Experience Africa!

What do you get when you put together 3 rounds of really strong tea, enough food to feed a small African village, and two amazing newlyweds? The 2006 Safe Harbor Missions Conference, of course. The weekend started off with tea at my house Friday night. Our missionaries were Terry and Barry Newman. They are Alliance missionaries going to Mali. After snacking on finger foods, Barry provided us with tea...African style. The tea is served in three rounds in small glasses that are similar to shot glasses. This was especially exciting for me because I learned to love this African tea ceremony while I was in Senegal. In Senegal they call it attaya. Each round gets sweeter. It represents the sweetness of friendship. It gets sweeter sweeter.

On Saturday Nanny, Pa, and I prepared a Senegalese meal. This included 5 lbs of carrots, 10 lbs of onions, 5 bell peppers, a lot of garlic, 6 lbs of chicken, and a Sam's size box of rice. Somehow we mangaged to get it all cut up and cooked in two hours. I don't know what I would have done without Nanny and Pa. It took all 6 of our hands going as fast as possible to get it done. I certainly have a new respect for the African women that cook like this everyday. Of course they only have one burner, not 4 eyes on the stove going at one time. The Church looked just like an African Hut (at least Luke and I thought so). We had 4 mats on the floor for our trays of food. We all sat on the floor and ate with our right hands, just like in Africa. Everbody did really well trying to eat with thier hands. I was very excited that everybody dug right in. Some people(Luke), mastered the eating with your hands part of it. After dinner was cleaned up Terry and Barry shared some personal experiences about the people in Africa.

On Sunday, we had a wonderful worship service. The music was wonderful. I could barely even keep from crying so that I could acutally sing. Terry and Barry shared with us about what they will be doing in Mali. Terry will be working in a new Women's and Children's Hospital as a nurse. Barry will be working with the Fulani community beside the hospital. They shared with us how "perfect" this place is for them. Barry encourged us to pray for the Fulani every time we put on our blue jeans or see something blue because they love blue. They shared some specific prayer requests and then we prayed for them and thier journey to Mali.

When it came time for the Newmans to leave, I think we were all sad to see them go. We will see them again on Feburary 12th at the Alliance Mission Ralley. I think that we have found friends in the Newmans and I hope that we continue to pray for them as a church and individually.