Filling in Gaps

I'm just now getting a chance to update this blog because I've been cut off from the internet for a while. I'm at a Starbucks right now. Thanks for your patience!

To fill in some gaps.....let's see.....I never told you about our time at Pastor Moise's home. Besides seeing the kids, this was the highlight of our time in Africa. Pastor Moise works with Joel and has a heart for children's ministry. In fact, the night he invited us to his home, there was a neighborhood kid's club in his backyard. First, I'll tell about the meal and then the children's meeting.

I don't think I've met men and women more humble than these pastors and leaders in Africa. Pastor Moise invited us for a meal and his wife and her sister served us like royalty. They live in a simple, two- room house with an outside toilet and their kitchen is in the older mud-house they built to stake a claim on the property. Their floor is cement and the women did a lot of the cooking outside in the open and brought us food in the living room. The food was quite good ....except we didn't take to the toh (ground millet) and its okra sauce. They obviously went to a lot of trouble and expense to have us come. The only light source was a propane lantern, so everyone else outside was eventually in the dark. We heard singing, so went to join the kids in their courtyard who didn't mind the dark. We brought the lamp with us. :-)

All you who are over 50, listen up! The Africans respect their elders!! They gave me and Bob (plus Joel and Heidi because they respect them so much) seats of honor -- they brought out their big living room chairs for us! After a lot of singing, they asked us to share something (on the spot!) with the kids. There was a translator for their tribal language. Bob shared, then I shared, the Joel. 4 muslim kids gave their hearts to Jesus right then and another boy came back a few days later to give his, too. We also did a skit -- and Joel and Heidi are superb at this! We sure enjoyed seeing them in action. Even Jakob got into it. Then they asked us to pray over them. The leaders knelt before us for prayer. Wow -- talk about humble! Then we were asked to pray for the children, and they prayed for us. These people know how to pray! We could learn so much from them, but they honored us. It's amazing.

I mentioned a fantastic restaurant we ate at on Friday night. Here are some photos. Each room is decorated slightly differently to fit a tribal style. The place is full of art and sculptures for sale. Great idea -- adds local atmosphere and promotes good artists. The food was a bit pricey, but very good. The room we were in had fabric on the ceiling and thick sand on the floor. Some of the longer tables you see are beds that are used in the villages. I must say, they don't look comfortable!

The day of our departure, it poured down rain about the time we were to load our baggage in the truck. We had to put it inside the truck and check it in, then come back as a family when there was more room in the truck. And wouldn't ya know....we got behind a funeral. It must've been an important person because it was going VERY slowly, and it was a LONG procession. Everytime we tried to get around it on a side street, we'd run into it again -- and it went the same route we were taking -- past Joel & Heidi's street. We thought we'd never get home and collect everybody to get back to the airport! But, of course, we did. :-)

Here's a belated photo of my African Dress. I took it in the States, hence the grass. :-) I never got to wear it in Africa because I was sick (again) the Sunday I planned to wear it to church. The African women wear them everywhere - not just to church, etc. You see them on their mopeds, shopping, and walking down the streets in their gorgeously designed dresses. (They don't wear them to do housework, tho'). My theory is that it gives them an outlet for artistic expression and adds color to their otherwise drab surroundings. It certainly does add color! My fabric is tame compared to many I saw-- some had big roosters or soccer balls. Even the men wear the colorful patterns. My tailor designed the top and skirt according to what I liked. I wanted a simpler design, but he wanted to add interest -- scallops, trim, train. According to him, plain is boring! Look how long they wear them, too!