How Missionaries Really Want to Travel

I hope you had a very merry Christmas! We did! The power went out for several hours, but we didn't let it ruin our fun. We read the Bible together, gave our gifts to eachother, called family, and watched movies. David loved the rug I made for him and Josh loved the sock monkey. If you don't know what I'm talking about you can see photos HERE. It was so nice just to be together! I am going to be a mess when Josh goes back to college, I can see it now.

There are very few advantages that I've found thus far to having my first-born attending college 6,000 (not a typo, it's really that far) miles away. With no dishwasher and a washing machine roughly the size of a blender, it is a plus that we have fewer dirty dishes and less laundry. Possibly the biggest advantage, and still not big enough to outweigh how much we miss him, is that when he came to visit for Christmas he was able to bring us stuff we can't get here - like Christmas presents! We were able to shop online and have items sent to Josh. Josh then became the Burton version of Santa, flying Brussels Airlines instead of a sleigh, and carrying suitcases instead of a magical weightless and bottomless red bag. But wait! What if I could find a magical weightless and bottomless bag? I would be willing to pay a fortune for one! Imagine the possibilities! Missionaries and other world travelers would line up to buy them like people waiting for the stores to open on Black Friday. Anyway, David bought "The Pioneer Woman Cooks!", by Ree Drummond. Then Santa - I mean Josh - brought it to me. I love this book! Nevermind that I can't get all the ingredients here for all the recipes - I can definitely get some of them. I really enjoy her writing style and she wrote her cookbook in much the same style that she uses on her blog. Just a few days ago I read her post "All I Wanted Was A Doughnut". Oh! How I miss doughnuts! If I just had a weightless, bottomless bag I could bring a whole term's worth of doughnuts back with me every furlough. I could bring enough doughnuts back to give one to every cop in Kinshasa. Gasp! I read Ree's story aloud to my family because I thought they would enjoy it. They did enjoy it, but after I finished reading it my youngest asked "What is a doughnut case?" I never, ever, ever, thought in a million years that one of MY children would not know what a convenience store doughnut case is. I shall remedy this when we go on furlough in 2013, and I shall do it well. Read Ree's doughnut post to end your year with a smile!
Happy New Year!

A Pastor Explains Poverty Theology

My friend Marcia from Little Pink Rose (see link in sidebar in blogs I enjoy) shared an article with me that really hit home. The author, Pastor Mark Driscoll, wrote a parable of "poverty theology." He explains it much better than I could so I hope you'll read his post. I have been guilty of this type of theology and I believe missionaries in general are especially susceptible to this temptation. Most of us have to raise ministry support in order to stay on the field. We feel a deep responsibility to our supporters to be good stewards. The trap is in worrying about what others will think of us and what we have or don't have instead of thanking God for all we have. James 1:16-18 says "Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. While He uses people to support our ministry, the support is from Him. We are not the only missionaries who have lost supporters. We know that we are not here in our own strength and each member of our team is crucial. Losing even one is significant. Pray for your missionaries, that they will not fall into a trap of living in fear of the opinions and actions of others. Pray that they will not be prideful or prejudge others, but that they will enjoy all that God gives them and trust Him to meet their needs. Pray for those who are the backbone of missions: the prayer partners and the financial supporters. Thank God for their sacrifices and ask Him to bless them and meet their needs, known and unknown! I do. You can read Pastor Driscoll's post HERE.

Cookies Worth Blogging About - Seriously!

Some time ago, long enough ago for me to forget who my wonderful benefactor was, someone gave me a bag of Heath toffee bits. I went googling for recipes that use toffee chips and found a recipe called "Nancy's Decadent Heath Bar Cookies." Well, if you were browsing recipes and found one that had both your name and the word "decadent" in the title, wouldn't YOU feel compelled to try it? I sure did. These babies are amazing! And - when people try them and ask what they are called, I get to truthfully call them "Nancy's Decadent Heath Bar Cookies" - hee hee. She doesn't say when to add the butter so I added it with the shortening. Her recipe calls for 12oz of chocolate chips, but after measuring I had about 1/3 cup left over so I just dumped them in. She also calls for 6oz of toffee chips. I had an 8oz bag. Knowing that 2oz is not enough for another batch of cookies, I dumped it all in. I had pecans so that is what I used for the nuts. I did have a lot of trouble with the cookies sticking to the pan (possibly too many chocolate and toffee chips? nah!). I tried letting them cool for different lengths of time, spraying the pan, etc but they stuck every time. I didn't want to try her foil trick because I was afraid I would end up with little pieces of foil stuck to the cookies. The foil here in Congo is tissue thin and doesn't really have a "shiny" side. Finally in exasperation, and after making myself sick from eating all the broken cookies that stuck to the pans, I tried the foil. It is imperative that you use the foil! It makes a world of difference. To view the recipe click THIS.

