The small Wonan community we are ministering to is a 2min walk from where we are staying. It is filled with a dozen little brick, concrete and wood homes. Some are painted and larger, while others are quaint and rugged structures. Between the homes run dirt and stone paths. I truly feel like I am in a jungle village as I am walking on the little trails. Laundry lines are hung around and sometime you have to duck under them as you approach a house. When you step into a house it is culture to ask permission here. "Permiso" means to have permission or excuse me. So everytime we walk through a doorway each of us say "permiso". Different than the other cultures we have been to, the people here you do not greet with a hug and kiss. You greet with a handshake. I keep catching myself going in for a hug and then realizing it isn't a thing here. Pretty sure I am going to give everyone a hug and cheek-kiss when I get home! ha!
One of our first nights here, our hosts told us there was a lady in the community who was interested in having us visit her. Her 4 kids had been part of the VBS we started that morning. It is culture here to have some type of food to share and if you don't have the money to provide it is embarressing and shameful so our host recommended that we bring a little snack to share with them. It was dark when we walked over, but the shadows of people sitting in chairs outside their homes were slightly visible as we walked by. We had to lift a low hanging clothes line as we walked towards the door of our new friends home. A myriad of kids greeted us. So many that we weren't sure which kids actually belonged in the home. Removing our shoes we walked into the dimly lit concrete-floored home. An electrical line and some more clothes lines were hanging around the room, crossing in the middle so that it looked a little like a spider web encompassing the room. In the middle hung a single light bulb. It was a 2 room home and we all sat down on the ground in a circle and started to chat with the lady and her family. Her husband was gone working for the week. Later we found out that her husband and his brother work together and their homes are only a few feet away. The other children in the house were this family's cousins. Later in the week we visited their house. The families congregated in the homes on both visits.
On our first visit, we found out that the woman had been struggling with some intense anxiety and also had struggled with some other health issues due to the birth of her last son who is 2 now. We were able to speak truth and share Scripture with her and then pray over her. As we were praying, my face was close to the light and flying ants were flying all over me and in my face. I thought this is normal life for these people. It is not wierd for bugs to be flying all over them and sticking to them because of all the sweat. Lord don't let these little creatures distract me from focusing on You. Yes they were everywhere, it was actually quite funny. The next day we asked how the mom was doing and she said she was much better, she didn't have anxiety and her energy was back enough she was about to work without hurting!!! Praise Jesus! Anyway, we continued visiting and they showed us some things they have made to make money. The men of this community/culture carve out figurines from the nut of the palm tree. They can dye the nut different colors from fruits and plants, as well. The women weave these baskets from straw that take a really long time and hard work to make but one of the ladies took 2 years to make a really tall one and sold it for $3000 and bought the property for their house they are living in now! They are incredible. A long time ago, a missionary came into the Wonan village and had the idea of selling them. That is how the selling of the baskets came into being. These people are beautiful and so welcoming. Sometimes it takes a little while for the adults to warm up, but they are definitely intreged with the crazy, outgoing white people! The children are so endearing. The kids of these families helped us sweep and mop the cement floor of the church one hot afternoon after VBS. They are good workers and like any other children they like to get sprayed with the hose and make angels in the puddles of water on the floor! They are pretty precious! Even though our time in this community was short, it was rich and the Lord definitely used it in some beautiful ways!
