The Self-Proclaimed "Plain Brown Rappa"

The Bald Headed Preacher & His Ivory Soap Girls

- The following post was submitted by The Plain Brown Rappa (AKA Milton Sanders) to celebrate our year in La Paz.

Well yall I know yo time is precious…just a minute or two

Cause there’s a little sumpum sumpum gotta share wit choo

Now I’m not talking to no swine while I’m casting dis pearl

About da bald headed preacher and the ivory soap girl

We got to tell you who they is…Before they go

The two embarrassed people and the one too young to know

If this story’s new to you

Don’t think you’ve missed the show

Cause every time we say goodbye we turn around and say hello

So if you start to get teary wit da water in yo eyes

Know dat Susan’s way ahead because she always cries

But women cut out all dat cryin’ like you howlin at da moon

I know you all know Susan…she’ll be back real soon

You see dey miss us way too much

When dey half way round the world

Da bald headed preacher and the ivory soap girl

Well we know you gotta go cause you heard it from The Man

An if He wants to send you back then well you know that He can

It’s all the time between that’s so hard to stand

But it’s His life not yo life so leave it in His hand

Well we are a little worried..you know it’s true

That none of us can really do that thing that you do

You singin out cho harmony and makin the calls

While Susan’s trying to find the right words to put on the walls

There’ll be a group of young people wond’rin what to do

But Mark he ain’t yo mama das what he tried to tell you.

So just hang wit da Word fo all yo life without

The bald headed preacher and his ivory soap wife

Yall know that year went way too fast

So we must be havin fun

Fightin battles for The Man with the devil on the run

If you ask them how’s yo’ life They would probably say “sweet”

Callouses and bruises impermeabilizante on your feet

The crying in the night, dogs and cars at the races

Bags under your eyes and lines on your faces

digging holes and movin rocks in all kinds of places

Paintin walls and halls and all kinds of spaces

Still you say yo life is sweet

Goin to churches where people meet

For anniversaries in the summer heat

Kneeling for hours or standin on yo feet

Then waitin around to have a treat

A plate full of meat that you scared to eat

The Lord gave you some grace that made it sweeter than sweet

And He showed you paradise on a dusty little street

A little person came along and showed you lifes best

Although I know you both still pray for a solid night of rest

I guess it was the hardest on Susan maybe

But I don’t know nothin’ bout birthin’ no baby

Naturally Mark was there holding her hand

And the doctor surprised by how much they could stand

Then the doctor there pushing down hard from above

And Mark in position with his baseball glove

Then out popped our Dear Emma and shook up their worlds

Now the bald headed preacher has two ivory soap girls

Well you came and you saw and you conquered my heart

And hers and his and hers for a start

And a lot more besides

Yes you did us all in

One after another you made each your friend

And you didn’t stop there…here comes the boo hoo

You made us all into a family too

You helped us figure out the things we oughta

Standin’ at the crossroads handing out the water

Then getting in a circle and praying hand in hand

And lifting up Jesus so the world could see The Man

You did so much for us that here’s what we will do

I promise that nobody will sing “Friends” to you

I know that’s it’s a lot but it’s the least we can do

For our bald headed preacher and his ivory soap crew.

Last Place Winners

~Posting by Joyce Anderson-Reed

Recently I heard a sermon entitled Last Place Winners based on the text where Jesus said that the last will be first and the first will be last. This idea really took root for me when I observed it in action through the efforts of Abby, age 17, and Becky, age 18. Abby and Becky have been friends since grade school. They accepted Christ at summer camp around the ages of 10 & 11. And they each have participated in a church mission trip to La Paz—Abby in 2004 and Becky in 2005.
In December 2005 their church sent a group of high school kids to La Paz on another mission trip. Abby and Becky wanted to go, but were asked to step down. Since they’d both been here before and because space was limited, their youth minister urged them to allow others who’d never had the experience to go instead. But the delay did not deter their determination to come back. They talked to their parents and asked if they could come down, just the two of them, on their February Spring Break. They’d pay for it themselves, working extra hours at their jobs to earn the money. After receiving their parents’ permission, Becky and Abby then wrote to us to see what we thought. Was there something for them to do? As a matter of fact, we had quite a few painting projects just waiting for two enthusiastic teenagers!
Becky and Abby painted the foyer of Crossroads and also the Children’s Sunday School Room. And then they painted a room of Mary & Raul’s house, Crossroad’s current mission project. (See January’s Journal article) I asked both of them how coming to La Paz has changed them. These are some of things they shared with me . . .
“We sense a unity and fellowship in La Paz that is missing back home. Church isn’t taken for granted down here.”
“It impacts you when you realize that just handing out a bar of soap can make someone so happy. Some families live all together in one-room houses. And I complain about sharing a bedroom with my sister! I realized how selfish I am when some people literally have nothing.”
“I met and talked with people who live by their faith. I realized you don’t have to know everything in order to integrate your faith into everyday living.”
“I liked being here as an individual and not as part of a big group. It was more intimate and I made better connections. I could take my time getting to know people.”
“Experiencing a cross-cultural situation has made me more open-minded. I’m more self-assured.”
And what do these two young ladies hope to pursue in the future? Abby’s desire is to study elementary education and minor in international studies. Becky’s desire is to study medicine and someday work for Doctors Without Borders. Two young women who each have a servant’s heart. While all their peers were off to the beaches for a better tan over spring break, they spent their hard-earned money to buy plane tickets to La Paz for a mission experience. In the eyes of the world, they were First Place Losers. In the eyes of Jesus, they were Last Place Winners.