Blog Flood

Hi friends,
adding a few entries at once to make up for lost time! I hope all is well.
God bless,
Out yonder,
Eric

"A Broken-Heart Journey"

Dear friends,
Apologies for the delay, times are busy here! Interestingly times are not busy at the same time. I have a lot to do, but unlike back at school, I never get them done in one day! When washing dishes almost an hour, clothes perhaps an hour and a half, and so on, it just doesn’t allow a lot of time. As well there’s more time for people, getting to know others, sitting and talking, walking. It’s a slower pace you could say. The challenge is to remain occupied as well. Because while I can enjoy time with others, have fun, and such, I am also here with a call, a job to do in help train young people through Sabbath school, Pathfinders, etc. and that’s takes some preparation on the computer, talking to people etc.! But things seem to be running well. School starts tomorrow, finally! The teacher kept pushing the date later and later, until now. This means I can really get into ministry, I hope to spend a significant portion of time at the local high school doing friendship evangelism, getting to know the students, maybe leading out in some practical seminars and training on relationships, team building, etc. And also to get some Bible studies going with those who are interested.
I told myself that I should start writing down little notes of interesting things that happen here, there’s so many I forget them and with the amount of time I go to the internet café, the events really pile up. I’ll to get a few down and promise maybe better results next time! This is the start of my sixth week already in Benin and my fourth here in Natitingou. It’s been a great adventure so far. Although there has not been really really exciting moments yet, it has not been dull. I spent a great deal of last week looking for a room to rent. I thought at first to stay with a local family here, either a church member or someone Suzy knows very well. But the availability of this prospect was not too great, there were one or two, but when the children started school and the parents were working or busy about the house, it would be more or less me on my own, thus I decided to rent some rooms. I prayed God would help me find the right place. I wondered if this might be a faith experience, because as school is beginning rooms fill up fast and are hard to obtain. Well it was a faith experience, but not how I thought. There were an over abundance of rooms, as well as people willing to help me find one! The faith part, was praying and asking God which one. It was asking God to really lead, to guide my thoughts as to which one was best. The hardest part was being firm on a decision. I choose a place right beside the high school where I plan to spend quite a bit of time and near Suzy’s home. It is only about a twenty minute walk from the church as well. It is a nice room in a compound with several other families, two rooms a large living room, small kitchen, and shower. I’ll try to send pictures when it is set up, because probably the image you are seeing in your head right now is a little different than what the actual place looks like! There is electricity but no running water in the house, there’s a pipe/faucet outside and well in the compound to fill up with. The toilet is outside the gate, whose door needs to be fixed, or else it will become a public toilet.
There is much to be joyful about so far. Met a few new friends, Jean, Phillipe, Samson, between ages of 19 and 50’s; they’ve shown me around, as well as helped me find a room, and with Samson’s friends we’ve started a Bible, as I may have mentioned before. All there stories are interesting. Jean is 19 and finished high school around 14 or 15, not quite sure. He is now working hard at college to be able to marry and support his family, and as many hope here, to some day go abroad to Canada or the US. Phillipe is 20 and in January is starting four years of veterinary school to be able to work on his father’s large farm. He helped me find the room which is in the same compound he lives in, until school starts he is garbage cart puller (no trucks here), the only job he could find, he says.
There are a lot of things that break my heart here too. Just before I left for Benin I rediscovered (not sure the last time I actually sung it was) the hymn “Let Your Heart Be Broken” number 575. The words are really wonderful, I encourage you to read it and sing it too if you wish! Anyway the things that break my heart, some I can help, others not so much. The biggest is probably the alcohol problem. As in many developing countries (not that we do not have it developed nations, just seems more raw and sensitive in developing ones) when a man does not have steady work, on the down time he drinks. You can smell the alcohol as you walk by the cabarat’s (their name for bar). And I have talked with a few drunks and it’s not pleasant. Not in the sense that I have been in danger of being harmed, but just how do you talk with someone like that, how do you share the gospel in that situation. Most of what you say is probably going to forgotten, so being courteous is the best means. They sad part is these men, and some women, slowly fry their brains! They will even tell you that they think that getting stone cold drunk is not guy, casually drinking not so bad, and that evening you’ll see them staggering home. But there is hope, a friend of Suzy’s, an older gentlemen in the last few years, gave up drinking and smoking. So some are seeing the dangers and letting go. The family life is heart breaking thing here too. Families are often broken up, by unfaithfulness, disrespect, and even if not in these conditions, they are harsh especially for the children. Also the young people have a lot of misconceptions on relationships and sex. They do not take it seriously. While it seems more open here, all these problems, they are really global problems. In Western culture it’s just easier to hide. Now let’s not misunderstand me here, the people here are not evil! I have met many sincere, kind people, but misconception, deception, and cultural chains bind them! That’s the saddest part.
Well if you can handle a bit more, there’s a few more things to add! I am learning lots spiritually. Which is expected you say, but truthfully I do not believe I had to come here to learn them, it is true going on missions changes the missionary sometimes more than the target people, yet that’s, in my mind, a less than noble reason to go. I say this to say this, that wherever you are I encourage you to let God change you. God is not confined to extreme experiences, they sure help, but in all our day to day he looks to change us. More and more I realize the daily walk with Christ. I’m a futurist you could say, I am always tempted to dream of what is coming next, when I’m done this, I’ll do that, when I finish this, I will, etc. God is teaching to me take up the cross daily, accomplish that day well, then move to next. We do need to plan into the future, but there’s only so much of that one can do. The hardest has been loosing control. Not in the sense of going crazy, but loosing control on my life. Self-sacrifice. My life has usually been in my control, classes I’ll take, money I’ll spend, people I will spend time with, schools to attend. But God is asking that are give it to Him and myself too. I realize this is not self-abuse. I tend to want to push myself to the extreme for the cause of Christ. When necessary it’s ok. But God is asking that I lay down my life for Him and give my plans to Him. So staying healthy is a part of that, living balanced in relationships, work, and relaxation. All under the great banner of bringing humanity to Heaven through Christ! I have been reading much of the Bible and Ellen White, about David’s life and Christ’s object lessons. Amazing food to eat. It’s true sanctification is the work of life time and giving up self is the hardest battles we will ever fight (see COB chapters 3 and 7)! So it’s not overnight and is. Each day we give up self, and each day the life is change silently and imperceptibly. I do not want to preach, so that about does it for today! I will plan to share more of what happens in life here in the future, and pictures too! God bless you deeply.

