A not so brief overview

I am having a hard time describing life here.. But I’ll do my best.

Today (Sunday): I spent this morning singing songs, praying, and talking about God’s creation with 3 to 6 year-olds, at church. Yes, they only spoke French, but the phrases I used the most were “assise” (sit), “viens” (come), “qui prie?” (who wants to pray), “qui chante?” (who wants to sing?). It was good. When I spend time with kids, I feel purposeful. It feels good to know you are doing something God created you for.

Week days, I wake up at 6, then I often go for a run, followed by breakfast and some refreshing worship and devotional time. At 8, we have a group bible study and prayer time, followed by French class, some cultural classes, and lunch at noon. The afternoon starts with a siest, followed by more sessions or a visit into Bouake market. The evening holds adventures, dinner, and more adventures. We play lots of sports once the heat of the day subsides.

I am the first to admit that where we are living is bit of an African oasis. But it is also a perfect home base, from which to orient our selves as we prepare to serve here. Though I get to experience segments of African life now, in town, church and visiting villages, for the next 2 months we are learning the language, the culture, and what ministry options there are to plug into. After Christmas, we will be living in a village setting., and luxuries like washing machines and showers are nice for now.. but will be replaced with buckets very very soon.

It’s really encouraging to hear the multiple ministry opportunities that there are here. So far, I could work with former prostitutes - leading art therapy activities; I could paint murals for translating and language teaching; I could teach women to create things they can sell for money, to supplement their family’s income. And these are only the known options.. I’m sure many more will come. For now, I'm volunteering in sunday school.

The MARKET is an experience, to say the least. The first day, I walked most of it, and in one word, I would call it “chaos” (to my American comfort level). Imagine streets filled with taxis and motos whizzing by, lined with wooden cubicles of pagnes, fruit, veggies, school supplies, shoes, electronics..). You feel a sense of invincibility, even though you just felt a moto-taxi brush by you 2 seconds prior. Then you enter into an alleyway, with littered streets and booths filled to the brim, to a wooden maze of tailors, sewing and cutting.. It feels like you can find anything you’d ever need there.. But without the convenience that we take for granted in the states. You may be redirected to 10 different places, and still not find the thing you’re looking for.

Courtyards are another common setting here in Cote d’Ivoire. Life happens there, in the middle of village life. You are welcomed to sit, offered water, and then you rest and take in your surroundings. All the while, small conversation is made - about health, family, and jobs. Often, someone else is making food, children are playing, a ram is impatiently pacing in its pen. It’s a peaceful sitting and taking in life together. And unlike America, it’s perfectly ok to not say a lot. It is hard to get over my “keep to yourself” mentality that I often have back at home. Here, it’s rude if you don’t stop by someone’s home to greet them, or stop and ask how they are doing when you pass by. In fact, you should not just ask how they themselves are doing, but also about their family, job, and health. This is true for here on campus as well. There are Ivorians who live here and work here, whom I greet in French daily, saying “Bon jour! Ca va?”, and after lunch, it changes to “bon soir”.

Cote d’Ivoire is in the middle of a major election, something the president has been postponing for nearly 10 years. The second round of voting happens at the end of this month. The decision could change a lot of things, but then again, we all know that politics promise change and don’t always follow through.. We will see. Pray that God’s in charge of the ultimate outcome.

Lizards and ants rule the grounds here. Geckos are as common as squirrels in suburban America, and driver ants create inch wide lines that flow across paths and sometimes into houses. If you disturb their line, they attack your feet.. Not a fun experience! I have to step over one or two every time I go running.

I have eaten fresh coconut milk straight from the tree, passion fruit, fried plantains, ignames, millet.. Most of our food is Ivorian. I’ve had dairy twice since I arrived here: a yogurt this morning, and cheese pizza last week. I’m enjoying it while I can.

Good chocolate and coffee don’t really exist here, even though Cote d’Ivoire is the largest grower of cocoa and produces lots of coffee beans. However, cocoa powder and Nescafe can be found in abundance.

It’s been in the 80s and very high humidity since we’ve been here. The temperature is rising, and the moisture is subsiding, as we are entering the dry season. I’ve heard mixed reviews on which season is more comfortable: wet or dry. I am willing my skin to stop sweating so much.

