Another night. Another village. By this time we had traveled through so many villages, bowed before multiple chiefs, interviewed hundreds of local people who didn’t have a Bible in their mother tongue. We were on a mission–to analyze the language of the Koro Wachi people, and the dozens of dialects within it, to determine whether or not a translation was necessary. I can’t remember what village we were in that night. I was just a young white lady in the middle of somewhere in Africa, trying to discover my part in God’s bigger plan.
Our work completed for the day, we were ushered through the creaky aluminum gate into the compound of the local pastor. A cluster of tall papaya trees grew near the back. Goats and chickens settled down for the night while a kitten and puppy drew near to sniff out the newcomers. Small concrete and mud rooms surrounded us on three sides with a large open courtyard where the family gathered.
While the women took out the mammoth-sized mortar and pestle to begin pounding the yams, I slipped away with my toiletries to take a bucket bath in the outhouse. Those kind women, of course, insisted on heating the water for me first over the fire. As the water splashed over my dirty, tired body, I felt a sense of peace and renewal. Although I did not particularly like taking bucket baths and using squatty-potties, I had grown accustomed to it, and for some reason this night I felt quite content with the simplicity. I combed my hair and wrapped a “kanga” around my waist, and stepped outside to join the rest of the family for dinner.
The night air was perfect. The fire blazed, and oh, how those women laughed and sang as they pounded the yams with their strong arms until it became as smooth as butter! They were giving cheerfully of themselves to honor us. As I sat back in my plastic chair to watch the billions of stars twinkling brightly in the sky, I felt so small yet so loved. Even if no one knew where I was in the world, even myself, God knew and He was watching me. The yams were bland of course, but I ate the meal, thankful for their labor of love. Eventually they noticed my fatigue, and ushered me through the darkness into a small room that was filled with freshly harvested ginger root. The pungent odor filled my nostrils and cleared my head. I crawled under the mosquito net and glanced once out the little window before closing my eyes.
My prayers were different that night. I thank God for a bath and toilet paper. I thanked Him for a bed and food. I thanked him for people who love other people and for God Himself. I will never forget that one night in Nigeria.

What does your housing look like?- We live in a two story townhouse that has four bedrooms, one full bathroom, two WCs (a room with just a toilet), and one half-bath (just a sink and bathtub).  Of course, we have a lovely kitchen, laundry room, and a very large room that serves as the living room/dining room.  It’s a lovely house, and we are quite close to the neighbors, so we see this as an opportunity to run into them more!  Oh! Did I mention we have a back yard? It may be small, but it’s lovely for the summer time.

What does communication with home look like?- We are blessed to be able to call home free any time we want to. There is a very cool deal that you can get in France where you have a box that lets you call using the internet, so it’s cost-free! I try to talk to my parents every week, which is possible to do and I talk to friends at home regularly. It’s just the time difference that can get a bit tricky, but it usually works out well!

What are the people like?- I have found Nantais people to be more friendly than in other places in France. They are hard to get to know, for French culture is so private and closed, but I think being a foreigner helps to break that sometimes. But there are also many foreign people in this city that are easy to get in touch with. In Nantes the Muslim population is growing, and there is also a very large amount of North African immigrants here.

What are some interesting things you’ve done?- Something interesting that I had the opportunity to do here is travel to many different parts of France doing ministry and with going places with friends. So far I’ve gotten to go to Paris, St.Nazaire, Normandy, and Marseille (area) with OM, BCOM, and just for fun. It’s been great to see other parts of France and the differences between them!  Something else interesting I’ve been blessed to have done is visit the island of Malta for my mid-internship break. I didn’t even know the country existed until coming to France but discovered it’s a popular (and affordable) vacation spot for the summer. It was a great break!

What does ministry look like?- Right now there are a couple of ministries that I am involved in. The one that I am most involved in is the ministry with prostitute women, who are mostly Nigerian. I am in contact with a few of the women who have left the streets to follow Jesus and I visit them, go grocery shopping with them, encourage them in their new found faith in Christ, and stay flexible to help them at any time. Other ministries we are involved in as a team are, Café de Langues (where we make contacts with people through speaking English), hospitality ministry (inviting people into our home for meals or events),  LinkUp (an organization that works with the youth of Nantes),  and friendship evangelism.  It’s very flexible here and new ideas are always welcome by the leaders!

