I apologize that this blog is a little late. I meant to do this before I left the Ivory Coast but ran out of time there, then before the end of August at least but that didn’t happen either. My last month in Côte d’Ivoire was full of goodbyes. I left my host family (Tiepogovogo) on the 14th, Ferke on the 19th, Bouake and Côte d’Ivoire on the 28th, and Denver (along with half my team) on the 2nd. I really made an effort to visit everyone I knew well, though there were a few people unfortunately I missed. On the other side of this the last couple of weeks has been about finding new and old. I met the new Journey Corps team (only the americans) in Denver; I have seen my family again and got in touch with friends and family though I haven’t seen some of them yet. Sounds hard right? Honestly it has been very hard but very sweet at the same time. So let me tell a couple of stories from my goodbyes and hellos. I will also share what is next for me since that is the one thing everyone asks.
Two sundays before I left Tiepogovogo my host family and my neighbor dedicated their babies. Chimonga my baby sister and my neighbor’s baby boy. I was thrilled that they dedicate their babies there too and especially that they were dedicating these two babies in particular! In Nyarafolo culture they don’t decide on a baby’s name right away, it may take between 8 days and 6 months to get the name settled. Chimonga was 9 months old by then, her name had been Chimonga Grace. That day they announced both babies’ official names, hers had changed. They named her Chimonga Erebeka. What an honor! They said they want there to always be a Rebecca in the village. The next sunday my pastor, who always preaches in Nyarafolo decided to preach in French with a Nyarafolo translator, on top of that we had communion. I felt so loved and more apart of that church than I ever had before. It was sweet of my pastor to do that and I had been secretly wishing that we would have communion together sometime. What a blessing and what a beautiful way to say goodbye. But the most telling thing in leaving was the pain. I truly allowed myself to love these people, my brothers and sisters. It hurt to leave them and I saw the pain on their faces too. My pain was my report card. If I hadn’t loved them, it would have been a breeze to leave them. I praise God for the pain because without love I am just a “resounding gong or a clanging cymbal,” my time there would have meant nothing. He is the one who helped me to love with the kind of love he describes in 1 cor 13. Granted I didn’t always do this perfectly, but through the power and work of the Holy Spirit I did love this way there and always will love them.
I was also able to have a few sweet goodbyes (or as they say I asked for the road) with my friends in Ferke, missionary and Ivorian alike. I wouldn’t trade those meetings for anything. Bouake was a lot more difficult because of transportation issues and the need to pack but I was still able to spend two nights with the Ivorian family I stayed with for a week there. That was really a sweet time also. I met their new daughter, caught up and visited their church. I really wanted to say goodbye in the culturally best way possible. God blessed my intentions and desires and they all were such a sweet blessing to me and I hope I was to them too.
In Denver we (Haylei, Eric and I) told story after story from Côte d’Ivoire. Debriefing there with them and our leaders in Denver was super sweet too. We all needed that. It was also amazing to spend that last bit of time together. I will miss them dearly as well as Emily (who is still in RCI) and Tabea (who left for Germany when we left). And of course our other Germans who I have been missing for a couple of months (they left in July). But I am so glad that we can all stay in touch still, even better now that we have good internet and cheaper phone service!
Also in Denver we met the new American team. 7 girls and 1 guy. They are a great punch and I look forward to hearing all about their adventures and what God does with them!
So what are my plans for the future? Well I feel strongly that I am to return to the mission field in the future. I believe I should use my skills as a Landscape Architect (LA) to help believers expand the gospel in their own country and missionaries too I suppose. The problem is my skills as a LA are at best “entry level.” So in order to reach this goal I need a career job. This is the best place to learn and develop my skills. There are no Landscape Architects in my hometown though so I will surely have to move again. In the meantime I hope to find a temporary job in my hometown to allow for readjustment into this culture and a little rest too but this will be at most three months and at least a month.
Thank you all for your amazing support in every way! God surely used you in my life and in the lives of those I had the privilege of loving and working with overseas. I plan to continue my blog after this but it is likely to be different and not as often. May the grace and peace of God be with you now and always!
