I was preparing some things for lunch in the kitchen with a man we hired to help, Osse. Osse is a great Christian man, and he loves to sing. He began singing a song that was very familiar to me, "Blessed be the Name." The amazing thing about it was that I remembered it in Sango because our Safari of Hope team that travelled to the CAR for six weeks in 1988 sang that song in Sango along with several other songs.When we were preparing to come here last September, I looked for the Sango words to the songs we sang, but couldn't find them among my boxes of pictures and flashcards. I was so excited to hear this song in Sango again. The two of us began singing it together in Sango. He then told me that Barb Wooler had taught him that song. Barb had traveled with us in 1988. I told Osse that. He said he was in Bata in "88 and that he remembered our team coming. We joked about me having long hair at that time. I then pulled out our team shirt from "88. (Some things you just can't part with).
He recognized the shirt and we began laughing together. I asked him if Barb taught him other songs, and he began to sing another one I knew. I quickly grabbed by journal and began writing the words to the songs down. The next day, he brought his songbook to allow me to write down other songs. I have a songbook with me that I bought here in 1988, but I guess even songs here change over time. I quickly realized in September that my songbook was outdated. Well it is almost 20 years old. Osse and I sat down and sang some of those songs together. It was neat to realize that I had met Osse 19 years ago and to meet him again now. I am learning a lot of Sango from him, and he is learning to cook "American" food from me.
Andre is also helping us with cooking and cleaning. Now before you go thinking that having hired help around the house is a luxury, let me explain a little about life here. It is sort of like camping out. You have to make do, be creative and do everything the long way from making coffee to washing dishes. Each morning Rob and I walk to the market for fresh eggs, bread, etc. This was done before 7 am. Often I had already been up preparing things for the day or prepping the kitchen. We would prepare breakfast, wash everything by hand, boil the water for a final rinse, rinse everything in boiling water, fill the water bottles with filtered water (this took 15-20 minutes some morning because the filter is very slow), plan the lunch and supper menu, make a shopping list (translating it into Sango), and pack up for the day. We didn't even get to laundry until we hired Osse because laundry is an all day affair (and sometimes into the night). We didn't arrive to our work site the first day until 11 am. We quickly realized that this wasn't going to work. So Osse and Andre are a blessing. I forgot to mention that the kitchen is smaller than most bathrooms, hotter than a sauna and lacks all resemblance of modern conveniences. I receive facials over the gas "stove" several times a day.
Anyway, Andre was also around in 1988. In September, when we were here, Andre was our cook, and I remembered him. Now I have another opportunity to see him and work with him. I taught him how to make baked French toast today. He had never made it in the oven before (by the way, there is no temperature gauge on the oven so it's always a guessing game). But I told him it was faster than on the stove when cooking for a group for people.
Everyone is doing well except for a few bouts of diarrhea here and there. Val and Zac want to say hello to everyone at church and school. They were able to present the $195 from Wooster Christian School's dime drive for medicines to Dr. Y and his wife on Friday night. They were very touched. They said it could buy parasite medicine for 975 people or could provide medicine for 50 AIDS patients. Thanks so much for bringing in those dimes and having a heart for people here. We hope to see Evidence and Juvenal, the two children our church's children's department sponsor, soon along with another girl named, Prudence that is also sponsored by someone in our church. We'll let you know when we get to visit them.
Keep praying! God is faithful and so good.
Andre is also helping us with cooking and cleaning. Now before you go thinking that having hired help around the house is a luxury, let me explain a little about life here. It is sort of like camping out. You have to make do, be creative and do everything the long way from making coffee to washing dishes. Each morning Rob and I walk to the market for fresh eggs, bread, etc. This was done before 7 am. Often I had already been up preparing things for the day or prepping the kitchen. We would prepare breakfast, wash everything by hand, boil the water for a final rinse, rinse everything in boiling water, fill the water bottles with filtered water (this took 15-20 minutes some morning because the filter is very slow), plan the lunch and supper menu, make a shopping list (translating it into Sango), and pack up for the day. We didn't even get to laundry until we hired Osse because laundry is an all day affair (and sometimes into the night). We didn't arrive to our work site the first day until 11 am. We quickly realized that this wasn't going to work. So Osse and Andre are a blessing. I forgot to mention that the kitchen is smaller than most bathrooms, hotter than a sauna and lacks all resemblance of modern conveniences. I receive facials over the gas "stove" several times a day.
Anyway, Andre was also around in 1988. In September, when we were here, Andre was our cook, and I remembered him. Now I have another opportunity to see him and work with him. I taught him how to make baked French toast today. He had never made it in the oven before (by the way, there is no temperature gauge on the oven so it's always a guessing game). But I told him it was faster than on the stove when cooking for a group for people.
Everyone is doing well except for a few bouts of diarrhea here and there. Val and Zac want to say hello to everyone at church and school. They were able to present the $195 from Wooster Christian School's dime drive for medicines to Dr. Y and his wife on Friday night. They were very touched. They said it could buy parasite medicine for 975 people or could provide medicine for 50 AIDS patients. Thanks so much for bringing in those dimes and having a heart for people here. We hope to see Evidence and Juvenal, the two children our church's children's department sponsor, soon along with another girl named, Prudence that is also sponsored by someone in our church. We'll let you know when we get to visit them.Keep praying! God is faithful and so good.
Jeana Harley
February 28, 2007
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