Our fall worship series at SJMC was titled, "Windows on the Word." Each Sunday invited us to look through a different "window" into the Bible and open ourselves to further insights. Each Sunday we were invited to ask ourselves:
What do you notice? What is the gift? What is the challenge? What is the take-away? Being in Benin offered our family a new window through which to view the world. While we are still processing what all we saw and experienced, I think the questions posed above offer a good starting place to name some of what we learned. What did you notice: - a slower, more relaxed pace that put relationships first and included a three hour lunch/rest time every day. - a blurring of indoors and outdoors, with open doors and windows allowing natural light in and homes opening onto courtyards and shaded porches - the centrality of prayer, devotions and Bible study - colourful clothing on men and women, expressive singing and dancing, few inhibitions to being expressive - resourcefulness, ingenuity, and an entrepreneurial spirit in the organizations that we encountered, always looking for new opportunities to solve problems and address needs. What is the gift? A gift was being greeted by the familiar faces of those we have met over the years through our partnership exchanges. It really felt like we are developing a shared history and deepening of relationships over time. We also experienced warm hospitality and a gracious welcome everywhere we went. What is the challenge? Cross cultural relationships can be challenging when we see certain issues very differently, and it is difficult to communicate nuances and perspectives through translation. A simple example from our last Sunday there was when the couple from Waterford Mennonite was speaking at a church in Cotonou about family life. A question came up about spanking children as a form of discipline, which we do not condone any longer in North America. This became a sticking point in the conversation because they believe it to be a biblical form of parenting. There was no seeing eye to eye on this issue. What is the take-away? One take-away is the value of getting out of our own culture and comfort zone and seeing things in new ways. As uncomfortable as this can make us at times, it does help to broaden our perspectives and increase our compassion for others. Too often in our social circles, our neighbourhoods, and our churches we only surround ourselves with those who think like us, look like us, and act like us. The world is a big, beautiful, place. It is helpful to learn how to appreciate diversity and differences, lest we start to think we have the corner on the truth.
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Liminal Space - that time between what was and what is to come. A threshold between old and new. A place of unknown and possibility.
We are a few hours away from heading to the airport to return home. There is nothing left to do but pack up, rest, and wait. Our trip feels like it is over, but we are not home yet. We don't know yet how this trip has changed us. I don't have many thoughts to share today. I'm going to sit with my reflections for a while. Hopefully in our first days home we will offer a few closing thoughts and impressions from our time here in Benin. Thanks for following with us. If you have any questions, we'd be glad to respond to them. Á bientô. See you soon. We spent a lot of time in the van today. Over five hours of driving time, so we got to watch a lot of traffic.
Many would use the word chaotic to describe traffic in Benin. The word that came to my mind is fluid. It definitely has its own unique flow that to the outsider is hard to make sense of, but drivers here seem to understand. Lanes are fluid. What we might see as a two lane road can easily accommodate three vehicles plus some motorcycles. Intersections are also fluid. It seems often that the largest vehicles have the right of way. Motorcycles combat that by forming large enough pods to assert some influence. Vehicles move at greatly varying speeds, and so lots of passing happens. Add to that vendors along the road and in the intersections during red lights and I found myself asking, "I wonder how close a call it has to be before they consider it a close call?" Unfortunately, on our drive home this afternoon we saw a situation that did get to close. Right in front of us a transport truck hit a motorcycle. We didn't see exactly what happened because the truck blocked our view, but we saw the reaction of the vendors at the side of the road and we saw the motorcycle on the ground. The motorcyclist was quickly surrounded by a crowd of people, so we couldn't tell how badly he was injured. We prayed tonight that he is okay. Bruce Yoder told us that when he was first driving in Cotonou he would pray every day that he wouldn't kill a motorcyclist on his commute. Every time we get in a vehicle, someone offers a prayer for safe travels. I wonder if these prayers are in part why I have felt relatively at ease as we have been on the roads. Our lives are in God's hands. We also have a very good driver! Just a quick note on where we went today. We visited a historical site where they discovered 56 underground chambers that had been dug as part of the slave wars to hide warriors from the enemy and keep them from being captured as slaves. There were some pretty grisly details; all part of the horrors of the slave wars.
