31 July 2011

July 31, 2011

I cannot believe it has already been almost 2 weeks since I arrived in Cote d’Ivoire.  I knew it would be different, but nothing can completely prepare you till you get somewhere.  The culture is quite different in many ways from greeting people, to how and what you eat, and especially the language spoken.  But there is one wonderful similarity:  we all feel God’s love and grace.  We can all worship and glorify Him because He has given His life for each of us.  I have been able to go to a few Christian church services and even a Christian wedding.  The services are similar in structure and purpose, but worship and music play a large part of the service.  There usually is a choir but everyone gets up and sings, claps, and dances.  No one goes crazy around the room, but most everyone, especially the women, dance.  Hopefully I can upload a video for you to see.  It is very fun, but it is something very hard for me to get involved with because I have no rhythm.  Mostly I just sway and clap.  Clapping and moving my feet at the same time is almost too difficult for me (haha).  Every week I am going to try a little harder.  Hopefully by the end I will able to join in – at least a little bit. 

Although it is something quite different and difficult for me, it is an amazing sight to see people who love the Lord and worship with their whole bodies.  The pastor was sharing in I Peter 5, and he was talking about the devil.  I was reading verse 9, and I felt that this is what is important.  We may have different cultures, different skin colors, different worship, but we do all have to remain steadfast in our faith.  We all have a common enemy in the devil.  We all experience the same sufferings.  So even though we may live differently, we know how to support and pray for each other because we go through similar things.  I do not understand everything about this culture, but I am learning.  And despite all the differences, we all have a great God!

**Note:  I apologize for not updating this very often.  It is really hard to get on the internet here, so I have not been able to that often.  I am going to try and write them during the week, and then when I can get on the internet uploading multiple blogs at one time.  I thank you for your patience, and I hope it is interesting.  So far it has just been random stuff that I share, so if you have a specific question or request on some information just let me know.  I also apologize if this is either really boring or not well-written.  I hate writing and even more I hate having people read it, so just bear with me.  I am praying that the Lord gives me the words you need and/or might want to hear.