• We finally got moved to our final location- Torodi. Here are some pictures of our house, now that it is settled in and unpacked! :) I must say, by the way, that I have an ingenious husband! He put his creative thinking to work and made us shelves out of millet mats. I consider myself to be a creative person, but WOW - he really has a great way of making a 2-room concrete house feel like home.
Our “house” is in a compound with 3 other houses. . . but it’s not like you would think - because all the “houses” share the same back wall - so it is actually more like a duplex - times two. I bet that description makes it about as clear as mud, huh? Well, I’ve put MY creativity into action and have drawn a picture of our compound so you can kind of have an idea of where we live here in West Africa.
• Since we have been here we’ve been working hard on getting settled in and building relationships with people, especially those in our compound! As you might be able to tell by the picture, privacy is not exactly something that we have here . . . so we see a lot of our neighbors. One of them is a Fulani family, and the other two families are Zerma. We can greet them in Zerma, but that is about it! We often use our Fulani neighbor to translate for us so we can talk to the other families. Last market day Nick bought two Fulani outfits. When he put the first one on and went outside to do something, the women all got a kick out of seeing him dressed up like an African - and said that NOW he is a real Pullo (a.k.a.: Fulani person). They now tease me because I wear African skirts with colored t-shirts most of the time, and only have two full African outfits. Apparently Nick is more Pullo than I am! They certainly love to see us living like them - and every time we do even the simplest task like them they watch - and comment - and most of the time laugh! For instance, the other morning I was bent over sweeping out our tiendere (“porch”) with my little broom when I heard the women talking excitedly. I looked up and saw our three neighbor ladies watching me and discussing what I was doing. Some days it does get tiring to always be on display - and to not even be able to sweep your porch without gathering a crowd - but most of the time we enjoy their enthusiasm.
• My mom always used to say, “Communication is not a one-way street.” Well, it can feel that way more often than not here. When we first moved to our new home we had a few details to line up, including scheduling for someone to bring us our water three times a week. In Torodi there is a city pump and it is only open at certain times to get water, and there are people with donkey carts who haul water to houses for a small price. Well, our M and a believer here in Torodi (we’ll call him “Tom”) got us a water delivery set up, and it was supposed to be 1,000 cfa (about $2.50) each day it came. Tom also told us that it would come on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays - around 8 a.m. We were really excited (especially me, because now I don’t have to carry water on my head from across town!), and the first day for water delivery was upon us. There we were snoozing, when we heard a donkey cart pulling up into our compound. Nick jumped out of bed and hurriedly put on some pants (wearing shorts around Africans is very inappropriate... almost like wearing underwear!) - just in time for our water man! I was really confused because our alarm hadn’t gone off, so I looked at the time and it was 6:15 a.m.!!! He had come over an hour and a half early! After he filled up our water containers Nick handed him the 1,000 cfa and he looked astonished and said, “ha’a” - or “no!” This was another breakdown of communication, obviously. So, Nick held out an assortment of change in his hand and the man only ended up taking 500 cfa - half of what we were expecting to pay! Since that first water day it has been a roller coaster ride. We’ve had three different water men deliver to us, and they have all come at vastly different times in the morning, and sometimes different days of the week! We never really know when we’ll get water - but thankfully we haven’t ran out yet! Communication. . . it’s a wonderful thing (as long as the street is not one-way!)
