Africa - Part III

Saturday: continued...

We traveled about 2 hours north of where we were staying to see one of the local teams show the film. When we arrived, we realized they were not showing the JESUS Film (they showed it the night prior), but another film, on VooDoo. 

VooDoo originated in Benin and we were told about 70% of the population are touched by it. I could not understand the film, but it showed the hold that VooDoo can have on your life and it showed how you could be free from it, through Jesus.

We saw the equipment our ministry provides being used and the people were very engaged in this film!

the screen is stationed on the front of the church building
you can see the projector on the tripod in front of the screen

I am not sure how many people attended, but there was a good crowd of people

It's hard to see in the pictures, but sitting to the side was a translator -

he would translate the film (probably in french) to their local village language

When the film was over - 3 people had accepted Jesus into their heart and turned away from the VooDoo lifestyle! The teams will stay around and help these new Christians and get them plugged into the local church in this area.

We were able to see the team disassemble the equipment and pack it away in the backpack.

Taking the screen down

 

Everything fits in this one backpack!

We met with the local team and some of their church members inside the church after the film. They were so grateful that came all that way in the "cold" and endured the mosquito's to bring teams equipment. They thanked us over and over again! Before we left, we gathered in prayer for the team, the equipment and the people they would reach and minister to.

After the showing we headed back to the Guest House for dinner (a local favorite): salad (cucumbers, potatoes, meat, carrots, onions - covered in a sauce).

We did not get into bed that night until after 1am. But it was a great day!

Africa - Part II

In my Africa Post I I listed the days as Wed/Thurs…it was actually Thurs/Fri!

Saturday:

I woke up refreshed and ready for the day! Once I was ready, I headed out of my hotel room to see the following views:

my view from the side of the hotel

my view from the front of the hotel

Our hosts met us at the Hotel and we traveled to a Guest House, where we were served breakfast, heard a devotion and got to know our hosts and each other better.

this is the road the Guest House was on

from the top level of the Guest House (where we had our meetings and meals) these were the views...

a lady was out doing chores...dishes and laundry

there was a kid in the yard below, sweeping the leaves off the grass

We had the opportunity to meet up with one of our leaders in West Africa. He shared how the film was being used and some of the needs of the churches in the area. He also talked to us about the culture and religion and gave great insight into the differences of the different areas in Benin.

translator, leader, host

We had lunch that day at a local "American" restaurant. I was pleased to discover they had bottled Coca-Cola - and it was so good! Our host and I shared a love for the Coca-Cola.

I was being extra "safe" with my food on this trip and ordered cheese pizza for lunch. Some were a bit more adventurous than myself!

Some sights in Benin...

we saw the funniest things being carried on motorcycles...ladders, tires, etc.

That evening we drove about 2 hours north to experience a team showing the film. Along the way, a motorcyclist ran into us and got this bike stuck in our vehicle. I'm not really sure what happened....like I said before...the driving and traffic is crazy! So our host got out and checked on him, after a group nearby saw the "white people" in the car, many started approaching our vehicle. Our host saw it coming - made peace with the motorcyclist and we went on our way!

On our way to the showing, we had to stop for gas. We pulled over on the side of the road where they sold gas (in glass containers). The guy placed a funnel into our gas tank, put a rag in it and then poured the gas in.

Once the gas tank was full we headed to the showing. Stay tuned....

Africa - Part 1

Well, I did it!

I went to Benin Africa and am back home safe and sound.

My travels went well, the equipment that I (and our entire team) took made it into the country with no problems and no one got sick!

It was a wonderful trip :)

I hope you enjoy my recap....

Travel Day 1 & 2 (Wednesday / Thursday)

Wednesday afternoon I boarded a plane from Kansas City to Atlanta with one other team member. Once we arrived in Atlanta, we met up with another team member and ate dinner before boarding an overnight flight to Paris. I took the advice of many people and drank as much water as I could, slept as much as I could and wore compression socks on these long flights.

I had an entire row to myself on one flight :)

One of my teammates snapped this lovely pick of me sleeping on the plane!

Breakfast…”Paris Airplane” style.

And just to show you the course we flew...

We landed in Paris Thursday morning around 10:30am. We quickly made our way out of the airport and headed to the Eiffel Tower! We walked around the entire thing and took lots of pictures. I did not go up in the tower (super long lines, and not much time). But it was really fun to see!

Once we left the Eiffel Tower, we walked by the Seine River and made our way to the Arc de Triumph. This Arc honors those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, with the names of all French victories and generals inscribed on its inner and outer surfaces. Beneath its vault lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War 1.

I enjoyed the walk so much! One, because it was so nice outside and enjoyed the fresh air and the opportunity to stretch my legs and two, because the buildings were so incredible! We found some lunch and enjoyed a Shawarma before heading back to the airport.

This long line made me laugh.

This Shawarma was excellent!

After our sight-seeing we headed back to the airport and met up with 2 other team members and boarded a flight from Paris to Benin.

We arrived late that evening to an airport of complete chaos - Haha! Lots of people, lots of traffic, lots of honking, lots of noise. But we were excited to be there!

This is just some of our luggage.

Out of the 5 team members, we brought in 6 large duffel bags which contained 10 sets of equipment!

These pictures just remind me of the airport and parking lot chaos!

We met up with our hosts and eventually made it out of the airport and to our Hotel. The Hotel was really nice (much nicer than I expected) and even had running water, and an air conditioner! The only problem was that the window in my bathroom looked right out into the hallway. It took them about an hour to find something to hang over my window so I would have some privacy. But after that - I unpacked, laid clothes out for the next day,  took a cold sponge bath (my shower did not work) and went to bed. I slept really well that night and was excited to start our next day!