On Wednesday we got a break from the schedule of visits and tours and were given a whole day off. Originally, the day had been scheduled for going to La Casa Grande as our fellow travelers hadn't been there yet. It turns out that school wasn'tt in session on Wednesday so they rescheduled the visit. It also turns out that everyone at BBI has the day off. We only figured out later that was because All Saints Day is a holiday here. We're not complaining. It meant we had the day off to do whatever we wanted.
Our family chose to go to a hotel with a pool for a chunk of the day. It is quite a fancy hotel right on the beach. The funny thing is that there is no access to the beach. The gate is locked with a heavy padlock. We tried to walk to the beach from the outside of the hotel, but there want any obvious access point there either. No matter, being in the pool felt heavenly! We also got to order pizza for lunch and some ice cream in the afternoon - our first Western food in two weeks! ( Other than the bread with jam we have for breakfast every day.) It was a nice way to spend some time together as a family. I've debated whether or not to write a post about some of the things that have made me feel uncomfortable. I don't want seem like I'm complaining or dwelling on the negative. I also don't want to possibly offend anyone. But I want to acknowledge that life is sometimes uncomfortable, and even more so when we are outside of what is familiar. I think it is important to recognize what makes us uncomfortable and why.
So, here are a few things that have caused me discomfort. Some are rather minor, others will require more processing. - The heat. This one isn't complicated. It is simply very hot here every day, and I don't like the heat and sweating so much. - Not being able to communicate easily. My French is very limited ( though greatly improved over a couple of years ago). It is tiring to always rely on a translator and to feel like I don't always know what's going on when others are talking. This certainly gives me more emathy for newcomers to Canada. - Being North American. Today we went to Bethesda Hospital. We were taken on a tour, and were led right into examination rooms and wards where patients were being treated. It felt like we were invading their privacy. Doctors were interrupted from their work to tell us about their area. Often they would mention the lack of resources available to them and say they hoped to find donors to help pay for equipment or supplies. It was a very polite way of suggesting that maybe we could help. And that is uncomfortable. I have to acknowledge that I am weathy and privileged. - Cultural misunderstandings. We have been doing laundry along the way on the trip. When we arrived here at BBI I asked where we could do our laundry. We were told that we don't do it ourselves here, but that they would take it to the cleaners for us. We sent all our dirty clothes, including underwear and socks. We found out later from Bruce that we probably just should have sent our shirts, pants, and skirts. - Being over fed. A universal way of showing hospitality and welcoming guests is to feed them. Today we were offered food and pop at Bethesda Hospital at noon, which was perfect timing for lunch, and we were all hungry and grateful. Then at 2:00 we were offered food and drinks at the micro financing place we were visiting. Then we went back to BBI where a full hot meal was waiting for us at 3:00. Then at 5:00 we went to Pierre's home for dinner and they had prepared a beautiful feast for us: two salad/vegetable trays, two hot vegetable dishes, two types of rice, spaghetti, boiled eggs, fish, rabbit, and a huge platter of fresh fruit. More things kept coming out after the meal, too. They told us, jokingly that we weren't allowed to leave until all the food was gone. None of us had much appetite after how much we had eaten all day. It is difficult to know how to be a gracious guest sometimes. It is okay to be uncomfortable sometimes. It forces us to reflect on what is going on that is causing our discomfort. It can also help us to grow in empathy. It reminds me of a line from a prayer that goes something like this: God, comfort those who are afflicted, and afflict those who are comfortable. For if we are too comfortable, we are unable to see the needs of our neighbors. Unrelated to the topic of this post I just wanted to say how impressed I was with the holistic vision of healthcare we saw today. Bethesda began as a medical clinic, but soon realized that many people were sick due to unsanitary conditions, and that they were returning to those same conditions post-treatment. So they created a sanitation department to deal with garbage collection and recycling in the city. Then they realized that many people were foregoing the treatment they needed due to lack of financial resources. So they began a micro financing department to help people start their own businesses and earn some income. Isn't that amazing? We are now in the city of Cotonou. It is a large city with many amenities, but you still hear roosters crowing and all but the main roads are dirt.
