A Visit from Pastor Liam

A couple weeks ago we received a letter with a special visitor.  "Flat Liam," our pastor, arrived in an envelope from the second grade Sunday school class of our home ch.  He had been preparing for a sermon when all his books fell on him and flattened him.  He then took the opportunity to visit us by international post to see what our life was like here at G.  (They assured us they could re-inflate him when he returned.)    

We get our mail about every other Friday from a town about an hour away.  After Pastor Liam popped out of the envelope, he took his first stop at our evening family devotional, where we are studying the Westminster Shorter Catechism.

The next morning, he was up early with M to head to a 7am biki - a baby naming and dedication ceremony that takes place about a week after a baby is born.  This biki was a poignant celebration, as the twins, Martha and Maryama, were born on the same day that their father passed away from cancer.  The sermon addressed the need to take special care of orphans and widows.

The following morning, Pastor Liam walked with us through the millet fields on our way to Sunday worship.

At the service, he especially enjoyed the women's choir and their rhythmic drumming.

On the way home, he posed in front of the ch gate with a camel that was walking past.

We headed home through town.

And dropped M off at the hospital, where he was on call for the morning.

 In the middle of the week, P Liam enjoyed a cinnamon bun at the weekly coffee break for all of us who work at the hospital.

 The meat man comes on his motorcycle selling freshly butchered beef.  He waits outside Cinnamon Buns to weigh out our purchases.  A showed Pastor Liam the ins and outs of choosing a cut of meat, while J looked on from his stroller, trying to avoid the flies.

A local pastor gave M a copy of the book of Luke in one of the minority languages in our region, but Pastor Liam was having a little trouble with the orthography.  M hopes to give the book to a patient who might speak and read this language.

Pastor Liam found our English orthography a little easier when he joined us for homeschooling.

He took a break from work to play in the mud during a heavy rain in the middle of the week.  For seven months of the year, there is no rain here, and it gets very dry and dusty.  When the rainy season comes, everyone hurries to plant corn, millet, sorghum, peanuts, and other crops.  One challenge to rainy season is that it also brings out the mosquitoes.  Malaria season hits about six weeks after the rains start in earnest.

Pastor Liam climbed a few trees with his friends, while waiting to see some other friends off on the airplane.    The airstrip is about  50 yards from our house.  Two planes were parked for all the comings and goings today.

During the work day, Pastor Liam visited the hospital with M.  A nurse introduced him to some babies and their mothers who were pounding grain at the CREN (Center for Rehabilitation and Nutrition).  Malnourished children who come to the hospital can spend up to a month in this center, where their mothers learn how to prepare more nutritious foods, and they try to eat enough to get their weight up. 

Pastor Liam watched a little of the Magdalena film with some of the women.