Steve and I with the bride and groom

Ceremonies are a big deal here in Guinea.  I can’t but help but think that a major reason for that is because so much of life is simply survival.  And when you spend so much time just trying to get through the day, a ceremony of any kind is a welcome distraction.  I’ve given up trying to understand why families who don’t have enough to feed their kids will spend so much to host a baby naming ceremony (which feeds the guests a great meal, but the kids will hungry for weeks afterwards).  Yes, ceremonies are a huge deal.  Weddings, babies, funerals…everything needs to be done just right.

Momed, Steve’s right hand man and our adopted son, thought that he had done the right ceremony to be able to marry his girlfriend last year.  Well, her family had different thoughts on that one.  They decided that what he thought was a pretty good marriage celebration was in fact just a large engagement party.  They were so serious about it in fact that almost a year later they came and took back his “wife” and baby daughter (who happens to be my namesake).  They said he could have them back when he did the marriage ceremony their way.

So, this past weekend, we provided the means for him to do everything just right.  And it was quite the bash.  Mawa’s family lives in town, so this was a much bigger wedding than the ones here in our village.  We had videotaped coverage of signing the marriage certificate at the town courthouse.  We had a band playing at her family’s house complete with an actual singer.   There was a tent where the bride and groom sat and people could come and shake their hands.  Mawa actually rented an American style wedding dress and Momed had a suit made.  None of this is common over here!  This was a big shindig!

As much as we talked about every detail beforehand, there was still so much going on that I in no way understood!  There was a lot of “oh, I forgot…” the day of and a lot of running around for Steve as he helped get everything in place.  If you thought that things were finished just because they signed legal papers at the courthouse – you would be wrong.  It wasn’t until the large group of religious leaders gave their approval that things were considered finished.  We all breathed a sigh of relief when they said that his gifts to Mawa and her family were good enough for him to marry her.

We took a lot of pictures, tried to understand what was being said by everyone and watched Ephraim yet again be the life of the party with his dancing.  We tried to get pictures of him, but it was impossible because the crowd was so thick we couldn’t get the camera near him.

It was a very long weekend.  But, they are married (for real this time!).  Gotta love the ceremonies!

The important men deciding if Momed's gift are good enough for him to marry Mawa

Live music!

Momed has become such a partner with Steve in helping our other missionaries that many of them were a part of the wedding as well. This is outside the courthouse.

A huge crowd gathered for dancing. You can see the tent for the bride and groom in the background.

A trip to the beach with the Bryant family

It seems that we are saying goodbye far too often these days.  One by one our coworkers here on the mission center are closing up their homes and heading back home.  We’ve all known for months that these days were coming, but it is still difficult.  With each goodbye our boys struggle a little bit more.  It’s hard to constantly be saying goodbye to their friends and neighbors.  It’s days full of change for us, our coworkers, and the entire village.  So, we’re trying to make the most of these last days…pool parties, trips to the beach, and sleepovers.  I want the boys to enjoy these last few days with their friends and leave Guinea with these special memories.

We had a last day of school party and the kids made shirts signed by all their schoolmates.

Pool Party fun

Maimouna and I all dressed up for a wedding (me in the outfit she had made for me)

Today was not a good one.  Lots of meetings with different people about the closing of our center and emotions are running very high these days.  It’s so hard to not to take things extremely personal for 1) ourselves and 2) all the people in the village that we care about who are losing their jobs.  I’ll admit I got pretty upset with people this morning…thankfully, I have a husband who is patient and understanding and lets me get it all out…before he tries to fix anything

In a break from those meetings, I went to visit my closest friend here in Guinea.  This is the moment I’ve been dreading since we decided to head home this summer.  She has been by my side since the day I arrived at our first home here in Guinea.  Sharing her culture, her life, and her family with me.  Her son, Momed, spends every other weekend with us and has become like another son for me.  I really, really didn’t want to tell her that I’m leaving.  As I started to tell her that I had something difficult to say, I just started crying and couldn’t get the words out.  Then she started crying and saying that she had heard that the center was closing and she figured that soon I would tell her this.  She said that she had shared with Momed a little bit so he wouldn’t be too surprised.  She said he cried for days.  Then she told me how he asked if he would be grown before I saw him again and he asked if he could come to the airport to see our plane leave.  Talk about a knife through the heart.  Seriously.  I couldn’t stop crying.  And she is crying.  And it’s just really hard.

I told her that we would still provide the funds for his school and other things he needed.  She gave me such a gift when she said that it wasn’t about the money.  She said that we are like sisters and her heart hurts for me to leave her.  She assured me that she knows how much I love them too.

