Summer tour schedule:
June 15 -- Grapevine CoC (Dallas, TX)
June 19 -- First Freewill Baptist Church (Russellville, AR)
June 20-25 -- IMPACT at Lipscomb University (Nashville, TN)
June 22 -- Harpeth Hills CoC (Nashville, TN)
June 26 -- Otter Creek CoC (Nashville, TN)
June 28 -- Nashville Sounds Purity Charity of the Night (Nashville, TN)
June 29 -- College Hills CoC (Lebanon, TN)
July 3 -- First United Methodist Church (Marion, IN)
July 6 -- KidsFest at North Central CoC (Indianapolis, IN)
July 7 -- North Central CoC (Indianapolis, IN)
July 10 -- Southwinds CoC (Fort Wayne, IN)
July 10 -- Southeastern CoC (Indianapolis, IN)
July 13 -- Central CoC (Johnson City, TN)
July 17 -- Highland CoC (Memphis, TN)
July 17 -- Downtown CoC (Searcy, AR)
July 19 -- Cornerstone at Westside CoC (Russellville, AR)
July 20 -- Glenwood CoC (Tyler, TX)
July 24 -- West Houston CoC (Houston, TX)
July 25 -- Aggies for Christ (College Station, TX)
July 27 -- First Protestant Church (New Braunfels, TX)
July 29 -- Highridge Church (Fort Worth, TX)
July 30 -- Decatur CoC (Decatur, TX)
July 31 -- Singing Oaks CoC (Denton, TX)
Saturday, July 30, 2011
June 11, 2011 -- Village life
We've made quite a leap the past 48 hours or so. From sleeping in the village 3 nights ago to Lome to Accra and now still in Accra but at the beach. It's major culture shift. But I can't say I mind it. I didn't realize how developed Accra and, it seems, Ghana in general is until we left and came back after being in Togo. It's a really big difference between anything we saw in Togo, even Lome, and here. It's much more of an undeveloped, village feel in Togo. We stayed in the literal village the other night. That was interesting. When it got dark they used a kind of box flashlight to see, they listened to the radio really loudly, and for dinner we had fufu (mashed up starchy root vegetables that look and taste like snot) with sauce made from bayobab leaves (that tasted like dirt). We decided it would be less impolite to stop eating than to throw up all over the place. We slept at Kumea's house on mats and our sleeping bags and some of her hard pillows on the floor. Maybe one of the worst nights of sleep I've ever had. Communicating with Kumea and her family was really difficult since none of us spoke the same languages. But even with all the discomfort, their hospitality completely blew me away. They gave us their food and were so welcoming to us. Kumea even slept on her pallet outside our doorway as our self-proclaimed "guardienne." She really was wonderful to us and tried to communicate with us even through the language barrier.
Speaking of which, I think the language barrier did get more taxing as time went on. The more time we all spent together and spending the night there, it just would have been so nice to be able to talk to the women and everyone. We joked that night about being blind and mute because it was dark and we couldn't see or speak to each other. It was definitely a challenge.
Speaking of which, I think the language barrier did get more taxing as time went on. The more time we all spent together and spending the night there, it just would have been so nice to be able to talk to the women and everyone. We joked that night about being blind and mute because it was dark and we couldn't see or speak to each other. It was definitely a challenge.
June 6, 2011 -- Mountains and Motos
Wow, we only have 2 dyas left here in Togo. And they're pretty busy so they'll just fly by, I'm sure. Yesterday we climbed a mountain that we pass every day on our way to the village. We've been talking about doing it since we got here and I didn't expect it to actually happen, but yesterday was the women's day to run the whole process completely on their own so we didn't go out to the village and climbed the mountain instead. It was pretty cool! There was a big path about halfway up that was cut out by trucks from the rock quarry at the base and the rest of the way up was flat rocks and grass. No snakes to contend with, either! Five boys from some houses we passed on our way in came with us too. They were all barefoot and just scaled the mountain like champs! It was fun to have climbing buddies who you knew were enjoying each other's company but with limited communication.
This afternoon the plan is to head to the market to support the women selling bread, and then we're spending the night in Lassa Tchou! Who knows how that will go. I'm guessing they go to sleep really early and wake up really early, but I guess we'll find out soon enough!
Another thought: taxi motos. What a concept! I think they're brilliant. I want a motorcycle so badly now. It's just such a thrill! We've been watching "Long Way Around" and "Long Way Down" where Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman go around the world and down Africa, respectively, on motorcycles, so that's also been inspiring me. Haha and all of us, really. Cam and Dylan are seriously talking about buying bikes and making a trip happen. It would be such a blast. I've only ridden a moto like 3 or 4 times but I love it! The wind and the bike and everything, it's exhilarating. Maybe part of the thrill is riding on terrible roads at the mercy of a stranger controlling where you're gonig and how you get there, all the while not wearing a helmet (sorry, Dad!).
