They are Home!

I just got a phone call from Pastor Tom and Pastor RAD. They are at JFK in NYC and everybody is doing well. They should be in Columbus later this afternoon.

Praise God and thank you for your prayers!

Pastor Ivanildo Trindade

Time to Come Home...

08-16 blog

It's loading day! Up early, about 6:00 am, ready to finalize any packing we didn't get done due to the power outage last night. A quick breakfast, the truck rolls in, trunks are loaded and we scurry off to the airport to secure our place in the Air France line. The office doesn't open until 9:00, but in order to not have to get in a really long line and sort of shuffle our trunks along inch by inch, we show up an hour early to get our stack of gear near the front to help facilitate the process.


Everything went smooth, that is if you consider spending 2 ½ hours checking your luggage and getting whopped with an unexpected 3500.00 franks tax per person/couple for taking any wood souvenirs out of the country as smooth, then smooth it was.

Here is the exact itinerary from my tickets which is a bit more clear than what I wrote yesterday if you’d like to follow along.

I’m unaware of our arrival times in each place except that I think I remember we come into Columbus around 6:40 PM, but you’re better off checking on-line for yourselves.

We depart Bangui at 10:15 PM Air France #0883 We depart Paris at 8:25 AM Air France #AF0022 We depart New York at 4:40 PM Delta #DL5487. All times are local times so remember, Bangui is five hours ahead of Wooster and Paris is six hours ahead.


Now it's off for a day of final errands which includes tying up the finances of the trip, a quick nap in a bed, getting that last shower, and wrapping up our last game of Up the River, a game we learned and have been playing throughout the trip.


The final thing on my personal last day in Bangui screen is the emailing of this blog to Ivanildo.


Thanks brother Ivanildo for your tireless efforts in helping keep the information flow going for everyone back home. You'll never know how much your efforts meant to us here and I'm sure to those at home.

Having said that, this will most likely be my final post from Africa, I'm not sure if there will be opportunity once in Paris, and I will at least send a text blog entry for Ivanildo to pass along once we arrive in New York. Either way, be assured we are all anxious to see your faces and from the bottom of our hearts, we love you and thanks for all each of you have done in big and small ways to "give back" to our team and the people of the CAR.

RAD from Bangui, over and out. (This fella in the picture with me is Gustaf he has been our driver all this week).

Montezuma Retreats

Blogger's note: I was off today so I was not able to post anything until now. RAD sent me this post with the following note: "Ivanildo. We had a power outage last night so I wasn't able to send this until today, thanks for all your help and see ya soon! RAD."

08-16 blog

When God’s people pray . . . things happen! The difference in health and team spirit between yesterday and today is nothing short of miraculous.

Why? Well, I don’t exactly know who, but I’m convinced that many faithful friends and family sought the heart of Jesus on behalf of us here and today it’s like a whole different place. Thanks from the bottom of my heart to all of you who partnered with us in a most difficult day yesterday.

Here’s a quick update on team members from yesterday:

Jill – acting and feeling like her old self. She has been able to go places with the team today and even had a chance to put a bit more of her up and coming nursing skills to use today out at the Orphan Care Center. You can’t actually see Jill in this picture, but she is handing the supplies to the nurse as she is working on this little boy.



Matt – he’s all done throwing up it seems. Today he was able to help dig and mortar in the new basketball pole we put up at the Orphan Care Center. What a joy to know that something as simple as a basketball pole will be able to bring such joy to so many children.

Sarah – since Matt’s feeling better, she’s feeling better too.

Chad – on the move, in the right way. Today Chad was able to help dig and mortar the basketball pole at the Orphan Care Center and then once we returned he spent the afternoon capturing some much needed video footage of interviews with people here in Bangui for his upcoming village partnership project.

Jana - seems to be in better spirits, while Dave is moving a bit slowly today. It’s just been a really long haul and yet Dave continues to encourage all those he comes in contact with as he serves behind the scenes in helping to keep our team on track.

Tom - well, he’s going to need to go to the doctor for sure when he gets state side as he told me, "the worms are rumbling" but clearly today he looked much more rested and seemed pretty excited about helping us finish the basketball project as Tom did all the necessary welding to get the steel parts in place.

Sue, Natalie, Sonia and Jim have stayed the course and it’s just really nice to have everyone sort of all moving once again in a forward motion.

And finally, well, I simply can’t believe how much better I have felt today than probably any time in the last 4-5 days. I’m breathing much better and the fire down below has been extinguished, thank-you Jesus!

Clearly there is an excitement in the air about flying out tomorrow as we’re all busy packing our trunks and settling in lots of great memories and souvenirs of our time here in Africa. We take our trunks to the airport tomorrow morning and then we have the day to spend in Bangui. We have to be at the airport by 8:30 pm to fly out tomorrow night at 10:30ish. It’s sort of a joke because the Bangui airport is only two rooms. The room you walk into when you get off the plane to have your papers checked, and then into the next room where your luggage is checked by security. No metal detectors, no vending machines, no comfy furniture, and while there is a bathroom, trust me, you wouldn’t want to use it. Blogger's note: there is actually a functioning toilet in the waiting area which I used last year (with the toiled seat covers my wife gave me, the only place I was actually able to use it) but RAD hadn't been there yet).

If you’re interested in tracking our time, here in Bangui we are currently five hours ahead of Wooster time, when we arrive in Paris on Friday morning, we’ll be six hours ahead of Wooster and then when we land at JFK we’ll be back in the Eastern time zone. I’ll be encouraging the team to give a ring from JFK as we have a six hour layover at the airport. The only thing that might mess that up is that we could possibly catch a train into the city if we can do it and still be sure that we’ll be back to the airport in plenty of time. Our final arrival time in Columbus I’m not exactly sure of, I think it’s around 6:00 pm on Friday, but if you’d like to track our progress you can go on to the Air France website and find our flight (remember there is only one a week from Bangui so you shouldn’t have much trouble finding it), and then after about a three hour layover in Paris, we switch to Delta, fly into JFK, 6 hour layover and then into Columbus. Now that I think about it, two full days of airline / airport food . . . maybe the diarrhea was a bit of a blessing before leaving (Just kidding.)

As far as team investment today goes here in Bangui I’ve already mentioned that we were able to finish up the basketball project, met with the health care nurse at the Orphan Care Center, where Tom cut his finger pretty good getting down a push cart and had to be cared for by the nurse.



