December 1^st, 2012

     The weather has finally changed.  For the past month Andres has been falsely predicting the last rain storm and the coming of the dry season.  He’s also been telling us it’s supposed to get cooler.  If we had been living in Old Testament times, we would have stoned him by now.  Fortunately for him, it seems the rains have finally stopped.  I was surprised how everyone seems excited for this.  From what I’ve heard it gets really dry here, all the grass dies out, and everything turns red and dusty—not something I think would be worth looking forward to.  However, for the farmers the dry season is good news, because it means they can harvest the peanuts.  This year already they’ve seen the peanuts begin to sprout new shoots.  This means they’re unusable.  So people are worried there will be a shortage of peanuts to sell, and fewer peanuts to replant next year.  Less crops means less income. 

     For Nicolas and Pablo, the dry season means more soccer.  So far for me it just means fewer puddles on the road, and less breeze in the air.  Up till now the weather has been warm all through the day, but the rains have brought in a nice, cool wind.  Without the rains we haven’t had that nice breeze to cool things down.  The air in our house seems to just sit there.  The heat seems pretty comparable to Panama’s, maybe not as humid, but then again we don’t have the comfort of retreating into our air conditioned home.  Instead we seem to just sweat.  It reminds of going to camp.  Camp was always sweaty, but even Chame had ceiling fans.  Our home here has ceiling fans, but they aren’t hooked up yet.  We’ve been bugging Cees to hook them up.  So far he’s been too busy to get around to it, or perhaps he’s dreading the fact that it’s such a big job.  Either way the fans continue to mock us, and we continue to sweat. 

     I do have to say, though, that the weather has been cooling down a little in the late evenings and early in the mornings.  It takes a while for the air in our home to feel this effect, but by about 2 a.m. we’re able to pull up the quilted blanket and feel nice and snug.  Of course this is all temporary.  We’re told that March ushers in the hot season.  By May the heat is supposed to be unbearable.  I don’t think it’s the sweltering, humid air of the tropics, but more of the dry, oppressive heat of the desert.  We’re told it gets so hot that people here sleep outside.  They just plop their mattresses in the front yard and do the best they can to stay cool.  Of course, the missionaries (ourselves included) all have water beds.  It’s true having the water under you does help a lot.  It’s strange though feeling cold underneath and warm above.  Usually it’s the opposite.  So, I guess we need to soak up this slightly cooler weather while it lasts, and hope that our family survives the heat later on.  School will be most interesting then.  Thankfully Cees did install the fans there, if only the power would stop turning off…  Never a dull moment in Guinea!

  Now for something a little more heavy than the weather.  A couple weeks ago I mentioned a young lady that had gotten rid of all her amulets in hopes of finding healing for a sickness.  The young lady's name is Dalouba.  Specifically the sickness is something that resembles epilepsy, though we believe her "spells" are spirit-based.  She has shared with Corinne that she is regularly plagued by dreams of demons visiting her.  Apparently in one of these dreams, a demon proposed to her and gave her a wedding ring.  The girl relates that she can vividly see this ring in the visions, though you can't see it in real life.  It's usually the day after she has one of these dreams that Dalouba will suddenly pass out and fall on the ground.
      Corinne has shared the gospel with her very clearly, and the girl has indicated that she believes in Jesus and has accepted Him into her heart.  For a while the spells went away, but now they're back.  We're pretty sure Satan is trying one last time to maintain his grip on this girl's life, and is unwilling to let her go.  Furthermore, many of her family members are closely watching this situation, waiting to see who is more powerful.  We also have suspicions of possible witchcraft being exerted against this girl because of the newfound faith she is professing.
      Today Dalouba was in church and the believers there all prayed for her.  Please pray for her also, that God would bind up the evil that is operating in her life, that He would set Dalouba free from this oppression, and that He would be glorified in such a way that more Jahangos would put their faith in Him.  Hallelujah!