It’s been a week since my team has settled into our little home in the tiny village of Zepreguhe, Cote d’Ivoire. I still randomly wake up at night and forget that I am in fact in the middle of Africa, not in my bed at home. The blazing heat, feel of the bug net moving next to me, and sound of the dogs and goats outside my window bring me to the realization quickly. Last night one of these moments followed a particularly vivid dream where I was home for a weekend, getting ready to come back to Africa, and all I was concerned about was packing LOTS of peanut butter (it’s kind of a big deal here). For everyone that has been so eagerly waiting for a detailed picture of what our days look like here, the wait is over. Buckle up and get ready for bumpy ride.
~Morning times~
Our days have been sort of pieced together as they happen here. Breakfast comes around 8am. Ranging from millet or rice porridge with pineapple and papaya (the fresh fruit here is next level amazing), to bread with margarine and “nutri-sugar”. We are almost always supplied with instant coffee and hot water, which is a HUGE blessing. Mornings are nice and slow, theres not much for us to do before 10am (which usually ends up being 11am because everything here moves s l o w l y. It’s very nice to have quiet time in the morning and be able to get things done that we need to get done early (hand washing laundry can be an ordeal).
~Afternoonish times~
I say “afternoonish” because the range of when our afternoon activities start is highly variable (11am to 5pm). Lunch arrives at some point between 12pm and 1:30pm. It ranges from fried WHOLE fish and potatoes, to veggie “salad”, to rice and ~sauce~ with ~meat~, to “french fries”, or my personal favorite we had today- fried plantains and hard boiled eggs. YUM. We have been doing ministry with different groups of people in the afternoons. Monday we met with the “young adults” (18-45 years???) and did worship, Bible study, and a little Q&A for us to get to know each other better. Tuesday we met with just the women, that was really awesome, and gave us a great chance to build relationship with them. The men of the church tend to be involved in EVERYTHING we do here, so having time with just the women was really special. Wednesday we got to spend time doing ministry with the kids, it was beautiful chaos, there are just so many of them.
~Nighttimes~
After a rest time, when the locals are back from working in the fields, we go and spend time with some of them at their homes, getting to know them and sharing Jesus’ love through relationship. After a couple of false starts (expectations were a little different for our pastors, much too formal and conversion heavy for us), we were able to establish a better rhythm and actually get a chance to develop friendships with the locals. We met a man names Kruame (Gwah-mi), who has been blind for two years. He now comes to our house multiple times a day to sing worship, just be with us, and have us pray for him. Dinner arrives between 6pm and 7pm, and usually consists of the same things lunch consists of. After that we have a “meeting” to discuss plans for the next couple days, and then we are all pooped and ready for bed.
My favorite moments here so far:
- Having air conditioning and a real shower our first night in Abidjan
- Our first dinner in Abidjan- beef jerky, canned corn, and chips
- Meeting our ministry host, Elisee (reminds me of my pastor from Wilmington)
- Playing guitar for the kids and seeing the joy and laughter
- Meeting the chief of the village and getting to share the gospel with him (and getting chickens from him as a blessing)
- Getting my hair braided and getting my Beteh name- Dogore
- talking with our interpreter, Joel
- Doing laundry
- Taking my first *real* bucket shower (training camp doesn’t count I’ve realized)
- Bonding with my teammates
- Having movie nights
- Drinking coffee in the morning
- The super early parts of the morning when it’s not so hot
- Getting cold water
- When the goats run by in a herd
- sitting in my hammock
- trying to interpret jokes and not really getting it
This week has been more than I ever thought. More difficult, more heat, more fun, more Jesus, more love. I can’t wait to see what the rest of this month brings.
**uploading photos to my blog takes forever, so check out my facebook or instagram (until.the.whole.world.hears) for LOTS of pics(:**
