overnight

Saturday night I stayed in another village with the family of Annamarie’s housekeeper AFletcher. Annamarie dropped me just before dark so I didn’t really see my surroundings. Fletcher has 3 children-Joana (14), Jonathani (9) and Josephina (5). Very cute and not much English. The evening was very quiet for a while and then we start vocabulary lessons—anything we can see or act out, household items, body parts, simple actions…and I write it all down because I’ve found that is the best way for me to remember it. Sunday morning woke up to chores—we swept and mopped the house, swept the yard, collected water (from the well just out front). Then it was time to go to church…it was harvest Sunday at the prayer house so we brought maize and groundnuts as an offering. As we sat through the service (annamarie wrote a translation for me—Acts 7:54-60 where do we turn when we are in trouble or danger? Kids go to their parents…we try to fix ours ourselves most often…we should turn to God) we noticed that only children were giving the harvest but we brought ours up as well…and then I was given gifts! They were so happy that I was there and that I was learning and that I wanted to understand—a chicken (live), more groundnuts than I know what to do with, and 2 stalks of sugarcane! To give is to receive (not usually so tangibly) and I was so humbled at the unexpected outpouring of appreciation and gifts.