Running for our lives, cake and rockstars!

What have we been up to? Whew, here we go…

Michael has been working so diligently on the adoption of our 2 babies girls. He has been hounding the Social Welfare Office, arranging travel for relatives and running interference with the lawyer. So, we are happy to report that some progress has been made!! Yay! It is a slowly but surely thing but he has been relentless and it is starting to pay off. We are on our way!

He has also been working on the community outreach portion of our TRS ministry. We have been spending time out in the community and seeing what and how TRS can be a part both with teams and an ongoing basis. We’ve been talking with team members, staff and locals finding the best fits. Ok, this has been fun! We are loving getting ideas together, dreaming big and figuring out logistics. Can’t wait to start these projects!

He has become a runner once again. He fell back into it sort of seamlessly. I sort of hate him for it. I wish I liked exercise, but it hurts, so I will leave it to him.

Rachel has a control problem. Now it is out there. You probably didn’t notice it before, but confession is good for the soul. We have been talking with different NGO’s working in SL to see if there are existing ministries that may need help or that we can collaborate with in certain projects. I had a neighbor talk about her foundation which focuses on breast cancer awareness here in SL. Breast cancer has affected my family personally but more than that my heart aches when I look at the health care system here and what women must endure. This organization is really working to make a difference here and they have a staff that loves Jesus! I wanted to help them get ready for their first half-marathon ever here in Freetown. So, I volunteered to make little pink ribbons for them to sell as a little fundraiser… On day 3 of my work, I became the coordinator of the run. There is that control issue.

The run was a success! We had around 600 participants, raised money to help support the clinic Thinking Pink runs and more importantly were able to spread the message of awareness in some high official’s forums. It was pretty great. As of yesterday, I am retired from duty and tired!

Another bonus was a great number of people we were able to network with that we would have never met otherwise. Sierra Leone is a country of who you know and now we know a few more people! We also made some friends that we are happy to add to our lives.

With all of this I have gained a major appreciation for working moms. It is crazy! Trying to do all I need to at home and get anything else completed, wow, it’s hard. At one point I told Michael to push Maggie down if she tried to take her first step without me, I hated missing out on what was happening here! Don’t worry, no babies were injured.

Aubrey has read somewhere around a million books. She is working really hard at her schooling this year and working on making a few friends here in our neighborhood. She is only a month away from 13 and she reminds us daily. I wanted to be a mother to daughters, just not the teenage kind. How did that happen?

Anna is a rockstar.  We were sitting on a bench the other day and two girls her age walked up and sat on a bench across from us. She stands up and says, “I’m going to go make those girls my friend. I’ll be right back.” Aubrey and I sat with mouths gaping and watched as she walked over, started talking and hanging out with these two kids. She walked by a minute later and said they were heading to the swings to talk, be back. Rockstar.

Ella still loves all things Africa. She has decided her chosen profession…drumroll, please…She is going to be a street vendor who sells things from the top of her head. At any given time you will see her walk through the compound with something on her head yelling “groundnuts two thousand” or “sweet cake five hundred.” I’m hoping to redirect her dreams at some point.

Hawa has learned too much English. It is a nonstop talkathon. There is often some interpretation needed, but she gets her point across. She wants nothing more than to plant her baby’s hair, po-po it around the house and cook papella (we have no idea what papella is, it is not a local dish because the locals think she may be speaking Spanish, so it is open to interpretation). She is pretty stinkin’ cute. I like her a lot.

Maggie did conquer walking. Our house will never be the same. She is into everything and she has quite the temper. She isn’t a crier but she does like to yell, hit and throw things when her demands are not met. It’s bad, but it is a little cute too. Look, it’s #5, I know I wouldn’t let it slide with #1 or #2, but now I am worn down a bit. We correct but then we turn away and giggle like crazy. She is also talking quite a bit. She waits until the girls go down for bed then goes through her roll call of Aubrey, Anna, Ella, Hawa. I just think this kid is adorable.

