TheJourney in Africa

Thursday, June 28 It’s a mockingbird morning. The mockingbird that rules our front yard is a providing a free concert in the (slightly) cooler Louisiana morning. I sit, cup of coffee and Bible, for my quiet time.  In spite of the racket of his 5 note-7 song repertoire, I enjoy my time “alone”:  God, me, and a mockingbird. I’ve always …

Click here to hear podcast of “Burned Yet Blessed” From Deep Roots, the new short story collection by Curt Iles Burned yet Blessed “The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The next best time is today.” Nothing breaks my heart like a field of burned pines. Yet that is exactly what I’m looking at driving toward …

Notes from Africa: The Joys of a Bucket Bath   Waste not, Want not. Going green in Liberia     Steps to a great bucket bath: 1. Heat up a tea kettle and pan of water on the gas stove.   2.Pour hot water (carefully) into bucket in tub.   3. Let cool, but not too much. Get your soap …

Alvin Sompon and Abrahim A. Sarnor Words from the future of Africa. Alvin’s words on Service. Alvin is a rising senior at Ricks Institute. He is the son of the Ag teacher here. He’s been sharing with me about service. Here are a few of his thoughts: “Service is guiding the younger people to serve the older people of our …

Marcus Perkins Marcus and his Garden President Obama’s weekend visit to West Africa was big news inLiberia. We only heard sound bites from the BBC radio as we rode in a vehicle. Our Liberian friends told about the president’s words including phrases like: “We must start from the simple premise thatAfrica’s future is up to Africans.” To the youth, who …

Good eating at Ricks. This is our wonderful cook each day for lunch, Mrs. Musu. She’s cooked plenty of what I call “soul food.” We’ve had collard greens, potato greens, fish gravy (like catfish couvillian), and cabbage with chicken. This is how Ricks Institute. This is staff housing. Notice the palm trees. The palm nuts are a major source of …

Clay Iles in Mali, Africa Our oldest son Clay just returned from a memorable trip among the Bozo tribe in Mali, Africa. To read about it and see photos, click on http://www.suemanakomina.blogspot.com/

Below is our schedule for this week’s trip to Liberia, Africa. While there we’ll be working with the Ricks Institute, a school near the capital of Monrovia. We’re sharing this schedule so you’ll know what we’re doing and how to pray for us. (Liberian time is 5 hours ahead of US-CDT.) We are carrying plenty of school supplies as well …

The Evening Holler This group of Zulu (South African) boys are giving the “Dry Creek Hoot Owl Call.” I’d been in their village the week before and shared “The Evening Holler.” They greeted me with it when we returned. It was a neat experience. To read this story– the first one in my first book (Stories from the Creekbank) click …

Green Lake, a volcanic lake near Goma, Congo. Eastern Congo is located in a branch of the Great African Rift valley. Because of this, Goma is surrounded by five active volcanoes. With one of the churches we visited in the foreground, Mt. Nyiragongo lets off steam. African stories and faces The walls of African churches are simple. The worship taking …