Some days

Some days, I just don't really want to go outside... It's not safe out there.  In my room, nobody will make fun of my Kiriol, no one can tell me I'm doing my job the wrong way... When I'm in my room, there are no distractions and no one is constantly asking me to give them my stuff.

The thing is, if I stay locked up inside my room, I miss out on my friends' smiles, the laughter of little girls as they run their fingers through my moli (soft) hair, the random and chaotic music jam sessions, the warm sunshine, and the seemingly unending patience of some people as we muddle through a conversation together.

I could stay in my room today... Nah.  I think I'll go out and experience the adventure.

"This is the day that the Lord has made.  I will REJOICE and BE GLAD in it!" (corrections, distractions, embarrassments, and all)

A Thousand Words

I know, I know…  Why have a blog if you don’t update it frequently?  Internet is kind of a tricky thing here, so thanks for being patient with me.  Please excuse the disorganized thoughts of this blog post as I try to catch you up on the last month.

A picture is worth a thousand words, so if I put a ton of pictures [with captions], that will make up for my delinquency, right? :)

 I always wondered how other people “do life” in different countries, so the first few pictures give you the grand tour!

Here is me, sharpening our lawn mower.

This is our well where we get bath water, water for washing plates, etc.  It is conveniently right outside of our house.  We have to take a bike to a well further away to get drinking water.

These are our toilets.  They’re so high-tech that you don’t even have to flush them!

I actually really love taking cold showers, and it’s a good thing too, because we take basin baths every day in the “shower room” that’s attached to our house.

Here is our kitchen where all of us (there are 7 of us now that the YES team has started to arrive) gather for supper.  You can see our refrigerator to the left (just kidding… we don’t have refrigeration… that’s the pantry).

Ah…. This is a very important place… a place of rest.  This is little stool is on our back veranda is my refuge at 6:30 in the morning.  I do my devotions and journal here while I watch the sun rise over the corn.

I think that’s about it for the grand tour.  I’m going to take a commercial break and tell you about a small victory we had the other week.  I made yogurt.  Yes, I did!  With some starter and powdered milk and a sealed container and a water thermos (not normally what you would use in the states, but hey!  It worked, didn't it?).  We were all pretty excited with the results… So much so that I made some more for supper.

Now for some important people introductions.  Every Sunday after church, this is what our veranda looks like - full of our friends.  I love it.  We cook rice and rice sauce and all eat out of the same bowl (or two) like they traditionally would.  It’s often a great time of laughter and fellowship.  Fun fact: if everyone eats out of the same bowl, there are a WHOLE lot less dishes to clean…

Here is one of my language tutors.  Her name is Rana and she is holding her daughter Lukas.  She is a Guinea Bissau native but did some schooling in Gambia.  Between the bits of English she knew, and the Creole I was beginning to pick up, we made lessons work.  I also have another tutor named Gibby, but unfortunately, I have not yet taken a picture of him yet.  His heart for helping me learn Creole is just incredible.  He is married, has lots of kids, works in the fields all day, occasionally preaches at other villages and then spends well over his contracted hour with me (and another missionary here named Chad) teaching us Creole.  Amazing.

I also had to include this picture.  These are our neighbor boys Eva and Benson.  This picture happens to be right in front of our front porch.  Usually these two are quite the troublemakers, but the day the picture was taken, they were being irresistibly cute.  Pardon the bare bums.

And that, my friends, concludes my first real blog post from here.  Thank you to everyone who has sent me emails about their life at home.  I enjoy reading them even though I’m often unable to respond.

With love,

ANH

Boa Tarde from Catel!

My parents had no way of knowing what populations of people I'd be working with when they named me "Adrianne."  I absolutely LOVE my name, but it doesn't seem to be very trans-lingual.  I have since decided to be called "Adriana" (a name that's much more easily pronounced in the Portuguese Creole tongue), though  I have also answered to "Blanco" and "Catel" within this last week. There aren't very many white people (blancos) in this area. If you see a white person, they are very likely either a French nuns or they are one of the 5 of us that live in Catel.  Sometimes, I feel like they might as well call me "fresh meat."  I'm the greatest new thing since the last new white people that came, and children shout my name constantly as I walk down the path.  I'm the white person who doesn't know Creole yet, who can't weed rice fields correctly, and who doesn't know how to buy things with this strange money.

I've been here I week now, it's probably time to introduce you to my surroundings.  I flew from D.C. to Dakar and then took a ferry from Dakar to Ziguinchor.  There are 8 bunks per room in the ferry - it apparently doesn't matter if you are male or female - enjoy your ride (It just so happened that I was the only girl in a room with 7 guys)!

Because of the slow internet, that's the only picture I can post for now.  Sorry to disappoint.  My room, pictures of the scenery and my friends will come later.  I promise.

I would be remiss though if I signed off before telling you a "funny thing of my week."  The first night here, I prepared to take a shower.  We have an outdoor "room" with a bolt lock that you can take a bucket shower in.  As I was bolting the door, the handle part of the lock came off.  I was successfully bolted inside the shower room.