Thankfully, he was a good patient and so the nurse choose to reward him with his own Beanie Baby Rottweiler.

Our final stop of the day was the Pygmy village of Pessue. They have actually decided to change the name of their village, but Pessue is still on the sign so I’m going with that for now. Visiting this village was a final challenge to the weary emotions of us all.

The village is comprised of about sixty people living in huts like the one I’ve pictured



These huts made the burnt brick huts of Pama seem upscale. Upon chatting with the Slaters who visited here last time, Dave’s comment to me was, "I’m surprised this village has survived." I think I understand his thinking.

This village is in a dire situation. First, they have no water. Any water that they drink comes from one of three sources. The villagers have to walk a long way back into the forest where they secure water from a contaminated stream, they can go down to the next village where they can buy water (with what money, I have no idea) or how they are currently securing their water due to the rainy season, is by catching the rain water that runs off the metal roof of the latrines.



Sixty people, sharing nothing but rain water from a metal roof gives you just an idea of the conditions of this village. "Wow, those seem like pretty nice latrines RAD for a village like this?" My thoughts exactly. Further investigation revealed a simple answer, "Grace Gives Back." I didn’t know it, but the latrine you see pictured was in part a work of the earlier teams from Grace that helped in bringing proper sanitation to this village. A lifesaving latrine, in more ways than one.

The people of the village are very friendly and yet their plight is obvious. Being Pygmies people, they are considered the lowest of the low here in Africa. They are treated like slaves by the other tribes and people of the CAR.



The evidence of malnutrition is rampant amongst these people, and yet they remain hopeful.


This is a picture of the church they meet in weekly, the roof you see is the farthest it’s ever been according to Tom and there is talk amongst ICDI that in the near future a well might be drilled here as funds permit. Also along with our team today was a missionary who specializes in Agro-forestry and he spoke encouragingly of ways that he could help promote healthier food sources for these people. "People matter to God" is a phrase that we use often at Grace, and I’m thankful that applies to even the remotest parts of the CAR.


Once we left the village, we returned to our HQ, rested up from the days events and then as a special treat for Sue and all she has done to keep us fed over these two weeks, we actually went out to eat at one of the few restaurants here in Bangui called the Grand Café.


It was a very relaxing time and evidence of the closeness the Lord has developed amongst our team was apparent. We finished up dinner and I had hopes of uploading today’s blog when we experienced one of the many power outages that run through this city, and so we decided to call it a night.

Thanks again for bending the knees of your hearts with us and what can I say, "Looking forward to seeing you soon!"

RAD

P.S. Hey, Debbie, did you catch that last picture? I decided to leave the goatee in Africa, is that love or what?

The Longest Leg of the Trip

RAD had one more entry, which he characterized as "Pastoral Therapy." In it he described the various intestinal trials which several team members were going through, including himself, Jillian, Chad, Matt and Pastor Tom (virtually everyone except Sonia, Jim, Natalie and Sue).


He remarked on the fortitude of Jana Slater: "Jana Slater continues to an incredible trooper. Her health has been up and down for days now, and yet I continue to see her and Dave putting their two best feet forward. It has been a real blessing having them both to rub shoulders with over these many days." He speaks very well of all the team members and wishes with them that they were already home.



He thanks everyone who has posted comments on the blog: "Thanks to so many who have left us comments on the blog, they were like rays of sunshine and hope to our team as we continue to live on for the glory of Christ" and he says that without exception everyone can't wait to get home.



It was raining a lot (again!) when RAD was having his "therapy session" so he wanted us to see the view as he looks out his door.


In just a couple of hours (it's almost 7:00 a.m. in Bangui already) the team will stand in line at the Air France office and get their luggage checked in. Then they will go back to the house they are staying in and wait until the time their flight will depart to Paris.


I would like to ask you to pray for the health of our team and for a safe, quick and uneventful trip back home. We are very proud of the work they did in the CAR on behalf of the "least of these."



Please, keep checking the blog as it will remain open and fresh for the next two weeks.

With God, for the nations,

Pastor Ivanildo Trindade

PAMA: Day 7 -- "Bangui or Bust"

08-13 blog

It’s travel day! Wow, the time has come for us to get on the road and leave behind a whole bunch of new friends and people with whom we have grown in affection and care for the place they have landed in our hearts. The day is bright and sunny, a perfect day for travel. However, before we go, "How about a picture?"

I thought I’d include a picture of some of the folks we have been hanging out with over the last week. I’m certain you can identify the team members for yourselves, but the other faces are from right to left, Pastor Gaston, Leotine (she has been caring for our food needs throughout the week while in the back country) and the fella on the end is our guard that I spoke of in an earlier blog.

Once the trucks are all loaded, which packing trucks in the CAR is a bit different from doing so in America, due to the fact that as a gift of appreciation several of the villagers have brought us chickens to say thanks for all that we have done. So once we have all of our stuff in, we begin the process of tying the live chickens inside the back of one of the trucks. It really was quite a comical site.

Finally, we’re on the road and due to the steady rain we’ve been experiencing the better part of the week, the road out of Pama seems even worse than it was when we came. So slowly, and carefully, we make our way to Yaloke, where a form of paved road awaits us and it feels sort of freeing to have the wind in our hair and be traveling back to Bangui.

What’s so great about going back to Bangui? If you would have asked anyone on the team when we left Bangui they would probably have said nothing. But now . . . the promise of a shower, a toilet and a real roof over our heads seems almost too good to be true.

The drive is hot, and long about six hours, in part due to some of the obstacles one is likely to encounter while traveling the roads of the back country.

I continue to be amazed at just how many people can get on one truck or in one car here in the CAR. Not to mention all the people drying their manioc along the side of the roads, children playing close to the road, and animals that seem to think the road was really put in for them and that cars were just borrowing it.

We have walkie-talkies in three of the four vehicles as we travel together. I’m riding in the lead car with Tom driving. Our radio handle? Pig-nicker. On the way to Pama we nailed a goat first, killed it dead in the road despite lots of horn honking etc., there was just no missing it. Next we served up a chicken for dinner for someone where in a flurry of feathers life turned fowl for this one particular chicken that would have been a whole lot better not crossing the road at all. And then finally, pulling into the mission house at Yaloke, out from behind a tree, it was a pig! We swerved to miss it, but it kept coming. We caught it’s hind quarter but the report from behind us let us know that it was still walking, just with a serious limp... Hence was born our radio handle, Pig-nicker. Let’s hope today’s drive is just a tad bit more animal friendly. We don't want PETRA to come after us here in the CAR...

