Price Family Info

Terrible 10 Behaviors at Work or Play

2008-06-30T03:36:00.000-07:00

I found this article on Yahoo! about behaviors considered offensive in US culture. This probably includes those of us who work with Americans and/or Europeans. I would imagine that this would include Africans educated in universities in these countries as well.

Here is the link followed by an excerpt:

More than 600 workers and college students in the Baltimore area ranked bad behavior on a scale ranging from 1 (not offensive) to 5 (most offensive).
The 'Terrible 10' List

Based on those rankings, the "Terrible 10" behaviors are (from most to least offensive):
1. Employment discrimination.
2. Erratic (sans prevoir) /aggressive driving that endangers others.
3. Taking credit for someone else's work.
4. Treating service providers as inferiors.
5. Mocking race, gender, age, disabilities, sexual orientation, or religion.
6. Children who behave aggressively or who bully others. (Ne respecte pas les autres, traite mal)
7. Littering. (mettre la poubelle sous la terre)
8. Misusing handicapped privileges. (il y a le parking ou les sieges particulars pour les handicaps)
9. Smoking in non-smoking places or smoking in front of non-smokers without asking.
10. Using cell phones or text-messaging in mid-conversation or during an appointment or meeting. (c’est vrai!)

Some actions, such as discrimination, may be illegal; but even more subtle behaviors, such as making a sexist joke or not asking before lighting a cigarette, still add to the stress of the daily grind and can actually lower productivity.

"The research suggests that people are bothered more by the transgressions of coworkers and strangers than by those of family and friends," says P.M. Forni, director of the Civility Initiative at Johns Hopkins.

Unhealthiest Drink in a America

2008-05-19T22:56:00.000-07:00

That is, according to this blog.

This is one of those temptations I'm not looking forward to:

Baskin Robbin’s Large Heath Bar Shake (32 oz)
2,310 calories
266 g sugar
108 g fat (64 g saturated)

Let's look at America's Worst Drink in numbers:

73: The number of ingredients that go into this milkshake.
66: The number of teaspoons of sugar this drink contains.
11: The number of Heath Bars you would have to eat to equal the number of calories found in one Baskin Robbins Large Heath Bar Shake.
8-12: The average number of minutes it takes to consume this drink.
240: The number of minutes you’d need to spend on a treadmill burning it off, running at a moderate pace.

That's just nasty. What are we Americans thinking??

For the non-candy bar connoisseur: Heath Bars are chocolate covered, butter crunch toffee.

Refreshing Rain

2008-05-19T01:58:00.000-07:00

It is raining, I mean, pouring rain right now. Large drops, blowing wind, cooler air. A true tropical rain shower.

TCKs in the American White House

2008-05-19T01:51:00.000-07:00

From an article by Michael Barone on www.townhall.com

This election is different from all others in another respect: These two presumptive nominees have no particular regional identity. John McCain was born in the Canal Zone, no longer a U.S. territory; grew up on military bases; moved to his wife's home state of Arizona and, running for Congress, noted accurately that he had lived in Hanoi longer than anywhere else.

Barack Obama grew up in Hawaii and lived for a time in Indonesia, went to school in Morningside Heights and Cambridge, and made his career in a city where he had never lived before, Chicago. He has been universally accepted by the Chicago political and fundraising establishment and won wide margins in Illinois. But neither he nor McCain has spent much of his life in ordinary Middle America.

It’s not like these presidential candidates spent large amounts of time outside their home culture, but it’s still interesting that they are both technically Third Culture Kids: children who are born or live in a third culture that is a combination of their home culture and a host culture for at least part of their lives.

Capital E (Thoughts on the Evangelical Manifesto)

2008-05-11T15:43:00.000-07:00

Another response to the Evangelical Manifesto from Randy Elrod guestblogging here:

The Death Of The Alpha Leader

By Randy Elrod

We now live in an automagical world. A world that is composed of not one future, but multiple futures. A world of self-chosen communities or tribes that are nodes in large, complex networks of such groups. A world in which hierarchal pyramids of control are crumbling and the Taylorism world of precise affluence has become a Web 2.0 world of mystical influence and social networks.

Viral loops, not manifestos, provide the opportunity for unparalleled influence. This is a world in which documents handed down by well-meaning alpha males result in a stifled yawn. However, this same world moves to the edge of their seat upon realizing that the responsibility to change the world need not be their legacy or burden. On the contrary, the creation of culture is the calling from which history speaks. . . .

Here are more links from Randy’s blog about the Evangelical Manifesto:

Jim Wallis is glad to be a “charter signatory.” I’m glad he feels good about being in the “in” crowd.

More entertaining is from Cathleen Falsani at the Chicago Sun-Times. It’s entertaining, but also naïve. The whole manifesto’s downfall is the necessity to write about evangelicals with a capital E. She points this out but it doesn’t seem to faze her.

Alan Jacobs also wrote a pithy commentary that should have been longer and more thorough. He notes that the audience is decidedly less international and inclusive as the writers of the manifesto might have hoped.

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It seems to me that the writers and “official signatories” sensed a twitch of uncertainty in the air, therefore decided that “we” must clarify the terms before “they” do. That’s the tenor of this manifesto, in my opinion. It’s true they include all the necessary clarifiers to say that they do not want to exclude or deny the majority of Christians around the world with a voice. Yet, they continue to define the terms of the conversation without them. Jacobs points this out when he compares this document to the Lausanne Covenant, which is international and inclusive as much as this most recent "manifesto" is more Western and American.

The writers and signers decided to rein in the diversity of the “evangelical” movement before it gets out of hand. I don’t blame them. I’ve been tempted in the same way. I’ve been in situations—practical and theological and cultural—in West Africa where I felt the sharp pang of doubt and then alarm: “Oh no, this is getting out of my control.” Then, there’s a voice saying, “Quick! Temper the flame! Don’t let it go! Maintain control!” Then, usually in a split second moment, I remind myself why I’ve been called to be in that moment. I’ve probably failed as many times as I’ve passed the test.

I’ve learned to recognize that sharp pang—that desire for control—not as my own conscience or some of kind of well-educated theological barometer. It’s not the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit, either. It is Satan’s whisper.

My calling—our calling—is to reject the desire to control. The whole idea of this manifesto misses that key point while at the same time supporting it. Does that make any sense to anyone else?

Could we allow "them" to become theologically astute in their own right without our hand-holding and guidance? I guess our choice is found in words beginning with a capital E--"Exclude" or "Embrace."

Liberian Scars

2008-05-10T16:35:00.001-07:00

I was able to spend time in Liberia with some of the most amazing church leaders in West Africa. They have gone through so much with the war during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Pastor Daniel Johnson told me about how his family and that of Pastor Elijah Clay fled their homes into the streets of Monrovia, only to find themselves in the middle of a gunfight, bombs dropping all around them, innocent bystanders only meters away being cut down, blood flowing in the streets. They just sat on the curb and prayed for God’s protecting hand. They walked away unscathed, at least physically.

He told me how he was not able to run errands during those days. If a man was walking down the street, he would be enlisted at gunpoint into one of the ragtag armies. So, his wife went out to search for food. Once she was arrested, thrown on the sidewalk, and accused of being from an opposing ethnic group. Amazingly, at that moment, one of the gunmen recognized her as a high school classmate. He vouched for her and they let her go because she could fluently speak their language. They let her go just before ordering her execution.

Today there are still pockmarks in the walls and holes in the streets from bullets and bombs. There is little to no infrastructure in Liberia today—no electricity except through gas generators. But, the Nazarene church there is the most mature, most giving, most compassionate, most progressive, most impoverished, and most authentically genuine that I have ever been around during my time in Africa.

Here's a close-up of the same building:

No P(ee) in Paris for our Lady the Lab named Josie

2008-05-10T16:00:00.000-07:00

Grand merci to our friend Lauren who agreed to take Josie, our lab, to the U.S. with her before our return later in May. There was a problem about the fact that we could not take her as checked luggage on a U.S. domestic flight due to hot weather (the dog was born in West Africa, but that's beside the point, I guess).

Anyway, here is Lauren's story about getting Josie through the airport in Paris from her blog LaurenLaughs.

Here's a snip from Lauren's story:

flying back to the US from cotonou, i had a little extra baggage... her name was josie. her papers said she was a lab, but i'd never seen a lab look like josie before. she was born and raised in cotonou and belonged to a missionary family there. because dogs can't travel (with certain airlines) between may 15 and september 15, the price family (who departs benin after may 15) asked me to bring josie along. this is the story of our adventure together.

josie weighs about 23 kilos. she's really very sweet, though i've only been around her while drugged on sleeping pills (not me, the dog). when traveling internationally with a dog, there are all sorts of hoops to jump through. lucky for me, the prices did most of the hoop jumping. josies shots, papers, and even the little computer chip embedded in her shoulder... everything was meticulously cared for. all i had to do was get her from point A to point B. easy enough, right? eh... no.

Here's Josie before her trip:

Last day in our house in Cotonou

2008-05-10T15:41:00.000-07:00

We moved out of our house in Cotonou a couple of weeks ago. In November 2006, we decided then that May 2008 would be our exit from Benin. The leaders are well-established (of course, they need more practice, but who doesn’t), the work is progressing, local leadership has taken the reigns from missionary leadership. I’ve been telling folks that we live in Benin, but work in West Africa. My travel schedule reflects that reality.

We’ve been available for the Benin church as a resource and partner in ministry, and we have many good friends here, but it’s time to move on as hard as it is. In August 2004 when we arrived in Benin-Togo, a missionary was district superintendent, there were about 20 churches (only a few were serious) and 750 members on the books, and no volunteer teams had ever come to Benin. Now, there’s a local leader, Moise Toumoudagou as DS, more than 160 churches, and over 8,000 members. Since May 2005, we’ve hosted 10 teams of 100 volunteers from the US who have spent time in Benin/Togo. God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good.

The boys are handling it okay. Payton has lived there for half of his life. Parker is firmly established in the French school. They both have lots of friends here. Sonya and I have lived in that house longer than any other house in 16 years of marriage. So, last Sunday afternoon we had a “goodbye” ceremony walking to each empty room and sharing memories in each one. It was a good time, but still difficult.

The future is pretty wide open right now. Help us pray into the unknown. (Well, at least unknown from our limited perspective!)

