Hey everyone!
January has come and gone! What a month it’s been. Here’s a quick update on my movements over the past month!
6-10 January – Final training at Adventures in Missions base in Gainesville, Georgia. Met my co-squad leaders (Syliva, Michelle, Cristen, and Alex) for the first time.
11 -15 January – F-Squad adrives to Atlanta for a few days of training prior to launching for Cote d’ivoire.
16-17 January – Travel day with F-Squad from Atlanta to Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. Long layovers and delays put the total time spent traveling at about two full days! Whew! It was nice to finally arrive in Abidjan and step out into the warm West African heat. We traveled immediately to a local church organization which gave us rooms for the night. Our first meal was roasted chicken with rice and a delicious tomato sauce, yum!
18 January – Teams depart for ministries all over Cote d’Ivoire. Team Uprooted and I are picked up by our ministry hosts and depart for “Zone 4” of Abidjan.
18 January – 6 February Ministry at the Port of Abidjan with Team Uprooted! This part of my month was incredible. I had lots of long conversations with truckers from all over West Africa, learning lots about Islam and the life of a trucker here. They were so gracious to us, always offering a little glass cup of their cherished sweet green tea which they make in the afternoon. Many of them heard the gospel for the first time and some were excited to give their lives to Christ. The church here will continue to follow up with them and help them to learn more about what it looks like to have a personal relationship with Jesus! I am very honored to have been part of this ministry and met the incredible men and women here working with the LORD to transform the heart of West Africa.
6 February – Travel to San Pedro, Côte d’Ivoire. Bus rides are always an adventure. I was a lucky window-seat, the man beside me in the middle was the true hero. No music or window to look out of, he got to enjoy being squashed into an upright sitting position. En route to San Pedro, I listened to music, audible lectures, and did my best to sleep through all the African soap operas playing on the TV. After 8.5 hours, I finally made it to my destination and was picked up off the street by my co-squad leader Sylvia.
7 February (today) – My first day in San Pedro! It’s been awesome staying in San Pedro. The air is clear and cool. The town is quiet and birds fly thick in the air, a nice change from the dense and busy city of Abidjan. Team 12-6-1 are working with truckers as well. While they were at ministry today, Sylvia and I caught up with our on co-leaders via google-hangout at a local hotel which also has a beautiful pool (8 USD to use). Beyond the little pool and through the windows of the restaurant, sea-green waves crashed onto a sandy beach. They looked perfect for surfing (if only I’d brought my surf board)!
Coming up: Lots of exciting things! Pray that the LORD continues to work in our own hearts on F-Squad and that he keeps us physically healthy during the months ahead!
Blessings,
Zach
