So everyday we try to go around and have everyone say their high (favorite part of the day), low (worst part of the day) and a buffalo (weird moment) to check in with each other. It’s fun and helpful to process the day together.
So for this blog I thought it would be fun to mention some highs, lows, and buffaloes that we’ve experienced so far this month.
High: bonding with the church teenagers by singing with them at church and in a choir competition, teaching them English and the song “Jesus loves me ” and learning it in French, dancing with them to African songs, and playing handball/ volleyball
Low: the realization that no matter how hard you scrub you will still have remnants of dirt/ dust/ bug spray/ sunscreen film on your skin at all times and your boogers are black from the dirt (TMI I know) and your feet/ nails are constantly covered in dirt…Washing your hands with actual soap and water (hand sanitizer only goes so far..) is now a luxury we look forward to!
Buffalo: when you search the entire town with a posse with you for hydration salts for your friend with diarrhea/ dehydration and finally meet some doctors at an outdoor bar (of course that’s where we’d naturally look 😉 and they hand deliver the salts to your door later and you get so excited because you were still unsure if they understood what you needed and were fully expecting they’d bring you plain mineral water even after explaining it multiple times
High: bonding with your translator who not only has fluent English but is fun and laughs at everything we say and has become family to us and is already trying to plan a trip to visit us in the states and is sad thinking about our upcoming departure
Low: having most of us get sick with diarrhea/ vomiting/ dehydration and our hosts thinking it’s their fault because of the food they cook
Buffalo: having our church friend (who loves the spotlight) get within inches of our faces and beg us to sing a song in Boaulé in front of the village crowd with some of us singing solos when he only taught it to half of us and those people didn’t get it then and certainly don’t know it now and he argued that he’s been practicing it for two years and he wants to perform it right now (I mean, if it took him two years to learn it and he speaks Boaulé, how are we supposed to learn it in two days when we don’t know the language?)
High: staying up nearly all night with your leader and teammate playing cards, drinking chocolate milk (our guilty pleasure dessert of choice…) and sharing life stories and having deep chats just because you can and your leader’s leaving the next morning and then having it rain at 3 am (it NEVER rains!) and still getting up for “sport” (exercise) at 6:30 am with the Pastor and dragging your teammates out of the bed because you’re in this thing together
Low: trying not to get frustrated when ministry events get canceled multiple times and scheduled things just don’t happen and you never know exactly what the day will hold (meeting with the chief of chiefs Sunday morning and being 45 min late to church is fine, apparently) and having to be ready on time but events almost never start on time and you just have to be patient and wait and go with the flow
Buffalo: going to the high school’s English club and being interviewed like a panel one-by-one on the same question, why English is important and my answer “When you travel, they most likely won’t speak French and they DEFINITELY won’t speak Boaulé” and the things the announcer would say such as: “You have the floor”; “Are you tired?” Students: “Yes!”; “Stand up!”; “Are you happy?” Students: “Yes!”; and the posters the kids had up that said, “English today, English forever”; “thanks you English, we gonna make it for sure”; “what doesn’t kill you make you stronger” and our hosts being bodyguards and ushering us out at the end to protect us from the students aka paparazzi
Hope you enjoyed reading, friends! Please keep praying for us: that we can be healthy as we continue to battle illness, that we can serve our hosts well, that our team and squad is unified and that we can be the hands and feet of Jesus. Love you all! Thanks for partnering on this journey with me!
Love your entertaining writing, especially under some of these circumstances. So you can just add that to your list of gifts, and anytime you feel “inadequate” just smack yourself for me. I’m so proud of you, you are doing something few can do. I know you are a blessing to all. I’m praying for you and your team to stay healthy, grow and spread the love!
Sounds like some fun and crazy experiences so far! I will definitely agree with you that a big part of ministry is just learning to be flexible and positive and go with the flow because a LOT of the time things don’t go as planned! God definitely uses that to stretch me and I’m sure He’s stretching you too! Praying for good health and unity!
Love the high, low and buffalos idea. Kinda keeps a good perspective on the day.
Great idea. Your last Buffalo was pretty funny about English. I can’t imagine feeling sick and trying to nuture yourself back to health. You are one tough cookie. Lol. Keep up the good work. Looking forward to hear more about your journey.love ya!
Where is that game of Hang man on the “Low” list?? Haha.. this is such a cool concept for a blog. Love it
LOVE LOVE LOVE reading your journey! Can’t wait to hear more about what God is doing and showing you!