The Open Road

Had the chance to go out to the village of Koutie-Tchatidoh (pronounced Koo-Chey Cha-tea-doe) this week for a day.
This is my fourth trip out to this village, and it never ceases to surprise me. This time we had Jason Harral with us,
He and his family are planning to come Benin sometime in the next year or so. He got some funds to come visit
us, so he is here for a couple weeks. He took the challenge to drive the truck out on the little road to the village.
The rains are just finishing, and so the path was rough in spots, but actually the usually steep river was nice and smooth
because of the rains, so that was easier than usual. Everyother time I've come here, I have walked out. It certainly
was a little less dramatic arriving by truck, the usual two hour walk is cut to twenty or thirty minutes on the truck
so the triumph of entering the village is less, it does seem less remote too. But I was just glad to be back. We had
a nice time. Jason got sick so we came back a little early, but I had gotten the culture study information I wanted to
so that was a blessing.
On Wednesday morning Jason and I took the "Short" hike out to the fields to watch the men of the village making big
dirt mounds for planting yams. The yams here are long, white, and tubular. When cooked they become sticky, but
are delicious. The day was grey and the men were all just in their pants (except one) they muscles straining
with the work. They nearly doubled the amount of mounds in the hour and a half we were there. It was a stirring
sight, all these men working in harmony together, preparing the field for a fine crop to feed hungry families.
We were told that this field belonged to one of the men, and the next day they would got to the field of one of the other
men, thus they help each other get a lot more done than if they worked on their own. It reminded me of how
all our Adventist institutions used to be. Ellen White constantly promoted the use of hard labour as a part of the students
daily life. I can see why, physical exercise and contact with nature are unparalled in their abilitiy to grow mind and body,
well the only better thing is prayer and the Bible!
I have already been here a month in Benin, time is flying too fast. Sometimes when times are rough I think
I'd rather just go home, but as I see all God has already led through, I know the time will pass too quickly and that
I will be wishing I could stay instead of leave!
As we drove back to Natitingou, we bumped along the rough path, and then the road from the bigger village
of Takonta to Perma. At Perma we hit the open road, the smooth, new asphalt road. I guess I am kind of spoiled,
I am too used to those nice mostly smooth roads of Canada, (well except Saskatchewan, no offense, but they are pretty bad).
I've gotten used to seeing for kilometers on the straight stretches from Lacombe to Edmonton. The open road
where I can stretch my mind and eyes. Just really relaxes me. That's really how I should trust God, I can just let Him
take over. Though I may be able to see ahead, I know that the road is open, that God is going to help me get through
it all!

God's Timing

Here’s a little incident that made a big impression on me. I had planned on going to the internet café Tuesday night. But by the time I got around to some errands then went to the office to work on a few items before then, it was already late and I was not sure if I wanted to go all the way there. Also all I read was a 10,000 bill no change and that would be hard to come by at the time of evening. Then when I went to the other side of the compound, the kids told me Nestor was looking for me, well that was the nail in the coffin, I decided to go to Nestor’s instead and go the internet later in the week. I got to Nestor’s and he was there, and we sat down to talk. Turns out he had an urgent letter that needed to get out by email as in a few days he is going to the bush to start a teaching practicum. If I had gone to the internet earlier this would have implied a second trip! Amazing, I rather think so. God is still in control, amen!