Vegamusic

2008-05-10T15:38:00.000-07:00

Completely original and very amusing from heita3 on youtube:

Bobby Ewing Fights Malaria with Vaccine Trial

2008-03-05T23:29:00.000-08:00

Not really, but Dr. Patrick Duffy and others are testing a malaria vaccine. Here is the AP story via Fox News.com:

Malaria, which is spread by mosquitoes, kills more than a million people each year, most of them children. Deaths doubled in Africa over the past 20 years due to resistance to existing drugs and insecticides.

Seattle volunteers will be paid an estimated $2,000 or more to hold a paper cup containing infected mosquitoes against their arm, waiting for the insects to bite. Symptoms usually develop within nine to 11 days, and volunteers will be treated for malaria when the first parasites show up in their blood. The treatments last three days.

In the related project at Walter Reed, where hundreds of people have been exposed to the malaria virus, not one person has gotten seriously ill, said Dr. Patrick Duffy, head of the Seattle Biomedical Research Institute's malaria research programs.

And, I'm thinking, "Do you realize how much pizza I could get just by living in Benin?!?" Here's more:

The Seattle vaccine testing center will be built this year and the first trial with just six volunteers is expected to be conducted in the summer of 2009, paid for with between $4 million and $5 million from the Malaria Vaccine Initiative, which was created with a grant of $50 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Additional trials are expected to cost between $1 million and $2 million and each one would require about 26 volunteers.

The Seattle Biomedical Research Institute has been working on tropical diseases for about 30 years and is home to one of the largest malaria research programs in the United States.

Although the institute has been developing malaria vaccines of its own, the testing program will be open to vaccine candidates from around the world.

Duffy said the project at Walter Reed, where he worked before coming to the institute in Seattle, has helped one promising vaccine candidate get to the point where it is about 50 percent effective at preventing malaria.

He said that vaccine is an inspiration to everyone who is working to find a way to save people from malaria.

"We have a partially effective vaccine now and there's no reason why we can't get a fully effective vaccine," Duffy said.

Bill and Melinda Gates announced in October they would seek worldwide eradication of the disease rather than just control. Their foundation has committed $860 million to malaria programs and another $650 million to support the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

I'm all for billionaries as long as they make the world better. And a world without malaria would definitely be a better place.

Bob Geldof and President Bush on Africa

2008-02-28T23:58:00.000-08:00

Bob Geldof, a British rocker responsible for the ‘80’s Live Aid, traveled with President Bush on the Africa tour this month. Here’s the article in Time magazine on-line.

It’s not a rah-rah speech for the President and it’s not venomous like many journalists tend to be. Instead, it’s very insightful into the African situation by two outsiders from opposing political viewpoints who are united on Africa.

Several quotes in the article from the American President (that might also apply to our work):

“One thing I will say: Human suffering should preempt commercial interest.”

"Stop coming to Africa feeling guilty. Come with love and feeling confident for its future."

"When we see hunger we feed them. Not to spread our influence, but because they're hungry."

"U.S. solutions should not be imposed on African leaders."

"Africa has changed since I've become President. Not because of me, but because of African leaders."

Viritual Tattoos

2008-02-23T00:25:00.000-08:00

A couple of years ago I read a near-future sci-fi trilogy called Axis of Time by John Birmingham that included flexi-pads, a combination of mobile phones, laptops, and an Internet connection. This morning I just read about a real-life technological concept that takes it a bit further:

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Electronic tattoo display runs on blood

Jim Mielke's wireless blood-fueled display is a true merging of technology and body art. At the recent Greener Gadgets Design Competition, the engineer demonstrated a subcutaneously implanted touch-screen that operates as a cell phone display, with the potential for 3G video calls that are visible just underneath the skin.

The basis of the 2x4-inch "Digital Tattoo Interface" is a Bluetooth device made of thin, flexible silicon and silicone. It´s inserted through a small incision as a tightly rolled tube, and then it unfurls beneath the skin to align between skin and muscle. Through the same incision, two small tubes on the device are attached to an artery and a vein to allow the blood to flow to a coin-sized blood fuel cell that converts glucose and oxygen to electricity. After blood flows in from the artery to the fuel cell, it flows out again through the vein.

On both the top and bottom surfaces of the display is a matching matrix of field-producing pixels. The top surface also enables touch-screen control through the skin. Instead of ink, the display uses tiny microscopic spheres, somewhat similar to tattoo ink. A field-sensitive material in the spheres changes their color from clear to black, aligned with the matrix fields.

The tattoo display communicates wirelessly to other Bluetooth devices - both in the outside world and within the same body. Although the device is always on (as long as your blood´s flowing), the display can be turned off and on by pushing a small dot on the skin. When the phone rings, for example, an individual turns the display on, and "the tattoo comes to life as a digital video of the caller," Mielke explains. When the call ends, the tattoo disappears.

Could such an invasive device have harmful biological effects? Actually, the device could offer health benefits. That´s because it also continually monitors for many blood disorders, alerting the person of a health problem.

The tattoo display is still just a concept, with no word on plans for commercialization.

core77.com via
Gizmodo

This news is brought to you by PhysOrg.com

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Credit: Jonah Goldberg's weird links gal at The Corner.

10,000 Talibe Boys

2008-02-22T07:30:00.000-08:00

Talibe (TAH-lee-bay) boys can be seen all over Dakar, Senegal. They are known by their tattered clothing and carrying empty tomato cans to collect "alms." Most boys are sent by their parents to receive teaching from elders in the city, but most of them end up on street corners begging for a few francs.

Below is an article from the UN sponsored IRIN news service at www.irin.org.

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SENEGAL: A day in the life of the 'talibe'

DAKAR, 21 February 2008 (IRIN) - In Senegal up to 100,00 children roam the streets begging for money and scraps of food in order to survive, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF, 2004). Many of these beggars are ‘talibes’ or Koranic students, who follow a religious teacher or ‘marabout’ to whom they are entrusted to learn the Koran. Originally, communities gave alms to children to help support religious teaching, but in many places this cultural practice has lost its value and become a means of enforced begging.

To try to reduce the practice the government is currently creating modern religious schools or ‘daaras’ in which children can learn Koranic teachings without having to go out to beg. Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) run projects to help ‘marabouts’ return to their villages to get involved in alternative income-generating activities, and try to reunite children with their families. Despite these efforts, UNICEF estimates there are still up to 10,000 child beggars, many of them ‘talibes’, on the streets of Dakar alone. We documented the daily lives of some of these boys in Dakar and in Kaffrine, western Senegal.

To read more about efforts to combat the problem, go to our report, ‘Why the ‘talibe’ problem won’t go away.’

Carnaval 2008

2008-02-22T02:15:00.001-08:00

Every year French schools have a Carnaval celebration. The kids create costumes and they march around the neighborhood. This year's theme was "le voyage", or travel. After the parade, they gather in a circle to burn the "bonhomme." This year's bonhomme was an exploding rocket. Here are some photos from Ecole Montaigne's Carnaval parade:

"The Quintessence of Nonsense"

2008-02-20T05:32:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking recently about the biblical views on usury, interest, micro-finance, loaning money, and giving to the poor which led me to John Wesley's sermon "On the Danger of Increasing Riches" (1790).

J.W. whips himself up to full form by paragraph 12. This is one of the juiciest bits, and reminds me so much of why I'm glad to be a Wesleyan:

"Perhaps you say you can now afford the expense. This is the quintessence of nonsense. Who gave you this addition to your fortune; or (to speak properly) lent it to you? To speak more properly still, who lodged it for a time in your hands as his stewards; informing you at the same time for what purposes he entrusted you with it? And can you afford to waste your Lord's goods, for every part of which you are to give an account; or to expend them in any other way than that which he hath expressly appointed? Away with this vile, diabolical cant! Let it never more come out of your lips. This affording to rob God is the very cant of hell. Do not you know that God entrusted you with that money (all above what buys necessaries for your families) to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to help the stranger, the widow, the fatherless; and, indeed, as far as it will go, to relieve the wants of all mankind? How can you, how dare you, defraud your Lord, by applying it to any other purpose? When he entrusted you with a little, did he not entrust you with it that you might lay out all that little in doing good? And when he entrusted you with more, did he not entrust you with that additional money that you might do so much the more good, as you had more ability? Had you any more right to waste a pound, a shilling, or a penny, than you had before? You have, therefore, no more right to gratify the desire of the flesh, or the desire of the eyes, now than when you was a beggar. O no! do not make so poor a return to your beneficent Lord! Rather, the more he entrusts you with, be so much the more careful to employ every mite as he hath appointed."

Paragraph 14 has this morsel:
"But this vice [the love of money] is very rarely found in children or young persons; but only, or chiefly, in the old,--in those that have the least need of money, and the least time to enjoy it."

Paragraph 15 has the oft-quoted: "gained all you can…saved all you can…give all you can" with the oft-forgotten injunction to "hoard nothing."

And, of course, this remark in paragraph 16 just made me laugh out loud: "Let me add one word more. After having served you between sixty and seventy years; with dim eyes, shaking hands, and tottering feet, I give you one more advice before I sink into the dust." Seriously, those three self-mocking descriptors counter the warnings of 1 John that he quoted earlier in paragraph 10 against the "desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, and the pride of life."

Air Force One in Cotonou

2008-02-16T23:24:00.001-08:00

President Bush, the First Lady, and the Secretary of State were in Cotonou yesterday morning. Pretty exciting, let me tell you.

Here's a photo taken by Marianne, a fellow Nazarene and missionary with SIL-Wycliffe:

The Living Languages of Benin

2008-02-15T10:16:00.000-08:00

Click here for an overview of the 54 languages spoken in Benin found in the Ethnologue Report distributed by SIL.

We have many good friends working for SIL, an organization committed to literacy and development of written alphabets for the thousands of living languages spoken in the world today.

Bush: No more paternalism in aid to Africa

2008-02-15T06:11:00.000-08:00

The following is an excerpt from an AP article by Ben Feller on Brietbart.com:

"The president is traveling to Benin, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana and Liberia. All have benefited from U.S. aid to save lives and develop their countries.

"We have also revolutionized the way we approach development," Bush said. "Too many nations continue to follow either the paternalistic notion that treats African countries as charity cases, or a model of exploitation that seeks only to buy up their resources. America rejects both approaches."

"Instead, Bush said, the U.S. treats African leaders as equal partners who must set clear goals and achieve measurable results."

. . .

"Bush's address had another goal: to ease nervousness in Africa, where some who have benefited in his presidency wonder what will happen when it ends.

