an opportunity to celebrate

10.2.14


When the Lord uses His people to make an impact in a community, we celebrate
We join together, the Elders of the village, the families and us


We love to see the smile on the children's faces, the pride in their parents eyes


I watch the women that have worked hard to fix food for all the people gathered


I eat the food lovingly given to us and pray for our stomachs to handle the food well


We smile with sweat running down our faces in the 102 F degree weather


I watch the sheet being hung for photos from the year
and the raw electric wires being hung over our heads


Small kids coming to sit by me, shyly looking over 
Laughing with an indescribable, pure joy when they see their faces on the camera screen


Waiting and waiting for night to fall and the party to start


The kids form a mob around me, all yelling in the little French they know,
"Prend une photo!  Prend une photo, s'il vous pliez!  Faire une photo comme ça!"
(take a photo!  Take a photo of us please!  Take a photo like this!) 


Hours later the Balafon (a traditional Burinabe instrument) players arrive, 
driving into the crowd honking the horns on their mottos all the while
The dust in the air, kicked up from the dancing and makes it hard to see


People dance and laugh, clap and shout, celebrating African style
hour after hour they dance, song after song
The dancing goes on long after we leave, till 3 am we learned this morning
people celebrating a year of learning and growth

I'm praising God for the encouragement of being able to speak with others and interact with the people we came here to serve!

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4 notes

  1. Yay! So neat to see the folks you live amongst and to see Aaron dancing. Praying for many hearts to know Him.

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  2. Wow, it looks so fun! Glad you all are accepted and settling in, keep posting.

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  3. Always love a good party! Thanks for sharing!

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