We have been warmly welcomed here by Bonaventure and Theophane aand lots of other staff here at the Benin Bible Institute. Bruce Yoder is teaching here for a weekend course! It is great to see him. On Saturday morning we met the three prople from Indiana (Waterford Mennonite Church) who have joined us for this final leg of our trip. After breakfast a taylor came to take our measurements to have outfits sewn, and then we all went to the fabric store to pick out our fabric. It was a bit of a fear for the four of us to agree, but I think we are all satisfied with the choice we made. Yes, you read that correctly. We are going to have matching outfits! We had a fairly low key afternoon, with plans to go to the beach from 4-6. There was heavy rain at 4:00, but we did eventually go after the rain at around 5:00. Levi and Kai really enjoyed running in the waves, trying unsuccessfully to stay dry, and playing in the sand. Chip got the men all playing a game of bocce ball, and discovered that Bonaventure has a competitive side! Today we attended two worship services. The first was here at BBI with the students who are taking the weekend seminar. (Which is being taught by Bruce Yoder, incidentally.) Then we went to the church that Pierre is pastor at. (Pierre was the most recent visitor from BBI that we hosted in Canada.) I preached at both services. The energy and intensity of my sermons didn't match that of the singing, praying, and dancing! Fortunately, Theophane seemed to add some drama to his translation! With sadness we said goodbye to La Casa Grande on Friday afternoon. We had a great week there and met some many wonderful people. The time flew by. Paulin and Esther, and their children Nathan, Reuben, Ephraim and Grace, were wonderful hosts. Now, on to Cotognou and Benin Bible Institute.
Here are a few more pictures from our week are LCS A few years ago we picked up a book from Ten Thousand Villages called "Throw your tooth on the roof." It is about different traditions around the world for what children do when they lose a tooth. From that book we learned that the tradition in Benin (and several other African countries is to throw the tooth on the roof.
Well, this week Kai lost a tooth, and Levi had one of his teeth break. (Two pieces fell out, the rest of the tooth is still in his mouth but isn't causing any pain.) So we confirmed the local custom, and both boys threw their tooth onto a roof at La Casa Grande. Unfortunately, our photographic evidence is on the "real" camera so we can't include a picture with your post. You'll have to use your imagination! Kai' class back at Elizabeth Ziegler PS sent some questions for Kai. H
e will answer them here in this post. Thanks for the great questions! 1) Are the cacti green? Can you eat them? Kai: Yes, but I only saw two. I don't know if you can eat them, but I don't think so. 2) How long was your trip from Paris to Benin? Kai: I think it was 8 hours. It was a long flight and we arrived at night. I watched movies and ate supper on the plane. 3) Where do you sleep? Kai: We sleep in a guest appartament at La Casa Grande. Our bed has a net around it to keep out the mosquitoes, because some of them might cause malaria. We also have to take pills every day to protect us from getting malaria. 4) What do you like doing most in Benin? Kai: Eating pineapple! Also, seeing lizards and playing. Today I helped for a bit in the dining room. I helped set the tables, filled the water bottles, and helped the younger children was their hands. I also built a little fort out of sticks, rocks, and two small papayas I found on the ground. 5) What do the license plates look like? Kai: They are green. We took a picture. 6) Do the people in Benin eat different things than us? Kai: The eat fish almost every day for lunch and supper. Sometimes with rice, sometimes with salad, and sometimes on white stuff that I don't know the name of. We get fresh fruit at every meal. Usually pineapple, and sometimes papayas, oranges, or watermelon. They grow pineapple and papayas right here at La Casa Grande. They do the cooking over a fire with a big pot. It's pretty cool. (Hot, actually!) |
AuthorWe are a family of four from Kitchener, ON, headed on a short adventure to France and Benin (West Africa). We'd like to share some of our stories and reflections with you. ArchivesCategories |