"I will assure our partners in Africa that the United States is committed to them today, tomorrow, and long into their continent's bright future," Bush said, even though that promise extends beyond his reach.

"Bush's investment initiatives for Africa are widely viewed as popular and productive, even in a deeply political atmosphere in Washington."

Programs mentioned in the article include the Millennium Challenge Account and funds for combatting HIV/AIDS and malaria. The Secretary of State will take a side trip to Kenya to encourage the peace and reconciliation talks there following last month's violence.

These are all encouraging signs, but I'm cynical enough know that it takes more than human government to make a real difference in the world.

President Bush's Visit to Benin

2008-02-15T05:52:00.000-08:00

Pretty exciting around here. Word is that President Bush is visiting today or tomorrow. One of our friends from English Fellowship is organizing one of the ceremonies. His daughter might give a bouquet of flowers to the President and the First Lady.

There's been tons of activity at the Cotonou airport for the past week. We live right beside it, so we've been listening to it all. "Yovo" hotels and restaurants have been bustling. Today there are Benin and U.S. flags all over the place.

It's cool to think the U.S. finds Benin a place worth visiting. One of the major reasons for the visit is to review the development plans given for malaria prevention among others agenda items I'm sure.

What I’m Reading Right Now (Feb 2008)

2008-02-15T05:32:00.000-08:00

I’m reading Fully Alive by Jerry and Larry Hull (1998) from NPH. It’s fourteen chapters written by middle-aged, incredibly fit twins—one a social work prof and the other a medical doctor. Each chapter deals with one-word subjects, like Happiness, Pain, Exercise, Work and how to be healthy and holy all at the same time. I’m doing a chapter a day, so I’ll be done two weeks. I’ll let you know if it worked.

Also, I’m about ten pages into Second Foundation by Isaac Asimov (1954?). Since December, I’ve read the first two books in the Foundation trilogy first published in the 1950s. It’s simply written with small scenes, other-worldly yet mundane settings, no more than four characters at a time. But, the ideas are big, and it’s easy to see how these books influenced sci-fi for the next fifty years, such as Star Trek and Star Wars. I’m in a hurry to get this one read—an omnibus with all three books—so I can return it to my friend before they leave the country.

I’m also reading Bill Bryson’s In a Sunburned Country (2001) about his travels through Australia. One of the funniest writers around and he doesn’t disappoint. Great bathroom reading, by the way, with four or five pages dividers within the chapters.

Imperial Grunts and the Missionary Task

2008-02-15T05:26:00.000-08:00

In April 2006, I asked Franklin Cook,retired Nazarene missionary and Holiness Today editor, for book suggestions. He gave me a few off the top of his head.

I just finished one of these books entitled Imperial Grunts by Robert Kaplan (2006). I read most of it on a trip to Rwanda via Kenya.

I can see where Cook found lots of good insights for the current missionary task:

Not only knowing the culture, but loving it in a way that makes a seamless connection to the locals.

Generals need to support the decisions of their sergeants, not the other way around.

Small-footprint deployment, task-oriented teams rather than large-footprint, muddled, and costly organizations/offices.

The value of “national guard” volunteers rather than professional, “company men” soldiers.

What it takes to immerse into local cultures and adapt in ways that those behind desks and budgets can’t understand.

Making linguistic skills the highest priority for anyone willing to get into this kind of work. You can have lots to say, but it doesn’t mean a thing if it can’t be said in a way someone can understand.

Getting “off the base” for “presence patrols” to see, hear, smell, and “intuit” what is really going on.

Doing whatever we do alongside or behind local leaders who should get the credit in the minds of the people.

Encouraging local projects that bolster the view of local leaders and the organization in the minds of the public.

Taking a tough stand with local leaders when necessary, not bowing to the weak-willed or selfish leaders when they obscure or obstruct the task.

A corollary: Staying with some of these weak-willed leaders only as long as it takes to find the right person for the job.

Another corollary: Constantly keeping our eye out for fresh and new leadership, and prepare them, because someone will not work out and another will always be needed.

Recognizing there is a long and complex history everywhere we go, even though it is all new to us or our organization.

Training and supporting local leaders as the primary task for missionaries and not “direct action,” though direct action is more appealing.

Avoiding the “Big Army” way by allowing small teams to do their thing with most strategic and tactical decisions being localized and not always waiting for “Washington” to get on board.

I’ll stop there. The encouraging thing is that most of this is already happening in missionary work from my perspective, but we also have a long way to go to enact many of these principles.

I know, I know, how crazy and inappropriate can it be that a book offering insights for the missionary task also “imperial” or "military" in the title. The similarities between imperialism, the military, and missionary work are as great as the differences. All I can say is, read the book, and you’ll see what Kaplan’s talking about.

I knew of Robert Kaplan and respected his work before Cook’s recommendation. But, Cook’s enthusiasm for the book motivated me to get it and read it before home assignment this summer. One of the interesting things Cook said when giving me this recommendation was that he rarely reads Christian books any more. He finds them too repetitive and just missing the mark with regard to how to interact with today’s world.

Chili Cheese French Toast?

2008-02-15T01:09:00.000-08:00

Never in my life would I have put two of my favorite foods together into one meal: chili & cheese and French toast. But someone has done it.

A little background first: I could eat breakfast for every meal. Today I discovered a website after my own heart, and taste buds, called Mr. Breakfast.

Mr. Breakfast offers up one of the most interesting French toast recipes I've ever seen. WARNING: I haven't tried it yet, so I can't vouch for it other than it's uniqueness:

Chili-Cheese French Toast

(4 servings)

3 large eggs 1 cup half and half 8 slices French or other Challah bread -- cut diagonally to about 1/3 inch thick

1/3 pound jack cheese -- shredded

1 4-ounce can of diced green chiles

1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro

2 cups salsa

In a large bowl, beat eggs and milk together. Dip 4 slices of bread into egg mixture -- coating both sides of each slice.

Arrange slices evenly on a lightly greased baking sheet. Top bread evenly with cheese, then add green chilies and cilantro.

Dip remaining slices in egg mixture, coating both sides. Top cheese-covered bread with plain slices to form 4 sandwiches.

Bake in 400-degree oven until they reach a golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. With side spatula, turn over and continue baking until they are puffed and evenly browned, about 10 minutes longer.

Cut each sandwhich in half crosswise. Serve with salsa.

Not your grandmother's French Toast. Great for lunch or dinner too! Mr Breakfast would like to thank susan for this recipe.

Beavercreek to Benin

2008-02-14T06:08:00.000-08:00

Here are some photos of six volunteers from Dayton (OH) Beavercreek Church of the Nazarene led by Senior High Youth Pastor Ashley Barchus. They spent last weekend in Cotonou working on the district center and visiting the Nazarene church in Ganvie. This week they are in Sakete at an orphanage operated by some friends of ours.

We are very impressed with how they have handled the heat, culture shock, and group dynamics during their first few days.

Take a look:

That's Ashley on the left, I mean, the right . . . or is Emily on the left? I don't know. (Actually, I think Ashley is on the left in this photo.)

Go here for more photos or check my Facebook page here.

Cool Photos from 2007

2008-02-07T07:40:00.000-08:00

Here's a selection of interesting photos from the London Telegraph for 2007. Click here. Via Jonah Goldberg at NRO.

Traveling Gripes and Graces

2008-02-07T06:05:00.000-08:00

As much as I complain about how much I travel, I have to admit how much I actually like it. I think sometimes my complaining becomes a camouflaged form of bragging. Sure, travel gets tiring and the recovery time after a trip takes longer with each mile. But I love the sense of the unexpected, the array of new faces and old friends, and fact that I can say, "I've been there."

During my trip 6,500 mile (10,000+ km) trip last week to Rwanda via Kenya, I was on the return leg somewhere over Sudan or Chad or Niger in a Kenya Airways 737 when I was reading from a book called Imperial Grunts by Robert Kaplan (2005). Franklin Cook, a long-time Nazarene missionary and director in Eurasia, guided me toward this book last year. I'd read Kaplan's articles in Atlantic Monthly since 2001 and another of his books entitled Warrior Politics (2003). Here is the bit on the ambivalence of traveling life that caught my attention:

"Within half an hour of leaving Gardez [a small town in Afganistan] I was matted with dust and my day pack had turned from black to solid brown. I was fifty-one years old. Why was I doing this? I was full of doubt my last night amid the pampered luxury of Dubai. In Bagram [a large US Army base], the night before flying to Gardez, I was again doubtful. But now the past and future, and every other place on the planet besides here, did not exist. I was living completely for the moment: the ultimate happiness. Every trip followed the same pattern." [page 214]

I am continually struck by how Kaplan's analysis in this book rings true with the missionary life, though he may be surprised to hear that it does. The good and bad news is: no trips on my schedule for another two weeks.

So, Are You a Brit or What?

2008-02-05T13:27:00.001-08:00

I remember the first time I introduced a British friend as "British." She went off on a tirade about how she was English not British, and please don't confuse them.

The Venn diagram at this site would make my friends proud who are Brit-, I mean, English, Scottish, Irish, and all others I know who live in the UK, British Isles, or both.

A Night in Nairobi

2008-02-05T12:31:00.001-08:00

I had an overnight in Nairobi last Friday to Saturday. As Rod, Russ, and I drove in a taxi from the airport to their housing complex, I thought to myself, 'What violence.' Rod pointed out a couple of places that we drove through where there had been violent demonstrations earlier in the month. But, on that night, except for extra police patrols, nothing seemed unusual.

I actually got to play Nintendo Wii for the first time as well as see old friends like Jon and Sally Mellinger. Here's a photo of Jon and I playing baseball on the Wii:

That's Rod's wife, Sarah, in the background.

Now, according to this story, it looks like the US is pulling their Peace Corps volunteers (PCVs). The situation does not look hopeful if this happens. It might just mean the US gov't doesn't want a PCV to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Hopefully, it's just a precaution and not the result of something more serious.

Pray for our friends in Nairobi and around Kenya.

Random Thoughts on Rwanda

2008-02-04T10:34:00.000-08:00

1) I can't believe the people I saw could be the same people who at one time in recent history were capable of genocide. They seemed so gentle and non-confrontational compared to the people on the street that I've encountered in Benin and Nigeria, for instance.

2) What a beautiful city! Kigali is one of the cleanest African cities I've ever seen. The last Saturday of the month is reserved by law for community clean-up. It has large traffic circles enclosing beautiful flower gardens, wide boulevards, and new shopping centers. Not to mention, the moto taxis are all four-cycle and not the noxious 2-cyle motors we have in Cotonou, and all riders must wear helmets (see below).(I can't imagine seeing the streets lined with bodies and flowing with blood, but that was what this city looked like only 15 years ago.)

