Thank you all for your prayers. Every day I’ve been filled with energy, joy and peace. Week two of teaching went a whole lot smoother, and I’ve been able to see the students improve. It helps that they are so excited about learning and are full of questions (one of the boys the other day told me, “I want to learn math so I wont get cheated”)

One of my favorites at the boy’s center is Kefas, he always has a question for everything, and they range from: “What does it mean to offer your body as a living sacrifice to Why are there white people and black people?” Working daily with the boys has given me a refreshing look at a lot of faith and life questions.

Every week there are high points and low points.
This Tuesday was particularly exhausting. The boys just did not want to work in the afternoon, the little orphans seemed ornery and pouty, and Brian and I were physically and emotionally exhausted. I had been getting to know the boys more, and that day I had the chance to hear about some of their backgrounds. It was disheartening to hear about some of their past abuse or troubled family life and shocking to hear that some of them live over 2 hours away.

That night was a good reminder to be continually relying on God for our strength, and that we don’t have to just wait until our strength gives out for God’s strength to kick in.
I’ve been continually drawing upon two of my favorite verses for encouragement:
Isaiah 40: 29-31
He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak…those whose hope is in the Lord will renew their strength…
2 Cor 12:9
My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.

And then the next day was the best one so far. Brian and I seemed to have so much enthusiasm and energy. One of new our favorite sayings that the boys got us started on is “no problem” – every is always “no problem” to them. During afternoon construction work which is honestly not my favorite time of the day, I felt God telling me to start singing. So I started singing the first thing that came to my mind, this song I learned at summer camp last summer, King Jesus is All. Don’t know why it was that one, but the boys just ate it up, everyone wanted to learn it. So for the last few days of the week, we were all singing during work, which obviously made mixing concrete, carrying wheelbarrows full of sand and rock, and building a wall much go much smoother.

And now just when I’m getting into the swing of things, there is a two week break, and Rafiki has a clinic open to the community for the next eight days, and there is a team of doctors coming in this weekend. I am definitely learning to be flexible and smile. I have no idea what I’ll be doing this next week, but I’ll be sure to let you know in my next update.

Working with the little orphans has had it’s ups and downs as well. One minute they’re all smiles and polite, and the next they’re climbing all over you and yelling that you don’t love them if you don’t give them attention. Overall, they’re somewhat lacking in discipline and it’s been a challenge to find a balance between showing them much needed love, but not rewarding their conditioned whiny responses to receive it.

I try to make Mark 10:14 my prayer every time I walk by their houses and I know that I will be mobbed shortly by a chorus of uncle luke this or uncle luke that, that I would have Jesus’ attitude of “Let the little children come to me” after he had been exhausted from a long day of work as well. Little kids are great though. They make me laugh. The other day we were teaching them how to garden and one of them was emphatically muttering, “Thank you Adam,” every time he chopped another weed. Thanks to them, I am continually reminded about what it means to “receive the kingdom of God like a little child” Mark 10: 15.

I have also been so blessed being surrounded by God’s awesome creation: this week we got to climb the rock boulder hill/”mountain” behind our center that I had been dying to climb since day one, and last night Brian and I witnessed the most amazing thunderstorm ever – the massive clouds covering the sky were continually being lit up by distant lighting, yet there was no thunder and we never saw any of the lightning bolts themselves, it was like our own private fireworks show.

This week I started and finished The Heavenly Man, about the life, persecution, and witness of the Chinese house church leader Brother Yun. Amazing. If you haven’t read it or heard of it, I would highly recommend getting a copy. It’s my new favorite book. So many good questions raised, like am I willing to suffer for my faith, how can I be less tied down by my possessions, or why am I so afraid to share my faith with others? The power of prayer and the significance of scripture memorization were weighed upon me.

Well that about sums up some of my week. Thanks for taking the time to read this and for keeping me and those here in your prayers. email me about how God is working in your life and how I can be praying for you as well.

Rafiki Sunday

Rafiki Sunday
Originally uploaded by locoluko.

This is a picture of some of the kids here and volunteers before we went to church last Sunday. Behind us is part of the Rafiki center and the beautiful scenery beyond

Friends in Lagos

Olam and Luke
Originally uploaded by locoluko.

I arrived in Lagos, Nigeria last week. Wow is it ever a big city, kind of reminded me of Bangkok but bigger and with big gates and fences around all of the houses. The best part was that I got to stay with my friend Dubem at his house for four days and experience life from more of an African perspective. It was neat to be a part of a house with grandparents and cousins living there as well as the nuclear family. I loved all of the Nigerian food, which Dubem's mother piled onto my plate every meal. The highlight was attending their church service which lasted for about four hours! The worship alone must have gone on for about two hours. I loved how everyone was dancing around and singing loudly and joyfully. Without time constraints like we have in most of our american churches, we could just worship and enjoy being in a community of believers together. Definitely left me with a lot of challenging thoughts about what worship is. This whole trip as a whole has definitely left me with a lot to ponder, and I'm excited to talk to some of you when I get back.

This is a picture of me and another friend from Taylor, Olamide that Dubem and I went to visit on his birthday