And it All Comes to an End...

I've been home a little over a week and have had some time to reflect on the summer... It seems odd to write a blog using an American keyboard and Internet I don't have to pay for, sitting in the air conditioned comfort of my own house! Switching cultures is definitely something I continue to get used to.

On our last Sunday in Abidjan, the church presented us with elder garments, and told us that we were now African kings and queens! Many people from the congregation had made dresses & shirts from the same fabric to celebrate the end of youth week and the end of our stay.

Sunday night we welcomed a new guest to our house - John Watton, a Nazarene missionary from Ghana. The discussions we had with John were challenging, especially hearing his view of North American culture and his perspective as a missionary. One of my favorite observations he made is that North Americans rush and hurry just to find comfort. Parts of our conversations seemed to tie the entire trip together, from what we had seen and experienced to what we would see and experience upon re-entry to the U.S.

John also challenged us in a less serious way. That is, when we saw photos from his last YIM team and the weaves/braids they had gotten on their trip, he told us, "Just do it!" So we did. 9 hours later for me, and 7 hours later for Sarah, over the course of two days, we had African weaves. And they looked pretty ridiculous!!

This is the end of the process - soaking the hair in boiling water!

The end result...

We were privileged to leave the extra money from our food budget for the Central and Southern Districts, to buy a pulpit for the church where we did some construction, and for a camera for the NYI council (Berenje, Parfait, Rita, and Samuel)! We got to spend lots of time with those four during our last days, and I was so thankful to take it all in!

After an entire summer away from home, I found that the Wednesday we left, I was wishing for more time! The NYI council brought a meal over, and we all ate together around the dining room table one last time. We headed to the airport after a few premature tears by Sarah & I as we pulled away from the guest house. The actual leaving process is a story of its own, so you'll have to ask me for that one in person. My last view through my tear-filled eyes was the council members waving as we passed through security. I couldn't be more grateful for the friendship and love they provided.

We traveled for 37 hours to make it back to El Paso. You would have thought it was Christmas when we sat down on the flight from Abidjan to Paris and discovered what movies we could choose from on our personal televisions! We spent five hours in Paris and got to watch the sunrise, have breakfast, and buy some souvenirs. Sarah and I even saw the Eiffel Tower when we took off (from the top level of a 747!)

After a nine hour flight, and a long layover in Atlanta (where we got some much desired fast food!!), we finally finished our trip and ended in El Paso. As soon as we got out to the shuttle for the hotel where we were staying, we saw our other YIM world-travelers... What a blessing to be able to share our stories and pictures with others who really understood. I reminded myself that these 40 students were the ones who would understand best what it was like to spend a summer in another country and return to the United States (where, I might add, I was completely shocked by women wearing shorts, people speaking English, and how fast everyone moved!!).

Our time in El Paso at re-entry camp truly was precious. Whether it was laughing and sharing stories as 5 people helped take out Sarah and my braids (yes, it took hours), welcoming back our family group, the Mexico team, spending time in worship together, or meeting with Norm as a team to work through our experience, the entire process was priceless. One of my favorite nights was the weird souvenir show... I'm not sure what kind of convention the hotel guests thought we were a part of! Girls wore dresses that looked like huge bags, Jake brought his noise-makers from the World Cup, teams shared the songs they used for VBS, and Mexico brought back some iguana skin... Just to name a few. Of course, we truly were re-entering U.S. culture. When the maid came after the first night, Sarah, the girls from Senegal, and myself were so confused about why she'd need to clean our room! "Ummm... Can we just have a few new towels? Yeah, that's all we need..." Sarah and I were also amazed at the cars who let us pass across streets instead of honking at us, and we nearly flagged down the first taxi we saw because we were so excited!

We concluded our time together Sunday morning by sharing meaningful Scripture from the summer, then headed to the airport on different shuttles. Saying goodbye wasn't as hard as I expected, knowing how small the Nazarene community is... I'm sure I'll run into my YIM friends throughout the years, and I know I'll see Sarah when she brings her sister to Olivet in a month. I flew out of El Paso to Las Vegas, the epitome of the awesome U.S. culture I was adapting to. Not. However, I found a sweet surprise in Las Vegas... I was talking to Chris as I got off the plane, when he said, "In that letter you sent home, you forgot to write about when I surprised you at Olivet for your birthday... blah, blah, Las Vegas..." Thinking he misspoke, I argued about what I wrote in the letter, then asked, "And what about Las Vegas?" He repeated himself, "When I surprised you at Olivet for your birthday... and when I surprised you in Las Vegas... Turn around." I turned in slow motion, to find Chris ten feet away in the midst of the airport rush, smiling at me. Through my tears and our hugs I asked the stupid question, "Are you on my flight home, too?!" He was :)

My family awaited me in Indianapolis, my luggage did not. It took an extra trip to Canada... oh well, what's a night without the clothes I wore all summer?

