" (aka human subject) and how to best cause him to falter and reject his newfound Christian faith. I feel like I'm the patient right now in a sense....like a demon has been assigned to me to make me feel discouraged, distracted, prideful, and just overall useless. I have been listening a bit too much to the lies that I have nothing to offer here, and that I am going to be constantly frustrated and discontented in the work I do over the next year. He has been using my pervious expectations and hopes to fuel these lies, and it's been effective. I have been feeling exactly those things lately. I feel like the gifts I've been given are next to useless in this culture. What could I ever do to make a difference here? Do other missionaries feel this way to, or am I just some outcast, a loser, a briar in a bouquet of flowers?
Thank God that he hears our cries, even when we can't articulate in our own hearts what is the problem. I am thankful for tonight, a lot of prayer and some time affirming each other and casting out of fears and idols in the name of Jesus....it was what I needed. God definitely has been speaking to me the things I've been needing to hear tonight, good healing time.
Anyway, that was my day....I'd like to hear from you guys that are reading thing blog. Do you have any questions, or specific aspects of my time here that you'd like me to blog about?
PS - If you want my newsletter, send me an email at jasondietmeyer@gmail.com, I lost a few of the email addresses I had from people. I only have those of my financial supporters right now. The newsletter goes out at the end of this week, and every 4 weeks after that.
