Visa trouble...

Some days I think about the things I miss from America… and realize how very trivial they are. I am reminded again that if a person’s basic needs are met, everything else is sheer luxury. Driving back from Abidjan in the dark the other night we passed village after village lit only by the dim light of lanterns… (and the occasional, but rare, electric bulb.) Light is associated with wealth out here since so many are too poor to have electricity. That is why the idea that Jesus is the “Light of the World” or of heaven as a place where there is no night is so very appealing to them. I sit here at my laptop with the dim desk light casting its enchanting spell across my keys and I feel so blessed to be able to stay connected with everyone back home. I turn on the faucet and relish the water that rushes forth and am thankful I don’t have to carry it from a well. And I am most thankful that when my days are through here, I can return home… to my country. Where streets are clean, landfills maintained, and where I can once again communicate in a common language with random people I encounter; where I can have real milk on my cereal, watch it rain or snow all day long, and drive for more than a mile (you know, I always did really want to live in a city where everything you needed was in walking distance…, but I miss my car- even if it is polluting the environment!)
Last weekend Noelle, our cook, traveled to Abidjan to try to get a visa to return with the family when they go back to America in May. We were all awfully sad when her request was denied. To think that she cannot even visit our great land makes me realize how lucky I am to live there. To come and go as I please, and always call it home… I am blessed. We will not give up hope, perhaps someday circumstances will change and she will be able to visit. And I am sure that if she does, she herself will have a new appreciation for her country… right here in Cote d’Ivoire.
However, as it would turn out, Noelle is not the only one suffering from visa trouble. We just learned several days ago that the Ivorian government is now requiring visas to enter Cote d’Ivoire. Although I have a hard time imagining them denying anyone entrance, it does put a bit of a wrinkle in the plans of an American church group who is coming out in early February, and also for my friend Joanne who will arrive just before them. With just a few weeks before their visit, there is little time to get visas processed and obtained before they are to leave. Please pray for them as they work through the red tape and also that they would remain healthy through their travels and have an impact on this city- in the lives of the missionary kids and Ivorians… on those who merely observe.

(Picture: Sisters Raoline and Noelle- our fabulous cooks- On Christmas Eve)