HELLO friends and family! After 3 planes, 2 buses, and 1 taxi, we have made it to our first month of ministry, the village of Diabo in Cote d’Ivoire! I could not be here currently in Africa if it wasn’t for the amazing support from all of you at home. Our ability to communicate with people in the US is a bit difficult here. We have not found anywhere with wifi quite yet but I am also a bit thankful to just disconnect from all of the distractions and focus on what the Lord is calling me to do this year.
Upon arriving in Diabo, we got off of our 5 hour bus ride from Abidjan and met a few of the people we would be working with this month. They greeted us with friendly smiles and they took our big backpacks and strapped them on the top of a van and we packed ourselves in and made our way towards Diabo. It’s only about a 15 minute drive, but with the way we have packed ourselves into taxis so far I believe that my claustrophobic self will be not so claustrophobic after the end of the year.
When we arrived at the village, I was a bit surprised at the amount of garbage lying in the streets. It’s very dusty here as they haven’t had any rain for almost 4 months now. We got to the place we would be staying at for the month, and we have a very nice living space! We have three bedrooms (7 of us total) and a main area used for meals and socializing. We also have fans in each room AND 2 bathrooms that aren’t even squatty potties which is definitely a big bonus! We do have to take bucket showers however, which requires us to use a cup and a bucket of water to bathe. It has certainly made me thankful for my showers at home.
Our hosts are so incredibly sweet and have welcomed us in so quickly. They are always making sure that we enjoy our food, and if we don’t eat it all they are concerned and wondering why we aren’t capable of eating an entire pound of rice I don’t know why. They have served us many different things, with the fish being the most unique by far. They boil it with vegetables typically, and it still has the tail and eyeballs and everything. Looks disgusting, actually tastes okay if you give it a try. Sylvia, our squad leader that is currently with our team (we have 5 total), said she has eaten more fish this past week than she has her entire life.
We walk the streets in the village and it feels like we are human beings from another planet. We are some of the only white people to have walked through the village, and many of them have never seen a white person face to face ever. I have never been looked at by so many people while just simply walking down the street before. We smile, say Bonjour and wave and they get the biggest smiles on their faces. Their smiles are either because they are happy to see us or because of the way we sound when we say Bonjour, I haven’t quite figured that one out yet.
Although the streets are filled with people, their chaos seems to somehow not be overwhelming one bit. The women walk the streets balancing huge bowls filled with things from the farm or water drawn from the well, children are walking to or from school, and men are out working on the farm. When I think of a farm at home it is a corn or bean field, but their farms are actually filled with fruit and yams. They will be out working carrying things from the farm back to the village for much of their days, and it all seems to be such an organized routine.
My AMAZING teammate Heather captured this powerful photo of a women and her daughter carrying water through the streets of the village. They teach their children how to do everyday tasks at a very young age.
To be completely honest with you, this last week has been a difficult one for me. I started feeling not so great on Sunday evening and so I skipped dinner to go rest and lets just say I went to the bathroom that night and the next few days more times than I would like to share. After having a fever of 102.9 and losing 15 pounds, I went to their “hospital” where they gave me fluids and some medicine. The hospital here is 4 beds in one room and when you get fluids, you walk to the pharmacy next door to purchase them and bring them back to the doctor. I was with my teammate Hannah who was also unfortunately feeling sick, but I am so thankful that she was by my side through it all. The fluids helped me tremendously, and now two days later I am almost back to feeling 100%. I am so thankful the Lord surrounded me with people that show so much love and generosity. They helped me when I was sick without hesitation. One example being Sylvia holding my fluid bag while I used a squatty potty. Can’t say I have done anything remotely that unsanitary in my life but I have a feeling that it may not be the last time something like that will happen again on my trip. Life’s good here, I can’t complain. God is so so good.
Thank you so much for reading my first blog in Cote d’Ivoire! Love you all (:
Mom, here’s two photos just for you. The first one to make sure I’m okay and alive and the second to make you squirm in your seat. Love you much (:
