from louisiana

i miss niger. i miss sarah. i miss the mission family. and alatou. razak. balla. sharif. tombaye. chaibou...
i miss the blessings and even the challenges. i miss the simplicity of life. reality.
i miss cooking. i miss the neighborhood kids. i miss sarah's music.
oh, the stars.
i miss making the chief laugh.
i miss greeting everyone in town: the egg seller, phone card seller, tire repairman, the meter-reader man, the bus manager, the onion man...
i miss all the fulani stopping by on sundays on their way to market.
i miss communicating (or trying to) in so many languages.
i even miss hunting down the moving apple seller in maradi.

i miss sharing God's story with a people who don't know Christ. they've accepted a world of lies. they are afraid...of change, of what people will think...

life here (in america) isn't simple. it isn't even reality.
but even here, many have accepted a world of lies and are afraid...

why am i here? as the fulani say, "allah tan anndi," or only god knows. this isn't easy. i want so much more. i am here. there is a reason. he is sovereign, no doubt.

i have one of sarah's songs on my heart tonight. here it is:

"open eyes, open eyes that they might see
open minds, open minds that they might know
open ears, open ears that they might hear
open hearts, open hearts that they might go

take your gospel, take your gospel to the world
let your word bring salvation
send us out, send us out
by your spirit, oh god
bringing light to the nations

whom shall i send to go for me
whom shall i send to declare the mystery"