After a Coke and bread about half-way through the day it was on to the waterfalls at Boali. It was a beautiful site to behold.

While at Boali, Tom took us to a suspension bridge that the natives use to carry crops across from the fields on the other side of the river. The challenge was issued about who wanted to go across, and while not everyone felt the need to prove anything, there were some would be thrill seekers that ventured across.

The bridge consisted of bundled together sticks, laid end to end through the "Y" shape of many branches that were tied to two side cables. It was a real swinger.

Finally, we arrived at Bangui, and showers were the first item of business. You could hear the sighs of joy coming from the bathroom as each new person had their five minutes under actual running water. It was a sweet, sweet pleasure. Be warned: neighbors might be tempted to call the police when they hear the noises coming out of our houses when we get in a hot tub in America!

On the dinner agenda, after a long day of travel, all told the trip took us 8 ½ hours, we had been invited to GBIM headquarters here in Bangui for a time of fellowship with the GBC missionaries who continue to serve faithfully here in this incredible land.

I took a picture, unfortunately, a couple of the missionaries had already left, and our first trip of team members had already left on the shuttle. I should have thought of the picture earlier, but once the menu of Tacos and ice cream was announced, all my clear thinking went out the window. Thanks so much to the GBIM staff for their grand hospitality, and a chance to hear a bit more about life in Africa.

On tomorrow’s agenda? Head over to the Orphan Care facility, finish the basketball court we began before we left, and maybe some shopping to put an exclamation point on our day as we gather stuff and start laying plans for America.

Until tomorrow,
RAD

PAMA: Day 6 -- "First the Church, then the 'Theater'"

Blogger's note: RAD sent this entry with the following note: "Ivanildo, I don't have some of the necessary pics that would help this blog entry as I was working and Chad was doing the picture taking. Sorry. Also, there was no blog entry for yesterday. I've been getting a pretty bad cold and I just couldn't pull my energy together to write anything. Sorry, RAD." We forgive you, brother.

08-12 blog

It's our final day in the village of Pama, and we had a great morning in church and yet another overwhelming pouring out of love and hospitality from the Pastor and his family as he once again invited us over to his home for lunch, this time after church. I can't remember if I spoke in an earlier blog of a conversation I had earlier in the week with Pastor Gaston but as we were walking out into the fields to work one day I was telling him about how much we had appreciated having lunch with him earlier in the week when he just sort of blurted, almost without thinking but more in a state of pondering, "Pray that I might have enough money that we could have you in our home again."

Wow, that was a striking thought for me. When was the last time, in fact I know it's never been, where I asked someone to pray for me to have enough money to be able to feed others? On the menu today, antelope, some sort of pumpkin meat paste, rice and of course, gozo. I'm pretty sure that no matter how it actually taste, it will still taste heavenly because I know the heart behind it.

Today at lunch we are scheduled to meet with the Pastor, and the orphan care director/school master here in Pama. Something exciting about this meeting is that the family of four14 sent us over with some love gifts to help and assist the work here, and today I'll be seeing that through.

However, what has really struck me today has nothing to do with the village or the people of Pama, it has to do with the members of our team. Today is our packing day and we've been sort of talking amongst ourselves to Tom throughout the week if it would be all right if we left some of the clothing that we brought from home. Today is that day.

What has full-on blessed me today, even after sitting through a two plus hour church service on a wood bench, unable to understand a single word that was said or sung, was the excitement that I saw on the faces of our team as we raced to our trunks to pull out everything and anything that we could leave behind. People stacking shirts, shorts, socks, pants, towels and even shoes on the table. It was like we were taking up an offering and while none of us had much money to give, we were elated to give what we could, namely our stuff that we had brought with us.

First item of business? Exactly how many more days do we really have left so that I can have just enough clothing to get me home. Words of Scripture filled the air, "Remember what RAD said, 'to whom much has been given much is required" Clearly, each of us felt rich in comparison to all that was around us and our only response could be that of sharing and giving freely, out of a care and concern for the people, no guilt required. It truly was a joyful experience.
And if all this hasn't been about as much blessing as anyone team leader could stand in one day, only to see a truck arrive from Yaloke with the supplies we needed to be able to show the Jesus film here on our last night.

We converted what had been our soccer and game playing field, a field about the size of a real soccer field that was entirely cut by hand, one piece of grass at a time with a machete! Is that cool or what? Anyway, the screen went up, the generator fired and we had lights and sound and the crowd began to gather. As sort of a warm up film and because it wasn't completely dark when we started we watched a film on animism which seemed to be a real crowd pleaser.

Once it was over, the field was packed, children, teens, and adults sitting, standing wherever they could in order to be able to hear and see what was going on. Team assignment for the night? Mingle and pray. There were many people who came with whom we had been interacting all week so some of us sat with our new friends, while others sort of hung in the back bathing the field in prayer.

I myself saw a group of individuals stand, yes stand for over two hours as they intently watched and listened to what was being portrayed in front of them. Also in the crowd a very special invite had arrived. If you remember earlier in the week I mentioned to you about our night guard who was a Muslim? He has been guarding us and our camp every night that we have been here and tonight at our invitation he has come to watch the film with us.

Only the Lord knows what is happening in his heart, and since everything we are hearing tonight is in Sango, we simply pray for him and the church here in Pama as they endeavor to live out their faith in the village.

What a reminder to me about how there may very well be people in different places praying for our church in Wooster that we might bring the light of Christ to someone they care about. "Lord, might Wooster Grace continue to be a place where people can meet Jesus and grow in their walks with Him. Amen"

Until tomorrow . . .

RAD from the back country

PAMA: Day 4 -- "The Shower Experience... It Takes a Village"

08-10 blog

Today something phenomenal happened: I took a shower (and all the other team members said: "Amen!"). We left out from Bangui on Monday and today is Friday, my first shower of the week. Now you might think that's sort of gross, but now being on the clean side, I'm sure noticing I get a heck of a lot more attention from the flies than I used to.

