Home Is Where the Heart Is

Wade & Kate McHargue's home is a place built with love and sustained by love.  Their marriage, their children, the house, the ministry, it's all an expression of their love for the Lord and for people.  Without that love they could not carry on the work they are doing in such trying conditions.  It puts me to shame when I think of all the times I've whined about the work involved in cleaning my house, after seeing what's involved in keeping up Kate's house with her water situation and limited access to tools and supplies.  Vacuum cleaner?  Nope.  Sponge mop?  Nope.  Dishwasher?  Nope.  Washing machine?  Nope.  Paper towels?  Forget it!  Trash pickup service?  Are you kidding?!?!?  Trash gets sorted into three categories - that which is edible and can be fed to the animals, that which can be burned, and that which has to be buried.  Floors throughout the house are washed every day because of the amount of dirt tracked in even with shoes being left at the door, and watching Rosa do the cleaning for a week made me cringe over the physical demands on Kate's body. 

Dishes are washed in a pot or a bowl with water that has been carried from the well, and most of the time it's not even worth the effort to heat the water for washing or rinsing dishes because of the exorbitant cost of propane to fuel the stove.  A generator provides electricity for the barest minimum of needs, which translates to about 3-4 hours of powering lightbulbs each evening so the family doesn't have to go to bed when the sky gets dark like the natives do.  Laundry is scrubbed on a washboard in a large tub out in the yard, then hung on a line for the sun to dry.  Since my luggage was stuffed with supplies for our Jesus Spa, I brought few clothing items and needed some of them washed midweek, so I paid Rosa's sister Naoza about $2 to perform this service for me. 

In a country where the nearest place to purchase toilet paper is 40 miles away, Kate's family has learned to conserve and minimize waste to a degree that we spoiled Americans rarely even consider.  Eating the main meal from a family bowl cuts dirty dishes and cleanup by about 75%.  Foregoing all plates for lunch and breakfast eliminates the need for water and soap to clean dishes, requiring only a few swipes of a rag to remove sticky smudges and crumbs from the table.  Wearing clothing items multiple times regardless of soil and sweat conserves water and energy that could easily be squandered on trying to maintain a rich man's standard of cleanliness.  And yet there is no slovenliness.  Even among the poorest of the poor, bodies are bathed daily and women's hair is their crown of loveliness.  Although Kate's children are properly dressed by our standards, young children of the local citizens are left naked or mostly naked much of the time because it is easier to wash a body than to wash clothing.  And local women do their bathing together at a well rather than carry their bath water all the way home every day in addition to the chore of hauling drinking and cooking water for their families' needs.  This may offend our sense of modesty, but it is a practical necessity for many who are overworked and under-rested.  Kate recognizes that she is blessed to have an indoor bathroom with a toilet that can be flushed with a splash of water from a bucket, and a sink and shower pan where bathing can be done indoors in privacy with drains that carry away the dirty water. 

Would you rather bathe here . . .

or here?

In spite of the presence of litter virtually everywhere the Guinean people are living, whether in tiny villages, bustling towns, or the capital city, inside the homes the dirt floors are kept swept clean with handmade palm brooms.  The people do almost all their actual living outside rather than indoors, which is primarily a place for sleeping, so it's not nearly as hard for them to keep their sparsely furnished houses clean as it is for Kate, whose family insists on doing much of their living indoors like other Americans! 

Notice the vultures in the tree.
Photo taken in Bissau, the capital of Guinea Bissau.

Bissau city street

Much of life for Americans in West Africa still happens indoors.

But while life in West Africa has many challenges, one of the treats that I particularly enjoyed was the night sky.  Without the presence of artificial lights obscuring the view, the natural lights in the heavens are magnificent in their brilliance and abundance.  I was taught in elementary school half a century ago that all those stars and planets are up there all the time, but only in a planetarium have I previously seen the awesome sight of a vast night sky lit with millions of dazzling specks in a full circle from horizon to horizon in every direction.  Truly the heavens proclaim the glory of God!

