The Bonbons

 Today we want to do something a little different on our blog.  We want to highlight a couple from our home fellowship who have loved and mentored us for many years.  We first met the "Bonbons"—Mary and Dan (not their real names) when we were newlyweds.  Mary was one of the first people we met when we were looking around for a place to attend on Sundays.  I think she hooked us when, upon returning the next week, she remembered us.  Mary’s excellent memory for people and backgrounds is something that has always impressed us and has long been a blessing to our home fellowship.

"Mary Bonbon" with our youngest

Within a handful of weeks of arriving, we ended up in a small group with the Bonbons.  The small group was for people interested in studying about the good news crossing cultures.  It was an unlikely, but great little small group.  Most of the group were decades younger than the Bonbons, people without kids and still figuring out where God was leading us.  Still the Bonbons, empty-nesters nearing retirement, walked with us.They would regularly come to our little apartment to meet, sharing their wisdom, but also happy to listen to our thoughts and engage in our enthusiasm.  You see the Bonbons have a heart for the nations—a fire that burns for places yet reached.  And it is a fire that they have encouraged many, many others to catch.

When we joined up with our organization, it was Mary and Dan whom we asked to help prepare us.  For several months, they were our mentors as we read books together, discussed and prayed about the days ahead when we would go to Africa.  When we first left for Chad, they were there sending us with their prayers and blessings.  Since that time, any time we have come back, they were there to support us, always available to talk, ask thoughtful questions, and debrief with us.  

I think it was on our return from our first term that we began to realize that we were not the only ones who benefited from the love and care of the Bonbons, but nearly all the world partners of our fellowship were encouraged by them and shown hospitality.  Many, many partners were blessed to stay at the "Bonbon Bungalow"—a small apartment attached to their house where people could have their own place, but also be blessed by frequent meals and fellowship with them.  Our oldest daughter practiced walking her first steps in the Bonbon Bungalow.

Enjoying their sweet hospitality when back in the States

Through the years, the Bonbons, have continued to love and connect and pray with us and so many world partners, responding to our updates and faithfully sending updates of their family and of the fellowship there. But now they are going on travels of their own.  At the end of this year they will be moving to a retirement community down in Pennsylvania.  

Our home fellowship will mourn their loss.  We will mourn it too.  It’s hard to think of our home fellowship in the same way, without the Bonbons around.  We hope that if we ever found ourselves in the States long-term, we could take up the Bonbons’ mantle wherever we were—having an eye for who is new, who needs a friend and connection, being willing to open our home and lives and invite people in, and with that same passion and fire to get people thinking of those who have never heard the good news.. They may seem like small things, but they make a huge difference, and if no one is doing them, then the whole group suffers.  So we hope that others will be inspired by the Bonbons’ sweet example to be the welcoming face to newcomers, as well as connectors to those afar.

Our daughter at "Bonbon Bungalow"

Our loss is going to be someone else’s gain.  The Bonbons may be moving, but we know they are taking that same heart to where they are going. God is simply sending them to a new place to serve him and bring that same fire for growth, maturity, and hope for the far-flung places of the world to the new place they will live.  

Mary and Dan, you’re off to a new adventure—a new field for sowing and reaping.  May the Lord bless you both.

PRAYERS ANSWERED
We are thankful that it seems like there were fewer deaths on the near by island hit by the cyclone than some of the previous dire estimates. We are thankful that some of our friends there have had great opportunities to share truth and hope to that hurting population. We are also thankful that slowly relief has been coming, along with some restored water and electricity (though many are still without). We had several opportunities to celebrate this past week— with island brothers and sisters, our colleagues and with islanders. Island brothers and sisters also had a celebration of their own. It has been fun to sing the 4 holiday songs that are now in the local language. What joyous news: Unto us a child is born!

