Hello Everyone,
From Kara, we travelled in a van to Dapaong; it was crowded, but not nearly as crowded as public transportation in Cameroon. We got here on Wednesday and enjoyed some time off until Friday. Again, we spent much of our time reading. The girls are staying at a house on the LCMS seminary, where the teacher of the LCMS missionary's kids lives; therefore, there are many books in English. I have been reading The Innocent Man by John Grishham, a great book based on a true story. On Friday and Saturday, we did two hour programs in villages near Dapaong. One of them was especially enjoyable because it was under a mango tree!! Four-hundred people fit under a huge mango tree--it was awesome!! We really enjoyed when they danced for us!! At the second village, we did a Bible study and had some time in prayer with forty church leaders here. Sunday, we did another program, but this time it wasn't two hours because we didn't have to translate into Moba or another local language. This afternoon, we have enjoyed spending some time with the American missionaries here. We talked a lot with them, especially about how once you've travelled, you can't stop--who knows where I'll end up next. We also enjoyed eating hamburgers, french fries, popcorn and cookies!!
Monday, we will be going to another village and on Tuesday we will be going to a high school. Wednesday, we have a day off. It has been hot (over 90) here and it is also dry, but we are getting more and more used to it; however, we always appreciate cold drinks and ice cream!!
That's all for now because I'm using an American keyboard--after having gotten used to the French-African one--it is challenging when I have stuff memorized instead of looking at the keys!! If you haven't used a foreign keyboard yet, travel to another country!!
Peace,
Tiffany
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
Hello from Kara
Hi Everyone,
We are still in Kara, unlike what we expected. We found out that we came to Kara a few days earlier than expected--because of a miscommunication that happened beforehand. However, it wasn't a problem. We are just staying here until Wednesday. Here in Kara, we have been partnering with a church here that just started in October. We have been staying at a house with the pastor, a university student, and an American missionary, who works on community development. It has been nice to stay with an American. We have enjoyed the chance this gives us to watch movies, the first time in quite awhile. The only issue is picking movies that we will all enjoy. Sometimes, I just read instead--that is the other thing it has been nice to have things to read in English!! Books and old Newsweeks! I am reading Pride and Prejudice and Forrest Gump. I have had several good, long conversations with Prosper. It is fun to compare our perspectives on the culture.
We have done two programs in Kara since we came early. We didn't have any program for the first two days. We played for church too. Wednesday, we will travel to Dapaong, which is north of here. The food we have had here is pretty good, but not enough meat and dairy. A lot of rice, spaghetti, and fruit; I really enjoy some of the sauces.
Today is our day off. Prosper and I visited the Congressional Palace here in Kara. It is where the Congress meets, but they are not in session now. We walked around insided then were guided through a small museum, where they had art and traditional artifacts from villages surrounding Kara. It was very interesting.
News is hard to come by here. I really miss knowing what is going on in the world.
Peace,
Tiffany
We are still in Kara, unlike what we expected. We found out that we came to Kara a few days earlier than expected--because of a miscommunication that happened beforehand. However, it wasn't a problem. We are just staying here until Wednesday. Here in Kara, we have been partnering with a church here that just started in October. We have been staying at a house with the pastor, a university student, and an American missionary, who works on community development. It has been nice to stay with an American. We have enjoyed the chance this gives us to watch movies, the first time in quite awhile. The only issue is picking movies that we will all enjoy. Sometimes, I just read instead--that is the other thing it has been nice to have things to read in English!! Books and old Newsweeks! I am reading Pride and Prejudice and Forrest Gump. I have had several good, long conversations with Prosper. It is fun to compare our perspectives on the culture.
We have done two programs in Kara since we came early. We didn't have any program for the first two days. We played for church too. Wednesday, we will travel to Dapaong, which is north of here. The food we have had here is pretty good, but not enough meat and dairy. A lot of rice, spaghetti, and fruit; I really enjoy some of the sauces.
Today is our day off. Prosper and I visited the Congressional Palace here in Kara. It is where the Congress meets, but they are not in session now. We walked around insided then were guided through a small museum, where they had art and traditional artifacts from villages surrounding Kara. It was very interesting.
News is hard to come by here. I really miss knowing what is going on in the world.
Peace,
Tiffany
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Greetings from Togo
Hello Everyone!
Sunday, we played four songs for church. After church, we learned from the pastor that two families that we had visited in Sémé are going to be baptized. We were happy to hear that our ministry is making a difference. Sunday afternoon, we went door to door in Zopah.
Monday, we got up early to come to Togo. We met with the pastor and gave him some things that we will be leaving in Cotonou until we fly out--our drums. Now, the team has a total of seven drums!! I bought myself a very nice djembé. We visited a very neat tourist area of Cotonou, where they sold many beautiful arts and crafts from Bénin, including drums. I also got some cloth with designs on it. After saying our good-byes to the pastor, we rode in turbo turtle to the border of Bénin and Togo.
