Preach It!

A few disjointed notes on church today

One of my biggest fears in life is spilling the communion cups at church. I've never done it, I've never seen anyone else do it, but it always seems like it's bound to happen. At Eglise Evangelique, only those who have been baptized by immersion can take communion, which is certainly not everyone who attends. So those who have stand, while the others sit. It is possible to be the only one standing in your pew. The tray of cups gets passed over peoples' heads and behind you at awkward angles, and it's a little bit terrifying. So far, though, no incidents.

Today the pastor at church was wearing a traditional boubou, but its pattern was pretty unique: he was covered in cross and verses from the Bible! That was really incredible, and makes a bold statement for Christ just by walking outside.

One thing I found interesting today, but not terribly surprising, was the fact that he preached against homosexuality. In Senegal as a whole homosexuality is not at all tolerated, so it's not a hot button issue for the church the way it is in the US. The sermon wasn't centered around that topic; it was just an example to demonstrate the destruction of those who do not follow the word of God. He also addressed something I was reading about in Why We're Not Emergent by Two Guys Who Should Be - the emergent church minimizes the importance of theology and doctrine in favor of "living it out", but as our pastor said today, "If we don't study the word of God and understand His doctrines, how can we put these ideas into practice?" Love it.

I also managed to find the Wolof words for Mangi Yekkati Sa Tur (Lord I Lift Your Name on High)

Mangi yekkati sa tur

Sopp naa di la maggal

Yangi ci sama dund beg naa

New nga musa nu beg naa

New nga ci addina si wone yoon wi

Ci addina ba bant ba, fey nga samay bar

Ca bant ba, ba bameel ba

Ca bammeel ba, ba asamaan

Mangi Yekkati sa tur!

How amazing!

The cross is at the center of worship

At 10:25, we're all early for the 10:30 service. People generally come in and pray right away. In 20 minutes, this place will be packed wall to wall.

I kind of like that the worship team sits off to the side. (They're in the red).

Build it, they will come.

The "fellowship hall" is actually outside. It got really hot inside today, and the breeze felt good.

Stars in the Sky

This song has been stuck in my head all day, and is simply beautiful.

One thing that's struck me as quite odd is the way that most Senegalese like the same music. Ibou Diallo, our Dakar in Transition professor was quite amused as he asked us about the music we listen to. The youth here all listen to pretty much the same stuff - American pop and Senegalese "pop"/mbalax. While I agree the Senegalese music sounds nice, I don't generally choose to listen to it via my phone radio or online. What I've found I like most about music are the lyrics, and the story they tell. I like the music in the way it relates to the lyrics. So when I don't understand the words or find them to be shallow or vulgar, I'm not interested. It's what drove me out of parties back at Beloit, even the chill BCXC ones eventually. I come to a point where I'm like, "Everyone's drunk, this dancing is gross, it's hot, and I really don't like this music"

Which is why my iPod is mainly Christian music, music by Christians (Matt Kearney, Needtobreathe, The Fray, Lifehouse, you know what I mean) the audio Bible, and Taylor Swift. Those four categories count for at least 90-95%. The rest is pretty much miscellaneous country, singer/songwriter types, <0.5% angsty "alternative" (Boys Like Girls, Dashboard Confessional) and wherever you want to put Michael Buble.

Take the sun
Take the moon
Take the earth and watch it move
Under Your control
Cause You're all I know

Here's my life and all my heart
I give it all but every part
Is under Your control
Lord You're all I know

Chorus:
The stars in the sky will hang there
'til You tell them to
The faith in my heart will still sing
Of what Your love can do
And even when life weighs heavy on me
I know You're in control
And You're all I need
The stars in the sky will hang there
'til You tell them to

Take the sea
Take the tide
Take the waters watch them rise
Giving praise to You

Always praising You
Here's my voice
And all my soul
Singing freely when
Lord, I'm giving praise to You
Lord I'm praising You
[chorus]

The clouds will rain
The seasons change
(Cause You told them to)
The sun will shine
Your burning light
(Cause You told it to)
When You speak your words through my soul
So I know it's true
You're in control
In control
In control

The stars in the sky will hang there
The faith in my heart will still sing
[chorus]

The stars in the sky will hang there

I will take a song about God's promises, faithfulness, and truth over Beyonce, Youssou Ndour, or whoever else ALL DAY EVERY DAY.

