Village Trip!

Taking a break from learning to make homemade bagels (they are rising for the second time currently) to share about our time at the village. We did get to go after all thankfully! The internet is still down, but hopefully I will be able to post this tomorrow (Monday).

The village we went to was about a 30 minute drive outside the city. I think we might have had to switch to a closer village because the rain made it impossible to drive on a lot of the outer dirt roads. We got there and were taken to one of their elementary school classrooms (children in the village only go as far as elementary school there, and then the ones who do well enough are sent to the city for middle school and high school, and if they succeed there are given the opportunity to go to university). We waited in the classroom while the informed the chief of our arrival. We were then escorted to the center of the village to meet the chief and elders, and to give them the news (the reason for our visit). He gave us his approval to move freely about the village, so after a short welcoming ceremony where we went around and shook hands and they passed around some cups of water for us (we were careful to only drink a little incase the water had not been properly purified!) we went on for a tour of the village. We were shown the place where they grind their corn (corn and rice are the main things they produce) and saw the mud quarry where they get the red clay for their houses (their houses were made of bamboo and other types of wood with this red clay to hold everything together). A lot of the kids followed us on our tour, some walked with us while others followed shyly at a distance. After the tour we were led back to the area near the schoolrooms. There was a soccer field, so some of our guys played a game against the Ivorians. It was a fun game to watch, they beat us 3-1. While the guys played, we just hung out with the other kids and watched the game. I communicated in French as best as I could, but you can communicate a lot without words too. I got out my camera to take pictures, and they loved it! I’d go to take a picture of two or three kids, and then everyone else would crowd in too, so I’d end up with a huge group shot. They loved looking at the pictures of themselves after, laughing at the silly faces they’d make. It was just really neat soaking it all in, it had a totally different feel than the city and campus. When it began to get dark, we set up a screen and projector and had a showing of the Jesus Film. There were lots of people there, it was too dark to see exactly how many, but at the end of the film 9 people came forward to give their lives to Christ and we got their contact info so the church (there is one in the next village) could follow up with them. Halfway into the movie Craig came and got us all, because it turns out the women in the village had prepared a meal for us as a welcome. Hospitality is a huge value in this culture, and they go out of their way to welcome guests. We were taken back to the original classroom we went to when we first arrived, and because there was no electricity, we ate by flashlight and lantern. Also, they don’t use silverware and there were no individual plates, so we all just ate with our hands from big bowls of rice and different types of sauce. We only could use our right hands, because it is not culturally appropriate to eat with your left hand (that hand is used for bathroom purposes!). We took a handful of rice, and then dipped it into the bowls of sauce. It was quite messy to say the least! Because it was dark, we weren’t always quite sure what we were eating, and I didn’t find any new favorite foods, but it was well worth the experience! After eating we went back to see the end of the film and then packed up and made the drive back. It had rained on and off throughout the day, so we were all pretty wet, muddy, and tired, but everyone had a great time and we were all so thankful we had the opportunity to go and see more of the country and experience what life is like outside the city. From what I understood, the majority of the village was Muslim also, so above all, it was awesome to be able to tell them the good news about Jesus! I got lots of really great pictures and will try to post them on here whenever I can get internet strong enough to upload them!

Orphanage Trip Update

Our internet is currently down, so I’m not sure when I will be able to post this blog. But as I am writing, we now have only one week left. These past five weeks have both blown by and felt like forever at the same time. It is going to be really hard to leave, but I am able to rest in the knowledge that even after we leave God is still in control and will still be moving in amazing ways. It is also so nice that Craig and Bryn will be staying here for the next 3-5 years also, that we are just building a foundation here, which has also been helpful to remember.