I cried all the way home too.  My heart is heavy.  My kids know that this breaking my heart.  But, I don’t want them to feel like it’s all their fault.  That I’m going home just because they need me too.  I want them to know that I’m sacrificing right now because they are THAT important.  So, I want to do it with a smile.  I want to share in their excitement over movie theaters, ice cream, pizza in a box (Ephraim), and especially over seeing family and friends.  But, man this is hard.  So hard.

We need your prayers in the weeks to come as there are so many goodbyes.

Momed with our boys and his younger brothers on Christmas Eve

Steve teaching the guys how to grill hamburgers one night

Titi, Daouda, Gnaissa, Oumar, Youssof, Saliou, Mamadou…I want you to know these names.  I want to ask you pray for these young men that you will most likely never meet.  We have such a burden to see these young men embrace the truths of the Gospel.  These seven young men have become so dear to our hearts.

What a journey we’ve been on with them.  In the time we’ve come to know them; one has lost his mother, two have seen their mothers suffer from AIDS, one has been in prison, one has had major surgery on his legs, and those are just the major events.  What we’re the most thankful has been those everyday moments.  The talks on our porch, the soccer matches, the endless foosball tournaments, watching them play with our boys and so many other things.  God has blessed us with these guys.

They come to our house just about everyday to earn a little spending money with whatever job I can come up with.  If there are no jobs that day, they just hang out and try to practice their growing English vocabulary on me.  But, we’ve also been setting aside Thursday nights as a time to meet with them and discuss our faith.  They come dressed in their best to enjoy dinner with us and then they sit and talk for a couple of hours with Steve.  He went through a book called “The Lamb” with them which very clearly lays out why we need a Savior.  We’ve spent time talking about the differences between their religion and ours.  It’s been wonderful to see them come out of their shells and discuss the tough issues.  Steve has shared his testimony with them and shared the Gospel as clearly as he can.

Now, comes the tough part.  Now comes the time to trust that God will do something amazing in their lives.  Praying that each of them would see how empty and hopeless their religion is and to seek after the one true God who will never abandon them.  We’re asking each of you to be praying for these special men as well!

Piling their plates full for an American bbq

The cluster of houses that were burned

Lately we’ve been having quite a few people come from other villages telling us that they have heard about the family who helps people in need.  We’ve had people arrive with burns, sick babies, horrific rashes, moldy rice…you name it.  And they’ve all come looking for help.  Honestly, this has both pros and cons.  Obviously, we love that we have a good testimony in the community.  We are glad that God is opening doors for us to have influence in the villages around us.

On the other hand, it’s hard enough to keep up with the needs in our own village.  We spend quite a bit of time trying to meet the needs of people here through medical, food and other aid.  So, I’ll admit that there are times when I really dread the arrival of people from other villages.  Not because I don’t want to help people, but because there is only so much we can do against a never ending rush of need.

One night a group of men came from another village WITH a group of men from our village to talk with Steve about a BIG problem.  A fire broke out in one of the homes and it quickly spread to the other houses in the same cluster.  These are grass roofed houses – fires burn hot and fast.  There was no time to save anything.  Apparently the men of the homes had gone out fishing and had locked up the houses behind them.  Two women tried to break in and get things out and had to be taken to the hospital for burns.  This group came to talk with Steve and see if we could help these families who were now homeless.

Steve went out the next morning to see the damage and offer our condolences for their loss.  He was shocked to see the fire still smoldering in the houses and the amount of damage.  Six houses had been destroyed.  These are large homes that house at least 10 people or more in each one.  Nothing was left untouched – every piece of clothing, all their food, all their money…every possession they owned.  Steve talked with the village leaders and said that we would speak with our co-workers and see how we could help.

The inside of the burned out house

Even every bowl and pot has been burned beyond use

We were glad that our co-workers also desired to help and we collected a great deal of clothing, bedding, kitchen items and other things to help.  We also took up a collection of financial aid to help them re-roof each house.  Steve and I were glad we could take all the items out to hand over to the village.  We sat with each family and offered our prayers for them.  We gave the money and collected items to the village leaders for them to distribute as equally as possible.  We were encouraged as we drove back home from the visit.

Handing over the items we'd collected

While it’s true that we can’t possibly help everyone with every need they have…God does bring many situations to our door that we CAN help with.  He has given us the resources to be able to be a blessing to many around us.  Please be praying with us for wisdom and guidance…to know when to help and the best way to help.

Enjoying lunch with the guys

One of my favorite reasons for having my parents come visit us a couple years ago was that they could now REALLY know what our life was like over here.  I can try to paint a picture in an email or on this blog, but to truly understand – well, it’s just something you have to experience.

