Two Years Ago Today

On the floor of our entryway :)

What Sort of Person Am I?

This evening I walked outside to check the mail. I happened to be barefoot at the time, so I took the opportunity to step barefoot in the snow, just to see what it would feel like.

It was freezing cold. So cold it brought pain to my feet.

But I felt it. I experienced it. That's the sort of person I am.

Rock Star

I had the day off from my regular duties today. 7 hours of professional development isn't much of a break, but I did sleep in for an extra hour, and I didn't have to deal with my students' problems from dawn til dusk, which is an important mental break.

Having a substitute in my room is stressful. Will my kids live up to my expectations without me there? Or will they disappoint me with their disobedience? I'm always hopeful, but most of my children don't define "character" as what you do when nobody is looking at you.

So on my lunch break I decided to visit my school, which is only a 3-4 minute drive from the training center. I popped my head in unexpectedly on my 7th grade class...and everything was running perfectly. Everyone was where they should be. The substitute still had her sanity. All was in order. I rejoiced!

Then my students realized that I was in the room. Chaos ensued. It seemed as if I had been gone for weeks they way they mobbed me, droppin' high fives, fist pounds and chest bumps like we had just won the World Series.

And several hours later, I realize that being treated like a rock star validates us. It validates our work. It validates our relationships. It validates our existence, our purpose.

I pity people who seek out that validation, because that is not a good way to live. But when validation comes, I will enjoy it, not as validation for who I am, but for what I am doing in the Kingdom.

Rock on!

Names Have Been Changed to Protect Identities

I have many, many good stories that arise from my daily work.

I teach 6th, 7th & 8th grade children how to improve their reading skills, and the teaching part is interesting enough; the lives and actions of my students push it to a whole other level.

It feels weird to even type this sentence, but my life is more interesting and unpredictable now than it ever was when I lived in Togo. In my previous life, the unpredictability of life was predictable. I expected to see naked woman walking around in public blowing a goat horn and dancing to Michael Jackson while balancing a chair on her head. In my public school life, I truly never know what I'm going to get.

There are laws that protect the identities of children, laws that I am grateful for as a professional educator, so I can't post names or pictures of students.

But I can share funny stories. Life lessons. Teachable moments. Ghetto pranks. Breakthroughs. Connections. Impacted lives. Changed lives. Saved lives. My daily work.

Red Meat & Pop

I'm into marking transitions in meaningful and interesting ways. I recently switched jobs and continents, and I can't imagine a bigger transition than that. In order to mark that transition, I decided to not eat red meat or drink pop for one full year.

It's kind of a strange thing to do, I know. It's not like I consume mass quantities of either item, and neither red meat nor pop have been something that I crave on a daily basis. They are luxury items, however, and giving them up is somewhat significant.

I've instructed April not to adjust her menu in any way. Go ahead and make tacos; I'll just put beans on mine. Feel free to grill some burgers; I'll eat some leftovers. Pop is easy enough to avoid; water is always a better option, anyways. And I'm not giving up beer :)

This year without started on August 1st, 2010, which roughly coincided with the beginning of school. Every time I pass on an opportunity to eat a steak or gulp down some Cherry Coke, I'm reminded that God has done something good, that my family has been provided for.

I'm kinda looking forward to August 1st, 2011. If you're not doing anything that day, please join me for a thick, juicy steak (maybe a 6 nations?), a bottomless glass of pop, and an extra large helping of Praise and Thanksgiving!

Urban Riding

I recently explored downtown Memphis with my camera and my bike. I love to ride trails, the deeper the forest the better, but urban riding has it's own set of merits. Try it if you get the chance!

You Can Take the Kid Out of Africa...

The boys have always loved carrying stuff on their heads :)

Intro to Parenting

Most days I think I'll be learning about parenting until the day I die and it still won't be enough time! I don't know it all, incredibly far from it, but I have learned a few things in the last 5 years or so.
Tonight I fully realized that putting kids to bed should ideally be a slow, winding process. Bed time processes that start suddenly and end after 10-15 minutes virtually guarantee that my boys will be up and out of bed within 5 minutes of my (or April's) departure from their room. Bed time goes best when we go slow, taking time to unwind from the day.
It's great for my boys, but it also does April and I good to end a crazy day of parenting two energetic, growing little boys in a slow, deliberate way. Quick bedtimes rob our family of intimate times that can't be replaced. Go slow, parents.

Where This Blog is Headed

We don't live in Africa anymore. The last 9 months have been quite a ride, and today we find ourselves living in Memphis, Tennessee. I'm not going to get into the details of why we left Africa, at least not right now. It would make sense to change the title of this blog from "The Emerson's Journeys in Africa" to something more appropriate to our current place in life...but I'm not going to do that. This blog is going to stay exactly how it is; the only thing that will change will be the content I post.