Thanks Sarah!

What kind of ministry?- Currently, the only ministry that I am doing is teaching, along with Kelly, a Bible Club every Wednesday at a local school. This is challenging me to know the Bible more, and it is causing me to fall more in love my Lord as I teach the kids. It also challenges me to put things in simple form and yet stretch the kids at the same time. I don’t want to present Sunday school lessons; I want them to be mature Christians and to have a real relationship with God. I’m also going to teach a Sunday School at the same school for the boarding students. This will only be once a month but will allow me to spend time with the kids and talk with them.
Recently, the Lord has been putting new visions and ideas on my heart and in my mind. I am praying about direction and do not want to just do stuff to do it but want to serve and do what God has for me to do here. I am wanting to start a volleyball team with the Somali teen girls here and just hang out with them and have fun playing. I also want to go to the local hospital and see if I can volunteer there and learn. I am very interested in medical missions and hope to gain further learning about the medical field. The next ministry opportunity is completely new and totally on the prayer list. Who knows if it will work, but it’s been presented to me to start a Bible study with the women of my church and other friends. It’s still the beginnings, but we’ll see what God says.

What does your housing look like?- Our house is so cute! I love it. We have made it into a nice little home and have made the men on our team rather jealous of the homey feel. It’s a 3 bedroom house with one bath, a kitchen, and living/dining room. Over the months, we’ve increased in decor such as pictures, curtains, wall hangings and lamps. In my room, we have drapes and pictures on the wall, and I even have a lamp and nightstand.

What does communication with home look like?-Communication with home is sporadic. Because I have a cell phone here, I am able to text with people back home. So my best friend and I text almost everyday. It doesn’t cost a whole lot, but it isn’t free either. I text my parents probably twice or three times a week. It’s amazing how fast it is and how strong the connection is if I call them. Internet works well here, and we don’t have too many problems minus the occasional disconnected modem. But I can set up “skype dates” with friends and family and haven’t had any problems. It’s so nice having that freedom and ability to stay connected.

What are the people like?- That is a very complex question. Lets see. Kenyans are pretty much exactly opposite from Americans! For one, they are indirect and communal in their lifestyle. People here are generally very friendly and really, really love white people because they think we have money. They are incredibly hospitable. Even when they don’t have much, they offer it to you. The people here are tough and have usually gone through so much pain, and yet they are still so joyful and full of life. People here are laid back, and life just doesn’t cause them to rush around in a frenzy. The pace here is so calm compared to America. People are more important than business or errands.

What are some interesting things you’ve done?-I’ve ridden a camel. I’ve butchered a chicken. I’ve taught English to a class of Somalis. I’ve eaten a bowl of cereal with ants in it. I’ve had a picnic out in the bush with Giraffes in the distance.

Thanks Abby!

Q: What’s ministry like?

A: Friendship evangelism. its the safest way and the most challenging. I’m teaching at primary schools and holding a Bible Club with Abby at Life School.

Q: What’s housing like?

A: The girl’s house has three bedrooms with ceiling fans, a bathroom with running water, a living room, and a dining room with both a refrigerator and freezer! We also have a kitchen with a gas stove and a sink. Yes we are very blessed! We do have outhouses just in case, and sometimes the electricity goes out. If the drinking water goes out we have water in jugs for that very occasion.

Q: What does communication with home look like?

A: Teammate’s computer. My parents don’t have the internet, so I can’t skype them. The only options are facebook with my sister or calling, which uses up a lot of minutes (in other words-all my minutes!). So I facebook my sister a lot and call my parents every couple of weeks.

Q: What are the people like?

A: I love living here with these people. Sometimes I feel more at home here than in America. The “down countries” (Kenyans who aren’t from that area) like to talk forever and serve you chai tea. If you don’t see them for more than two days they think you’ve forgotten about them. The Somalis and the Muslims are more reserved, but once you get to know them you’re a part of the family. They’re so intriguing. They have no concept of time here. They spend their days visiting, eating and cooking and walking everywhere. They love interruptions, so this is a big stretch in my life. The Muslim women have grown up being told that they are not good enough for the men, are useless and are ugly. You can tell them how pretty they are, but they’ll insist that we have white skin and therefore are the beautiful ones. This is a good chance to show them what love is, gentle love.

