Never a dull moment

FYI: This blog is a series of anecdotes from the past 2.5 weeks. I hope you find them as interesting/amusing as I do.

I dyed my hair red with henna last week! It’s called “jabi”, bought for 50 CFA (10 cents) in the market, you add water and it looks like you’re putting dog poop on your head, but works amazingly! It’s the same color as the boxed dyes I buy at home. I recommend it.

When I ride my bike here, I practically make the morning news. I get lots of cheers and “bon soir”s. I can just hear them thinking, “hey, white girl on a bike!” Since the Peace Core left Cote d’Ivoire at the start of the war, there haven’t been many white kids riding around here on bikes. My favorite is when they yell, “bravo!” after I make it across a high traffic road.

Kadi likes to take me to the market with her, to buy the beef for the day, because the butcher gives her a good price (keep in mind that the butcher is literally a man at a wooden table, with the meat from ONE cow, and he cuts it with a machete). Last Saturday, I suddenly realized that all 15 women waiting for their cuts were smiling at me with expectant glances, because the butcher was making a marriage proposal to me. All in good humor, but if you know me, I tend to take things seriously a little too often. Needless to say, I’m learning to have more witty comebacks here - and in French at that! Last night, one of Bakary, my host dad’s, friends was proposing that we go back to the US together and get married. I told him he was too old and I wasn’t ready, because I wanted to be free like a bird! Again, all in good humor.

Last Wednesday, I was at one of the local orphanages, playing with the littlest ones, when the director walks in, puts a baby in my hands, and leads me to a car, with 3 other girls and babies. I always have to laugh at the situations when I only know half of what’s going on, sometimes none. We took the babies to get vaccinations at a local hospital. Then we go to the police station. Turns out, a baby had been abandoned at the hospital the day before, literally a birth and run. Can you imagine? I can’t. About half an hour later, I’m called over, and given a 3 day old baby, to carry back to the orphanage. She was tiny and yellow with jaundice. My heart broke.

The political situation here seems to be heating up.. Or perhaps it’s cooling off. It’s hard to tell. All banks are closed, public schools have been closed for months, countless people are laid off. Monday, 5 presidents flew in to attempt a peace treaty with Gbagbo (the president who’s holding on to his place). The hope is that he will leave and Ouattara can finally take office, though he’s already acknowledged as president by many, mostly everyone here in Bouake. It’s been 3 months since elections, everyone is beginning to tire of the waiting. Monday morning, we held our breath, to hear no news by the end of the day. We still wait (im)patiently for what Gbagbo will do. C’est la vie. Nothing here runs as you think it will. I’m amazed by the amount of patience people live with here.. Or maybe it’s more like quietly enduring. We are blessed with a lot of certainty in America that does not exist here.

To sum up life, I’m still figuring out how to best spend my time here. If you are able, please pray that God would give me wisdom in this area. Between work with the church, in local orphanages, Centre Providence, and relationship building with my family. We’re working on a schedule this week to talk to our pastor about on Sunday. I’ve been blessed in all areas, and encouraged by Philippians 4: 6-7, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

It’s been a joy to build relationships with my family. Every night, we sit outside and laugh.. Sometimes it’s teaching Kolo kickboxing, or singing in different languages, or making paper airplanes.. Never a dull moment. I feel at home here, something that I thought would take a lot longer than 2.5 weeks.. Life is full of surprises!

To leave you with words from Amy Charmichael, a missionary to India, at the start of the 20^th century,

“He hath never failed thee yet, never will His love forget, O fret not thyself nor let thy heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” We have no one to fear but God himself.

As I finish writing this, it’s down pouring, basins, no, oceans of rain! It’s not even rainy season yet! I had planned to grab a taxi into town to post this blog online, but it looks like that’s not going to be possible today. C’est la vie! Again, nothing seems to run here as you plan for it too. Patience, patience, patience. Sometimes, I’m a little tired of learning more patience. The most amazing thing is, that in an hour, I’ll bet you 100 bucks that the sun will be out, and that things will be dry by night fall. Oh Africa, never a dull moment.