I can’t believe it’s been a week since I posted last. Well, in the last week, I have been working hard to get my research activities up and running. It has truly been a challenge. Life moves at a more relaxed pace here and you can either adjust to it or be doomed to endless frustration. I have been trying my best to observe cultural norms, but this often slows things down. It is culturally unacceptable to simply arrive, introduce yourself, and start interviewing people. The cultural protocol requires at least one social visit before coming to interview them. So, I have been going to greet the farmers ahead of time to let them know that I am in town and will be coming around to interview them soon. I pray about my work often asking God to bless my efforts so that I’ll be able to complete everything in time. I only have a month left, so I have to make each day count. I finally completed 3 interviews yesterday and hope to complete another 3 today so progress is being made. I certainly feel the pressure of my time constraints, but rather than worry about it I have chosen to keep bringing the matter before the Lord. I know that He has brought me here and as I work diligently He will work it all out as He sees fit.


I have really enjoyed reconnecting with friends from God’s Glory Baptist Church. Several friends’ greetings were especially enthusiastic. One friend grabbed me in a couple of big bear hugs, another ran up to me to hug me, and a third ran up and jumped on me for a hug (like some football players do after a touch down). Fortunately, I was able to catch my balance and hold him up without falling over. Needless to say, I have been received vary warmly. I have even moved out of the guest house where I staying and moved in with a couple of young men from the church. They had space and I did not see the need to be paying for a room when that money could be put to better use through the church. Though my new accommodations are not as fancy as the guest house, the closer fellowship with my brothers in Christ is truly a blessing. I have enjoyed several meals together with them and one friend's family. The picture above is of us enjoying some roasted fresh corn. I couldn’t put my own down long enough for a picture until I’d finished half of it:


I will be heading to the village of Toassa on Friday afternoon. There is a small, but faithful group of believers there and I will have the privilege to offer some words of encouragement to them on Saturday morning. I will also spend some time greeting other people in the village in order to prepare for doing some interviews with farmers there next week. I will be staying overnight in a village for the first time, and I’m pretty excited about it. I’ll have to let you know what it’s like in my next post.

Some Prayer Requests:

- Please pray for my friend Prosper. He started experiencing severe abdominal pain this morning and was not able to go with me to interview farmers. He told me he used to have similar pains periodically when he was a child. Pray for his complete health to be restored that he might be relieved of this pain.

- Please continue to pray for me as I seek to be faithful in completing the research I was sent to do. I have just started interviewing farmers so I have much left to do.

- In the midst of everything else, I want to be attentive to opportunities to serve the Lord and His kingdom here. Pray specifically that the Lord will open my eyes to ways I can encourage His people and participate in His work as I travel to Toassa this weekend.