Q: What’s something interesting you’ve done?

A: The most exciting thing that I have done is driving out into the bush (in the middle of nowhere) and walking on dried, crusty red dirt to search for giraffes (I saw six of them with three babies).

The sunset makes all flowers and plants come alive (because everything else is dead). The sun fades and the night sky appears before you so wide that it seems like a snow globe from east to west with the stars so close that they actually twinkle. I feel like I can breath, just me and God. Breathtaking.

-What kinds of ministry are you doing?
Right now I’m just meeting with anyone and everyone. This past week I’ve gone out to fast food, sat on a park bench, peeled peas, gone to an Indian restaurant and popped into a cafe, all to meet with people who I pray with and can be God’s light to.
-What does your housing look like?
I’m living in a highly developed country, so the fact that there’s about 3 bathrooms in this house makes this a luxury. We have a spacious downstairs that is great for hosting get-togethers. However, my bedroom is just big enough to fit my roomies’ and my beds and our lamp stand. We have a large lovely window, though, and charming Brazilian neighbors!
-What does communication with home look like?
Skype, email, facebook. And we just happen to have a phone with unlimited free calls to home phones in the States! (We’re super lucky though!). However, the 7-hour time difference does sometimes put a stick in the spokes of transatlantic communication.
-What are the people like?
The french are not the snobbish, rude, distant people they’re made out to be. There are as many people that fit that description here as in America. However, I do find that they are more “discrete” as they call it here, which means that they are more reserved and it takes longer to get to know them and become true friends with them. But once you have a French friend—you’re friends for life!
-What’s something interesting that you’ve done?
I’ve become an amateur connoisseur of French cheeses…very amateur! (You should see the cheese aisles here, it’s practically a city block!). I’ve also smiled back at the Mona Lisa and hiked through the French countryside to see fireworks for the 14th of July (their 4th of July!) Good times.

Thanks Tamsen.

A. For the first half of internship we have been doing a lot of different work in the schools around here and just building friendships with people in town. Now that language learning is over we have been freer to pursue different areas of ministry in the community that we feel called to. Right now I am working with an orphanage in town and also with the different Westerners and Europeans that come into town looking for meaning in life! On top of that we just spend a lot of time with people and building friendships.

Q. what does your housing look like?

A. Us girls live in a nice little house in a compound that has about 8-10 other families from some of the churches around here. Our house is small but a perfect size for just 5 of us girls! The guys live in a big house in a big compound all to themselves. Their house is also considered our classroom and a place where we hang out a lot of times for lunch, etc. We live in cement houses with clay floors. Instead of an oven we have a gas stove, and we use a water filter for drinking and a stick broom to sweep our floors! It never gets cold here so we don’t have to worry about closing the windows which are nice and big so that we are able to keep them open at all times!

Q. what does communication with home look like?

A. Because we have good internet connection we are blessed with being able to contact at least a couple times a week! It has been really easy keeping in touch with family back home and it is so nice to get letters in the mail!

Q. what are the people like?

A. The people here are super friendly and hospitable, but when it comes to deeper things about their lives or what is happening they will not share right away. It takes building friendships over a period of time and earning trust before they will open up enough for you to truly share with them!

Q. what’s something interesting that you’ve done?

A. Life here is almost always interesting and so different from life in the States that this is a hard question to answer! I guess the most interesting thing that has happened to us was the day that my roommate and I got stuck in the back of the matatu (usually an old van-type vehicle, which is the most common form of transportation in Kenya) and had to climb out the window in skirts, and then on the way home we found ourselves walking behind a herd of 50 camels into town!

BCOM’s Bachelor of Arts program includes a 16-month global internship which takes place in various countries. After completing the necessary two terms of training on campus, the student will be able to choose a ministry site in another part of the world. This list includes parts of Africa, Europe, and Asia. After a four month period of fundraising at home, the intern will board the plane and be sent off for their training program at the internship site they have chosen.