In the past, this blog was mainly to inform supporters about what was happening in our work in Togo. Well, we no longer have supporters and we no longer work in Togo. Instead, I'm now going to use this blog to sound off about anything and everything that my mind ponders on a daily basis. Some of it will still be about Africa, but much of it will not. I might do flashbacks, or flashforwards, or even alternative realities (LOST, anyone?). Who knows. I may be compassionate, I may be controversial. Regardless of the content, I hope to provoke myself and others to deeper thought about what ills this world and how to heal it...or maybe just laugh together about something stupid. We are still healing from some wounds, and laughter is often the best medicine :)

Peace!

A Great Gift

A couple of months ago, I was out in the village of Lassa Tchou spending time with some of the Christians there. We somehow started talking about composting, which is a subject that I find myself very interested in these days. I asked them if they ever collected animal poop to combine with other organic materials to be used as fertilizer, and I was met with a combination of laughter and blank stares. We talked about it for a few more minutes, then moved on to other things, a conversation like many others I've had before.

What this conversation led to, however, warmed my heart. The mother of one of the Lassa Tchou church's leaders is a faithful and beautiful Christian woman. She is quite old, and also one of the sweetest people I have ever known. Her smile can light up an entire village :) Many people who have visited Togo have fond memories of Jean Marie's mother. She was listening in on the conversation about animal poop and composting that day, but at the time did not have anything to say.

Instead, she went out into the fields and starting picking up poop.

I returned to Lassa Tchou one month later, on Christmas day, and this sweet sister had a huge bag full of animal poop to give to me as a present! It blew me away. I showed her how thankful I was in a culturally appropriate way, but all I really wanted to do was pick her up off of the ground and give her a huge hug!

Sometimes it seems like the people I work with don't listen when I speak. Sometimes I get the feeling that much of the teaching I do goes in one ear and out the other, and that I'm not having an impact…

And then someone gives me a big bag of poop :)

Redefining a "Succesful" Meeting

Today we loaded up the truck and took the whole family out to the village of N'Djei for a morning meeting. Being able to spend time in the villages as a complete family is just one of the many blessings that comes with having children who are not yet school aged :) The people love to see our children, and we love to share our whole life with our brothers and sisters, which includes our rambunctious little boys.

We rolled up at 9:30 or so, and there was only one man sitting near the meeting place, reading his Bible. Over the next hour or so, the boys chased chickens and goats while April and I talked with the people that slowly trickled in. Only 5 more people came, and one of them left when he saw his friend on a motorcycle and asked him for a ride into town. Priorities, people.

We decided to go ahead and teach at the urging of the 5 people who showed up, and we had a really good meeting. Thought provoking questions were asked and responded to, laughter filled the meeting place several times, and everyone left having learned something (us included) and having been encouraged. This meeting had only 5 people attend it (these meetings usually have 20 or more), but it was a successful meeting.

Last week I went to another village, Lassa Tchou, to teach. The Christians did not show up for the meeting at all, and I was very disappointed at first. Then a young man who is a faithful church member showed up and told me that all of the Christians were at the home of a young boy who had died that morning, comforting the family and praying with them. Needless to say, my heart was full of pride, and even though the meeting didn't even happen, it was a successful meeting.

Our lives here in Togo have led us to redefine many things in our lives, and success is one of them. In a country where things often don't go the way they should, I believe that we can find success in things that an outsider might consider a failure. May God be glorified through all of our successes, through all of our failings, and through everything we put our hands to.

Tragedy for Togo

Today, Les Eperviers du Togo (The Togo Sparrow Hawks) were supposed to be playing the Ghana Black Stars in Group B of the African Cup of Nations, the continent wide soccer tournament that is second in importance only to the FIFA World Cup. Instead, the Togolese national team is back in Togo, healing from a tragic event in which three people were killed after Angolan rebel forces opened machine gun fire on their team buses.

As I was on my way to work today, I noticed that one of the homes of a very important person in this particular village had it's flag at half staff. I was caught off guard by how touched I was by this gesture. Emotions welled up inside of me, and I wept.

As I reflected on the whole situation this afternoon, I realized that there was only one other time in my life when I had shed tears for a country. It was a little after 9am on September 11th, 2001. One plane had already hit the World Trade Center, and I watched live as the second plane smashed into the south tower. Immediately, I fell on my knees and pleaded with God to have mercy on our country. I never could have imagined the horror that I felt in that moment.

