Greetings from Africa!
3 Flights…..
2 Buses………
A Taxi……………
And a Van filled with 11 people (plus one on top)
&& WE FINALLY MADE IT TO OUR HOST HOME HERE IN DIABO!!! <Bouake>
I wanted to apologize for not being able to update you all on our arrival in Cote D’Ivore sooner but we do not have any WI-FI or service here in the village we are staying in! Actually, in all of Bouake the service is slim to none so it will be a month of diving into ministry and really being able to focus on our work with the Lord and team building. But we have made it safe and settling into our host home nicely!!!?
Our hosts are amazing and we feel extremely welcomed into this community. We are partnering with another organization called YWAM to help provide more creative ways to bring people from this village to the Lord and our host pastors church. The church is small, run down and HOT. They have limited resources, lights that don’t always stay on, and only a small space to utilize…..but their hearts and their faith are SO big! They are eager to spread the word and bring more people to their services but are looking for our help to evangelize and build up their programs.
Here in Diabo, most (if not all) people have not even seen a white person before. Everyone stares, majority smile, most say hello and babies…well they usually cry! Upon arriving we had to make our rounds to the big wigs around town. We were brought to the Chief of Chiefs home. The Chief of Chiefs is the Head of Chiefs in all of the surrounding villages. He is the man that handles situations the chief is unable to resolve. We were sent to him to ask for his blessing to work in the villages and not run into any issues. He was really sweet and made us laugh because in all honesty—he looked like Randy Jackson from American Idol. Seriously guys, I was waiting for him to say “dawg” in one of his sentences because he really looked like Randy Jackson! Their customs here are so different I felt like I was in a movie! First you shake hands and say hello, then they ask for “the news” this consists of two people exchanging news through a middle man who conveys the message to each person (Even though they can hear what they are saying) then they shake hands again maybe two more times before leaving! Well anyways, after we received his blessing and left, we had to go see the Prefect. He is the representative to the President. He also gave his blessing and we were on our way to the Mayors office. The Mayor was not there so we met with the Vice. Most of the day, I had NO idea what was being said, but it all appeared to be good!!
This is the Vice in the middle and our crew!
We have been blessed with 2 really great translators. One is incredibly sarcastic, funny and inspirational named Alvis who has been a great help this first week adapting to the environment and the culture! The second translator is Eppolite. He is a little more shy, quiet but sweet. He doesn’t know as much English as Alvis, but is still really great and has an amazing voice. I love to hear him worship, it is so beautiful and he enjoys to sing American worship songs with us! Our hosts are super friendly, even though they don’t speak English, they try! When ever we leave our compound, we leave with a posse; which usually consists of our “body guards” (the male members of the church) a couple teenagers and then half the village of children lingering behind us!!
We are adapting well and have great support from our leaders! I will try to update you all whenever we have Wi-Fi . I am full of excitement to share my journey with you all!
Thank you all for your support! I wouldn’t be here in AFRICA right now without all of you! I am beyond blessed, grateful and honored to have so many people in my life that want to support my passion to honestly just tell people around the the world that Jesus loves them. Whether they have never heard the gospel or just need a reminder that Jesus loves all of us and is waiting for them to come to him!
I love you all and miss you terribly but man am I excited for whats to come! Please keep my team, squad, leaders and I in your prayers as we continue to build up the communities we are blessing!!