Something Old, Something New, Something Baked, Something Blue

Something Old:
Over a year ago I was shopping and found fabric with a snowflake pattern, in Africa, so I bought some with the intention of making a wrap skirt. Finally, I have gotten around to actually doing it. Red and yellow are kinda strange colors for a snowflake theme, but then again, this is Congo.

Something New:
When I asked my oldest if there was anything special he wanted for Christmas, I told him to keep in mind that I can't just run to Walmart or the mall to buy things. He asked for "a sock monkey with a rasta hat." Ok. Sure. I happened to have the socks leftover from one of Emily's school projects. I begged yarn off my friends and went to work to make a monkey with dreadlocks. The rasta hat is made from a black sock and I stitched it with yarn to make the stripes. I hope I never have to make a sock doll with hair ever again, but I don't think this one turned out too bad. Hopefully Josh will like it. Don't tell him I posted this on my blog. He's been instructed not to look until after Christmas.

Something Baked:
I baked cookies this past week to contribute to gift bags for our national staff and decided to take the rest to the commercial center in my neighborhood, along with some tracts, and give them out. I invited my friend Myndii to come along and she made up a plate of cookies for the police station. (The police station is really a metal shipping container about the size of a short train boxcar, used as headquarters and office for a small group of police officers.) We took our wares down on Thursday and were greeted warmly by the police officer and his friends, who gave up their chairs and invited us to join them in conversation for a few minutes. We made sure to give treats to Papa Joseph, Mama Lily, Papa Kabuya, Titi and TonTon - people we conduct business with regularly, then passed out goodies to everyone we could until it was gone. Sadly, there were more people who wanted one of my gifts than I could have prepared for. Pray that the gospel tracts and the gestures of Christian love are well-received and that the seeds grow.

Something Blue:
I purchased some curtains from friends of ours who were leaving Kinshasa. David really liked the blue in the fabric, so after adding a strip to the bottom of one set to make them long enough, they were hung in our bedroom. I had a bunch of the matching fabric left over so for a Christmas gift I made a "toothbrush rug" for David. Don't tell him you saw this until after Christmas either. Now my kids want me to make rugs for them. It's so easy I think I might let them make their own. If you are interested in making your own, I learned how to do it using instructions from this website: toothbrush rugs.

Why I'm Glad I'm in Congo for Christmas

Even when it isn’t in the throes of post-election mayhem, Congo is ranked near the top of the list of the world’s worst places to live. The cost of living is outrageous. Corruption abounds. It is a violent and unstable place. The infant mortality rate is high and the average life span is low compared to other nations. During the Christmas season, there is no snow. No parades. No Salvation Army bell ringers. No Christmas songs playing on the radio or over PA systems in the malls (no malls either), no decorated lawns or lights on the houses. No Charlie Brown Christmas special(I should have bought the dvd). Shopping for gifts is an exercise in futility and frustration. Toys and games are outrageously priced, mostly in other languages, and if electronic, zoned for European-made devices, not the American devices we brought here with us. A bag of m&m’s for a stocking stuffer costs $15 or more. Maybe the stores will have turkeys, but maybe not.
So what’s a family to do in Congo at Christmas? Without all the trappings and hoo-ha, we find ourselves having a lot more time and a lot more space in our thought lives to actually focus on what really matters: the incredible love that moved the God of creation to send his Son for the likes of us. We’ve learned not to take even going to church or having fellowship with friends for granted. We’ve simplified our expectations and our desires. We’ve become more grateful and less greedy. We are more keenly aware of how deeply the Savior loves us and how blessed we are. It’s a change I am not sure would have happened if our family had never come to Congo, but one that as a Christian wife and mom I am extremely happy to have observed and been part of. I struggled our first Christmas here as I learned to let go of the way I thought Christmas should be observed and open my hands to receive the Christmas God wanted to give me. My kids displayed just as much excitement and gratitude over the simple things we gave them and our little second-hand crooked tree as they used to show over more lavish gifts and fancier decor. We wished our Congolese friends a "joyeux Noël." We went to church and sang about the Son who came for all mankind with people from many different nations, including Congo – a little taste of heaven.
A Little Bit of News:
Last Sunday our oldest son arrived safely from the U.S. all in one piece and his luggage arrived Wednesday. We are extremely grateful to be reunited for two weeks and are enjoying every minute! Thanks for all your prayers for his travels!