I left home May 26 with Africa in my head, and I left with Africa engraved on my heart. I was forever changed by the things I saw, the people I met, and the hospitality and love they showed me. I am challenged by the lifestyle I once thought was the American dream - go to school, get a job, have a family, retire. Is this really all that God calls us to be? I hope that this summer writes missions on my heart for the rest of my life, whether supporting missionaries, or going to other countries myself. It just doesn't seem like enough to live here, unassumingly, while others fight the injustice and poverty (physically and spiritually) of this world. Join me in asking God what we can do to fight for his winning Kingdom. Thanks for tuning in this summer, it's been incredible, and I'm glad I could share a small piece of it with you!

Youth Week in Abidjan!

This week has been designated for all the youth in the district to put on the activities in the church, so our team has been working with them all week! On Wednesday we spent time staining pews, painting, and cleaning a Nazarene church with the youth. The process of cleaning the concrete floor was really different from the U.S. We started by using a palm branch handheld broom to sweep out all the sand and trash, then spread soapy water all over the floor. Next we used the handheld broom to "mop" the floor and scrub up all the dirt. The dirt is slowly pushed toward the front door and down the stairs, then two buckets of clean water are added to continue pushing the dirt and suds out the door. Finally, damp cloths are used to get the suds, and then towels to dry the floor... and all this is done by bending over and doing it by hand! It was quite a process!

On Thursday we attended a youth service and soccer game. Sarah and I got to giggling in the service when the little girls on our laps fell asleep... Her's started snoring, then my little girl twitched and her hand landed on Jordan's thigh! It was pretty hard to get ourselves back under control after that.

This morning I'm writing after an all night service!! We got to the church we cleaned around 3 yesterday and waited around for 5 hours without really anything to do... We tried our hand at singing, practiced some of our dance moves, and made friends with some of the children. Around 8 we joined the hoards of people walking along the highway and made our way to a restaurant to share dinner with the NYI council! We had chicken with tomatos and onions and aticca (similar to rice)! The service began at 9:30 and the church was packed! It was mostly youth, but several adults attended, too. The routine was - pray, sing & dance, worship, listen to a preacher, pray... repeat three times! That's right, it was a 9 hour long service!! The singing and dancing was definitely my favorite part, especially since I'm starting to recognize some of the songs, even if I don't know what they say! The sermons were difficult to stay attentive to, between listening thru an interpreter, it being the wee hours of the morning, and each sermon going over an hour... The first preacher, however, completely stopped a song to walk to the back of the church and tap a sleeping couple to wake up, then the song started back up! The last preacher had a tough audience, there were only about 5 people awake!! By the time the sun came up and the service ended around 6:30 this morning, I felt pretty accomplished!

We spent two hours walking around downtown Abidjan after the service this morning, then got to see the President's quarters here - the equivalent of the White House. Tonight we eat with Pastor Djédjé's family! Please pray for safe travels as we finish our program tomorrow, come back to the U.S. on Wednesday, debrief at El Paso, then come home on Sunday!!!

Only a Week Left!!

Again, I can't believe how quickly time is flying by!! We finished our last weekend in Yamoussoukro and are now back in Abidjan for the remainder of our trip. Logan was pretty sick on Saturday this past weekend, so we all laid low for the day. The Sellers had us over one more time to say goodbye and we enjoyed dessert and watched A Knight's Tale! To finish the night, we all joined hands and Mr. Sellers prayed over everyone. On Sunday we headed to church where Jordan preached an awesome message! God truly spoke through him.

