Things that make you go hmmm... part 2

A while back we shared several short stories from our musings about life West Africa to tickle your funny bone.  Here goes round two:

• One day i was pulled over by a traffic custodian (there's another name for it, but our organization's policy requires me to remain apolitical) who told me i went the wrong way through the roundabout.  I knew i hadn't, but i played along.  He told me he could let me go if i gave him a little money.  I told him i wouldn't be able to do so for two reasons: (1) I work for our organization who has a policy against bribing such traffic custodians.  (2) The job of traffic custodian is a respectful and honorable job.  If i were to give him money, his honor and respect would decrease.  He replied, "Hey!  You're right.  Here's my partner.  Give it to him."
• Speaking of roundabouts (aka. "traffic circles"), the rule here is that people entering the roundabout have the right of way over the people already in it.  How often do you think that causes a traffic jam?  Every.  Single.  Day.
• A few days ago Racheal was running full steam on the treadmill at a local gym.  The city power cut off and she ran into the control panel and about flipped through the mirror in front of her.  Lucky for us, our gym offers muscle memory confusion training.
• I asked some of my friends the other day why they like Obama so much.  They told me, "Because he's from Africa."  I told them that recently Obama produced a birth certificate to prove he was born in Hawaii and that most US Americans believe it.  They looked at me as if i was crazy and they started to giggle.  Even so, no one from the American Democratic National Convention seems to be slandering these guys as members of the most radical conservative "birthers" movement.  Why do you suppose not?
• A couple weeks ago i was sitting in the waiting area at the local telecommunications office in order to get my internet turned on at home.  It took all day long.  To break up the boredom, about mid-morning, just after the city power cut off and the company's onsite generator cranked up, one of the company's employees in a suit and tie ran out of a back room yelling something about a fire and a propane leak.  You should have seen the chaos as 100+ people screamed and jumped to their feet and flooded the front door.  Then all of a sudden the employee who started the whole thing, just began laughing and told everyone that it was a joke.  Everyone in the room except me began to laugh with this guy as if he had done something funny.  I began to wonder what lawsuits might arise if this was to happen in the USA.

A Place to Call Home

Finding a Home: (essentials for the skimmers)
    •    Enjoy our October 2012 video, "A Place to Call Home."

Episode 9 - A Place to Call Home from corey pendergrass on Vimeo.

    •    We have moved to the capital city in Susu Land.  We are at a better place in Gospel outreach and as a family.
    •    Our summer volunteer, Joe, did an outstanding job and was an invaluable help to our restart in the capital.
    •    We are sharing the Gospel with our new neighbors.  We are looking to partner with other like-minded missions here to reach the lost in this urban setting.

Truly Finding a Home: (details for the readers)

Dear brethren and sistren,

It has been three months since our last blog update and four months since we created a video update.  Too long!  That sort of period is rare for us as we typically try to blog once a month an produce a video every two months.  Alas, moving a family of four and renovating our new house, not to mention trying to get out and meet our new neighbors so we can shine in the darkness, we have neglected some of our other tasks such as keeping our prayer partners apprised of our recent developments.  Nevertheless, we experienced the results of your prayers still.  Please accept our apology for not sharing as much as we hope to.  We will do our best to stay on the ball with our updates in the future.

Moving is tough.  We are so thankful we did it, but anyone who has packed up their life knows it's not easy.  Praise the Lord for helping us in this time.  Compared to our efficiency in getting setup, we were pretty amazed at how fast and well things came together in our new house, compared to our former.  Example: If a sink faucet in the old house, it meant a four-hour round trip to the nearest decent hardware store.  If a sink faucet breaks in our new house, it means a four-minute walk down to the corner hardware store.

Other than that, most of our ventures and prayer needs are described in the video.  Enjoy and thanks for praying!

Let us know if you wish to come to Susu Land.  We could use the help!

'til the whole world hears,
the Pendergrass clan

In Transit

Being an Impromptu Electrician: (essentials for the skimmers)

• Enjoy our May 2012 video, "In Transit."
• As our Susu language gets better and better, we are turning our focus towards more opportunities to reach the people with the Gospel.
• We believe we will have the most opportunities in the capital city of our country, so we're moving.
• Joe, one of corey's wrestlers when he coached in NC, has come for 7 weeks as a volunteer.

Not Setting the House on Fire: (details for the readers)

Dear brethren and sistren,

Recently we were offered a change of scenery and we're excited to accept.  On June 1st, we moved to the capital city.  Our new residence promises some creature comfort perks like electricity and water. We praise God for this blessing as we will be able to afford to keep our refrigerator cool and we'll have enough water to take baths and wash clothes regularly.  But, this transfer is by no means about luxuries.  It's about doing what's best to minister to the needs of our family and the Susu.

