This little piggy went to Africa...

Me:  What does Weaverland Mennonite Church's Vacation Bible School (VBS) and the Guinea Bissau Pig Project have in common?

You:  I don't know, Adrianne.  Tell me!

Me:  They are both being featured in this blog post!  Woot!

There are so many things to tell you, it seems, but so little time to write everything (and I feel like the longer I'm here, the harder it is for me to communicate in English, so you'll have to pardon me if my syntax is a little off).  Recently though, I've been hit with the generosity of the kids from Weaverland's VBS.  Every summer, Weaverland puts on a themed week where kids can come in the evening and learn about the Bible.  It often starts off with singing and a fun skit.  Later, kids break up into age groups for Bible lessons, crafts and snacks.  VBS kids also adopt a project and raise money for it during the week.  This year, they raised money for the Guinea Bissau's pig project.  I was absolutely blown away by how much they raised (enough to start 2 1/2 more pig projects)!

I know many of you reading this blog have also donated to the pig project, and I'm sad that I can't do a blog post on each one of you.  Each and every little bit has helped to better the lives of families here in Catel.  My many thanks goes out to Sheila Martin of Sheila Martin Photography (www.smartinphoto.com) for the following pictures and to the VBS Planning team for putting it all together!

Some of the kids and teachers during song time.

Steve Martin leads the kids in singing with the help of some mascots who might prefer to be left nameless.

I absolutely had to include this picture of my brother playing the part of the sheriff during skit time.

This mascot is also related to me, but he/she will remain nameless.  It looks like everyone had fun there, and I'm very grateful for their help in raising funds for the pig project!  Good work guys!

While we're on the subject of the pig project, I thought I would give you an update on how the projects that have already begun are going.  Honestly, I feel like sometimes I'm in a real-life story of the parable of the talents (if you are unfamiliar with this story, you can read Matthew 25:14-30 or click on the link http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2025:14-30&version=NIV)

I have renamed the guys as "Guy 1," "Guy 2," and "Guy 3" to protect their integrity.

Guy 1: Guy 1 is doing an amazing job!  Every time I go over there, I am absolutely impressed.  He is really serious about keeping his pigs on the actual pig feed ration and cleans the pens and gives clean water every day.

Guy 2: Guy 2 seems like he's doing the best he can, juggling all the other responsibilities that he has.   He has also been supplementing the pig ration that we suggested with left over  rice, and his pigs have grown accustomed to rice to the point that they prefer it (though it has little nutritional value) over their vitamin-complete feed mill food.  They are still growing fine, but are not as big as I think they could be.

Guy 3: Over the last few months, Guy 3 has disappeared and has stopped coming to church.  I mean, he's around, but other stuff seems more important to him.  His barn is STILL unfinished, and since April, he's been keeping his pigs in one room of an abandoned house.  I haven't been able to get a hold of him to vaccinate his pigs either, nor have I seen his pigs since April.

Though we carefully chose three church leaders who we saw as responsible men, this stuff happens in business sometimes.  They were each given a loan agreement (the money raised for the pig project is a micro-loan, not a gift), and must pay the loan back regardless of how successful or unsuccessful their pig business becomes.  The way it is set up, each participant of the pig project borrows a huge sum of money at the beginning of the project (to build the barn, buy the pigs, etc), but gradually pays it back with the proceeds from each litter of pigs sold.  This way, the pig project as a whole can be sustainable, and many more families in Catel can benefit from it.

If you have any questions about the pig project, feel free to shoot me an email or leave a comment on this blog (email: sothatafricamayknow@gmail.com).

Hope you had a wonderful Fourth of July!  Until later!

A

My family here in Catel

As per my normal, I have once again delayed in writing a blog post or newsletter (sigh).   There’s not a whole lot new to report.  The pigs are doing great and are growing really well.  I’ll update you more on them later.  I thought it would be more important to introduce you to the family (the DaSilva’s) that I spend most of my time with.  I have mentioned several of them in previous blog posts, but I thought I’d put together one cohesive blog post so you could better get to know them as a family. 

To give some preface to the names about to be listed in the following paragraphs, I’ll explain the “who’s who.”  The father of the family’s name is Fode (FOH-deh) and his wife is Tiri (TEE-ree).  They have several grown children: Braima (BRY-mah), Juan Pierre (Zhahn Pehr), Juan Paulu (Zhahn PAHW-loo), Agustu (Ah-GOO-stoo), Kintinu (Kin-TEEN-oo), and Mario (MAH-ree-oh).  Fode’s sister Nema (NEE-mah) lives with them as does a two of her grown children: Julio (JOO-lee-oh) and Jara (JAH-rah).

Apa (Ah-PAH), nephew to Fode, was the first one in the family that I met when he came to the clinic near the beginning of October with a tarsadu (tahr-SAH-doo, machete) wound.  Soon after that, he began coming to church.  He’s a hardworking thirteen year old who will start third grade next year when school starts again (it is very normal for a thirteen year old to be in third grade in this area for a variety of reasons).  He spends a lot of time hanging out with us at the mission house and really enjoys playing Guinensi card games with us.  He’s also started attending  a young men’s Bible study that one of the YES guys is leading.

