"Retrospective: Journey of A Lifetime: Africa 2012"

October 9, 2012:                   "Retrospective: Journey of A Lifetime: Africa 2012"
                                                              "A Thimble Full of Hope!"

     Did you notice?   We went in fast forward to TODAY,..Oct. 9, 2012!   I'm happy to be back at home,..with several thoughts ringing in my head,.......

     God is good ALL the time!  This trip(s) was a totally a 'God-thing',...supported by many, many people I've known & loved for years,...LIKE YOU!!!  Thank you so much for your prayers, love, & support.  Not many people get to realize their 'lifelong dream' like I just did.  Thank you, God!  In addition, not many get to 'go' & minister in God's name,-on behalf of so many here at home.

     The whole thing still seems SURREAL, when I think about it!  But, it was/is REAL.  I really DID go on Mission to Uganda 2x & Congo 1x in 2012!   I really DID get to minister at the God Cares Uganda Summer Camp to 750 kids!  I really DID get to travel 'alone' thru Uganda, Rwanda, & into the Dem. Rep. of Congo, & I really DID get to travel over 200 miles by "airplanes??" & motorbike in Congo,-with my long time friends & 'protocol', Tom & Kathy Lindquist.  We really DID get to return to several places our parents had served as missionaries, way back in the day!  (I say I travelled 'alone', in quotes,-for God was with me each step of the way!).   AND, we really WERE safe the whole trip into deepest/dangerous parts of the Congo rainforest,....something that is definitely not always the case!  PTL!  Oh, we certainly faced scarey moments, sometimes scarey hours,...but, as I say, God is good all the time! 

     I/we really DID get to see places we'd lived as missionary kids,..& sleep in places/houses we lived in way back in the '50's & 60's.  We really DID get to hang out with men & women,-now in their 90's,-who worked with our parents for many years!   We also got to meet,-some for the first time,- the kids, grandkids, & greatgrandkids of the same people!  We also really DID get to present a Biblical Leadership Seminar to 35-40 African pastors.  What a thrill,...is all I can say!

     Thruout the trip I was taken back in time to when I lived there from 1950-1960.  Then, as now, the local people really need someone to hold out to them a "thimble full of hope".  Their lives are very difficult, dangerous, & the unexpected is the norm,-not the exception.  Many, many times the local Africans have fled into the forest to escape with their lives from the tortures of rebels, who come through periodically.   (I'm keeping this in generalities on purpose!).  Through it all they continue to serve the Lord, & continue the work begun by the original 5 missionaries in 1938!  What an example of commitment!  Some have fled the pillaging & plundering 3x already just in 2012!  One pastor & his family have fled 45 times in the past 40 years!  

     I want to share one very personal thing I enjoyed on the trip to Station Katanti, Congo.  There is a stand of guava trees behind 'my house' which we planted in the '50's.  Those trees still bear the scars of many of us as teenagers,-who carved into the bark a heart with the initials of boyfriend/girlfriend,-as kids all over the world will do.  I awoke the first morning in 'my house' with a "God-thought" in my mind.  Getting up early & alone, I went to that grove of trees & carved into the bark a heart.  The heart contained the initials(RG+CG),..for
Roger Green + Carol Green.  This special moment was given to me in memory of my wife Carol, who is with her Lord, in Heaven.   You may remember it was Carol who encouraged me to return to Africa,..in her final days here on Earth.  And, I can ASSURE you she was watching & loving every minute of my trip,....from her Heavenly vantage point!!  PTL.

Guava tree in Congo, where I carved a heart in the bark,-

saying (RG+CG),..which will be there forever!

     Since returning to Texas in early September, I've had many, many opportunities to show my pictures & speak to many groups across the USA, from CA to MO,...from TX to CO, from NE to IL, & more.  Facebook, Twitter & the technology of the Blog have enabled me to reach out to many more than I could ever do alone.   Each time it is a blessing to do so.  Many have asked "so, when's your next trip?",..or, "would you go back to live there fulltime?", or "are you done with Africa?"  First, I would go back, so I'm not done with Africa!  As difficult as it is, I'm looking ahead to 2013 already with the prayer I may be used again in Africa.  Living there full time is really way, way 'out there'.  As you've seen in this Blog, it is extremely difficult to maintain any kind of safe, even close to 'normal' lifestyle in Congo.  And, it may not be the best way to help the people in that country,..for many reasons too numerous to discuss.  By the way, I have not felt a call to "Full Time Service in Congo", either.  What I HAVE felt is a connection to the Congo & Uganda that I want to continue to develop, especially in the area of caring for millions of orphaned children in Africa.   As God leads, He will show me how best to minister, serve, & help the African people. 

     In addition, I have felt a connection to short-term missions anywhere God would take me.  So, the skies the limit!!,....I'm really just an old, retired salesman, who wants to live out his life 'giving back' to others. 

     I'm not finished writing this Blog,..so check back from time to time.  You never know when another memory will hit me that I choose to share with all of you following the Blog,...and again,  Thank You! I'd love to hear from many of you, too,.....

Rogers/Banuamazi