A lot of information was stuffed into our heads at orientation while geckos roamed the vaulted ceiling above us - so many differences here, yet so many similarities.
Driving to the work site offered us opportunities to see some of the poorer parts of the city - clothes hanging on lines, tiny homes with cloth 'doors', goats and chickens in the yards.
Meals include some native vegetables and greens with unfamiliar names plus some old standbys like bananas and potatoes. It's all tasty and is more than enough to fill us up. The ladies who served us were very gracious.. orientation had made us aware they would not eat until all of us had finished.
Some people are friendly, some more reserved... Just like everywhere else. The children are hungry for attention and eager to be near us. Reola was a very popular person as she snapped pictures and showed the kids their likenesses in her camera's display! All ages of shantily dressed children gathered round to see. One little boy made sure he was in almost every picture! Others from the team engaged the kids in songs and action games.
The church is coming along rapidly.. most of the trusses are ready to set and our team helped wheelbarrow fill dirt inside the church for the floor and level the land next to the church walls. Pastor Pia, in a lovely dress, joined us in shoveling dirt. She has a real heart for her congregation.
All in all, we felt good about our first full day in service to the Lord here in Africa. Our devotion time was filled with emotion. In fact, Karen wants Mike to know she's found her calling and will be staying!
Today, some will be going on home visits while others spend more time leading the kids in activites and still others will continue work at the site.
I feel like I'm writing a book, so will close this blog asking for everyone's prayers for changed lives as we serve the African people.. may they see Christ in us.
(P.S. We'll respond to question in your comments in the comments!)
Monday, October 29, 2007
At the Church Site & More
at 11:25 PM
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2 comments:
Hey Team One,
Can you find out for us from Colleen how much the TAPP jewelry should sell for? Or, how much we will owe her for each item? The craftshow is Saturday and we want to make sure we price them the right way.
Team Two is still having a hard time readjusting to home. Team members are waking up at 2:00 am and finding it hard to go back to sleep. We definitely still have Africa on our minds. We've had amazing opportunities to share our stories. The African Children's Choir will be here at church on December 2 and we've been given the rest of the service to share our stories. We are so excited about that! I'm combining all of our many pictures and working on getting them put together for a music video. We look forward to seeing all of your pictures and videos, too.
David and Tina - so glad to hear that you made it! I told my Kinders that you were in Africa and one girl asked "What's in Africa?" They were very intrigued by the thought of all the animals that you'll see! It sounds as though things are going very well, keep up the good work. I love you.
-Erin
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