As missionaries, we really stress the need for our target people groups to worship in their heart language.  Whether that be German, Mandarin, Quichua, Cherokee, or Susu it's vital for that people to worship the living God in a language that resonates with their heart.  However, what many US American missionaries forget (at least we did) is that our heart language is English.  We must worship Christ in our heart language too.  The capital city has a fellowship of expatriates that meet weekly to worship and study the Word together.  As we'll continue to seek avenues to sharpen iron with our national brothers and sisters in the Susu tongue, it's encouraging to know we too can praise Christ in our mother-tongue.

Furthermore, we are looking forward to a wide-open gamut of opportunities to share the life-saving message of Christ with any of our 1.5+ million new neighbors.  Practically, we aren't quite sure exactly what we'll be doing for the next year and a half before our three-year-term ends, but we anticipate that we will be able be more effective at building relationships and reaching the Susu for the Kingdom.  This move will hopefully decrease our time spent on day-to-day "survival" and increase our time spent reaching the lost.

Please pray for our transition to our new home.  Pray for our family to be strengthened in the Lord.  Pray for us to recognize new opportunities that the Father gives us to bring Him glory.

'til the whole world hears,
the Pendergrass clan

Season 2 Premier

Reaching Out: (essentials for the skimmers)

• Enjoy our February 2012 video, kicking off "Season 2" of our video update series.
  
• Our main concern/focus now is ironing out the kinks in our language learning. Please pray as there are quite a few!
• A few volunteer teams are coming and going.
• Daniel is a new volunteer here for six months.
• Racheal's ESL classes are going well. Next quarter she is looking to start a computer class.
• The wrestlers are taking a break from wrestling to work... but have invited corey to work with them!
• Year One of our missionary term was probably the most stressful and difficult thing Racheal and i have had to endure. Pray for 2012 and beyond.

Taking Hold: (details for the readers)

Dear fellow ambassadors for Christ,

As we survey the task before us, both the 1.3 million Susu people and the 2.84 billion unreached people on planet earth, we can't help but come to the realization that this is a task too big for a handful of missionaries. The neat thing is, i think that's the way the Lord intended it. He left us with His Spirit and some instructions to disciple the lost. In hindsight, He might as well have told the twelve disciples, "Jump to the moon," or "Swallow the ocean." In Matthew 28:18-20 He gave them an impossible task that they could never accomplish on their own strength as individuals. They needed to unite with the rest of the Body of Christ and rely on Him for guidance, strategy, provision, and wisdom. So do we. So do you.
Meet Daniel. He's a bachelor. He's a former airplane mechanic and a handyman. He's got his whole life ahead of him. What did he do to kick it off? He sold whatever he couldn't fit into one backpack and came to Susu Land. He's giving up the next six months to come be a slave to Christ (that doensn't sound too appealing to most US Americans.) in order to serve among the unreached. Daniel writes, "I am not perfect. I make alot of mistakes but God's grace is sufficient. God has been so Good. I am greatly delighted to be apart of his work and his Love." It's true. He came here with a clean slate, knowing nothing about the Susu, and said, "What can i do to help?" We need more volunteers. We need more Daniels.

Racheal has been really encouraged while teaching English at the local Wisdom House. She's finishing her Level 2 class today. Lord willing, this out reach will give way for opportunities to share Christ's message. We know a really good Book in English (as well as their heart language) that we'd like to recommend to them.

Please pray for our continued language learning. We are moving along at a steady pace, though not where we'd like to be. We have come so far, yet there's so much we don't understand. Please pray for our strategies as we tackle the Susu tongue and don't get discouraged or complacent.

As always, thanks for lifting us up. We wouldn't be here if not for our pray support.
'til the whole world hears,
corey reid pendergrass

Before It's Too Late

Getting There Before It's Too Late: (essentials for everyone)

This update, i want to say some things that are essential. No quick overview this time.

We're staying a couple days in a mission guesthouse that had a sign on the kitchen wall with the following inscription:

"The Gospel is only good news if it arrives in time!" -Carl Henry

Those words have been quite sobering. Only a few days ago the 15-year-old daughter of one of our national friends got sick and died. We were able to help the family transport the body back to her family in their village. There are two graveyards in this village --one for so-called "Mohammed followers" and the other for "Jesus followers." The latter was the resting place for only one person. The former held too many to count. When the Usus bury their dead they lay them prostrate in the ground and line sticks across the mouth of the hole. They cover that with leaves and then a mound of the dirt. Within a short amount of time the wood rots and the dirt falls in. I looked around me as they laid her body with those of her ancestors. Within that wooded area i counted seven fresh graves of people that had only passed away within the last couple months or so.
What i'm about to write here will be a hard pill for some of you to swallow, but i ask that you let me know so that we can talk about it in private.

She is in hell now. All those fresh graves and the several in between hold the remains of people who are all in hell. Most of them had never heard the Gospel. Why? And how can we as Christ's Church change that?

Those were not rhetorical questions. Leave a comment.

'til the whole world hears,
corey reid pendergrass