Shake Ya Ga-bon-bon!: July 2009

So we only got a short 3 day break before the next TWO teams got here...that's right I said two. A team from Ohio got here last Saturday night (11th) and a team from Southshore, Mass. got here Sunday night. So we had about 40 people in the house Sunday night...CRAZY!! The teams however split up on Monday. Torey, Danielle, and myself went with the Southshore team back down to Bongolo Monday morning. We left at 8am and got there at 8pm....12 hours with 20 people packed into a van and a truck...it was quite a trip. While at Bongolo, the team worked on repairing some of the road near the hospital. They are dirt roads, so Tim Kelly (the missionary who housed us) brought in dirt and the team spread it into the pot-holes. The interns stayed in with Amanda Kelly and helped her cook and clean for the team. It was kind of a mini-vacation for us interns...it was nice to have some girl time and get to know Amanda (love her!!!). The Kelly's also have...*drum roll please*....a POOL! So we spent most nights in there relaxing. It was really nice. Not to mention, Amanda taught us how to make some home-made treats from scratch (pancakes, cookies, cake..mmmm). We had three work days (Tues, Wed, Thurs). I really loved getting to know the Southshore team as well. They are such a close-knit community of believers....so open and honest with one another. It was really refreshing to see. The debrief times every night were amazing, and I really felt God's spirit moving. It has really taught me to maintain close relationships with Christian brothers and sisters, because they are the ones who will build you up and keep you strong in your faith. Southshore youth group is really blessed to have the strong Christian relationships with one another! Friday morning we left to come back to Libreville. Saturday, we did a medical caravan in a fisherman village in Libreville. I was touched many times throughout the day. The Southshore team is really good about continually praying for one another and for others...they felt the need to pray for many patients we saw and were very bold to step out and actually do it! A woman with HIV came back to the Lord after doubting for many years. A young girl with cerebral palsy was prayed for while her mother had tears rolling down her cheeks. It was probably one of the best medical clinics I've been to. Sunday we went to church and had a relax day! This week the team will be working with a local church in Libreville. They are repairing a roof for the parsonage and also working with the water system. This team leaves Thursday and the next team arrives Friday! Not rest for the weary:). We don't have a break until Aug. 10th...and then I leave Aug 14th. The rest of the summer is going to fly by! I've learned so much...I just want to say thank you again to all those praying for me and who gave me support...you truly helped to change my life :). I've been really slack on taking pics lately..but here are a few pics from Intern-Night-Out during our short break last week. We went to a place called "Birdy Art" where they have all these exotic birds...it's so beautiful! We had a blast:)

Zach and Josef

I've been reading through the Gospels the past few weeks. I have the Message translation and Jesus continually commands us to "Live Generously." I just finished reading Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne (I highly recommend it) and I’m learning a lot about giving of myself, my time, my money, anything I have. I’m learning how to live generously-and I’ll be the first to admit-I am horrible at it! I’m so selfish with the things I have. But, I’m starting to change my whole world view. No longer do I see my money as mine, but as God’s. My time isn’t mine-it’s God’s. My life isn’t mine (Jer. 10:23)-it’s God’s! Just a little tidbit on what God is teaching me…on to the blog…

