Blurred lines...when is it work and when does it become play?

“The supreme accomplishment is to blur the line between work and play”.  Arnold Toynbee

What a great quote to start this blog post.  It used to be, back during my days in the Central African Republic working among the Fulani cattle herders of that land, that my colleague Karen and I would be having so much fun with the women and children in the remote nomadic places that the Fulani would temporarily set up as their home.  We often had to find them between seasons and in places that were off the beaten track.  For example, in the dry season, only the older women and young moms who were nursing their babies, along with the young children, would be left in the village while the men and older boys would be out in the bush looking for more grassy pastureland for their cattle.  Anyway, many a moment happened in life and ministry when Karen and I would look at each other and say “and there are people back home who are praying for us, loving us through their financial support and we’re out here having so much fun!”  Okay, now granted, not all days were fun….rainy days when you’re living in a grass thatched roof hut with no windows can be a challenge, and some days we just wanted a cold beverage and a flush toilet!  Yet I love this thought about blurring the line between work and play.

The early years of blurred lines....

How much fun is this??!!!

Worked hard with this boy and his mom to get him on his feet again ~

It was always work and play with our language helpers!
This is where I really learned to laugh at myself when speaking another language.

You really need to see the size of the "stool" that they gave me to sit on ~
it worked for her little 8 year old self but for me....it was quite a different story!

Perhaps one of my all time favorite Fulani village photos ~
make sure you appreciate the wings on Steve's tee-shirt.

Loved hanging out with this dear Fulani soul and to hear how God
had protected her during a fire that brought much pain to her body.

What a team ~ the laughter that we shared with this woman
will only be shared again in heaven!

And this blurred line is being revisited in my ministry setting here in Belgium in recent weeks.  There are so many days when I say “God, I love this land.  I love her people.  I can even sometimes love this language!”  That was my quote in church last Sunday when we were singing the song “There is power, power, wonder working power in the blood of the Lamb”.  We had sung the same song just recently during our kids’ Vacation Bible School in August, but it went like this:  “er is kracht, kracht, wonderbaar kracht in het bloed van het Lamb, in het kostbaar bloed van het Lamb”.  I felt a little foolish, singing that last line by myself in Flemish as the worship team finished the song on Sunday.  And then I blurted out “oh how I love this language”.  It’s only taken 10 years to get to this point!

God is accomplishing a good work in my heart, as I continue to make this land my “home” land, this language my “home” language, this people my “home” people.  The line is blurring between work and play ~ and I’m loving it!

Something complete and great ~ VBS 2014 reflections

“That is happiness; to be dissolved into something complete and great."
- Willa Cather

I love this quote!  It totally reflects who we were, the local body of Christ, as we worked hard together to follow Moses after he parted the Red Sea.  We even had to be careful to avoid getting wet or overwhelmed by the “flying fish” (sweet and sour candy….trust me, some kids weren’t trying so hard not to get hit by the fish, once they figured out it was candy!)  We wandered through the desert, carrying our life belongings with us from station to station in our tribes, which were named Judah, Esther, Boaz and Miriam….care to guess the name of the preschooler’s tribe?  And then when the Israelites deviated from what God had already instructed them about worshipping other gods, we all agreed that we would never bow down to a …..?

Moses got quite excited making little quail.
It's amazing what you can do with marshmallows and tortilla chips and a drop of food coloring!

The Red Sea, complete with a sandy floor ~ it really worked, and no one drowned in the water!

Real quail eggs anyone?  Actually, they were quite yummy,
 though some kids thought it was a bit weird!

Favorite moment of each day:  when the parents would drop off the kids a bit early, and we had the music video projecting in the room and the preschoolers were singing “I will, I will, I will trust You ‘cuz I know, I know, I know You’re gonna come through, Every step of the way, No matter what I face I’m gonna say I will trust You!”

When all was said and done, as we pulled apart our set (complete with a camel and several palm trees for that oasis that has to be a part of any wilderness experience), when you looked around the room, there was just so much joy.  We were tired, we were weary, but we were happy.  We had just been part of something that was completely great!  Cool, eh?!

False images.....Antwerp, Belgium style ~

My other favorite part of the day, when the tribe leaders
were given the opportunity to leave the kids who were singing
to pray for them and what we would all learn together ~ powerful!!

When we started our planning for this year’s program, we talked about how VBS gives us a chance to reach out to the community and how we are able to teach kids important lessons about God and his faithfulness. Yet I’m reminded again that most of ministry isn’t done for what it does for others.  The bigger change actually happens within myself.  I am blessed by our teenagers, our amazing snack crew, the craft leaders who gave sacrificially and made crafts work with only spending about $50 for a weeks worth of crafts for 20+ kids, and our kids and their families who together offered up more than 330euros to send to our missionary, Dr. Renee Valach, in Gabon Africa, to buy school supplies for the children that she works with in their local church ministry. 

I’m sure you’re all curious about why there were mousetraps in church….and they had nothing to do with mice!  Send me an email and I’ll let you in on the secret!  It was a scary experience, but God was faithful in protecting! Barb.swanson@covchurch.org

Oh yeah, and our preschoolers:  they were the tribe of Benjamin!