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Continue to pray for the nearby island that was devastated by the cyclone. It will take years for them to recover. In the short-term, pray that people can get the food, water and shelter they need, as well as deal with the trauma of the experience. Pray also that this desperate situation would not further devolve into violence and crime. Some expats are evacuating, but some of our friends are staying, pray that they would be encouraged and have a good holiday with their kids this week despite the circumstances. Pray for us to find the right balance of celebrating with our kids and also sharing time with islanders. Pray for Ma Imani as she travels with her daughter to seek medical care for both of them. The islands are also ramping up for parliament elections in January— the campaigning season has begun. Pray for good leadership, good governance, and for fair elections.

Neighboring Disaster

 Every year we get word of cyclones. They don’t usually come right over us. They usually are just in the general area. Almost always they end up giving us a day or two of some heavier rain and wind. Sometimes we haven’t paid attention to the weather reports and only learn after the fact that a spat of bad weather was actually from a cyclone.

The rain coming down on Clove Island

This time was a bit different. As I said, usually the paths of cyclones don’t come directly at us. And usually if they get close, they have weakened significantly before they get here. This time, we had neither reassurance.

So a few days ahead of time, we knew a cyclone was coming, but our island is small and minor changes in the cyclone’s path can make a big difference. So we started praying for it to weaken and the path to change.

Our guest waits for a break

Our friends on a neighboring island in our region (also potentially in the storm’s path) reached out to us with concern. Their island was preparing for the storm and had closed schools a day ahead of time so everyone could get ready.  That didn’t happen here. Most Clove Islanders were pretty nonchalant about it. Over the years they have heard rumors of enough cyclones without it amounting to much, that they won’t seem to realize that this could be bad. On the morning of the cyclone, we had someone show up at our house in the morning to visit us like it was a normal slightly-rainy day. We thought we might have him with us for the duration of the storm, but he ended up getting on his way to family before the winds started picking up.  

Ultimately, the cyclone did weaken some and it didn’t hit Clove Island directly. We spent the day inside and we had some intense winds and rain. But from around Clove Island we have only heard stories of minor flooding, some downed trees, and some tin sheets that weren’t properly secured flying off of some roofs.

The neighbor island was not as fortunate. They were hit directly by the cyclone. They spend the storm in their homes or in shelters, watching the extreme winds tear apart houses and lift off roofs. In a handful of hours, thousands of homes were destroyed. Those that were most vulnerable are the hardest hit— the poor, the people without legal papers, the ones living in shacks and shanty-towns.  Clove Island has had life go back to normal, but our neighbor island is a disaster zone.

Earlier in the week, blue skies

It could have been here, if the path of the storm had been different.  We are thankful, but it is a bittersweet thankfulness when we hear the stories of our neighbors. Life there will not recover for a long time. God have mercy.

PRAYERS ANSWERED
We are thankful that Clove Island was spared from the worst of the cyclone. We are also thankful to have had some contact with our friends on the neighbor island— and know that they are safe.  Our friends’ baby was born safely at 34 weeks and in good health.  Mom is recovering well too.  Muki and Mtsa continue to come and Mtsa continues to show signs of genuine heart change.  We are still really enjoying our kids being home—we just finished reading The Lord of the Rings together!  There has been no more trouble (at the moment) for our sister on the small island.

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Pray for the neighboring island.  News from the neighboring island is still coming in and the extent of devastation only seems to be growing.  Many have lost loved ones.  Many are injured.  A great many have lost their homes completely.  Moreover, no one knows what the coming days may hold.  Will the government and aid groups be able to help?  Will there be lawlessness?  Riots?  Disease?  All seem like possibilities, but we are praying for peace and cooperation from all parties.  This week we will have some holiday parties for both brothers and sisters, and our English students.  May it be an opportunity to shine brightly and give people hope. 

Better Separate?

The Clove Island capital area spans several villages— to get to any of these villages it is the same taxi fare of less than a dollar per person. We’ve never owned a car on the island, partially because the taxi system is easy to use and relatively inexpensive. But while several villages feel close to us, because we are in the center of the circle, it doesn’t mean individual villages are close to each other.