Listening Prayer

Bringing pampering to the women of Mansoa wasn't the only blessing being delivered in Guinea Bissau during our visit.  Katie had a blessing in mind for Tonya and me as well.  One morning the three of us gathered in the comfort of her living room with our Bibles and notebooks in hand, and she instructed us in the art of listening prayer.  We already knew how to speak to God, and we already knew how to recognize His voice when He spoke to us, and now we were going to learn to focus our listening specifically for the benefit of a chosen recipient.  After getting our instructions, for fifteen minutes Kate and I opened our spiritual ears to hear whatever God might have to say to Tonya for her edification and encouragement.  We scribbled notes, drew pictures, and located scripture references in our Bibles as the thoughts came like a stream.  I had entered into this activity with doubts about my ability to hear clearly.  In fact, before making the trip to Africa I had expressed to a few friends that this was the only part of our planned mission that left me feeling very insecure.  The original plan had been that we would have listening prayer over half a dozen local Christian women, but as it turned out there simply wasn't time to work this into the activities of the week.  Kate had experienced this herself in the context of a conference for Christian missionary women in West Africa, where about two hundred women blessed each other with listening prayer, one by one.  As this experience had ministered powerfully to her, she had the desire to pass on the blessing to others. 

When our listening time was up, Katie and I took turns sharing with Tonya what we had heard the Lord say concerning her.  Though I had entered into this with apprehension, once the thoughts started flowing I knew that the success of listening prayer depended not so much on my listening skills as on God's speaking skills, and He is not lacking in this ability by any measure!  He spoke clearly to Noah about building an ark to spare his family and a pair of each species of animal and bird from the coming flood.  He spoke clearly to Abraham to take his family and go to a land that would be shown to him when he got there.  He spoke clearly to Moses with instructions to return to Pharoah and lead the Hebrews out of Egypt.  Throughout all the recorded Old and New Testament times God spoke clearly to those who had chosen to follow Him, and sometimes to those that He chose to snatch out of their rebelliousness or misdirected religious passion.  When God speaks we can choose to listen or we can choose to tune Him out, but for those who have ears to hear there will be messages of wisdom, guidance, encouragement, exhortation and insight.  And so, with a desire to receive a message for Tonya, Kate and I had asked the Lord to open our spiritual ears to hear.  When I expressed one particular message I received that didn't make sense to me, Kate was able to supply the other half of it from her time of listening!  After I read the passage of scripture that I had been led to for Tonya, Kate declared that she had the very same scripture!  And it was clear from the emotional response that Tonya's heart was being touched at a deep level.

And then it was my turn to be the recipient of listening prayer.  Tonya was, if possible, even more apprehensive than I had been, but it was obvious from the page of notes she scribbled that God was able to make Himself heard even by one much younger in the faith.  My heart was moved deeply by the messages that Kate and Tonya delivered to me from God.

Though we didn't have the opportunity to do listening prayer over any of the African Christian women, we did bless another missionary with this gift.  Liz and her husband William live about an hour's drive away in the town of Lendeng, on assignment with SIL, a language translation organization.  The work she is doing to help small translation teams bring written language to several people groups in the country is simply amazing.  Not only does she guide and oversee their work in translating portions of scripture, but she and her teammates produce remakes of the Jesus film in each of these languages being studied and developed for evangelistic purposes.  Voice actors have to be located and taught to read in their native languages, then audio recordings are made of voice-overs for the film.  Recording of these tediously prepared scripts is done in tiny makeshift, airless booths where the actors emerge after an hour drenched in sweat like they'd taken a dip in the river.  Liz and her husband are an important strand in the network of selfless, dedicated workers bringing Christ to this dark corner of the world, so it was our joy and privilege to visit in their home and gift Liz with listening prayer. 

