Do you believe in miracles?

We both kept journals during our time in West Africa; which is a habit I'd like to continue.

I'd prefer to call it a journal rather than a diary, because I think the word diary conjures up images of a pink book with a Barbie lock on it.

Either way, we both found writing about our daily experiences therapeutic...and having a record of our time abroad has helped remind us of the daily answers to prayer we received.

Here is an entry I almost forgot about:

June 19, 2008: Do you believe in miracles?
Two missionary friends went out to a village in Burkina Faso to help fix a well. It had been broken for two years, which meant villagers had to walk 3km to the nearest water. The missionaries bought new parts to replace the broken bits, and they started pulling up more than 30 metres of piping. It was all going well, until they realised the entire system would not work because they were missing one, special bolt. It was a big bolt that at best may be found in a capital city. More likely, it would need to be imported. But it definitely couldn't be found in a rural African village. The local African pastor said he'd have a look around for one...so he hopped on his small motorbike. Twenty minutes later he returned with a brand new bolt, which met all the specifications. The missionary said: “He found it where God put it.” Now the village has water.

Jon

One of our favourite African pics

Overwhelmed by dust, vultures, stray dogs and poverty, it took us a while to find beauty in sub-Saharan West Africa. And then we saw it.