Jesus Under the Stove (and other unusual places)

Photo: Nancy Burton coolbeans3.blogspot.com

I was able to go to the United States for Thanksgiving to visit our college aged daughter and see most of my family. We had a nice visit but OH! The trip back was so LONG and exhausting. It took me a while to get back in the groove after the time change and with all the emotions of missing my mom. Holidays won't ever be the same without her, although I do have hope that they can be good. David, Daniel and I are having a quiet family Christmas this year. Missing mom has made us more sentimental, resulting in us doing things we don't normally do here because old traditions are either very expensive or near impossible to keep here. We splurged on a new little tree. Our ancient missionary hand me down tree bit the dust last year. I brought back pumpkin from the states so there will be pumpkin pie. We bit the dust and paid the outrageous amount for a real turkey instead of the usual chicken. I used up my chocolate chip horde and baked cookies to give away. All totally worth it.

When I first wrote this blog post on Dec 18, 2011, my mom told me she really liked it, which made it a favorite of mine. I've blown the dust and cobwebs off and revised it a bit for you:

I don’t understand why, because it is often always the messiest room in the house, but our kitchen is a people magnet. Often when I am cooking, other members of the family will come in and talk to me. So we were all in the kitchen together last night when we noticed David on his hands and knees looking beneath the stove. Conversations and activities ceased as we all stared until he noticed and responded.
“I’m looking for Jesus.”
“I’m pretty sure you won’t find Him under the stove.” This was followed by much laughter.
Minutes later:
“I found Jesus under the printer.”
“Didn’t I tell you He wasn’t under the stove?” More laughter.
“He was just as likely to be under the stove as under the printer.”
“I guess you have a point there.” 

My husband was searching for Jesus in bizarre places because our cats held a soccer game while we slept during the night and scattered the pieces of Emily’s nativity scene all over the house. The other pieces were found quickly but we couldn’t find Jesus, the most important figure. Once He was found, everyone was happy. Like our cats, we humans tend to make a real mess of things. We sometimes lose sight of what the most important things are in our lives. Our nativity Jesus was never truly gone, we just couldn’t see Him because He had been moved from his place of prominence to a dark and dusty corner. I don’t want to relegate Jesus to a dark and dusty corner of my life. I want Him to be the absolute center, the focal point no matter what angle anyone sees me from so that they are shown the way to Him. And I am so, so grateful that even when I fall and lose sight of Him, He is still there.

I hope this Christmas and always that He is in a place of prominence in your heart and life.

Merry Christmas!

image created using "One Night in Bethlehem" kit by Janniscrap Designs

Food for the Stomach and for the Spirit, Times Two

One interesting difference between the cultures here and in the U.S. is the way people react when you offer them a gospel tract. I found some French and Lingala versions of the Four Spiritual Laws tracts at a Bible store downtown and while I was grocery shopping yesterday with friends, we passed one of them out the car window to a police officer who was directing traffic. He accepted it, looked into our vehicle at all the bags of food and candidly remarked that he wished he could have one of the loaves of bread. We gave him some money to buy bread for himself and his partner and told him thank you for working hard to keep the city safe. The other officer then asked us if he could have a tract of his own. We gladly gave him one. I've been told that this is a very common response. Never in the U.S. has anyone asked me for a tract. Often people didn't want them and told me so either politely or otherwise.
Today our entire team, both U.S. staff and national staff, held an outreach event at the airport. Planes were moved out of the hangar to make room for chairs and a sound system. We shared a little bit about MAF, sang in English, French and Lingala, and had a Christmas worship service. The key speaker was Fideline, who is a local pastor and the wife of Maurice, one of our national staff members. God has blessed one of our MAF wives, Sandy Francis, with amazing musical talent. She sang Jesu Bambino/O Holy Night in English and French and nearly brought the house down. It is a real treat both to hear her sing and to hear Congolese singing praises in Lingala. Several people responded to the invitation to pray and receive Christ. Everyone was given tracts, Bibles, and refreshments. Hopefully they all went home both spiritually and physically fed.
Please pray for the two officers, and those who came today. Many of them requested extra tracts. Who can say how many others might receive one? Pray the seeds will grow! Also, even though the supreme court confirmed Kabila yesterday as the winner of the election amid some controversy, things are calm here so far and we are grateful. Pray for Josh - in just a couple of hours he boards a plane to come visit us!

10 Reasons to Dislike Secret Santas

I don't care for secret santa games. In fact I don't care for any games other than the kind where everyone sits around a table and uses a board with "little men" or a deck of cards. "Ice breaker" is a phrase that instills horror and dread for me. But I always participate because I feel like a Scrooge if I don't. With the exception of my spouse, I always thought I was odd for feeling that way, until my friend TJ wrote about it on her blog and listed all the same reasons I have had in the past, at one time or another, for not liking secret santas. Now, to be fair, I must share that last year our ladies Bible study group did a "secret sister" activity that lasted several weeks. We filled out detailed surveys first, which went to everyone in the group. No matter whose name you drew, you got to read everyone's survey and we all got to know each other better. The surveys covered favorite colors, songs, Scriptures, snacks, etc; names of family members, and prayer requests. The goal was not just giving but praying, and we all were blessed by it, including me. I still groan on the inside when people start talking about secret santas, but I recognize that it can be done in a way that truly blesses someone. To see TJ's list click the link below.

