I wanna hold your h-aa-aa-aand…I wanna hold your hand

     Hi friends! It’s hard to believe that my time in our first country Cotê d’Ivoire is drawing to an end. We have gotten to do some ministry in the past two weeks and get to know our hosts/ the locals better. The pastor is heavily emphasizing evangelism so we have gone out in groups to evangelize a few times. At first, we were all hastily trying to memorize the mneumonic G-O-S-P-E-L but after actually talking with people, we’ve each become more confident at sharing the gospel. I think it’s fun actually and instead of door-to-door ministry, it’s really “chair-to-chair” as they rush to set out plastic chairs for us outside when they see us coming since in their culture, you must all be sitting down in order to have a conversation as a sign of respect and we are their honored guests. We have seen a few saved via this ministry and one lady even came to the church today.

      In their culture, many people worship idols/ other gods so this is hard coming from America into this atmosphere, since we are not used to it. Oftentimes, people are Christians but leave the church when they feel God doesn’t answer their prayers when they cry out to him for healing or for a child. They go to a shrine priest and he performs rituals and sometimes cuts their skin to leave a scar and uses demonic powers to give them a child/ healthy pregnancy or the healing they desired. Then, they are sucked into the idol worship and have scars to remind them of how the idols saved them. It’s difficult to know what to say to these people but we know the Lord is at work and has the power to shift hearts so we continue to plants seeds as best we can.

     We have also gone to a few villages to perform silent skits with a gospel message, “sketches” as they translate it. Usually, they blast music with speakers to attract a crowd and we dance before it starts, then perform the skit, and then Pastor preaches the gospel to the people. It is really fun to perform these skits and the Pastor appreciates it because then he has an opportunity to preach the gospel. Our biggest platform is the fact that we have light skin. The people are intrigued by us and flock around us and so it opens doors into ministry for the Pastor that he wouldn’t otherwise have. It’s frustrating at times because most people don’t care about the gospel message but we are trying to use our light skin to our advantage as people are fascinated by us. It’s interesting having people touch your hair and skin in amazement of something I barely notice everyday.

      We’ve done some children’s ministry and had a morning where we sung songs with hand motions and played games with some of the village children. Practically everyday, we do kids ministry as the village children surround us and compete to hold our hands when we walk anywhere. We chant songs with them, play patty-cake and give high-fives. They get so excited to see us as we walk down the road and shout “Bonjour” or “Good morning” (at all times of the day) and sometimes run out to hug us or join the possy of kids we’ve accumulated already. Sometimes, it’s draining and you get tired of holding one more sweaty hand but when you look down at their faces and the pure delight and awe they have at the honor of holding your hand, you realize it’s worth it and you should appreciate your celebrity status.

      We’ve also gone to the village hospital and prayed over patients and their “hospital” is really a small clinic with only a mattress for a bed (no sheets or adjustable bed) and an IV pole and no air conditioning or fan or other amennities in the open room with 4 beds, definitely not what I’m used to. We also planned to do a women’s ministry (it’s been cancelled twice already so we’re praying we actually do it before we leave. Africa time…) but it didn’t work out so instead we washed the feet of the women who serve us everyday (cook/ clean for us) and some other church teenagers and girls. We then painted their nails. It was a humbling experience but mostly just fun to serve them and wash their feet since they do SO MUCH for us everyday.

    Their hospitality amazes me. They cook 3 meals/ day for us, shop for groceries and bring us fresh bread daily, clean our living quarters (we track LOTS of dirt in as our feet are perpetually covered in dirt), make sure we have drinking and toilet water (they have to carry heavy jugs of water from the village well to us daily for all the water we need), do our laundry (we’ve tried to refuse multiple times) and clean our nasty dirt/ dust covered shoes. They show us what it means to humbly serve others as Christ did and to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Here we are thinking we are coming to their country to bless them and serve alongside them and they bless us so abdundantly everyday that we are constantly in awe of their thoughtfulness and generosity and we know we have much to learn from them!

       I will admit I’m struggling with lack of independence and privacy. Our hosts won’t even let us leave the compound alone to walk/ run since they’re afraid we will get lost (and we definitely would as the buildings look so similar). And we can’t get very far without a translator, that’s for sure! I’ve never been in a foreign country where the majority of the people can’t speak English. But our dependence on others pushes us to trust the Lord since I can’t just hop in my car or dictate my day-to-day schedule like I could in the U.S. Being together constantly with my team is already bearing fruits of unity as a result of perpetual togetherness, delving into deep heart-to-heart conversations, and doing ministry side by side. It’s amazing to see how the Lord is using and has grown each of us so far and I’m excited to watch as the Lord transforms us this year and we get to pour into each other and speak life over each other throughout this journey. I’m also learning I have to fight for alone time (for journaling, blogging, quiet time with the Lord) since there’s always village kids, our hosts, or church members right outside, on our porch, or in our dining area until we go to bed. It’s overwhelming at times but is a blessing that we get to develop bonds with these loving people and pour into them during our stay here and not be penned up in our room surfing Facebook or instagram (no wifi, remember?).

     I also  have dealt with feelings of inadequacy. I know it’s the Enemy messing with my mind but the doubts still surface. Why am I here? What do I have to offer? I can’t do _______ like she can. I don’t even know what my spiritual gifts are; do I have any? Our leaders have poured into us to combat these lies and remind us that when God sends us, he equips us and we only need to lean on Him and He’ll be our strength. In fact, I preached my first sermon ever Sunday and wasn’t even nervous – take that Satan! Side note: when you preach in a foreign country, you can multiply the time it takes to give the message by 2 or 3 as it has to be translated so you need less material – mine was translated in Boaule and French. All in all, I’m grateful for where the Lord has me right now on this World Race Journey and I’m already getting sad about leaving our hosts in a week. They’ve loved us so well but such is the Race; we must keep pressing on and goodbyes are a new normal. On that note, I say to you, my loyal reader, au revoir!