Taking a shower in Pama isn't exactly like showering in Wooster, or even in Bangui for that matter. A shower here consists of a black plastic bag that has been laid in the sun to warm the water, once warm hung in a shower type of tent that we brought from home and then somehow in 3 x 3 square, finding a way to get yourself clean. Did I mention that when the sun is shining it's really hot in the shower tent? Did I mention that the thin nylon fabric becomes somewhat transparent once it gets wet in the sun? Oh, and did I mention that while the bag hangs over your head, the hose that actually allows the water to flow has to be held straight down or the hose kinks and water no longer flows? You can see where this is going can't you? Well, at least figuratively.

So I'm set. I've got a pair of dirty shorts on, the ones I had been wearing all week to walk out to the shower. A towel, shampoo, soap and we were supposed to pack some flip-flops to wear to the shower, but of course I forgot mine. Hence my only choice a pair of leather sandals that I had been wearing all week were going to have to do. I get inside the zippered cleanliness station, bend way over to get underneath the hanging water bag, get my hair wet, flip off the little plastic valve, and begin the process of sudsinging up the hair. "Gee, usually when I use this much shampoo my hair gets squeakily clean?" A quick rinse, and I try it again . . . still the same result. "Hmm, I guess five days in the African bush with no shower have ground my dirt way down deep." After a third attempt, I achieve the desired result and a bit of shower jig takes place and my new found squeak.

Next on the wash scene, it's the body. This shouldn't be a problem, simply crouch down, get all wet, stand up, soap up, crouch down again and rinse it all off. Kids stuff. I think a kid would of had a better chance at success than me. I assume the crouching position, whoops, what's that? My backside is pressed against the now somewhat wet, kind of transparent tent fabric?
Do I hear snickering outside of this tent? I can't see out but all of a sudden I get this sort of uneasy feeling that someone or someones are watching.

I immediately stand straight up to end the scary white man show, reposition myself directly in the center of the tent and try the crouch maneuver all over again. Success! I'm all wet so I stand up, turn off the little plastic knob that controls the water, suds up completely and now it's time for the crouching move once again to get the proper rinse I'm after. Only problem is, this time I've got soap on my face and so the center is a bit hard to determine, but I go for it anyway. Have you ever tried to crouch in a small square with your eyes shut? Don't.

I no sooner assume the position when I realize my balance is fading fast, I don't want to get soap in my eyes, but I think I'm falling, falling, yes, falling backwards. I make a frantic grab at this not comfortable, square plastic thing on the ground that serves as a floor, but it's too late, over backwards I go. I feel the tent fabric groan under the pressure that my tight, muscular frame forces upon every square inch.

There is nothing I can do now but ride this out and prepare for Africa to see a side of America that they rarely do. With all my weight in motion I fall completely off the square floor thing, backside up, feet up, full body against the side of the tent and to my sheer joy and delight, the guy ropes hold and I am saved from a major catastrophe. Thank-you Jesus, Thank-you Lord.
I collect myself and think, "Wow, that was a close one," as I laugh what could of been.

Then I realize why the plastic thing is in the floor of the shower to begin with, because all around and underneath it is the discarded sand of multiple other showers gone before me which is now stuck all over the backside of me, you know, the side that is just more naturally difficult to wash. Cleanliness 0, nasty dirty 10. I recommit myself to a cleaner lifestyle than I was currently living or had been living and I go through the whole process again. This time I'm victorious and clean again.

So goes the morning of day 5 for me.

On the team side it's a wonderful start. Some of the ladies are again teaching, Jill is caring for medical needs in the village dispensary, and Dave, Jim, Matt and Tom are busy working on the construction team.

Jim is handling the roofing side, Dave is an eagle eye when it comes to sighting up the lay of the roof and Matt is getting his first lesson in brick mortaring while at the same time teaching English words and phrases to his new found African mortar friend. It was a swell morning of everyone feeling fulfilled about our mission here, enjoying the interaction with the African people and just enjoying the good morning the Lord had given us. In my heart of hearts I thank the Lord for answering my prayers the night before as clearly, this was just what our team needed.

One other particular scene that caught my eye was a rather large group of children that were hanging around the construction site today. Apparently each of the rooms, I swatting flies like nobodies business as I'm writing this and listening to the lizards scurry up and down the sides of the nylon tents that people are sleeping in, was adopted as sort of a neighborhood project by the different neighborhoods in the village.

The current floor condition is weeds and a begging need for 2-3 inches of sand/dirt to raise the level to where it should be. Well, the children of this one particular neighborhood had come today to fill in their floor (see picture above). Many of these children were from the Fulani tribe, a nomadic tribe of shepherds that have been forced to take up village life due to the violence brought upon them by the bandits in the more remote regions of this area. When inquiring about Fulani life, I was told that what was happening was that the bandits were kidnapping the Fulani children and holding them for ransom, telling the parents to go and sell one of their cattle and give that money to them in order to get their children back. Only problem is that bandits lie, and many times the parents pay and the children are still killed.

Well here I was today watching these precious children armed with cups, bowls, plates and buckets, really anything they could carry dirt in ready to get serious about caring for the floor of their neighborhood classroom. The joy and excitement with which they went about this task sealed the deal for me when it came to grabbing yet another blessing about why it is we as a church have partnered with this village and why it is that our four14 team has come.

RAD

PAMA: Day 3 -- "Don't Ask Me How Long It Lasted"

08-09 blog

Today brought us some new challenges. Our teams that we have been serving in have been rerouted just a bit so let me catch you up.

Jill and Sue moved today into Dispensary work, namely, they are working in the clinic caring for everything from small cuts and scrapes, to some more significant wounds. The kits we were able to use came from the children's ministry at Grace, sort of neat how even the children of our church are giving back in a global fashion.

I asked Jill at lunch how she thought the morning went, and she confessed that she thought maybe some of the "injuries" were all about getting a chance to have the attractive white girl pay attention to them. Funny, Jill seemed like she was in a really good mood at lunch today:)

Actually there were more than just curious cuts wandering in as one fella had three oozing sores on the front of his leg, Jill attended to those with peroxide when someone that was watching told her to squeeze his calf, (warning: if you're a bit squeamish you might want to skip this part . . .), but as Jill pulled his calf forward, yellow infection type of puss squirted out of all three of what were actually holes in his leg. Yet, another reminder of the fact that while at times it feels like we are making no difference at all, really any care or assistance that we have been able to provide has been a real blessing.