• I have what I like to call a love/hate relationship with the market. On one hand, market day is great - but on the other hand. . . well, let me explain. Torodi has its market day every Friday. Everyone who is anyone goes to the market - people in Torodi and people from the surrounding villages. Even if you don’t have money to spend, you go to the market to socialize. Well, I find the market quite intriguing. It is the only day of the week that you can buy just about anything you want - from material and clothing to vegetables and meat. It is also a really good way to meet people, and to build relationships. For these reasons, I love the market. This is where the “hate” part of the relationship comes in. I am a chlostrophobic person by nature - not liking cramped spaces and being in places that are so full of people that you feel like a sardine. This describes the market to a tee. There are people everywhere - and you don’t have any “you space” at all. The smells of the market are also. . . let’s just say - interesting. Food for sale, food that is cooking, all kinds of raw meat hanging, sweaty people who don’t wear deodorant. . . need I go on? Then there are the sights of the market. Trash is everywhere, because in this culture it is the norm to throw your trash on the ground. There are frequently goat heads and tails lying on the ground near the meat section of the market - severed from the poor animal’s body. People everywhere with no respect for personal space. That is why I hate the market. So there you have it. . . I love the market, yet I hate it. Usually after I have been to the market for about 15-20 minutes I’m drenched in sweat, smelling like the market, and ready to go home. But I grin and bear it - making the most of the time we have here, thanking Father that He knows my needs as well as my likes and dislikes, and that He gives me strength to endure everything that comes my way. . . including the market.
• Another exciting thing that has happened since I last updated is that I celebrated my 21st birthday! (I know, I know. . . I am really young! That's what everyone here is telling me!) It was really quite an experience to turn 21 in West Africa. I really missed being around my friends and family, but Father took care of me and it was a most enjoyable day! Our M's and another M couple that live in Torodi had a birthday dinner for me. We ate hamburgers and let me tell you - it was DELICIOUS! I have found out since living in the bush how much I really love to eat meat, because we don't get to very often (no refrigeration). When the M's asked me what I'd like for my birthday my only reply was, "Meat, please!" Nick thinks I'm funny, but then again maybe that's why I've lost 24 pounds since we got here in July! Our M's gave me a rainbow colored shawl as a present, which was really nice because I had been wanting to get one. Nick had packed a jar of dill pickles in our luggage for me to eat on my birthday, and you better believe I was ready to eat them when Sept. 9 rolled around! Dill pickles are my favorite snack on earth, and they don't have them in West Africa!!! I really am not sure how people here live without them :) My mom sent a package in the mail with some b-day presents and a cake mix with frosting and candles, so yesterday I baked the cake (we had to wait until we went into the city where we have a stove available). It looked beautiful and tasted even better! It was definitely birthday to be remembered.
• We are starting our ESL classes next week, and are looking forward to the blessings as well as the challenges that will come with that. There has been a lot of interest in learning English, and the hardest part will be figuring out how to divide people up into classes. We are going to have classes 3 nights a week. We'll update more when that gets into full swing.
Yarper requests:
Continue to yarp for our health. I seem to be susceptible to Malaria, as I have just finished another treatment for it. This was the third time I've gotten it since we've been here, and it really wears me out when I get it. I constantly wear bug spray, but I still seem to get bit. Yarp that the mosquitoes won't bite and that my body will be strong to fight against any illnesses that come my way. Also yarp for Nick. Our M's have both been battling a viral infection and I think they gave it to him. He's been coughing alot and feeling really bad. Yarp that he feels better soon.
Yarp for specific people: Allan (thats what we'll call him here) - a believer from a nearby village who is struggling with the decision to follow the Father in getting "dunked," if you know what I mean. Its very hard here because his family will disown him if he decides to do this - and he will therefore be severed from all his ties. In this culture family is very dependent on one another, so being cut off can have disastrous consequences. Also yarp for "Harold," another Fulani believer who is struggling with boldness in telling others. He is being persecuted and accused of following the "white man's way." It is very hard on him, as well as other followers in that area. Yarp for "Rachel," a new friend of ours who seems to be interested in things pertaining to the Father. She showed us that she has Father's word in French, and says that she believes that it is truth. Yarp for us as we share with her from Father's word and figure out what exactly she believes and where to go from there.
Thanks for all the yarpers, thoughts, and love. It is what has kept us going when things get rough. In our classes at SBU we have read many biographies of different M's - and one common theme in all of them is that yarper warriors are the backbone of all the Father's work that is done on the field. . . Now, more than ever, I know that to be absolutely true. Without you we could not be here, doing Father's work. Thanks for everything. We love you.
In Father's love,
Cheryl
p.s. You can visit our photo albums at:
http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2020791&l=fcca6&id=177501414
and
http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2021301&l=eb24b&id=177501414
