Currently Drinking, Currently Reading:

As I said earlier, I have been taking a siesta every day and not riding between the hours of 12 noon and 3pm. This has been very good for me and is working very well.

Usually, I pick a larger village to stop in if I can. The idea being that I can buy some cool water from a fridge and after my rest-time, I can have a coke. Actually, I recently discovered something better than coke. There is a local soft-drink bottler here in Niger called Oriba and they make a really refreshing lemon-ginger drink that I love. It's very invigorating and a great jump-start to the afternoon ride.

Villages with electricity are becoming more and more rare, the further out East I get, but when it works out to stop in one, I jump at the chance. Because this is Ramadan, the month of fasting and prayer, finding food during the day has become harder and harder as well. I have been taking bread and sardines with me every day in case I don't find anything. Also, the little jar of Marmite that the Swiss family in Torodi gave me has come in very handy on more than one occasion.

Where ever it is that I do stop, it is never a problem to find a place to lay my mat. Due to the fasting, most people aren't working very much, and just kind of lay down most of the day under temporary shade hangers that they have put up using thatch. I join them under the mats and they are always inviting, even if they don't speak French (French speakers are also becoming more and more rare, the further East that I go). Sometimes I am able to nap, sometimes the flies bother me too much. Usually, I end up reading a few pages in the book that I brought with me from Ouagadougou.

"The Forgotten Ways" by Alan Hirsch is an interesting and provocative read. Basically, he is saying that the way we do church is outmoded and not useful for the growth or the authenticity of Christianity. He says that "This movement that Jesus initiated was an organic people movement; it was never meant to be an institution." Do I hear an Amen?

Hirsch brings up a lot of ideas that I have felt for a long time, but not been able to articulate. I am not halfway done with the book yet, but it has been challenging and I am curious to see what he is going to propose as solutions to the many problems that he raises. He advocates for seeing each subculture in our societies as a group to reach as part of a cross- cultural effort. What I think is missing from his idea is the necessity of having each group be intentional in reaching out to help others, rather than just receiving the efforts made towards them. I think this is essential to the breaking down of the consumeristic mindset of church. Reminds me of the Priest in France who was given the task of helping street-kids. He succeeded by teaching them to help impoverished slum-children in Brazil.

Anyways, that is what I have been reading and reflecting on during my afternoon siestas, waiting for the air to cool back down to a reasonable temperature and dreaming of my Oriba!