Andrew with Apa and Mana (MAH-nah), son of Juan Pierre at Christmastime

The second person  I met in this family was Di (Dee), who is my closest friend here in Catel.  I met her in late October when she came to the clinic with her husband Braima, one of the brothers of the family) when they came to the clinic during Di’s first pregnancy.  I enjoyed watching them interact as a married couple; they were really cute together.  “Cutesie” is not something that’s common in marriages here in Guinea Bissau.  When I was getting their information, I noticed that they listed Catel as their residence.  These people really intrigued me, so I asked if I could go hang out with them later at their house later (I promise, that is not a creeper move in this culture).  That day started what would become a really deep friendship.  She and Braima became Christians in February and were featured in the last blog post about Catel’s baptisms.

Di braiding a neighbor girl's hair.

Braima with his nephews Mana and Diablu (Di-AH-bloo).

Around the same time that I was getting to know Di, Agustu approached Andrew on the path one day saying that he wanted to convert to Christianity because he believes that Jesus could save him from the demonic dreams he was having.   He gave his life to Jesus that Sunday (was saved from his bad dreams) and has been huge influence and evangelist in his family ever since.

Agustu just finished an annex that will become his room.  Here he is shown "pink-washing" it.  Pink washing is exactly what you think... white wash + red tint = pink wash.

Salifu (Sah-LEE-foo) is a friend of Agustu’s that lives with the family and is a product of Agustu’s evangelism. Salifu came to salvation believing that Jesus could heal him from seizures he was having (and Jesus DID heal him!).  He was also featured in the last blog post about Catel’s baptisms.  Salifu’s wife Loti (LOH-tee) is also a very good friend of mine, and their nine-month-old daughter Leonara (Lee-oh-NAH-rah) is the source of many of my smiles.  Leonara is just beginning to try her hand (or her feet) at walking.  Salifu and Loti are planning on building a house together when the rainy season passes.

One day, Salifu told me to take a picture of him, and I told him to "strike a pose".  

Jara is also an extremely good friend of mine.  Our friendship began at the beginning of the cashew season when she left Dakar, Senegal (where another family had been raising her, another common practice here).  Now, she’s here to stay!  She is the only friend I have my age that isn’t married yet and doesn’t have kids.  Our friendship began in a funny way as we stumbled to try to communicate with one another with hand motions and through the rest of the family acting as translators.  You see, I only know Kiriol, and she grew up in Senegal where they speak Wolof and French (and Manjako, a tribal language, because she was raised in a Manjako family); her Kiriol was super limited.   Now, she’s learned a lot of Kiriol and I’ve picked up a lot of Manjako in the mean time.   She’s a very fun-loving, happy spirited woman, and I’m super excited that she is sticking around for long-term!

I let my family borrow my camera one afternoon and I got some really great pictures (some of which appear on this blog post).  I think Jara was on her way to get water when she took this picture.  She is carrying her "ordija" (or-DEE-jah) on her shoulders which she will use to cushion her head from the heavy tub of water she will soon be carrying.  Ordijas also help you to balance stuff on your head.

In other news, it’s hot and really really humid – signs that the rainy season has started. We’re enjoying “mangoes out the wahzoo” (see the YES team’s blog at gbteam1213.wordpress.com) Oh!  And we are in the process of building a gazebo-type thing so that we can entertain guests in the evenings and others on the team who want to go to sleep earlier won’t be disturbed by all the noise...  The mission house gets pretty noisy when all our friends come over to hang out and play games – let me tell you!  Pictures to come!

It's a Beautiful Life

Well, the team here in Catel had another exciting weekend!

I have to say, baptisms are very beautiful things.  This passed Sunday, nine people publicly declared that they belong to Jesus.

Most times, I prefer just to experience life, and not photograph it, but these are the occasions in which I am very thankful for my teammates that are completely on top of the "taking pictures thing". [in other words... I took absolutely none of these pictures]

"We're marching to Zion, beautiful, beautiful Zion!"

just kidding... We're marching to the rice field dike.

Andrew is asking the participants questions as to whether or not each of them was prepared to leave behind their old life and be a light for Jesus.  Each of them responded with a resounding "YES!" (well... "SIN!" is what they actually said, which means "yes" in Kiriol)

The newest members of "Igreja Menonita" here in GB

Meet Neusa - she has been really involved in one of the womens' bible studies we hold here.  She also has a little son and is the wife to Rozalio (see picture 3).

Siaka - he's one of the guys involved in our cashew business here, and has recently been added to the church council.  It is Gibby, by the way, who is helping Andrew baptize new believers (see previous blog posts on the pig project).

Here's Rozalio - husband to Neusa.  He also makes beautiful clothes here in Catel.