“But what does one learn on global internship?” you may ask. Great question. The intern’s learning experience includes language learning, cultural understanding, and practical ministry to the locals. The specifics of these learning experiences obviously vary from country to country, but one thing that all interns will do is learn how to learn.

Regardless of whether you’re in Thailand eating squid or speaking french with the locals in Paris, as a global intern you will learn how to learn a culture. This ability to learn isn’t limited to the culture you experience through global internship. Your ability to discern culture and worldview behind a people group will extend to all peoples you encounter from that moment on. Essentially, you are learning how to learn a people-the epitome of effective missionary work.

Don’t think that you can get by with regurgitating facts or quoting phrases. Missions work requires genuine people who can think on their feet. An effective missionary must learn how to learn…and in learning that, you will find a valuable key to being effective in any culture.

Do you ever want something so much that it makes you sick? It’s that hollow, nauseous feeling in your gut, like you’re about to explode or punch a hole in the wall or sit down and just have a really good cry. This is what it’s like to dream and to hope, but to not be sure if what you want will ever be yours.

What can you tell a 6-year old girl who has no other dream than to go to Africa? Her fantasies are full of lions, roaring campfires, blazing sunsets, simplicity, perfection. She wants to explore and discover, to step into wardrobes and find herself in distant lands. She wants to be the heroine in a grand adventure. To emerge from peril to epic theme music. I mean, wouldn’t life be so much more inspiring with your own theme music?!?

What do you tell a 22-year old girl who is still living in that fantasy? You take her to Africa.

After living my entire life fantasizing about it, I actually got to go to Africa. And then it hit me…REALITY CHECK! My lions were nowhere to be seen, no campfires except a single candle when the electricity went out, the sky was pale and pasty, the culture complex, and everything was so IMPERFECT!

The tremendous letdown felt to me like death. Everything that I had imagined to be alive and beautiful and adventurous was ugly and difficult. My spark for life soon flickered out, and I spent my days like a robotic corpse just trying to put one foot in front of the other.

I don’t want to fill a blog with negativity, but places overseas simply aren’t what National Geographic make them out to be. I didn’t think that I had any high expectations as I boarded that plane to Africa, but I soon realized who I was really doing missions for…me.

I was in Africa for 16 months. During that time I lived daily with people who stared at me, roosters that woke me before sunrise, the suffocating stench of burning trash-and that’s just the beginning! Instead of spending that time serving God, I spent most of it fighting Him. I had to kill 16 years of plans to make MY hopes and dreams come true, never mind God’s! All that time before I had simply used the name “missionary” to get me where I wanted to go.

Though I couldn’t see it at the time, it ended up being to me really a beautiful letdown. It’s that gross idea of “growing up” or “maturing”. Peter Pan would shudder in his grave. But in Christ, we really ought to want that. At first it felt like I was just growing hard and cynical and pessimistic and critical of the world. And I guess it could have turned out that way if I would have let it. But then I realized, I can let my difficult experiences turn me into a bitter person or a better person. I can chose to be a victim or victorious. My beautiful letdown caused me to move out of my fantasy world into the real one so that I could truly start living.

Don’t get me wrong, I still dream. There are still things I want so much that it hurts. But my outlook on life will never be the same. So go on ahead. Experience your dreams. And if it turns out quite unlike you expected it would, don’t let it kill you. Just learn from it, and start living.

Today on the tram as I watched people enter and exit, going on with their different ways of life. I soon got to thinking about the huge difference between the lives that we all live as humans. It’s funny how our environment, world view, experience, and background all come together to make our lives so different from one another.