Tom at a ceremony for a small English program

When we think about our island brothers and sisters in the capital area, the biggest two concentrations are in a town to the east of the capital and in a town west of the capital. For almost two years, these individuals have been committed to being together every Sunday. But it has started getting difficult. For us, we can get to either of them with the same low taxi fare, although sometimes taxis refuse to pick you up when you tell them where you’re going because they are on the outer edges of that fare. So we may have to wait, but inevitably, a taxi will come willing to take us to our destination.  But our brothers and sisters end up having to catch two taxis (and pay two fares)—one to the capital and then another to the neighboring town. This might not seem like such a big deal, but times have been hard on island families and the extra expense adds up (especially with those with kids having to pay per person). Also there is the time involved— taxis are notoriously hard to find on Sunday afternoons and that is when they are usually heading home after meeting together. The hardship of the travel has been draining on the group, with each not excited when the gathering is in the opposite location. This has prompted them to wrestle with the idea of separating and being two smaller groups each Sunday in their two towns.

Small program, but they like big gatherings!

There was an African brother on the islands who once shared with us his vision of what could happen on the islands— a big building, with a band, good music and a huge congregation meeting every Sunday. As he described it, it sounded a lot like what you see in his home country, where big gatherings are seen as a good thing. Islanders like big gatherings too. The more the merrier!

There is no saying that such big gatherings won’t someday be a reality on the islands, but it seems unlikely in the near future. So our vision has always been about lots of small groups of islanders meeting in their own villages, most likely in people’s homes, hopefully in every village and impacting their communities. So for us, this splitting of the group seems like it could be a good thing— encouraging people to be more focused in their own towns and making it easier for people to come faithfully each week. But it comes with trepidation, are they big enough to keep going if they separate?  Will each location still have the critical mass to make their meetings feel alive and vibrant? Will they lose their sense of community by separating?

As a family, we prefer being together than separated

That’s where prayer comes in. Praying that they know when and how to meet as a big group and when to separate and that in either case their community would thrive and grow. Because ultimately, whether the groups are big or small, the hope is that there would be a true sense of community, of caring for one another and encouraging each other in prayer, study, and growing in the truth. May we all have such communities!

PRAYERS ANSWERED
We are thankful that our pregnant colleague is getting quality care in mainland Africa— they found that she had malaria, dengue and a bacterial infection all at the same time. She will most likely still give birth early, but thankfully she is now in a place that can care for both her and the baby whenever that happens.  We had a good first week with all our kids at home with some good family time. Mtsa has told Tom that he has accepted the good news and repented of his old ways. We rejoice in this decision. Please pray that it would be proven genuine by a changed life and continuing desire to learn and grow.

PRAYRS REQUESTED
Different health concerns have been depleting the numbers at gatherings. Pray for healing for all of those suffering and for wisdom for those traveling for treatment. Pray that gatherings would continue to happen and for a clear way forward for the groups in 2025. Our island sister on the small island has had a new threat from a religious teacher from a different village— pray for peace and protection for her and her children and for a change of heart in this man. We have some ideas for celebrating the holidays, pray for us as we talk and invite people to celebrate with us. It is really hot and humid. Pray for stamina and energy during the hot season.

Thoughts on Thankfulness

 Thanksgiving week!  A time to give thanks.  It is wonderful to get together with family and friends and stop for a moment and give thanks for the many things God has done for us.  We wanted to share just a few lessons we have been learning about thankfulness.

