10.31.05

Trading In Sandwiches

Posted in Uncategorized at 3:14 pm by Anthony Parker

by: Anthony Parker Tonight we were going to have sandwiches for dinner. Now, I don’t mind a good sandwich now and then, but they are not exactly on my list of favorite dishes. But we arrived home exhausted after a “day off” of 4 hours on the road, medical tests, grocery shopping, and a couple of hours at the pool. We ended up driving for about an hour in the dark, which we really don’t like to do here in Togo. There is a danger of car jacking, not to mention the traffic hazards of meeting semi-trucks while crossing poorly marked one-lane bridges in the dark. By God’s grace, we made it home safely, unloaded our groceries, and were just getting ready to start thinking about sandwiches when a smiling woman walked though our door carrying a basket of food. The woman was Marie, one of our oldest African friends, and truly a note of grace in our lives. We first met Marie when she came to work for some of our teammates in Benin over twelve years ago. Her honesty, faithfulness, and loving nature have led us and others to make sure that she stays around. Right now she works a couple of part-time jobs for the missionaries here in Tabligbo, helping with housekeeping and child care. Although she is one of a relatively few West Africans with gainful employment, Marie has known her share of hardships in her life. When she and her children decided to follow Jesus several years ago, her husband cut all of them off from any financial support although he had a relatively stable government job. He passed away a few years ago, but persecution continued from his family, as Marie’s brother-in-law threatened her repeatedly with eviction from the family compound. The main reason that Marie, who is in her 60s, still works today is to help support her youngest son, Maxime, who is a student at the university in Benin. Maxime has been visiting Marie for the past few days, and had caught a lift with us down to Lomé, Togo’s capital, today to visit a friend. Tonight when Marie showed up, Maxime was with her, and we all shared a wonderful meal of “pâte rouge” (corn paste cooked with tomatoes and spices), couscous, chicken, moyo sauce (sautéed tomatoes and onions), and hot green pepper. It’s difficult to express how much that gift of a home cooked meal meant as we came back from an exhausting day. It sure beat sandwiches. I’m grateful for this “grace note” in my life today, and hope that I can remember how much these “random acts of kindness” can mean in the lives of others.

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