On the way to Togo, we stopped in Ouidah, which was the only port in Bénin until 1908. Therefore, Ouidah was the port where slaves from Bénin were exported. We went to Ouidah's Museum of History, while the car was being fixed--again! The tour was very interesting. The building was a fort that was rebuild by the Portuguese. The Portuguese, Dutch, Danish, English, and French all came to Bénin to trade for slaves; they traded with the Dahomey kings. We saw a model of a fort, where they held slaves until they were shipped to Brasil and the Caribbean. The forts had cannons and churches in them. The French fort was surrounded by a moat full of crocodiles. If the slaves were bad, they were thrown into the moat. The museum held two copies of "At Last," a book used to guide the Portuguese to Africa. There were also many artifacts found by archeologists. There were pots, pipes, iron, porcelain, beads, shackles, bullets, and Venetian glass. There were two large pots that were used by Dahomey kings as drums to communicate. The Dahomey kings had anywhere from 40 to 40,000 wives, who would parade around him until he chose ten to come in his bedroom, and one for his bed. There was a quote in the museum that said, "The Dahomey kings didn't start the slave trade, but they benefitted from it." The ships took three months to get to Brasil. There was art showing work that slaves did and how packed the slaves were on the ships. Sadly, the women were held in a separate part of the ship, where they were raped. There were pictures of slaves in Cuba and Haiti. Also, there was art of slaves who came back to Bénin after slavery was abolished; it showed about how they brought Brazilian culture back with them--especially religion. There was a large Basilica built in Ouidah. However, Ouidah is also a large center for voodoo, which started in Bénin. The Basilica is near the python temple, where voodoo cermonies are held. Every year there is a large voodoo festival in Ouidah. Tslave traders were Catholic and forced the slaves to be do. There were several sticks that voodoo practicers use to heal or curse others. Also, some have wooden statues in front of their homes to ward of disease and evil spirits. We saw several neat quilts that had pictures that told stories.
After the museum, we travelled on to the border. Thankfully, it didn't take long for us to get through customs--we just didn't always know what we were supposed to be doing. We met Pastor Michael at the border. He picked us up in his nice air-conditioned Jeep. We drove from the border to Lomé, the capital of Togo. After eating a late lunch, we did a program for the first time in a long time. Pastor Michael is great! He speaks English and went to the LCMS seminary in St. Louis. We are staying in the extra buildings at the soceity where they translate the Bible into local languages. Tuesday, we shopped and exchanged money--which took a long time. In the evening, we did another program, but it was kid-focused with sing alongs and a puppet show. It was really fun! We have had the pleasure of eating several meals with families from the church, which helps YE save money. Today, I bought an outfit for myself.
Tomorrow, we will be heading north to Kara, Togo. We will be there two nights, before spending two weeks in Dapaong. After that, we will go to Burkina Faso.
Peace,
Tiffany
Sunday, we played four songs for church. After church, we learned from the pastor that two families that we had visited in Sémé are going to be baptized. We were happy to hear that our ministry is making a difference. Sunday afternoon, we went door to door in Zopah.
Monday, we got up early to come to Togo. We met with the pastor and gave him some things that we will be leaving in Cotonou until we fly out--our drums. Now, the team has a total of seven drums!! I bought myself a very nice djembé. We visited a very neat tourist area of Cotonou, where they sold many beautiful arts and crafts from Bénin, including drums. I also got some cloth with designs on it. After saying our good-byes to the pastor, we rode in turbo turtle to the border of Bénin and Togo.
On the way to Togo, we stopped in Ouidah, which was the only port in Bénin until 1908. Therefore, Ouidah was the port where slaves from Bénin were exported. We went to Ouidah's Museum of History, while the car was being fixed--again! The tour was very interesting. The building was a fort that was rebuild by the Portuguese. The Portuguese, Dutch, Danish, English, and French all came to Bénin to trade for slaves; they traded with the Dahomey kings. We saw a model of a fort, where they held slaves until they were shipped to Brasil and the Caribbean. The forts had cannons and churches in them. The French fort was surrounded by a moat full of crocodiles. If the slaves were bad, they were thrown into the moat. The museum held two copies of "At Last," a book used to guide the Portuguese to Africa. There were also many artifacts found by archeologists. There were pots, pipes, iron, porcelain, beads, shackles, bullets, and Venetian glass. There were two large pots that were used by Dahomey kings as drums to communicate. The Dahomey kings had anywhere from 40 to 40,000 wives, who would parade around him until he chose ten to come in his bedroom, and one for his bed. There was a quote in the museum that said, "The Dahomey kings didn't start the slave trade, but they benefitted from it." The ships took three months to get to Brasil. There was art showing work that slaves did and how packed the slaves were on the ships. Sadly, the women were held in a separate part of the ship, where they were raped. There were pictures of slaves in Cuba and Haiti. Also, there was art of slaves who came back to Bénin after slavery was abolished; it showed about how they brought Brazilian culture back with them--especially religion. There was a large Basilica built in Ouidah. However, Ouidah is also a large center for voodoo, which started in Bénin. The Basilica is near the python temple, where voodoo cermonies are held. Every year there is a large voodoo festival in Ouidah. Tslave traders were Catholic and forced the slaves to be do. There were several sticks that voodoo practicers use to heal or curse others. Also, some have wooden statues in front of their homes to ward of disease and evil spirits. We saw several neat quilts that had pictures that told stories.
After the museum, we travelled on to the border. Thankfully, it didn't take long for us to get through customs--we just didn't always know what we were supposed to be doing. We met Pastor Michael at the border. He picked us up in his nice air-conditioned Jeep. We drove from the border to Lomé, the capital of Togo. After eating a late lunch, we did a program for the first time in a long time. Pastor Michael is great! He speaks English and went to the LCMS seminary in St. Louis. We are staying in the extra buildings at the soceity where they translate the Bible into local languages. Tuesday, we shopped and exchanged money--which took a long time. In the evening, we did another program, but it was kid-focused with sing alongs and a puppet show. It was really fun! We have had the pleasure of eating several meals with families from the church, which helps YE save money. Today, I bought an outfit for myself.
Tomorrow, we will be heading north to Kara, Togo. We will be there two nights, before spending two weeks in Dapaong. After that, we will go to Burkina Faso.
