The blessing of revisiting an old home

All around the world people stopped this last week to remember what they were thankful for. I was encouraged and amazed too as I gave thanks for the blessings in my life. On Sunday I visited Calvary church in Salem where I attended in fifth grade, drove by the house I lived in, and walked around the school I attended. Saturday I also discovered that the satellite imagery of the little village of Moanza deep in Congo had been updated on google earth. I lived at Moanza when I was 7 and have only been back once many years ago but have many memories.

My Friends and I at Moanza. We went to Kinongi forest to collect a special kind of shoot to eat.

As I saw things that brought memories back I thought about all that had happened between then and now. Primary, high school, college, the many times crossing the world, friends, adventures, and all the challenges I have faced since that time. So much has happened since those times, some I am proud of and some not so much. Here I am though, with many experiences from these places and all the places between that have shaped me and make me who I am now. 

God has been with me the whole time guiding and watching over me whether I was thinking about it or not. And that is a lot to be thankful for. God has been faithful, and brought me back to places I have been to show me his power and his will for me. It was fun to look at myself now and see what God had made me since I last stood in those places.

Proverbs 20:24 says “A man’s steps are directed by the LORD. How then can anyone understand his own way?” As I look at all that is happening in my life now, I don’t understand or realize what is happening all the time. I look ahead trying to plan and wonder what my life is going to be like over the next few years. I felt similar in 5^th grade, even though they were a whole different set of issues.   I am encouraged that God will be there directing my steps even though may not understand everything. Someday I will be able to look back on this time, and realize how faithful God has been, as I am doing now.

Hope everyone had a great thanksgiving and where able to see the blessings in your lives.

68%

Praise God, My little airplane is now at 68%! Quite a jump from last month. I am now past the 2/3eds mark, and on the final stretch.

Waiting on Gods timing

43%

I am at 43% of the amount I need raze to leave for the Central African Republic! I was excited to move the plane up 13% this month and a little farther out over the Atlantic. There is still a little more than half to go, but I have no doubt that God will provide it. I am still looking for people to partner with me, and support me through prayer, and one time or monthly gifts.

What some people are willing to do for honey

My experience with African bees has been extremely exciting and has kept me learning and excited about them for a long time. These bees are unlike any I have read or heard about before. They go against all the theories of beekeeping, and are an aggressive and inexplicable bunch. Books and long-time beekeepers say they should act one way, but these bees turn around and act another.
I have spent many hours with the bees in Congo, observing, and learned their habits. Between times of working these bees, I study, and research reasons for their actions in hopes that I can figure out how to get them to act like "normal bees". I am still baffled by habits, but have a few ideas that I think might help to train them a little better and calm them down.
Other places in Congo and surrounding countries raise bees just fine. In fact, the first place I saw an African raising bees was when I went with a Cameroonian man and saw him working a few of his 300 hives without any protection!
Where I will be in CAR is about 1/4 mile from Cameroon, and my hope is that the bees will not be as aggressive or stubborn as the ones I know from Congo. From some research I have done already it sounds like they are not as bad.
While surfing the web a few days ago, I ran across a picture on BBC.

The caption reads: A Bayaka tribesman climbs a 40m tree to reach the most sought after of jungle foods, honey

Would you climb a 40ft tree with nothing but a vine holding you to it, and no bee suit to get honey??? Think this this guy would like to learn about raising bees in a hive, and wearing a bee suit instead of just a pair of shorts?

Honey in the CAR

I have been given the go ahead to work with bees in the CAR.  It has the potential to be an exciting new way of ministering in this region.  Bee hive products have so many benefits that can increase the income and health of a poor household, with very little effort. The Fulani people in the area, traditionally have raised cattle, but are now unable to continue for a number of different reasons. Agriculture is catching on, but slowly.  I have been told that reaching out to them with another kind of animal might be a way to reach this people group that has historically been hard to reach.

30%!

I am at 30% of the way to my goal, and being able to purchase a ticket to go to the Central African Republic. I am required to raise all the money I will need to live off of for the next two years. This includes insurance, airplane tickets, visas, rent, food, and everything else I will need to get or pay for while in the CAR. The total amount I need to raise is $3,000 a month, for two years. This can either be in pledges, or money in the bank. Once I have 100% of that amount raised, I can book the flight, and go.