3) I could not believe the number of foreigners flying into and out of Kigali on Kenya Airways. Must mean lots of development going on.

4) I did not know Rwanda grows amazingly good coffee!

5) I did not realize the Mille Collines Hotel is so small. It was the focus of the film Hotel Rwanda and the novel Sundays at the Pool in Kigali.

6) Hard to believe there is only one local language: Kinyarwanda. Most African nations have more than one. Benin has 52 languages and dialects. Many times language is a divider and barrier for discrimination.

7) English is spoken by almost every person without gray hair and American dollars are readily accepted.

8) Below is the Nazarene Center in Kigali on a main boulevard between the airport and downtown.

Four Mornings, Four countries.

2008-02-04T10:24:00.000-08:00

I woke up today in Benin. In the past four days I've woken up in four different countries.

Friday, I woke up in Rwanda.
Saturday, I woke up in Kenya.
Sunday, I woke up in Ghana.
Today, back home in Benin.

Crazy days of travel. I'm toast. Today I've just hung out with the boys, re-watched the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl to make sure my bleary eyes did not trick me at 4:00 a.m. when I first watched it last night/this morning with Brian Mitton.

Seven new churches in Parakou!

2008-02-04T10:00:00.001-08:00

JESUS Film equipment brought by the team from Medford-Klamath Falls was given to the church leaders in Parakou. In the past three weeks, these pastors have planted seven new churches in Nima , Alafiarou, Korouborou, Kpèssègambo , Badé,Kikparé et Baka.

Here is a photo of the zone leader named H-. He is visiting another village where the Church of the Nazarene was given six parcels of land (6 x 500 sq meters) by the village chief:

:

JESUS Film team from Oregon--January 2008

2008-02-04T09:48:00.000-08:00

A group of volunteers spent ten days traveling over 1,000 km (600 miles) from one end of Benin to the other. They brought two sets of JESUS film equipment. They participated in four showings and visited local churches in small rural villages.

Here is a photo of the team under the baobob trees in northern Benin:

Tabaski in Benin

2008-02-04T09:31:00.000-08:00

We’ve had an opportunity to celebrate this holiday season by singing carols and baking cookies. We are also thankful for all of the Christmas cards, boxes, and birthday cards for Sonya and I, especially from our family and LINKS churches. It has been good to read the Christmas e-mail newsletters from friends around the world. We also had the opportunity today to celebrate a Happy Tabaski.

Tabaski is for goats-sheep-rams what Thanksgiving is for turkeys. For most Beninese it is a day off from school or work. For Muslims, it is Eid ul-Adha, or Tabaski as it is called in West Africa—the “Feast of the Sacrifice.”

The Feast of the Sacrifice is one of the largest celebrations of the year in Islam. It coincides with the Hajj—where 2 million Muslims are making pilgrimage to Mecca this week. The meaning of the feast concerns Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Ishmael, according to the Qu’ran. The Hebrew Scriptures tell a different story in Genesis chapter 22:1-19.

We don’t talk much about animal sacrifices any more. In the culture of the Hebrews it was important. The idea of sacrifice gave much significance to Jesus’ death on the cross, and the meaning of His death is spelled out through the imagery of sacrifice in the New Testament book of Hebrews. For West Africans, animal sacrifice is quite common today. In fact, the appearance of avian flu in Benin this month creates a concern, according to a recent article from Reuters, among voodoo priests and priestesses that regularly sacrifice chickens as well as goats in their ceremonies.

Link to the article: http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSL1720456620071217?sp=true

The slaughtering of a ram is a main focus of Tabaski. In Senegal a cell phone company or a bank gave away Tabaski rams for a promotion—sign up for an account and earn the chance to win a ram. So, Tabaski is why we woke up this morning to five rams in our neighbor’s garage. The garage smelled very much like a state fair, and still does this evening. We have to walk through their garage to get to stairs leading to our office-guesthouse located above their house. While an electrician worked on our generator in the guesthouse, I watched our neighbors slaughter the five rams on the street in front of the house. I didn’t stick around to see them finish the process, but some other neighbors around the corner already had three rams “dressed” and hanging in front of their house by 11:00 a.m. One significant aspect of this sacrifice is that the Muslim making the sacrifice should give a significant portion of the sacrifice to the poor. I wonder how we could incorporate the idea of sacrifice into the Advent season . . .

Keeper of the Divine Secret published at nazarene.org

2006-10-01T05:21:00.000-07:00

This recent post was recently published on the front page of the Church of the Nazarene official website at www.nazarene.org. To go directly to the article at nazarene.org, click here.

Encouragement from a Local Church in California

2006-10-01T05:14:00.000-07:00

We have our own share of disappointments, though we try to encourage who we can when we can through the stories we send from West Africa. Then, we get E-mails like this one, and it comes back around to encourage us:

“Dear Bro. Matt: Greetings and thanks from the Hallwood Church. I have been receiving your e-mails, regularly, and save them to use as part of our lesson studies in our monthly NMI meetings. This last week, after a sumptuous dinner, I had three or four men read portions of your e-mails, taking the parts of you, the young pastor in Benin (whose host had his house ravaged), Moise, and any others you might have mentioned in your letters. I had the parts organized by date as you had sent the material to me. It was almost as if we were hearing the stories first hand as they happened. Our small group then gave generously for the general budget [for World Evangelization], and we prayed for you, Moise, and all those we had heard about. Then we gave the great news about the birth of the new baby girl to Moise and his wife, and the group, especially the ladies, was excited to hear the good news. Our group has been very interested in the on-going trials of Moise and so happy to hear that things are better with his health and now the delivery of the baby. Please continue to keep us updated. We feel as though we have had a part in all of this, and we continue to keep you, your wife, boys and all of the workers there with you in our prayers.

“May God continue to bless your work and keep you all in the hollow of his Hand.

“Thanks again, Ruby [from Marysville, California]”

I hope you were encouraged as much as I was when I read this E-mail from Ruby, especially the part where she wrote: “We feel as though we have had a part in all of this.”

That’s the whole point, and it made my weekend.

The 24-7 Prayer Challenge

2006-09-25T07:06:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, a missionary colleague lent me a book about the 24-7 prayer challenge that has been spreading across Europe. (Red Moon Rising: The Story of 24-7 Prayer by Pete Greig and Dave Roberts) The book written by two pastors of emerging missional churches in Britain have seen prayer houses spring up all over Europe.

The current prayer movement in Europe springs from the 18th century German Moravian church that kept a 24-hour prayer vigil for more than a century. The Moravian movement and its leader Count Zinzendorf eventually sent over 3000 missionaries around the world and greatly influenced the teaching of John Wesley who provided the Church of the Nazarene the reason for its existence—to spread scriptural holiness throughout the world.

It is no wonder that one of the authors testifies early in the book to an experience very much like what us holiness folk would call the “baptism of the Holy Spirit.”

The idea of 24-7 prayer is nothing new. Nall Ave Nazarene in KC where I used to work, held a week of prayer each November using the same concept. Other churches have done and are doing the same thing. I am wondering how this kind of movement would challenge and change the work we are doing in West Africa. What if we had someone in every time zone around the world covering the work in West Africa in concerted prayer? I’m thinking. I hope you are too. Let’s put our minds together and see if they are willing to follow our hearts on this subject.

While reading this book, I get the most recent update from the Africa Region. Eugenio Duarte, our regional director, gave a prayer challenge for the coming year. Coincidence? I doubt it. Here are some prayer priorities for Africa:

Every Nazarene Dependent upon God Only
Every Nazarene a Spirit-filled Disciple
Every Nazarene a Disciple Maker with a Real Burden for the Lost
Every Nazarene Giving Authority to God’s Word
Every Nazarene an Extraordinary Pray-er (not my will but Yours)
Every Nazarene Leader Faithful to God, Church, and Family
Every Nazarene Leader Building Leaders Who Build Leaders Who Change the World
Every Nazarene Pastor an Effective Minister of the Word
Every Nazarene Home a Nursery for Holiness Champions
Every Nazarene Local Church Experiencing a Real Movement of the Holy Spirit
(You could replace Nazarene with Christian believer (Matt 2:23; Mark 16:6; Acts 24:5))

Housekeeper and/or Keeper of the Divine Secret

2006-09-25T07:01:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: This post was recently published on the front page of the Church of the Nazarene official website at www.nazarene.org.

Jesus told his listeners in Mark chapter 4 verse 11: “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you.” This is a true story from another part of West Africa.

A woman named Dala works as a house maid. She had a secret to tell. Do you want to hear about her secret? Four months ago she became a Christian believer and attends the Church of the Nazarene. She now carries the secrets of the Kingdom, and the seeds of God’s Word, in her heart and life.

Every few days she goes to a local vendor to buy charcoal. This particular day the vendor asked Dala a question.

The vendor was a middle-aged and man devoted to his religious ideals. When he saw the cross on her necklace, he asked her to give it to him. She said, “Absolutely not! You will just take it and throw it away.” He asked her why she wore it. She began to share with him the Secrets of the Kingdom.

The charcoal vendor was just one of many people in this neighborhood trying to make a living. He was exhausted and grimy from the work of making and selling charcoal. He was usually ignored by most people, except Dala who could not keep the Divine secret hidden in her heart.

Every few days Dala would return to buy charcoal and the man said he wanted to know more about this Jesus. He always had more questions about her God, this prophet Jesus, and the meaning of the cross she wore around her neck. She did not go get her pastor to answer for her. Instead, she shared what she had been learning about God from His Word and from weekly sermons. Within a few weeks, the man received Jesus Christ as His Savior. He later told Dala’s pastor that whenever he had a question, Dala would respond with just what he needed to hear.

Dala found out through their roadside conversations over piles of charcoal that this man also knew much about his former religion. Now, after many weeks, Dala asked her pastor to help the man understand more about this Jesus who is found in the Bible and is now living in his heart.

News about more new churches in Benin

2006-09-25T07:00:00.000-07:00

Several Nazarene churches have begun fundraising for building campaigns. Fidjrosse church was built with Alabaster funds 18 months ago, except for walls and windows. Two weeks ago Moise the D.S. preached and they took an offering to complete the walls and windows. They needed 130.000f ($260) and they collected 200.000f ($400). That is huge boost and a real change in mindset for this young district. Also, two other churches in Segbeya and a recent church plant in Fifadji (both neighborhoods in Cotonou) have begun building campaigns.)

