GAP Missions

These Banana's were a gift from this little one to us American "guests" at the National Convention. My heart... my heart... I do love these precious children. Interactions like these are what make the trip worth it... and you come to an understanding of the real reason of why you are there. She made my day.

THE ROBE - The photo is of LaNelle and me wearing a hand woven traditional African robe and LaNelle is wearing a hand woven panya made in the western region of Ivory Coast. One of the highest honors you can experience in Africa is to be gifted with one of these special robes from a village. It symbolizes respect and means you are accepted as one of them. They make "much-a-do" about presenting them. The whole village turns out for the occasion. Village leaders normally robe men and respected women robe the ladies. The crowd cheers, claps, and normally there is singing and dancing that follows. They give you a tribal name and always say, "Now, this is your village. Our home is your home." We have been given many over the years. I even have some white ones which allow me to sit on their village council. Tribes have specific designs sewn on the robes. The designe on this robe could typically represent a Yacouba, Gueré, Wobé,Niamboa, or other regional tribes.
The threads are made of cotton, usually spun by a little boy, on an African designed spinning wheel. The threads are then dyed and woven on a homemade loom. It is labor intensive from start to finish.
The whole village normally pitches in to purchase a robe when they want to honor a special guest or authority. A person would have to work many days to pay for one individually so it requires a group effort.
It is a humbling experience to be honored in such a way when we realize the sacrifice. Villagers are poor. The money may be offered by men who work for a daily wage of only $3 or women who sell vegetables or peanuts on a roadside stand in the middle of nowhere. But when we see the undenyable love. joy, and heart with which it has been given, it cannot be refused.
The African people will always hold a great portion of mine and LaNelle's heart. We are so blessed to have our lives so enriched and entangled with theirs. LaNelle and I have given a third of our life to the people of Ivory Coast...and, we will continue to do what we can to share the Love of Christ with them until the Lord calls us home. J&L

HE LIVES - Those who look for the wonders of God see them. HIS wondrous acts of grace and mercy are happening all around us every day for those who care to see and acknowledge them. HIS arm is strong and HIS hand is mighty. Isaiah 25:1 reads, "O LORD, You are my God; I will exalt You, I will give thanks to Your name; For You have worked wonders, Plans formed long ago, with perfect faithfulness."
God sees ahead of us, so it is quite natural for HIM to arrange events which allow HIS GLORY to shine. In this story, we find a child on the verge of taking his last breath and a doctor who crossed his path at a critical moment. Not by chance, not by accident, but by Gods marvelous love and grace two lives, that normally live oceans apart, met at just the right moment in time. Another 24 hours and this baby, hot with malarial fever would have perished. He was withered by dehydration, had hardly enough strength to whimper let alone cry out for help. But a merciful God sent a doctor on a mission, deep in the "bush" of Africa, to minister to this little one. She did all that skilled hands could do medically on the human side…and then, feeling and knowing our weakness, we called on the GREAT PHYSICIAN to go beyond what human hands could do. We prayed for HIM to touch and heal and allow the baby to live. Praise be to the Lord, HE heard our plea. For reasons only know to HIM, God heard and healed. Only time will reveal the answer.
Of one thing I am most sure, this doctor was God sent and God has His hand on that little African boy from the Niamboa Tribe with a plan in mind. We prayed he would grow up to love God and serve Him with all his heart.
There’s nothing quite like the satisfaction found in knowing we have fallen into Gods special plan. Willing people, using their God-given talents and skills for a higher purpose will experience joy and blessings only the Lord can give. It is certainly a higher plane than the ordinary.
The challenge for us is to allow Jesus be Lord of our lives. If you know Him as Savior, He is Lord, but not everyone will turn their life over to His control.
Live life with eternity in view. “While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” II Cor. 4:18
I was striken by the compassionate hand on this very sick baby. The love and care was administered from the depths of the doctors heart. In parallel, God, the Great Physician, extended His Hand of love and compassion and gave Jesus His Son to die that our sinsick soul might be healed. What amazing love and compassion He had for us. Jn. 3:16