Today I spent time with a girl who’s sixteen, loves Spanish films, and hanging out with her friends. She also happens to be married, pregnant with her second child, and Romani, a people group we know as Gypsy. She spends her days begging on the streets and taking care of her one year old daughter. There’s a whole array of people that you’ll run into in that world out there. Almost every night on the streets here I see a forlorn drunk, a half-dressed party girl, and a half-asleep business man heading different directions and I wonder what are the million words, steps, and memories that have turned them into the people they are today.
Even under our own noses, the people we pass each day have seen a different world, a different universe than the one we know ourselves. When you were celebrating your 13th birthday there was someone who was getting sold into slavery. When I was losing my close friend in a car accident there was a couple somewhere who just found out they were finally pregnant. The world is a strange place filled with over 7 billion people going in many different directions.
I suppose that’s why I’m little too enthralled with fiction and imagination. The world shifts gears, the colors change hues, and the soundtrack switches rhythm when we step into another person’s shoes. The world can be seen through the eyes of a well-known movie star squinting in the glare of camera flashes or in the dimness seen through the eyes of a slave in America who almost no one knows exists. Does anyone care?

How crazy is it to think that there’s one who understands, who sees through and just plain gets every person who’s out there in that big, little world. The words “God understands” has become rather cliche, but let’s take a moment to look for the truth behind the Hallmark card. We have a man who came down to earth, was covered in dirt, sweat, and the rejection of this earth so that He could look into the eyes of every man, woman, and child and let them know, “I get you”.
There are a million things that we as humans will never be able to understand in this life, and that’s okay. I’ll never be able to understand the life and world of that gypsy girl, but heck, who knows if I’ll ever be able to understand my own! But really, I don’t care. Because right now there’s someone whose eyes I’m looking into, and is telling me, “I get you. I know who you are, I see where you’re at, and I care.” Let’s leave it at that.

It’s strange watching people who’ve recently arrived on the field make observations like my team did at the beginning. They notice the smallest details and want to understand the intricacies of the culture. It’s even more strange realizing how much we have changed since we left. Their ‘American’ identity is still so strong that it contrasts greatly against our faded and blended team identity. We’ve become much more laid back and flexible in order to mesh into the pace of life and the culture here, and even our individual personalities have mellowed and adjusted to fit with each other. I can just barely remember feeling frustrated at my lack of independence as a female and wanting to fill up every day with activity, but those things are very new and real for new arrivals.

In some ways I feel like a parent might. I desperately want this team to succeed, to fit into this culture and to effectively declare the love of Christ in this community. I want them to do more and go further than we have, but there’s the prideful tug of not wanting our weaknesses to be exposed by their excellence. If they are better at building relationships than I am, will I be able to rejoice for the advance of the kingdom or will I try to make excuses for why I couldn’t have done it, or even worse, why they shouldn’t be doing it?

I’m learning a whole new aspect of humility right now, and it’s not very pretty. It’s not that my team has been ineffective or necessarily failed in any way, but more so that our role was that of preparing the ground and sowing seeds in this region so that it can become fertile ground for the gospel in the future. I can look back and see God’s kingdom slowly advancing across this land and I recognize that we’ve had a part to play in this expansion, however subtle or insignificant. I am hoping that the stepping stones that have been laid, not only by my team but by generations before us, will enable this group to progress to the next stage in God’s plan for this place. The trouble arises when I look to numbers and outward results instead of to God for reassurance that I am doing what he has called me to do.

I can see enormous potential for this team to more effectively share the gospel here than we have, but I also see the danger that accompanies such an outgoing and dynamic group-that in a desire to engage and spread the kingdom, they will overstep culturally because of their newness and ignorance.

Unfortunately, ignorance is nearly unavoidable when crossing cultures. We’re sharing as much as we can of what we’ve learned and what has been passed on to us from others, but some lessons have to be learned firsthand. So when one of them asks ‘why can’t we do this?’, I have to do a little bit of wrestling with myself. Do I respond out of legitimate caution based on cultural aspects they are unaware of, or do I feel threatened by their boldness in an area I was unable to overcome during my time here? If I respond out of fear, I will not only pass on that illegitimate fear but I will hinder the advance of the gospel in this community.

No matter what it costs my ego, I don’t want to be the reason the gospel is withheld from these people! I want to encourage the inquisitive and adventurous spirit I see in this new group without letting them run into traps that would endanger their witness. What a fine balance to walk. I’m sure the only way I can live this realization out is by staying connected to the vine as Jesus taught his disciples in John 15. Apart from him, I can’t accomplish a single thing, whether or not I claim it’s for his kingdom.