This afternoon the plan is to head to the market to support the women selling bread, and then we're spending the night in Lassa Tchou! Who knows how that will go. I'm guessing they go to sleep really early and wake up really early, but I guess we'll find out soon enough!
Another thought: taxi motos. What a concept! I think they're brilliant. I want a motorcycle so badly now. It's just such a thrill! We've been watching "Long Way Around" and "Long Way Down" where Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman go around the world and down Africa, respectively, on motorcycles, so that's also been inspiring me. Haha and all of us, really. Cam and Dylan are seriously talking about buying bikes and making a trip happen. It would be such a blast. I've only ridden a moto like 3 or 4 times but I love it! The wind and the bike and everything, it's exhilarating. Maybe part of the thrill is riding on terrible roads at the mercy of a stranger controlling where you're gonig and how you get there, all the while not wearing a helmet (sorry, Dad!).
Monday, June 6, 2011
June 5, 2011 -- Patience
I don't think I blogged about this, but over the past couple weeks I've been painfully aware of my lack of patience. I think that over years I've become less patient with people rather than more patient, which is definitely not positive personal development lol. I am just not quick to forgive others of what I see as their flaws and personal shortcomings. As if I'm the one who gets to decide that. I'm thankful that the other people on this trip are much more patient than I am because I've been annoying myself even. So my prayer these past several days has been that I would have increased patience with others, with the words that I say, and with myself.
I think that now I am really seeing improvements in my patience, especially after the past couple days of deciding to consciously change my attitude. I kind of realized today how prideful I've been with my lack of patience and my hard-heartedness but in and of themselves and in not acknowledging that their roots lie in the stubbornness of my own heart and that I need to hand them over to God. Maybe I'm missing something or consequences will present themselves later, but I'm glad that at this point I haven't had to have a significantly serious humbling experience for me to learn this particular lesson.
I think that now I am really seeing improvements in my patience, especially after the past couple days of deciding to consciously change my attitude. I kind of realized today how prideful I've been with my lack of patience and my hard-heartedness but in and of themselves and in not acknowledging that their roots lie in the stubbornness of my own heart and that I need to hand them over to God. Maybe I'm missing something or consequences will present themselves later, but I'm glad that at this point I haven't had to have a significantly serious humbling experience for me to learn this particular lesson.
June 4, 2011 -- "Life changing"
Personally, I think I've gotten over a major hump. It's totally a halfway point thing. Now we only have 5 more days here in Togo and then 3 days after that til we're on our way back to the States. I'm really looking forward to it but now that we're on the downswing and I'm past the "so ready to go home" stage, I have a much better outlook on the rest of the time here. Our team is gelling well and mellowing out after having spent 3 weeks together, and I think we're all getting settled into a rhythm with our personalities and will do well together this summer.
On another note, something we talked about tonight when Caroline and I went over to the Kennells' for dinner kind of struck me. Mark just touched on how people leave Africa and go home unchanged, just because they are calloused to letting it affect them. I just don't want that to be me. I was literally thinking earlier today, "OK, life changing experience? Right. That's cliche." I totally wrote it off, when in reality I need to let God be God and do what He wants to do in my heart rather than dictating what will and won't happen ahead of time. maybe I won't have some cataclysmic, earth-shattering experience or revelation, but why do I get to play God and say that I won't be changed? That's a little self-righteous. I'm praying that my heart would be open to however God wants to move me over the next week. I just want Him to be the one who determines how my heart is shaped, rather than me.
On another note, something we talked about tonight when Caroline and I went over to the Kennells' for dinner kind of struck me. Mark just touched on how people leave Africa and go home unchanged, just because they are calloused to letting it affect them. I just don't want that to be me. I was literally thinking earlier today, "OK, life changing experience? Right. That's cliche." I totally wrote it off, when in reality I need to let God be God and do what He wants to do in my heart rather than dictating what will and won't happen ahead of time. maybe I won't have some cataclysmic, earth-shattering experience or revelation, but why do I get to play God and say that I won't be changed? That's a little self-righteous. I'm praying that my heart would be open to however God wants to move me over the next week. I just want Him to be the one who determines how my heart is shaped, rather than me.