What is on the agenda? Finish this adoption!! We want to legally have our kids. We are still working on TRS items, including their internship program and some discipleship programs. We really want to incorporate the kids at the center in some serving programs as well, because we believe fully that if you want a kid to grow up to serve you have to teach them to early. Exciting, right?

That is the short! Aren’t you glad I didn’t go for long? Next blog will be a post from my kiddos! I’m excited they are a little less than enthused. They will get over it!

Funny story: I went into the supermarket a few weeks ago. We have a little grocery we like to go to because we love the employees. They are incredible, kind and loving to our kids and we just enjoy the experience. I walked by our favorite employee while I was heading to an aisle to join my family. He was eating a very delicious piece of cake. I said, “Wow, that looks great!” He promptly replied, “Have a bite.” I declined and started to walk off. This is a sharing society. You can only say no so many times. So, it got to the point I had to accept his offer. There was only his fork. Yes, this kind man did feed me his cake from his fork in the middle of the supermarket…and yes, it was delicious. What’s the moral? Tell people who have cake it looks delicious and you may get to eat cake!

The "Even ifs"

I always sound better in print then I actually am. I’m sure that reflects the rose colored glasses I see myself through. However, occasionally God gives me a glimpse at who I am. More accurately, who he is and how I view him.

In all honesty, I have not loved living life here over the past few weeks. Maybe it’s really been more about me not loving life. (I’m not ending it all or anything, put down the phone) I was let down by some people I loved. What I thought God wanted from us, was not his full plan, I have had some very sick kids, I just feel a little lost and some of the “cultural differences” that I ordinarily would not worry about have started to make my eye twitch. Did I mention we haven’t had power in 7 days?? A chicken, followed by a pack of crazy wild dogs ran through my house while I was trying to clean my toilet! I have had a royal pity party all week long. I have moped and been the biggest whiner all week. I hate whiners!! It just leaked out of me. Of course, I decided to do a study of Job in the midst of all this. You are about to turn off your computer, aren’t you? Clearly, I am not the brightest bulb in the box.

I started this study with my kids. I will say it did lead to some funny moments with Anna saying, “You gotta be kidding me!” and Ella yelling, “Why does the dummy keep opening the door for these servants? They will only bring bad news!” But it really boiled down to I was having what I viewed as a bad week and I wanted to wallow with Job. I wanted to see that someone at one time had it worse than me. I wanted to prove to myself that it probably wasn’t as bad as it seemed cause, well, look at Job. I wanted to find the exact point where God would tell me to stop my belly aching and put on my big girl panties and move on. On a side note, I often think I will work as the voice of God. I sometimes believe I need to be convicted of things and here is how and where he will do his convicting… sort of a controlled life changing experience. It’s quite impressive really. I am so disillusioned as to be my own Holy Spirit from time to time. Call me if you too would like to live in my virtual reality.

This week God chose to love me. There wasn’t a correction. There wasn’t a person sent to me to make me say, wow, I’ve got it good. He just loved me. He also asked me a question. Ok, so he didn’t literally ask me, but it is a question that keeps playing in my head and I’m pretty sure it’s his.

I got a counter in our kitchen this week. We have had a small stove and small sink but nowhere for me to prepare food and nowhere to store anything, so I have had boxes stacked on top of each other. To get this counter was really a wonderful thing to me. Small, I know, but it was big in this house. I found Ella a pair of sandals that I have desperately been looking for. No one had malaria this week! I made a really wonderful new friend and spent some much needed bonding time with existing friends. Aubrey was able to go to a friend’s house for the weekend. I went to a wonderful dance party and danced until my feet hurt. I got a stain out of a shirt that I thought was ruined. (Obviously these aren’t always great victories, but I am counting them all.) Every time one of these events occurred I had to stand back and say, ok, the good is there with the bad.

All of the negative has been multiplied because I have been afraid. In writing and in phone calls home, I seem fearless and confident. I just say God is going to take care of us. Meaning, God is going to work out all the financial worries I have. He will make sure we have the fundraising we require to stay in Sierra Leone with our children, doing the work he has asked us to do. He will provide an easy path for the adoption and God will spell out our exact ministry in the sky. The fact is that isn’t necessarily his style. It is that underlying fear that has made my “No good, terrible, awful day” even worse.