I decided to go on with my shower and figure out how to get out of the room later.  Later came (as it always does), and I still didn't know how I was going to get out of that stinkin' shower room.  I eventually had to call for someone to hand me a wrench, so I could finagle the bolt part out of the latch.  The experience was sufficiently embarrassing, but we all had a good laugh.

I intended to be somewhat regular with my posts, but as it turns out, my internet access is limited.  I will probably only be able to post once a month, but keep checking back!

Happy Birthday Zoe!

This post doesn't have anything to do with West Africa really, but I've been thinking about it today and decided to tell you the story of a little girl who still has my heart.

(yes, that is a tiny human all snuggled next to the doll - isn't she precious?)

In 2008, I spent a summer in Uganda.  I certainly had no idea what surprises awaited me. Four years ago to the day, a miracle baby was born.  Every baby is a miracle of course, but this one is particularly special to me.

This little treasure was unwanted and abandoned by her birth mother.  She had a rough beginning (which began in a pit latrine), but she was rescued by neighbors and taken to the hospital.  A week later, she was brought to the organization I was working for.  I was immediately drawn to her, and took her under my wing.  Zoe went wherever I went, and it was a tough task to leave her when my time in Uganda was up; my heart was bonded.  "Zoe" means life.  What a fitting name for one who fought for her own life in the beginning and then who later gave life to others through her cute little smiles!

Zoe has since gone to live with her grandmother several villages away.  I'm so glad that she has relatives who care for her!  I still pray for this little one often, and hope that one day, she too will know the grace and love of Jesus.

So... to my dear, sweet Zoe - Happy Birthday!

Filling in a few of the details

It is high time for a blog update, wouldn't you think?

I have spent these last three weeks at training in Pennsylvania, and have two more weeks before I'm finished.  I am very much looking forward to my August 13th departure for Guinea Bissau, and yet I know that there is lots to do before that day gets here!  As time goes on, it gets to be more real-feeling for me.  Soon, I will actually be meeting the people of Catel, whom my heart has grown to love and for whom I've been praying.

These are some of the beautiful ladies I've been sharing life with during training!

God's continued blessings

Much has happened since the last blog post - finals, graduation, graduation speech, the trek back to PA, reuniting with friends and supporters, meetings, and lots and lots of sorting and packing!

 I am so very thankful for my Missionary Support Team (MST) who have made many transitioning things more easy for me.  They are such an awesomely cohesive team - clearly God-orchestrated!

Another praise is that I am fully financially supported!  Any additional monies that come in will be used to fund my future years in Guinea Bissau.  If, for whatever reason, I am unable to pursue a longer term, the money will go to the Weaverland Mennonite Church (my home church) Discipleship Ministries fund to be used for other missionaries needing financial support.

I will be having one last fundraiser before training starts in mid-June.  Get ready for "The Village Experience" - an evening of food, fun and friends.  There will be a silent auction at 5, a Guinean dinner (by suggested donation), a presentation to learn more about what I'll be doing in Guinea Bissau, and kids activities.  Hope to see you there!

Thank you to my friend Julia for the awesome invite design!

The end of some things, the beginning of others

Firstly,  I thought it important to address the situation in Guinea Bissau since so many of you have been asking me about it.  A few weeks ago, there was a coup that upset the government of Guinea Bissau.  I have been in good communication with my team there, and village life in Catel is very unaffected by what's going on in the capital.  Plans have not changed for me - I will continue to pursue my plans for departure in August.  If you are looking for more information or updates about what is happening in Guinea Bissau, I would recommend searching for "Guinea Bissau" on Al Jazeera (http://www.aljazeera.com/) or BBC's website (http://www.bbc.co.uk/).

The school year is finally coming to a close for me.  It has been a rather difficult last two weeks wrapping up classes when I would much rather be raising support or talking to you all about Guinea Bissau.  In fact, even as I write this blogpost I have a paper waiting for me.  I'm kind of hoping it writes itself. :)  I will be taking finals all next week and graduate on May 12th.  I will arrive in Lancaster County, PA sometime on Monday, May 14th.

The third order of business for this post is to update you on fundraisers.  We had a very successful, high energy fundraiser at my church here in Indiana on Sunday.  There was rather large turnout and I was very excited to have some of my international friends there as well.

We also ate a very yummy African lunch (thank you to all who helped to prepare it)!

I then shared about God's journey that brought me to the place in my life that I am moving to Guinea Bissau.  I will be in Indiana for a few more weeks and then it's off to Pennsylvania!  I would love to meet up with you one-on-one to tell you more about my journey if you'd like - just let me know!

Fundraisers remaining:
April 30 and May 1 - Eat supper at Yoder's from 4-8, present the coupon (found on my facebook page), and Yoder's will donate 15% of your bill to my fundraising efforts in Guinea Bissau

June 10 - The Village Experience at Weaverland Mennonite Church: silent auction, ethic food, and activities for kids!  Tickets to come.

I have felt so very blessed along this journey.  Thank you to everyone who has been praying for me and is behind me in this adventure that God has me on.