I feel like I have so much to write I don’t know where to begin!! Ah…I’ll probably leave out a ton…but oh well. So last week our first team came from Lancaster, PA!! The coolest group of people I’ve met! They arrived last Sunday night. Hannah and I went to pick them up from the airport. There were 18 people in the group. Monday morning we had a short orientation, and that afternoon we went over to the local Bible school to clean up the warehouse. We also unloaded a medical container for Bongolo Hospital. Tuesday we went to the city right outside of Libreville called Ntoum to do a medical caravan. We set up at the local school. The team did a skit about malaria where they acted out how a person gets malaria and how it can be avoided. Mama Jeanine interpreted the skit for the crowd. After, Sydney from the Lancaster team gave her testimony and Tim interpreted. We set up the medical caravan, and let some of the Lancaster team help out with the weight and blood pressure station as well as the pharmacy. (By the way… I got a consultation for myself at the medical clinic from the eye nurse haha--my eye has continually been bothering me for the past 3 weeks so she gave me an antibiotic eye drop--hopefully it will work!! J). Wednesday, we went to the Hope House and hung out with the kids. Both the team and the kids had a blast! I think God really spoke through this experience--the team was really touched by the kids and their situation. On Thursday, the real fun began! The whole team traveled to the village of Ebel-Abanga (where the interns went last week) to help out with the local church. We camped out just like before-outside under mosquito nets. We bathed in the same river and used the same “out house.” It was quite an experience haha. When we got there Thursday, we set up camp and took a quick tour of the area. We also walked around to the local houses to hand out tracks and invite people to the Jesus film that we would be showing on Saturday night. Friday, we got up and went to our work site. They local pastor in the village has land for a church and it needed to be cleared. We worked most of the day clearing brush, dirt, wood, and all other kinds of jungle stuff. I saw a ton of snakes…ugh! So awful…haha. That night, we split up into teams to hand out more Bible tracks. There was one Gabonese and two Americans with each team. My group witnessed to about 10 people and 3 of them accepted Christ. It was an awesome experience. Our Gabonese leader made sure to introduce us as Americans at each house we went into--the people pay more attention to that because they think it’s crazy for Americans to leave our “utopia” and come to Africa, therefore they listen to what we have to say. Friday night was absolutely crazy. The local Catholic church was having a ceremony of sorts, because someone had died. Many Catholics in Gabon still practice their ancestral spirit worship. The local pastor had warned us about this, but Tim didn’t think they would be too loud so we didn’t move camp. Around 11pm we heard them start beating on drums. I was laying in my mosquito net and all I could think was “oh no…” The next thing we know, they are singing and dancing and playing the drums RIGHT beside our camp. The celebration lasted ALL NIGHT. I mean…literally…until sunrise they did not stop. Then they all drank until they were drunk and sat around to talk. It was horrible-nobody got any sleep. I had nightmares about those stupid drums haha. It was funny in a way, but also very sad because they were basically worshipping evil spirits so the dead would not haunt them. This is a big problem among Catholics and non-Christians in Gabon. Saturday (which might I mention was the 4th of July), we grilled out, swam, and watched fireworks…..NOT! Haha. No 4th of July celebration for us--we cleared the rest of the land and dug the foundation. It was such hard work, but we all felt very accomplished when we finally finished. Saturday night, we were supposed to show the Jesus film but the projector would not start. Instead, we sang and danced for Jesus for about an hour. It was nice to be able to praise God even in the midst of a difficulty. That night, we sang America the Beautiful while eating ravioli by the fire. Sunday, we went to church and then hung out with the local youth group. We had a Q&A session with them and found out a little about the local church and how they are organized. Monday we got up, packed up camp, and left. It was so nice to get a real shower and use a real bathroom! I really feel like this was one of the best experiences I’ve had so far, even though it was very difficult. I learned so much from the local people. One of the kids we met named Manio hung onto me for the entire weekend. He was 3 years old. His mother was dead, and he called me his mother. It was extremely hard for me to leave him--I made such a connection with him even though we exchanged very few words. The Gabonese we met had such a passion and zeal for God that I haven’t seen anywhere before. They constantly sing and praise God. They love to talk about Him and worship Him-it’s all they want to do! It made me feel like my relationship with God is so dull and unmotivated. The irony of it all is that they kept asking us about America and how we did things-as if we had it all together. They are the ones who I want to be like-I want to have that same passion and zeal for God. Hopefully as I learn more this summer I can take some of that home with me. Today, the team went to the market and to the beach. They left tonight, and it was sad to see them go. They were an awesome team that I will never forget. Our next team comes Sunday so the interns have a little down time. Phew….I think I’ve written all I can for now..thanks for reading:)

This is Sydney giving her testimony at the Medical Clinic