Today was the day for another round of pastors. This will make 36 that have come through the doors of the EchoAfrica house. We are in the infancy of this training process, and are continually evaluating our effectiveness. Heidi and I went to the store to pick up some more supplies for the house. Since we only have a few days remaining, we are trying to get as many things taken care of as we can. We were able to pick up a new toilet seat for one of the bathrooms that was in desperate need. Slowly we are accumulating a toolbox with necessary items for household repairs. The task at hand almost seems insurmountable. There is not enough time in one day to talk about the possible ways to help. Our main focus will always be, “Seek first the kingdom of God.”
This will include ongoing pastor training and discipleship followup. Likewise, we will do Bible distribution based upon our 10 verse memorization protocol. Initial feedback on the possible purchase of this house was more positive than negative. Ultimately, it will be God’s decision when, where, and how we may be allowed to purchase property. I took the opportunity this afternoon to go look at a few other properties. None of them came remotely close to the current setup that we enjoy. We are not anxious regarding new property because we know that God will make a way. The important thing is that we do not have disruption in our leadership training.
We briefly discussed what a business model would look like for helping Christian brothers and sisters to start some type of substantial business. If we are very careful in the preparation process, and strategically place the startups in the proper places, success is achievable. It will be God’s blessing that will make them flourish, but He also commands us to be prudent in our decision-making process. Rhoda may be the prime candidate to head up such a program. She is a businesswoman that has a varied resume of different business activities. Creating a model that could be monetized easily and duplicated would be great. Understanding the needs and market potential is crucial before any launch.
When we were at the store today picking up some grocery items, we met a couple of young ladies. They were Caucasian, which is quite rare to see. We were waiting at the deli counter together and noticed an interesting tattoo on the foot of one of the ladies. It was the outline of the United States with a little red dot over Michigan, and one over San Diego. Come to find out, the girl was originally from Michigan, and had moved to San Diego. She was familiar with the part of the state where we lived and commented on what coincidence it was. We exchanged pleasantries and gave them some of the five dollar crosses that we have handed out on our journey. After completing our shopping, we decided to return back to the house.
Traveling by the intersection where Nazer’s house was, I immediately had a sense that we should go there. The timing was remarkable. Mr. Osman Nazer’s father had just pulled through the gate. I quickly rolled down my window so he could see my face more clearly. He exited his vehicle and seemed overjoyed to see us. Our intention was to visit Mrs. Osman on Friday. Some of our activities got delayed, and we were unable to make it. I made the mistake of not getting Nazer’s parents phone number. Had I been more diligent, I could have called Nazer to get the numbers. They had troubled themselves from Friday, Saturday, and Sunday wondering why we had not shown up. I felt bad about my inconsiderate behavior, especially when taking into consideration that Nazer had loaned us a generator. The blessing of that generator probably allowed us over 48 hours of power that we would not have been able to have!
I dropped Heidi off at the house where she was able to spend several hours with Mrs. Osman. Just as she had demonstrated many times before, she had a great time in one-on-one dialogue. I do believe it was ordained by God, and something supernatural is brewing in the situation. At lunch time, Rick and myself joined them for a wonderful meal. Rick commented on how gracious and kind the couple was.
We were outside admiring the different foliage, flowers, shrubs, and trees. The family cat was running in and out of the bushes. They informed us that they had captured a black mamba snake the day before. These are highly venomous oftentimes fatal species of snake. The cat jumped out of the bush in front of Rick, and he literally jumped a foot off the ground. Hilarious cannot nearly describe the joy I got out of him pouncing like a cat himself! The unfortunate part of it was I did not have it on video, and no one else saw it.
The reality is beginning to set in that after tonight, there will only be one more night in Africa for this trip, unless of course God bumps me from the flight or some other means of extending my time. I truly love these people and consider them my family. Tomorrow shall prove to be a quite interesting day. There will be a few additional visitors to the house that I am sure will make it memorable. In addition to that, we will be recording some of the activities with professional level equipment to help in our documentary. Dear Lord, may we be honoring to you with everything that we do.
