This is Africa…
Yestermorning I woke up with a chicken walking around on my bed mattress making loud noises, “bok bok bok!” Luckily the mosquito net that surrounds my foam mattress that lays on the floor keeps more than just malaria carrying insects off me. This is Africa…
When taking a taxi to the nearest town 20 mins down the road to get groceries, we often pile 8-14 people in a small Toyota 4 door hatchback! Its truly an amazing feat. There are 4-6 people in the trunk area, 4 people in the back seat, and even 4 people across the 2 front seats! The driver is literally sharing a seat with another passenger; its often hard to tell who is actually driving. But the lawless systems hear only encourage the poor to resort to such crazy antics. Today I don’t even think I was sitting on a seat cushion, but rather straddling the gear box and sitting on the hand break and 2 seat belt receptors. But this is Africa.
Two of my dear squad mates, who are in another city, have already contracted malaria and other sicknesses that have landed them back in Nairobi to seek medical attention. Please keep them in your prayers. This is Africa.
Poop in a hole…enough said. This is Africa.
Church is a 3 1/2 hour service that is hardly indoors, but in a “building” that is more like a wooden fence with a metal roof that does just enough to keep the rain off our heads. Often little children and chickens wander in from under the very porous wooden walls during service.
The floor is of course dirt which they dutifully water down before service to keep the dust down because there is often a lot of dancing that happens when the worship portion starts. And let me tell you, they don’t go for style points here…just as long as they are loud! I mean real loud. I’m tempted to bring ear plugs to service as its boarder line ear drum damaging. They have huge speakers that are places about 10 feet in front of us and they are literally on the verge of blowing as the key board and the singers are blasting at full volume! Its intense! Perhaps the hope is they will attract people walking down the street or 3 street down. But they certainly go for it with reckless abandon!There are usually 2 sermons, even though one is called a Bible study and the other the actual sermon. Our team is of course responsible for delivering these messages every Sunday and also doing Sunday schools for the kids across the road in a and open grass field. This is Africa.
Sunday isn’t over when church ends. We get a few hours to go home, eat lunch and rest for a bit, before going back out to home cell groups which are basically small house small groups. There are 4 local groups, so the 4 of our girls split and take 2 houses each, and myself and Dan each lead another house group. The lead pastor and our main contact here is part of my group which is nice as he is very accommodating. The last house we held it in was a legit mud hut with no electricity of course. Seeing as this is later in the afternoon/evening, we struggle to hang out to any day light that is let in through the door to read the words of our Bibles. Maybe the darkness was a blessing as it was a bit distracting knowing the woman across from me was breastfeeding during most of the small group. This happens in church too. This is AFrica.
Ministry is driving 30 mins on dirt roads in seemingly the middle of no where, only to arrive at a rural village where a school has just gotten out. We are the honored guests visiting from America. The kids are interested in what we have to say. So 2 or 3 of us share a testimony, give words of encouragement or share a message from the Word. Often the kids the are inspired and even ask us to pray for them or ask us for advice on their hopeless situations. Sometimes the kids just want to know what kind of crops we grow in America. I’m tempted to tell them I personally don’t have to grow crops but I go to a place called Trader Joe’s where pre-packaged meals are conveniently there for me to buy, but some things are better left unsaid. I respond, “We grow corn, potatoes, fruits and vegetables just like you do.” Hey, thats not a lie… America really does grow those things. We spend an hour or 2 with the kids, get a tour of their school, and be our way. This is Africa.
Today I got to work at a health clinic that was originally started by a group of doctors from America. It is by far the nicest health clinic around. There are currently a team of eye doctors and surgeons who did over 65 cataract surgeries yesterday! There is also an American dentist in town for s week. People come in from near and far to receive tree health care that is probably better than anything they can find here. I got to work with my teammate, Angela, who is a RN back in the US. We did injections; so I spent the day preparing various mixes of medications to be administered by her. I felt like a little a chemist, probably doing the job of some specialist back in America that needs an extra 4 yr graduate degree of some sort. It was awesome! I also got my taste of being a pharmacist as they have a mini pharmacy set up and had MDs sending in prescriptions all day. I think at one point i was asked if I’d like to assist in surgery, but I thought it might be wise to pass on that. But hey, this is Africa…maybe tomorrow.
While sitting here writing this blog at 10:30pm in the rest home we’re staying in, I hear a crowd of people out on the main street hootin’ and hollarin’. My friend and I peek through the hole of the cement wall and see what looks like a mob parading the street as if they were drunk. Our African friend, Michael, who stays here with us and helps cook and clean for the team begins to explain that they have just caught a thief red-handed and the mob was letting everyone know. They were taking the thief to receive “mob justice” which usually means being stoned to death or stabbed with spears. Are you kidding? That could be happening less than a mile down the road as I sit here and type on my iPad? But thats Africa!
All in all though, I can’t really complain about life here. We’re getting fed 3 square meals a day with lunch and dinner usually consisting of rice or spaghetti with meat and a yummy cabbage dish that has become a staple at most meals. Our team favorite is chipati which is basically a fried tortilla but a little thicker in consistency and delicious with a little honey on it! We have comfy beds with mosquito nets over them that come in handy keeping out more than bugs. We are treated like royalty in every mud hut we are invited into, being served hot tea, bread with butter, or bananas and sweet potatoes before we can even sit down to introduce ourselves. The weather has been more than pleasant, ofter reminding me of San Diego. Half the day is sunny and hardly reaches mid-80’s while the other half is scattered rain showers and cooler pleasant weather. Its spring here which is their rainy season.
Africa is challenging and an adventure. Conditions aren’t truly new to me as I’ve experienced third world living to some degree in the past. But really living in it for an extended period of time (yes, I know its only been 2 weeks but I got 10 more weeks of it here) really helps me re-appreciate the little things in life as well as the many many conveniences and luxuries back in America.
Appreciate ya’ll keeping me and my team in prayer!
PS – Getting super stoked that at the end of the month, our entire squad will have the opportunity to raft the NILE River! How sweet is that! Now, this is Africa!!!
