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| My little sister Abigael |
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| Marie, Abigael and I with the church in the background |
While preparing to come here, one of the most difficult
things to explain to people was what exactly I would be doing here. The
explanation, of course, was that our life would be a ministry, but in reality
that doesn’t give too much information. So for this update I hope to show you
what it means for me, here, in Cote d’Ivoire, serving Jesus. My time is mainly
split between four main areas: my siblings, my parents, my neighbors, and my
youth group.
Firstly in Boundiali, there is my family. The day begins
early, and we work hard until its time for the younger ones to go to school and
for my mom and 15 year old sister, Marie, to go to the fields. The house needs
to be swept and mopped, someone needs to go to the market, there are dishes to
wash, food to make, clothes to wash. Work is hard here and sometimes it feels
so pointless to wash dishes that will just be dirtied again. But nowhere in the
Bible do I hear our God saying that it is more worthwhile to type emails than
to wash dishes. All work given fully to the Lord is used for his glory. I’ve
already learned so much from Marie about taking joy in work. She has worked her
whole life, having never been to school, and yet I’ve never heard grumbling or
even seen displeasure in her face.
My mind is often on my younger siblings, and I need to be
lifting them up in prayer more. The culture and conditions are hard on
children, and so they grow up looking out only for themselves. Most Ivorian
families, including mine, shelter biological children as well as cousins, friends,
and grandchildren. Often you can see who’s a biological child by the level of
education or special things they get like new clothes. It’s a complex
situation. While not trying to change the culture this year, I do believe that
God is glorified when I try to teach my siblings about core concepts of serving
God, like loving others more than yourself and taking the position of the
lowest servant. I spend the most time with my two year old sister Abigaël,
since it’s my responsibility to wake her up, bathe her, feed her, dress her,
take her to school, pick her up for lunch, take her back to school, and then pick
her up in the evening. It has been encouraging to already see little changes in
her attitude towards others.
Then there are my parents, I have really been blessed with
parents who are already involved in investing in their community. Granted my
dad is the pastor, but being a pastor and serving do not always go hand in
hand. I have had the opportunity to help with some really cool ministries that
they are already part of. I often go with my dad to visit families from our
congregation of three hundred. Between two wives of one man who want to kill
each other, women with demonic attacks, and sickness, we have been asking God
for a lot of help. One task I often do for my dad that I would never expect to
do in Africa is type. Our church was able to buy their first computer a month
ago and as one of the fastest typers in the church I have typed up programs, bible
studies, as well as money accounts. With my mom I get to join in the women’s
ministries to do service like sweep and wash the whole church at 5:30 in the
morning ( they started at 5 but let me sleep in a little). Sometimes I wonder
how the conversations would have gone in the US if I would have known that part
of my ministry would be typing and scrubbing the floor. But that is life here,
those are things that need to get done, and our great God can use the little
tasks that we are faithful with to do great things for his kingdom.
As for my neighbors, I described earlier I often walk to my
little sister’s “Ecole Maternelle” four times a day, between picking and
dropping her off. In the US this might be an uneventful task, but in Boundiali
it is one of the most exciting evangelism times. On the way to school I pass
two old couples’ homes, the shop of a tailor and her sister, one boutique, two
bars, a hair salon, and a lumber yard. And in Cote d’Ivoire all work takes
place outside. Not counting the ladies who walk around selling things, and the
students going to and from school, I have eight people on the road to school
that I see on a daily basis. And that is just the road to my little sister’s
school. The road to the market and the road to the house of my teammate Chrissy,
are full of people who need Jesus. God has really been blessing me, in
particular, with good conversations with the tailor and her sister who are Christmas/Easter Christians and with one girl
who works at the bar and also as a prostitute.
And lastly there is our French youth group at church. There
are about fifteen people in our group, and it is led solely by the youth with
an elected president as head. Being a young person myself, I hope I can say
without offending anyone that it is a difficult thing for young people to
disciple and lead others their age. So, understandably, our youth group has
quite a few problems. The people I have gotten to know so far have been mainly
interested in celebrities, flirting, money, being cool, and drinking (which is
forbidden in churches in Cote d’Ivoire). A lot of our youth meetings people get
really mad at each other. But thankfully because of Christmas preparations,
Chrissy and I have really begun to be friends with the youth group and we have
had the opportunity to share bits of our testimonies. As we continue to pray
for them and start our girl’s bible study every Sunday we are praying for God
to come in power and really captivate the youth’s hearts here.
Life here is ministry, and one thing that I am really
enjoying is that each day is different. Some weeks I’ve been with the youth
more, others I’ve been with my Dad more. In the future Chrissy and I will also
be helping out at the high school here and we hope to volunteer in the mission’s
dispensary, as well. I’m also looking forward to our church’s three
evangelization outings to villages planned for this next year. But in closing I
just want to share that it is not in my strength that I do all the activities I
do. Encouraged by the Holy Spirit, and inspired by my roommate, Najo, in Bouake,
I have been faithfully spending around an hour in the bible each day and,
honestly it makes such a difference. I get so much encouragement from our
heavenly father and so much joy and excitement for each new day I get to spend
with him. Thank you so much for your prayers! Merry Christmas and a happy New
Year!
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| A little hike with two of our teammates who visited and friends from youth group |
Katie Green or Koné Nibondjéwin Amla
