UPDATE:
I officially arrived in Conakry, Guinea, West Africa on Tuesday the 27th of June at 9 pm. It was two long days of travel filled with new faces, travel vouchers, and goodbyes. I met up with two fellow interns on the journey which made the trek easier. We were greeted by our host missionary family (Stephen, Lori, and Hannah) at the airport and another boy intern (Austin). Even though we were tired from travel, I couldn't help notice a huge cultural difference in the traffic. Street signs, stop lights, and stop signs are nowhere to be seen. I was wide awake the entire ride home after a huge bus almost took out our car as we merged into the swarm.
Conakry is on the west cost of Africa. We are currently in the wet season so it rains almost every day. Thankfully the rain really keeps the temperature down and is very soothing. It’s a tropical crowded city FILLED with people. In Conakry alone there are 1.6 million people an 8th of the entire population of Guinea.
For the next 6 weeks I will be living on a compound with my missionary family and other missionaries with select organizations. I will live with two other interns in the intern apartment until a team will arrive who will stay with us. We are in the heart of the city but the walls of the compound help it to feel more calm and quiet.
The first official day here we had the opportunity to visit the orphanage for the very first time. Two main buildings with a court yard surrounded by walls greeted us along with 30 children. It is a Canadian funded Christian orphanage mostly taking in children who have AIDs or whose parents cannot afford to support them. I believe the oldest child there is around 12.
The children instantly came to great us and called us all "tante" which means aunt in French. We were given a tour of the grounds then had the choice to play with the children or hold babies. I split from the group and stayed with the babies. I'm learning more and more that the American romantized view of missions and orphanages needs to be quickly broken down. Yes the children are adorable and most happy, but it's a rough place to be. The workers are incredible but for most of them it’s just a job not a passion. The babies lay on the floor some motionless sweltering in the heat. The place smelled of rotting formula mixed with urine. A huge prayer would be strength from the Lord in the orphanage. Every time I'm there I find myself crying because of the lack of life in the babies. I know the Lord has me here to love on them and breath life back in but it wrecks my soul to see.
One of the little girls loves white people and time we smile at her she starts giggling. She has a smile of gold and can make all of our breaking hearts soar. I want to be that little girl in other peoples lives here. I want them to see me and instantly feel life and love.
The next time we visited the orphanage I thought I would give playing with the older children a try. They were so excited and ran to pull out their jump ropes. I was expecting to stand there and swing the rope as they jumped through....nope. They grabbed the jump rope put it between all of their legs and ran around like a train, works for me! The older children, though most sweet, were also hard on the soul. They are desperate for love and attention and aggressively fight over you for your hand or leg or anything they can grab onto. I was incredibly surprised to not see any blood or even an injured or killed kid by how they play and wrestle with each other. The thing is the roughness is not out of anger or hate for the most part but just how they have always played. Prayers for the older children and guidance with how to love on them and not be completely drained of everything I have would be so appreciated!
I did however have a sweet little boy wearing a Captain America shirt tug on my pants and reach up to me. He is probably three years old and has sweet big eyes. I picked him up and after holding him watching the other children he eventually put his head on my chest and fell asleep. Sweet moments like these make it all worth it.
CULTURE:
Most woman in Guinea wear cultural fabric tailored into skirts and matching tops, unless they are younger and have a more Western influence. The radical Muslim men wear longer tops with pants and hats, but most opt for shorts and T-shirts. As someone who notices fabric and clothing I have loved gazing out of the window as we drive from place to place seeing life happen on the streets in vibrant colors.
Slowly from the missionaries I am finding out more about not only Guinea culture but Muslim culture. The men here have almost no respect for woman. If two people are dating that means they are sleeping together, but in this culture if you get married after that it is very shameful so no one does. After a woman has a baby she cannot have sex for 2 years so the men get bored and in Muslim culture they are allowed 3 other wives. A nasty cycle of men domination and sexual immorality and disease is then born. When we drive around I noticed the radical Muslim men glaring at Lori not only because she is white but because she is a woman.
I have noticed the people are very kind and patient here. Driving around there is honking because of the sheer ciaos but no one seems angry at all when you cut them off. The roads. if you can call the dirt extreme pot holed paths roads, are sometimes narrow and dead ends so we found ourselves turning around and backing up many times. Instead of the people being annoyed we were blocking their path to walk, they always helped us out of the pickle by guiding Lori.
WHAT THE LORD IS TEACHING ME:
The devil has been using fear at night keeping me awake terrified to shut my eyes. Before coming here when others expressed fears I would always answer that the Lord was watching out for me and my God is bigger than any evil out there. This week has tested that belief and made me truly believe it when I finally make myself shut my eyes and roll over.
The missionaries hugely focus on discipleship for the interns. We are going through a book called Soul Care which deals with the deep parts of your soul and foundation. We just finished the chapter on identity and the author really makes you dive deep and pick apart lies you believe about yourself that were born from family or experiences. I'm excited to continue through this study I know it will be very rewarding but vulnerable and scary at the same time. Already the Lord has pointed different lies about performance that I've subconsciously believed about myself. Things like if I don't do well my value and identity is tied with that "score".
PRAYER:
The English school opens up this week. I will be helping a class Mondays and Wednesdays teaching English to people much older than me and predominantly Muslim. Prayers for Holy Spirit guidance on what to say are much needed.
Energy is always lacking and needed while doing so many things in a different culture with sketchy sleep.
Vulnerability doing discipleship and Soul Care
Deeper relationships with, fellow interns, Heather, Maclae and Austin, Hannah the daughter of the missionaries and with Lori and Stephen.
Guidance with transition with a team coming in on Thursday filled with peers
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