Mike's First Day in Benin: March 17, 2013

I thought it may be fun for my faithful blog readers and supporters to experience Arbre de Vie and life in Benin through a different set of eyes. Wojo came back from Benin this past weekend and I think it's safe to say he had an incredible time getting to know the children and spending time with Jon and Ashley. He said it well, "They're part of my family now and I'll do everything I can to help them." I know the feeling well and asked him to share some of his journey with you here. Enjoy his perspective and some pictures from his first full day in Sakete.

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Woke up and kept with my routine of reading my morning devotional and then saying a prayer after. God seems to know what to say at the right time, because His word this morning was, "Come to me for understanding, since I know you far better than you know yourself." Well God, here I am in Africa for Day 1 and it happens to be on the day where we seem to give thanks the most...Sunday!

Heading to Church in Sakete which starts at 8 and goes for 4 hrs, but we got in at about 10:30 and from the drive to the church it's my first real visual of the time and I'm just in amazement. Homes made from trees, mud, and homemade cement. The church surely won't look like that, would it? Well it did! Instead had beat up wood benches, the Pastor was behind a wood podium speaking into a microphone that blared over a megahorn. He was speaking in French and a woman next to him was translating in their native language to the others that couldn't understand French. The main message was in 3 points: When you are in front of a problem choose to engage the problem; don't run from it, Declaration of Christ, and Domination of Christians.

Once church ended all the kids came up to me and started to greet me. They were very welcoming with huge smiles on their faces. Jon and Ashley decided on bringing one person with us as a treat to lunch. The young boys name was Louis. He had such joy and wanted to ask a bunch of questions. With him knowing very little English it was a struggle for him to get questions out. So Jon and Ashley would help with translating, so he could work on speaking in English. 

After lunch we went to change out of church clothes and headed to the orphanage to see the rest of the kids. As we pull up, the kids stop what they are doing and come up to the car to make sure they greet everyone in the car, even Louis. The smiles on all their faces were priceless. Jon and Ashley showed me around the orphanage and one of the boys, Augustin, showed around what's up at the new dorm now. Once done with that, everyone gathered in the gazebo and they started out with some welcoming songs for me. The 3rd song they decided on was "This Little Light of Mine", in French of course. Once they were done with their presentation they all introduced themselves, followed by me, and then questions asked to me from them (siblings, married, girlfriend, age, how much can I lift).

 

Once we were done with that, let the games begin...Time for ultimate frisbee. Most would play the game on a flat surface with grass and with shoes on. Well they dont have that, but it didnt stop them one bit. They were running full speed, communicating with each other, and having fun on their bumpy, red dirt field with bare feet. When the games ended the kids had Sunday School with the pastor for a couple hours before dinner. After dinner Ashley broke out the gifts I got for the kids. First the "Tigerade shirts", followed by the sporting goods. The kids were in such amazement and it showed. As I was leaving Augustin was folding his shirt neatly, and Ashley asked him what he thought? His response, "Truly Great!"

pouring it out for You.

there is this song that we sing at church a lot called "Pouring it Out for You." the words to the song speak to my heart each time we sing it and today the lyrics have been running through my mind. i thought today i might be a little sad, but i'm not, actually. exactly 1 year ago right now i was boarding a plane in Dallas to head to Newark for my journey to Benin. here is the link to a blog i wrote that morning while i was waiting in the DFW airport after Blackie and Doug had dropped me off.

Throwback: March 19, 2012

i was thinking a lot of things at that time and i was quite honest in that post. you can bet one thing though, i sure wasn't thinking that one year from that morning i'd be sitting at a job i love with my whole heart, nailing down details for a friend to rent my house and getting my home packed up to sell my belongings, put some in storage and pack the rest in bins to move over to Benin with me one day. but things have a funny way of working out, don't they? i had no idea what was in store for me while i was sitting in that airport 1 year ago. the love i have experienced over the last 365 days is indescribable. i have given of myself in ways i never knew i could give and i have experienced life in a whole new way. the past 12 months have been so sweet and i know i will always look back at this time of my life with very fond memories of a time where the Lord did an amazing work in my life.

it is pretty crazy to sit here this morning, early at my kitchen table before the sun is even up and think over the past year but what really strikes me as crazy is that who KNOWS what next March 19th will look like. i may be in America. i may be in Benin. i may be working at Milestones. i may be working with Arbre de Vie. i may be driving my black Jetta every day. i may be driving a moto every day. i may be enjoying the first glimpses of spring. i may be sweating like crazy in insane heat. there are a lot of things i don't know, and trust me, i wish i did...but there is one thing i do know, i will keep pouring myself out daily for Him. whether i am in Oklahoma or Benin. working at Milestones or Arbre de Vie. driving my Jetta or my moto. enjoying spring or sweating like crazy, i will keep pouring it out for Him. it's an amazing way to live, really. and has brought me more joy in the last 12 months than i ever thought possible...