June 4, 2011 -- Graduation
We graduated the women from the baking program today! It was seriously so much fun, it was like a big drunken party except everybody was completely sober. I guess Africans just know how to party! So we went into the day with a whole order of operations for the graduation ceremony, but then we got there and they had made up their own schedule so we just went with it. The chiefs of the village were there and I think pretty much everyone in the village came out, all dressed to the nines. They took it so seriously. The women sang, the chiefs welcomed everyone, our group sang (impromptu and not very well, I might add), and then we called the women up one by one to receive their chef coats and hats and certificates. Then they all threw their hats in the air, like any good graduation! Oh, and we presented them with a sign we made for their bakery. And then we had bread and other food and danced and sang with the professional drum band they brought in for the occasion and took a million group photos. It was such a blast! We all showed up wearing our own chef coats and hats and they kind of laughed at us to start out, but once they put them on they never took them off, even through all the dancing. It was so fun to see them so proud of their bread and their bakery and their graduation ceremony!
We'll be with them tomorrow at church and most of next week, but less than usual. Just doing some classes and letting them run the operation for the most part. One day we won't go out at all. But they can pretty much handle things on their own now, so they should be alright!
We'll be with them tomorrow at church and most of next week, but less than usual. Just doing some classes and letting them run the operation for the most part. One day we won't go out at all. But they can pretty much handle things on their own now, so they should be alright!
Thursday, June 2, 2011
May 29, 2011 – Conversations and Bread Baking
Seriously, when I say we talk about everything here, I mean everything. I’ll keep a record of the subjects we discuss today:
Documentaries (we've started to make lists of books to read and movies to watch when we get back to the States lol)
Where we would live based on climate
The physics of breastfeeding (we’ve all seen more breasts here than in the rest of our lives combined)
The bread baking process
Rabies
The worst storms we’ve ever been in
The worst birthdays we’ve ever had
Serial killers and psychopaths
Computer viruses
Taking a motorcycle trip around the world
Encounters with huge bugs
How “culture” is defined
And those are just the ones I remember…but overall, that’s a pretty typical day. No holds barred here! Most nights we get together in the girls’ room (it’s by far the biggest and nicest :) ) and we’ve been covering everyone’s life stories one at a time. Now we’ve gone through all of them and our new get-to-know-each-other plan is to come up with a question at breakfast that everyone will have to answer at dinner. That’s where the birthday discussion came from today. Should make for interesting conversations!
We fired up the ovens for the first time today. The whole process went fairly smoothly! The women broke into groups and we ended up baking about ten loaves of bread. What’s really cool is how proud they are of their ovens and everything Nestor (our welder)’s wife came with us today to see the process and the women were asking us to make sure she wasn’t going to go use their recipe and process to sell her own bread. And they were all so proud of their first batch of bread! It was like before the bread actually came out of the oven there was a sense of …is this thing actually going to work? Are we really about to make real bread? I’ll admit that I had the same skepticism lol. But it happened! It was so much fun to see them learning and having fun with it too.
Also, the women are legitimately using our Kabiye names that they gave us the other day. They call me Esosoolam to my face and introduce me as that too. I think it’s awesome!
Documentaries (we've started to make lists of books to read and movies to watch when we get back to the States lol)
Where we would live based on climate
The physics of breastfeeding (we’ve all seen more breasts here than in the rest of our lives combined)
The bread baking process
Rabies
The worst storms we’ve ever been in
The worst birthdays we’ve ever had
Serial killers and psychopaths
Computer viruses
Taking a motorcycle trip around the world
Encounters with huge bugs
How “culture” is defined
And those are just the ones I remember…but overall, that’s a pretty typical day. No holds barred here! Most nights we get together in the girls’ room (it’s by far the biggest and nicest :) ) and we’ve been covering everyone’s life stories one at a time. Now we’ve gone through all of them and our new get-to-know-each-other plan is to come up with a question at breakfast that everyone will have to answer at dinner. That’s where the birthday discussion came from today. Should make for interesting conversations!
We fired up the ovens for the first time today. The whole process went fairly smoothly! The women broke into groups and we ended up baking about ten loaves of bread. What’s really cool is how proud they are of their ovens and everything Nestor (our welder)’s wife came with us today to see the process and the women were asking us to make sure she wasn’t going to go use their recipe and process to sell her own bread. And they were all so proud of their first batch of bread! It was like before the bread actually came out of the oven there was a sense of …is this thing actually going to work? Are we really about to make real bread? I’ll admit that I had the same skepticism lol. But it happened! It was so much fun to see them learning and having fun with it too.
Also, the women are legitimately using our Kabiye names that they gave us the other day. They call me Esosoolam to my face and introduce me as that too. I think it’s awesome!
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