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North Africa
Namesake
Once there was a North African baby who was named after me, and before she was a year old, she died tragically. A few years later, our translator’s baby daughter — named after one of my teammates — also died. I am tempted to say this is their story, and the story of...
African Scripture, American Soil
Translating God’s Word for an African People Group — but not in Africa “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” The leper’s faith-filled plea hung in the air as the translation team wrestled with how to convey his words in Kinyamulenge. We had been working...
Sorrow and Singing: A Story From North Africa
The field behind our house looked like a lake, and every day we heard the squeals and laughter of village children enjoying a swim. It was rainy season, and the usually dry ground was overflowing with water. One morning we woke to the news that a child had drowned....
Pilgrim is Tempted to Turn Back
This poem portrays a person wrestling with their calling, with the trials they've faced, and with the unknown trials ahead. Two different voices speak to the weary pilgrim: the voice of the Liar, our spiritual enemy, and the voice of the Lord. Turn back, turn back,...
Where Moth and Rats Destroy
I hate bugs. No, I’m not the kind of person who goes into hysterics every time I see a spider. I can usually keep my cool. But still — the sight of one gives me an unpleasant shudder and a wish to be somewhere far away. Somewhere where spiders never existed. “If the...
Sent Among Wolves
I send you out as sheep among the wolves, yet take no staff And bring no sturdy sandals for this steep and narrow path. You’ll be accused, yet make no plan in your defense to speak. You’ll hunger, yet your purse and plow and fields – behind you, leave. I send you out,...
The Signal and the Strength: A Poem Inspired by Acts 1-2
Before the ends of the earth, there was an end. Before the Spirit came, the Savior left. And they waited — not looking at the sky for the return of what was past, but devoting themselves to prayer for the revealing of what was promised. Do not look for times and...
Let it Be Rain
For a time, we lived in a refugee camp with people who had fled across the border from war in their home area. That border was less than 30 miles away, and when their villages were bombed, our tin roof would shake. Learning to distinguish the sounds of war from the...
The Wait We Don’t Want
“You will be my witnesses,” Jesus told His disciples soon before He ascended to heaven. “But first, wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit.” Wait? This was the beginning of Jesus’ plan to change the world? It’s certainly not the way...
They Laugh in the Floodwaters
Every year when the rains come and the river swells, the land floods. When we visited North Africa prior to settling there, we could hear the children laughing and playing in the temporary lake created by the floodwaters. Sadly, one morning we heard that a young...
Amna
It’s not that I haven’t been around dead babies before. This is a refugee camp in North Africa. Babies die every day. Malaria. Malnutrition. Dysentery. Other generic tragedies that make up the backdrop of a life marked by poverty and war. The story is...