Peace,
Tiffany
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Last Post from Cotonou
Hello Everyone,
This past week we have been going more door to door ministry; however, it has been somewhat different than last week. We frequently drove about 45 minutes north of our apartment to Domegbo. We picked up our guide and then went to surrounding villages. However, instead of going door to door, we sang out in the open more like street ministry. It was nice because our audiences were larger--anywhere from 30 to 80--and they were also more interactive. They really enjoyed sharing their prayer concerns with us. They often request that we pray for their health, business, and enough money to support their families. We also spent some time going door to door in Sémé and Zopah, two neighborhoods in Cotonou. That was sometimes tough because we don't speak Fon, and often our guides didn't speak French. Oh well, people enjoyed our singing--and at least we know two songs in Fon!! The team also went to a high-school and university to sing songs and answer questions, but I was feeling dizzy that day, so I didn't go. Thankfully, some rest helped me recover!!
It has been really hot and humid here! Our apartment gets especially hot when the power goes out and our fans don't work. There have been two storms that have cooled it down a little, but still no rain. On the hot days, we enjoy fan man ice cream!!
Monday, we are going to go to Togo; then we will have been in Benin!! Our driver will take us to the border, where we will take a bus to Lomé, the capital of Togo. We will stay there for several days before going north to Kara. After a few days there, we will spend about two weeks in Dapaong before going to Burkina Faso. We heard that we will not be staying with host homes in Togo, but they are still figuring out where we can stay for cheap. Hopefully, Togo won't be as expensive as been has been for Youth Encounter.
Peace,
Tiffany
This past week we have been going more door to door ministry; however, it has been somewhat different than last week. We frequently drove about 45 minutes north of our apartment to Domegbo. We picked up our guide and then went to surrounding villages. However, instead of going door to door, we sang out in the open more like street ministry. It was nice because our audiences were larger--anywhere from 30 to 80--and they were also more interactive. They really enjoyed sharing their prayer concerns with us. They often request that we pray for their health, business, and enough money to support their families. We also spent some time going door to door in Sémé and Zopah, two neighborhoods in Cotonou. That was sometimes tough because we don't speak Fon, and often our guides didn't speak French. Oh well, people enjoyed our singing--and at least we know two songs in Fon!! The team also went to a high-school and university to sing songs and answer questions, but I was feeling dizzy that day, so I didn't go. Thankfully, some rest helped me recover!!
It has been really hot and humid here! Our apartment gets especially hot when the power goes out and our fans don't work. There have been two storms that have cooled it down a little, but still no rain. On the hot days, we enjoy fan man ice cream!!
Monday, we are going to go to Togo; then we will have been in Benin!! Our driver will take us to the border, where we will take a bus to Lomé, the capital of Togo. We will stay there for several days before going north to Kara. After a few days there, we will spend about two weeks in Dapaong before going to Burkina Faso. We heard that we will not be staying with host homes in Togo, but they are still figuring out where we can stay for cheap. Hopefully, Togo won't be as expensive as been has been for Youth Encounter.
Peace,
Tiffany
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
More from Cotonou, Benin
Hello Everyone,
Adrienne, Prosper, Sonja, and I enjoyed a much needed day off at the pool/beach the Monday after we got back to Cotonou. The sky was cloudy, which sometimes we frown upon, but it was nice to have a relief from the hot sun. Also, the sand on the beach didn't burn our feet like the time before. The beach was very relaxing. We also treated ourselves to ice cream and a crêpe. The waves were really strong, but I enjoyed wading in a bit in spite of that. We took motos back to our apartment and I have a huge bruise still--I think it is a combination of the waves and the extremely uncomfortable moto ride.
We have turbo turtle, our car and driver, from Tueday to Friday. During the week, we did door to door ministry. The president of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Benin calls it "evangelizing," but the people we are visiting are already Christians. He just encourages them to be Lutheran, as the Lutheran Church is pretty new here. They are working on building several churches here in Cotonou, so he has been inviting people to them. We go to various neighborhoods and villages in and around Cotonou. We sing families a few songs, tell them about Youth Encounter, asks for prayer requests, pray for them, and encourage them in their faith. Most of the time, we have a guide who shows us where to go and translates into the local language, Fon.
On Saturday, we walked to a church to meet with the church choir. We were surprized to learn that it was a children's choir. We taught them some songs in English and some songs in French. They taught us some songs in Fon. It was a really fun time and the kids had a lot of energy. On Sunday, we walked to church, where we did a few songs and met with the choir for awhile again. It was nice to have Communion; it was our first time to have it in Benin--and only our second time having it in Africa. I appreciate the fact that I am beginning to understand more and more French during the church services, but that doesn't mean I can speak it. I realized that I understand a lot more of the sermon if I have a French Bible in front of me. However, since we haven't been interacting with people too much because we aren't with host homes, it has been tough for me to pick up much French.
This past week has been rather difficult for us at one time or another. After all, we are always worried about costing YE too much money, we never know our schedule (even though we have a schedule), over half of our programming is cancelled, we are constantly around each other, and we rarely get to contact our friends and family. Because of this, we have all been sick at one time or another. Mostly, just more of the diarrhoea/stomach issues. Also, we all struggle with the heat and humidity. When we went door to door, often two people would stay back so they could rest or be near the bathroom. Thankfully, the door to door wasn't too many songs, so it was easy to do it with fewer people.
At our apartment, we have enjoyed many delicious meals cooked by Adrienne. She does a great job, with a limited amount of food on a tight budget. We have at French toast, eggs, spaghetti, rice, potatoes, bread, and many pineapples. I will definitely miss her cooking!!
Sunday evening, we went out to eat!! It was Prosper's birthday!! I won't mention how old he is--but it is old! We celebrated by having a treat your team meal--a larger meal that YE pays for every once in awhile when people are craving more food. We were going to have Chinesse, but it was too expensive, so we at a place with Americanish food. I split a pizza, a double cheeseburger, and French fries with Adrienne. It was so delicious!! We all enjoyed being spoiled. We all got a 1/2 liter of ice cream. It tasted so good. When I got back to the apartment, my family called. Sadly, I only talked to them for a short time before the connection was lost. It is tough not being able to call people as I wish. It has really taught me to rely on my teammates.