My cup is overflowing with Your perfect love

And this is my reward, I'll keep pouring it out for You...

home.

Exactly 12 months ago from today I was packing up my suitcases for a 10-week journey to Benin. Some sweet friends were over at my house, helping me pack and addressing postcards. Goodbyes were said and some tears were shed. I remember falling asleep that Sunday night with only 4 hours before my alarm clock was going to ring and praying, "God, please change me. Change me along this journey." And boy, did He. I have learned one thing consistently over my life, God will use a willing servant. It may not be the way you were expecting to be used, but if you are willing, He will use you. And if you are willing to be changed, He will change you. He changed me, that's for sure.

I am sitting in my living room tonight. In the exact same place, on the exact same couch as I was sitting on exactly 12 months ago and for the past few days and weeks my heart has felt very unsettled. I joked with Ashley in an email this week that I may need some sort of medication soon to stabilize my mood. All joking aside, and no I'm not getting Prozac right now, I have been a little down in the dumps. I voiced this to Kelli over the phone several days ago and as I articulated the words again to my friend Bartel, the Lord really spoke to me.

Almost 2 months ago, I believe I vividly heard the Lord telling me to put my house on the market. You can go back and re-read that blog post from that time but one thing was certain...the Lord was asking me to relinquish my plans and open up to His plans. I remember thinking over and over again while I was in Benin for Christmas that I needed to sell my house. I kept coming back and saying, "No. That's silly. I'll just rent it. I will NOT sell it because Tulsa will always be one of my homes that I come back to." I was holding on to all the control I had left. God, I will move to Benin but I will NOT sell my house. I love my house. I love living in Tulsa. No matter where I go, Tulsa will always be home. Whether I'm in Benin, Seattle, Phoenix or Boston...Tulsa will always be a home I come back to and I was refusing to sell my house. And He spoke to me very clearly. And I chose to listen. I could have chosen to ignore Him and journey down this road without abandoning complete control to Him...but I listened and I obeyed. And my house has been on the market. There has been a sign in my yard. There have been many, many lookers...

What I told Bartel that night I will tell you now. My house may be on the market for 6 months. My house may never sell. I may always live at 1515 W. Vicksburg Pl. and this may always be my home. But in order to be completely surrendered to His call, I had to put my house on the market, as a simple act of obedience. Now, of course I want it to sell. But as the days pass and turn into weeks, I am realizing more and more that it is quite possible my house will not sell. See, in 2010, mortgage rates were EXTREMELY low and I decided at that time to refinance my mortgage. I ended up saving over $300 per month in that refinance and it seemed like the absolute best thing to do. I remember them telling me at the closing table, "You won't be able to sell for at least 5 years because..." I don't remember the other big words they used but basically sure, I'm saving money, but the loan was more than my previous loan and just like all loans I was going to have to pay it down. In doing that, I wouldn't be able to sell for several years because I would have to ask WAY TOO entirely much for my house to cover the existing mortgage, realtor fees and closing costs. At the time, it all seemed fine because of course I'm going to be in Broken Arrow for 5-6 more years, this is my home. I never dreamed that the past 12 months of my life would take place, but that's what makes the story so great, doesn't it? God sees things we don't see. He knew that day in 2010 when I signed my closing papers to refinance my mortgage that one day I would travel to Benin, West Africa and meet the children of Arbre de Vie and He also knew one day I would feel led to live over there on more of a long-term commitment and partner with the organization and help raise the children on a daily basis. He knew ALL of that. And He also knew, a few Sundays ago when He so vividly told me to put my house on the market that I was "upside down in my mortgage" and it would be extremely difficult to find a buyer who's willing to pay $97/square foot for my house when all the other houses in my neighborhood are selling for $83/square foot. He knew all of that. And none of this is surprising to Him...

