Weekend November 19/22

Hey all, just wanted to share a bit about what I've been up to lately. Last weekend was a pretty event-filled couple of days.

Friday a few of us had the opportunity to visit the orphanage where our friend Katy (another resident of campus, from Germany) volunteers nearly everyday. When we arrived the older ones were still at school and it was bath time for the 1-3 year olds. So we got to help, and I had the job of getting them dressed. They were so unsure of all these white strangers, smiling at them and speaking to them in English.

One of the last children I dressed was named Dieudonné. He seemed very unsure of me at first, but when we walked outside to play he took my hand without hesitation. He sat on my lap for a bit, but I could not get him to look at me, let alone smile. We got out a mini parachute and some jump ropes and started to play with them, and with play most of their timidity evaporated. Despite not seeming to like me in the beginning, Dieudonné became my shadow for the rest of the time, either resting on my hip or pressing into my legs. Thankfully, I finally got him to smile; I tossed him into the air and his face did not look pleased at first, but when he was safely back in my arms he would giggle and wrap his little body around me in a bear hug. We only had a short visit to play with all of them, but it was definitely worthwhile.

The next day I had the chance to talk about the orphanage with Rod, the Journey

Corps director, who is essentially Ivoirian trapped in American skin. He isn't a huge fan of orphanages in Côte d'Ivoire. It goes against the very ideals of traditional ivoirian culture; no one is ever an true orphan because there is always a family member or neighbor to pitch in. In many of the ethnic languages here, there is no word for cousin because everyone is considered brother or sister, so not only do your parents raise you, but your aunts and uncles as well. If your parents are no longer alive or are not able to take care of you, there is someone else who steps up to take over. So these children should have had someone come forward to help care for them, but instead they've wound up in an orphanage.

Dieudonné and I

My visit to the orphanage has left me grateful, mostly that these children have a place to lay their heads at night and food to eat. But it has also left me feeling unsettled: What has happened that these childrens' families haven't taken the proper Ivoirian responsibility? And what could be done so that these children receive more love and mental stimulation so that they wouldn't be so developmentally behind?

The next day 2 of the other Journeyers (Holly and Alyssa) and I went alo

ng with Angelika (Rod's wife) to the Jour de Femmes, basically Women's Day for all of the churches from our association in the Bouaké area. It's a day of fellowship and worship for the ladies. There were some official greetings, a sermon given by one of the local pastors about worship, a potluck style lunch, a testimony given by one of the women, and throughout all of this there was worship by singing and dancing. The entire day was translated. First t

he person would speak in French and then another woman would translate into Dioula (the local trade language) because many of the women understand very little French, although most men in Bouaké understand French well. Then Angelika would translate for us. Some of the time, I could understand and translate for myself, which was pretty exciting.

Waiting for the Women's Day to start

The style of dancing is that of the Senefou people, one of the many ethnic groups in Côte d'Ivoire. A song is started by one or a couple women, the balafon players will join in (basically like a marimba with gourds attached to each note). The women will all join in the singing and most will go out to the middle and dance in a big circle. Often during these dances the women bend at their wastes and continue dancing hunched over. After watching it for one song I decided to join in. I just followed the woman in front of me, both her steps and the way she held her arms and body. It was so fun to worship God this way! And apparently I did ok, because when the song was over many of the women started grabbing my arms and holding them up in the air (their way of celebrating me, of saying Bravo!).

Giving Senefou dancing a try

Besides dancing, another part of the day that really impacted me was the amount of laughter. The ladies were constantly telling jokes, teasing one another and playfully bantering. Even though I didn't always understand the exact meaning of the jokes, it was impossible not to smile along, the ladies just had so much joy.

In all it was an eye opening weekend; this past week has had some notable moments as well, so should be posting something else soon!