We got to go to an orphanage yesterday for the first time. We thought we were going to be able to go more, but we are under the national Ivorian staff and their ideas about what we should do are different than ours. They were very kind in working with us to allow us to go to the orphanage, and hopefully to a village today if the rain doesn’t prevent that (it is pouring and has been since last night). Their idea of “good works” here is just very different than ours is, and we want to respect the cultural differences and learn to work with them and respect their leadership here. Craig was telling the team last night that when they lived in Cameroon, they really wanted to do good works as well, and had weekly outreaches to prisons and orphanages. It was something he organized though, and the national staff in Cameroon was very offended because they felt like he had gone behind their backs. He said they burned a lot of bridges by not being sensitive to the culture and as they are building a long time ministry here, they want to be very careful to start on a good foot with the staff. They run on the French system here, since they were a French colony for so long. And from what I understand, under that system things are very bureaucratic and separated. Because we are under “campus ministry” that is all they want us to do, and to leave the work in orphanages and prisons and such to organizations that are focused on that. The way things work in America there is a lot more flow and flexibility between ministry areas, and so we are working to find a balance. Campus ministry is the focus, but it says in James 2 that faith without works is dead. Good works is an overflow from the free gift of salvation we have received and we want to to live lives that reflect the servant love that Jesus so perfectly exemplified. I really respect how Craig has been working under the national staff though, and while it has been a little frustrating not getting to do more with the good works aspect, it has been such a learning experience in seeing what it is like for full time international mission work. Cultural sensitivity is crucial; the gospel is not American or French or Ivorian; it is for all people and needs to be presented in a way that will be understood by and is respectful towards the culture. We have been learning that when it comes to cultural differences, different doesn’t mean wrong, its just different (exceptions do exist, such as human sacrifices or other things that go against God’s word, but this is just our overall guideline). Next time, I will hopefully be able to write about our experience at the village, we will know soon if we get to go or not.

Update from July 7th

July 7^th

We got to go visit Maison Dorcas today! It is a ministry that reaches out to Muslim women who become Christians by providing employment and a place to live for those who are shunned by their families. Although not all Muslim families react this way to conversions, it is not uncommon. It is especially hard for women to be kicked out of their family, because they lose all financial security and support, their home, community, nearly everything. Maison Dorcas provides a place of employment for these women, as well as giving them community and helping them find a new place to live. They learn to sew here, and they have their own little shop with lots of beautiful purses, stuffed animals, jewelry, and other things they have sewn or made my hand. They also do embroidery work and other sewing jobs for a number of businesses in the city. For many of these women, this is their first job. They are taught not only to sew and how to manage a small business but also have chances to take math, computer, and literacy classes, A lady named Janet Welsh, who has been a missionary here for over 20 years, created and runs the place. We got to meet her and talk with her about the mission and her story, which was so neat. It really opened my eyes to more of the needs here culturally. It is important to meet the physical needs as well, not just the spiritual needs. The women at the shop were telling us that they’ve met a lot of Muslim women who want to become Christian, but because they can’t support themselves on their own and don’t want to face the anger of their families they remain where they are. The women had some heartbreaking stories they shared of their own experiences. Through the Maison Dorcas though, most of these women are back in good relations with their families because the families see that they are able to support themselves respectably on their own. It was an awesome experience and I'm really glad we got to go!

Weekly Update

Again, time is so short! Things have been going well, it's been good to be on campus again. Please keep us in your prayers, our team is starting to get tired and sick. Three people got malaria this week, but they are taking the cure and are doing well. We are going back to the dorms tomorrow to followup with the group of girls we met last week, so I am very excited! Our theme for this summer is going "big wave surfing" every day, going out and sharing the gospel and trusting in God to do big things and following where he leads. But we don't just want to teach other people to surf, we want to teach them to be surf instructors too. We only have a little more than 2 weeks left here, and when we leave we want to be training people who will continue on after us. Our team leaders Craig and Bryn will be staying for 3-5 years, but we also want to teach students how to share their faith and to grow in their relationship with God. I had an awesome conversation with a muslim student for an hour and a half today just about who Jesus is and who he said he was. We are meeting again next week to talk more if you want to remember her in your prayers, her name is Maimouna. Also be in prayer for my friend Julie I wrote about earlier, her father just passed away today and although I haven't gotten to see her since I know he was the one who supported them and her friend was really worried about what this would mean for them financially as well as dealing with the grieving process. Prayers for comfort for them and for wisdom for us to know how to help her best. My time is up, but I will try to write more later!!! Blessings and love from Cote d'Ivoire!!!