Today, my 2nd country is dealing with similar emotions amidst tragedy. America will always be my first country; you can see in the picture below that my purse has an American flag on top and a Togolese flag down below. However, over the last 7 years, Togo has taken a huge chunk of my heart. When the Togolese people are full of joy, our family is full of joy. When the Togolese people celebrate, our family celebrates. When the Togolese people mourn, we mourn right along with them and do whatever we can to share their burden. This was very poignant to me as I watched a family mourn the death of a young child this afternoon while I was out in the village. And so tonight my head is slightly bowed. My demeanor is a little subdued, and I am sad. My 2nd country has been robbed of 3 young lives. It's no September 11th, I know, but in a country where very few things go right, the things that go horribly wrong are magnified. They have also been robbed of the joy of competing in the African Cup of Nations. We have presidential elections coming up at the end of February, and the whole country is already slightly on edge.

Please pray for Togo. It is in need of the strength that comes with the prayers of the saints. So often the Togolese are forgotten or left behind, and all of us here are in need of the hope found only in God.

Family Christmas in Lassa Tchou

This year our family was invited to spend Christmas day with our brothers and sisters in Lassa Tchou. We gladly accepted, and we were joined by our friend and colleague Mike Squires and his roommate Larry. Since we were invited to the party, we of course had to bring gifts. We settled on watermelons and a huge monitor lizard! Watermelon season is almost over here, so we decided to get 5 big, juicy ones to bring to the party. The monitor lizard was more of an impulse buy, but we knew that it was a savored delicacy for the Kabiye, and as you can see from the picture below, it was a very well received gift!
Here is a picture of our friend Boniface preparing the giant lizard, which measured about 4 feet in length. We did not get a chance to taste it ourselves, but we spoke the next day with Jean Marie, who said that is was very, very sweet! Puwe lelen kpem!
We went to share our lives with our friends, and that we did. Caden and Corban love spending time in the villages, and they especially enjoyed this trip with all of the singing, dancing and playing with the village children.
We always feel welcome in Lassa Tchou, and many people that have visited Kabiye land have felt the same way. Caden ran around like a wild man with the children, and Corban managed to get a dance with this young girl :)
Our children are a novelty in the villages we visit, but they really are much more than that. We, as parents, rarely feel more loved then when people love on our children. All parents understand this. This is even true in Kabiye culture, where children are often an afterthought. We believe that God has put a love for children in the hearts of His people, a belief that is confirmed strongly by the interactions Jesus had with the little people he came into contact with. Some things, we have found, are universal, transcending culture, religion, social status and any other barrier that man creates. God has chosen the mouths of infants and children to truly praise Him!
Caden simply could not be corralled for this picture, taken after a tasty meal of rice, pork and tomato sauce. This festival reminded us that we as God's people occasionally need to stop, reflect, and enjoy this life on earth that He has given us. We are thankful for our family in Lassa Tchou, who showed us once again that one of God's great gifts is that "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven."

Tumladu Kifalu

"Tumladu Kifalu" is the name given by the guys to our newest participant in Saturday communal work days, which basically means, "The New Guy". His real name is Prinam, which means something like "success", and he is showing a lot of good potential for discipleship. Trimming the branches back on the big front yard tree

I've known him here and there from just being around the neighborhood, but the other day he came to my house to ask for help. He had lost two of his school books, and he said that his dad was going to beat him if he found out that they were gone. I'm strongly for being honest with your parents, but I am also strongly against domestic violence against children, something that is widespread in Kabiye families. The books only cost about 8 bucks total, and it was a pretty easy decision for me. Mixing up the compost pit (which is looking dark and rich by the way!)
After asking the other guys on the work team what they thought about him, they all agreed that he should come and work with us to pay off the cost of the books. This Saturday was Prinam's first run with the work team, and he showed himself to be a hard and committed worker. He was quiet and obviously wary of his place in this particular circle of men, but he held his own and even responded to some questions about God that were posed.

Prinam is the shorter of the two yellow shirts, the other is Akla, my adopted son. Please pray for him and our interactions in the weeks to come. May his heart and ours be open to God's leading.

Wednesday in Lassa Tchou

Yesterday I went out to the village. It was a mostly normal visit, much like dozens of others I've done previously. What made it just a little bit different, and better, were the many things I learned. Following are some great things happening in Lassa Tchou, according to the people themselves. So often we ask them what is wrong in their village, but this time we asked them what was going right, an insightful question by Monsieur Michel, the Community Development specialist.

- They said that marriage relationships were getting better. They have received teaching in previous months on the subject of marriage, and they have been sharing these things with their neighbors with positive results. Whole families are eating together on a regular basis; men, women & children, a rarity in Kabiye culture, where the men usually eat separate from their families.

- The Kabiye love to laugh. As we were discussing families yesterday, I gave them the old analogy of "The man is the head of the family, but the woman is the neck, and the neck turns the head". They about fell out of their chairs, and two guys had to leave the building to hack up some Harmattan dust.

- The 3 women at the meeting all said that the women/wives of their village are being treated better, often given a voice and respect by their husbands.

- They said that they are doing better disciplining their children. A young father even repeated to me, "My children learn more from what I do than what I say." I had taught this same concept at a Kabiye marriage retreat back in August, and this man was not in attendance at that meeting, which shows me that information is filtering out from core groups.

- They said that here are several large compost pits in their village, implemented after they were taught about composting in a development lesson. I have recently fallen in love with the dark, rich, and all natural fertilizer known as compost, a better long term alternative than chemical fertilizer. I plan to visit again next week to see how these pits are coming.

- They said that they are having Bible studies with their neighbors. This is obviously the most important teaching they have received, the story of love, redemption, sacrifice and everlasting life with God. I thank the Father that his Son is being proclaimed in big ways and small, through avenues both direct and indirect, in the village of Lassa Tchou.

Alibi 1 Introductions - Wiyao & Yawa Nnama

This is the first in a series of posts that will introduce you to the new Body of believers in Alibi 1. Today I want to introduce you to Wiyao Nnama. Wiyao (wee-a-ow) is the Kabiye word for chief, and Nnama means respect or obedience. Wiyao is married to Yawa, and together they have 6 children. He works mainly as a farmer, but when the opportunity arises, he is also trained to work as a mason. Wiyao is a fun, energetic and outgoing man. I enjoy his company, and our personalities mesh well together. Yesterday I spent about 30 minutes talking and getting to know him one on one, and I believe that God will use him for great things. I have seen how his fellow villagers like and respect him, and that will hopefully be a key to open the door for the gospel to be shared within Wiyao's sphere of influence. In the picture below you can see the joy of brotherhood that he shares with his friends.
Wiyao is also quite a dancer. Follow this link to see his great moves: (Wiyao's moves)
Please pray for Wiyao and his family as he leads them on a new journey in life, one that is now taking place within God's Kingdom. I hope that one day you can come and meet him, give him a hug, and let him know that you love him and have been praying for him!

Another Alibi Baptism Video

This one from my friend Matt, who attended the baptisms with me. Enjoy God's greatness!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKbqh6eZi2Q

Alibi Baptisms

Yesterday there were 34 baptisms in the village of Alibi! I know that many people have been praying for this evangelism effort, and our prayers have been answered. The number baptized included 10 married couples, which is a huge praise! We are leaving to go to the beach for a few days here in about an hour, but I wanted to quickly share the news and post some pictures (you can see even more pics on my Facebook page). I will tell more of the story later, with video. Praise God with us today! Headed down to the river, singing and dancing all the way! The chief of the village and his wife were baptized! These 4 friends were so full of joy after being baptized, laughing, dancing and slapping each other on the back :) The entire group of 34, plus their children. First communion. We praise God as His Kingdom expands among the Kabiye!

Here's a short video!

Hearing & Doing - Making Disciples

Matthew 28:16-20 - "Then the 11 disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus told them to go. When they saw Him, they worshipped Him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.'"

A response I have to this scripture is to climb a mountain this weekend and worship Jesus as the 11 disciples did when they first saw Him after the resurrection. He is my Lord, my Teacher, my Savior, and He is worthy of my praise. My life and work will flow out of my love for Him.

I will also respond to Jesus' teachings in these verses by daily studying the Gospels to find exactly what He meant by, "everything that I have commanded you." I want to know the commands of Jesus. I might even make a list! I also was given a good book by a friend: What Jesus Demands of the World by John Piper. I'm looking forward to digging into it!

Specific commands that Jesus gives to the 11 disciples/Apostles in this passage:

- "Go and make disciples of all nations."
- "Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."
- "Teach them to obey everything I have commanded you."

I've been struggling lately with making the link between Jesus' clear commands to his 11 closest original disciples (the other one Jesus chose betrayed His very life), and those also being the direct commands to us today. If you have any thoughts or input about making this link, please post your comments here or send me a message on Skype/Twitter/FB/MySpace/my Yahoo email address, my Gmail email address, my other Gmail email address, my really old Hotmail email address, or just send some old fashioned snail mail to:

Brett Emerson
B.P. 802
Kara, Togo, West Africa

That should cover it. Grace & Peace!

Hearing & Doing - Shema Living

Our team is currently engaged in a season of seeking God's direction for our work. Much of what we are studying together stresses obedience to God and His commands, many of which were given through Jesus. What is obedience, exactly? From reading The Shema in Deuteronomy 6, my friend Matt came up with a great definition: Obedience is hearing and doing. I plan to blog some bits and pieces of our studies together, focusing on specific scriptures (hearing) as well as my response to that scripture in my daily life (doing). Today I'll start with Deuteronomy 6:3-9.

"Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, promised you.
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates."

In response to this scripture, I will lead my family daily in reading God's Word. I will also search the accounts of Jesus' life to better understand how I can obey my Lord.

May we all not just hear God's Word but obey it as well!