After the sermon, Pastor Prowell told the congregation that we were an example of sacrifice for coming this summer... But to me, the way Ivoirians give to the church, share meals with us, and even give us gifts is a much better picture of sacrifice. On Saturday one of our favorite church members Betty gave us dresses and dress shirts she'd made for us, so we wore those to the church service! Then after the message, they gave us Baule scarves, another set of dresses/dress shirts with the traditional African print, and the fabric they tie around their waists to make a skirt! At the end of the service, the congregation filed past us again to say goodbye. Keeping with Cote d'Ivoire tradition, the women gave us three kisses on the cheek, and the men gave us three head bumps to show love and respect. Later in the afternoon, another of our favorite women Josie gave Sarah & I jewelry and the boys little vases, as well.

Aside from the gifts on Sunday, we had a few other adventures as well. We went to watch the feeding of the alligators at the President's old palace area. First we watched a man tease them with a live, tethered chicken that they snapped at, then Logan paid six dollars to launch a live chicken into the center of the alligators... It zigzagged a few steps and avoided about 5 alligators before being eaten. As we waited for the men to bring meat to feed the rest of the alligators, a big military vehicle pulled up. Logan got to talking with the men, and found out that they were Bangladesh men from the UN army. Since the alligators weren't being fed, we quickly became the main attraction; The men lined up to take pictures with the Americans... especially Sarah and I! We just giggled and held on to each other in the middle of all those guys! Eventually they brought back a giant leg of an ox, hacked it to pieces, and threw it into the alligators! We ended the night at a restaurant with Pastor Prowell, Pastor and Mrs. Gomez, and our friend Rubin, watching the World Cup finals!! Sarah and I were happy to say we supported Spain for a couple weeks now, and they won :)

Yesterday we spent the day traveling back to Abidjan, settling into our verrry spacious guest house again, doing laundry, getting groceries, and resting! Please pray for physial wellness and energy for our bodies during this final week of service in Africa!!

"Black People are Weller"

It's hard to believe how fast the time is flying by here! Our friends here often ask us to stay for another month! We began this week as last week, spending time with people in the neighborhood. Pastor Gomez usually asks if anyone knows English and has them come practice with us. We met a young man leaving school one day who said he had his English oral exam the following day. We were talking with him for a while when he said, "White people are well.... But black people are weller!" The communication never ceases to be a form of entertainment both for us and the people we're trying to speak with! Through our time here, I've also grown accustomed to the importance of greeting people. In a conversation similar to many we have, we shook hands as we approached, when we were introduced, when we were introduced by our new Baule names, as we left, and when we finally said goodbye! I now understand why Professor Swanepoel, my professor from South Africa, was so offended when she entered saying, "Good afternoon!" and only one or two replied!

On Wednesday this week, we traveled to the village of Zimbakro. In the "backa" (the 15-passenger van with 20 plus people) I sat shoulder to shoulder with a man carrying a briefcase on his lap and an alive, bound chicken hanging between his legs! That put a new spin on the chicken I've been ordering every night! I loved all the sweet children who followed us around, eventually two or three taking each of our hands! It is not unusual to see village children wearing threadbare clothes and having a protruding stomach from malnutrition.

Yesterday we enjoyed a day of rest. Some of us ventured to the market here, and we've discovered a city block's worth of hidden stalls of merchandise behind the storefronts. The paths between stores create a maze between the clothing stores, salons, and a fresh food market (with LOTS of fish), all hidden from the streets and covered with various tarps, umbrellas, and tin roofing. A family from the church had us over for lunch and made all of the things we order in the restaurants - french fries, salad, and charbroiled chicken! Their hospitality was so meaningful to us.

Today we spent time with over 100 children from the neighborhood again! Leigh and Joe joined us, and made the perfect Goliath for our story once Leigh was on Joe's shoulders! Another highlight of the morning was playing leap frog. Once the guys realized it was too difficult for the smallest children, Jordan and Joe began taking the arms of the last child and carrying him or her above the rest of the kids to the front of the line! You can imagine how much fun they had.

The next update will be from Abidjan... We will be very sad when the time comes to leave our friends here in Yamoussoukro on Monday!

A Busy Week in Yamoussoukro!

