Thursday and Friday

THURSDAY

Men are making good progress with the school building, now using the scaffolding that has been found. Judy is always busy planning, preparing and cooking the next meal and helping to clean up afterward. After breakfast, Judy and I walk through dense cashew groves, past village homes meeting new people, learning about fishing, watching families make salt, asking about various herbs, finding mint tea, buying tasty fresh grapefruit for 5 cents a piece, and watching beautiful birds.

After break, Judy prepares lunch, the men go back to work, and I continue to reflect on the challenges Christian marriages face in this culture and prepare for the evening meeting. Lunch is again at about 2 p.m. (9 a.m. back home).

After lunch I walk over to the clinic to help Derrick teach English to a class of 18 teenagers and young adults sitting on African wood benches. Eager students pack the front benches as Derrick teaches them to pronounce the ABC’s and think of a word that begins with each letter of the alphabet. The students seem very engaged and interested in learning English.

I walk back across the village in the hot sun and notice how the land belongs to every living creature including pigs, chickens, cows, bulls, and goats – all sharing the same space with the people. Small fenced-in areas are to keep animals out of small gardens, not to keep animals in a pasture. All other land is shared freely with all living things.

When I return, Judy is peeling potatoes and slicing carrots for an African version of a Shepherd’s pie. Jon is just returning from working at the construction site. I don’t know how you do it in the hot afternoon sun Jon. I go out to the well and pump water to fill a bucket for a bucket shower. The hot afternoon sun is still high in the sky, even though it is 5:30 pm (lunch time back home).

We eat earlier this evening, at about 7 pm so we are done in time for the meeting. Six men eventually arrive with one spouse. I share some scriptures and then time for questions. What if a married couple cannot have children? In this culture, you are looked upon as cursed if you do not have children. What do you do when your wife is under the rule of her parents? What does it mean to leave your father and mother and still honor your father and mother? How does one leave if you have limited resources to build a house? How do you show affection to one another when this culture makes fun of men who spend time with their wives and show affection to them? May blacks marry whites? What would a Christian marriage ceremony look like in this culture? In the past, most marriages had a traditional ceremony when the wife’s parents were paid in full. Today, there is often no ceremony or wedding. The relationship begins when a women gets pregnant. There is no mark or moment when the couple is officially married and blessed.

Some of these questions are similar in our North American culture, but seem much more pronounced and complex here. We can give guiding principles but our North American solutions are not necessarily their answers. I believe the Holy Spirit will continue to show them the way as they continue to seek God, study scriptures and pray together.

Continue to pray for the new believers here who face many difficult challenges. Pray for Judy and I, Beryl, Andrew and others as we continue to walk with them.

FRIDAY

After breakfast, we walk through the village and meet one of the new believers and listen to his difficult night. His father hard an argument and fight with one of his wives all night until 3 am this morning. The new believer’s wife had just returned home last night after being away for the last month because her mother had come and gotten her. It has been a very difficult time for this new believer and his wife. Pray for wisdom and direction for both of them. They were both at our meeting last night.

Walk over to get bread and then back again to get water at the only good water well in the village, 400 feet deep, dug by a clean water project for each village. While in the dry-compost outhouse, I jump at what sounds like a gunshot – and realize it is just a large seed plummeting down 30 feet from the top of the palm tree onto the tin roof.

Walk through the orchards with Beryl learning about all the different types of trees and plants he has planted. This is the hottest day yet since we have been here. The men have finished the back wall of the school – looks great! Spent time talking more with individual YES team members about various aspects of mission and ministry.

Worked with one of the African worship leaders who leads in a high falsetto voice which is difficult for others to follow. Should he learn to sing in normal voice or continue in high falsetto. Derrick and Peter from the YES team came and continued to work with him. There are so many cultural differences. An amazing place to study anthropology and culture!

Sun is setting and Carnival is beginning. Got some great video of celebration. Was without internet all day, so I’m quickly posting this so others can use it.