Guinea week 1

So we arrived safely in Guinea a week ago today. Time has flown by and there is so much to say.

My month of onboarding training in Texas went well. I was there with 10 other people who will be serving on ship long term with me, as well as about 20 more who will be serving in Texas. Together we went through 4 weeks of training to help us prepare for the days to come.

The time was a gift with much of it spent sitting at the feet of Jesus. Time was spent studying the character of God, and how we can listen for his voice. Time in prayer for ourselves, the ship, and interceding for others. Talks on how to resolve conflict in a biblical manner. More time taking personality tests and learning to understand how that effects how we relate to the world and others around us and how they might relate to us.  A great deal of time was spent on learning about other cultures and how to go and serve in them, learn from them, and be sensitive to them without compromising that which we know to be true.

Our flights here were smooth and uneventful. All our bags arrived and we had no delays and no lost baggage. Thank you so much for your prayers. God was so faithful. We all said it was the most pleasant transition through customs any of us had ever experienced.

The guest house I am staying at currently is quite nice. We are located on a mission compound and the team has two houses side by side. The single men are next door. In my house there are three single ladies and one couple. (Our family with small children went straight to the ship on arrival in country- we are missing them) We have a modest house with a kitchen and living room, three bedrooms and a dining area. We eat all of our meals together and end each night with devotion time and reflecting on what our day held.

This week we have split into two groups with the men working on construction projects, and cleaning out a workshop on property. They are also building a kitchen for one of the single missionary ladies who is moving into new housing. They have been quite busy and working in rather warm conditions. I am sure they would appreciate your prayers.

The ladies have been going to a local youth center to help with English lessons and cleaning and organizing areas for them. One of our projects was to clean out a large storage room, organize the items in it and sort through what might no longer be needed. It was a large job but I think we have it about licked now. We work on that for several hours in the morning, then we join the students in the cafe after class. There we play games like scrabble and other word games, chat in English so they can practice, and a few of us even try out a little french.

We are working on building relationships both with the students that come to the youth center and the staff that volunteer here in Guinea. The students are lovely and very hard working. They come from a variety of circumstances but all share a common goal to improve their life and  the lives of those they love.I have really been enjoying the time we spend practicing conversation.

One of the highlights this week was when we split into groups of men and women on one of the days. The men talked about what it means to be a man and when do you know you have achieved it. How is that different from the culture here and the different cultures represented in our groups. The men reported it being a good conversation and all of them said it was the high point of their week.

The ladies talked about women's health issues. We spent a fair amount of time in prayer prior the event and could not have been more pleased. Our discussion began with basic information about women's bodies and the changes they go through as they become adults. Although most of the women present are well past beyond the teenage years when this occurs many of them had never been able to have an open and honest dialogue about it. As we talked, many other topics were brought up and discussed. It seemed to open the door wide for a midwife/nurse who has been serving here for some time. The conversation switched from English to French and the women became even further engaged at that point. It was wonderful to witness them get answers to questions many of them may have carried for a long time. One of the best questions I heard was a women who wanted to know how she could be sure to conceive twins.

So this week looks to be more of the same. More time bonding as a team. More evenings spent praying and seeking God's will. More days with construction and conversation. Thank you for your prayers and support. We will be traveling  again on Friday, please keep us in prayer for that .

As I close this email night has fallen, the crickets are singing and in the distant the Muslim call to prayer echos through the night. The Iman's voice is deep and loud and haunting. It is a sound that is repeated five times a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. It is very much a part of life here.  For me it is also a call to prayer. I  hope it will be for you as well.

For King and Kingdom