Hey y’all!!! I am alive and well!! I know I have been off the grid the past two weeks, but that’s because wifi has been extremely limited here in Africa. After almost 3 long days of travel we finally arrived at our final destination for the month. We are staying in a small village right outside of Bouake, which is the second largest city in Cote D’Ivoire. My team and I are loving it here! When we arrived, we were greeted by so many friendly faces and warm hugs. We honestly have already been so blessed by God and our ministry hosts just in our first week of being here. Our hosts go above and beyond to make sure we are comfortable, healthy, and satisfied with our food. We are partnering with one of the local pastors in the village and his elders, wife and family have been so kind and hospitable towards us. I have already thanked God so many times for them in the past week! Our second day here in Bouake we had an amazing opportunity to meet the chief of the village, the chief of chiefs and then the vice-mayor of the district. They were all so welcoming and it was very cool to experience and witness their cultural interactions. Also, sidenote, our hosts gave us names from their local language and tribe according to what day of the week we were born on. Since I was born on a Monday, (Yes mom, I checked haha) my Bouli name is “Akissi.” Let’s just say I hear that word a lot, but I ain’t complaining! I absolutely love hearing about their culture and why they do the things they do. The rest of the week we have been working and partnering alongside the Pastor to help evangelize His community. He recently started a church here in the village and was hoping that we would help him grow His church and share the gospel. So far we have participated in many sessions of door to door ministry where we go around to people’s houses, sit down with them and share the love of Jesus with them. On Sunday we sang in church and a few teammates got to share their personal testimonies with the congregation, which was awesome! Yesterday we walked over to the village hospital and prayed over the sick and injured. It was tough to see people in so much pain, but we wanted to share hope and joy with them that only comes through Christ alone! We also got to meet the head doctors there and they welcomed us in to speak to their staff. I got to meet one of the nurses that was named Hannah and we instantly bonded. It was a little piece of familiarity and I am thanking God for His hand in everything. He is always watching over us, protecting us, and blessing us with good food, lodging, and wonderful hosts and translators. We are currently working on creating a women’s event, as well as children’s program this weekend. We are sooo excited!! A few days ago I got sick with a fever and stomach bug and to be honest, it was rough. I missed the comforts of home and would have delirious vivid dreams of being home with my family and then would quickly wake up, move my mosquito net and then run to the bathroom. (Sorry y’all, that’s probably a little TMI, but I want to be real in all my posts and the things that I am going through or experiencing on a daily basis.) But thank. The. Lord. for such great leaders (shout out to you Sylvia) and hosts because they took me and Adriana, one of my teammates, to the hospital the other day. We got hooked up to IV’s and got medicine and we are doing great! Thank you to everyone who prayed! God has been teaching me a lot this past week about fully surrendering my whole self to Him, which was including my comforts. I can’t wait to share more with you guys soon about all the things God is doing here in Cote D’Ivoire! God Bless, Hannah