In His grip,
Eric “Broken-Heart” Anderson

"Our Great Controversy"

A couple Friday nights ago I read a few sections from chapters 36-42 in the Great controversy by Ellen White. I say sections because it was so intense that I read a bit and skimmed a bit, unfortunately. It scared me! Should it? Should more of faithful Adventists be floored by these chapters. I believe there’s yet a balance to find! It is real, if I believe the other councils of Sister White, than these chapters are just as binding. But my thoughts start me thinking and worrying if I’d make it through that last terror. While most things are imagined worse than they really are, these events, she says, will be really be worse than imagined! The truth is that I cannot now go through a test to see if I’ll past the end times, it’s a time on it’s own. What I can do is let Christ prepare me. I can put effort each day, to study His word, claim His promises, rely on Him. The more I do these things now, the more I will be able to stand. But the mind is not easily convinced, and so I daily give it all to Him. I think we need to all be familiar with the coming conflict, but also to realize the power behind the end result, Jesus’ coming, He who comes is able to pull us through, let’s be faithful today! I had this on my heart and hope it encourages you and gets us all praying! God bless.
Becoming salty,
Eric

"Changing Dreams"

It was not my idea, but they had insisted so I went along with them. The three of us were returning from cyber café, and my companions suggested an alternate route back home. It looked a bit more uphill than the other path, but they promised it was shorter. Indeed it was shorter, up over the little rise instead of all the way around it. But it was not the length nor the trail itself that was, how do I say, mind-boggling, or changing perhaps. It was the view. As we crested the little rise I could see the hills the surrounded the valley, the splendor of the green grass and tree covered hills and the misty sky shooting up from their plateau tops. My heart fell in love with Africa. For the first time I thought I may be able to give my life for this place. That is not really true though. The place may be wonderful, but it is my love for Jesus that brings about the love for the place. Yet as this realization gripped I began to fight it. Such a thing as I had prayed for since coming here, why should I fight it? If we go back to the day before I had been thinking about a certain dream of mine, to reach a group of people that have not had much if any Adventist contact, I was thinking of ways to reach them, how to do, just mulling it over in my mind. Yet I knew that even if God should call me to that region, it was not now. Now I was in Benin, needing to focus, to work hard, to love strong. I prayed that if this dream of working with these people was not for me that it would disappear. Up to that point when of thought my dream, I was very excited, a joy would rise inside of me. The dream I do not share just because it was between me and God, you understand. The goal and purpose of it was just fine, noble, but like I said, just not for this time. So it was as I crested that hill that a new dream replaced an old dream. Time will tell where God leads. In my human nature, it’s hard to give up something that seemed like it would be great. But oh the joy to know that God is changing my heart. I pray God will make me more African everyday, and His faithful servant.
God bless.
In His grip,
Eric