This World Is Not My Home

Some days, three months seems like forever, and other days, three months
seems like it's gonna pass by so fast! Well, Friday was one of those
days that three months felt like forever away. I went to the market in
the afternoon, and visited a friend, but for some reason wanted to be
alone. After the market, I got home to my 14 year old brother crying.
My brother's name is Koustoge, and a few years back his dad had been
married to three women, but after he became a Christian and realized
that it was wrong, he only kept his first wife, who is the lady I live
with now. But Koustoge is from the second wife, and isn't treated the
same as all the other kids. He works more, and gets less. He told me
that he never goes hungry, so that is good, but he also feels like a
stranger in this family. A couple weeks ago, Monique hit him because
the water for my shower wasn't warm yet, and he told me later that his
heart hurts him every time he gets hit, and that he doesn't want to live
here anymore. Friday night he was also crying because he got hit. The
older sister hit him because he didn't get water from the well fast
enough...or something like that. I was angry that she would do that,
but no one else seemed to care. They went on eating and talking, as of
nothing happened. I was so angry, so I went off by myself and watched a
small bush fire that was burning nearby. Three kids from my family and
the mom all came over to see if I was ok...why can't you do this for
your own children? I am a stranger and you treat me more like family
than Koustoge! He has been living there for over 10 years, can't you
just love him like he's your son! Well, after my tears, praying, and
frustration, I went back to the compound to Monique crying. Her brother
had just died a few minutes earlier in another village. She had just
come back from a funeral of one of our neighbors who died during child
birth, and she's gone to two or three for her family. They see so much
pain here, why would they care about the child who was just beaten, he's
still alive isn't he? Well, I was overwhelmed and tired, so after my
shower under heaven I went to bed.

Sabbath brought it's own challenges. One of the ladies at a Sabbath
school branch that just started a few months ago said that she didn't
want people coming to her house anymore to tell these stories. The
white people weren't helping her with food and money, and local people
were giving her a hard time about it, so she just wanted it to stop.
Well, some people went and talked to her, and straightened things out a
bit, but it was a little discouraging. Later in the afternoon one of
the SMs here finally broke down because her family isn't feeding her
good, and she's always hungry, and they lie about why they don't have
food for her when she pays them some good money. She's been working
hard trying to help them keep Sabbath, and this was just the last little
thing that broke her. Some of this stuff really isn't a big deal, but
when you struggle with language, you work hard all day, and have to eat
weird food all the time, the smallest things can get to you. It was at
lunch that I realized that Satan was working to discourage us. So often
I just look at things and think that it's just life, so we should go
with the flow. But it's not just life, it's a battle over souls.
Through most of the weekend I wanted to be home with my family. I
longed for the day that I arrive at the airport and finally get to hug
them and see them in person. But I realized that I should be longing
for heaven in the same way. This world is not my home, I'm just passing
through, so I better not get too comfortable, because that's just where
the devil wants me. He wants me to be comfortable where I am, so that I
don't long for where I could be. The Great Controversy is real, and it
doesn't always come out in demon possession, or witchcraft, but in
subtle things that discourage us, or things that keep us from looking to
God. In those times, it's important to remember that this world isn't
our home, but before we can all go home, we have to tell everyone about
how amazing God is.