Yesterday Pasteur Clement of the Fidjrosse church preached about the need for people in his congregation to hear God’s call to go into all the world to preach the Gospel, heal the sick, and even raise the dead. He said there may be people here this morning who God will call to other countries in Africa who need to hear about Jesus, such as South America, Europe, Asia, even the United States. He asked, “Are we ready to go? Are you ready to go? You may not go yourself but you need to be ready to support someone else who God might call.” Good stuff or what?

In September at least five new Nazarene churches have been planted in Benin: Calavi, Zogbo, Cocotomey, Gbodje, and Akplanka. Now, there are churches in every neighborhood leading out of Cotonou to the west and to the north. Three of these churches were planted by the Fifadji church that I mentioned above.

One of these churches sent a representative to Cotonou to meet with Moise. The man is a director of a private school for children in the area around Savalou. This man heard a Nazarene preacher in their village, and thought to himself, this preacher knows what he’s talking about and he’s obviously been well prepared. Moise told this layperson that that preacher doesn’t belong to the denomination any more. The man said, well, if he learned what he knows from the Church of the Nazarene, we’ll go with the Nazarenes. If we can, we’ll try to get this preacher back into Church of the Nazarene, too.”

On Saturday Sept 16, the southern part of the district held a Sunday School teacher training workshop. There were over 40 participants from various Nazarene churches. I should note that this conference was planned, organized, and led entirely by Beninese laypeople and pastors. Sure, Moise asked me for some input before the conference, but it was entirely their initiative and effort. That is awesome—less truly is more when it comes to missionary work.

Family News

2006-09-25T06:58:00.000-07:00

Last week Payton lost his first tooth. He said, “I think when kids lose their first tooth they become big. They’re not little kids any more.” He came up to me the next day and said, “Dad, you know what. Last night I woke up and Mommy has kneeling over my bed. She was holding my tooth, and she told me to go back to sleep. You know what? I think Mommy’s the tooth fairy.”

We have been reading aloud Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary, one of my favorite authors and characters when I read as a child. Lately, Parker has been reminding me of Ramona. He’s been acting his age this week—not impossible, just difficult. Kids are kids wherever they live. I am sure he’d say the same about his parents, too.

Treasured Island-- What I Discovered in Cape Verde-- Price Family Update--29 August 2006

2006-08-29T03:23:00.000-07:00

Warning: VLE (Very Long E-mail)

Treasured Islands—What I Discovered in Cape Verde

An Abundance Without Boundaries
In 1656, Portuguese sailors landed on a few barren rocks jutting out of the ocean about 400 miles (640 km) west of continental Africa. They found no inhabitants except for a few birds, probably like the sailors, stopping to rest on a long journey home. In the hopeful fancy of early European travelers who tried to put the best image on their discoveries, they named this barren, uninhabited rock “Cabo Verde” or Cape Green. Today, Cape Verde is anything but barren.

This group of ten small islands comprises a modest country of 1550 square miles (4030 km2) of 450,000 citizens. Each island has its own unique culture, specialty foods, and landscape. One island is all sand and beach resorts (Sal), another is home to a volcano (Fogo), and on another is situated the hometown of my Regional Director (Brava). On maps used by ancient navigators, Cape Verde is greatly enlarged and right in the center of the world. Discovered by these ancient mariners, this country is a crossroads between four continents—Africa, Europe, South America, and North America. It is no surprise that there are more Cape Verdeans living on these other continents than on the islands. It should also be no surprise that the Church of the Nazarene in Cape Verde has planted the first churches in Senegal, France, Holland, and Portugal, as well as offered leaders to Brazil, Indonesia, New England and Kansas City in the United States.

Cape Verde has many leaders—lay and clergy—to offer the world who have excelled in ministry, government, business, finance, and education. After church service each night, I shook hands with the secretary of the leader of the National Assembly, the former minister of justice, bank leaders, business owners, Ph.Ds, embassy workers, etc., etc., etc. I spoke with many in English, since Portuguese is only one of the languages taught from early on in the government schools along with French, Spanish, and German. Just how easy is it for Cape Verdeans to move between languages? On the island of Sal, where there is an international airport and many vacation resorts, there is a church where 70% of weekly attendees do not speak Portuguese. Another example, I usually just found a random seat before each evening service. I waited, but it never took long for someone sit beside me. Every night but one the person next to me was able to give me the gist of what was said from the platform. Amazing.

Cape Verdeans are descendents of Europeans, Pan-Americans, Africans, and Asians, yet they do not belong to any of these places. Humanity has many shades and on these islands I saw them all. This once-barren island has produced an over-abundance of spiritual fruit that the sandy beaches and rocky seaside cliffs could not contain. After more than a century of its existence on Cape Verde, the Church of the Nazarene here has extended the influence of the Gospel and the optimism of the holiness message to five continents.

While I was there, church leaders received a phone call from a Cape Verdean in Norway who has planted the first Church of the Nazarene in this Scandinavian country whose boundaries extend into the Artic Circle. (I don’t think Kansas City knows about this yet, so do not say you heard it from me!) Is there any place these island people have not gone with the Gospel? I saw Lebanese and Chinese among many other nationalities that traverse these islands on their way to or from home. Did I mention that a spouse of a pastor who is also a local Sunday School leader calls Cuba her homeland? The route into many countries around the world, I believe, might just begin on these islands. Sure, we might have churches in some of these sensitive places, but where will their leaders be developed and nurtured? Maybe right there in Cape Verde.

An Old Church with Young Leaders
Early in the week, I asked the District Superintendent, David Araujo, if a Youth In Mission team had ever come to Cape Verde. Youth in Mission is a Nazarene-sponsored program founded in the late 60s that sends small teams of university students to points around the globe for five weeks every summer. He thought for a moment and said, ‘No, I don’t think so.’ I thought that was pretty incredible. I mean, how is that possible, since this part of the Church of the Nazarene is 105 years old? I started right then working on a plan to get a team there, not because Cape Verde needed them, but young leader-type, university students from North America needed to experience this place. On Thursday night, during the NYI (youth) service, I realized that Cape Verde didn’t need to host a YIM team as much as it needed to send out at least four teams. But, I can still gladly say there’s a YIM team going to Cape Verde next summer (if there’s enough student volunteers to fill up a team). By the way, the West Africa field will have three teams: one to Cape Verde, one to Senegal, and one to Benin-Togo.

This place is packed with young and talented leadership. Pastor Francisco Vaz, the NYI (youth) president, with his guitar strapped to his shoulder led a thirty-voice, swaying choir singing a song he wrote, “You’ve heard of John Lennon, You’ve heard of Bob Marley, Let me tell to you about Jesus Christ, He is greater than all of them, He is my Champion, He is your Champion, Because of Him I am a Champion.” How cool is that?!? The former NYI president, Orlando Crispim, translated this service for me in impeccable English. He is a layperson who works for an oil company there.

I think I counted six women among the 60 ordained or licensed ministers—a good start.

During reports from youth, Sunday School, and missions lay leaders, I think maybe 70-80% were 35 years old and younger. Many gave their reports without notes.

Another Orlando last-named Baptista led a worship band most nights that played incredibly cool, bluesy, jazzy versions of familiar hymns and choruses. One time I caught him playing a little classical guitar between day-time sessions. Almost every night I saw different people at different instruments, playing mostly without sheet music, but with a whole lot of natural talent.

What More I Learned
So, with all this talent and leadership there, you might be asking yourself, ‘So, why in the world was Matt there?’ I asked myself the same question several times that week. Officially, I was there to speak at the seminary graduation ceremony (I spoke from Mark 4) and conduct two days of seminars on holiness theology. Besides the official reasons, I came to the conclusion that I was there most of all to learn. I remember spending time with many people, including David and Eunice Araujo, Soccoro Fontes, Odette Pinheiro, Aderito Ferreira, Sergio Duarte, Orlando Crispim, Antonio Paulo Almeida (from Brockton, Mass.), Antonio Barbosa Andrade, Lottie Gay, Debbie Jefferson, Antero Fontes, Edelyze Ferreira, Sharnian Araujo, and mostly with Jorge and Manuella de Barros, who were presiding over the District Assembly. Jorge is from Cape Verde.

Jorge’s grandfather, General de Barros, was an island governor from Portugal who married an African woman. There’s a street in the capital Praia named after him. Jorge’s father was one of the pioneer Nazarene pastors on these islands. One day his father went to a seaside village to evangelize. The people in the village didn’t want to have anything to do with him. And, none of the hotels would offer him room. So, he went to the beach and lay down on the soft sand to sleep. Around midnight, some villagers came to bring him into their home—they couldn’t stand the thought of an old man sleeping under the stars. Did I mention I met the current pastor of the Nazarene church in that village now a small town? I also heard about the turbulent years prior to independence when Jorge was pastor in Praia and the church was persecuted by the former dictatorial government. From this week, I remember most strolling down the cobblestone streets of the Platô district surrounding Praia First Church, with Jorge holding my elbow and telling me stories of faith from his seven decades of experience. I soaked it up like a sponge, man. You can’t put a price on an education like that.

One day we were eating lunch in a restaurant. The owner-manager walked up and tapped Manuella on the shoulder. She said, ‘You probably don’t remember me, but I was one of your French students when I was in high school.’ They hugged and reminisced of that time forty years ago. This kind of thing happened several times that week to Jorge and Manuella. Jorge and Manuella left Cape Verde and moved to Kansas City in 1972 to head up Portuguese translation and literature production. I didn’t mention that I was just learning to walk about that time. During services, we’d sing hymns that either Jorge or Manuella translated from the English into Portuguese. Jorge’s travel schedule sends him all over the globe. We usually don’t recognize “apostles” as a ministry option in the Church of the Nazarene, but I think Jorge comes pretty close to a modern-day apostle, one who is sent to cross cultural and language barriers with the Gospel. Did I mention that Jorge was the Faith Promise (missions day) speaker at Sonya’s home church in Anderson, Indiana last April? That’s where I first met Jorge. Small world, huh?

