She lives in the campement down the road from Ecole Baptiste, our program’s homebase, and cooks us yummy meals. One of my responsibilities has been to oversee the kitchen and make sure we have food to eat. Sarah is the chief of the kitchen, and it has been a joy to work alongside her. She is a comedian, a mother, a wife, a head chef, an actress, and a singer.
She is married to a man named Benjamin, and has become the mother of his children. They are not hers, however. Her best friend was his first wife, but she passed away. When Sarah saw that he was struggling with his 7 kids, she offered to become their mother and his wife.
Before that, she was part of a traveling singing and theater group in Mali. She has taught me a few of the songs, in Bombara, that she learned during those days. Often, while cooking together or organizing tupperware, she’ll teach me, line by line, songs that talk about God’s love and joy. She makes me laugh so hard - everyone calls her a comedian. Most of the time, it starts when she makes fun of me and I do the same to her. Before you know it, we’re both laughing so hard. The other day, I decided to make coconut milk. That in itself was bizarre to her - but she considered it to be one of my strange American things. Then she watched as I put my left pointer finger in to check the consistency, and she said “Stephanie, si quelqu’un te voit quand tu fais ca, il ne va pas le manger,” (if someone sees you do that, he won’t eat it.)
On Friday, she described to me how you eat baked potatoes, in Dioula, a language she’s been trying to teach me, at my request. I stared at her. She hadn’t taught me those terms yet. She has taught me simple things, like “E bay soh moh goh foh”, which means “greet your family”, a common thing people say when telling someone goodbye. There is one sound that I simply cannot pronounce. It sounds like “Gba”, but there is a very forceful tone behind the “B” which I have yet to master. Every time I try, she’s practically rolling on the floor laughing.
I worked alongside her one morning, making peanut butter cookies, as she made peanut sauce. She explained to me in detail how to make the sauce, and then showed me how to properly mix and roll the cookies. When I told her that I thought I’d done a good job, she said that I had not. It was her job to teach me so I could make them properly for my future husband, who she is eager to find for me.
In August, when I was baptized in the stream behind Ecole Baptiste, it was her who led us in songs. I remember her singing, “I have decided to follow Jesus,” (J’ai decide a suivre Jesus). Sarah is an amazing person. Our friendship is something you don’t find every day. Even cross-culturally, I can say that she is a true “soul” sister, someone I was meant to know and to love. Maybe it’s because of our adventurous spirits or our mutual love for laughter. I respect her for the decisions she’s made in her life and the whole hearted spirit that she’s embraced them with. And every time I see her, I thank Jesus for putting her in my life.
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