Bonding In N'djei

Friday (September 14) through Sunday Grace and I stayed in a village called N'djei (pronounced like "N"-"J") in order to build relationships and better understand what it is like to live the day to day life of a Kabiye person. We stayed with one of the Christians there, Jerome, in his compound for those two nights. What follows will be the story of our time there. We arrived Friday with Matt Miller and listened in on a leadership training session for church leaders and elders from the N'djei, Sogode, and Ewede churches. The Sogode and Ewede churches were both planted by the N'djei Christians. That afternoon we took our things to Jerome's compound and were introduced to his family. From there we walked up the road to the local market, called kiyaku in the Kabiye language. There were peope everywhere, selling food, produce, and a local drink made of millet--which can come in varying levels of fermentation. We were immediately greeted and welcomed to this bustling mass of people. Even though we stood out a little, people welcomed us but did not make a spectacle of our presence, something that makes the Kabiye a joy to be with. They are very laid back. We sat and talked in broken Kabiye phrases with dozens of people and enjoyed a goard or more of the local millet drink with them...well enjoyed may be a bit of a stretch. There culture centers around this drink, a tradition of theirs for hundreds of years or more. Grace particuarly enjoys the bitter beverage! I wish you could be here to see her face! Jerome walked us around and showed us various foods, and introduced us to people such as a Muslim man who bought us a huge bag of roasted peanuts. We walked home with Jerome, who has the presence of a great General, and were fed a local meal of a spiced-bean-cake and ground corn followed by a local citrus. We did this sitting outside with Jerome around a small table enjoying the presence of the stars and the rest of Jerome's family. We said good night or "eso eko-sodo" and entered into our shelter for the night. Sleeping on packed dirt in 90 degree weather really makes you appreciate a Serta mattress and a/c. We got up before sunrise on Saturday and were served a breakfast of yams (they taste like baking potatoes) and took our place pulling the kernels of dried corn off the cob. Five hours later we had enjoyed alot of laughs and a few blisters while filling up three bushels with kernels. After that we ate a lunch of the a rooster we picked out that morning (which we were fortunate enough to see the end of) and some bean-mush with a spiced tomato sauce. At least there was one less rooster to wake me up in the middle of the night! After that we were escorted to Sogode and Ewede. I had no idea how far the N'djei Christians had walked in order to plant these churches! It was a beautiful walk and a good time to relflect on our responsibliltiy to share the gospel in our homes and neighborhoods. We went to some of the homes of Christians there and did our best to encourage them with a greeting and a few phrases. It always means alot for us to visit them, an honor we try never to take for granted. We walked back to Jerome's home and spent the evening playing with kids, eating, and staying out of the rain. We had our bowl of the millet-drink and went to bed. Another night of mosquitoes, dirt floors, and heat was another reminder of the conditions over 75% of the world live in day to day. We woke up Sunday morning, showered again in an outside area, made some hush-puppy like things with Jerome's wife, ate those and were fed again some fish and yams, packed up and met the Millers for church. The church at N'djei meets between 9 and 10 to begin worship and today worshipped until a little after 12. We sang, three elders shared a scripture and application, I did the same, had an offering, we took Communion, and sang some more. After the service was over the N'djei Christians were kind enough to give Grace and I Kabiye names--that way we can live among them! Grace's name is Eso Lootiye (God's Grace) and mine is Eso Tina (God owns me). These names both carry alot of significance for us both and were fitting challenges and honors for us to recieve. From there we said good-bye to our N'djei brothers and sisters and rode back with the Millers to Kara, where we are right now. Thanks for your prayers, love and support.

Serving Christ Together,

Eso Tina and Eso Lootiya