We have had a busy and fulfilling week of work for the kingdom here in Yamoussoukro! Each day we've been in the neighborhoods surrounding the school where the Nazarene church meets. A typical neighborhood has dozens of small compounds, where one compound may have three or four concrete buildings that make up the sides and surround a central area. The small buildings then have three or four rooms each, representing the homes of three or four families. After spending time in these areas this week, it seems that all of the activity takes place outside the rooms, aside from sleeping. Women cook, people come and go to the outhouses, laundry is done by hand and dries on lines hung between trees, and mothers bathe their children in buckets of soapy water. We spent three days in these homes inviting people to church on Sunday and telling them about Jesus. Pastor Gomez and 3-7 laypeople came with us each time to translate. There are 60 different tribal languages in Cote d'Ivoire, with Baule being most common here. Many times we speak in English to Pastor Gomez, who translates it to French, and a woman from the church translates it to Baule. Through the language barriers, the message was evident and it was incredible to see several lives led to the Lord, and many more seeds planted. At each stop we made, we prayed for the people of that household. Many times we prayed for the sick, and at one home, a women told us that we'd been an answer to a dream she had. In her dream three nights before, people had circled her and prayed she would be healed... exactly what we'd done. Talk about getting goosebumps!

We were also able to minister to the children of the neighborhood two days this week, and had around 100 children each day! Again, it is incredible to have the opportunity to explain the salvation colors from a soccer ball to 100 kids who might otherwise never hear about Jesus. On the second day, Pastor Gomez prayed the sinner's prayer, and dozens of children followed along. I'm hunbled at the ways God moves. Our team believes we've already been able to work with over 1,000 different children this summer!! The boys got to play soccer and share the gospel with the youth on Saturday night, while Sarah and I were occupied with all the neighborhood children watching.

Sunday morning we attended the Nazarene church. We were slightly confused when we asked Pastor Gomez what time service started (8:30) and what time he'd pick us up (8:30). It quickly became evident that the first hour is for church members to trickle in, while we prayed and sang. Pastor Gomez did a Sunday School lesson, then we moved directly into the celebratory worship - aka sing, dance, and sweat! After we finished, they brought us up front, where we stood awkwardly until they handed us the microphones and explained that we were singing for the congregation. We pulled off He Will Make a Way, Amazing Grace, and He's God the Whole World in His Hands! During the time of testimony, several said that they had come for the first time based on the invitations given during the week. Logan got to preach the message and Pastor Gomez translated for the congregation. Based on the number of "Hallelujahs!" I think they were blessed :)

Because Sunday was the 4th of July, the Sellers invited us over to relax! We appreciated their hospitality, especially on a day we were all missing home so much! They grilled hamburgers, and we had french fries, plantain, and apple cobbler!! Who knew how much better American food and American company could make you feel? We are truly blessed by their generosity. We finished the night with a movie, lots of talking, and laughter. We have a day off today, so we went to the market this morning, then met Joe and Leigh at the pool of a nice hotel in town. It's been warm and sunny here, and we really enjoyed a day to relax!

The rest of our week will be similar to this past week. We typically wake up at 7:30 and eat omlettes at the hotel restaurant at 8. They use different ingredients every day! From 9-11 we do whatever is on the program for the day, then eat salads back at the hotel. From about 1-4 we rest - read, nap, make bracelets, watch soccer - then 4-6 we do the program again. We finish with dinner at another restaurant within walking distance. We only have 3 weeks until we're back at home - please pray that we finish strong for His kingdom!!

Hello, Yamoussoukro!!

We've arrived safely to Yamoussoukro and we LOVE it here already! We traveled on a coach bus, by ourselves for our first public transportation! Pastor Djedje and Parfait got us all set, buying tickets, getting us bread and water for the trip, putting our luggage away, and getting us insurance for the bags, just in case! The trip was uneventful and took a little under four hours. We stopped a few times so the food vendors could come up to the windows if people needed a snack. There was also a short "bathroom" break when about twenty men and the driver got off the bus and went to the bathroom facing the field, not minding the coach bus and highway behind them! It was not an equal opportunity.

Pastor Prowell, the District Superintendent for the Central Distric of Cote d'Ivoire, picked us up at the bus station and took us to our hotel. The Catholic guest house we were supposed to stay in wasn't available, so we have two of the three rooms at this small hotel. Sarah and I estimate our room is about 9' x 9', including the bathroom! Really, the bed takes up most of the room! In the bathroom, the toilet is about a foot away from the showerhead, with no separation of a curtain or tub, just a drain in the corner. We haven't really figured out how to shower without soaking the entire bathroom yet! We went to Pastor Prowell's home and met Pastor Gomez, the pastor of the Nazarene church here. We had rice and fish around 5, talked for a bit, then walked back to the hotel to clean up. Around 8, we walked back to the pastor's house for dinner! This time they cooked American food for us :) We had french fries, fried chicken, deviled eggs, and bread!