Meet Lona!  Lona is a really dynamic personality and has an incredible talent for getting people hyped up.  As well as being involved in the pig project, he is a recent addition to the church council.

Tino - He's been a faithful attender of our church here and happens to be the son of the school director here in Catel.

And....Domingas!  On several occasions, I have been incredibly encouraged by her faith.  She is a light in her house and a leader of the women there.

Braima - The older brother of Augustu, and husband of my best friend Di (see next picture).  He teaches social studies to 4th-6th graders as well. If you look closely, you might notice Braima's younger brother Augustu, also a Christian and avid evangelist to their family, beaming.

Di!  If you every can't find me at the mission house or in my gardens, I'm probably hanging out with Di at her house.  

Here is Salifu, another result of Augustu's evangelism.  I also spend a lot of time with his wife Loti and their eight-month-old daughter Leonara.

So now you are all caught up on what happened recently.  Like I have said before, it's a beautiful and exciting life here in Catel.  God is doing amazing work!  We know for sure, though, that the devil doesn't like it, for he is also at work here in Catel.  Please pray for these new lights in Catel, that they would strengthened and blessed in their walk.

Until next time!

A

All things Ag

Hello!  It's been awhile!

I have to say that last weekend here in Catel was an exciting one!  Men from Catel and some surrounding villages came to a 2 day agricultural seminar that I coordinated.  I know for sure that everyone had a lot of fun (including the teacher), and people left the seminar excited to implement principles in their own fields. And it's not over yet!  People who missed out on the seminar are asking me for the materials.  I am also in the process of translating materials for "farming rice fields God's way". As per my norm, I thought a photo gallery was appropriate to demonstrate to you what went on.  Enjoy!

PREP WORK:

Clearing the area that will become our "well-watered garden".

"Who dug a hole the size of Adrianne?" you ask.  I discovered all I have to do at this mission house is mention that I have work that would be really good exercise, and BAM!  Free labor comes running to help this damsel in distress!

Carrying "God's Blanket" (aka mulch) to cover our garden area.

IN THE CLASSROOM:

Our discussion group was wrestling over some tough questions as to the biblical basis of "Farming God's Way" (the curriculum I used to supplement my teaching).

IN THE FIELD:

This was one of my favorite parts!  I got to explain about soil horizons (my field of study).

Some of my students, extremely interested in what I have to say about "dirt".

Salifu adding to the mulch - Good work, Salifu!

My students explaining to me how we could make our garden square.

Nemias is making zai holes which will become individual fertilization sites.

Sadja dominating the wheelbarrow.

 I was really excited to hear their responses at the end of the seminar - what they were excited to implement in their fields, what they still wanted to learn and what I could do better next time.  Thank you to each of you who were praying!

The Pigs Came!

Lona and Beryl traveled to Cap's Skirring, Senegal with Beryl's sports car to go get our pigs on the 15th.  I thought you'd be curious what Beryl's sport's car looks like filled with pigs.  The pigs will be staying a bit in Lona's barn until the others finish their barns.  Everybody is happy (and the pigs seem very happy too!)

Lona standing in the Cap's Skirring barn with the first of the pigs.

Pigs need diapers when they are traveling in a sports car.  Just saying.

There they are!  15 of them.

Aren't they a little bit cute and beautiful at the same time?

Awesome.  Bonding time is already happening!  These are the pigs are hopefully going to help pull families of Catel out of poverty.

Just picturesque.  Lona and one of his pigs.

I think I'll just leave you with that image of Lona and his pig.  We are all thanking God for his faithful provision in pigs, for safe travels of the pigs (and Lona and Beryl) to Catel, and for what He will be doing through this project!

Women's day and other stuff

March 8 is International Women's Day.  Here, some men cook or go to the market for their women.  Our mission guys were awesome.  Not only did they cook for us, but they went and picked us some flowers.  Aren't they great?

Our teammate Briz giving each of us a lovely purple flower on Women's Day.

The Jablonski's (a family on short term medical mission here) went to Spain on vacation... We were very happy to have them back...and not just because they brought us "kusas sabi" (nice things)! 

My friend and teammate Meghan brought our team chocolate from Spain. 

I was pretty excited... So was everyone else, but I don't have pictures of them being all excited.

Learning Things

You know when you just sit down one day and decide "Today is the day I'm going to learn how to ________."  Well... That happened to me the other day.  I just decided the other day that this was the perfect day to start carrying heavy buckets of water on my head.  Here are some pictures:

This basia (tub) is really heavy - thank you Tessa for helping me.

Yeah man!  Look at those smiles!

I also thought that after watching the doctors here stitching dozens of people up (I translate in our clinic here), I would try my hand stitching up Mr. Orange.  Don't worry... I don't intend to try my hand on any people any time soon, but he looks good, doesn't he?

Now... what does Dr. Steve usually do with these tools?  Just kidding.  I know what I'm doing.

The orange, post-surgery.