This past Monday, we enjoyed another day off. This time we went on our team outing to Ganvié, a village on stilts. It was interesting to see how people lived in the stilt village. There are 27,000 people living in the village 2 meters above water. Read my last blog to see why they were built. We enjoyed seeing how they fish. It was disturbing to see people swimming in the same water that they go to the bathroom in. We travelled 8 km to Ganvié on a wooden boat with a motor. We stopped at three touristy places there. It was a two hour ride. It was very relaxing and the breeze was nice.
This week we will be doing more door to door ministry as well as a few programs. Next Monday, we will go to Togo!
Peace,
Tiffany
Adrienne, Prosper, Sonja, and I enjoyed a much needed day off at the pool/beach the Monday after we got back to Cotonou. The sky was cloudy, which sometimes we frown upon, but it was nice to have a relief from the hot sun. Also, the sand on the beach didn't burn our feet like the time before. The beach was very relaxing. We also treated ourselves to ice cream and a crêpe. The waves were really strong, but I enjoyed wading in a bit in spite of that. We took motos back to our apartment and I have a huge bruise still--I think it is a combination of the waves and the extremely uncomfortable moto ride.
We have turbo turtle, our car and driver, from Tueday to Friday. During the week, we did door to door ministry. The president of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Benin calls it "evangelizing," but the people we are visiting are already Christians. He just encourages them to be Lutheran, as the Lutheran Church is pretty new here. They are working on building several churches here in Cotonou, so he has been inviting people to them. We go to various neighborhoods and villages in and around Cotonou. We sing families a few songs, tell them about Youth Encounter, asks for prayer requests, pray for them, and encourage them in their faith. Most of the time, we have a guide who shows us where to go and translates into the local language, Fon.
On Saturday, we walked to a church to meet with the church choir. We were surprized to learn that it was a children's choir. We taught them some songs in English and some songs in French. They taught us some songs in Fon. It was a really fun time and the kids had a lot of energy. On Sunday, we walked to church, where we did a few songs and met with the choir for awhile again. It was nice to have Communion; it was our first time to have it in Benin--and only our second time having it in Africa. I appreciate the fact that I am beginning to understand more and more French during the church services, but that doesn't mean I can speak it. I realized that I understand a lot more of the sermon if I have a French Bible in front of me. However, since we haven't been interacting with people too much because we aren't with host homes, it has been tough for me to pick up much French.
This past week has been rather difficult for us at one time or another. After all, we are always worried about costing YE too much money, we never know our schedule (even though we have a schedule), over half of our programming is cancelled, we are constantly around each other, and we rarely get to contact our friends and family. Because of this, we have all been sick at one time or another. Mostly, just more of the diarrhoea/stomach issues. Also, we all struggle with the heat and humidity. When we went door to door, often two people would stay back so they could rest or be near the bathroom. Thankfully, the door to door wasn't too many songs, so it was easy to do it with fewer people.
At our apartment, we have enjoyed many delicious meals cooked by Adrienne. She does a great job, with a limited amount of food on a tight budget. We have at French toast, eggs, spaghetti, rice, potatoes, bread, and many pineapples. I will definitely miss her cooking!!
Sunday evening, we went out to eat!! It was Prosper's birthday!! I won't mention how old he is--but it is old! We celebrated by having a treat your team meal--a larger meal that YE pays for every once in awhile when people are craving more food. We were going to have Chinesse, but it was too expensive, so we at a place with Americanish food. I split a pizza, a double cheeseburger, and French fries with Adrienne. It was so delicious!! We all enjoyed being spoiled. We all got a 1/2 liter of ice cream. It tasted so good. When I got back to the apartment, my family called. Sadly, I only talked to them for a short time before the connection was lost. It is tough not being able to call people as I wish. It has really taught me to rely on my teammates.
This past Monday, we enjoyed another day off. This time we went on our team outing to Ganvié, a village on stilts. It was interesting to see how people lived in the stilt village. There are 27,000 people living in the village 2 meters above water. Read my last blog to see why they were built. We enjoyed seeing how they fish. It was disturbing to see people swimming in the same water that they go to the bathroom in. We travelled 8 km to Ganvié on a wooden boat with a motor. We stopped at three touristy places there. It was a two hour ride. It was very relaxing and the breeze was nice.
This week we will be doing more door to door ministry as well as a few programs. Next Monday, we will go to Togo!
Peace,
Tiffany
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Facts about Bénin
Hey Everyone,
Here are some facts about Bénin; I got most from my Lonely Planet book, but some from observations.
-Captial=Porto Novo
-Exchange Rate=480 CFA for 1 US Dollar
-Cost of Gas=350 to 375 CFA a liter
-Largest City=Cotonou
-Official Languages=French
-Most common other languages=Fon, Yoruba, Dendi, Bariba, and Ge
-Bénin is known for the Dahomey Kingdom
-Dahomeyan kings became rich by selling slaves to traders who took an average of 10,000 slave a year to Brazil and the Caribbean.
-They traded with people from Portugal, France, England, and the Netherlands
-There are several villages on stilts 2 meters above water because Dahomey traders couldn't take people who were on water because of a religious custom.
-Bénin is the birthplace of voodoo
-50% of people practice traditional beliefs--voodoo or animism--, 30% are Christian, and 20% are Muslim
-There are quite a variety of denominations here, but the largest is Catholic. The Lutheran Church is very new here. There is not a Lutheran Seminary here. There are many Jehovah's Witnesses Churches.
-2 seasons=wet and dry
-the south is humid, the north is dry
-The French colonized the kingdom of Dahomey in the 1800s
-Dahomey became independent in 1960
-in 1975, Kérékou took over and made the country Marxist. He changed the flag and renamed the country Bénin. They were allies with China, North Korea, and Russia for awhile. Bénin remained Marxist until 1989.