So, we were pretty excited when our friend Chris wrote to us and wondered what we would think of him coming for a visit.  We were a bit skeptical at first that it could really happen because coming here for a visit is no small feat.  There are shots needed, passports needed, entry visas needed, expensive plane tickets needed…and the list goes on.  I honestly waited for an email that said it was just all too much to go through for a short visit.  BUT, he persevered through it all and endured the very long flight to join us here in Guinea.

Since Chris is a builder in the States, we thought it would be great for him to get involved with one of Steve’s building projects he has going on.  One of our missionary co-workers is moving to a new village and Steve is busy building her a new home.  So, Chris was able to spend quite a bit of time with Steve out in this other village building a house brick by brick.  He slept out in that village, ate rice and sauce like everyone else, joined in the camaraderie with the other guys (even without really being able to speak to them!) and caught a glimpse of how Steve spends his days.

Steve cutting through the brick walls to put in windows

The house that they are in the process of building

His days were also filled with meeting endless amounts of people who were so eager to shake his hand.  We took him to so many homes to greet our friends here.  We kept explaining to him that it wasn’t so much that WE thought he needed to greet all those people, but that THEY would be very offended if we didn’t introduce Chris to them.  He heard how all of those people had come into our lives and how God continues to grow those friendships.  He held some of the babies that we are providing food for and heard how God has blessed their growth.  He went on medical runs with Steve and listened as we tried to help those who were hurting.  We went to church in town and he was able to see believers standing up for their faith in this difficult setting.

Chris getting in on a soccer game with kids in the village

Chris with Steve and the teens who meet here on Thursdays

He was also able to see the realities of life as a missionary…people at the house ALL the time, no privacy, the heat, the stresses of so many depending on us, missing family and the familiar…he is able to pray for us in a new way now that he has spent some time here with us.

So, in light of all these things he has seen and the people he met, I’m sure it’s not the brick work that he will remember most from his trip.  I wish he could write to you of his experiences himself…he’s been gone a few weeks now and it almost feels unreal that he was even here.  His trip was especially encouraging to Steve who truly appreciated the long talks and thoughts Chris had to share.

We praise God for allowing Chris to come and see our lives here firsthand and we thank God for how he used the trip in each of our lives.  Continue praying for wisdom and clarity for us in the days ahead.

Visiting our neighbors

Being a foreigner in a small village is not easy.  It’s not easy to always feel like you are on the outside of an inside joke.  Or to wonder what happens you walk away.  I’ll admit that it can make you feel a bit paranoid.

I have to keep reminding myself that with moving into a small village where everyone is related to one another and has known each other their whole lives, acceptance will take time.  There is a lot of mystery and skepticism about foreigners.

So, I find great joy in the little milestones.  I am encouraged with every bit of progress.  I tell Steve with much excitement about every interaction where I don’t feel like the outsider.  I’m so thankful to see how much has changed since we first moved here.  Several times recently someone has said to me “how do you know about that?” and several times someone has said “you really know what’s happening.”  That’s exciting stuff for me!

It takes a long time to get the place where you get told what REALLY happened.  It takes a while to get to the place where you know how so and so is related to so and so and how that affects the situation.  I am so thankful that people are finally telling me the whole story (or more of the story anyway).

Like I said, this doesn’t happen overnight.  We’ve been trying so hard to BE out with our neighbors – spending time with them and being a part of what is going on in their lives.  Sometimes it’s just sitting around talking – other times it’s joining in on work that needs done.

The Compo family has become pretty special to us.  We spend quite a bit of time with them in lots of different ways.  Titi, is one of the teens who is always here.  He and his brother have a small little room next to their parents home that they live in.  Like pretty much every other house in the village, it is made of mud bricks.  It needed to be taken apart because it was crumbling and put back together with new mud and many new bricks.  We decided to go out one day while Chris was visiting so we could all help take it down.

Let’s just say that a mud brick house is easier to take apart than our American style ones!  Our group of guys had that thing down to the foundation in just over an hour…pretty impressive.  Everyone got in on the action and I was happy to let the men work while I snapped pictures.  We pray that these times of joining our neighbors in the daily grind of life continues to show them how much we care about them.  We want true friendships that lead to people accepting Christ as their Savior.  Small steps moving forward in everything…

One by one the bricks are pulled from the mud that surrounds it

Micah using those muscles to haul lots of bricks

Malachi and Ephraim breaking apart the mud holding the bricks

The hard working crew

Heading out for church one Sunday morning

I was looking through all the photos that I’ve taken in the last few weeks and realized again that we’ve had one extremely busy month.  Hectic, event filled, crazy, productive, and insane are all words that could describe the last month.

