In AFRICA!!!

I MADE IT TO AFRICA!!!

I am overwhelmed with joy as I write these words. The emotion has been too great. I am so happy; it is as if I have come home. I know most of you reading this don’t understand why I would say that about Africa, but my heart never left. I couldn’t keep my emotion in check as our plane circled over Malabo preparing for our landing and providing me with a beautiful view of the city that we learned to love dearly. As I walked up the jet way (formerly it was down stairs onto the tarmac) and into the new airport, I was surprised at how nice the new air-conditioned building was. I waited in line and looked past the immigration control booths to see if I saw anyone I knew. On the outside of the glass, I could see Joe Ray’s tall frame. Originally from Mississippi, Joe and Joan have been dear friends since we arrived in Malabo. They work for AMCO and are stationed on the island. He was there to pick me up and take me to their home in the compound. The passport check was quick and then on to what used to be a hair raising baggage pick up process. Now there is a belt that speeds the luggage through this area, and rather quickly I was through in a matter of minutes and I was on my way with Joe in the jeep up to the AMCO compound. Joan had supper ready for me. I had just a few minutes before Pastor Ruben would be there to pick me up and take me up to the service at the Abundant Life Church. Briefly we shared stories about children and their grandchildren back in the states. Joe gave me the latest on the political and social happenings in the city. Before long Ruben pulled up in the truck to take me to the service.



What a joy to see Ruben again. We laughed and talked all the way to the church. The attendance at the church was good. Some of the youth and children were dancing and screaming for joy as I stepped out of the truck. What followed was so warm and welcoming; they came one by one and kissed me as is the custom (not really a kiss, but rather putting their cheek on mine on both sides) and then patting me on the back. Each one had words to share and questions to ask about Beverly, Anna, Jordan and Chase and others asking about Beverly’s dad’s health, others about our family back in Mexico and the states. We spent an hour in this greeting and then at some point people began singing and the service blossomed from there. In Africa you just start and end whenever you want. Many more kept entering throughout the evening, arriving from their work places. It was a wonderful service with many special presentations. At the end, Ruben took me back to the compound around 12:00 midnight. I was exhausted, but my soul was full.




Saturday was uneventful. I spent time at the church and preparing for the services. We visited together again with those believers we had know before leaving and I met some of the new ones. We shared stories from years gone by and I inquired about some of the people I had not seen yet. I showed them photographs of Beverly and the kids. Everyone kept saying “chico” which is an expression the sometimes means “wow” and other times it means “I can’t believe it” or “that is great”. “Jordan is almost a man”, and “Anna is all grown”, they said. And about Beverly and me, they just kept saying we are Fat!!! Again, I arrived back home late in the evening.



I was glad to hear that none of those we loved were on the flight that crashed a year ago on its way to the mainland city of Bata. The jet ran right into the volcano, which is the back drop of the city. It was never able to gain altitude. The flight listed 165 passengers, but it is commonly a practice to take on more than the number of seats. All perished.

On Sunday, we began services “around” 10 a.m. There were many special presentations. The women of faith filed in dancing and praising God in song. They sang in all their dialects, English, Spanish and French. It always amazes me at how many languages and dialects Africans speak and understand. The children had a musical presentation. The youth had a skit and sang and danced, praising God. Between each presentation, the congregation had to get in on a few songs. There were various music leaders and I was blessed to see that “time” stopped and praise began. No one was worried about when lunch would be served, everyone just sang, listened and praised. Among the youth, I saw how much some had grown in the use of God-given talents. One of the smallest children could play the drums as if he was a grown man. This boy “Ayo” is on 7! Arlindo, was playing the new piano keyboard and singing a very well developed tenor part in the choir. Ester was leading some of the praise songs. It just was amazing! After about two hours of this, Pastor Antonio turned the service over to me. The last two nights I preached in Spanish and English, translating for myself. Sunday, I decided to allow Pastor Juan Carlos, a recently ordained young man in the church who speaks English and Spanish to translate for me. This would permit me to concentrate completely on the message. I had prepared a message about the two wayward sons that Jesus told about in Luke 15 (Prodigal Son). The conference has been around the theme of God Controlling our lives. In order for us to truly be controlled by God our attitude has to be right. I spoke of rebellion, repentance, mercy, love and envy. God blessed us with much rejoicing as some members reconciled differences they had held in their hearts against fellow believers and there were over 10 who asked Jesus to come into their hearts, save them and be their King. It was so awesome!!!



After service the “pica pica” began. This is what they call a meal fellowship. I was a bit worried about this. I knew people had brought many dishes and time of sharing food together. I was concerned that I would have to chew on snails or maybe peanut soup with ground “bush rat”. I was pleasantly surprised with a plate full of rice, fried plantain, and fried chicken (or what looked like small chicken legs). It was tasty and I enjoyed eating with my friends and African family.

After the meal at church, a photo session, fellowship and clean up, Ruben and Matilde took me to their home. They live in the house we lived in. It was nice to go home. We sat around and rested, still sharing about the day’s events and planning the trip to Nigeria. Ruben works for an international effort to eradicate Malaria from the island, called “Rollback”. It is funded by the foreign Companies here on the island. He is the EG director of the program. God has blessed him with this very high level, high responsibility position. Through this organization, Ruben has been able to help some of the men and women of the churches in Malabo find employment. Because of the nature of the job and its being a Charity type organization, he has some freedom in his hiring practices.
There are some photos here, but more on www.http//:myspace/aplaceofhopeafrica/