Skip to main content

Homes that I have lived in #2

This year I am celebrating my silver wedding anniversary ... Just for something to do I have begun to sketch all the houses we have lived in during that time.

So here is house number #2

Upon graduation Mrs B and I immediately moved to Senegal, West Africa for a short-term spell overseas. Our home was the very well appointed 'Flamingo' at Bourofaye Christian School, Senegal in West Africa where we lived between Sept'91 to July'93. 

 A rather nice, mud walled house with one bedroom, one kitchen/lounge/dining room, toilet and cold shower. Held together mostly by termite spit, which was evidenced by their occasional bursting out of the wall and constructing of small homes on the inside! Whilst here we were part of the WEC Missionary Kids school team where, amongst other things, Mrs B taught and I did some building and maintenance work!

Significant events that took place here included:

  • Meeting some great kids who have grown up into great adults - you all know who you are!
  • Learned a lot about what it really means to serve people and serve the Lord, by a team of people who always went the extra mile ... or two ... or three!
  •  Ate lush fruit ... and stale bread!
  • Went everywhere together on a 50cc mobillete ... Which we crashed once causing ongoing shoulder problems for Mrs B ... Oops!
  • Learned that my life is not my own - but the Lords, who paid a great price to purchase it! (And have been working out what that means ever since!)
  • Had a puppy until it died of tse-tse fly (sleeping sickness) :-(
  • Wrestled and overcame snakes of various kinds - this is not a metaphor!
  • Plagued by toads on the verandah!
  • Introduced to the reality of spiritual warfare and demonic oppression and the need for authority in prayer.
  • Led bible studies using a series of tapes in a language I could not understand
  • Realised how generous, creative, loving and welcoming the people of Senegal are.
  • Saw how brutal tribal differences, and the effects of feeling oppressed, can result in loss of life and warfare.
  • Felt the peace of the Lord over breakfast whilst the government were shelling over our compound.
  • Won the adult males sprint race two years in the trot!
  • Got very excited to realise that 'Bagglet #1' was on her way!!
  • Ate flying termites in front of Mrs B, whilst she suffered from morning sickness with said Bagglet #1, who was not impressed with me! For the purposed of information I can report that they have a rather lovely nutty taste.
Must start sketching #3 ... 
Press on!
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Feel free to add comments or ask questions:

Popular posts from this blog

Labels

Who are you? I have never been a great fan of labels when it comes to describing members of the body of Christ. eg. he is anglican, she is Baptist, they are Charismatic, etc. etc. I remember once causing a man to become increasingly hot under the collar when he asked me who I was? To which I replied I was a disciple (follower) of Jesus. He was meaning which Church did I attend (presumably so he could classify me and decide whether I was bona fide or not) and my answer did not bring him peace, but I refused to go any further.  Why? Because, as I said, I am not a great fan of labels, but also because for me there is a very important distinction between primarily identifying myself with Jesus and identifying myself with Church. Of course, I recognise that by becoming a follower of Jesus I become part of the body of Christ, but that can be very distinct from being a member of a Church. To me this is the crucial difference between vibrant faith and dusty religion.  I want t
1 comment
Read more

Homes I have lived in #3

This year I am celebrating my silver wedding anniversary ... Just for something to do I have begun to sketch all the houses we have lived in during that time. So here is house number #3 On our return to the UK we were faced with the question that faces all people in transition, what next? For us, we were encouraged by our friends to investigate further training and opted to spend a year with Kerygma ministries. We joined with a group of some 20 other people from various different cultures and backgrounds to join the ministry led by Dr Bob Gordon, based at Drayton Hall near Norwich. We spent one year here, between September 1993 and July 1994.   Significant events that took place here included: Suffered reverse culture shock, as I grappled with the transition from life in a mudhut in Africa to life in the UK in a Manor House! (Struggled with the amount of money being spent on a sign that was being placed outside when
Post a Comment
Read more

Happy Christmas!

It is the middle of the last afternoon before going away for a few days to celebrate Christmas with family in the south west ... I hope the snow will permit the travel! I just wanted to write to say 'Happy Christmas' to all of you who work, pray and support the work of WEC International here in the UK. (And, of course, any who have stumbled across this website - get in touch if you have any questions about what you are reading.) As I come to the end of the year I am reaching the end of my 'read the Bible in a year' programme - which has been tremendously inspiring and ultimately very satisfying. I already have my plan for what to do next year and am starting with a 30 day study of John 15 'The True Vine' - Andrew Murray... can't wait. As with most Bible reading programmes the book of Revelation comes last - much of which is difficult to understand to say the least ... however some aspects ring through loudly and clearly, and are an encouragement to us all
Post a Comment
Read more