Mr. Yoder Roller Coaster

You can be sure, any time of the day,

You’ll find Mr. Yoder, in the libraray,

With computer lit up, furrowed brow,

Shows you not to interrupt right now!

He starts early, coming home a bit late,

Bedraggled and hungry, I patiently wait,

‘Til at last he darkens our trailer door,

A sigh of relief, “I’ve lived one day more!”

He dramatically utters with a smile worn,

We eat then sleep, til the new day is born.
 Day in and day out, this is the roller coaster life here,

Every moment is terribly exciting or dreadfully drear,

There’s no in between for our emotions are high!

As the big day of thesis defense does draw nigh!

The Yoder family will come, and we’ll horray!

That done are Mr. Yoder’s long days in the libraray! 

Flowers Transform

As Zach and I were sitting on Delphinium knoll where we sat four years ago when Zach sang me the first of many meaningful, homespun love songs, I had this thought:  Flowers are meant to fade.

Over four years ago, we met here at GIAL while partners in the final project of a  Scripture use class.  After five months, we decided to pursue a future ministering together.  Two years after that decision, and a two countries away, we were married. Wow!  Marriage was so much better than we'd imagined! We experienced a rich, flowering love as we returned to Nigeria to begin a new life together.  Flowers of spring are strikingly beautiful, and our marriage is indeed a burst of colorful, creative beauty.  

As summer comes, the flowers turn into fruit, producing seeds that will carry on the life-giving essence.  As our love matures and changes shape, we are looking forward to the new fruit that God will produce through our understanding of himself and of each other.  It may not be as striking as the expectant blooms, splashes of color, and wild petal formations, but still divine and miraculous.  

We are at GIAL again to learn to bear more intentional fruit. The coolest thing about God's garden of people, is that two individuals existing in the body of Christ find themselves part of a life system where fruit of crazy colors, unusual sweetness, and turbo-healthy nutrients good for the whole person abound!  The fruit of a Christian marriage is so spectacular...and we are just getting the first tastes of it as we remember what God did last year in Nigeria, pray for the nations, dream of what God will do with us, and expect our GREAT God to accomplish more than we can ever imagine!  We pray that our time here at GIAL will be an integral part of this new growth in us as we prepare to return to Nigeria in early 2015. 

Grandma and Grandpa Yoder

Getting to know one's Grandparents-in-laws is one of the many joys of being married.  Afterall, Grandma married a Yoder, so I have a lot to learn from her! 

Grandma and Grandpa Yoder visited us in Dallas over our long weekend between sessions!  It was so lovely to fellowship with them! We hiked, biked, toured, worshipped, and ate...a lot! 

We went to the Fort Worth Stockyards!  We missed the "cattle drive," but after Zach realized the cattle were being driven from one side of the block to the other for the tourists, he wasn't too sad.  The longhorns here all look like their pregnant with their round bellies.  No wonder the ground meat in the US has so much fat in it! 

And I had my first beef ribs!  I'm sure I've had pork ones, but this was the "all-you-can-eat ribs!"  That much meat on my plate was...well...delicious and a bit of a culture shock.  I can only imagine what my Nigerian brothers and sisters would think of that!  Notice the dog behind Zach...see any similarities? Written by Christy 

The School Zone Speed Limit

Today I went to the not-too-far store.
Of Cheese and chocolate I needed more.
We came upon a school zone,
Complete with sign and cone.
We slowed, I looked, what did I see?
Beautiful pink flowers upon a tree.
That is when the thought so deep,
Into my rock-like mind did creep,
That slowing down to a good pace,
Might help me run a long-term race.
That is when I then did joyfully hope,
for more school zones to help me cope,
With the rush, the speed, the frenzied run,
Of living this life and having hilarious fun!
I need to schedule school zone places,
Where I can look about and see traces,
Of God's majesty and glory, his eternal signs,
That say, "I'm here, precious daughter of mine!"

Scottish Dancing and Nigerian Cuisine

Zach surprised me with a date to go Scottish dancing.  It was dinner time when it ended, so we looked for a restaurant and ended up at  Nigerian restaurant.  It was so serreal.  The table of Nigerian men next to us were speaking in Yoruba.  Every now and then they would stand up move to the loudly playing music.  Never in an strictly American restaurant would they have music playing that loudly. The owner, Kemi asked, “Did you just come home?”  This question as probably prompted by my Nigerian skirt, which was the only floofy one in my closet.  At the Scottish dancing, there was a Scotsman with a great accent, and people were jumping around to the music, pointed toes and all! 

How beautiful to have such a pallet of cultural colors all around us!  Praise God for the unique beauty. 

Last night we went to dinner at a dear friends house.  They invited the Paul Schroeder family with their 5 boys, and the Luke Schroeder (Paul’s brother), with their 3 children, and us!  The hosts have lived in Uganda and Kenya, they had Abigail living with them who is a visiting scholar from Kenya,  Paul and Wendi worked in Nigeria, and Luke and his family work in the Philippines.  Luke’s wife is Philipina.  We sang songs from Nigeria after the closing prayer and everyone sang and clapped and I played the table for a little percussion.

The campus if full of enriching experiences like those shared above because people come here from all over the world!  They are either from another country or have worked in another country, and here we are, all taking part of the now God has for us.   It’s such a great blessing!  

Classes and Family

Basically I, Christy, read for my two graduate level classes all the time.  That's why I don't post very much. However, home life is also exciting as we have dear friends living with us!   Paul was in our wedding, and he brought his beautiful wife Wendi and their 5 boys to Dallas.  They have been with us for almost 2 weeks now, and it is such a blessing to have them here!  We've also connected with some dear friends.

Here are pictures of our big, happy family!

Dear Nigerian Friend,

If I had a good friend from Cameroon or Nigeria coming to visit, I might say this: 

Dear friend, 

• We are looking forward to you coming so very much. 
• I’ve learned some things I want to share with you before you come because I am still surprised by much of this!
•   The meat has lots of fat, so pour that off before you start cooking the rest of the food with the meat.
•   People will not visit you unless you invite them ahead of time.
•   On time is late...late is disrespectful.  Walking into church late is not as acceptable...they start on time. The music sometimes even starts early! 
•   You PAY for all that nice hot water you use to bath with. 
• Most people take showers, and they will be confused if you say, "I want to bath." 
•   Greeting as you go may bring you strange but surprisingly happy looks!
•   Getting an “Amen” out of a group is harder, but well worth it!
•  You can’t get the store without owning a car or having friends that tell you when they're going so you can go with them.
•   There are  RULES as to how many people can stay in your rented flat!
•   The veggies can stay fresh in the fridge for weeks!
•   Oranges are orange and eggs are white  
• You can’t bargain the price.
• 99.9% of your shopping will be indoors. 
• Everyone stops for you when you want to cross the street!  Sometimes it's embarassing. 
• People don't like to be called Mr. or Pastor or Sir or Mommy or Sir or Ma or Reverend so sometimes you just can't call them anything because it's too awkward to say their first name. 
• You pay for everything with a plastic card so you aren't always sure how much you spent.
• The aisles in a store are full of stuff and there are too many options so sometimes you leave without buying anything because you know you can't buy everything! 
• Contant power...you pay for that too...and you can't get around it!