Video Blogging via IMovie!!
Week 2 and some of week 3, Team Haven spent a week in Zou and a few days in Bangolo…at the bottom there is a link to the video, but below are highlights/memories from each place…
Zou:
– Where the Chief greets Team Haven with Fanta instead of water…a Chief after our own heart!! You’ll see in the video that I’m putting it back without hesitation or shame!!
– 7 girls successfully learned how to sleep/live with all belongings in a 350 sq ft room (excluding toilet)
– The kitchen/dining area was consistently used as our quiet time room which was some of the best Team time I could’ve asked for…everyone together, yet silent with one another to seek after the Lord
– The mango tree outside our house was like no other. Tall tree, bearing much fruit, shading enough area for 30 plus people. I sat out there so many times journaling, praying, reading….sometimes successfully, most of the time with kids playing with my hair and interrupting my/our team chats with Jesus.
– Zou was the place Michelle (squad leader) and I had our first one on one walk/chat and I got to learn a lot from her experience on the WR!
– I learned how to successfully cook and boil water over coals and when living in luxury, propane!! Michelle and I woke up one early morning and tried to light the coals and weren’t successful even after throwing anything we could find on the coals to ignite it….little did I know all you have to do is light a plastic bag!
– After the brief introduction to JuJu (witchcraft) in Fagnampleu, I expanded my knowledge on it via movies used for ministry.
– Where every part of the floor is covered in mattresses and you consistently step on people just to get to the bathroom.
– When exploring the market turns into making friends, learning how to barter and eventually a mob of kids end up following our every move.
– A village that is nearly impossible to find any type of fruits or vegetables….Monica and I even went on a 2 hour hunt for eggs, fruits, vegetables, etc and were unsuccessful…
– Where incriminating quotes stemming from pure exhaustion were spoken. Let’s be honest, they were hilarious!!
– Ministry door to door was a peaceful and uplifting experience…I wish we had more days for it!!
– Where the 3 plus hour bumpy bus ride (truly, like a six flags ride) ended in me (face, body, hair and my pillow case) becoming a bronzed goddess…bronzed with dirt!!
– Learning how to draw water from the community well and carrying buckets full back to the house. I even decided to learn the African way and carried a tub on my head, which was definitely a favorite moment in Zou!
– The place where I came to grips with the constant dirtiness of feet and was content enough with the path they’ve taken to add them to my video.
Bangolo:
– A much bigger town than Zou
– Had a conference with loud concerts and African drums playing throughout the night and until 5:00am each morning
– Where I think our team felt the most “at home”
– The best worship sesh with our team happened around the dining table in this location
– Monica got each of us measured and styled for our African garb! And Chloe went on a styling mission to find each of us fabric….that’s a servants heart right there!
– Where we learned how to make banana chips and when I say “we” I mean Margaret and Priska….they absolutely slayed
– Where WiFi was just not strong enough for me to do anything I needed to get done or upload….had to wrestle with that one for a while!!
– Since WiFi wasn’t great, we chose to eat banana chips while Michelle worked out
– Some of the most hilarious quotes from the team came from this location….all the girls are into Harry Potter and quoted it on the daily…and then me thinking “Truly, Truly I say to you” was a quote from Harry Potter instead of the Bible…..not my best bible scholar moment!
– Sephora gave me my first set of braids here
– The mosquito net my Aunt Bev gave me made me feel safe and I got my best nights sleep since being on the race.
– We got African wraps and thought we had serious rhythm and had dance parties in the living room
– The first place we found real ice cream and Sephora fought for the white girls to get the local price instead of being totally up-charged due to our skin color!
– I saw the first location of a “nail salon” in Bangolo and about had a breakdown
Thanks for sharing in this experience with me y’all!! I can’t tell you how grateful I am for each of you! Your constant prayers, encouragement and support both financially and emotionally are making this incredible journey even that much sweeter!!
Please enjoy the video by clicking on the link below. More video blogs to follow if you haven’t already seen them!! Please subscribe for more updates!!
In Christ,
Emily Cate
https://youtu.be/DZysjvqsdzY