Tu Ne Manges Pas? (You Don't Eat?)

A favorite phrase of my family at the beginning of my journey, I realized today, at 8 weeks in, that I haven't heard it in quite some time. Before, even if I ate a lot, I'd be told I don't eat. Now, if I'm not that hungry, I've reached a point where I can eat just a little bit, get up, get some water, and it's no big deal. No one questions it. That makes me feel good, that I have some more freedom here. It's also one more thing that makes me feel more integrated into family life.

On a different, but related topic, my sister said she's on a diet - she's given up bread (which is a BIG deal for the Senegalese), pizza, ice cream - and is sticking with fruit. I'd noticed the bread thing awhile ago, but apparently it's serious now. It just seems so odd to me because the concept of going on a diet isn't really embraced by this culture. Although Amy is also nearly thirty, if not already, is unmarried, and has a job, so I guess she doesn't follow traditional norms in other ways either. Just something interesting.

Degg la (It's True)

Some facts:

Being sunburnt makes me tired which makes me want to just lay on the beach and lazy which leads to more sunburn and more tired and lazy. It's a vicious cycle.

Eating fish french fry salad with my hands with my whole family tonight felt like a tremendous blessing. Funny the things God uses to tell us He's here.

I'm reading Why We're Not Emergent by Two Guys Who Should Be (Kevin DeYoung and Ted Luck) and it is absolutely amazing. It almost sounds like something Eric Ludy could have written, but it's a little bit sassier. Sass, truth, faith, reason, joy, theology, hard line, funny stories, and more truth makes for a great read. I love reading books about post modernism/its effects on my generation when it comes to the church, and I love truth so it's a win for me.

My friend Katherine blessed me today with the recalling of a beautiful memory from just over a year and a half ago.

If you combine the albums Love is Making a Way (Sixteen Cities) and Where I Find You (Kari Jobe) it's all sorts of awesome.

Don't see the movie The Vow. Even though it's based off a true story, the totally rewrote half the plot and the ending of the story and it's lame. Read the book instead and bawl your eyes out.

Discussing colonial/post colonial literature with my sister's tutor last night was crazy awesome. Ugandan poetry, Things Fall Apart, and Senegalese negritude. Whoa.

We only have a few Peoples and Cultures classes left and all of us agreed that we really haven't learned much of anything, nor do we know how all of our alleged assessments and visits are going to get achieved.

Attaya. Pamplemousse. By Jove. Merp. Alxamdulilaay

All Things Good

Romans 8:28, we all know that one: all things work for the good of those who love God, who are called according to His purpose.

Sometimes that word "all" really gets on my nerves. I mean, really Lord, this is working to my good?

Today was one of those days. We decided to go to a market in downtown Dakar. From the minute we got out of the taxi, we were followed relentlessly. We used all of the usual tactics, and resorted to baay ma (leave me alone, which is not really that nice). Then we were called racist because we didn't want to talk to random stalker man. As if that weren't enough, another man told us that we weren't racist and tried to comfort us. That was fine, but then HE turned into a stalker. To get away, we ducked into a restaurant, and he just stood outside staring us down, for a solid ten minutes. We waited til he got distracted and left as quickly as possible in the opposite direction. Throughout our walk through the market we could barely focus on what we'd wanted because people were all over us. We finally found some side streets that were pretty calm, and I managed to bargain pretty well for a bag for my sister (Jess, this was a rough one, so even if you don't like it, pretend you do ok?). We got a little lost but ended up exactly where we wanted to be - N'Ice Cream. I felt I had more than earned that cappuccino milkshake. But it wasn't over yet. We still had to get home. I approached a taxi and asked how much and he said 3,000CFA. I said 1,000. He countered with 2,500. I came back with 1500. He said 2,000. I held at 1500. And then he finally dropped to 1800, but as the five of us started to get in, he said only 4 people could come, so we let him go. We found a few more taxis, but couldn't get it lower than 2500 for the five of us, and we eventually just gave in, as we were already exhausted.