Time for an announcement from our sponsor: While there may be just twelve of us actually here serving in Africa, we are keenly aware that we are representing both the Lord Jesus, and our church here in the village of Pama. It is through the Lord's strength, and the prayers and support of many who are praying with us that we are able to give back in to the many lives and stories here in Pama. We have taken the privilege of those not yet able to come, seriously and believe that we are standing in your places in this village. Thanks for standing with us, thanks for praying along with us, thanks for sending us here.

Teaching in the school setting today was Jana, Sonia, Natalie and Sarah. The ladies are reporting this to be a very rewarding time for them as well as the children. They taught outside today, so there was plenty of daylight to help them along.

Jim continues to work on the school roof as he has been requested by the project foreman each day we have been here. Rumor has it that it's just because Jim is a single guy and all his new African friends seem to have a sister or two that they want Jim to meet...

All joking aside, it always amazes me how uniquely prepared each of our team members is for the task they are being asked to do and Jim is a great example of that.

Another one is Chad, who continues to roam from project to project taking video and pictures for what will hopefully be a great tool for telling the story of Pama, both for our church and other ICDI supporters.

Going to the fields today was Matt, Dave and myself. This was quite the interesting experience as we just didn't walk and see fields today but we had the chance to interact with many from Gaston's family as we planted Manioc, dug and harvested peanuts and then of all things, picked and shucked corn. It was blazing hot and a really, really long walk both to and from the field.

On our way back to camp we were able to cut a couple of pieces of sugar cane. This a true African delicacy was shared by all the members of our team. Once we finished the chewing, as you don't swallow sugar cane, we were grateful for the taste, but decided we probably wouldn't be planting any when we get home.

After a full morning, everyone returned to camp to grab a bite of lunch and a little nap as that is part of the African culture. Besides, most days it's just way too hot to do anything else, except for today.

We were just finishing up lunch when the rain clouds, big, dark, serious rain clouds started rolling in. They rolled, and rumbled, the wind blew and we buttoned down the hatches, putting on any warm clothing that we had left as this was a pretty serious storm. How long did it rain? Don't ask me or anyone else on the team because all we know is that it was still raining when we went to bed that night. Rain through nap time, rain through games, rain through dinner, rain through devos, raining when we went to bed. In Pama when it rains everything stops and you could feel a general stir crazyness brewing amongst our team as we all hung together in a damp, cold, close quarter environment.

I closed out my day just praying for the team by name and asking the Lord to send us some sunshine tomorrow to help lift our spirits and that we might be able to assist in moving forward the work for which we have come.

RAD

PAMA: Day 2 -- "Let there be... rain!"

08-08 blog

Day 2 in the Village of Pama

Today is our first full day, time to roll out of the sack for breakfast.

What time is breakfast, just a mere 6:00 am. When you are living in the land of sunlight being all the light you start early and end once the darkness sets . . . day over. It's taking a bit of getting used to the whole going to bed each night around 8:00 PM, but actually after a full day, nobody is complaining.

Today's plan, get involved with work and ministry with African people, something a little tough when you consider the overwhelming language barriers that exists between our two worlds. None-the-less, we divide into some teams and head out into various ventures.

Team 1 is in charge of the games. With a large collection of children constantly surrounding all that we do, there is never a lack of willing participants. Games like duck, duck, goose take on a whole new excitement with a group of overly eager children. Unfortunately, we quickly found out that our repertoire of game knowledge was not going to be sufficient so we did the only logical thing we could, turn to the anyone with large game playing experience and work as a team.

By lunch time we had played the limbo, a made-up game of throwing a soccer ball in a rope circle that met with limited success, but then came the idea of making a circle out of concrete blocks, having everyone sit in about a ten foot circle from the center and try to roll, bounce, or throw the soccer ball so that it stays in the circle. Sounds like simple task, but as many that were playing found out, it wasn't all that simple.

In fact, what made this so interesting was that the cheering got to be so loud that soon a really large crowd had gathered and children were playing, adults, just about everyone within earshot was lining up to give it a try. Clearly, this idea was given by the Holy Spirit as it allowed for many who had continued to stand around the fringe of the white people a chance to come closer laughing and interacting with each other. This was the last game of the morning and finished team 1 off on clearly a high note.

Team 2 started its day diving right into the construction site. There were aluminum roof panels to be hoisted on the roof to the African construction workers who were busy nailing them down. The progress on the roof of this new school was amazing as people worked together to move it along.

Another part of the construction team was delegated to moving, stacking and sorting of the bricks that had been made. Really it seemed like a pretty uneventful job, just pick up the blocks, move them one place to another and do it all over again. This particular assignment went south quickly when a lifting of one of the blocks revealed some sort of red African snake and the only word that all the Africans said in unison was, "Poisonous!"Everybody scattered and soon the snake was dead bringing with it a sigh of relief from all those around.

The interesting part of this story is that up until this time several African men were just sort of standing around watching while our team worked and then after the snake they jumped right in and finished the pile themselves. They certainly didn't want the pile to continue to provide comfortable hiding for who knows how many other snakes... It was a good feeling to know that behind the constant stares, people were warming up to a level of caring for our team.

Team 3 was given a rather unusual assignment, head out into the fields of the local Grace Brethren pastor and help him gather in his crops, at least that's what we thought our assignment was going to be. The actual fact of the matter turned out to be something entirely different.

First of all, the walk to the field was a whole lot farther than anybody counted on. Ten minutes walking, twenty minutes walking, thirty minutes walking finally at about forty minutes they reached their destination.

When I asked this team later about their experience they filled me in on what had actually taken place. Basically, the Pastor had simply taken the team to show them the many fields he cared for as a part of this family.

The striking thing was how he had set fields for family members, he has eight children, a field for his mother, a field for his new grandson, and one particularly striking allotment, a field for the orphans of the village. All of the fields were worked by members of his family, but the food that was gleaned was divided out accordingly.

Finally it was lunch time and today was going to be a special day. As a way of saying thanks to our team for coming, the Pastor, his name is Gaston, had asked us to come to lunch at his house today. In America you'd be hard pressed to find someone to open their home to complete strangers, let alone, twelve of his new best friends. We gladly accepted his invitation, and went to lunch only about two hours later than planned. In the CAR nobody wears a watch, probably for good reason as it helps to cut down on the frustration about how keeping track of time is not an African value. The team just sort of sat around, resting, reading, just hangin' out waiting for our lunch to get underway.

