Africa…..the day I kinda got my groove back, part 2

After our first village, we left to go down the road just a mile or so to the third and final village.  Because of time, we knew that we wouldn’t be able to share using music this village.  This village was huge.  I had no idea when we passed through the day before that it was so large, but it went on forever.  It was also incredibly hot.  We had tried to salvage as much water as we could, but we were all, running out.

When we arrived, we walked quite a ways to the chief’s home.  He lived in a courtyard of sorts and D and I were surrounded by kids at least 5 rows deep all the way around.  I think a lot of it at this village had to do with thier 8 year old daughter, K, who was with us.  She has blonde hair and blue eyes.  The whole time we were in this village, we were surrounded my  kids.  On all sides, pressed up against it.   The funny thing was that it seemed to bother Penda more than us!  There is a prejudice of some sort that can exist between city Africans and village Africans.  Ironic, huh?  You don’t have to travel far to see it displayed in all cultures.

We went through the greeting with this village and again were told that they also were not expecting us.  Evidently, neither of our messages from a week ago or the day before had been given to the chiefs and elders.  We went through the whole process of explaining why we were there, why the message was not received, etc….  It was during this time, that I noticed a little girl that I still picture in my head almost daily.  She was around 6 or 7, which is my girls age.  She was beautiful and had her hair braided.  The striking thing to me was that she had her little brother strapped to her back.  He was around 9 months old it seemed and he was a healthy looking little guy, weighing at least 15-20 pounds.  She on the other hand, was a skinny little thing!  Her brother also did not have any clothes on.  I had a picture of her that I wanted to share and it pains my heart that I can’t share it with you.  I would love for you to see her face.  We were in this village for close to 3 hours.  She carried him the entire time.  I know my 7 year old weighs 47 pounds and to think of this little girl who was around Parker’s age and size carrying around her brother, brings me to tears.  For some reason, this sight brought all the hardships that these young children face into focus for me.   I love that she helped take care of her brother.  I loved that she took that responsibility on herself.  The stark reality of it is that she carried around, for hours, a child that weighed almost half as much as she did.  One time, she sat on the corner of the bench I was sitting on and after a few minutes, an adult made her get up.  I know for me carrying around an infant for that long would be tiring, but for her, I know it wore her little body out.  The life they face, as children, is much different than the life our face.  It reminded me again, that their children are OUR CHILDREN.  They just happen to live in a different continent, in a different culture, but they are still kids who deserve our best.

After our meet and greet, our huge posse made it a short distance to hang out with some ladies.  We were again very cramped but we were able to share the story of Creation with them after a while.  D shared each day and wanted to hit on the fact that each of them was special to God and that He knew them even though they lived out in this village.  After this, Penda says, “Don’t stop there, you have to tell them about the serpent and getting kicked out of the Garden.”  I totally lost it laughing.  Our Muslim translator wanted us to share the Fall with these women.  She called us out!  I loved it!  So we shared with them about the serpent and Eve and the separation from God that we face without Christ.  So cool!

During this time, I was holding one the newest village members, a little girl 2 months old.  She was a cutie.  Her mom then asked if I would take her home and raise her and them bring her back when she was old enough to work.  I don’t think she was really serious, but I know that they think all Americans are rich and compared to them, we are all LOADED.  I thought to myself, I would take her in a heartbeat, but not bringing her back! In the previous village, Jason was meeting with a chief and he asked Jason if he had children.  Jason said yes, two girls and one boy.  He asked if he would give our oldest daughter in marriage to his grandson.  Jason said, no in America, we let our children choose and we bless the union as parents.  He then tried to sweeten the deal  by saying we could have his 2 year old granddaughter in exchange.  We have laughed about it, but it again shows several things: the difference in culture, the value of children and their need for Jesus.  Many people have asked or insinuated that Jason and I would feel the burden to adopt after our visit.  That is not something that we feel led to do at this time. I will say, the need is great.  I will also say, the children we saw were not orphans and our perception of what they need, is different than what an African mom would say they need, in many cases.  Not because our love is greater but because the Africans we saw had quick smiles and a contentment that you rarely see in America that comes from appreciating what you do have instead of a focus on what you do not.  A kids toy there was an old tire being rolled with a stick.  Not an Ipod or a Wii.  Are there things we should be doing to aid these amazing people, YES.  Every human deserves clean water and medications to cure the simplest of diseases. Do these parents want the best for these kids? I think in most cases, YES.  But, while I was there, I did feel the desire to help, not just one child, BUT MANY.  What can I do to help support the children in one village or help bring about change in the lives of hundreds of African children.    These are the things I am still processing.

When we got back together before we left, we had an interesting visit with the elders and chiefs.  P asked Scott and Jason to share their testimony.  They both did and used the name Jesus about 50 times, it was great!!  Except, one man got extremely hot that they were sharing about Jesus.  He kinda went off and then P retaliated by saying, if you don’t want to hear our stories, that is fine, we don’t have to come back.  This sent the chief into a 10 minute speech during which time he is pointing at Scotty and then Jason and t hen P and then back to Jason.  Come to find out, after Morey, bless him, had to translate all of it, the chief was smoothing the ruffled feathers.  He was referring to how Jason and  their Iman were “brothers” and even though they are Muslim and will be Muslim, they welcome us to their village.

We then gave them the machetes and soccer balls.  In this village, they told us that we didn’t bring enough!  They needed more machetes.

Your welcome.

I don’t know if we will go back to this village in the future.  It was easy to see where God was at work in these villages and where people of peace were located.

After our drive home, P went straight to bed. He was feverish and did not feel well.  We all set out to make dinner.  It was a team effort and a great way to end the week in KonKon.  We had a visit from several other missionaries that night and got to spend some time with one particular guy.  He had a lot of insight into the Muslim faith and how they view Chrisitanity.  It was really great.

We then began to pack up and get ready for our 12 hour drive back across the country with one sickly driver!