I came home for a bit because of my father’s health. See more here. Dad is not very mobile, but we were able to get him to church on Sunday. I wore an African outfit that was made for me in West Africa. Lots of people in the city where I am from have a French background. My clothes had sayings written in French, so a few people were reading and translating those phrases on the shawl from French to English.
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Photos by Zeke du Plessis (photos added March 31, 2010)
NAIROBI, KENYA–Scripture translations are in progress in six African sign languages which are located in Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi and Ethiopia. Translation teams are starting by translating a set of Chronological Bible Stories, checking, revising, recording them on video, and preparing to distribute them on DVDs. Thirty-two stories in Kenyan Sign Language will be dedicated January 16-17, 2010.
Each translation represents the cooperative efforts of DOOR International, Wycliffe Bible Translators International, SIL International, Wycliffe Associates, The Seed Company, Bible Translation and Literacy and each Deaf community.
Learn more about Bible translation with the Deaf in Africa.
Sign language is not universal–there are more than 100 sign languages in the world. More sign languages are still being discovered and documented. Each sign language has its own unique vocabulary and grammar. They are not related to the spoken languages of an area.
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The Journey program is a cross-cultural missions simulation experience that helps participants know what it is like to become a cross-cultural missionary. This past Saturday BTL (a partner organization of Wycliffe Bible Translators in Kenya) had about 90 people from local churches attend their Journey program.
Participants started in the comfort zone–a room with snacks and cartoons playing on a TV. They went from there to the call where they learned more about missions and Bible translation. Then, they experienced simulations of going to a local church to get financial support, and participated in simulations of Bible school, and language and cross-cultural training.
Each of these training courses had to be paid for with Journey money they received from their local church. If they ran out of the money on the way, they had to go back to their local church and raise more financial support. When they completed all their training, they were commissioned by their local church to go.
Then, participants worked to secure passports and visas. Their experience was topped off with a meal featuring foreign foods, their arrival to the foreign land where they were sent (including getting hassled by people pretending to be customs agents), and time to interact with a group of people they were called to serve.
Even though the whole experience was only a few hours for each participant, it still had characteristics of what we experienced as we went from our home to here. If you ever have the chance to do it, we recommend it.
Carol Kamau, Resource Development Manager for BTL, said, “…many of the participants renewed their resolve to be more involved in missions…. For some the Journey made them realize that missions is not for a select group of people. Even they, too, needed to be involved. Others resolved to begin supporting missions through prayer and finances.”
Click on any image to see it larger.
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I went to lunch with some ladies from the office. We had a typical Kenyan meal. I was prepared with my camera…so that you could see what we ate.
Our lunch:
This is a meal that you eat with your hands–getting some ugali with a little fish, some greens, and a little sauce in each bite. It was good!
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Many African women style their hair with all kinds of beautiful braids and twists. I really like it, and I’ve wanted to get my hair braided for a while. Yesterday, I was finally able to do it. A friend from our office recruited her niece who works in a salon to come to our house to braid my hair. I made the mistake of skipping breakfast in the morning because I hadn’t factored more than four hours. The whole process took 9 hours. I had to wait until 8pm to eat. It was a lot of hair for one person to braid! Three bundles of hair were tightly woven into my hair. My mane now extends to my waist.
Now I really feel African 
.Click here to learn more about another style of African braiding (Cornrows).
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It amazes me to see what kind of things people can carry on their head. We don’t see much of it in Nairobi. Outside of the city we’ve seen it more. In West Africa I saw it a lot–both men and women carrying items on their heads.
We saw children coming out of school with their school books and papers on their heads, women with grocery bags on their heads or things to sell on their heads, we even saw a man in Togo carrying a large TV on his head! Susan caught that moment through a car window.
It really does seem like a much more efficient way to carry things–you can either leave your hands and arms free or carry more things in them.
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African clothing is beautiful. Where we were in West Africa many people wore clothes with colorful patterns, made to fit by seamstresses and tailors. I loved the clothes. The women wore such gorgeous outfits everyday; my clothes felt so boring and drab in comparison.
There are all kinds of different designs of the clothes themselves and the fabrics. Some people design their own fabric.
When I visited Daniel’s church in Cotonou, the pastor gave fabric to me that ladies in their denomination (Assemblées de Dieu) designed. It was for both Susan and me. The Wycliffe Benin office arranged for a seamstress to come in to make some clothing for us from it.
So, now Susan and I both have our own African outfits.
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Jeff and I visited the ruins of the city of Gedi–an ancient Swahili settlement. It’s one of several settlements like this along the Kenyan coast. This one was a just a short drive from our hotel–it took us an hour to get there, but that’s another story…
The ruins lay back in a wooded area, and some parts are partially covered by bao bao trees. It gives it kind of an Indiana Jones feel. We were wondering when we were going to step on something that would trigger poisonous arrows!
The structures were built in the 13th century. The homes had toilets and bathtubs. The sultan’s palace had an ancient air conditioning system (think swamp coolers)–really amazing! There were about 2500 inhabitants.
Archeologists found evidence that this community traded with people in Europe, India and China.
See more pictures from out trip to Gedi
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We’re staying with the chair of the Wycliffe Benin board and his family. Susan went with them to church, and I joined Daniel Dedji, the executive director of Wycliffe Benin, at his church. It was a special children and youth emphasis day, and several different groups presented special music, dances and skits. The service was mostly in French (the national language of Benin), but much of it was also translated into Fon, another common language of that area. The church is about 15 years old and has about 500 people including many children and youth.
Click here to view more pictures from Daniel’s church
After church I went with Daniel, his family and friends to the beach to celebrate his daughter’s birthday. We enjoyed a picnic lunch under a palm leaf shelter. I practiced the very small amount of French that I know, and a few from the group practiced English with me.
In the evening we went aboard the Africa Mercy currently docked in Cotonou (click play to see a slide show). Mercy Ships is a health care ministry. The ship is equipped with a fully functioning hospital. A team of doctors and other medical professionals provide medical care. There’s also a team of support staff and the ship crew. The ship will be in Cotonou and then in Lome for a total of 10 months.
We took an impromptu tour of the ship, including a stop at their snack bar and coffee shop. Their coffee shop serves all Starbucks products. A white hot chocolate and a Whatchamacallit candy bar for me please!
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Foufou is a staple in many west African countries. In Togo, it’s made of pounded yam mixed with boiling water. It’s usually served with some sort of sauce or soup that the foufou is then dipped in. Learn more about foufou. Click on the image to view it larger.
This was my first experience with foufou, and it wasn’t too bad. I’d have it again. The foufou itself doesn’t have much flavor–it tastes like whatever you dip it in. The soup I was served was a little spicy, and the fish had a mild flavor. It was a good meal. The foufou has an interesting stretchy texture.
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