Stones of Remembrance

We are doing our Bible study on Joshua and I was thinking about "Stones of Remembrance" in our lives. I saw from the last posted item some got a kick out of the pictures of the boys when we were all younger and living in Alaska. I have been looking at some old pictures that I had scanned and brought with me to Rwanda and thought I might add a few to this page. I want you to know that although all the boys are now living in large cities and working in office buildings, there was a time when we did outdoor activities. As you can see Curt was the "Great White Hunter" and fisherman.

Mike was well on his way to being the next Jacques Christo.


And I am not sure if Gene or Mike was going to be the next 10 round champ.

Or maybe strike it rich panning for gold in the cold clear waters in the streams of Alaska.

I guess that is enough for this time.

What are your "Stones of Remembrance", take time today to think back on the things and times that really matter. I'm sure it will not be that report that just has to be completed this weekend for the Monday morning meeting.

Time

Time in Africa is very different than anywhere else we have ever been and is something you just have to adjust to. Some people say it will change with the passage of time and with more"Wazungu" influence throughout the business world. That may be true in Kigali but I have my doubts about it changing in the rural villages. I'm not of the opinion that it needs to change, their life style has worked for them for centuries why should they change now. There in a saying here, "Wazungu" have watches, Rwandans have time. There is much more truth than fiction to that statement.
You may have a meeting set for 9:00 am, at 9:15 no one has arrived and 9:30 you call and ask where they are. You may hear something like, "I am seeing you" or "I am there", niether are quite true in your mind, as you do not see anyone. Actually he means he is coming and probably on his way, that could be another 1/2 hour away. The only thing that getting upset does is raise your blood pressure. They have no idea why you are upset with them. If you had other things to do you should not have scheduled this meeting with them.
Nothing starts on time and everyone knows that, when you say we will start at 9:00 it may start by 10:00. In some instances a written invitation may say, "come at 9:00 for 9:30", which means your welcome to come at 9:00 but we will not start until 9:30.
We have been here over a year now and I admit I still get frustrated at times, but I try not to show it like I used to. Sam has been a big help in helping me keep my cool and hold my tongue. I try to always have something with me to read or work on while I wait. I am trying to learn that this is what God has for me to do today, and I am a slow learner as He keeps bringing back to the same lesson.
As an example, I have been working on receiving a tax exemption for our Rafiki vehicles. I started nearly a year ago, working on some aspect of it nearly every week, last week I thought I was really close. I had all the paperwork inorder and they called me in to have the vehicle inspected by the tax authority. When I got there they said you have taken to long the paperwork is expired and you have to get new ones. I could only laugh and went back to get the first paperwork again.

"Who Are Those Guys?"

Since starting this blog I feel like Butch & Sundance, as some have asked, who we are. Did not know it would be a question as we had started this mainly for friends and family. Here goes, hopefully the short version.
We are Ken and Bev Merrill. We both grew up in rural western Maine. Have know each other since Jr. High and dated throughout High School. This year will mark 36 years of married bliss. God blessed us with three wonderful sons who were all born and raised in Alaska, we moved there in 1975 where I worked driving truck during the building of the Alaska Pipeline. Bev was an RN when we moved to Alaska and she worked at the hospital and private Doctors office in Fairbanks. In 1977 I joined the State Troopers with Fish and Wildlife Protection (Game Warden). When we moved to bush Alaska at Coldfoot in the Brooks Range Bev stopped nursing and started a Emergency Medical unit where she trained many people as EMT's, worked with the Army MAST unit medivacing seriously sick and injured to the hospital in Fairbanks, as well as home school our three boys. Coldfoot is 60 miles north of the Arctic Circle on the Prudhoe Bay Haul Road, 275 miles north of Fairbanks all dirt road, except for the first 28 miles. No stores, no churches, no post office, (mail was flown in twice a month, if the weather was good), no schools, no TV, no phones, we could get one radio station at night and there was a truck stop to where we could get gas and a $7.00 hamburger. While stationed there for nearly 5 years it snowed every month, now it did not stay and there was some very nice warm days in the summer, but the summers were short. The winters were long and cold, 60 degrees below zero was not uncommon. The northern lights would be so bright as to light up the entire sky and dance from mountain top to mountain top. The sun went down about Thanksgiving and did not get above the horizon until the first of February. We went to Fairbanks every six weeks or so to stock up on groceries and catch up on the latest news.
From Coldfoot we were transferred to Soldotna on the Kenai Peninsula, home of the largest King Salmon in the world. Fishing both sport and commerical was a large part of the economic make up of the area, as sush it was a busy place for a Game Warden. We were blessed to join a wonderful church family at the Soldotna Bible Chapel, where we had wonderful fellowship and great Biblical teaching. That is where we both came to really consider missions and felt that the Lord was teaching and leading us in that direction.
Later we transferred again to Sitka, AK where I worked as Deputy Commander of the training Academy. And again we were blessed to have the Lord lead us to a wonderful church family. The job at teh Academy demanded long hours and much travel so Bev kept the home fires burning while I was gone much of the time.
Beginning of 1998 brought us to another turning point with retirement from the Troopers. We were able to travel and see many old friends and make many new ones. As we looked for a place to settle down we arrived back in Maine and a new church family at Hope Baptist in Manchester. Bev and I were able to join BSF and through that we learned about the Rafiki Foundation and their mission to the orphans of Africa. That brings us to where we are now, serving in Rwanda. We have a great team to serve with and God has blessed the village with 12 new children this year. Please pray for our team, the Rafiki Home Office, and the children that will call Rafiki their home.