Eventually the call came, and we were off. Upon arriving at the Gaston's home we realized that once again here was a man giving not out of his plenty, but out of his need. Thirteen people in his family, and here he was feeding the twelve of us as well.

On the menu? Gozo, something made from Manioc, a plant that grows here in Africa. It grows well, but has about no nutritional value and its preparation is extensive. It has to be picked, soaked (which is the most crucial part of the process as the plant is poisonous unless soaked long enough and in the right way), dried (which entails spreading it out on a piece of aluminum to allow the sun to dry it), ground (which is mostly done with a stick in bowl with sort of a downward pounding motion), and then made into some sort of doughy stuff that you eat. It's not really high on anyone's list of favorites here on the team. The smell alone during the preparation process is enough to send you.

Also on the menu, goat meat. This was delicious! That is until I realized that goat was a delicacy in the CAR and most people here (those who are lucky enough to own goats) keep their goats as sort of a savings account to be used when they have real need for something expensive and then they would trade or sell their goats for that need. Again, here we were, eating kings, and not even knowing it.

We also had rice and macaroni, it went quickly, and chicken. The chicken was tasty at least until I decided to ask the question about how each family butchered their own animals for food and we realized we had just been admiring the new chicks that were running around outside before we came in for dinner. Lunch ended with meeting Gaston's entire family and while I hoped for a big group picture it quickly became clear that they were now eating the left over food from our lunch and this wasn't going to be a good time. Yet another reminder about the hospitable heart of these African people.

We headed back to camp and begun getting back to our assignments talking and sharing about what we had experienced as we went. Once back to the camp the game team endeavored to pull off what could have been the very first ever relay race which involved spinning around, sliding under a wood bench (which many ducked with the heads before going under), leaping over plastic trunk and then ending with three somersaults, tagging the half-way line person and making a beeline back to the beginning to tag the next person in line.

I had the privilege (?) of manning the somersault portion of the race and let me tell you, I saw more black bottoms, naked bottoms, rolling to and fro than I will probably ever see again. Smiling and laughing at this station was clearly not optional as the children giggled and tumbled without care for just a few moments forgetting about all the struggles that beset this impoverished part of the CAR. It was a good feeling to know that at least for awhile we had brought some relief and joy to the children of this village.

Meanwhile the remaining teams regrouped and construction was begun again and a new team of teachers was established. This group of ladies had learned some french and Sango while we were in Bangui and now were going to get the chance to use their new found knowledge to help teach the children of this village. Unfortunately they started a tad bit late and with the sunlight being your only source of light, they had to quit early and head back.

Well, they wanted to head back except it started raining. An African rain is some kind of rain. It came down like a monsoon. Gushing, bucketing, pouring rain. Rain so hard that you could barely see through it. It was here that we learned all too quickly about water and camping. For the men back at the camp, shovels, trials, anything we could find to move dirt started flying into action as water poured in from all sides on our humble abodes. It was coming in from around all the sides as several guys worked to dig a ditch and build a clay barrier as a way of keeping our campsite from being a washed out.

The rain also came from above, not the heavens, but from the gaping holes in the thatched roof that we were living under. The holes could not be fixed because they were too big and too many, so we dug drainage like canals right through our main dining area in an effort to keep the water from soaking all of our stuff.

It rained and rained and rained. Which I guess could be an okay thing, unless your bathroom was an open hole in the ground, with a grass fence, no roof and unless your only means of cooking any dinner was a wood fire that had by now been all but extinguished. I don't know exactly how long it rained, but it had to be at least three to four hours.

Finally we gave up on the outside fire and built one under the roof where we were lodging, got some dinner, shared some time around the Word and called it a night. No complaints here, everyone was exhausted and the enticement of a warm sleeping bag called loudly to us all.
I can only wonder what tomorrow will bring. Guess I'll close my day with some prayer for our team and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

RAD

PAMA: Day 1 -- "The White Man's Show"

Blogger's note: RAD didn't blog on 08-06, as it was travel day for the team.

08-07 blog

Well, it's not exactly like I expected, but then that probably shouldn't be a surprise to me or anybody else by now.

Once we got rolling this morning we made the totally crazy drive out to the village. It's about 34 km, which is 6/10 of a mile to the kilometer, so that comes down to a little over 18 miles, not a lot of ground to cover, unless, of course, you consider the kind of road we are traveling on.

Total drive time to get to Pama from where we were, about 2 hours, which comes out to an average speed of right around 9 miles an hour. I wonder what's an average Amish speed to Walmart anyway?

The road was filled with major crevices, large puddles, and bumps upon bumps, just to give you an idea. In the car I was riding in, Pastor Tom handled the road like a true champion.

Once we arrived at the village the sites were similar to many of the smaller villages we had driven through, except the village of Pama is much larger.

It was clear that the local people were expecting us as there were some lining the streets as we pulled into town where we were met with cheers and applause. I have to admit it's somewhat of an awkward feeling when people are looking at your car and waving at you, cheering. Often I found myself looking over my shoulder figuring there surely must be someone else behind me that really deserves this kind of welcome. It was a humbling, but warm feeling to be so welcomed.

Once we pulled into the place we would be setting up camp we got a quick look around, saw some fellas making cement blocks, what was the old school and the current structure of the new school that is in progress that we have come to help with. Tom introduced us to the school director, some of the teachers, and other people of the church and village.

Once the word was out that the white people were in town, admittedly my first time feeling entirely like a minority, many, many adults and children came to the place where we would be setting up camp for the week. They kept coming and coming and we all sort of got the feeling that white people in town was a pretty big deal. Everything we did, everywhere we went, a crowd just sort of moved with us. Lots of eyes watching our every move, sort of staring, whispering amongst themselves about the things they were seeing.

It was sort of cool in the beginning, a bit awkward, but cool. However as the hours in the day began to click away I could sense some of the team becoming a bit unnerved by the constant staring of many, many people at our every move. Finally, Tom sort of shooed the crowd away and a welcome sigh of relief went up from the team. We expected some culture shock but this might have been a bit more than we bargained for.

