10 Things I Learned from the Ivorian People

1. Greet and shake everyone's hand
2. Its okay to go topless.
- Most women do not go topless, but I did see a few of the older women walking around without a shirt on.  This is one lesson I will not be taking to heart. 
3. Generosity and hospitality are a way of life. 
- Visitors are always welcome.  Guests are always given the best.  My family would always give me the best piece of meat or an egg even if the others did not get something.  My host mother would randomly bring home peanuts or something for me.
4. It's not a meal without rice.
- Rice and sauce is one of the main things that the Ivorians eat for meals.  Some people do not even consider it a meal without rice. 
5.   Names have meaning. 
- Many of the tribal names are given to people for their significance or meaning.  They may mean things like he or she was born on a Monday or even that they never met their father.  My family gave me the Senoufo name of Fonnidjanwa, which means daughter of a forger or blacksmith.  They gave me this name because their family are forgers.
6.  Getting your clothes made for you and picking out the designs is really fun.
- It is just really neat getting to pick out the pattern you want then getting measured and picking out how you want it to look.  It makes your clothes more fun and meaningful.  They also fit a lot better. 
7. It is okay to dance at church (and most big events)...and kind of fun too!
8. Ministry (and even a church) can begin right next door. 
- The family that I lived with had small Bible study meetings with a group of people in their neighborhood.  It was so neat to walk through the town with them to another family's courtyard.  We all sat under the stars and worshipped God.  They prayed for everyone and then read and talked about a Bible passage.  The Christian community and amount of Bible study meetings had grown so large they were building a church just a few feet down the road from my family's house.
9.  Everybody goes to the market when it is market day.
- Market day was every six days.  It was incredibly crowded on that day because everyone came whether you needed something or not.
10.  Prayer is powerful and important.
- One easy way to minister to the people at the clinic was to offer to pray for them.  Whether a person was a Christian or not they really appreciated you praying for them.  The Christians of the neighborhood got together to pray for each other's requests.  When my Ivorian sister had a huge test her friend came over to the house and prayed with her before the exam.  I think we value prayer here too, but I was impressed by how they came together to pray for situations. 
*The people of Cote d'Ivoire were so nice.  Although things may be a little different there, they are some wonderful people.  I thank God for them and for allowing me to see their culture and faith first-hand.