August 4
1) Medical clinic! My experience of treating malnourished kids was amazing. I was so saddened to see such sick kids but I can’t explain how fulfilling it was to do something to help them feel better. The most exciting part was 6 moms decided to give their hearts to Jesus! And that was only at my station. There were well over 100 commitments throughout the week!
2) Road kill = dinner. We hit a bird with the bus on the way back from the clinic one day and all the Africans cheered! They stopped the bus and raced a good 200 meters back down the road to retrieve the dead bird. I’ve been deer hunting and have shot a bow before but I never really thought about using a vehicle for hunting. Occasionally we would swerve to try to hit one of the many rabbits running across the road. Oh Africa!
3) Translator testimonies. Throughout the week I got to know my translator Julienne pretty well. She is a 25 yr old student studying english and has a heart for teaching. All of the translators were english students in university. We had the great privilege of hearing their testimonies on our last day. Their faith and what it cost them makes me feel ashamed. They gave up family and have had to trust God for so much! They really inspire me to give up even more for my Jesus.
4) Tehankounibe. My experience with the precious little boy I talked about in my previous blog was not just one of the top encounters of this week but one of the top encounters of my life.
5) Africa style. Every time I went to church the young ladies would snicker about how I was wearing my wrap since it was different from how they did it and they would insist on rewrapping me up. I never did learn the right way to do it no matter how hard I tried so I walked around being unfashionable in their eyes all summer. This week Celine took me to the tailor and helped me have an African outfit made! It is authentic and fits great. I’m so happy to finally have something to wear that is in style in Africa. Only problem is I never had a chance to wear it! Oh well. Maybe I can set a new trend in the US.
6) Goodbyes. I had a hard time saying goodbye to all of the great people I met. Mimi and I were planning on having her hop in my suitcase and coming home with me...but it didn’t quite work out. The hardest part was when they asked when I was coming back. I told them the only answer I have, God only knows. I will miss them but am looking forward to seeing them in Heaven if not sooner!
7) Paris! Beautiful. Classy. Architecture. Coffee. Pastries. Eiffel Tower. River tour. History. Train. Wonderful. Enough said.
8) Glasses clinic. I have never seen anything cuter than the old men wearing the new glasses they were given by the Williston team through the eye glasses clinic. They walked around with huge smiles and were so proud of their new glasses. They were so happy to be able to see again!!
9) Radical. The Williston team chose to read the book Radical to base our evening devotions on and they brought us a copy to read throughout the week. I didn’t get to finish it all but what I did read was sooo good and challenging. I recommend the book! I pray that I really will be radical for Christ. Why not?
10) Shock. Not only did I experience reverse culture shock in Paris, but I experienced what I will call “time shock.” I could not believe I was leaving Africa. It felt like I really did live there and that I was never going to leave. The fact that it was time to go did not seem real. Although I long for home I think that a part of me belongs in Africa now. It has definitely taken a piece of my heart. Please pray that all of the “shocks” I am having will turn into easy transitions when I get back home!
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