-Now, Bénin is a relatively stable democracy
-The economy here depends on subsistence farming
-Bénin's economy varies somewhat with Nigeria, where they get gas from
-Main Crops=yams, corn, and cassava
-Bénin exports a lot of cotton
-Average life expectancey=53
-AIDS rate=2%
-Most marriages are arranged by families
-Half of the population is 14 or under
-Women have an average of 5.9 children
-Benisese eat a lot of yams, cous cous, rice, pepper, fish, and chicken.
-Bénin is bordered by Togo, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, and the Gulf of Guinea--the Atlantic
Hope you enjoyed learning something!!!
We are in Cotonou doing some door to door ministry for the week. It is very humid here.
Peace,
Tiffany
Here are some facts about Bénin; I got most from my Lonely Planet book, but some from observations.
-Captial=Porto Novo
-Exchange Rate=480 CFA for 1 US Dollar
-Cost of Gas=350 to 375 CFA a liter
-Largest City=Cotonou
-Official Languages=French
-Most common other languages=Fon, Yoruba, Dendi, Bariba, and Ge
-Bénin is known for the Dahomey Kingdom
-Dahomeyan kings became rich by selling slaves to traders who took an average of 10,000 slave a year to Brazil and the Caribbean.
-They traded with people from Portugal, France, England, and the Netherlands
-There are several villages on stilts 2 meters above water because Dahomey traders couldn't take people who were on water because of a religious custom.
-Bénin is the birthplace of voodoo
-50% of people practice traditional beliefs--voodoo or animism--, 30% are Christian, and 20% are Muslim
-There are quite a variety of denominations here, but the largest is Catholic. The Lutheran Church is very new here. There is not a Lutheran Seminary here. There are many Jehovah's Witnesses Churches.
-2 seasons=wet and dry
-the south is humid, the north is dry
-The French colonized the kingdom of Dahomey in the 1800s
-Dahomey became independent in 1960
-in 1975, Kérékou took over and made the country Marxist. He changed the flag and renamed the country Bénin. They were allies with China, North Korea, and Russia for awhile. Bénin remained Marxist until 1989.
-Now, Bénin is a relatively stable democracy
-The economy here depends on subsistence farming
-Bénin's economy varies somewhat with Nigeria, where they get gas from
-Main Crops=yams, corn, and cassava
-Bénin exports a lot of cotton
-Average life expectancey=53
-AIDS rate=2%
-Most marriages are arranged by families
-Half of the population is 14 or under
-Women have an average of 5.9 children
-Benisese eat a lot of yams, cous cous, rice, pepper, fish, and chicken.
-Bénin is bordered by Togo, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, and the Gulf of Guinea--the Atlantic
Hope you enjoyed learning something!!!
We are in Cotonou doing some door to door ministry for the week. It is very humid here.
Peace,
Tiffany
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Our days in Northern Benin and the villages
Hello Everyone,
After 10 days in the north, we have finally returned to Cotonou. Here is a descriptive summary of our time up there.
On the afternoon of the 19th, we had a team meeting, which I thought needed to happen because many of us were in bad moods because we were keeping in our feelings. We talked about our frustrations with being in Benin and also talked out problems that we have with each other. Recently, we have been together all of the time. Since February 11, we have all been sleeping in the same place; whether it is our apartment, a hotel, or a hospital. Because we are constantly around each other, we deal with the struggles and joys that come with living in community. After our team meeting, we sang some praise and worship songs; that really reunited us. Then, we ate a delicious meal of spaghetti, cooked by Adrienne.
On Feb 20th, we met "the dude from the north"-- as Sonja has titled him. He is an evangelist from the village of Saah and he was responsible for our schedule in the north. After much discussion about scheduling, we finally left Cotonou for the north. The ride in turbo turtle was long and dusty. It was very hot and humid until we got to northern Benin, where it is dry. We stopped for lunch, then stayed for a long time because the car needed to be fixed. We were quite annoyed that our driver didn't get it fixed before when were in Cotonou. While we were waiting for turbo turtle to be fixedn we foud out some about what we would be douing in the north. At firest, we were told that we would be doing door to door evangelism in two groups, but without any music. We were quite surprized and overwhelmed by this. It reminded us of the Jehovah's Witnesses church near our apartment. As a team, we discussed how we weren't comfortable with evangelizing door to door. Also, we didn't feel it was our role to Christianize others by teaching. Instead, we like to follow YE's mission statement: to partner with Christian communities to strengthen their youth ministry. We do this primarily through music and relational ministry. Our team leader expalined this to the evangelist and he said we could just go door to door and sing a few songs while inviting them to our program. After turbo was fixed, we stopped so Luke could buy a djembé. Then, finally, we were on our way until there was a large semi that was jack-knifed in the middle of the road. Turbo turtle is a Peugeot and is not very comfortable. The heat radiates from underneath the seats. We didn't get to Parakou until 11 p.m. We were frusterated and tired!! We slept at the first hotel they found, which was 15,000 CFA a night per room--way more than what we should have spent. Thankfully, the hotel had air-conditioning, so we enjoyed a cooler night.
On Feb 21st, our driver was getting the tires oin turbo rotated when we wanted to leave, but we left for Kandi at 9:30. We got to Kandi at 2 p.m. When we arrived in Kandi, we were expecting to do door to door ministry, but instead we just ate and rested? The rest was very needed after two long drives on bumpy roads. We stayed at a cheaper hotel in Kandi for three nights. This time, there wa no air conditioning, but there was a fan, when there was electricity. All of the girls slept in one room to save money. I was surprized how comfortable Adrienne and I were on the floor with our matress pads. However, it was hot!! During our stay in Kandin we bought our breakfasts of bread, nutella-like stuff, jam, and oranges. For lunch and dinner, we would go to a restaurant where I usually had rice and chicken, but I also had goat and French fries once. It was tough to not get much variety in our food, but we enjoyed drinking cold pops.