On each of our walks around the city here, we marveled at how different Yamoussoukro is from Abidjan! The people here describe the city as one big village, and that's really how it feels. The roads are large and we can walk six across without any worry of traffic. Actually, a car only goes by every minute or two, not like the traffic in Abidjan with taxis honking at us every 20 seconds and people trying to sell things to us. It is very spacious, very quiet, and feels like the country. We love seeing the green landscape and smelling the fresh air! It is really wonderful.

Today was scheduled for a day of rest, but thankfully the Sellers picked us up this morning so we weren't in our tiny rooms for the day. Their son Leigh and his friend Joe are here on holiday from the high school they board at in Senegal. Today we saw what I think is the most incredible man-made structure I've seen in my entire life - the Catholic Basilica of Yamoussoukro. Mr. Sellers dropped the six of us off and we got a tour from a man who knew English. (The guys are bilingual, so that helps, too!) The basilica is the tallest cathedral in the entire world! Our guide told us that crews worked day and night for three years to create it, a 40 story building could fit inside the cathedral, and the entire sides are made of stained glass with Biblical pictures. Words cannot explain the majesty of the building! Please Google pictures and see for yourself!

After our outing, Mr. Sellers drove us around showing the area, then we came to their beautiful home for lunch! They have a very large porch with flower bushes and ivy growing up the sides. They have lawn furniture and a huge table where we ate. Their yard is full of flowers and shrubs, and again, it's so quiet and relaxing here! We are all extremely grateful for their hospitality and for helping us get used to the area. In fact, I'm using Leigh's computer to post this right now! Tomorrow we're heading into a village to pray and hand out tracs, so pray for opportunities there!

Okay, I Lied...

THIS is the last update from Abidjan, I promise :)

We've had an incredible last few days that I'd really like to share before we leave. Yesterday we met with the youth from six churches in the district and cheered on their soccer teams! Before the tournament started, we passed out tracs to people on the streets and the firemen at the complex where the teams were playing. The games were exciting and fun to watch - Logan & Jordan were even able to join teams! (and Jordan's team won overall!) The rainy season really has cooled down the weather here, so we enjoyed an overcast day in the 70s and finally got a little tan. It was unfortunate that Ghana beat U.S. last night, but I have to admit, it was pretty sweet to sit in my room and hear the cheers, honking, and excitement on the streets at the end of the game!

Today was one of the first days I felt like I finally had a routine down. I know now to expect our hosts after the time they tell us, to plan for 20-50 more children than they estimate, and to hold to plans very, very loosely! I've finally picked up on things like eating a big breakfast so I don't feel sick, but not too big that I can't finish a huge lunch after church! I expect to walk through the slums on the way to church and see children hardly dressed, living conditions that are less than suitable, and trash everywhere. I know that we will be welcomed with incredible hospitality, told that their church is our home, and applauded as if we've done more for them than just attended a service. With all of this in mind, we traveled to Macedonia Church of the Nazarene today. We were met with a warm reception, as always, and took part in their worship and dance! We had so much fun.

After worship we spent time with the children explaining salvation through the colors on the soccer ball sent from the Nazarene Gol 2010 project. Gol also sent hacky sacks in the same colors, which we were able to hand out today! The idea is that the children will share the message of salvation with their friends and families... I was proud that the Nazarene church saw an opportunity to witness through soccer and the World Cup this summer! (Most of our teams this summer were given four soccer balls, one smaller one, and 75 hacky sacks to leave in their country) We had a wonderful meal of rice with onions and sauce, fish, and passion fruit juice for lunch! Today was the first day my plate looked like the Africans' when they are finished with no help! It was a serious accomplishment :) We finished the day by watching the Germany-England game with our new friends back at our house. We teased them about missing us these next two weeks we are away, but truly, I know I'll miss them! Abidjan is really starting to feel like home, believe it or not. I'm reminded that God doesn't call us to be comfortable, and our work in this country isn't finished. So we head to our next adventure, confident in His power.