God has provided so much. I can’t even begin to tell you how overwhelmed we are with the donations we have received. We love the people of Sierra Leone, we want to love them and show them to Jesus. To have other people come together with us and love the people of Sierra Leone with us, to aide us in getting out the message to them, it fills my heart. We cannot say thank you enough to those joining with us. In spite of the outpouring, the doubts fill me. What if we can’t raise the funds from here? What if we must return to the states to raise the remainder? How will I explain this to Hawa? To Maggie? How will we put aside a ministry we care so much about? How will I handle the pain of separating myself from my children? God, what could you possibly teach me through this?

Here’s where Job came in. He lost it all, and yet he praised God. Don’t get me wrong, the dude complained too. He lamented to God. He wanted to die. But he praised his maker in the same chapter. The verse that hit me this morning, is Job saying, God, even if you kill me, still I will praise you.

We attend church at The Raining Season church. This morning was such a wonderful service. If you have attended a church service with the kids you know how wonderful they are. But I have to say when you become one of them and you come to a service, it is even better. We are not quite the novelty we once were and so the kids and aunties and uncles worship completely unencumbered. It is so beautiful. Even more so, because it is no longer a novelty to me either and I find myself worshipping with as much abandon as they have. We sang a song that says God, we declare that we love you. We declare an everlasting love for you. I stopped singing and watched the orphaned children around me. I watched the aunties and uncles singing to heaven with me. I watched children who have come from the brink of death. I held Sara’s hand as she laughed and clapped. I watched Moses bounce up and down. I saw 3 of the older girls singing with arms wide and tears in their eyes. They were praising their maker just as Job.

I asked myself, what my kids would say if I asked why we should praise God. I think they would say because he gave us such incredible, amazing, funny, smart and doggone attractive parents. (I may have added to their actual statements)  They would thank God for a roof over their heads. They would thank God for food to eat. They would thank him for their toys and things they have.

Back to the room I was in. Some of these children were found in gutters. Abandoned. There are no parents, still they praise God. They have experienced no roof over their heads, yet they praise him. These kids know hunger. But they were whole heartedly declaring their love. Their “even if” happened and they are praising him.

Which brought me to my “even if”. I don’t know God’s will. I don’t know that all the financial issues will work themselves out. I don’t know if I will have to leave my children. I pray that I don’t but even if…

God is a big God. I lamented the things that brought me down this week and he’s ok with that. I praised him in the ways he lavished his love on me, he will take that too. But he wants me in the “even ifs” as well. Oh, my even ifs…

I wish I could wrap this up with a great happy ending that God told me it’s all good, baby girl, but I don’t know. I do know I am thinking about my “even if-s” and what that says about my faith. Not that I don’t have faith that he will work it all for my good, but even if what follows isn’t what I understand to be good, will I praise him?

 

 

We are sooooo boring!!!

We have a mouse. I, for the most part, have become accustomed to the critters we have everywhere. That last statement was a lie. I hate the critters. I have mostly stopped reacting though…I lied twice in one paragraph. Sorry.

Right now Levi Sisco is stalking what he believes to be the dwelling of said mouse because he is going to destroy it. I’m rooting for Levi.

We had a spider this week as well. Ironically, the spider was larger than the mouse! It was so big it moved a bag…a large bag. You could hear it hitting the floor when it jumped down from the wall. It made my husband scream like a tiny women. (I hope that picture keeps you warm at night)

We, however, haven’t seen a single cobra. None came in our luggage or followed our car. It’s very liberating!

We are all getting used to city life. Things like indoor toilets and occasional electricity are pretty good. Things like really loud neighbors and no grass are taking some getting used to. We have ventured out to see the neighborhood and visit the center. Poor Maggie spends the whole time waving at everyone who walks by because that’s what life in the village is like. My sweet little “bush baby”.

