Africa…. The Art of Flexibility

Tuesday morning we woke up and prepared to go to our first village.  Because we were going to be gone all day, we needed to take food and water to last us.  Water is so precious and I learned that very quickly in Africa.  We had a water purification system that made our well water drinkable.  It looked like a cooler and you would pour the water in and it went through a three part purification process.  This was not immediate.  We had filled bottles with the water we had and put them in the freezer the night before.  Our fridge did not do much to cool things and in fact took 3 days to freeze ice, but it did make the water colder.  We filled a cooler with what we had, made our sandwiches and took off.

Our first stop was to go pick up MC at his home and get Morey at the bridge where he was working.  This is the same bridge we needed to cross to go to the villages.  I was riding with D and we were following P.  He is a much faster driver and we quickly lost him!  D was trying to figure out the roads and Penda ended up telling her directions to MC’s.  Driving was always an experience!  When we arrived, P was out of the truck and had the hood open.  NOT a good sign. He had been having some power steering issues and sure enough, it was out and their was a rip in the hose.  You could see the stress level rise in him, for several reasons.  One, we were set to go to the villages and they were expecting us today.  Second, we are in Africa and there is no Jiffy Lube down the street, so who knows if the part you need is going to be available.  Thirdly, we had to adjsut our schedule and try to change up our Tuesday and Wednesday schedule.

We headed back to the guest house to figure out our plan and P took the truck to the mechanic.  We decided to go out into the surrounding neighborhoods, meet people, practice our Maninka, and share Creation to Christ stories.  P was going to go and see if he could meet with the director of the English department and see if we could come today instead of on Wednesday.  Jason and I went out with Penda and took off across the street.  I had no idea what to expect.  We asked her a lot of questions and she was good about answering.  As we were walking, she asked us about the difference between Islam and Christianity.  The belief she had, which is not uncommon, was that we worship the same God, but go through different prophets.  They believe in Creation, that Jesus was a great Prophet.  From their perspective their is not a big difference.  When she said this, Jason replied, “From our point of view, there is a huge difference.  We believe that Jesus is the Son of God, He lived a perfect life and died to take our punishment for our sin.”  She asked if we had an English Bible that she could have and we of course informed her that she could have ours when we left. She mainly wanted it to compare to her French Bible for translation purposes, but I know that God’s Word is alive and active, it pierces the heart, and it never returns void.  I am praying that what Penda means for translation purposes, God means to draw her heart to Him.

Our first encounter was with an older lady whose feet were so gnarled. She asked if we would pray for her, so Jason prayed.  As we walked, we would stop and talk to people, say hi, practice our Maninka and move on.  Penda kept taking us farther and farther from our house and I kept asking if this was her neighborhood.  She kept saying no, it was farther up.  We passed several mosques, trash heaps, huts and brick homes.  We finally came up to a large group of women and children.  Penda informed us that these were her neighbors!  We exchanged pleasantries and I got my camera out to take pictures.  This is an easy crowd pleaser in Africa.  They are so excited to see their picture taken and these women were no different.  They are wanting us to send the pictures back with our next group.

Jason then asked Penda if we could share a story with them.  She said okay. Jason asked if I should share since I am a girl and she said yes.   He told me to tell my testimony.  My mind went blank.  SO, I took a deep breath, asked the Lord to use my words to bring Him Glory and launched in.  I tried to make it relatable to them, but that isn’t the easiest to do when I am a white, middle class American who grew up in a church going, Christian home and they are African women, who don’t have electricity, running water and are Islamic.  But, I shared that I began to follow the way of Jesus at the age of 10.  I shared how God changed me, gave me hope and eternal life.  I shared that I didn’t always make the best choices, but that His way is always the right path to take.  They listened to my story and isn’t that what it is all about?

I asked if they wanted to hear more stories about Jesus.  Penda translated and they laughed some.  She told me,” No, they just want the pictures.”

Thanks.  Appreciate the honesty.  It was that moment where I felt like a middle school girl who just put herself out there with the popular kids and got REJECTED.  But, I don’t know what God can do to use my story or the memory of a couple of Americans who kept a promise and will send pictures of their kids.  Pictures that they don’t have a lot of.  My prayer is that when they look at those pictures, they remember the story that came with the girl who took the picture.

That is the reality of ministry in West Africa.  It isn’t an easy road.  Forsaking Islam has many consequences.  They can lose their family, their job, their home, and in some cases, come to harm.  The reality is they are not seeing a lot of people drawn to Christ.  They are seeing people who are willing to hear stories about Jesus.  They are seeing some fruit in the younger generation.  I know that the believing comes through the hearing and the hearing comes through the telling.

We finished up at Penda’s home and met her mom and sister.  We also met her nieces.  We then walked probably 2 miles back to the guest house in the African heat!

That evening we did end up at the University to talk some English with the English students.  They love to practice with real, live Americans, so we fit that bill!

I loved this time with these college age students.  They were so eager to practice and their desire to learn was so obvious.  Their frustration with the lack of resources they have was equally obvious.  We had splint into groups and talked with about 10-15 kids at a time.  They asked about our life, Barack Obama, how we could help them, why we were there and how long we were staying.  I went through talking about my famliy, my hobbies, American culture, and my faith.  I was able to share that I followed the way of Jesus and one gentleman indicated he was a Christian.  This a a fertile soil I feel.  I think this generation is open to talking about Jesus and listening to what you have to say.

I definitely saw today that building relationships is so important, no matter where you live.  The more we go, the more we get to know Penda and speak Christ to her.  The more she gets to see Him lived out in us.

This was a long, hot day, but again, such a learning experience.  I am so glad we had the chance to go into the neighborhood and get our feet wet, so to speak!

( I know my pictures are really big, but I thought you might like a bigger view!)

Kids in the nieghborhoods

Walking through the neighborhood

Goats, Goats, Everywhere, usually eating trash, that is everywhere.

Another view of the neighborhood

Two young girls walking along the road

These are some of the huts we would see

Penda's neigbhor's twins. I love that one is picking her nose. Just like what one of mine would do!

Penda's neighbors

How cute is that smile??

You now carrying a table on your head with a baby strapped to your back, with a smile, is something you do everyday too!

This is Penda, with her niece. We had gone to Penda's so she could change shoes. She had not counted on all the walking.

The university students.

The university..

They love Barack Obama.