Thankful to have our kids back on the island

The first thoughts come from little children.  During the orientation of the new team members, we spent part of our time (when we weren’t leading sessions) watching little kids—babies and toddlers.  It brought us back to when our kids were that age.  We remember encouraging our kids to pray by just asking them to say what they were thankful for…Our 4-year old would begin, “Thank you God, for mommy and daddy, and my toys.”  But then, having run out of ideas started looking around the room.  “Thank you God for the couch and the windows.  Thank you for the floors and the ceiling…” and on and on they would go.  And really it’s not wrong to be thankful for such things, but it shows perhaps a simplicity and thoughtlessness.   But how often are our prayers much the same.  We don’t know what to be thankful for because we haven’t given it much thought. When called on to give thanks, I often find myself searching around through the things “right in front of me” for which I could be thankful.  

Thankful for homeschool science experiments!

The place we were staying for the orientation had a large room where the children would run around and play.  In the middle of the room was a square pillar with decorative corners sticking out just at a toddler’s head height—perfectly positioned for an injury.  One night the kids were spinning around and around until they were dizzy and stumbling off or falling to the ground with lots of giggles.  One of them nearly collided with one of the corners of that pillar.  When we saw that almost happen, one of the adults simply went and stood by the pillar, putting their body between its pointy corners and the children.  The kids went on spinning and laughing, oblivious to the simple act that was protecting them from a very nasty bump on the head.  And we wondered how often God might do this very thing for us, without us ever knowing.  The car we never saw speed by, the uneven steps that could have resulted in a bad fall, the words misspoken that might have ruined a relationship, the email never sent that could have caused problems at work.  The list goes on and on.  How many times does God do things to help and protect us that we never even realize?  How can we even be thankful for those things we don’t see.  And yet, we should be.

The other thought about thanksgiving concerns suffering.  This one is tough, because when it is happening to us, we tend not to be very thankful.  No, we struggle to be thankful for our own sufferings.  But we are beginning to see that, at least after the fact, there has usually been something to be thankful for in the struggle.  We can look back and see how adversity was teaching us humility, or patience, or dependence.  We see that we are stronger because of what we’ve gone through and can give thanks.  

Thankful for decorating for Christmas

Last week, one of our island sisters was in court for her refusal to be quiet.  We did not know what would happen.  Her two nights in detention could have become 6 months.  We didn’t know.  But even in the midst of this suffering there was much to be thankful for.  Her spirit did not waver.  She was not afraid.  And she had numerous opportunities to share the hope that she has, even in prison.  So even as we prayed for in the midst of these struggles—we could be thankful!

It’s not always the case.  Sometimes things still happen which we don’t understand.  We fail to see any good that has come of it.  What do we do then?  And that’s our final thought on thanksgiving.  That even in the things we don’t understand at all, there is something that God will use, because at the end of all things, He can be trusted and He is good.  When we don’t feel thankful.  When we don’t understand.  We will hold onto that one thing.  He is good.  He is good.  Thank God that He is good.

PRAYERS ANSWERED
We are very thankful for God’s provision in getting our kids home— for them finishing their terms at school well and for the people that helped them through their connections. We are so thankful that our island sister on the small island had so many opportunities to share her hope and joy during her court ordeal and ultimately, we are thankful that she was not given a prison sentence, but was released with a fine to pay and told not to share publicly for 6 months.  We are thankful for the island brothers and sisters who came around to encourage her and pray for her. We are thankful that everything came together for our colleagues on the big island to get to mainland Africa in an emergency medical evacuation. We are thankful that we got to celebrate Thanksgiving with the medical team and all our kids.

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Pray for our colleagues (a family living on the big island). They were evacuated to mainland Africa, after the wife contracted malaria while 7 months pregnant, causing her to go into premature labor. They were not given a good prognosis if they stayed on the islands, now we pray for her full recovery and for a healthy delivery. Pray for our time with all our kids home.  Pray that we could have good times as a family and also some one-on-one time to hear our kids hearts and walk alongside them. Pray for several island sisters who are suffering from different health concerns that will require special care off-island. Pray for healing! Pray for wisdom of the best way to celebrate Christmas this year for us personally, but also for the island brothers and sisters.