So, picking up where we left off -
Friday morning we left the guest house and drove to a village. It took us maybe 3 1/2 hours to get there...but that was because we kept having to stop. We took two vehicles (SUV and truck). Once again, I was in the first vehicle. Our driver knew the way, but the other driver didn't, and it's not like the roads were marked. At all.
Also, cell phone reception was really bad, so we couldn't always communicate between vehicles.
This isn't the village, it was just one of the many we drove through that morning.
I loved the gourd vines growing on some of the roofs. I have no idea why they grow them this way, but it looks pretty cool.
The roads were dirt most of the way, and incredibly bumpy. I was thankful over and over that I've never had to deal with carsickness.
The closer we got to our destination, the narrower the road got. We had branches sticking through the open windows more than once. :)
One of our we'd-better-wait-for-the-other-car stops.
We splashed through a few little creeks. There were ladies washing alongside some of them. We felt bad for stirring up the dust all over their nice, clean laundry.
We even drove through a bush fire. This picture doesn't really do it justice. In some parts, the fire was right on either side of the road. Like, we could feel the heat even in the car, and I had to move my arm away from the window a few times, because ow!
But moments like that make good stories for later, so...
Another stop. :)
This is Aaron, our driver. He and his family, along with two single ladies, live among the people group we were visiting.
Funny little termite hills
(Although I'm sure my dad would insist that there's nothing funny about termites.)
And here we are, at Aaron and Lindsay's place. We ate lunch with them (rice and peanut sauce) and listened to their story and a bit of the history of how God has been working there.
It's a pretty sweet set-up. I wish I'd taken more pictures of the buildings and of them, but I didn't.
I did get pictures of their garden, though.
...The garden which is a project of Aaron's. The idea is to provide work (and generate income) for the villagers.
Rice drying in the sun
Aaron talking about peanuts - the villagers' main source of protein
"Hey look what I have!"
Peppers drying
Peanuts drying
The village where we (everyone, that is, except two of the guys) stayed was about 40 minutes from Aaron and Lindsey's place. After spending Friday afternoon with them, we drove back.
Going downhill on a bumpy road = so much fun.
(I actually didn't mind it, but some did!)
And here we are.
This is in front of Becki's house, where the four of us single gals stayed.
That's a storage shed...
...and the outside of Becki's house. You'll notice the main part is round. The little rectangle part off to the left side is the bathroom. (And because I know some of you are wondering, no, there was no
running water. Real toilet: yes. Automatically flushing: no. Showers: by the bucket.) The bedroom was another rectangle add-on to the back.
Friday night we all ate at the house the two families were staying in (which belonged to the other single lady on the team, who wasn't in the village at that point). After enjoying the tasty beans and bread Lindsay had sent for us, Guy brought out his guitar. Nothing like guitar mingling with the hum of insects...
We were all tired, so we didn't stay up too late. Maybe that's why everything was funny as we were getting ready for bed...from the cots that wanted to fold up to the lizards running across the metal roof to the way Ruth kept flashing her flashlight on the ceiling.
Saturday we went back to Aaron and Lindsay's. (Yes, we did a lot of driving in five days!) We ate lunch with them, visited for a few hours, came back, ate dinner, went to bed.
Sunday morning we packed up and drove back to the town. I'm pretty sure it had taken us three hours coming, but going back we made it in around two hours. :)
We had the afternoon to chill, then in the evening, we headed out to another village. This one was much closer - about a 30 minute drive or so, and a different people group. There are no longer any "resident" missionaries, since the church is established and functioning well on its own.
The village "ambulance" and clinic
The mill, run by some of the believers
We got a "tour" of the village, and went around greeting everyone and their brother. By the time we were done, it was dark. They fed us before the church service started.
So there we were, sitting (and by "sitting" I mean "squatting" - most of us didn't have stools to sit on) around one bowl, chowing down mouthfuls of rice and peanut sauce by flashlight. A cricket hopped in the bowl, which was right on the ground. We laughed, flicked it out, and continued eating. It was kind of one those we've arrived missionary moments.
I'll quickly follow that with the admission that we were eating with spoons not hands, and we didn't drink the unfiltered water. We're not super-missionaries or anything. ;)
The service itself lasted for what seemed like an eternity to me...mainly because I didn't understand any of it and I was frankly exhausted by that time. Actually, it was only about an hour-and-a-half or so, but that's a long time to sit with no translation of what's being said!
But, my, if you could have seen the sky that night. I have never in my life seen so many stars. It was incredible, enough to take your breath away and make you feel so very small. I found myself going, "How in the world did I end up here, anyway?"
And so while the teacher shared from one of Paul's letters - I don't remember which - I had my own silent conversation with God.
In light of the past, the present, the future, and in light of the fact that there are sometimes more questions than answers, this is what I need to be utterly convinced of: my God does not change. I can hold on to that. Stake my life on it. This God who flung a million stars across the night sky, who holds them all in place, He's my God. Circumstances change. Hopes and plans change. People around us change. We change. But God? He is constant, steadfast, faithful.
And so...the journey continues. :)
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