Monday Evening Update

Don, Jon, Jim and marlin begin their morning with breakfast at 6:30 a.m. while it is still dark. They finish breakfast and head to the construction sight at 7 when it is just beginning to get light.

Judy, Leah, and I traveled to a village market to buy tomatoes, oranges, garlic, potatoes, and other items. Met Julio while boarding the bus and talked with him during the 20 minute bus ride while standing on the overcrowded bus. Great to hear and see his evangelistic heart in action as he shared Jesus with everyone.

Arrived at village as the market was just opening, so we talked with Leah, a worker from Brazil, who has worked at many places around the world, and learned a lot about the local culture. She fits in much better than we white Americans and the local people talk with her openly. Learned about how dirty and messy we Americans are – our feet are dirty, we don’t sweep the leaves off the ground, etc. Talked a lot about how we do mission. When we finished our shopping, we waited on a small mini-bus for about half an hour until it filled for our trip back to Catel. Leah is a very valuable asset to the program here.

After returning to Catel, we did our wash in three buckets and then hung it up to dry. While Judy prepared lunch and the men continued hard at work, I sat down with Mario on the concrete veranda to shell peanuts along with about 30 women from the community. Was a great time to talk informally with Mario and learn more about the challenges he is facing. After lunch , I hung out with local youth and enjoyed practicing Spanish and seeing how similar it is to Creole.

Then Judy and I went to see if Julio was home. Since he was out in other villages evangelizing, we visited with Kinta and other villagers for about an hour. Kinta and her son Menno Simon, who just turned four years old yesterday, took us to see the lot they are clearing for their new house. Then went to a neighbor’s new house which is being built and Kinta told us all about each room of the house and what it is used for and family life in this culture. Very interesting – learned a lot.
Then walked to the temporary house where Julio and Kinta will live until their new house is built. The inside walls of the house were being painted by Sharon = a member of the YES team and another worker. We finally said goodbye to Kinta and Menno and returned to make the evening meal. Needed a vegetable, so I walked across the village to where there was supposed to be lettuce. Using Spanish, I learned all the lettuce was too small. But when Kinta learned that I was trying to buy lettuce, she led me on a long walk to the gardens where they found four heads of lettuce they could sell me.

It is now 7:30 p.m. and the sun is setting and it is getting dark. Them men and some of the YES team and other workers are sitting around the table. Time to light the candles and eat our evening meal together with the masonry workers, the YES team, Leah, Shawn, Andrew, and Beryl – about 15 of us.

Last night, we all sang hymns together from 8 to 9 out of the Mennonite hymnal, sitting around the table by candlelight and flashlight.

Another day in Guinea Bissau is coming to a close – so much to learn with many opportunities and challenges. God is at work! Thank you for your continued prayers!