Our first full week in the bush has now concluded. We made the long but enjoyable trek out to village “B” on Monday, loaded down with about 20 pounds each of clothes, toiletries, food, and water. Olivia and I spent almost the entire two-hours practicing memory verses and praying, so we were there before we knew it. As we entered our hut to begin unloading our things and setting up our cots, seven children from our and the surrounding compounds followed us in, curiously grabbing anything we pulled out of our bags.
We discovered very quickly that this lack of privacy was not the exception because we had just arrived, rather it is the norm. This works to our advantage in some ways, because it means that the people are incredibly hospitable and are almost always willing to have guests in their compounds/huts. That gives us more opportunities to build relationships and share the Gospel with the people. However, it also means that we had to really fight to find quiet time alone with the Lord. It’s interesting how such things become more valuable as they are not readily available.
Another difference that we noticed between our culture and the culture of the people in the bush village is how they spend their time. Literally every moment between 4:30 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. is spent working. The women wake up before the sun is even considering rising and immediately begin pounding millet with a mortar and pestle. They then go out to the ngessa (field) to work until around lunchtime. At that point, any combination of cooking, going to draw water from the bundu (well), cleaning, and more pounding begin and continue until the sun sets. Happily, on several occasions during the week, we got to work alongside the women in the village, cultivating the fields with a jalo (a little hoe-like tool), yanking a rubber skin full of water up from the depths of the well, and pounding (or attempting to pound) millet. Most of this work was done after much objection from the local women; they see us anasara (white people) as generally weaker and more fragile than they are. Truly, we are still working toward being able to carry the 30-pound containers full of water back from the well on our heads.
As we admiringly observe how incredibly hard the people here work, we are reminded of the lost condition of their souls, stuck in a cycle of trying to obtain some divine favor by working hard enough and being good enough. Thus, we are praying that the Lord would open their eyes to the Truth that His Son has paid the final sacrifice – that “It is finished.”
We discovered very quickly that this lack of privacy was not the exception because we had just arrived, rather it is the norm. This works to our advantage in some ways, because it means that the people are incredibly hospitable and are almost always willing to have guests in their compounds/huts. That gives us more opportunities to build relationships and share the Gospel with the people. However, it also means that we had to really fight to find quiet time alone with the Lord. It’s interesting how such things become more valuable as they are not readily available.
Another difference that we noticed between our culture and the culture of the people in the bush village is how they spend their time. Literally every moment between 4:30 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. is spent working. The women wake up before the sun is even considering rising and immediately begin pounding millet with a mortar and pestle. They then go out to the ngessa (field) to work until around lunchtime. At that point, any combination of cooking, going to draw water from the bundu (well), cleaning, and more pounding begin and continue until the sun sets. Happily, on several occasions during the week, we got to work alongside the women in the village, cultivating the fields with a jalo (a little hoe-like tool), yanking a rubber skin full of water up from the depths of the well, and pounding (or attempting to pound) millet. Most of this work was done after much objection from the local women; they see us anasara (white people) as generally weaker and more fragile than they are. Truly, we are still working toward being able to carry the 30-pound containers full of water back from the well on our heads.
As we admiringly observe how incredibly hard the people here work, we are reminded of the lost condition of their souls, stuck in a cycle of trying to obtain some divine favor by working hard enough and being good enough. Thus, we are praying that the Lord would open their eyes to the Truth that His Son has paid the final sacrifice – that “It is finished.”
Prayer Request;
- Relationships: That we would be able to continually make friendships here that would open doors for us to share the Gospel
- Fruit: That the work and fields of the people would prove fruitful and that our work in the spiritual field would be fruitful
- Purpose and selflessness: That as our privacy is invaded and as we are sweating profusely and as we are courteously drinking that lovely chutum, we would never cease to love the Lord and the people to whom He has sent us and to desire the spread of His glory above all else