In a crazy turn of events, I had a very candid conversation with my realtor this evening. She was previously employed by my dad and has been a close friend of our family for years. She looked at me and said, "I'm going to talk to you like you were one of my daughters, Jill. I do not think you need to sell right now, I think you need to rent your house." This is something I had previously thought about doing but basically threw that idea out the window when I surrendered everything and put my house on the market. And what I told Bartel that night I will tell you now, I had to put my house on the market. That is what the Lord was calling me to do and I could not have been in complete peace with Him if I hadn't taken that step of faith and put that sign in my front yard. But tonight, I have a complete peace about listing my house as a rental property. I would love to find some renters in the next month or so and have a huge sale to get rid of all my crap, pack up some boxes, put some things in storage and move in with my Grandma for an indefinite amount of time to save up all kinds of money. That's my plan right now. Tonight. But, as I've found more and more along this journey is plans are just plans, we never really know what will happen, do we? Ashley always says in Benin, "Plans are made for being broken." And maybe that's what the Lord is thinking right now about these plans...but all day today there has been a stirring in my spirit and I feel at such peace tonight with the decision to move forward with renting my house instead of selling, right now. Who can say, maybe 2 years from now there'll be another sign in my yard and I can sell it for $80/square foot since I won't be "upside down in my mortgage". Whatever the heck that means...

journey.

It’s such a beautiful day here in Tulsa. All my windows are open, my fans are on and I’ve enjoyed having this beautiful day off work. My house is enjoying being aired out I think too. I’m having another open house on Sunday afternoon. Yes, my house is still on the market. Trust me, everyone will know when I sell this pretty thing! I lowered the asking price this week. Not by much, but just down below a big cut off point so hopefully it will show up on more people’s searches when they’re looking for homes under a certain asking point.

Life has been busy, as life tends to be. But life has been really sweet. Work is always an adventure. You never really know what will quite happen at a pediatric office and it makes each day exciting. It’s difficult for me to believe it is already the middle of March. What the heck? How did that happen? Did it sneak up on everyone else too?

Several months ago, last fall actually, my dad wanted to introduce me to one of his friends. Blackie has helped with the Broken Arrow football program for years and this guy is the Strength and Conditioning Coach for Broken Arrow sports. His name is Mike, or Wojo as he is so lovingly called by many, and he expressed some serious interest in traveling over to Africa. To make a long story short, Mike is on his way to Arbre de Vie RIGHT NOW to serve over the next week. Over the past few months, I have gotten to know Mike better and he is an exceptional guy with a huge heart and a passion to serve the Lord. I know the next several days will be some of the very best days of his life and I am excited for him.

(wojo in NY. next stop Brussels)

Please pray for him over the next week. He will land in Cotonou on Saturday and meet the kids on Sunday. Jon and Ashley will have a great time with him! The kids will love him but I know even more, he will love Jon and Ashley and their kids. I was thinking earlier this week, as I packed up a big 50-pound bag for him to take over to everyone, that exactly a year ago to the day, I was doing the very same thing. Packing my bags and setting out on a journey to Benin that would end up wrecking life as I previously knew it and changing everything. I am finding more and more that one single act of obedience can do that. Have you found the same to be true? Be bold enough to take that step friends! No one can do everything, but everyone can do something. And the journey always starts with one single step forward.

I am thankful this afternoon that Mike is following his heart and taking this journey. It’s amazing to see how my story with Arbre de Vie has progressed over the last year and all the different stories and people that are intertwined on this journey. Their lives are being changed and they are helping change the lives of people on the other side of the world through their obedience. It all makes me REALLY excited for the journey that lies ahead. I am confident that the best part of this journey is yet to come… 

Video: Christmas 2012

here is a little video i put together from some of the pictures i took while in Benin.
Ashley and I took approximately 3,000 pictures in the 2 weeks i was in country.
i know i'm prone to joking but i am not joking.
i know i'm prone to exaggerating but i am not exaggerating.
here are some of my favorite pictures of some of my favorite kids.
hope you enjoy!
{side note: meeting with my realtor tomorrow at 1:30. in the words of Alice and Mickey Mouse, "hot dog, hot dog, hot diggity dog!}