An Unforgettable Valentine

This morning, we got up and were excited about going down to Lomé (the capital city) for our Valentine’s date. Just me and Anthony. Since we were going to take the car down to a mechanic to have some work done on the car, we decided to take advantage of having a meal at a nice restaurant. Arrangements have been made for our teammates to keep the boys after school.

We dropped off the car at the mechanic in Lomé and walked out to the main road to catch a taxi. We waited for a while and a taxi stopped. There were 3 other people in the taxi which is not uncommon. We just wanted to go down a little way to an art and crafts shop so weren’t too bothered about the cramped space. I started to go to the front seat but was told by the driver to get in the back. Anthony sat in the front seat beside the door with another guy in the middle. Not long after we got on the way, the front “passenger” was fidgeting about and started pushing the seat back. Anyway, the seat suddenly went a little too far back and the passenger beside me gave a big yell as his foot was “caught”. There was a lot of pushing and I asked the driver to stop but he kept on going. After a while, he stopped the car and asked that Anthony change places with the other front-seat passenger. Before long, the passenger started moving the front seat again and the guy whose feet was caught earlier fussed again. Then the driver stopped the car and told us that “it isn’t working and we had to take another taxi” The second we were out of the car, he took off. It was then that Anthony found out that not only his wallet was gone and but also the cash he had in his back pocket. It was with a sick feeling that we realized that we had been pick-pocketed. Obviously, the four guys in the taxi had been in cahoots.

You would have thought that after being in Africa for 13 years now, we would have known better. It was a scam and we fell prey to it. It reminded me what Peter said in 1^st Peter 5:8 about being alert for the enemy; the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Just as we are pick pocketed because we let our guard down, Satan can attack us when we least expect it.

Despite the unpleasantness of the situation, we are thankful to God for keeping us safe. The men could have driven us somewhere and robbed and hurt us. Anyway, we found another taxi and went back to the mechanic to get our car and ended up at a small restaurant for a light meal. It wasn’t the Valentine’s meal that we had envisioned but we are thankful nonetheless for an unforgettable Valentine’s Day.

The Oven

It’s been a while since my last post. At that time, my oven was out and I have been doing some baking over at the teacher’s and Brenda’s (one of my team-mates) houses. I just want to share with you that my oven, has since been fixed as from last Tuesday. Praise the Lord, it was an answer to our prayers.

What’s so great about an oven being fixed you may ask?

Over here in Togo, one does not get access to a repairman easily. Moreover, even if you find one, he may not have the necessary tools or parts to replace the broken part. Added to that, most of the repairs done are done through trial and error! We have a fridge which has been with the repairman for over 5 months now and he is still ”testing” it.

Anyway, we had someone look at the oven and after fiddling with it and tearing it apart, he told us that the thermostat was broken and that was the reason why the oven would not light up. He said that he could fix so that the oven would light up, but we will not be able to control the fire with the oven knob. That was a mistake as the oven smoked whenever it was lit!

So for almost 2 months, I tried to do as little baking as possible and when I did, I went to the teachers’ or Brenda’s house. It wasn’t a big deal, though a little troublesome. What bothered me was that the stove was to go to a sister here after we leave and I did not feel good with the oven not working.

Meanwhile, we contacted Maurice, our contact person in the States, and he ordered the part and sent it to us. We received the part after about 3 weeks. The repairman who checked the oven was out of town so Anthony tried to do it himself. On the first attempt, after he meddled with it for some time, it lit up but there was lots of black smoke.  After a couple of days, he tried again and it would light up and seemed to be working but when he put everything back together, it wouldn’t work. After all the time spent on it, it was a little discouraging.

Meanwhile, my teammates were thinking that since the teachers eat with each family 4 days a week and they do not do much baking, they suggested that we switch our stove. They suggested that, should the teachers wanted to bake, they could just go next door, where the Hollands live, to do their baking. I felt it wasn’t fair for the teachers to have to give up their oven to make it more convenient for me. And I really did not mind driving over there to do my baking. Anyway, I felt that if we switched the stoves, the suggestion would have to come from the teachers themselves so that they will not feel that they have to do it just because we asked them to.

On Monday, Jenna (one of the teachers) called me and offered to switch our stoves.  I said that I would think about it and will let them know later. I did not know why I was reluctant to do so but somehow felt that I should wait.

Anyway, the following day, Anthony dismantled the oven again and fiddled with it and, lo and behold, the oven worked!  I told him that he was my hero for working so hard on it.

A thought came to me then that the oven works because our God is Gracious. In His love and goodness, He made it work because He saw his children’s willingness to sacrifice something for others. He was able to work it out that neither one of us, the teachers nor I, needed to do without!  I do not think that it is a coincidence that the oven worked on the third attempt. I have no doubt that our Jehovah Jireh can cause and loves to work out everything for good to us who love him but sometimes it gives Him extreme pleasure to see us give up something of ourselves . He wants us to learn something to help us die to self and be more like Him.

He shows he cares for us even in little significant things like an oven!

May we continue to die to self that we may grow to be like our Lord Jesus.