Moving in

This past week has been an eventful one in terms of moving and getting!
Praise the Lord, my house situation has been all regulated. The other place
would not unload the baggage that is in there, so more unfortunately for them since
they will miss on me paying rent, I went to the other place I mentioned. It is a nice
place same bedroom and living room combo, but very quiet. Maybe in the evening when the people
that live in the main house have guests there might be a little noise, but other
than that zilch, nothing, nada! Well except for the mouse that lives in my room,
I hear his scratching and it drives me much, but can't complain. I have in my bedroom
office (desk and bookshelf), kitchen (table, shelf, and soon coming refridgerator), and bedroom
(bed, hanging clothes, and dirty laundry bin), they fit in all very nicely, so it is a
sizeable room. The living is a lot smaller, and just has the chairs and coffee table in there, well
maybe I'll call it the tea table since I only really drink my good 'ole herbal tea.
Any it is a nice place and to my surprise one of our church members lives in the
same compound, thought there is a front kind of gate, I can't quite sing the gated community
song here, just wouldn't cut it (that you will only get if you've been at Camp Whitesand and you
went with me on a trip to Saskatoon in June 2007, so you may not find it funny in other words.)
The neighbors are nice, the main house contains a family of two children and a younger sister
of either the mom or the dad. The little kids are getting used to a white guy being around.
The other day I had to clean out my healing wisdom teeth wounds with a syringe and salt
water, as I do everyday, but this day the kids were out watching. The tried to half hide
behind the hanging laundry and watching perform my intrigueing ritual, it was quite
entertaining for me too. It has been a shock though to find out that this family has a little
girl for a servant, slave basically. I ask Suzy about it and she told me that it is typical
for upperclass women to hire a girl to help them do household duties. But that means
the child does not go to school and is in someone else's house all the time. I was a bit naive
before, thinking that this really doesn't happen anymore. The sad part is that the mother
is at home all day watching TV, I think she only does some of the cooking. It just irks me,
makes me all feel all jumbled up inside!

On a brighter note, I suppose,
I purchused a new second hand bike. It is a blue city kind of bike made in Belgium for a
British company. It has three speed, and I have found that is all you really need. And
all my life I thought it was suffering having less than 21. Well 21 is nice, but three works
too. The roads here are rough, so I try not to let my mountain biking instincts take
over. Oh and the weather is rainy here. It is October and it all should be done by now, but the world
is falling apart my friends, and well Benin is a part of the mess! The rains came all
September this year, as I mentioned before, when they should have come in August, so
this is the remnant I believe. But I am a little glad, but it sure does get hot when it
doesn't rain! But when the rains cease, then by November the weather will cool down
a little especially at night, that'll be nice. I am thinking of naming it "The Blue Nose" or "The
Blue Macaroon" or "The Blizzard" or "The Belgium Bullet" or "The English Bluester" or "Blues' Clues"
or "The Big Comfy Bike" or
well the list could go on!

Have a laugh, it's free!

Being in a new culture there are moments when I just have to laugh; sometimes to myself as not to embarrass others. Life can get real stressful wherever we are, I have to sometimes take a moment to thank God and remember that joy is a gift that can experienced on earth.
I mentioned my friend was sick in the hospital from unwashed beans, today (Oct. 5) he went to get the prescription at the hospital to finish up his recovery, praise the Lord. When I visited him on Sabbath afternoon, I brought him a copy of the Gospel of John that has lots of nature scenes in it, for him to read. We had a prayer together. As I exited the hospital just a door or two down from his room, a young man greeted me by saying “Bonsoir, Mon Père.”, translation “Good afternoon, my father.” This guy was black so obviously he didn’t mistake for his biological dad, but was referring to me as a Catholic father. I didn’t know what to think at first, and then decided just to laugh.

I have been looking for rooms (moving into one finally today) and found a couple young men who agreed to show me some rooms near their house, one of which I have chosen to rent. The other house was up the side of the valley, so we had to do a bit of a hike to get there. As we walked one of the guys asked “Do they inclines like these in Canada?” I said a quiet yes trying to hold back laughter.

Yesterday when I finally went to settle the rental situation, I talked with a renter who explained to me the details of the place I was looking into. I asked about the advance, he asked me “Can you pay for two years?” My shocked face must have been evident, he laughed and said, “No just three months?” I was relieved and chuckled, I mean I have heard of white people getting ripped off but that would have been unreal and it was, thank goodness!

I was walking down a street, why? I can’t remember, but I was headed to the major road in town and a young man came out of house. He had big buck teeth and his top teeth had much space between them, reminded me of that Big Foot guy from a Goofy Movie that dances. But certainly his kind demeanor was not barbaric, and I certainly did not mention his looks. He knew my name, as I stay longer people I don’t even know, know my name, good or bad? I don’t know. He said we had taken some pictures together. Possibly. Well on Sabbath walking back from the hospital visit I saw him and a friend walking, and passed them and kept on my way, but couldn’t help overhearing their discussions on who I was. Finally the new guy said my name and I stopped. He said we had taken pictures with me and my little sister at the Hotel Tata Somba while I was at the pool. I have swam at the pool, but certainly my little sister has never been with me. It kinda tripped me out, like maybe I had lost the memory of this even they were explaining to me. But no after some mind searching it was impossible, and very possible that some other white guy name Eric was swimming at the hotel with his little sister, weird but possible. I had to laugh inside, even Uli and Suzy have gotten mixed up before! If you see them you’d laugh too, they are so unalike in appearance, that it seems very impossible!

