Our Little Excursion

Hello everyone:

I am back at the "stone age" Internet Cafe because the connection at the ICDI office refused to cooperate today. So I will probably not even try to do pictures here. Sorry...

But first we as a team would like to express our condolences to the Simms' Family. We have been praying for all of you and share your sorrow at the passing of Marlin. However, we sorrow not as the ones who do not know God, as Paul put it in 1 Thessalonians 4. For we know that we will see our brother again. We as a team wanted you all to know that we love you and that we will continue to pray for you.

We are all doing well, thanks to God. We are tired and trying to finish up as much as we can today because tomorrow we pack our bags and do a little shop before our departure on Thursday night.

Rick and "Flat Stanley" help themselves to the Pygmy well
We thank you for your prayers for us as we went on our excursion yesterday. The day was long and arduous but we were able to spend quite a bit of time with our friends at the Pygmy village. Laura: Rob did find the two girls you and Barb befriended last year and he took picture of them, but he hasn't been able to find the other little girl you met in Bangui. Sorry...






I have mixed emotions after my visit with the Pygmies. It is true: they have relocated their village a little further ahead, have cleared land and are beginning to talk about building more permanent structures. They have come up with money on their own to pay for the land. This is huge. Now they won't be as harassed by the Central Africans as they could have been, if they didn't own the land. They are also using the latrines we helped built last year and the well serves not only them but the Central African village as a whole. It also provides them with some much needed income, as they charge a little bit for every pale of water that is taken from the well. This is all good and I praise God for what has been accomplished in such a little time.

But I am still overwhelmed at how the odds are still stacked against them. The overt racism they suffer in the hands of some Central Africans is still as thick as icebergs. For example, we had taken a soccer ball with the express purpose of giving it to the Pygmy village. We played with both Central Africans as well as some Pygmies. As we ended our time there a young man grabbed the ball and refused to give it to the Pygmies. We knew this was going to happen so we were prepared. We demanded that they return the ball because it belonged to the Pygmies.

By now several young men and some women had joined the chorus of the taunters. They were demanding to know why we were giving the ball to "these animals who don't even know how to play with it." Pastor Tom got very irritated and in plain Sango told them that the ball belonged to the Pygmies and they were going to have it. I am sure he said some other things but that is not the point here. The point is that they finally gave the ball back. But not without cursing the Pygmies first.

Secondly, I am still disturbed by the general state of health among the Pygmies. They now have a well right in their village but don't bother to bathe every day. They are still covered with dirt from head to toe and many of their children are covered with sores. Jeana and Beth spent basically all their time there tending to the wounds of children. They also helped a lady who had leprosy. They worked until they had exhausted themselves.

Yes, I was glad I had the opportunity to see this village again, but I have to say I still have a lot of concerns for them. As I played soccer with the kids and watched Jeana and Beth care for the needs of the sick, I was reminded again of the magnitude of the task we have in our hands. Had I not read Tim's entry from the day before, I might have been easily discouraged. I know, however, that we did make a difference with the ones we cared for. And I know that being an advocate for the Pygmies in front of their most volatible enemies must have done the Pygmies some good. But most of all, I know for a fact that it pleased our Heavenly Father because Christ died for the Pygmies too.

Pastor Ivanildo C. Trindade

itrindade@woostergrace.org