What I Remember Most
I also remember the incredible tuna, fish cakes, cachupa (a traditional mixture of beans, rice,and potatoes), and the amazingly strong coffee from the island of Fogo, Also, mangling a mango at dinner almost as much as I mangled the local language Crioulo to the amusement of my table mates; and, the free finger food banquet given to the assembly by the restaurant hosting the daily meals. I remember the fact that I stayed in an amazing apartment overlooking the National Assembly building, the residence of a prominent US embassy worker, and the Atlantic Ocean. And, I remember the fact that the district paid all of my expenses except for travel to and from Praia. I left with many gifts, such as four sacks of that incredible Cape Verdean coffee and two tins of their delicious tuna, three good-looking shirts, hand-made wood work by the Cape Verdean pastor who planted the Nazarene church in France, and lots of memories.

I will wrap up this very long newsletter by quoting a novel by Orson Scott Card that I was reading during this trip. Valentine says to her younger brother Ender, “You are what you remember.” I hope that’s true for me after my short time among the amazing people of Cape Verde.

Price Family Update 2 -- 26 August 2006

2006-08-29T03:22:00.000-07:00

From Sonya:
Thank you for praying for Moise's family in Benin! This is a picture of Moise and Rosaline’s baby.
She is so very cute and sweet!Please continue to pray for Rosaline as she recovers from a hard labor and delivery.
The name? They don’t name their babies in this culture until they are a couple of weeks old because of the high [infant] mortality rate--so she doesn’t have a name yet, and that is normal.

Price Family Update -- 26 August 2006

2006-08-29T03:21:00.000-07:00

It’s been an interesting week since I returned from my long trip to Cape Verde and Senegal.

When I arrived at home, I found out that Rosaline, Moise’s wife, had been staying at our house since last Monday—almost two weeks. She had been having false labor. Sonya took her to the doctor and then offered for her to stay at our place while the doctors determined why she was having contractions. Sonya took Rosaline to the doctor several times over the past week. The doctor said the baby could arrive at any time.

We’ve learned a lot about Rosaline and Benin, and Rosaline has learned a lot about us and Americans. It has been time and effort well spent. Finally, on Tuesday we had to go to Lome, Togo to renew my visa. We returned on Thursday evening and Rosaline came back over.

Yesterday Rosaline went to the doctor for a check-up. Last night she was pretty quiet. Then, last night around 2:30 a.m. it was time. Sonya took Rosaline to the clinic. Around 4:00 a.m. Sonya returned. Then, around 11:30 a.m. Sonya called. Rosaline gave birth to a little girl. Sonya called Moise and then me. No details yet, it literally occurred during the last half-hour.

Blessings from Benin,
Matt

Price Family Update -- 18 August 2006

2006-08-29T03:20:00.001-07:00

Just show how it rain when it pours, here’s an E-mail from Sonya on Wednesday:

“Moise [the Benin D.S.] had to go north overnight because of what happened with the pastors there. I told him to send [his wife of almost one year] Rosaline [who is nine months pregnant] to me so she took a taxi and then a ZIMM (that’s a taxi moto!) to get [to our house]. She doesn't seem too bad, but I can tell she's having a hard time. Her back is hurting her and the baby's head seems to be over to her left side, not quite in the correct placement--I got to feel her tummy and I think the feet are over on her right side, up a little bit. If I understood correctly, she said she was starting to dilate, but I'm not sure if she or I understood that conversation or not.”

Before I left Senegal, one of the few places in Africa blessed with very fast Internet service, I talked to Sonya on a netphone service. She had been back and forth to the clinic where the doctors were observing Rosaline. Apparently, today the doctors said that an infection was causing the false labor. At least that’s the story for now.

Rosaline has been staying at our place since Monday or Tuesday night. Right now, they are at home and eating ice cream and graham cracker pie—not fair! But, I’ll be back there just after I send this E-mail.

Then, Mark L., the Field Strategy Coordinator and other leaders, including myself, received this follow-up E-mail today from Moise, the Benin D.S., about the happenings in northern Benin.

Just imagine the stress of what’s happening at home with your pregnant wife plus all of this. The following is translated from French:

“After the sickness from earlier this month that I survived and the pregnancy of my wife that has had so many complications, and now this, Satan wants to attack the Church of God on all sides.

“But, that’s talk instead of what has happened so that glorifies the Name of our God. In Tabota, the political chief was converted in one our our new church plants. In Ganvie, the chief fetischeur [witchdoctor], who followed the god Hevieoussou (the god of thunder) has given himself to Jesus Christ and aroused much anger among the other fetisheurs. The Nazarene church building was nearly ravaged in this place. In Fifajdi (a neighborhood in Cotonou) in a new church plant, an aged operator of a temple for fetish worship was converted and gave all of her house for the new Christian believers’ meeting. My friends, these testimonies are almost too much to believe possible without living here among them. I promise to write all of these testimonies solely for strengthening other Nazarenes and Christian believers in Africa and even around the world. This is what the Lord has done to have a divine revolution in Benin.

Now, to the follow-up concerning the situation in the north.

“In [the center of our work in northeast Benin], it’s a notable Muslim that closed firmly his Koran in order to follow Jesus in a nearby village. That’s when things started to go bad. I’ve seen the wounds and those dispossessed of their goods and their motos. Our main pastor in the area was one of the ones who offered a complaint to the police.”

[Let me summarize and paraphrase]: The local mayor is a Muslim and sided with those who injured the people and destroyed or stole property. He also refused to recognize our church in the area, although we presented the formal documents showing we are fully recognized by the country. He refused to acknowledge that any goods were damaged or stolen. He fully sided with those of his religious persuasion and against us.

“We then turned to the national authorities. We will have a meeting with them on Friday [today]. We will ask them to affirm that our church is recognized to operate throughout this country and that they help us recover the stolen motos and repair some of the damage. We also want fellow believers in this area to have a certain amount of protection as citizens of Benin.

“We ask that all pray for us that we seek and find justice in this situation . . . That God will be blessed!

“I will inform you of the situation in the hours to come . . .”

I just got off the phone with one of the pastors there. He said that the meeting today with the authorities has not been entirely cleared up the situation. And that Moise is on his way back and will meet with me tomorrow to discuss the whole situation. I assured the pastor that hundreds, and by now, even thousands of people around the world were praying for him and this situation.

Should I add that Moise sent a separate E-mail to say that seven churches were planted during the month of July? One of the churches planted in January has already planted two more. Right now, that’s an average of one church planted per week during 2006.

To top it all off we got a box full of PopTarts from a new friend in Florida.

I still hope to write that E-mail about Cape Verde soon.

Keep all of this in mind as you head into the weekend. Do not forget to pray it all out and toward God.

Price Family Update -- 15 August 2006

2006-08-29T03:20:00.000-07:00

I just returned from an amazing visit in Cape Verde. I want to write all about that visit, but it will have to wait.

Reality strikes again. It requires your prayer in action for the young and growing church in Benin.

Here is an E-mail from a young leader in Benin. He has been in our home many times. We attended his wedding last summer. He is a dynamic preacher who can communicate in nine languages. And, we have been watching carefully the new work he has undertaken in one of the most difficult places in Benin.

I was copied in on the E-mail he just sent to Moise, our district superintendent, and translated it from French:

“Several weeks ago I met a Muslim named [name withheld] to whom I spoke about Jesus and through the Holy Spirit he came to believe in Him. This man invited me back to his home after many conversations.

“This past Friday I went to his village accompanied by two pastors. We evangelized all day Friday and Saturday. We were to spend the night in the village on Saturday to lead a worship service on Sunday morning. It was around 1:00 a.m. that we heard loud shouting and arguing outside. We looked out the window and saw around thirty individuals armed with machetes and sharp tools for digging. They were threatening our host to put us outside. If not they would destroy our host’s house. Having understood that this was a declaration of war, God helped us escape by a side window while abandoning our two motorcycles.

“We had walked quite a while before reaching the main road, where we alerted the local police. Unfortunately, it was too late, the house [belonging to our friend and new believer] was ravaged, our host and his family were in the hospital, and our motorcycles were gone. For the moment police are investigating, but they have no leads.”

Please pray for this young leader, his pastors, and his new friend in Christ. Not to mention, the men who created this havoc. I do not feel as if I can write his name, but volunteer teams to Benin have met this young leader and spent time with him. They know him personally.

For me, these are not headlines or stories about faraway places. It was difficult to see the screen through tears as I typed the translation. We do not live in a world where everyone agrees with us and who believe it is their obligation to silence the message we have of hope and new life. They spread fear through intimidation, we believe something else: “perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18). That’s my hope and my message. I hope I can be as courageous in living and proclaiming this message as these young heroes from Benin. They are my courage and my champions in the faith as they live at risk to their lives as Christ would. I only hope I can live up to their example.

Price Family Update -- 31 July 2006

2006-08-29T03:17:00.000-07:00

I know it has been a while since the last Price Family Update. I began the past month in South Africa and in a couple of hours I will be leaving for Senegal and Cape Verde for 17 days.

I spent a good three weeks with the family in Cotonou. The weather has been very mild and much cooler than the temperatures we are hearing about from the U.S. and Europe. What irony! In other important family news, I’m finally getting to the point where Parker and Payton do not beat me every time I play GameCube with them. But, my thumbs will probably get rusty during the next trip.

We are in the middle of summer break, but it doesn’t feel like it. The boys have a French tutor and Hooked on Phonics with Sonya every morning. Moise is back in Cotonou and healthy, so things have picked up for the local churches. Courses are being taught. In fact, we’ve gone from 22 students in Benin and Togo to over 70 students/pastors in the last year. We have a plan to train teachers of these students which should be starting in the next two months.

Things are moving. Pray that we will sell our old car. Pray that we can get teacher training classes started in the next two months. Pray that Moise will continue to heal. Pray that Rosaline his wife will have a smooth birth for their first child due this week. Pray that all of my travels go well. Pray that Sonya and the boys will be fine during my trip. Pray that my meetings and teaching sessions fulfill their purpose in Senegal and Cape Verde. Pray also for my cousin; he’s had quite a month, no need for details, just praise that things are looking up.

I’ll try to write from the road. Until then . . .

New, or at least, Another Car!

2006-06-21T03:36:00.000-07:00

A 1993 Mitsubishi Montero. Here she is:

Price Family Update--Cars, Kids, and Croissance

2006-06-19T05:44:00.000-07:00

Things are wet in Cotonou.

Great Lakes Avenue turned into one big lake this past weekend. The water slowly drains into the soft sand, but until then, it’s about 18 inches of water covering mud et al. What makes it even more pleasant is the open sewers mix together with the puddles of rainwater. Nothing like the smell of raw sewage in the morning!