We established our residence, a tent commune of sorts, complete with shower tent that we brought from home and a brand spankin' new latrine, thankfully complete with fencing after all which put us all just a bit more at ease.

We were eager to dive right into the work because we came to build a school . . . yeah, not exactly. When Tom was here early this year he had left specific instructions about what needed to be done before we arrived to make the best use of the team's time while they were here. Things like a roof over the new structure that would allow us to work even though it was raining, weeds pulled and possible gravel put down in the school rooms so as to allow us to mix and pour the cement for the floor. Guess several months just wasn't quite enough time to get to it.

The most notable disappointment was that there were no burned red bricks that would be necessary to build the school walls. Sure we could help make some bricks but it takes at least a week to make a brick from start to finish and so we knew right off the bat the bricks just weren't going to happen. I felt sort of sorry for Tom as you could sense his heart for this village and this school project and he simply could not hide his disappointment from this turn of events.

Most of the day was spent settling in, trying to figure out what it is exactly that we were going to be doing this week and well, just sort of playing some games with the children, shaking a ton of hands and kind of sitting around.

In the late afternoon Tom offered to take us on a tour of the village which we were all eager to embark on. We headed out sort of figuring that this would finally give the crowds of people a reason to disperse from the area. Yet another wrong RAD assumption.

As we began walking across the field to the road, we would be walking on, the crowd just joined right in with us except now they pushed closer and the children were the first to actually mingle amongst us.

It was a sweet deal. I saw the members of the team continuing to warm up to the people we would be spending the next week with sharing laughter about English words and how to say them in Sango. People were pointing and waving their hands, talking loudly (which I never quite figured out why just because a person doesn't speak your language, right away makes them hard of hearing, think about it next time you see someone trying to explain something to someone who doesn't speak their language). It was quite the sight to see.

As the hike progressed it was just like walking through a copy of National Geographic. The scenes were familiar and yet to be seeing them first hand and not on a piece of slick paper, photo touched to make the colors vibrant brought an awesome sense of reality to bear as we strolled.
Some of the scenes we saw, a couple I photographed but quite truthfully you feel kind of weird capturing a picture of another person's suffering, large families living in and around small homes. Native women with a child on one hip, pounding grain or stirring something in a pot over a small wood fire.

We saw children with no clothes, with only shirts on, or with clothes that people in the states would not even deem worthy to go into our rag bags for household cleaning. Everywhere you looked these were the scenes we saw.

And then if you looked closely you began to be able to see even more than what you caught as a first glance walking by. The thinness of people. Slender legs, slender torsos, slender faces, especially on the faces of the adults that we encountered, and yet with the passing of each home, a friendly wave and a smile to those who had come from such a long way away to hopefully be a blessing to their village.

If the adults were thin, the kids were just skinny, skinny all over the place. Black hair everywhere, in rows, puffs, shaved in spots, just really going about every direction you can imagine. Unless of course their hair was on one of the many shades of orange that we saw signaling a gross lack of nourishment and nutrition.

Unfortunately not all the children are skinny. Naked babies, naked children with bellies sticking straight out, swollen from hunger and me with a nice sterile wrapped granola bar in my fanny pack as I walked by. Quite frankly, I'm still in a quandary about how to exactly process all that I'm seeing and experiencing.

We returned back to our campsite close to dark, around 6:30, as that's what you get being this close to the equator, in time for dinner under battery operated lanterns. Sounds like fun doesn't it? Did I mention that lights in a village where there is no electricity is quite the attraction to all those around. The lights worked like a magnet for both people and bugs. We were eating dinner and while we couldn't really see the vast amount of people just outside of our view, we clearly knew they were there from the sound of shuffling, talking and whispering going on all around us. it was sort of a scary feeling. Even Tom native to this area spoke openly of his uneasiness about what was going on all around us. The feeling of people peering at your every move in a totally dark setting set our team on edge.

Finally Tom had had enough, he sprung to his feet and ventured into the darkness chasing people away from the white people show. Once this tension was removed we turned our attention to dinner, which did I mention the lights drew the bugs from far and wide? Buzzing is the word I would use to describe our dinner but it wasn't from conversation. I'm not sure how many bugs drowned in my beef stew stuff, but I was hungry enough, I just didn't look close at what I was eating. The night came to a close about 8:30 and everyone was glad to settle in their tents to get rested up for what we hoped was going to to be a productive day tomorrow.

Everyone was in, you could feel the lull of conversations and laughter coming to a close between our tents, sleep was just about to overtake us when the gun shot rang out. Yet another reminder that we weren't in Wooster any longer. The fragility of life was strong in my mind and a real understanding that we were in another country, another culture and what seemed like a total walk back in time was all around us. Tom spoke quickly to assure us that the man who fired the gun was here to stand guard over us while we slept and the gun shot was simply to let the others know that he was here.

The saddest part of the deal? It was a Muslim fella that had come to guard us because from what I could understand they were among some of the most dependable people in the village and the ones who could really be trusted.

That was our first day in the village of Pama.

Wired RAD on the SAT Phone

Hello everyone:

Once again I got a message from PAMA, this time it was from RAD. He called right around the time I was on the lake this afternoon, baptizing some dear friends, as we enjoyed a great celebration with people from our church.

If you are like me, I am sure you have appreciated RAD's style of writing in his blog entries. He writes the way he talks and that is what is so good about the stuff he's been writing. It is also heartfelt and I appreciate that a lot. Many of you have remarked on how these blog entries have moved you to tears. Me too...

Well, this phone call is "RAD vintage," as the thoughts move freely in his head and he just goes from one to another in just one long breath. And it doesn't help that the whole time you have this "sheeeeeee" sound going on in the background, like that of a loud CPU on a computer.

I did find it funny, though, that RAD, who is perhaps the most "wired" guy on our staff, always up with the latest computer gadgets that make some of us feel like we belong to the Flintstones' age, had a little trouble hanging up the satellite phone. Right at the end of the call, after he said bye, you can hear his faint voice going: "And to hang up I just push the phone button?”

Please, remember to pray for the team as they travel back to Bangui tomorrow and be much in prayer for the electricity to be working in Bangui, at least long enough for RAD to negotiate the cyber cafe and get his stuff sent to me. It may be Tuesday by the time I am able to upload the stuff to the blog, but you may try tomorrow. Who knows?

Pastor Ivanildo Trindade

Here is the message from RAD for Sunday, August 12, 2007.

