Our supervisors have a team visiting from Alabama. We have been busy helping them and serving with them this past week. Yesterday the ladies from the team went to a compound of one of our believers. They have not been open at all and at times hostile against our believer. We went out to eat and share stories with them. They were very warm and hospitable. We set up a canopy and mats as it was going to rain. While some of the team was helping keep the kids entertained, others of us helped prepare lunch. Was I in for a rude awakening of what it takes to feed a whole compound, plus 10 visitors. We started by pounding the spices, cutting 15 or so onions and carrots, and many other kind of vegetables, and rolling ground fish. This dish we were preparing was called Ceebu Jagga which consists of rice with a red sauce with fish and fish balls and vegetables. In between the cooking there were dishes to wash – hunched over a bucket. Unfortunately it started to rain so the cookers went inside one of the bedrooms to finish cooking. The lady who was cooking was very patient. I did my best to translate to help all of the other ladies take direction from her. It was the most language that I have heard and spoken since being in Senegal. It was a great opportunity to see what I have learned and be able to practice and use the language that I have acquired.
When the meal was served we ate on the mats while the families all ate in their rooms. We ate from a common bowl with our hands. This is the first time that I have not had the pleasure of eating with a spoon. I wasn’t very good at the scoop and scrape into the mouth action, but I get better as the meal progressed. It was hard to believe how much work it was to get this meal together and I was so exhausted.
During the preparations, I was cutting onions. I was cutting out the brown spots and rotten spots and putting them in the sand next to me. After the onions were cut I got the African hand broom and brushed them all into a pile to throw away. Shortly thereafter one of the elderly woman proceeded to get the sifter (it is what they use to do their flour in, but this one was used to collect the trash while letting the sand fall through) and take all of the onions and wash them off and take them into her room. It was humbling to see what was not good enough for my standards are still edible and valuable to them. Another thing that happened was that at the end of the meal, the lady who cooked was washing the dishes. Another woman and I were helping her – I told her to go and listen to the stories that were being shared. I wanted her to hear the gospel! She went and listened to 1 story and then came back to help. When we finished washing, she washed our hands and our feet for us. It was very humbling and hard to let her do – I was supposed to be serving her, but yet here she was serving me. Amazing.
While I was sweating and slaving away at the compound, the men of the team went fishing with some of our supervisors African friends. Although Ron took a Dramamine, he stilled proceeded to feed the fish! The waters weren’t rough, but being out in this African boat (which is like a really long canoe) Ron still felt the motion of the ocean. The other men were able to catch a few fish to give to this African for his family.
After being out all day, the team came back and helped Ron and I organize things in the dorm. They moved furniture, sorted linens and cleaned. It was a huge help to us! Thanks Mulberry Baptist church for your willingness to serve our family. We ended the day with eating fish and shrimp skewers and mango. It was a tiring, but rewarding day. One that I won’t forget!
P.S. I will post pictures this weekend!
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