TJ's Musing: 10 Reasons Why I Hate Secret Santas

The Right Place at the Right Time

Election results that were due last Tuesday were finally announced yesterday afternoon (Friday). President Kabila has been re-elected. I heard there were some violent confrontations in Kinshasa, mostly downtown and near the airport, but our neighborhood has been calm. Everyone is staying close to home for a while. We aren’t a target or anything, but we don’t want to be caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.
I imagine a lot of people think being in Congo at all right now is being in the wrong place at the wrong time. But there are a number of God’s people here, including us, who believe we are in the right place at the right time simply because we are where He put us. I’m not presuming to say we are “God’s gift to Congo,” but perhaps Congo is God’s gift to us. I pray He will use me here to make an impact in someone’s life and bring glory to Him, but I know He is using Congo to make an impact in my life. Several weeks ago I was reading in the Psalms and when I came to Psalm 146 I felt a heavy burden for the people here in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and also for the people of my own country. Verses 7-10 say: “He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free, the LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous. The LORD watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked. The LORD reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the LORD.”
In addition to the oppression you can see here, there is spiritual oppression that you can’t see, but can sometimes feel. Nearly everyday I see hungry people and malnourished children. I am certain that there is oppression and hunger in the United States also, though on a different scale or manifest in different ways. But praise God! He sets prisoners free! He heals! He lifts up those who are bowed down! Widows here are treated abominably, especially by their own families. But our Father is watching over the widows and the orphans. And how desperately we need Him to frustrate the ways of the wicked as we end an election here and prepare for one in the U.S! Being a mechanic’s wife, I’ve heard many times how important it is to have the right tool for the right job and to have tools that are of a good quality. One of the best tools we have as believers is prayer. I’m praying these Scriptures for both the Congo and the U.S.

God Knows The Unknowns

For our family and friends who are concerned about us this election season, we are fine! We appreciate and still need your prayers for us and for this country. We are stocked up in case we have to "hunker down" and stay home for a few days, but so far things have been fairly calm in our neighborhood. The election results are supposed to be announnced today, but as of 6:00pm tonight we've heard no news. We finished putting up our Christmas tree today and I came home from my ladies' Bible study group to the sound of Christmas music. It's nice to have a feeling of normalcy and a praise song in my mind and heart to keep the tension and anxiety that is in the air here from constantly preoccupying me and affecting my perspective, even my ability to make decisions. It's even nicer when our whole family is doing it together. We sure do miss Joshua though.
My friend TJ recently shared her own struggles with decision making based on God's plan versus people and circumstances around her. She wrote that she had decided to say "yes" to God in spite of the unknowns, trusting that God has a plan and is going to take care of all of those unknowns. You can read her entire article HERE.

Treasuring Trash and Trashing Treasure?

Praise God! We have a transformer! And we’ve been having power at least part of each day! Ironically, even though we had zero power for 11 days in November, when I received my bill on Thursday I noticed it is double the usual amount. This is Congo, after all. The elections results are not officially being announced until next week but already rumors are flying. Continue praying for God’s peace to reign here.

Because of the rumors and tension, I didn't get to go to the orphanage this week. Last week during our visit I went over to the Patrick House to say hello to the kids there. This is the building that houses the children with severe disabilities or with AIDS. When I arrived the foyer was empty and a staff member led us to a playroom. We were taken by surprise because this room was brightly painted. There were padded mats on the floors and colorful toys lining all the walls(This REALLY surprised us because we almost never see toys anywhere when we visit). The room was full of kids, some in wheel chairs but most of them were sitting or lying on the mats. We made a point to talk to as many as possible, though only one girl was able to reply to our questions. We just basically sat with them, held their hands or patted their shoulders, and even sang a few songs for them. It struck me that there were all these nice toys all around them, but none of the kids seemed to be interested in or even notice them. Most of them weren’t capable of actually getting to the toys, but even when I handed some blocks to one child, she rejected them because what she really wanted was my plastic grocery sack. Unbeknownst to her, all it contained was a couple of bottles of bubbles that had leaked their contents into the bag. On the same day, in the courtyard where the toddlers and preschoolers play, I saw a little guy playing with the lid part of a tomato paste can. Not wanting him to cut himself, I took it from him and threw it away. His response was to throw himself on the ground, screaming and crying in anger. I wonder how often God has incredibly good gifts for us but we instead spurn them in hopes of keeping our garbage or even grasping more garbage. How often we respond in anger when He acts to protect us or correct us. Or how often He has surrounded us with signs of his love, creativity and power but we just don’t have our eyes open to see them. Praying we all go through this week with our spiritual eyes wide open and our hearts eager to receive all He wants to give us!