Nothing Worth Doing Is Ever Easy

Wade and Kate McHargue were informed by the Youth for Christ organization that their particular placement in Mansoa, Guinea Bissau, is one of the most difficult assignments YFC has in the entire world.  The turnover rate for missionaries in West Africa averages 3 years because it is such a difficult field for an American to work in.  Living conditions can be grueling, good healthcare is nearly nonexistent, frustrations can be discouraging to the point of giving up, and relationships with local residents and government officials can sometimes be severely strained.  But God has granted an amazing amount of favor to this young couple in the eyes of those who have the authority and the power to make life miserable for them or even force them out.  The Muslim mayor of Mansoa gave her blessing for them to do the work they came to do, with no hidden agenda.  In spite of Wade's candor with everyone about why they are there and what they hope to accomplish, with few exceptions they have been welcomed and encouraged.  His efforts to build relationships with men at the local military base were strained at first, but as he continued coming back on a weekly basis they have warmed to him and now even look forward to him coming and bringing them messages of news about their worth in the eyes of the one true God.  His visits to the hospital to pray for the sick were initially met with suspicion, but his genuine compassion for the suffering, and his faithfulness in returning every week, have brought about a respect that is hard to explain apart from God's favor in an animistic and Muslim culture.  The weekly radio program that airs every Friday evening is drawing more and more listeners across the country, and each week they get phone calls from people wanting more information, wanting to meet with one of the men to talk about Christianity, or thanking them for bringing the news of hope and salvation in Christ that is changing their lives.

In every society and culture there are obstacles to the gospel message.  In the United States one of the biggest obstacles is our affluence, as well as our tenacious grip on independence.  We have so much that we can easily be blind to our needs.  And we are convinced that we can do it ourselves if we just try hard enough and get enough breaks.  But in spite of how hard we work, how much we accomplish, how polished and together we look on the outside, it is only the power of Almighty God that can remove our guilt and free us from the power of sin in our lives.  In a culture like that of West Africa, where everyone except those in high official positions of power are deprived and impoverished by nearly any standard, there are fewer masks to hide behind and fewer ways to be deceived about one's need for a savior.  But there are still plenty of ways for people's lostness to express itself destructively, and one of the most common in this country is alcoholism thanks to the perversion of one of God's gifts to the people of this region.

The cashew tree is as common in Guinea Bissau as a scrub pine along the east coast of North America.  The people harvest the nuts for their own use, but due to corruption in the government there is little exporting which could potentially benefit the hungry people in this country with a sizeable profit that would help ease their constant struggle to find food.  And, as if that situation weren't bad enough, each cashew nut has a little fruit attached which contains a sweet juice that ferments naturally in the extreme heat of the climate.  So, the trees that could potentially bring an increased level of well-being to the populace, is instead being used primarily as a source of self-destruction among the men of this country.  Cashew wine is the drug of choice, and the clutches of addiction are deeply embedded in the husbands and fathers of the families in this land.

But God is raising up men whose lives are testimonies to the power to be delivered from that prison of addiction through a relationship with Jesus Christ.  Counting the cost, willing to stand against persecution, and desiring to make a difference for their families, their neighbors, and their nation, there are men saying yes to the call to be trained as pastors and evangelists.  The School of Discipleship at the center has now graduated 2 classes of men who are currently serving full time as pastors or evangelists, trusting God for their support since many have no paying jobs.  A third class will begin in June.  Wade has made the decision to limit class size to no more than twelve men, in order that they might be able to maximize opportunities for personal mentoring during the 3-month period when school is in session, as well as building of relationships among the class members themselves. 

Students from first two classes meeting together with visiting
Americans.  (Photo borrowed from McHargue Family website.)

From a scrubby 15-acre parcel of land, through the vision, faith, and hard work of a dedicated couple with a clear focus and commitment to bring the Kingdom of God to Guinea Bissau, has arisen a thriving ministry through which lives are being transformed.  Shortly after the property was purchased and dedicated to the Lord, before the buildings were even up, someone told Wade that word was going around that the path of the serpent spirit had been cut off when the bronco bought the land.  The local witchdoctor can no longer get the serpent spirit to cross the bulagna from the river to the village where he lives.  Praise God!