Third World for sure

Benin a few years ago was among the eleven poorest countries in the world, and still is, I am sure, in the gutter financially, so to speak. But it is not a crisis country for the moment (for the moment because the freak whether this year brought rain all September instead of August and rotted out a huge percentage of the corn crops, a staple in the country, I am praying that it is not too bad). There is no way, or famine, or pestilence. I do see the signs of poverty, the dirty clothed children, the mud houses caved in after a long rainy season. But honestly after watching World Vision and looking through ADRA calendars I expected this of Africa. But recently what has really opened my eyes to the meaning of third world is the hospital. I did visit the Chinese sponsored hostipal in Nati last year, but not long. Just before Manny and I left in August, Simel one of the church youth got malaria bad enough to go the hospital (a minute from his house, very convenient). I went to visit him. This hospital is the government run one and is quite bare. There are some smashed windows, all the beds are bare, patients bring their own blankets, no food is provided, the families have to bring food every day. IV are hung on paint-chipped stands or the wooden mosquito net supports (they don’t provide the nets either), it was a real shock. Then upon arriving in Cotonou just a couple weeks ago, I went with the mission president to visit the sick son of one a church member. This was the university hospital, one of the best in the country, and I saw the same bareness and all. It is bigger than in Nati, but not much better. It is sad to see. The health care I experienced just getting my wisdom teeth pulled was so high above here. Just for the teeth surgery they put on a heart rate monitor, and sat me down in a nice comfy chair. I was even nicely put to sleep so the whole dramatic episode I cannot recall. Seeing the hospitals here all may seem hopeless, but they are able to save many lives, the sadder part is that many people do not have the money to save themselves. A friend of mine just recently got a lung infection from eating some unwashed beans. I visited him twice, he was in a room with a lady that was skin and bones. Some relatives were there with her. When I came back to visit my friend, they were gone. He said she’d been there for a month and saw no improvement, they couldn’t keep paying, so they went back to the village to hope and pray.

House Hunting

For the last week my one goal has been very focused, my week has been full of house hunting. Well more like room hunting, I am only planning on renting a couple rooms, a living and bedroom as it is more commonly called here. I had a place all worked out, but as sometimes happens in life, it didn’t work out, and all this about a few days before I arrived in Benin. So as in the past I set out on rental search. This proved to be an exceptionally difficult one, it seems between June and now the housing market has skyrocketed, everyone is gobbling up housing, and not students returning to school, apparently Natitingou is the new Durham region (just visit Brooklyn, Ontario and you’ll know what I mean), people from the south are coming here by the… uh well I don’t by the what but lots anyway. So I actually had a placed lined up at the same compound where Manny and I lasted stayed just a different room, but that place is full of the old renters stuff. Well I told the landlord I’d like to move in at the beginning of this week, and seven days later the luggage is still holding the place hostage. It is a sticky situation, I tend to think that this is cut and dry, just throw the stuff on the street or in the small kitchen which I won’t be using. The people aren’t even paying rent, but the old renters are of the same race as the landlord and he can’t just to that to a brother. It is a real challenge this racial loyalty thing. Even in our church we deal with it. People will favor a carpenter of their race over someone else even if the someone else is way better than the dude of their own race. Are you confused? I feel the same way sometimes. Well I try to be sensitive and did give them time. The landlord’s brother who takes care of the compound said he’d have the place vacated by Saturday, fine I can move in on Sunday. Well today is Sunday and no go. It’s actually me that’s desperate they want the rent, but I really want to live there. Well I did find another place, good location, water, electricity, the works, and seems very quiet. If you recall the last Manny and I stayed at had some pretty lively neighbors, even within the compound music is pretty loud, so that might be a bonus. I read a saying once, I think on one of those catchy saying t-shirts (which are getting old news) that said, “In the end everything will be okay, if it’s not okay it’s not the end. It is very true God will work out all when we follow and trust Him. The challenge for me is getting to the end, I want to be there now or I worry all the way. Well I am glad for this housing situation it has really been a great help to me. I am starting to worry less. When the landlord’s bro told me on Thursday that the room would be ready on Saturday, I said okay and didn’t even bother going back to check until today, Sunday, can’t say I didn’t wonder about whether it would be actually ready or not, but not as much as usual, hurray! So now the situation is what? Well the place is still not ready so pretty much tonight I go to the other place sign the papers and move in tomorrow. Hey that was easy, hahaha.

