Unless the Lord Builds the House

     First, I'd like to point out that I updated my list of ongoing prayer requests on the left, and added the link to my Instagram page on the right. I am pretty sure you don't need to have an Instagram account to see my photos. Sometimes you'll find bonus pictures there that I don't always post on my blog, so if you're interested in seeing even more pictures, take a look! Otherwise, press play for mood music and read on.

    In my previous post I mentioned that Wycliffe Benin is looking forward to a huge fundraising event on March 1st (Scroll to the second part of this post for specific prayer requests and other information related to that). The whole office's activities are geared towards this day--preparing and printing programs, handing out donation cards cards, scheduling speakers, sending invitations, contacting donors, and talking up the event in churches. I meant to finish this post last week so that you could know more about the event and join me in praying for its success, but like most everyone here I have been more busy than usual in the past few weeks, so you'll have to excuse the last minute nature of this info! I'd be kidding everyone if I said it hasn't been a bit hectic around here. But it's a holy kind of hectic! (Feel free to quote me on that later)

     In the media studio, we've been working on a 10-minute "documentary" to show on March 1st. It will include interviews with Wycliffe Benin personnel, church members, and supporters, (all Beninese) who talk about the work Wycliffe Benin does, and its impact in local churches and communities. It will be really exciting to show everyone this compilation of dialogues that all talk about the positive work God is doing through this organization--we're praying that God would use this video to uplift and encourage all of it's viewers who are rooting for the progress of Bible translation in Benin, even Wycliffe's own personnel. Perhaps I will be able to post some quotes from the interviews in a future blog entry.
     For Paulin and me (a.k.a. the "Wycliffe Benin Multimedia Department", in case you forgot), the past few weeks have consisted of scheduling and conducting a number of last minute video interviews, transcribing every interview (a very interesting and fun exercise if I do say so, but maybe that's just my language nerd talking), researching microphones, recording a radio ad, and sorting through B-roll footage and old photos.
     When not doing any of those things, I get to translate material (from English to French) related to Wycliffe's Discover trip this summer. The trip begins in June, and the trip leaders have started convening on Google Hangouts every couple weeks to prepare for it. We share our phone conferences with leaders of the Discover group that's going to Papua New Guinea. I'm excited to be learning from the other leaders and begin exchanging with the soon-to-be participants. Prayers are definitely appreciated for all the leaders and participants as we get ready for our respective trips. :)

     Meanwhile, back at the ranch (in my apartment), I have new shelves! Oh my gosh, that sounds so boring when I write it out, but GUYS they're seriously SO USEFUL, both in getting some of my things up off the floor for the first time, and in helping me master my infinitesimal kitchen-counter space (which I'm getting pretty good at, believe it or not!).

With the instructor and students at the
Grace of God language center

     In my free time, there are English lessons. Like my co-worker Yvon, many Beninese people are very enthusiastic about learning English, and love taking advantage of opportunities to practice their skills with a native speaker. On most Tuesday nights, there is an English Bible study that meets at the home of my friend Elisabeth (who attends the same church as me). There are usually 4 or 5 of us together each week. We start our time together by reading and discussing a passage, bringing up any words that are harder to understand, and finish with a vocabulary lesson. On a couple Sundays, I've also had the opportunity to visit an English class at the "Grace of God Language Center". Many of those who attend classes there are motivated to learn English for professional reasons, to interact with international partners. It's been cool to meet and work with such driven students, and I've been very impressed with their speaking ability!
     On Sunday nights, it's English class with my host family. They often host visitors like me who are living for a short time in Cotonou, and foreigners coming on Wycliffe business don't always speak very much French. So in the interest of language practice, we meet together on their back patio in the yard, where there is a blackboard, once a week. Sometimes we make lists of useful vocabulary. Other times, I "forget" how to speak any French at all, and we pretend I am a visitor arriving in Benin for the first time, and they have to show me to my room! They must offer to carry my "suitcase", taking care to point out the "fan" and the "curtains", and stressing the importance of the "mosquito net" to their new and clueless Anglophone tenant. They did splendidly! And role playing always makes merry :)

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In case the other song ended, I got you covered for part two ;)

     As promised, since I've been talking your ear off about this upcoming event with Wycliffe Benin (yup, the one on March 1st), this is the part where I tell you what exactly is going on!
So here's the sitch:
     Wycliffe Benin is in the process of constructing a national headquarters. Right now, we work from one of several office spaces where they've rented, but unfortunately our needs and abilities frequently seem to exceed the current capacity of our work space. Hence the need for a more permanent place for Wycliffe Benin to operate from.

(R to L) Me, Carole, Igor, Blaise, the pastor, Mathew,
Olivier, Daniel, Reine, Mariette, Léa

     When I arrived in Benin in September, the future headquarters was a cornfield. We made a trip to the site one day to pray over the land before beginning construction. Does the photo on the right look familiar? This must have been my first full week in the office. That white stone we're standing around was there to mark the area where the headquarters would go. You'll see it in a couple pictures further down, too.

RIP to all that corn...