If you’d like to check out some of the awesome people I am living here with, here are their blogs:

Naomi, Heidi, CJ, Jason, Jamie, Alyssa, Devin, Chazz, Holly

a glimpse

the team on halloween

view of campus from the water tower

me cj and naomi

J'arrive a Bouake!

Dear friends,

If you get anything out of this blog post, let it be this:

A. I am “tres bien” (very well), safe and secure here at Mission Baptiste in Bouake, Cote d’Ivoire.

B. Where I live is beyond beautiful - full of fruit trees, singing birds, vibrant flowers, and in the best company I could ask for. I stop and praise God every hour, if not more.

C. God is good. We arrived safe, as did our bags. The smoothest traveling I’ve ever experienced There is much to praise Him for here. It is a strange mix of extreme excitement and newness, along side overwhelming adjustments. One of our leaders said, “nothing can prepare you for this,” and I now understand exactly what they meant.

　

Now for the details.

Words cannot describe the past few days. Though the journey here was long, including 4 flights, a 6 hour sleep in Abidjan, and a 5 hour bus ride to Bouake, it was unnaturally issue-free. I remember the ride from the airport by its smells. First, there was the aroma of pineapples, then cocoa, and then coffee and dust - all flooding through the windows of our van. I kept thinking, “we are going home!.. And it’s for a year!” No getting on another plane next week. But don’t interpret that as a hardship, because that’s not what I feel. I feel extremely content beyond words. I find myself often sitting and taking in what’s going on. I have to. It’s like I’m a child again, and I have to ask lots of questions. By the way, I really did ask a lot of questions as a child. Everything is new: the birds that I hear, the fruit trees (I have grapefruits, limes, lemons, papayas, mangoes, pineapples, avocados, passion fruit, guava, coconut, and banana trees ALL right outside! - though it takes a bit of climbing and searching for ripe ones), the geckos, the heat lightning storms, the humidity (a bit like our Philadelphia summer), the food (the first night, we had fresh killed chicken with cucumber, tomato and onion salad, attieke -similar to cous cous, spicy tomato chili sauce, and hot peppers. You mixed it all in your hand, squeezed it, then popped the handful into your mouth.. Which takes some grace I have not yet developed. For desert, fried plantain pieces, delicious!), the people, their customs and the language (French and Dyula).

Right now, at this moment, it is torrential down pouring. It does this every now and then, as we are at the end of the rainy season. Yesterday, we were sitting in a training session, the sun was out, and we heard this loud pounding on the roof, then saw the rain through the windows. So we ran outside, and there was the BIGGEST rainbow I have every seen, stretching across the entire sky. Absolutely beautiful. It is said that rainbows are symbols of “God’s promise”. And the rain reminds me of God’s healing. There have been a handful of memorable rainstorms in my life. This perhaps tops them all. It came at a time when we were struggling with our own expectations of what Africa would be like, alongside of the customs, language, and differences that we were learning. I couldn't help myself and ran out into the rain. We praised God together, for his restoring power, and for the rain and rainbow that reminded us of Him.

I mentioned at the beginning that I feel very content. This is partly because of all of the excitement, but I know I need to credit it mostly to God. I am content knowing that THIS is what He has for me right now. And man, do I praise God SO MUCH for everything here.. I wish I could say the same about life back in the US.. Sometimes it takes nuances to remind us to praise Him. There’s an incredible feeling when you realize you are living out God’s plan - and it is in that knowledge that I am free.

There is so much more I'd like to say, but for now, I am working on processing it first, before I start spitting it all out here on my blog... because there would be too much to read. Also, pictures are coming soon. I am taking it in for now.

One last word on relationships. I came here with 9 others, and there are a handful of leaders here. God could not have handpicked a better group of people to live together and serve, in community, in Bouake. Again, we have much to praise God for.

Ways you can pray for me:

Patience: in relationships, language learning, understanding. Good health. That we will take on a missionary living lifestyle, including waking up at 6, and living the way that the people do here.. with humility and not pride. For community and deep relationships (praise Jesus, they form fast here). That I would seek God for His will, for my time here. And as always, for my own heart, that God would do great works in it and with it.