Matthew 6

So much to tell you all. . . where to begin? I think I'll save my funny story for the end of this post to keep you reading (and when I say funny, I mean one day looking back it will be funny but right now I'm not exactly laughing...)

Our research plans are well underway. For every moment I have of "oh my goodness, how on earth am I going to do this?????" There's another of appreciation for all the help we have in planning and setting up. We have been blessed beyond belief with Will, our host. He's basically Hannah and I four years from now-he went through the same programs at Covenant as I am and had his internship in Africa too. He's been such an asset to us (pun intended. . .we're researching the ASSET program. . . anyway. . . ). We expected Will to be awesome, but what's been an unexpected blessing is the help we've received from the Mobile Training Owners who work with Chalmers in Togo, Kwasi and Theo. 

They really know their stuff and are totally invested in our work. We've already had two meetings with them in which all we did was talk about our expectations, goals, methodologies and schedule. Kwasi is a big fan of his brown craft paper and insisted upon writing down everything we said as we all brainstormed. Another thing that's been cool about these meetings is trying to understand and speak French. The five of us (Hannah, Will, Theo, Kwasi and myself) all speak (or sort of speak) French and English so it's a great chance to practice--especially to practice new vocab. French classes don't tend to teach you important words like "surveys," "focus groups," or "research design" but if you need to know how to say any particular vegetable, fruit, or article of clothing...I've got you covered. So, all that to say, Hannah and I are really thankful for the way the Lord has provided for us so far. It's still really overwhelming and I have NO idea how these next three months will go, but I'm taking this all as it comes. One part overwhelmed. One part thankful. 

Speaking of being overwhelmed but thankful... Hannah and I have made a lot of unexpected plans in the last week. We will be doing most of our research in a some small villages about two hours north of Lome. This means we won't be getting to live with Becky as much as we had planned or hang out at Will and Margaret's eating her delicious food as much as we'd hoped. We went apartment hunting yesterday and it was rather stressful on the whole. We are thankful to have found a place (with the help of Kwasi) living in an apartment above a nice family and for just $40 a month each. We hadn't budgeted for a second rent so it's definitely an answer to prayer that we found such a cheap place. But... you get what you pay for and I think living there, mostly cooking really, is going to be a challenge. It's a lesson in being thankful for having what I need though, not in wishing I had what I wanted. Once we get it better furnished and a little lived in, it's gonna work out great. If any of you have some good cooking ideas for how to feed yourselves without access to a refrigerator, clean running water (we do have running water though, praise the Lord) or oven, leave a comment. We'll have a stove top burner and a kitchen sink though so we're in business. 

Once we saw the apartment and decided it was our best choice, we had to run some errands. You see, there's a balcony area on our humble abode (balcony=luxury. This is basically the Ritz) but there was no lockable door on it which our landlord seemed to think was not a problem at all. Being my father's daughter, I was not about to let that fly so we (with Theo's help) ran around the village all afternoon getting everything for the door. You'd think it would be as easy as getting a door and some locks and hinges, and it was, sort of, but it was African style. African style=long period of waiting while nothing really happens. I've been told I'll get used to it. In this particular situation, it meant making the white girls wait in the car or seek shade somewhere while the wise locals who care about us do all the work. The moment our white skin is seen, the price gets jacked up by 300%, or at least that's what Theo keeps telling us. So, there was a lot of waiting in the heat and I promised myself I would never take Home Depot for granted ever again, but we got the doors and hardware and with one final stop at the apartment to drop it off (and like 20 minutes of waiting there and talking--African style, you know) we were on the road again- the long, hot, two hour road.

