Africa

I arrived back in Jamaica on the 17th of February after 7 amazing weeks in The Gambia but I am now back in Canada. I'm going try my best to fill in the last few months as best I can!

The Gambia

Typical Gambian home

In some ways being in Africa was like nothing I’ve ever experienced before and in others it was strangely familiar.In some ways it reminded me of Jamaica which I think made it easier to transition. When we were in Gambia it was the cooler season so the temperatures were relatively comfortable. The days would be hot and the nights and mornings were usually cool enough to wear a sweater. Everything was dry and dusty, the red dirt would hang in the air so thick you could see it at sunset. We were in rural Gambia so there was lots of mud huts with grass roofs everywhere.

Some village cuties

In the first village we visited, where we spent the majority of the time, families were grouped in compounds with each compound having several huts. The compounds not only housed people but the family’s animals as well-goats, chickens, donkeys- all lived right in with the family. Since Gambia is a largely Muslim nation the men would often have more than one wife so there would always be a lot of children on each compound.

Traditional African Woman

The culture was pretty relaxed. People were very friendly and hospitable, always welcoming us as if we were honoured guests. We never had to worry about whether or not it was a good time for us to visit a compound-even if people were extremely busy they would make time for us. The children are treated like adults from a young age so it would be common to see little ones out and about by themselves in the village or selling things in the market or carrying even smaller children on their backs in the traditional African style (wrapped tight with fabric in a sort of sling). Children also had to do work around compounds and help their mothers with chores. The men were usually found relaxing drinking tea (because it wasn’t farming season) or they would be in another country trying to earn money while the wives and children stay home.

Life for most people there is pretty primitive. Even though electricity is available most people don’t have it or can’t afford it. Running water is more of a rarity as well so most of the water has to be hauled from communal wells or pipes. Thankfully the water in Gambia is safe for drinking so the people don’t have many water associated diseases.

Location #1

The place we stayed in the first village was an old school building that had electricity, a pipe and a well for water and was equipped with a somewhat familiar bathroom with a toilet (most villagers use the ground instead).It took some adjusting to bathing from a bucket and cooking outside, but it took even more adjusting to the sounds of Africa.The most disturbing of the sounds was the sound of people shrieking and yelling during the nights-Kankuran. Kankuran is two month long event that happens once every five years where the boys in the village go out into the bush to be circumcised. The boys are unable to see their families for the duration of the two months. During the nights and part of the afternoons they would have a masquerade where the older men would dress up and parade around the village with machetes beating any women that look at them or trying to get money from the men. This made our lives complicated for two reasons: 1)It was extremely difficult to sleep at night. 2) We were unable to be out during certain times of the day and on the weekends. It really limited how much time we could spend with the people in the village.

Outside of the old school building

Our well

Girls Bedroom

Ministry

Our main ministry focus in the first village was working at a local Christian school teaching English to the village children. Four of us got assigned to help with the four classrooms on a consistent basis and others helped students one on one or worked with maintaining the school. Everyday from 8:00 am-1:30 PM we would work at the school. The first thing we would do each day was a morning devotional as part of the school’s opening exercises. From there we would split off into our specific roles, mine being teaching the Preschool 2 class. I had about 13 students ranging from age 7-12. I’ve never had any teaching experience before but it was easy to follow the curriculum provided even though it was extremely outdated. (And I LOVED teaching!) School in Gambia is a lot different than the education I’m used to or that a I received growing up in Canada. It was definitely eye opening for me to see how different teaching and discipline methods are (or can be) in another culture. However, I was allowed to teach in whatever style I felt comfortable which I was very thankful for. The students were grouped according to grade/ learning level but I found that some of the students were quite behind compared to the rest of the class and required one on one attention which made things more challenging. Each day when school ended at 12 PM, I would stay after to work with students who could use a little extra help and also to complete my lesson plan for the following days classes. It was very demanding mentally but also a lot of fun.

Lunch at the school-African Style!

    

Me and my class!

Eating lunch in the village

Once we were done at the school we would usually go have lunch in one of the villagers homes. It was nice to get to see a bit more of typical family life and to be around the villagers even though I couldn’t speak much of their language. Our meals were always rice and sauce with vegetables and maybe some fish. The interesting thing about eating in the village is that everyone eats with their hands from one communal bowl. The first meal our team ate that way was pretty awkward and involved a lot of food on our laps, faces or on the floor but we soon became comfortable and learned the technique. After lunch we would pray and leave a blessing on the home/family that served us and then head back to our compound
(the old school building) for team time before the
Kankuran would come out.
Outside of school time we would spend a lot of time with the family that owned the school cooking dinners together and playing with their children. We also lead a church service every Sunday morning on their compound for the small amount of villagers that were believers.(4).

    


Location #2

Map of Gambia

 After three weeks in the first village we moved on to another village that was further up the river . This village’s people group was completely unreached (no church or access to the bible) and were very devout Muslims. Because of the misconceptions that people had about Christianity we tried not to associate ourselves with that term but rather that we were followers of Jesus. We spent more time interacting with the villagers on a more personal level rather than sharing our faith. We had to focus on building relationships and identifying with the people there in order to lay the groundwork for future seeds to be planted in the hearts of the people there.


We also were involved with a YWAM team that was already established there making a tree nursery. This involved bagging soil, gathering seeds and then planting them so that in a little while after the trees have a had a good start they will be able to plant them around the village. The trees are necessary to divert water away from the village during the rainy season and provide shade from the African sun. We also helped maintain the YWAM base and lay the foundations of a house for one of the staff’s family. Everyday we would work around the base from 8:30 am to 12 PM and then we would eat lunch on campus and rest until the sun wasn’t so hot and then we would go out and interact with people. I learned so much about hospitality from the village people and that even though we couldn’t communicate with words, just our presence was a blessing to the those we visited and being with the people blessed us as well.

Trying to master carrying rice on our heads

Some of our new friends

Toilet?Shower?Both!

Garden at the YWAM Base

The Experience

One of the highlights from my time in Africa was definitely teaching at the school. The children were so hungry to learn and be loved that it made it easy for me to love my students and enjoy teaching them even though I don’t know how to be a teacher. I will miss being called “Aunty Alli” and the connection I had with every student. Even though I was supposed to be the one teaching them I learned more from them each day and I learned a lot about myself through that experience.
A lower point for me was the fact that we were so limited in what we could say to people because of the strong Muslim hold on the nation. It wasn’t like we would get in trouble if we shared the gospel but most times it would do more harm than good in terms of furthering the Kingdom. What I learned from this challenge is to focus more on building relationships, on loving people where they are at and to identify with them . Even though I didn’t necessarily see the kind of fruit people expect to see on missions trips, I know that God can use the time we spent just doing life with people in ways I never dreamed possible.
Overall outreach was an amazing experience. I feel so privileged and grateful for the opportunity to go to a country that most people don’t get the chance to go to and to go there as an ambassador of the King of Kings. Being in Africa definitely had its challenges, but I know that I never would have grown in the way I did if I hadn’t been stretched the way that God stretched me. Things that I never thought I could handle before God provided the strength to go through. I really learned a lot about God’s faithfulness, living with other people (whether it be my team mates or people I met there) and about myself. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat!