Bridging Culture. Working Together.

We enter into these beautiful churches, tourists in an unfamiliar land, gazing at the beauty of the church.  Learning how the church was built hundreds of years ago, relying solely on manpower.    Tourists standing in line for hours to see the wonder of the church building.  While embracing the awkward role of a tourist, gazing up at the Notre Dame, I realized that I didn’t actually think about God.  I thought about the building, the painter, the laborers, the architect who designed it.  I never stopped to think about the purpose behind the building.  I never once stopped to wonder at the beauty that ultimately God created.  It was almost as if I was worshipping man who drew, designed, and built these historic churches.  I wasn't actually worshipping God in this holy place.  I forgot who created man, who gave man the creativity and knowledge to be able to design such a feat. Maybe these historic churches have become an idol.  Maybe we need to rethink the meaning and purpose of a

You call me out upon the waters The great unknown where feet may fail And there I find You in the mystery In oceans deep My faith will stand And I will call upon Your name and keep my eyes above the waves When oceans rice My soul will rest in Your embrace For I am Yours and You are mine Your grace abounds in deepest waters Your sovereign hand Will be my guide Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me You've never failed and you won't start now Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders Let me walk upon the waters Wherever You would call me Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander And my faith will be made stronger In the presence of my Savior I have been thinking about oceans lately.  I have a fear of swimming in the ocean alone.  I like swimming in it with someone else.  If a shark comes along, at least I am not alone in the fight.   If I go in by myself, I do not like to go where I cannot see the bottom.  There is something fearful ab

I visited a friend who told me about how her older brother drowned in a river.  His friends tried and tried to pull him out of the water but nothing seemed to work.  I asked her if he knew how to swim and she told me he could swim well but a devil was inside the water that killed him.   Since then, anytime she needs to pass that river, she will never walk because she is afraid of the devil.  This devil is often called “mami wata”  (Mama water).  Some people are afraid to swim simply because of mami wata.   Just recently, a security guard from the school was rumored to have been shot with a witch gun.  They immediately took him to the village to get healed “traditionally.”  Around that time, a dead frog was found on the window of the secretary’s office.  Several people took pictures, claiming it was witchcraft.  Most people here know Koinadugu District as the center of witchcraft in Sierra Leone.   I have been reading a book called “A Praying Life” and in the book, the auth