Fortunately, the road crews leveled off the other main dirt road, so we can easily pass through there for the first time in 18 months. If we had a car. Last Tuesday was the last time we will ever drive our four-door Corolla. We bounced our way down mini-dunes on Great Lakes Avenue and heard very bad, but brand-new, sounds emanating from under the hood. I was at a loss—we went straight to the mechanic instead of running our errands. The verdict—broken engine supports—you now, the parts that hold the engine in place, two of the three were broken! Broken! Well, the cost to repair even going the cheap route will be more than we want to spend. So, now, we’re still looking for a car, but we have no car while we are looking. On the bright side, it hasn’t rained during our trips to and from school or appointments. We’re on moto-taxis, so rain would just not be a good thing. On the brighter side, y’all must have been praying that we’d find something, because in the last twenty-four hours we have developed three strong leads on a new car.

Oh, I take that back about not raining while on moto-taxis. Sonya just walked into the Internet café dripping wet. She reports: “At least I’m dry from the waist up.” (Note: I just re-connected to the Internet, we had to disconnect when the power went out during the T-storms that just passed through.)

Cars
This morning I was waiting to meet the owner of one of those possible new cars. I was sitting at our latest favorite restaurant La Terenga, a Lebanese place. The owner saw me sitting there on the verenda reading, and offered me a free espresso. We know her and her husband well. Their son and Payton are in the same class at the French school. That just about made my day, especially when the owner of the car didn’t show up. But, while I was sitting there, another car for sale passed by--a better possibility than the one I was waiting to look at. I called the car owner I was waiting on. His kid had a school assembly that he’d forgotten about. How can I complain about that? So, tomorrow morning we look at all three new car possibilities—one owned by an American, another by a Lebanese, and another by a Korean. Hopefully, it will not be raining.

If you were wondering what I was reading when I got the free coffee—Organic Church by Neil Cole. What a great book, but don’t read it if you don’t want the rug pulled out from under your feet. Anything you might hold dear regarding how the Christian life is to be lived out might not last past the first two chapters. What do I mean? Well, what if your church’s vision statement was “Every Christian is a church planter, every home is a church, and every church building is a training center”? Or, what about this: “Lower the bar of how church is done and raise the bar of what it means to be a disciple.” I really like this idea. I shudder to think what might be in store if the global Church took these words seriously. That means I like the direction this guy is going, but I’m not sure everyone will be happy with that direction.

Beninois Churches (La Croissance Continue)
The growth continues. Croissance means growth in French, and it’s pronounced like the world-famous pastry. Another six churches were planted in Cotonou last month, according to the D.S. Moise Toumoudagou. (too-moo-da-goo). Instead of giving the news myself, I’ll let Moise speak on his own behalf and for the tremendous work of God taking place on this district and in this country.

“Once again, I give all the thanks to God for he does not stop effectively using those who put their confidence in Him. My colleagues—pastors and zone coordinators—are still instruments that the Holy Spirit has used in the past few weeks. This time, there has been something happening all over the district of Benin.

“Six new churches have been planted in the last month.

1) Boukoumbe: a medium-sized village in northwest Benin.
2) Cobly: a small town near Tanguieta also in the northwest
3) Guema: a neighborhood of Parakou in the northeast.
4) Towe: a village near Bohicon in the center of Benin.
5) So-Tchanwe: a lake village in southern Benin near Ganvie.
6) Fidjrosse: a neighborhood of Cotonou.

“Pray therefore with us that the Lord could affirm these churches that will be joining the sixteen already planted during the past six months.”

That’s an average of one church planted every week since the beginning of the year.

Man. It’s hard to keep up, but that’s what we’ll do tomorrow, as we meet to figure out how to bring the new pastors up to speed.

The Kids
They both passed to the next grade. With Parker it was not certain. He took a week of exams (yes, he’s in the second grade) to determine if he could go on. He was strong in every subject but French. He worked with a tutor, a Muslim colleague of Sonya’s when she was at the British school. She helped bring up his French enough to pass the exams. His teacher at the French school told us that he did better than some of his classmates on parts of the tests, even though he missed five of ten months of school this year. She said he would have been right at the top if he hadn’t have missed any school. Payton passed easily from kindergarten to first grade. But, next year will be a shock for him. Of course, everyone thinks Parker and Payton are French until they meet Sonya and I.

Last weekend, Payton asked me, “Do you like clean or dirty?” I asked him where in the world he came up with that question. He said I should say dirty, since girls like clean and boys like dirty. Something he heard on Disney Kids back in the States. Just too funny.

Travel
At the end of the month, Sonya, the boys, and I head for Accra. They will stay there for ten days while I go to South Africa for educational meetings. Poor me. It will be my second winter this year, however. Sonya and the boys will get to visit with some good friends, the Wattons. Then, at the end of July I go to Cape Verde Islands for two weeks, again for educational meetings, youth seminars, most of the district assembly, and a chance to speak at the graduation ceremony at the modest Bible school there.

Prayer Points
--We’re gearing up for some major decisions regarding volunteer ministries and the teaching center for this area. We’ll be able to announce something in a couple of weeks.
--We’re just trying not to get too sick. Two of us have been rumbling in the stomach area during the past week.
--Moise has been very sick with the flu during the past week, and his wife is seven months pregnant, so let me just say, she isn’t feeling too good, either.
--Some missionaries we know are dealing with a bunch of stuff. We’ve had to say goodbye to quite a few in the last few weeks. Not fun.
--All the stuff we need to catch up on. There’s lots.

Yee-ah! Steers opened today in Cotonou

2006-06-10T06:54:00.000-07:00

We just ate lunch at Steers (hamburgers) and Debonair's Pizza. We used to eat at these places all the time in Abidjan and Johannesburg. They've been working on getting these restaurants open since the beginning of the year.

I never really liked Steers hamburgers before, too chunky with who knows what beef parts. But, the one today was good, really good. I've had Steers in Dakar, Abidjan, Accra, and Jo'burg, but today's was the best. Do I sound like a homer? Maybe.

The prices are steep around $7 to $9 for burger, fries, and coke. So, we can't go all the time, but just knowing it's there is a positive thing mentally.

I'm at the Internet cafe. There's a Chinese teenager sitting across from me humming "Let It Be" by the Beatles which is playing on the sound system here. There's a French guy on the other side of the table, and a Lebanese guy and a Beninois guy on the other side of the room. I can overhear conversations in about five languages, while burping South African burgers. Just another day in Cotonou.

The Ministry of Showing Up--Price Family Update 09 June 2006

2006-06-09T03:16:00.000-07:00

The MVNU team has left me much to think about.

I thought about how we entered a village in Togo. This “small” village has over 3,000 inhabitants and has many more Togolais who call this village their hometown.

I remember meeting with the chief. I remember how he repeated three or four times how glad he was that we came to see him. He had heard we were coming. He waited for us in the morning, then at noon. He was relieved when we arrived that afternoon. You see, it would have been embarrassing for him if we did not show up. He would have felt slighted, maybe even lost face among his people. But, instead, we honored him just by being there.

But there’s more to it. Cyrille, the regional missionary working in Togo, had paid a visit a couple of weeks before. Villagers get wary of strangers coming in and talking about planting churches. They are afraid of a wanna-be “big man” coming to town selling spiritual “snake oil” and then leaving town with the money offerings and leaving a trail of broken beginnings of people’s faith in something more to this life. Cyrille had told them that he was part of the Church of the Nazarene International. He did not come alone or only in his name, but in the name of Christ and a church family from around the world.

The village chief told us that day during our visit that Cyrille was true to his word. He believed him to be a man of truth, since we were evidence that the Church of the Nazarene is truly International. I added that when the Church of the Nazarene is finally planted in that village, it will be one of 16,000 churches spread around the globe. Alo-gebo, the name of that village in southern Togo, will be known and prayed for by hundreds even thousands of fellow believers around the globe. The chief smiled and his council applauded. And, you know that when we arrived in that place, we came as ambassadors for Christ, all because we showed up.

A week later, we visited Ouidah, the site of the Temple of Pythons, the sacred center of the voudun traditional religion. We did not pass out tracts or do a gospel puppet show or preach on the street corners shouting quotations of the Roman Road. Instead, we piled out of the bus and walked around the temple square, praying as we walked underneath the ancient tree filled with fruit bats, past the women selling chickens for traditional sacrifices, and among the half-dressed children.

We knelt down to look in the face of children, speak greetings in Fon to the women there, and pray. We saturated that place for a few minutes with the presence of Christ. We simply showed up. We stood together with Africans, not as ones who know more or have more, but as equals. By simply showing up. We stood in solidarity. We stood and shared a taste of the kingdom of God with them. By simply showing up. We arrived in the name of Christ. We went as Christ’s ambassadors. By simply showing up. We know an African pastor and African evangelistic team will be better at presenting the Gospel message and planting a church in Ouidah. We wanted to prepare the soil. By simply showing up.

Authority (Almost) Always Wins

2006-06-07T03:48:00.000-07:00

Authority (Almost) Always Wins

Yesterday Sonya and I went to the post office to pick up a box. It was dated Dec 2005. We thought, oh no, someone sent us Christmas stuff. We hoped it wouldn’t cost much for storage. That’s right, the post office charges storage if you pick it up seven days after arrival. What would five months cost?

We found out there was not just one box but two. One from close friends in Kansas City and another one from our LINKS district from last year. They only charged $14 for storage, which I paid only because they were Christmas presents.

Then, after getting the boxes we have to take them to the douane (customs officer) dressed in military fatigues. He cut the boxes open and riffled through them. The items were obviously gifts. However, the value box on both boxes showed each box contained over $100 in value. So, he fiddled with a calculator and said I owed $114 in customs fees. I said I didn’t have that much. He said, how much could you pay. I said, $6. He laughed, and then realized I wasn’t smiling or joking. He turned and went to big boss’s office. He came out and tried to deal with me.

I said these were obviously gifts. I decided I would not pay anything. About that time Sonya walked in with Payton. She started to get upset. The customs officer said, please calm down, ma’am. He said, I’m not yelling in order to show respect in front of your children. I said, you could show respect to my kids by letting them have their Christmas presents. About that time, Sonya leaned down to Payton and asked him to try to cry (maybe I jest or maybe not).

The customs officer explained that all items are charged customs fees according to their value, whether they are gifts or not. Sonya said, this isn’t a car at the port, just some Legos and Poptarts. He said, if a car was sent as a gift, it would still have fees. I said, if you know someone who would like to send a car as a gift, please give them my address.

