Cook weekly - 2 juin 2008

As always, no matter how diligent we think we're being by seeing Drs right away upon our return from overseas, we still have issues that are pervading just before we leave.

This week, Cindy has a minor surgical procedure scheduled. In one day, out the next, if all goes well. Pray for smooth surgery, quick recovery, effective control of pain, and options to quell the boredom of recovery.

Holly also is battling headaches. So far we've tried several Drs. including G.P., chiropractor, ENT, neurologist, ophthalmologist, etc. Nothing has seemed to take away her headaches. She's now trying a new medication just given to her by the neurologist. She's had an MRI and everything seemed normal. Our last stitch now, besides the new medication, is trying to eliminate different foods from her diet that are known to cause headaches. Please pray for her healing.

Pray we don't overlook any other health issues before we leave in August.

Africa's re-dawn

Dawn's inextricable march, the light arrives, the good news spreads
The son shines, the earth spins, the movement moves east to west

Day blazes, the west, the spread, the power
The son shines, the earth moves, but movement rests and grows within

Hezekiah's 10 steps were fifteen more years; what was dusk is again made dawn
The son shines, from west to east, Africa basks once more

Now the light, the source, the spring,..., the force, the pressure, the fire
The son shines, from dark shores to move the world again.

Cook Weekly - 26 mai 2008

This week we're going to give you an update on the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire (RCI, Ivory Coast), where FATEAC is located and where we're moving this summer:

October 2004 over 8000 foreigners (including our family) fled Cote d'Ivoire because of violence against white people.
We haven't lived in the country since then, even though Matt continued to return for short trips from Dakar, Sénégal, and teach at FATEAC until spring '07.

Today, the presidential elections in RCI are set for November 30; outside observers will ensure fairness.
French businessmen are moving back into the country; and the two sides of the war are trying to work out differences.
In general, Côte d'Ivoire is moving toward peace.

However, elections in Africa rarely happen without riots, which can happen before, during and afterward.
Food and gas prices have sparked violence throughout Africa (Ghana has gone so far as to subsidize food prices)

Pray for peace in Cote d'Ivoire; pray for good governance by the national and local authorities; pray that, whether by unrest or by calm, the kingdom of God is advanced; and pray that the elections will really happen and that they will happen peacefully.

Sex Offender Lists are Not Helpful or biblical

I'll admit that I'm almost a foreigner in this country anymore. But what is the point of the sex offender lists? To warn people that there are potentially harmful people in their neighborhood. That assumes that everyone else is ok, right? Then why have parents been telling their children since I was a children not to get in a car with a stranger? The lists must, then, be for checking out your friends and others you would ordinarily trust. That seems weird. Is it that the government thinks we are going to trust people too readily? That hasn't been my experience in America. What good are they, then? I don't see it.
Besides that, these lists assume that (1) a sex offender is not going to repent, and (2) a non-sex-offender is not going to do anything harmful. Do either of these seem sure? On the positive side, is there no change in people? Does grace not operate for sex offenders?
No, I don't see the point.

Cook weekly - 19 mai 2008

We have many familial praises this week to share with you

Elysia drove to Ohio this week by herself. She was tired, but she arrived safely. Praise God!
Elysia's met with the admissions people at Med-Central School of Nursing and found that she is in excellent shape financially for this program. Not only have they considered her as an Ohio resident, but they have given her scholarships that should cover most of her tuition costs!
Matt and Cindy have had more time to relax this week as they is now finished with their responsibilities at ATS and Nyack.
Andy's 5th grade musical was a complete success! Our "little prince" was a real ham! (Andy is in the middle of the picture)

Prayer Requests:

Pray that Elysia finds new friends with similar interests as she settles into Ohio.
Pray that Matt and Cindy make good and wise purchases as they seek to take back to Africa only the bare essentials for the coming 2-4 years.
Pray that we'll have opportunities to be with both family and friends before our departure on August 11th.

Thank you for your support in prayer and love,
Cindy and Matt Cook

Africa's Importance

I've been reminding people recently of the ideas of Andrew Walls that Africa will soon be influencing world Christianity. Christians are not the only ones interested in Africa:

• There are conferences to foster the place of Africa in the world: click here
• Stephen Hawking and other leading high-tech entrepreneurs and scientists have backed the £75m plan to create Africa’s first postgraduate centres for advanced maths and physics
• The Gates Foundation is helping East Africa: click here
• Certainly a Christian theologian, Thomas Oden has also initiated the The Center for Early African Christianity in conjunction with his recently published How Africa Shaped the Christian Mind by Thomas Oden.

Africa's return to importance in the American mind (not just fascination this time) is encouraging as we return to Africa.

Genre Savey

Biblical interpretation / life is about knowing in which genre you are functioning. Of course, there are problems between genres (prophetic and apocalyptic) or problems knowing what the characteristics of a genre are (issues with the prophetic genre have sparked more than one debate in dispensationalism)

Same is true in life: Understanding which genre you are in (joking or request) makes a big difference. Sometimes we intentially ride the fence because we want to make the request, insult, instruction, or point but are scared, inhibited, realize we don't have the right, or tactful. So, we make it possible for the listener to interpret as a joke. ("You are really gifted at stacking dirty dishes" could mean "Wash the dishes!") We call people naive if they can't tell the difference between joking and narrative ("Jenny lost three toes in a motorcycle accident over the weekend" when she has never been on a motorcycle). When you frame an utterance with genre rules, you understand it a particular way. When you use other genre rules, you understand it another way. Who picks the genre?

We can use "naive" for someone who doesn't pick the right genre - "right" is defined by the community (in life or biblical interpretation). It isn't just a simple majority nor one with super-delegates. Normally everybody understands the well-established expectations. Only on genre boundary-lines (or other locations of ambiguity) are rhetorically persuasive reasons necessary.