Day 9

Day 9
Today was a bitter sweet day as it was the last day in the village for three of us. Tomorrow we will spend the day in Lome preparing to leave and doing a bit of shopping. We did end up going to Bagbe today and had a great time. We did the training for the children's workers and also spent some time prayer walking and sharing Christ with some of the people we ran into. This particular village has a much stronger Voo-do presence than most of the other villages. We walked no more than 100 yards and saw four different idols and then Dsniel took us to an area that was known as the "idol woods". It was a small grove of trees where they offered sacrifices regularly. It had a special platform for offering sacrifices and one tree and one bush that was an idol to worship. It is so strange to see how people could worship something such as a bush, but I suppose we worship stranger things in our own way in our society.
This village also was a bit more remote than some of the other villages, so the people were very excited to see us. When we arrived in the village the children come up to the van chanting "Yo-Vo, Yo-Vo" which means something like "white person" or "foreigner". It truly is a big deal when someone white comes to these villages. Everyone gets excited to see why we have come. This is why our work here is welcomed by the local believers. It lends credibility to their own work when someone from outside comes in and validates their their message. The people are so generous and hospitable to us insisting that we sit down while we talk with them. Every time I have been to Togo I have been treated with such kindness and hospitality. The people are genuinely kind and considerate to each other, much more so than in most parts of the US.
Today, when we got back to the conference center, we went for a long walk around the community. We were greeted with chants of "Yo-vo" and "bon soir", French for "good afternoon". We really stick out here and we get a lot of stares but have always been treated with respect and kindness. We were once again amazed at the commerce along the street. You can find just about anything you need by just asking around. With-in a one block area of where we are staying, all dirt roads, you can find everything from fresh pork, to laundry soap, tomato paste, phone cards, pocket calculator, sunglasses, perfume, iron gates, spaghetti noodles, and the list goes on and on. No shop is much bigger than 8' by 10' but they carry such a wide variety of items. Most all of them are at the front door or porch of their homes. Anyway, every time I come I am in awe of how you can find the strangest things in these little shops. This is not to mention on top
of some ladies head. They carry EVERYTHING on top of their heads here. It is very common for the ladies to carry items they are to sell for the day on top of their heads. They walk around until they sell what they have and then go get more. It is so different than from the US and you kind of have to see it to fully understand. I have been here three times and I am still learning so much about the culture. You will have to ask Lary about the ten chickens in a bowl on top of a ladies' head!
Suffice it to say, we have had a great time and, although I am ready to see my family, I hate to leave. This will probably be my last post so let me say thank you for praying for us. It truly has been a blessed trip and I couldn't have asked for a better group to travel with!
Be sure to check out Elisa's blog post about Lary's top ten "Things That Caught My Eye!" list! www.elisaorr@blogspot.com