There’s so much to write about.  For your sake, I’ll break it up into a few posts.

Just a little update on some of the special people in our lives with some new photos…

She's so serious looking all the time

Steve and I with Momed, Mawa and baby Casey

Baby Casey is growing up quickly.  I’m so thankful that we get to play a role in her life.  She is so absolutely adorable and just lets us all hold her and love on her.  The boys can’t get enough of her when she’s around.  They want us to keep her here with us.  We just went to a wedding in the village that she came to as well and I was more than happy to snuggle her while her mom danced the night away.  I continue to pray that we can use this special relationship to bring the Gospel to Casey and her parents.

Steve continues to enjoy his visits with Kinda.  We honestly didn’t think he would be able to pull through the serious illnesses he went through.  We know that he will go through more of these hard times as the AIDS further weakens him.  He has an amazing spirit though and we praise God for the way he continues to grow in his faith.  He is dedicated to meeting together with other believers to pray.  We will keep praying that his family will desire his faith as well.

Having dinner with us while Chris was visiting

We thank God for the relationships He has given us with this group of teenage boys.  They are here everyday as school is over and are content to just BE here.  I love that.  I love that they want to be around us.  We don’t have to do anything special…just simply letting them have a place to hang out is great for them.  I love how God has brought them so close to our family.  Our boys think they are the greatest too.  We keep praying that everything we share with them will take root in their hearts and they will seek out Christ.

Well, that’s my first little post…I have a whole list of things to write and share with you.  Check back again soon for more posts!

Micah and Titi battling for the ball in a soccer game

Malachi getting in on the soccer game action

Team Huddle

Yesterday was just a tad insane.  Sometimes I find myself in the middle of a situation thinking “how in the world did we get ourselves into this???”  Yesterday, was one of those days.

Our village highschoolers (think ages of around 20) were invited to come and play in the large stadium in town in a soccer tournament.  This was a very big deal.  I had no idea how big of a deal until the village mayor, principal, religious leader…you get the idea…came to ask us to help the team be able to participate.  This meant raising the funds for new uniforms, a new ball and of course, transportation to the game.

Let me tell you, giving the funds for the uniforms and the ball was MUCH easier than the transportation part of the deal!  Steve took the very large Mission owned truck and I took our vehicle and we arrived at the high school to take the team to the game.  We had no idea the crowd of people that would want a ride.  It was mass chaos as everyone tried to get a spot.  No one wanted to be left behind.  We quickly realized that there was no way we could get everyone in one trip, so we loaded up about 50 (yes, 50!) in the first load and took off – promising to come back.  Here’s what we looked like driving down the road…they were even running and grabbing on to the back as we drove down the road.  Micah sat next to me, terrified that one of them would fall off and I’d run them over.

In the back of that truck cab are about 30 very squished individuals!

We dropped off the first load and headed back to the village for the next group – thankfully it’s only a 20 minute drive to town!  It was the same scene of chaos with so many more people wanting to go to the game than we had room for.  The boys were yelling for me to lock the doors after our vehicle was full and more kept trying to get in.  Nobody wanted to miss out on going to the game.

There is a group of cement bleachers on one side of the stadium.  There was a section set up for the “important guests” and the officials kept trying to get us to go there, but we decided to sit with all the kids from the village.  The kids were happy about this too since we kept buying oranges, popcorn balls and stuff for everyone around us.  I started thinking that those “important guests”seats would be really great about 10 minutes into the game.  When we first sat down things were filled, but not too crowded.  But, as the game continued it just got more and more packed.  We were packed in like sardines.

This was before it got crowded...see if you can spot Micah and Malachi

I wish I could say that our team came away the victors, but sadly it was not to be.  In fact, it was pretty much the saddest game ever.  We’re just a small village and this was the best team in the “big city” so I guess the outcome is understandable.  But, they had great attitudes and cheered for themselves even on the way home after losing so badly.  At the end of a very long game and being extremely sweaty and dirty – it was now time to begin shuttling half our village home.  They came home with their heads held high – just glad that they had a chance to play in town.

Our boys were exhausted last night.  And they said, “it was only fun for a while.”  But, it was a great chance to remind them (and me) that we didn’t do all that to bring joy to ourselves.  We did it to give them a great memory and to do something just for someone else.  As Ephraim said, “and God is happy with that.”

Greeting the officials

Not quite the soccer stadiums we're used to

Battle for the ball