On Feb 22nd, We travelled 45 minutes to the village of Saah. The roads were very bumpy and we had to walk part of the way to the church because turbo got stuck. This time, the church looked more cultural than usual. Instead of being a large, sturdy building; it was a small building with a thatched roof and thatched walls. I really appreciated seeing that instead of a large churh built by missionaries-- like the many huge, fancy, Catholic churches we saw on our drive up. I like seeing churches started by locals. The church has only been there since October. The evangelist leads the church, but has a year and a half before he will be a pastor. So, no one is baptized in the church and no one has communed, but there is worship there every Sunday. Some of the service was in French and some of it was in Macolé, the language that people spoke in that area. We sang three songs. The drummers at the church had really beautiful djembés, I hope to get one soon. After church, we were led to what we think was the nicest house in the village. We were followed by many children. We tried some cashew fruit. The kids enjoyed watching Luke pump water. Prosper was offered at 12 year old wife; thankfully, it was a joke, but he did jokingly accept. Adrienne played tic-tac-toe with some kids, but they never really learned how to play so she lost every game. Thekids were thrilled when they won; we clapped for them! Most of the people in the village speak Macolé, very few spoke French, and no one spoke English; therefore, it was tough for us to do ministry. We did a 45 minute program. We enjoyed singing for an audience full of dancers. I don't know how much people got of our message, considering the songs were mostly in French, with only one verse of a song in their language. On our drive back to Kandi that night, we got a flat tire. Surprizingly, we actually did have a spare.
On Feb 23rd, we went to a high-school in Kandi. We were told we would to an hour of programming in English--which was a huge change. I planned for that only to hear that school had been let out early. So, we went to meet the mayor of the city, but he was busy. Since we had no other programming for the day, we decided to do some street ministry. We sang songs at four different places in teh market. It was hot and very dusty, but also fun. It was really relaxed, we just picked songs as we went. We had pretty good audiences, most of them were kids. We all enjoyed a snack of sugar cane that evening.
On Feb 24th, we left Kandi for the village of Saah, but this time we had all of our bags with us. Upon our arrival in Saah, we went to an elementary school and found outthey wanted us to do two hours of programming, which is a lot for kids attention spans. We did two hours of sing-a-longs, a puppet show, songs in French, and a skit. The kids really enjoyed most of it, but got restless towards the end. They loved the songs with actions and silly noises. I actually felt like I gained some energy from the kids. There were probablyabout 400 kids. Children love having their picture taken, so we regularly take pictures of them after programs. After the school program, we went to the hospital, where we stayed for five nights for free. The rooms were empty and there was no running water. We all slept on the floor. Thankfully, people from the village brought us water and food, that we paid for. During our stay there, we ate cous cous, rice, chicken, goat, and beans. For the most part, the food wasn't bad, but it wasn't very healthy and our bodies were all lacking proper nutrients. It was a very hot day!! 116 degrees!!!!!!!!! At least there wasn't humidity. In the afternoon, we travelled 30 km to the village of Fouet. It took us about 2 hours. We met the chief of the village, but he only shoke the men's hands. We did an hour long program there. The evangelist translated Prosper's French into Macolé; that made the program feel a lot longer. The evangelist often spoke way longer than Prosper and we assume that was to further explain things to people that he understood the culture and beliefs of. Our programs in teh villages were much more evangelistic than normal, which took some getting used to. There are few Christians in the villages. Some our Muslims and some are animists. Tehre were probably about 250 people at that program. Thekids enjoyed dancing along when their parents would let them. We eventually learned that it was mardi gras, but we weren't really feeling it as we went to be pretty hungry.
On Feb 25, we woke up not knowing our schedule. Then, we travelled a short distance to the village of Bani Kani, where we did an hour and a half program. Lindsay wasn't feeling well, so she sat out most of the program. Our lunch didn't arrive until 3:40 p.m. We were told that we would have another program that afternoon, but we waited in vain. While waiting, we got pretty bored. I taught Adrienne some music theory. We didn't do anything for Ash Wednesday.
On Feb 26, I led a devo and decided to do the imposition of ashes, as we didn't do it the day before. We all talked abou Lent and our feelings about saying "alleluia" during Lent. We decided that we would keep it in our songs because we need to keep praising God in the midst of our struggles. Also, we feel like our year on team, especially our time in Africa, is a huge sacrifice. We rehearsed some songs and Lindsay and Sonja said they both weren't feeling well enough to do a program. They had some stomach and diarrhoea issues. I had some diarrhoea as well, but knew I would have to forget about that. The four of us who were left made necessary adjustments in our program to do a program with four instead of six. I played guitar on some extra songs and sang louder since I was the only high voice, without Sonja. It was tough for me and really hurt my voice, but we did an hour and a half program in the village of Foure. We were excited to see fruit in the village!! We bought some bananas and oranges. We thought we saw watermelon, but that was only a mirage of peppers. We went back to the hospital and ate in the dark. The generator was only on for part of two of the five nights that we were there. Thankfully, the evangelist brought us a lantern that shings brighter than our flashlights. Without lights inhibiting our view, we saw many stars. When I look t the stars here I am reminded of how far from home I actually am. Orion is in the center of the sky instead of low in the south. Also, the big dipper doesn't come out until 1 a.m. Luke and I slept outside on the back porch. I actually woke up cold several times, even though it was 83 degrees. It is funny how our bodies have adjusted to the heat. When afternoon temps are in the 100s, anything under 88 feels cool. My alarm clock tells temperature. We really appreciate cool breezes here.
