Out of The Bush and Readying a week of meetings...

We arrived into our area of operations last Thursday morning at around 230AM (Local). Wow! What jetlag does to the human body. If you all think I can be a bit odd/unique/only childish, well then jet lag brings out the best in everyone! :)))) Our first day in West Africa, we rested, established communication with our fixers on the ground and organized our meetings for last week and this week. On Friday morning, we met with a large, faith-based Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) that is an umbrella for The Church in our AO. We discussed our desires to establish renewable energy arrays with senior NGO leaders, many of whom had served in the government for years. (Note: I am so thankful that God, in His divine providence, trained me in the Halls of Congress at an early age. I could never help steer this initiative without my training in Washington, on the campaign trail, and within Florida Blue Key. It is amazing The Story we live in. Now, if we can pause but for a moment a day to recognize that life is so much more epic than we think.) After we conferred with the NGO, we sped off to our first meeting with the ministry of energy. There we met with an official who is exploring energy efficiency issues for The Country, including solar power. We learned that there were many synergies between our efforts and it seems that this the beginning of a beautiful marriage between our efforts and The Leaders. A long term strategic planning will need to occur before all go-aheads are given. That will require a resource on the ground here for 1-2 months working in conjunction with the team back in The States on feasibility studies, collaborative planning and assessment, and a final verifiable benchmark list that all will have to agree on for an appropriate plan to be walked out through all channels of The Government. This meeting with the energy official was promising. Buoyed from this enthusiasm, we took off with our missions partner in country and her son to their hometown/small village five hours away. On our way, we passed through many villages and markets/bazaars. Many were filled with mosques, begging children, streetside merchants selling fruit, candies and so forth. As the sun was going down, roosters would crow, but the appropriate sound for this setting that will forever be burned into my memory was the sound of the call to prayer by the local Imams. Fascinating people. Though I do not agree with muslim theology, I regard the constant reverance of divinity by this culture as something to be absorbed and implemented in my own life. In fact, it is not rare to be bargaining with a muslim merchant when all of a sudden they will drop to their knees and pray. They recognize the value of constant reverance. We arrived into our partner's village at dark, dodging bicycles, livestock, buses on the road. The roads here need a lot of work, by the way. Potholes that will make your head spin, literally. We readied for bed, and I made friends with her dog, Ber Tiero (a 2 year old German Shepherd). I taught him to howl like I have my French Bulldog, ET. The next day, we visited several villages, shaking many hands, praying for new mothers, and observing the local medical clinic. Ladies, be thankful you give birth in The States. The birthing table is crude. I will post photos when I arrive. The most memorable part of Saturday, though, was meeting with a pastor of a new church deep in The Bush. Both he and his wife should be models. They are gorgeous people, as are their children. Jesus got a hold of their hearts when they were deeply entranced in voodoo. Now they are serving faithfully their local tribespeople in a thatched hut church. These people have nothing, a mud hut house, a church, their children, 4 goats, 5 chickens, and each other. And, guess what, they are joyful! 12% unemployment has no bearing on their joy like it does in The States. I have learned that (preface: I love our country, but...Wake up, America!)The US needs a serious repositioning of its perspective for what the true sources of joy and happiness really are. And, I hope and pray that the market correction shows all of us that we do not need to put trust in 'stuff', those things we cannot take with us, and 'tomorrow', that which we are not promised. On the note of this pastor's 5 chickens, he gave us one of them as a token of his appreciation, an extremely profound tribal gesture thanking us for visiting him. Imagine that, it blows my mind: the man was willing to forego his families nutrition needs for our physical wellbeing. I have not felt more humbled or in the presence of holiness in all of my life. We slept well last night. Today, we were up at 530AM (Local) to ready for church in another local village. There we dedicated a new, bigger church building wiht the local tribe. The church was brimming with people. You could not find a seat, but the people still made us a seat for all of our team. They were so happy, so joyful to have us a their guests. We could speak to one another because we did not know the language, but we communicated with handshakes, smiles, giggles. Our translator discussed with the group our diplomatic mission for renewable energy with The Government. They were honoured to have us working on that. I was stirred by how little these people have. Most children work and live naked all the week, but they have one outfit, reserved for Sunday, for church. It was primitive enough to give me a glimpse of the shadowland of Eden. No shame, no jealousy, mere joy. Smiles. Laughter. Love. I also observed and was deeply convicted that I, and my generation of guys (not men), are a joke. Most 7 year old boys in this tribe were driving cattle through the open grassfields of their people, work that David did in The Bible. These boys and men are the real deal and they have what it takes. Their work ethic, and the industriousness and selflessness of their mothers and wives/their women, are enchanting, convicting, and motivating. Word to my generation of guys who want to be men (me included): put up, shut up, do your part, work hard, work harder than the other guy, and provide for your bride and your family, do not quit, and never surrender to anything or anyone. Mark Driscoll, I had to borrow your material on that one, bro. I am deeply stirred while in West Africa. Off to rest. Have a morning meeting with another official. Keep our efforts in your prayers. We have many meetings to manage this week. And, we have a lot of work to do.

My heart and prayers are with you, Keep Battling Onward,

John Ross Pughe