     By October, we were ready to start construction. But before we even laid the first brick, the Wycliffe Benin personnel, a number of pastors that we work alongside, and even the construction workers, all met together on the land to pray over the entire project. It was an amazing event to participate in, and so great to see so many people come out to praise God for that milestone. It is inspiring to see how everyone involved so wholeheartedly give this project to God, the master of all builders. I find this verse particularly fitting:

Unless the LORD builds the house,

They labor in vain who build it;

Unless the LORD guards the city,

The watchman keeps awake in vain.

Psalm 127:1

     After the time of prayer and worship, several pastors and the Director of Wycliffe Benin each laid a brick in the foundation of the wall that will surround the future headquarters.

Pastors pray for the placing of the first brick

That same white marker stone on the day
they laid the first brick

Wycliffe Benin Director Daniel Dedji hands one of the first bricks
to Leon, the head of construction, to place in the wall's foundation

Wycliffe personnel with some of the attendees.
The two "yovos" in the group are Paul and Peg from Wycliffe Associates
who were in Benin to help get the project rolling.

Anyway, the construction will be completed in 3 parts: the outer wall, which has was already completed at the end of 2014 (wohoo!!); the administrative block and training room, which will be built in 2015; and the hospitality block and refectory, to be built in 2016.

     We at Wycliffe Benin would LOVE for you all to join us in praying for this project, and for the event on March 1st. Here are some specific ways you can pray with us:

• Praise God for all that had already been accomplished in his name through the efforts surrounding this project! The outer wall is already completely finished!
• For health and energy for WB personnel and those involved in the construction.
• For a successful fundraising event this Sunday, that it would be a day of celebration of the ways God has already provided, and a day of joyful testimony of His work through WB.
• For us at WB to continue to surrender our plans into God's very capable hands.
• For energy for WB staff--like I mentioned, we've all been sort of swamped as of late.
• That all the plans that the enemy makes against us would turn out as nothing more than a totally embarrassing fiasco for him and his peeps.

     As always, thank you for your prayers, and I hope this list is a helpful guide :)

     Finally, for anyone who may be interested in supporting this project financially, here is the link to the donation page for the construction of the Wycliffe Benin headquarters. Even if you don't feel called to give in this way, I hope you will still join me in praying for their fundraising efforts, because this is a project well worthy of your partnership, whatever that may look like.

     May God bless you abundantly and keep you safe!

Here's the Plan

Here is a quick update on my plans from now until I finish up my internship with Wycliffe Benin in August of this year. Although I dread the thought of leaving Benin, I also believe God has made his plan clear: He opened the door for me to come to Benin for a definite amount of time, 10 months, and unless he calls me to do otherwise, I'm going to stick to that.

That being said, I am very excited to have the opportunity to come home for a month in May/June in order to attend my brother David's wedding (wohoo! marriage!). I am looking forward to celebrating that happy day surrounded by family, and reconnecting with many dear friends. My excitement is surpassed perhaps only by my co-workers and host sisters--the Beninese are really enthusiastic about weddings! I will enjoy sharing the details with them :D

My flight home for May falls 8-and-a-half months after my arrival. However, I also knew that God had called me here for 10 months. On the one hand, it seemed like a trivial thing--it's only 1.5 months shorter! But it just didn't sit right with me, so after some prayer, I expressed this thought to my trip coordinator from Wycliffe USA, John. He was very understanding of my conviction to follow exactly what I believed to be God's instructions, and asked me if I'd be interested in returning to Benin as a leader for one of Wycliffe's summer trips called "Discover". College students/young adults from both the USA and Benin will be coming to Wycliffe Benin for a taste of what Bible translation work is like. I was energized at this idea, and said I would love to help welcome this group as part of the leadership team. What an awesome opportunity!

So in short, here's the plan:

mid-May - bopping back to Minnesota

late June - back to Benin to help lead Dsicover trip

early August - return home to Minnesota

I have gotten a few questions about this (and thank you for your thoughtfulness in asking!!), but I am still not certain whether I need to do any additional fundraising for this slight change of plans. That should become clear in the next month.

As always (although perhaps I haven't done a great job of inviting this) if you have any questions at all about how things are here in Cotonou, what I've been up to, cultural minutia etc. that I haven't addressed in a blog post, please feel free to post them in the comments section below. Who knows--you might inspire my next post! Plus, I always enjoy hearing from you people :)

You can continue to pray for us here at Wycliffe Benin, for the ongoing Bible translation projects in the Aja, Saxwe, M'belime, and Idaasha languages, as well as for a BIG event coming up on March 1st (at the National Conference Center of Benin, no less!). Wycliffe Benin is hosting an important fundraiser to help finance the construction of their new headquarters, and we at the office are all praying for God's help to make the event a success that points all the glory back to Him. Please join us in covering this day in prayer!

You can also pray for me, for discernment on the next steps God may want me to take after the end of my internship in August. As of now, I have ideas, but not a concrete plan. Through this decision process, I am continually reminded to trust God and listen for what he wants me to do next.

As always, merci mille fois (thank you so much) for your prayers and words of support! Please let me know if you have any prayer requests as well.

Enjoying a frolic on the beach with expat friends