In all your ways acknowledge Him

In keeping with the soundtrack tradition, play the song below before you scroll!

On my street. My house is at the end on the right (hidden behind the white one)

“When God asks you to go, that's okay. Whatever that means you have to give up or miss out on, that's okay. Whatever you are afraid of or anxious about, whatever causes you to feel bitter, whatever you look back at longingly, that's okay.... Take a moment and thank God that he doesn't seek to change his plan to fit our wants and needs, but instead seeks to change us for the better."

I typed the above excerpt in a sticky-note on my computer desktop on May 22, 2014, a few days after I learned that I was going to Benin. At the time I knew I couldn't even imagine all that God had in store for this journey. And whaddaya know, I was right. I'm learning that road you walk with God begins the moment you perceive God's voice and choose to follow it away from the complacent, stationary life, and then continues on from there until you choose to step off of it. But there are no shortcuts.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

and lean not on your own understanding."

Proverbs 3:5

Sometimes I think these words gets over-used, to the point that we don't even read the verse anymore when someone references it. But the number of times my understanding and God's way have pointed in two opposite directions have proved their relevance. It's relatively easy to trust God when he takes us on exciting and fun adventures.

But when I face difficulties and emotional lows here, there's nothing "funny" or "adventurous" about it. In frustrating moments, I'm often tempted to act and speak in ways that are less than what God calls us to.

On January 7th, in my journal: "When my desire to follow the world is screaming much louder than my desire to follow God, my conviction that following God is still the [right] choice needs to be there."

If you're familiar with Proverbs 3:5, you've probably met its conjoined twin:

"In all your ways acknowledge Him,

and he will make your paths straight."

Proverbs 3:6

What an encouragement to know that when we make God the Lord of everything we do--not just the Lord of our Bible study and worship, but Lord of our grocery shopping and Lord of family discussions, too--He is ready to meet us where we are, to be our gentle shepherd, and to lead us back to the path we wandered away from, where he delights to walk with us, and we with him. When we practice listening directly to God in every chapter of the day, we don't need to worry about extraneous voices telling us what we should do, or what God expects from us. I have a story to show what I'm talking about.

One day I was with Paulin filming a bridal shower. We were invited to share a meal with all the guests afterwards. The main dish was a West African specialty called "pâte", which literally means "paste". It is the grey-est food I have ever seen. But it's not as bad as it sounds! I frequently enjoy it with my host family or at work for lunch. Anyway, when someone brought us our food, she gave a plate of pâte and vegetables to Paulin, and to me she gave a box of crackers, and apologized, "We weren't sure what you would like to eat, since you don't eat pâte." We were surprised, because no one there had actually asked me whether I liked pâte! The assumption was that white people don't eat traditional Beninese food. It was kind of them to consider my needs, but Paulin helped me to politely explain that I do eat pâte. Relieved, they kindly brought me a plate identical to his.

Here's my point. As it turns out, what other people think God says or wants, or what I hope God says or wants, is certainly not the same as what God actually says and what He actually wants. So it's good to consult Him directly. He appreciates that. :)

And now for something completely different

For the second part of this post, you'll have to finish or stop the song that played for the first part of this post, and play this one instead. Then scroll down and enjoy this series of totally unrelated photos that illustrate some other fun shenanigans around Cotonou :)

(I know they're singing about volcanoes in central America, but just ignore that)

Last year my host sister Lowi completed her internship, which is one of the final stages of a university education in Benin. After their internship, Beninese students deliver a presentation (a "soutenance") about their internship experience, and what they learned. Lowi and her partner spent a lot of time preparing, and then Lowi invited many family and friends to support her for her soutenance, and I got to be the photographer :)

Lowi and her partner presenting (Sorry, the room was a little dark)

Luckily, Lowi and her partner passed. They were both so relieved and happy, and I can understand why!

Lowi and Sejes after she passed. Smiles all around!

 Elisabeth and I came back to the "swimmable" beach another time. It's a fun change of scenery. This time, I took a hike out on the rocks that block the waves, and encountered some fishermen. Very interesting to see.

The massive rock wall that protects the beach from huge waves

A fisherman on the rocks by the beach

 While I was working in the kitchen one day, one of my other host sisters came up the stairs and found me doing my dishes. "Where is your camera? I want to take your picture!" It was a really sweet gesture.

My sister Justine insisted on taking my picture while I was in the kitchen :)

A young boy carefully observes the yovo in her natural environment
(a.k.a. me in my office)

Enjoying the local fruit--the mangoes are amazing!!

One day I decided to bring a book to the beach to relax. I had been reading in the shade for at least an hour when I heard a distinct *chink-chink* sound coming from very close by. I looked up to see that kid on the right standing less than three feet in front of me! He was holding what appeared to be an empty tomato sauce can. I was so surprised that I began to laugh. His friends came over and struck poses next to him. They were pretty good! No one cracked a smile. I caved and gave them some change in exchange for the laughs and this picture.

Boys acting as human statues at the beach.