OK Karen, here ya go!

It would take a week to tell all but I'll try to summarize. George and I are members of a fellowship of ministers from several countries. Once a year we have a seminar/reunion/get-together. We had been asked to host one of the houses (there were 3 houses) so we went Wed. after work to set help up. In our house we got a lot of the international ministers, some who we know; others are new- to us. The theme was Pioneering Missions, and as it was in Oklahoma they began with a Ho Down and we had First Nation guests. One was an Indian dancer, a National champion, who uses the dance to tell the Gospel. There are a lot of pow-wows in the central states and he goes to them. He was really amazing. Everything to the Indian has significance. Every piece of dress, make up and he uses it all to tell the redemptive story of is salvation. There was an older Indian gentleman who works among troubled Indian young people to help them stay off drugs, find a future ect. He himself had a really rough childhood growing up on the reservation. He told some of the history of the White take over of America. That whole reservation thing is such a shame on us Americans. He remembers it as a prison. It wasn't 'til the 60's I think that Indians were allowed off the reservations for school, to vote, to work. Things are changing but they are a struggling people. Many of them feel they will bring healing to this land that they consider sacred. It was an educational, moving and remarkable night.

There were 3 days of outstanding classes on pioneering ministry. LaDonna Osborn, daughter of TL and Daisy Osborn, taught. She's been in countries all over the world with her parent's evangelistic outreach and training all her life. This who I went to Nigeria with recently. George speaks French and translated for the Angolans (he's fulll of surprises). There were pastors and ministers there from Nigeria, Kenya, Central African Republic, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, China, Romania, India, Bulgaria, Mexico, Puerto Rico, I think we counted 37 nations represented. About 80% of them were women ministers. We spent many late nights talking. Their work is incredibly difficult due to desperate poverty, government restrictions and the encroaching Islamic world view, which, realistically, seldom uses the Love of Allah to propagate their message (not to say that Christians always do either, though the COG had such a unique version of that :0).

The second night we had a bonfire and TL Osborn and some of his family came and sang campfire songs (the African's were freezing (they say they have thin blood). One cousin brought her horse who she is training by the Monty Roberts gentling technique. I became familiar with it while working with 4H with my kids. It leaves behind the old beat them down 'til they submit method that some of us may understand all too well. The last night the Rotarians came and did the barbershop type sing along (that was super), and told a bit about their out-reaches. They really do a lot with a big heart. LaDonna Osborn's husband, Cory Nickerson, is the director of the choir. We had a lot of singing from the different cultures and languages.

Sunday we went to Church at La Donna's church for lots of "lost in Jesus" worship and heard more stories and tales. Amazingly, no tales of woe, though I know some of the hardships they endure. It was really hard to say good buy. There will be a week of classes this week that I really wish I could have stayed for but could not ... Oh Woe!

Just to give you a glimpse of the folks we met, Mama Winnie, Kenya, has an orphanage of 600 children. Most of her children's parents died of aids. She also has a home for abandoned women. That's what they do if they don't like them any more, or they can't have male sons, or if the husband dies the family of the husband takes all the stuff and throws her out, often naked in the streets. Mama Winnie is also working on developing an adoption center for some of the children to match them with families there who want them in Kenya. There is a lot of hoops to jump and government paperwork, but she spends most of her time finding food for her children in a country that has little. She's an amazing, indomitable woman with the strength of a lion and the heart of God. Mama Grace is elderly and has been a pastor and pioneer in Nigeria for many years. She single handedly evangelized a voodoo area where the witch doctors were known for killing any outsiders. She went with a tambourine and an umbrella (rainy season) and led the witch do ctor's kids to Jesus. Now, she is beginning a new ministry to women to teach them to teach women Christian basics, entrepreneurial ideas, English, which is the commerce language, healthcare etc. 40% of the women in Nigeria are, what is called circumcised . If any of y'all know what that involves, it's a horrendous mutilation that kills many young girls and condemns the ones that survive to a life time of horrid continual pain and abuse. All of the Kenya circumstances for women are the same in Nigeria, only worse. Nigeria has only been a Democracy for 6 years, and if we don't appreciate what that means in the States, just ask a Nigerian what it means to vote, in spite of corruption, violence, and desperate poverty. They are a struggling nation, as many of the African nations are. Mama Grace went back to school 5 years ago so she could do this. Well, do I feel lazy. There's the young man, Orlando who beginning a work with street kids in New York City, the couple coming from 15 years in India, another 15 in Romania doing large meetings of 50,000 people and are now headed for Brazil. There are the Angolans who pastor in an area that has had it's entire infrastructure destroyed. The 2 Angolans had never met before, but they have now. I could go on and on. My head is still reeling and I didn't get to meet all of them except to shake their hands. It was such a privilege to be together, see their vision of the world, offer a bit of rest and some TLC. I am pooped. I haven't gotten much sleep yet. Tonight, I will sleep. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZz

Well that's a little smidge of what we've been up to.