We have spent some time with just our family recently and it has been very refreshing. It has been a great way for us to renew and just get life here set up. We have also been getting to know our neighbors and spend some time at the center with some of our favorite people.

This is such a boring report! Isn’t that nice? Normal…but what is normal?

This time has also been a great time for reading, reflecting and studying. We are a family of readers. We are not ashamed of our nerdom.

I have, for some time, really dreamed about being BFF with Jen Hatmaker. Pretty sure if she met me, she would love me back. So much of what she says puts words to my heart and the journey we have taken over the last few years. I just finished “Interrupted”. It is wonderful. It speaks to the heart of the church. However, darn it; it also convicted the crap out of me. Ugh.

The writer Paul, in full disclosure, is not one of my more favorite authors. I know, that takes out a large portion of the New Testament for me, but I just feel annoyed sometimes by him. This generally means God is speaking to me, but I ain’t havin’ none of that. Then I decided to read 1 Corinthians after my homey Jenny (she loves it when I call her that) referenced it. Chapter 9 was my undoing.

I have a tendency to hide. I have 5 kids. Staying in my home and doing the homeschool mom thing is very easy for me to fall on. Now, don’t start cutting me slack and saying it’s my most important job, it’s so hard, blah blah blah. It may be true, but loving my family and doing what is good for them does not absolve me from ministry. I signed up to follow Christ and he was no couch potato. He WENT OUT and ministered to people. He was all things to all people. (He still is, by the way)

1 Corinthians 9:19-23  I am not anyone’s slave. But I have become a slave to everyone, so I can win as many people as possible. When I am with the Jews, I live like a Jew to win Jews. They are ruled by the Law of Moses, and I am not. But I live by the Law to win them. And when I am with people who are not ruled by the Law, I forget about the Law to win them. Of course, I never really forget about the Law of God. In fact, I am ruled by the Law of Christ. When I am with people whose faith is weak, I live as they do to win them. I do everything I can to win everyone I possibly can I do all this for the good news, because I want to share in its blessings.

Oh, I struggle. I am rebellious by nature. I hear my mom and dad clapping across the ocean. It isn’t being someone’s slave that bothers me. It isn’t serving others that gets to me, it is conformity that gets me. To bend what I know and like to fit someone else in hopes to lead them to Christ. How selfish!! And let’s not stop there, it isn’t just winning people to Jesus, but also discipling them to a greater knowledge. So, and this is my downfall, the immature Christians who have looked to other sources for an understanding of God need me to put aside my ability to understand and explain pretty much everything that has ever been and ever will be in order to show them how to live like Christ. Woe is me.

We are here to minister to people in a way that meets their needs. This includes Christians or people who call themselves Christians that just don’t get it, in a way that they get it. This means worship like they do, eat what they eat, meet them where they are rituals and all. ("We" means you too. If I have to be under conviction you have to be there with me, sucka)

This week’s goal; minister outside of our walls, in a way people in this new community need. Less of me, more of thee.

A parting story you may enjoy. I brag on how wonderful my kids are to anyone who will listen. They are awesome. But as you will see, very human. (Some of my kids more human than others)

Aubrey has been doing extra chores for some allowance. We think it is important and they really work hard. She told me the other night the reason she is saving up money is because she wants to buy Anna a birthday present. It warmed my heart. I was relaying this story to Michael and ended it with “Our children are so kind and loving to each other.” It was at this moment we hear yelling from the other room. Anna: ”Hawa if you speak again, I will beat you!” Michael and I look and each other and he says, “Definitely love.” 

The Really Big News!

Sorry for the radio silence. It has been a bit crazy lately. Hang with me for the next few paragraphs, I am struggling with words and feel a bit rushed because my computer battery will only last for so long!

