I (Chris) have been going to a village to meet with some ladies and teach them English. I have a dual purpose - I want to practice my Wolof and share about Jesus. There is a college student that is staying there for the summer and I went to help encourage her as she is the only student in the house.
The students are family members of the chief of the village. This chief has 8 daughters, 1 daughter in-law and a haggle full of kids wanting to learn English. The routine for an African home is a little bit different than our culture. I arrived around 12 and the family was just finishing breakfast and getting themselves together. About 45 minutes later we start cooking lunch. It is a good opportunity to talk as we cook and to teach me how to cook Senegalese. So I cut, peeled, watched and tried to stay out the way when necessary. Finally around 4 we ate lunch. It tasted great - maybe because at that point I was very hungry!! After lunch all of the ladies gather together in one of the rooms in the house and talk. Their Wolof is so fast that I understood about 5 words out of 100, but it is good to just listen. The student also helps with some girls that gather every night on the beach to play volleyball. So we head down to the beach to hang out with them around 5:30 until 7 pm. Once again blazing fast Wolof! I feel a little discouraged but know that I am still in the learning process. We go back to the house and start teaching the lesson. I teach the lesson in Wolof and then teach it in English. It is fun to see that they are where I was at - just mimicking what they hear! The electricity goes out and so we are teaching by candlelight, making the process so much more interesting. There are 3 English speakers that desire to really master the language. So I am going to give them Christian materials to read and try to absorb. They also have the assignment to listen to The Message by Charles Stanley. We are praying that they hear something that resonates and they desire to know more Truth! Around 9 pm I told them that I was leaving, but they said I couldn't leave until I ate dinner. They said that it would be served right away. So since they had barely started the dinner, they went to a "restaurant" and bought me a meal. They don't normally eat until 10-11. So I will have to stay until then to avoid having them buy me dinner each week. Overall it was a much more productive day than the last time I went there!
The previous week I showed up and it was a funeral. I had to wear a head covering - not my favorite. I got there around 12 and sat on the mat until 7 pm - bad idea for someone recovering from back surgery!! I didn't want to say anything because I was already a spectacle! We were sitting on a mat and every person that came in stared at us. It was weird when we heard them trying to explain why I was there. I would hear wolof, wolof, wolof, wolof - Djenibah (my African name) wolof, wolof, wolof - all at lightening speed! So I had no idea what they were saying, only that they were talking about me! Uncomfortable!!
So I begged off saying that I needed to get home to my children and my husband. I was supposed to spend the night, but I was going to have to sleep on a mat and I knew that I wouldn't be able to walk the next day if I had done that! Weird, uncomfortable day, but a good opportunity to build relationships and it made it easier when I showed up the next time. I go again on Tuesday and hope to get some pictures this time! Pray that I can continue to soak up the language and retain the words that I learn!
Ron will hopefully going to be going out soon to different village. Pray that an opportunity will open up for him. Thanks again for supporting our family!
The one thing that I continue to be amazed at is the hospitality of the African people. Even though they have considerably less than I do, they are so very generous. In Wolof it is called Teranga. The main girl that I deal with would not let me leave before I had dinner - again! We told her that I wanted to be home to see the kids before they went to bed, so I couldn't eat with them. But she insisted that wouldn't work, so she worked so hard in order to have dinner done so that we could eat right after we finished teaching. Amazing. I continue to learn new phrases and just watch the culture. I am having fun with this opportunity and continue to be amazed at their love and generosity towards me.