Cloud Shadows

Doing a little catch up blogging here (you know as a child I never thought I’d use a word like blogging, how technology advances!). This is a conglomerate of trips, my second flight from Paris to Cotonou and my visit to Quebec.
I did get to go to Quebec on Sept 18-20. It was just before the fall colours come out, so that was too bad, but it was still a really neat time. My great Aunt and Uncle came from France. My uncle is a retired Pastor of 35 years and shared 2 messages at a rally for greater Quebec on Sabbath in Drummondville. This was my first time in Quebec (I know shame upon me, thirteen years living in Ontario and never gone farther east than Kingston!). Later in November he is going to do a Revelation seminar at the Sherbrooke SDA church for a couple weeks. I stayed at my good friend Roland Scalliet’s house, his dad invited my uncle to come, so it was a two for one deal, well three for one deal. Visiting Quebec, seeing my college roommate, and my aunt and uncle, oh and don’t forget the ride in the new Impala rental car, okay maybe that wasn’t so exciting, but it was nice and spacious. It was a bit of culture shock, pleasant culture shock though, to be in a place that looked like Canada yet everyone, even little kids spoke French. I do speak French with my mom and grandma in Ontario, but up to that point for Canada was to English as French was to Africa (take that SAT). It was pretty stellar being in a familiar country and getting to speak French, I have to admit I’m getting partial to French it flows nicer, so my Anglophone brethren. My eyes were opened more to the mission field that is Canada. I was amazed to hear that in Quebec 5000 Adventists, but only 500 are native Quebecers, the rest are either out of province or country. Excluding Montreal (where the large percentage of immigrant Adventist live) Quebec has about 6 million people. That means the ratio is 1 in 12,000 people are Adventist. That’s the kind of statistic you’d expect of an unreached place! The conference has started a project called Project Maple to reach Quebec. The Maple is a slow growing tree, but a very excellent wood for its strength and syrup of course. The conference realizes that reaching Quebec will be slow and take patience but they know with time it can hold a strong and loving (sweat like syrup) group of Adventist. I was impressed by the youth. Though a few they are growing up and staying in the church. A group from the Sherbrooke church was putting on an evangelistic series while we were visiting.
Jumping time, I am writing (the typing is happening later) while flying over the Sahara desert. As we flew over Algeria (I followed by the handy progress map in the screen in the back of the chair in front of me), I looked down on jagged hills and valleys with shades of tan, green, and brown. That country was the setting of Lilias Trotter’s life (her life is written about in Patricia St. John’s “Until the Day Breaks…”) a woman who gave a promising art career in Europe to share Jesus with the Muslims of Algeria in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. As I looked I could see dark spots on the ground, weird, I thought. Then I realized I was seeing the shadows of clouds. What upon the ground is shade blocking the sun, up in a plane is a shadow, mind boggling. Brings my mind to how God sees our lives. On earth a cloud may block out a warm sun, but up here it is just a passing shadow. Trials and dark times to us seem to block God out, to cut us off from Him. But He always sees us, He knows the dark is just a passing shadow, and that someday, sooner than we think, there won’t be any clouds anymore, for the Son will be our sunlight. It is very powerful for me. I tend to think catastrophically, if something is not going well my mind almost immediately jumps to the possible disaster ahead and the complete ruin of my life. But this perspective helps me so much. I just need to remember that God sees the cloud shadows, even when all I see is darkness.