I understand that an email went out about my eardrum bursting...it sounds much worse than it actually is...perhaps ‘torn’ is a better term? I have only had minor discomfort and slight hearing loss from it. In fact the only reason I knew that anything was amiss was that I ruptured the same eardrum in high school and am familiar with the symptoms. I am otherwise healthy and doing well (no fever anymore). Nevertheless, I do appreciate the concern and prayers for my health. I am being careful to protect my ear, but please pray for God to prevent any infection from developing as that would greatly complicate things for me.

I have been working diligently on my research and that has not left as much time for ministry activities as I might like. However, I was able to preach at Zinnye Baptist Church on Sunday. It took Pastor Kwame and me about 45 minutes to get to Zinnye from Wa. The road is not any better than the road to Tuasa, but Pastor Kwame’s riding style is a gentler than Sule’s so the ride was not quite so jarring to my body.

After the church service, we went to a church member’s house where we held a combined house and child dedication service. The house had recently been finished and the family had recently had a baby so they wanted to have a special service to celebrate both of the occasions. Pastor Kwame and I tag-teamed on the dedications. I spoke from Psalm 127:1-2 and prayed for God to bless the family and their new house as a place for people to see the word of God put into practice. Pastor Kwame then finished with verses 3-5 and led the group in praying for the new baby. Afterwards as we were preparing to leave for Wa, one of the church members gave me a live rooster. So now I have a rooster staying at Pastor Dan’s house until I decide what to do with it. I think we’ll make some soup with it later this week. I’ll let you know how that turns out.

Monday night I was able to join the GGBC youth for their weekly meeting. The youth president, Prosper, had invited me to share a word from the Lord. I spoke from Luke 6:43-45 and encouraged them to be mindful of the influences that they subject themselves to. I challenged them to store up good in their hearts by taking time to pray and read scripture regularly. If they would do so, I assured them that God would make them trees that bear good fruit and thereby honor Him. I often have a hard time knowing when I’m getting through people, but Prosper, Matthew and Philemon thanked me for the message afterwards and reassured me that it had encouraged them. So, even if it only benefited the three of them I guess it was worth it.

I spent all of last week finishing up the interviews I needed in Piisi, the village where I am doing my on-farm research. Interviewing there took much longer than I’d anticipated. It was harder to catch farmers before they left for their farms and even the interviews themselves took longer than I’d anticipated. I finished the last of those interviews on Saturday. This week I am helping the research technicians to harvest the on-farm research plots in Piisi and Nakor. We have finished 7 of 13 so far. If I have time left after those activities are completed I might do a few more interviews in Nakor. I’ll have to see what is feasible. I begin my journey from Wa back to Gainesville on Monday. It’s hard to believe that my time here is almost over. Please pray that the Lord will bless the time I have left so I can complete all I have to do before I return.