Sonya talked about how we’ve never paid customs fees, maybe things were not getting better in Benin, got mad, and walked away. I told the officer, We just returned to Benin three weeks ago, because we like Benin and we like the people here, but when stuff like this occurs, it makes me think “Ca ne va pas encore changer” The new president’s campaign slogan was “Ca va changer” (Things are going to change). Sonya came back and starting rattling away, most of it was in French. I threw up my hands and stormed away and even left the building. I was ready just to leave the stuff there.

As soon as I got to car, Sonya came walking out holding both boxes. She said, I’m not sure what happened, but one guy blinked at the other, and the customs officer shooed me away and said take them and go. So I did.

Sonya said, we just acted the way Africans do in similar situation, and the sad thing is, it just worked. We spent the next hour coming down off our adrenaline high. We were pretty wasted, just by going to the post office.

During this whole episode we did not get “angry” or berate anyone. We did show genuine frustration at the whole thing. We bickered long enough to get our stuff, I guess.

So, last night we had a Christmas party in June.

The moral of the story is: If you send us stuff, do not put a value of more than $20 on the box. And, pray for us and for the system that everyone who lives here has to endure in order to do the simplest tasks.

MVNU Team Departs

2006-06-06T09:43:00.002-07:00

We put the team on the plane last night without a problem but with many tears. Moise, our D.S. in Benin, said he hoped many on the team heard a call from God to return to West Africa as missionaries. Cyrille, the ministry coordinator for this area, told the team that they had the best attitude and most energy of any team he'd ever been around. With that, Moise prayed for them and we all hugged and cried. They left for home in and around Ohio, and then I went home too.

Price Family Update -- MVNU Team Update

2006-06-06T09:40:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it’s been a while since the last post. Here’s a brief overview of the MVNU Joining Hands trip to Benin and Togo

In a word—amazing.

We had a rooftop cookout and played games with MKs from three organizations; we sang worship songs with American, Irish, English, and Canadian ex-pats; we crossed an international border between Benin and Togo with 13 foreigners in tow with no problems; we sang songs on the roadside while we waited to cross a bridge closed due to a tipped over semi-trailer; we were pulled over at a police checkpoint just after dark outside Lome, when the backdoor of the bus slammed shut, someone said, “I think I just peed a little bit in my pants” and we did our best not to laugh out loud; we worshipped outdoors in Tsevie, Togo until it rained and then crammed into a small classroom to finish the service; we learned to sing French African worship choruses; we spoke Fon in the Dan Tokpa outdoor market while we saw the sights and smelled the smells; we prayed as we walked through the voodoo section; we walked across a trash heap to get on a boat to go to Ganvie where we saw the bright faces of young new Christians (children outnumbered adults two to one); we gave an African mama seven bucks so a baby could get treatment for a serious case of malaria; we bartered and bantered with merchants at the tourist market; we talked about all sorts of ethical problems and current events during our hours in the bus; we blew a tire at 60 miles an hour; we spent the day in Abomey with an American mom, her three month old daughter, and visiting mother; hopefully, we were a good witness to them since they are not believers; we saw baobab trees along the roadside; we saw a real live African king from Nigeria; we bought material and had African clothes made; we learned how to put on an African headdress; we learned what it’s like to break a foot in West Africa; we played football and exchanged E-mail addresses with teenagers in two different schools in Cotonou; we played video games with Parker and Payton (and taught them how to be good Jedis); we gave away toothbrushes and lollipops to children; we held, learned the names of, and played with the neighborhood kids; we watched them smile and laugh at us silly yovos; we can finish the song every kid can sing that goes, “Yovo, yovo, bon soir . . .”; we talked with, asked questions to, and prayed with the chief in a village Alo-Kebo where Cyrille is planting a new church; we did the Hokey Pokey with three hundred women and children in the same village; we watched a voudon priest give his life to Jesus Christ in a small Beninois village; we walked in prayer around the sacred square in Ouidah the voodoo capital where the Temple of Pythons is located; we ate Indian food in an African restaurant while the TV played a 50 Cent video; we also tried Thai food, French crepes, and Italian pizza made by people from those countries; we discovered Nutella; we played with the kids and talked with the people there and made them laugh; we were invited by Ignace, our driver, to his house and prayed with his family; we ate nasty good African food; we painted two large rooms and the stairwell in our house; we built a web site for the Price family; we watched Taylor when American Idol; we killed two rats and a dozen cockroaches in our garage; we locked ourselves out of our house, endured nights without electricity and days without water, munched on fishheads and French pastries, swam in the Atlantic Ocean, pulled in fish nets out of the ocean with local villagers, and drank the milk directly from coconut shells; we took boats, buses, and moto-taxis to places we never imagined.

And, now, we want to do it all over again.

Prayer Requests:
We stay healthy.
We take time to rest together as a family.
We get full phone service restored.
We go the whole week with water and electricity.
We find a new car (we're close).
We find the resources to have an NYI training session in Benin.
We find a teaching space for our pastor training course.
We continue to keep up with the churches and new pastors in Benin and Togo.

Fon is Fun

2006-05-26T01:35:00.000-07:00

I'm sending this post as the team has a lesson in Fon, one of the 52 languages of Benin. They are working with Rob Baker, one of my friends from SIL-Wycliffe. He and his wife are pictured in a previous post.

If you want to learn more about Fon, go to this website Fon Is Fun made by a former Peace Corps volunteer to Benin.

Price Family Update--25 May 2006

2006-05-26T01:28:00.000-07:00

The team had a decent first day. It was a holiday—Ascension. So, the city was a little less crazy today than usual.

We took them to the US Embassy to register where Ruth, our friend, gave us a new perspective on what it means to serve overseas. Her 21 years in Foreign Service have given her much wisdom. One of the topics we discussed was how the fear of “voudon” thwarts progress and development across the African continent. We talked at lunch about how they are not just Christian missionaries living as a witness overseas, but also Christian workers in many professions working outside the country of their birth.

We bought some cloth at Missebo market today. This “panier’ will be turned into colorful robes and shirts over the next few days but tailors and seamstresses. We haggled and bartered our prices. We found a wonderful female merchant, a “Mama,” who gave us a good price the first time. She got a lot of business today.

Taylor won, huh? That’s who my brother said would win.

We came back to the house and the team entertained the neighborhood kids for a couple of hours. Payton talked Matthew Johnston’s ear off about Transformers. Heard some interesting stories about life in French school. I hope Parker and Payton don’t have the same experience—three hours of homework every night and four-hour tests on Saturday. Ugh. It’s good for Matthew to be with our boys, I think he finds some kinship with our kids since he knows what it is like to grow up overseas.

The boys love having the team here. The students give them lots of needed attention. Parker was at Missebo with us. Someone wanted to barter for some cloth. Parker said, “Come on, I’ll talk them down for you.” Parker found an able opponent in Ryan. They were duking it out on Mario Karts tonight. Payton was chatting away with Joe, Liz, and Lauren at dinner tonight.

Just another day. Tomorrow, we take a step further into the culture.

Good Friend's Great Blog

2006-05-24T02:21:00.000-07:00

Here's a link to Rob Baker's blog

Rob is highly entertaining and energetic and that personality comes through in the blog. He and wife Lois serve with SIL-Wycliffe as teachers at the English International School in Cotonou (that's where Sonya taught for a while during the last year and a half). Their service at the school helps SILers send their kids to the school at a reduced rate.

Here's a photo of Rob and Lois:

Rob is also very musically inclined to say the least. He is also an ethnomusicologist for SIL (that means he helps language groups write worship songs based on Scripture in their own language). Rob also leads worship for our English fellowship.

Lois is the calm in the midst of Rob's whirlwind. Very great couple to pass the time with. They have three kids about the same ages as Parker and Payton.

Also, if you ever wondered what the difference was between Cockney, Yorkshire, and Surrey accents in England--Rob's the go-to guy. I now know there is not a such a thing as a British accent, but hundreds of British accents--and Rob can do them all.

Cheers.

Price Family Update -- 24 May 2006

2006-05-24T02:14:00.000-07:00

A couple of stories about our arrival. When Parker and I arrived at our house, I noticed Parker was teary-eyed. I asked him, “What’s wrong?” He said, “Nothing, I’m just happy.” Then, two nights ago when we got Sonya and Payton back to the house, Payton said, “I can’t believe we’re back in Africa, I must be dreaming.”

Imagine the slugger who makes the game-winning homerun in the last game of the World Series. All of his teammates mob him when he reaches home plate. That’s what happened when Payton walked into his classroom at the French school yesterday. It kind of freaked him out, but his friends have been asking about him. Also, a similar thing happened to Parker at an ice cream place we often go to. One of the waiters (about 6’6”) swooped him off his feet and almost lifted him to the ceiling.

We’ve been scrambling to get things ready for the team. Most of everything is done, just lots of loose ends. My biggest concern is reliable transport. One of our biggest issues last year. We plan on visits to Lome, Abomey, Ke, Ganvie, and several neighborhoods in Cotonou.

At the same time, our car only starts 75% of the time and the car window won’t roll up as of last night (not a good thing to happen during rainy season). We have a strong lead on a Toyota RAV4 just waiting for the wire transfer.

Just heard a JESUS Film team might be coming in a few months. Pray for them as they gather participants and raise funds.

I know I’ve acclimated when Sonya says, “It’s so incredibly hot right now.” And, I think to myself that the temperature actually feels pretty cool (“frais” as they say here).

Another note: I love Tim Horton’s coffee, but the coffee on Air France is way better. Never thought I’d say that, but I just wrote it.

Prayer note: We’re looking at rental space for team accommodations and educational teaching space. Pray for us to make the best decision—we’ve got a couple of options.

Price Family Update--23 May 2006

2006-05-24T01:47:00.000-07:00

Sonya and Payton arrived in Cotonou with no problems. The boys are at school. Sonya is running a couple of errands.

We’re looking forward to the team of university students and sponsors from Mount Vernon Nazarene University that will be arriving tomorrow night. Remember them as they are traveling and during their time here.

Their names are Amber, Jessica, Elizabeth, Cory, Lauren, Matthew, Lindsay, Ryan, Julianne, Kassandra, Mallorey, Joe, and Heather.

The fun never stops.

It’s been fun to be back into the swing of things in Benin.

Where am I?

2006-04-30T15:25:00.000-07:00

Where could I be?

Here I am. Back to blogging

2006-04-30T14:55:00.000-07:00

Trying to post photos, eh?