“Ivanildo, hey, it’s RAD calling, bro, Africa. Quick phone call, man, it’s time for us to turn in, it’s 10:00 at night here, but sorry we missed you. Tonight was a good night, we had a chance to show the Jesus film and another film on spirit animism. Had really a great crowd, good time, just praying along with people as they were watching and good morning in church. Looking forward to catch up with you guys tomorrow, as we’re heading back to Bangui. I’ve been writing the blog every day we’ve been here and so I will upload all those tomorrow when I get back to Bangui, so you will have quite a bit of editing to do and to get that up, but thanks for having people praying along with us, man, we miss talking to you, bro and look forward to seeing you pretty soon, all right? Take care, bye."

Your Prayers are Working

Hello everyone:

Pastor Tom called this afternoon. Everybody is well. They had another very productive day. They finished the work of bricklaying, but they ran out roofing materials yesterday, so they had to stop that. He was encouraged by the participation of the villagers in the project, as they starting working hauling dirt for what will be the floor later.

Jillian and Sue went back to the health center and did a lot more work taking care of people with physical needs. Some on the team went back to do some more reading to children and adults and others went to spend time with villagers in their "gardens" (more like large fields where they grow most of the food they eat).

Tomorrow the team will attend the GBC in PAMA, the team will sing a special song dedicated to the people at the village and Pastor Tom will preach.

Please, keep everyone in your prayers.

Pastor Ivanildo Trindade

"A Good, Productive, Day"

Today, at 12:08, I received a phone call from Pastor Tom. Here is what he said:

"Another good, productive day in Pama. No rain today, so we were able to get a lot done on bricklaying and putting on the roofing materials.

Sue and Jillian went back to the Health Center and did some more work with people, bandaging up cuts and stuff. RAD was playing soccer a bunch this afternoon. He feels like he is getting older than the rest of them there, which is probably true.

The rest of the ladies went over this morning and this afternoon doing reading first to the kids this morning, and with the ladies in the village this afternoon.

So it was a good, productive day. Chad got some good video so hopefully we can put something together when we get back. But wanted to give you this update.

A SPECIAL HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY MOM TODAY, AUGUST 10TH." (TOM)

I hope you are encouraged to know that your prayers are being answered. Thank you for your faithfulness in praying for the wonderful messages you are sending to your friends and loved ones half a world away. When they go back to Bangui and find those messages, they will know once again how much you care.

Pastor Ivanildo Trindade

For those of you who are wondering whether PAMA even exists on the globe, I did a little experiment on my computer last night. I typed in "PAMA, Central African Republic," and among other things, a satellite map from index mundi came up with a red point indicating exactly where that village is in the CAR. Then I started playing around with it and eventually found Bangui, the CAR Capital city, only 200 miles south, but approximately six hours by car. So, if you are wondering if this place even exists, wonder no more...

Our team from Wooster was in that same village last year. Upon entering this village one cannot help but notice the number of children roaming around. Later, I learned that many of the villagers practice polygamy. When a man dies, then, he can leave behind two or three families of fatherless children. This creates a huge burden to a community of believers already weighted down by so much suffering.

Pastor Tolozombo, a faithful man of God. That day, he gave our team a "banquet," prepared by his wife and some other church ladies.

I talked to the pastor, Gaston Tolozombo, and he told me that his church alone was trying to care for 58 orphans last year. In the end, they could only have enough money to keep four of these little children in school. Since then, I have learned that our sister church, Ashland West Main, has picked up the support of most, if not all, of these children, through the hand to hand and Hope and Charity projects sponsored by GBIM.

Needless to say, the needs in that village are still great. Our church can play a significant role in helping these children and that is a major reason our team is there now.

Here are some pictures we took of the beautiful people of PAMA last year.

The roads to PAMA, probably looking exactly like this again this time of the year.

These kids, they look so beautiful, their smile could throw the world at their feet. Don't let their faces or the color of their clothes fool you. They live in abject poverty, amongst the poorest in the world. They have some significant skin and respiratory issues. I never heard the sound of coughing so frequently, so near, so incessant. In all sincerity, and it pains me to say this, it was like visiting a hospital with some very sick patients, only these were children playing on the streets of another African village.

I say "another" because the world can care less about the children of PAMA. They are not on anybody's radar screen. They don't pose a threat to anyone nor are they sitting on some soil that has any strategic importance to the West. They are, for all practical purposes, forgotten, less than props, lower than dirt, in the eyes of the world.

But not in the eyes of Jesus, our Master. For Him, they are to be blessed. He would take time to put them on His lap, look at them in the eyes and whisper "I love you." You look at the faces of these kids and tell me how in the world you cannot fall in love with them. In less than thirty minutes in this village, I was teaching them to sing "Jesus Loves Me," in English, of course. They were having fun, running around, screaming, acting like they wanted to scare me and running away when I motion to run after them.

But if you pay close attention to some of these pictures, the arms, hands and heads of these children will betray signs of hardships the likes of which you never even dreamed existed. The littlest ones are carried by the older ones. Many of them are orphans and some orphaned by AIDS. School is virtually non-existent, only a few being able to afford the fee that is charged. A village of 2,000 to 4,ooo people, with only two functioning well for drinking and cooking water and a couple of latrines. Death awaits one at every corner.

But that is precise the reason we are there now. We believe God has called us to bring the hope of Jesus Christ to the last, the least, the lost of this universe and we will continue to pursue this with all our might. We have only started. We need a lot more people who can help us. We need to multiply our resource and put them to good use to alleviate poverty and bring the gospel to these beautiful people. We need to have people in our congregation who will be provoked to action. We need some of you NOT to be able to sleep. To wake up in the middle of the night and allow God to speak to you: Is God calling ME to do something? Is it time for me to start giving back to the least of these? How can I modify my lifestyle so I can free resources to help people like the children of PAMA?

We need many of you to feel a sense of outrage and be alarmed. But in the good sense. We need you to channel that outrage and energy toward love and good works on behalf of those who have no voice. We need you to be deliberate and not rest until you fulfill God's calling in your life, whether it is here or abroad. Anything short of that cheapens the act of Christ who paid the ultimate sacrifice. And I don't want anyone out there to give any contribution to the idea of a gospel that doesn't come with a price.

Pastor Ivanildo Trindade