I am sorry that I was not able to post this blog earlier. I wanted to but we did not have Internet connection where we are staying until today. I am so thankful for all of your continued support and prayers as my squad and I have set out this past week. I am so thankful for all of you as nerves and fears faded away and we could feel the presence of your prayers and love.
After over 50 hours of travel and 4 plane rides we successfully arrived in The Ivory Coast.
This month my team and 5 others are staying together at one ministry site compound. So far the culture shock has not been too overwhelming. Our team has beds, air conditioning, and the basics of anything else we need.
Transitions can be hard and overwhelming and language barriers can be hard and overwhelming. The first day was a difficult but exciting transition. It was awesome to say “We are in Africa.”, and “The Lord has brought us to The Ivory Coast.” But it was difficult saying goodbye to family and home for a year and to some of the other teams for a month. It is also very strange to hardly be able to communicate with anyone because so few of us speak French and so few of the people here speak English.
The first week was a lot of welcome and meeting our different ministry hosts and finding out how we would be serving and helping to advance the Kingdom while we are here. It was hard for my team because we were very excited to jump right in and begin working in whatever way we could but the start to our ministry was very slow. Our hosts wanted us to just feel welcomed. In one church service our team was used as an example of trust in the Lord and surrendering fully to Him. Many of the people here are worried that they don’t have a job and need a job. They are worried that they don’t have a family or support systems and need them. The pastor pointed out that our teams had left our homes, our jobs, our families, and our support systems to follow Christ. Perhaps the Lord is using simply our presence here to minister to the people, which is awesome and humbling to think that our lives and lifestyles can be a ministry to others as well as actions we take.
The biggest culture shock for me in the first week and a half has definitely been the church culture here. Services are 3 hours minimum and usually 3 times a week. My team has also been allowed to participate in 2 all night prayer vigils. It has been an awesome culture shock in that sense. Just to see how genuinely, passionately, and unashamedly these people believe in what The Lord has promised them in scripture and how it effects every aspect of their lives.
Our ministry host is a pastor of a church here but also the owner of a television station. We are helping him in the outreach his church is doing and also in his television station which is another facet for proclaiming the Gospel. After our first church service with him he invited us to preform at a worship concert he was holding at another ministry site that would air on his television station. Later in the week, we were invited to give an interview on his television station about the work we were doing. It is really strange to be treated like celebrities by people you came to serve, but awesome to be able to worship and spread our message in that way.
On an off day our team decide to take taxis into downtown Abidjan and explore the city. Our taxi driver on the way spoke a decent amount of English and we were able to have a conversation and minister to him. He had a basic knowledge of Christianity but it was hard to really dive into a conversation with him because he couldn’t understand everything we were saying in English. At the end of the ride we gave him a Bible and invited him to come to our church. I walked away very excited that we were able to share even a little of the gospel with. However, I was also thinking how easy it was. It wasn’t awkward, it wasn’t scary, and it wasn’t difficult situation to be in. I felt guilty about similar opportunities a home that I should have and could have taken advantage of but was too scared or apathetic to do so. I know that guilt has no place here and that the past is in the past and I can’t change it but it is sad to think I lived like I had to travel around the world to do something so simple as sharing God’s love and His good news. As Christians the Holy Spirit lives in us and if we allow Him to work through us we can be used as His vessel in any and every situation.
Please continue to pray for my team, my squad, and I as we continue in the work the Lord has for us here in The Ivory Coast. I love you all and I will be praying for all of you that the Lord will bless as He has blessed me through all of you!
Glory to God!