So, the last 12 days (wow, 12 days so far in Africa...) have been a blur. I've been trying to figure out/asking what God is teaching me though all of this. Here's what I've got so far: My life will be SO much better and I will have WAY more peace once I just give Him control. I have a moment every now and then when I'm stressing about where we'll live in the north or how on earth we're going to get around or feed ourselves consistently, I instead think how great it is that I can give it to Him instead. Matthew 6, baby, I didn't memorize it at camp 15 years ago for nothing (shout out to my peeps at Pine Springs!). I'm calling in on those promises this summer. I would by no means say I'm close to figuring this out, let's face it, we all know I have control issues, but if all of this is getting me closer to learning what it means to actually give my Father control, then I can do this. I want to grow this summer. Growing takes work. Pray for my growth in this way. 

So, as promised, funny story. Except, seriously I don't think its funny and I'm beginning to doubt if it ever will be to me. So a few hours ago I was sleeping in my bed, minding my own business when. . . oh man, I don't know if I can bring myself to tell this story yet. Maybe it's too soon. Oh well, I'd hate to disappoint. . . when all of a sudden I wake up with a start and hopped out of bed shaking all my limbs as quickly and violently as possible. (Go ahead, you can picture it, the story is better in visuals than in words). You see, I have killer instincts and reaction times when it comes to creepy crawly things. I don't mess around. Whatever big nasty bug had been crawling up my leg (oh! gross I can't even think about it right now...) was now  flung off of me (confirmed: not a spider, whew!). . . and lurking in our room. 

Adrenaline pumping, I flicked on the lights, grabbed my heavy hiking boot (so glad I brought them if for nothing but this exact purpose) and then I froze. This is usually the part when I make my roommate Sarah kill the gross bug for me. One problem: Sarah is currently in France. Bummer. As I try to collect myself enough to function, I realize how disappointed I am in myself. You see, everyone has been questioning how I'll function in Africa with all its germs and bugs and such (I really hate germs and bugs) and I always reply to them that I'll be fine because I have what I call "camp counselor mode" in which I turn all mama-bear-esque and can handle anything. It was in this moment, holding my boot in the air that I realized that for "camp counselor mode" to kick in, I need the very real pressure of keeping 10 twelve-year-old girls from having mental breakdowns. When the options are 1) mass chaos and screaming preteens or 2) Kristin just sucks it up and kills the bug, "camp counselor mode" is very effective. I have unfortunately underestimated how vital it is to have the threat of mass chaos to motivate me, however, and I am afraid my "camp counselor mode" will be null and void this summer. Bad news bears for this girl. 

Luckily though, Hannah chose this moment to sense danger (despite the earplugs and eye mask she was wearing) and groggily woke up. As she tried to make sense of the scene, I said "don't panic" to which she responded "is it a snake?" That instantly made me feel better. That was the dose of perspective I needed. This was not a snake. PTL. Once I told her it was just a big bug, she understood that this fell under her domain (Last semester, she and I made a deal: She'll kill all the bugs and I'll protect her and her irrational fear of snakes from snakes). She valiantly took the boot as I hopped up to safety on her bed. Unfortunately, there was only one more bug sighting and a 3 second window in which to kill it before it disappeared indefinitely. We did not succeed. . .Therefore, I slept in fear on the couch all night with the light on. Logical decision in my opinion. I'm still a little shaken up by it. It was a really big bug. And if a big nasty bug like that can get to me in my nice city apartment, I don't even want to think about what might be waiting for me in our village apartment. . . And that was the story of why Kristin will never again sleep in Africa without a mosquito net of protection around her. 

Could use your prayers of protection as well. From bugs, seriously I hate them, and other things like traveling, an encouraged spirit, strength, and for a servant's heart. 

We have a lot to do today before moving into our apartment tomorrow. Pray that everything comes together in time. We'll be living in the north for 5 days to kickstart our research. Pray also that we start getting connected up there and finding ways to get our work done. Don't know yet what the internet connection will be like up there, so if I'm out of touch for awhile, don't panic. Just pray for me.

Thanks for hangin' in there. I appreciate all your prayers. Leave a comment or two so I know you're out there! 

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Since I posted this, I located the bug (not even gonna tell you what it was) I calmly informed Hannah and she killed it for me. I definitely maimed it with my suitcase first though. Sarah would be proud of me.