When I got back home, I asked the Lord what on earth I was supposed to learn. "I make all things good," He said. A few years ago, I read Josh McDowell's book, Beyond Belief to Conviction, and in it he talked about why it was called Good Friday if it's the day we remember Jesus' death. His quote, "Because God has a habit of turning bad things good" has always stuck with me.

I realized that the very fact that it was a "bad" experience is what made it good. Jess will have this story to go along with her bag. I now have a memory of being frustrated, overwhelmed and cranky, and having God pull me out of it. We find the Lord in our most vulnerable states, when we are all too aware of how much we need Him.

Still Here With Me

Did you ever notice how much agony is in some of the Psalms, how desperate David is for God? Sometimes in life we go through periods where we don't understand why things are happening the way they are, but in all that, we can still have confidence that the Lord is with us until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20).

Today, as a friend was having a difficult time with life, and I was thinking of the beauty of the song, Still Here With Me, by Sixteen Cities:

Give me the wind

Give me the rain

It's ok, it's ok

Let the ground shake,

Let my heart break,

It's ok, it's ok

You're the earth beneath my feet

You're the shelter I need

I'm sure that I'm not alone, not alone

Though the world tries to tell me so, tell me so

In this valley I'm going through,

Even when it's hard to see

You're still here with me

You're still here with me

Yeah, You're still here

You're still here with me

You're still here with me

Here's my heart

Letting go

Hold me close, hold me close

And I've got to

Learn to trust

Cuz I know, yeah I know

You're the earth beneath my feet

You're the shelter I need

I'm sure that I'm not alone, not alone

Though the world tries to tell me so, tell me so

In this valley I'm going through,

Even when it's hard to see

You're still here with me

You're still here with me

You're still here with me

You're still here with me...

I'm sure that I'm not alone, not alone

Though the world tries to tell me so, tell me so

In this valley I'm going through,

Even when it's hard to see

You're still here with me

You're still here with me

You're still here with me

You're still here with me...

You're still here with me

Yeah, You're still here

You're still here with me

Yeah, You're still here

What I like best about the song, is that it's so very well confirmed in Scripture. God's word is so important, and has served as a strong center for all the cultural mishaps and general discomforts that can come from being abroad: miscommunications, frustrations explaining the way we think, forgetting to hand things to someone with your right hand, wearing the wrong thing, feeling like you're missing out on things at home, wanting to be there for people but being too far away...in anything that happens, He's still here with us.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:4

This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. Hebrews 6:19-20

Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Romans 5:5

The Lord will guide you continually,

And satisfy your soul in drought,
And strengthen your bones;
You shall be like a watered garden,

And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. Isaiah 58:11

Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you. John 16:22

I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. John 14:18

No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. Joshua 1:5

Time

Time is a strange concept, especially here. I've passed many hours completely unconcerned about how long I've been there or what time it is at all. I quit wearing a watch back in late September (except for running), so if I leave my phone in my bag, or pocket, I have no way of knowing. Our "ten minute" breaks from class are more or less; we go by feeling. My youngest host brother just sleeps when he's tired, even if it means crashing in the middle of dinner, and wakes up when he's not tired anymore. Things happen when they happen.

At the same time, I've found it to be important to take note of how I'm spending my downtime, my hours where I'm free on my own, especially during the week. With 6 hours of class T/W/Th, much of the day is taken up, especially when you factor in the walks to and from school (including going home for lunch), an internship, spending time with my host family (important), and any school work.

I realized near the end of January that I was using a lot of my downtime to read random books that were neither intellectually beneficial nor particularly edifying my relationship with Christ. So for the month of February, I decided to fast from all "books for pleasure". I replaced it with time in prayer, worship, or the Bible. It was such a great experience for me, and I found I was better able to face my days with joy and peace. Even though now I will probably start to bring these things back into my life, I know what is more beneficial for me, and I feel I'll be able to better center and discipline myself.

I found this quote today, and I thought it very appropriate.

"We must accept the hard truth now: the man who would know God must give time to Him" AW Tozer