On Feb 27th, we did another program in Saah. My voice hurt; so, I didn't sing for some of the program. Thankfully, we had all six of us again. We were hoping to go to the south since we didn't have any more programming in the north, but that didn't happen. We decided to take turbo turtle into Kandi, where we went out to eat. We all toasted our cold drinks and enjoyed more meat than we had had during all of our time in Saah. We walked around the market for awhile and bought our supper and breakfast. We enjoyed eating fruit and bread for dinner. A Muslim man came by with a chicken for us. But it was alive!! Luke graciously accepted it, as the rest of us tried to restrain our laughter. We all debated what we would do with the chicken. We thought about taking it with us to the south, but didn't know how we would transport it, but thought eggs would be nice to have. The evangelist came and said he would cook it for us to have the next day.
On Feb 28, I woke up early in the morning several times with an upset stomach and diarrhoea. I felt awful. Around 6 a.m., we left Saah for Bohicou. Most of the day, I couldn't keep down liquids, so I didn't bother eating food. It was a miserable day of travel for me. I wanted to stop when the team ate lunch, but we kept going until 10 p.m., when we got to the driver's house, where we stayed for the night. Thankfully, we stayed there for free.
On Mar 1st, we left Bohicou for Cotonou at 8:15 and we arrived in Cotonou at 10:30. I was glad it was a short day. So far, I am actually keeping down food. It is nice to be back in our apartment, except for the humidity.
Tomorrow, we have a day off, some of us our planning on going back to the pool we visited before.
Hope you are all doing well!! I miss you!!!
Peace,
Tiffany
After 10 days in the north, we have finally returned to Cotonou. Here is a descriptive summary of our time up there.
On the afternoon of the 19th, we had a team meeting, which I thought needed to happen because many of us were in bad moods because we were keeping in our feelings. We talked about our frustrations with being in Benin and also talked out problems that we have with each other. Recently, we have been together all of the time. Since February 11, we have all been sleeping in the same place; whether it is our apartment, a hotel, or a hospital. Because we are constantly around each other, we deal with the struggles and joys that come with living in community. After our team meeting, we sang some praise and worship songs; that really reunited us. Then, we ate a delicious meal of spaghetti, cooked by Adrienne.
On Feb 20th, we met "the dude from the north"-- as Sonja has titled him. He is an evangelist from the village of Saah and he was responsible for our schedule in the north. After much discussion about scheduling, we finally left Cotonou for the north. The ride in turbo turtle was long and dusty. It was very hot and humid until we got to northern Benin, where it is dry. We stopped for lunch, then stayed for a long time because the car needed to be fixed. We were quite annoyed that our driver didn't get it fixed before when were in Cotonou. While we were waiting for turbo turtle to be fixedn we foud out some about what we would be douing in the north. At firest, we were told that we would be doing door to door evangelism in two groups, but without any music. We were quite surprized and overwhelmed by this. It reminded us of the Jehovah's Witnesses church near our apartment. As a team, we discussed how we weren't comfortable with evangelizing door to door. Also, we didn't feel it was our role to Christianize others by teaching. Instead, we like to follow YE's mission statement: to partner with Christian communities to strengthen their youth ministry. We do this primarily through music and relational ministry. Our team leader expalined this to the evangelist and he said we could just go door to door and sing a few songs while inviting them to our program. After turbo was fixed, we stopped so Luke could buy a djembé. Then, finally, we were on our way until there was a large semi that was jack-knifed in the middle of the road. Turbo turtle is a Peugeot and is not very comfortable. The heat radiates from underneath the seats. We didn't get to Parakou until 11 p.m. We were frusterated and tired!! We slept at the first hotel they found, which was 15,000 CFA a night per room--way more than what we should have spent. Thankfully, the hotel had air-conditioning, so we enjoyed a cooler night.
On Feb 21st, our driver was getting the tires oin turbo rotated when we wanted to leave, but we left for Kandi at 9:30. We got to Kandi at 2 p.m. When we arrived in Kandi, we were expecting to do door to door ministry, but instead we just ate and rested? The rest was very needed after two long drives on bumpy roads. We stayed at a cheaper hotel in Kandi for three nights. This time, there wa no air conditioning, but there was a fan, when there was electricity. All of the girls slept in one room to save money. I was surprized how comfortable Adrienne and I were on the floor with our matress pads. However, it was hot!! During our stay in Kandin we bought our breakfasts of bread, nutella-like stuff, jam, and oranges. For lunch and dinner, we would go to a restaurant where I usually had rice and chicken, but I also had goat and French fries once. It was tough to not get much variety in our food, but we enjoyed drinking cold pops.
On Feb 22nd, We travelled 45 minutes to the village of Saah. The roads were very bumpy and we had to walk part of the way to the church because turbo got stuck. This time, the church looked more cultural than usual. Instead of being a large, sturdy building; it was a small building with a thatched roof and thatched walls. I really appreciated seeing that instead of a large churh built by missionaries-- like the many huge, fancy, Catholic churches we saw on our drive up. I like seeing churches started by locals. The church has only been there since October. The evangelist leads the church, but has a year and a half before he will be a pastor. So, no one is baptized in the church and no one has communed, but there is worship there every Sunday. Some of the service was in French and some of it was in Macolé, the language that people spoke in that area. We sang three songs. The drummers at the church had really beautiful djembés, I hope to get one soon. After church, we were led to what we think was the nicest house in the village. We were followed by many children. We tried some cashew fruit. The kids enjoyed watching Luke pump water. Prosper was offered at 12 year old wife; thankfully, it was a joke, but he did jokingly accept. Adrienne played tic-tac-toe with some kids, but they never really learned how to play so she lost every game. Thekids were thrilled when they won; we clapped for them! Most of the people in the village speak Macolé, very few spoke French, and no one spoke English; therefore, it was tough for us to do ministry. We did a 45 minute program. We enjoyed singing for an audience full of dancers. I don't know how much people got of our message, considering the songs were mostly in French, with only one verse of a song in their language. On our drive back to Kandi that night, we got a flat tire. Surprizingly, we actually did have a spare.
On Feb 23rd, we went to a high-school in Kandi. We were told we would to an hour of programming in English--which was a huge change. I planned for that only to hear that school had been let out early. So, we went to meet the mayor of the city, but he was busy. Since we had no other programming for the day, we decided to do some street ministry. We sang songs at four different places in teh market. It was hot and very dusty, but also fun. It was really relaxed, we just picked songs as we went. We had pretty good audiences, most of them were kids. We all enjoyed a snack of sugar cane that evening.
On Feb 24th, we left Kandi for the village of Saah, but this time we had all of our bags with us. Upon our arrival in Saah, we went to an elementary school and found outthey wanted us to do two hours of programming, which is a lot for kids attention spans. We did two hours of sing-a-longs, a puppet show, songs in French, and a skit. The kids really enjoyed most of it, but got restless towards the end. They loved the songs with actions and silly noises. I actually felt like I gained some energy from the kids. There were probablyabout 400 kids. Children love having their picture taken, so we regularly take pictures of them after programs. After the school program, we went to the hospital, where we stayed for five nights for free. The rooms were empty and there was no running water. We all slept on the floor. Thankfully, people from the village brought us water and food, that we paid for. During our stay there, we ate cous cous, rice, chicken, goat, and beans. For the most part, the food wasn't bad, but it wasn't very healthy and our bodies were all lacking proper nutrients. It was a very hot day!! 116 degrees!!!!!!!!! At least there wasn't humidity. In the afternoon, we travelled 30 km to the village of Fouet. It took us about 2 hours. We met the chief of the village, but he only shoke the men's hands. We did an hour long program there. The evangelist translated Prosper's French into Macolé; that made the program feel a lot longer. The evangelist often spoke way longer than Prosper and we assume that was to further explain things to people that he understood the culture and beliefs of. Our programs in teh villages were much more evangelistic than normal, which took some getting used to. There are few Christians in the villages. Some our Muslims and some are animists. Tehre were probably about 250 people at that program. Thekids enjoyed dancing along when their parents would let them. We eventually learned that it was mardi gras, but we weren't really feeling it as we went to be pretty hungry.
On Feb 25, we woke up not knowing our schedule. Then, we travelled a short distance to the village of Bani Kani, where we did an hour and a half program. Lindsay wasn't feeling well, so she sat out most of the program. Our lunch didn't arrive until 3:40 p.m. We were told that we would have another program that afternoon, but we waited in vain. While waiting, we got pretty bored. I taught Adrienne some music theory. We didn't do anything for Ash Wednesday.
On Feb 26, I led a devo and decided to do the imposition of ashes, as we didn't do it the day before. We all talked abou Lent and our feelings about saying "alleluia" during Lent. We decided that we would keep it in our songs because we need to keep praising God in the midst of our struggles. Also, we feel like our year on team, especially our time in Africa, is a huge sacrifice. We rehearsed some songs and Lindsay and Sonja said they both weren't feeling well enough to do a program. They had some stomach and diarrhoea issues. I had some diarrhoea as well, but knew I would have to forget about that. The four of us who were left made necessary adjustments in our program to do a program with four instead of six. I played guitar on some extra songs and sang louder since I was the only high voice, without Sonja. It was tough for me and really hurt my voice, but we did an hour and a half program in the village of Foure. We were excited to see fruit in the village!! We bought some bananas and oranges. We thought we saw watermelon, but that was only a mirage of peppers. We went back to the hospital and ate in the dark. The generator was only on for part of two of the five nights that we were there. Thankfully, the evangelist brought us a lantern that shings brighter than our flashlights. Without lights inhibiting our view, we saw many stars. When I look t the stars here I am reminded of how far from home I actually am. Orion is in the center of the sky instead of low in the south. Also, the big dipper doesn't come out until 1 a.m. Luke and I slept outside on the back porch. I actually woke up cold several times, even though it was 83 degrees. It is funny how our bodies have adjusted to the heat. When afternoon temps are in the 100s, anything under 88 feels cool. My alarm clock tells temperature. We really appreciate cool breezes here.
On Feb 27th, we did another program in Saah. My voice hurt; so, I didn't sing for some of the program. Thankfully, we had all six of us again. We were hoping to go to the south since we didn't have any more programming in the north, but that didn't happen. We decided to take turbo turtle into Kandi, where we went out to eat. We all toasted our cold drinks and enjoyed more meat than we had had during all of our time in Saah. We walked around the market for awhile and bought our supper and breakfast. We enjoyed eating fruit and bread for dinner. A Muslim man came by with a chicken for us. But it was alive!! Luke graciously accepted it, as the rest of us tried to restrain our laughter. We all debated what we would do with the chicken. We thought about taking it with us to the south, but didn't know how we would transport it, but thought eggs would be nice to have. The evangelist came and said he would cook it for us to have the next day.
On Feb 28, I woke up early in the morning several times with an upset stomach and diarrhoea. I felt awful. Around 6 a.m., we left Saah for Bohicou. Most of the day, I couldn't keep down liquids, so I didn't bother eating food. It was a miserable day of travel for me. I wanted to stop when the team ate lunch, but we kept going until 10 p.m., when we got to the driver's house, where we stayed for the night. Thankfully, we stayed there for free.
On Mar 1st, we left Bohicou for Cotonou at 8:15 and we arrived in Cotonou at 10:30. I was glad it was a short day. So far, I am actually keeping down food. It is nice to be back in our apartment, except for the humidity.
Tomorrow, we have a day off, some of us our planning on going back to the pool we visited before.
Hope you are all doing well!! I miss you!!!
Peace,
Tiffany
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)