Our family began praying about moving to Sierra Leone almost 2 years ago. We wanted to serve the poorest of the poor and bring the love of Jesus to a country that has little understanding of him. This is what drives us. It lights our fire, it is something we can’t stop talking about. Coming to visit, we were able to see faith at work through the staff and children at The Raining Season. It is an orphanage that understands loving God and loving people. Orphan care is another topic near and dear to our heart. TRS captured our heart. We jumped at the chance to help TRS in any way possible. Just Hope International, although not in the business of orphan care, wanted to help TRS move to a community that would allow them to have more space for the children and an opportunity to help more kids who are discarded, forgotten or in need of someone to stand up for them. We saw an opportunity to help TRS by joining with JHI. Although we loved our time in Bauya, it was evident that we could not share our attention with the building project and our passions that I mentioned earlier. We never intended to only build a structure, we want to grow the kingdom. Our time with JHI confirmed that desire and revealed more of what our true work here should be.

So, what does this mean? A few things, actually. Our church, The Bridge Fellowship, will now become our sending organization. This opens us up to more of the ministry we love and to meet what we feel truly called to do. We will also be partnering with The Raining Season to do community outreach programs, here in Freetown, the country’s capitol. This will also include discipleship training both in the community and in the center itself as well as helping with various other tasks at TRS. We are so excited about this new page in our lives and feel blessed to have this opportunity.

Our family is making the transition to Freetown and life out of the bush! It has had its’ advantages (ice cream seems to be the most important one to my children…and Michael). However, we were very sad to leave a community that we loved being a part of and people we considered family. It is a bittersweet change. We are securing housing, starting to get in the rhythm of living in a city, meeting our neighbors and trying to find our silverware! Also, we are getting used to indoor plumbing and a stove that doesn’t require charcoal. The times they are a changin!

Please go visit The Raining Season’s website. It is an amazing organization and their aren’t enough good words for me to say about them. You will love it.

There is a down side, of course. We initially wanted to come to Sierra Leone as volunteer missionaries. This involved raising our own funds and support. Our move here was expedited because JHI wanted to offset our living costs so that we could move earlier. Now that we are no longer a part of JHI, it is up to us to raise the support we need to live here while working. Normally, this would be something we would do while living in the US. However, we have 2 Sierra Leonean daughters that cannot bring back to the US yet. I think anyone can understand that leaving our children behind is not an option for our family. They are so much a part of our lives and hearts that to leave them would feel like ripping off an arm and leaving it behind. So, we are going to attempt to do this across an ocean. We need financial support. We need both monthly donations and one time gifts. We need a miracle.

Frankly, we should be more nervous about this portion than we are, but we know that God has laid the foundation for the task before us and so far he hasn’t given us a job and not provided the way. It is expensive to live here. The numbers seem huge and we cringe a little every time we review them but we are certain God is capable and he will get the glory.

We are just going to be as specific as we can. However, please keep in mind that TIA(This is Africa) and it is likely to change any second! We anticipate our monthly living costs to be around $3,500.00 per month. We anticipate onetime costs to be approximately $36,000. This will include our rent and transportation. It will also include furnishings and household costs as we did not purchase those personally when we came but only for JHI. This will also include airfare for a return trip home at the 2 year mark for our family.

We did not anticipate this change when coming here. We are still trying to wrap our heads around all the changes taking place right now. We have planned a budget through next March at which time we will be making a trip home to spend some much needed time with friends and family. We will have lived away for 2 years at that point and will need to regroup as well as fundraise. This also gives us time to settle into a new job, city and life.

We have been blessed to have so many people give so faithfully to our work here and support us financially as well as through prayer and words. We came to serve, but we have seen so many people serve us time and time again. We have been humbled and in awe of the sacrifices so many are willing to make in order to send us to spread the word of God’s love. It has been such an awesome example of the hands and feet and body of believers. Thank you for being a part of this adventure with us.

Wow, now that all the big news is out of the way, here are the details. We are now having all funds go through our church, The Bridge Fellowship. All funds designated for us will be sent straight to us. They have a user friendly website where monthly automatic withdrawals can be set up as well as one time donations or checks can be sent directly to the church. (See below for details) All donations are tax deductible and if you have any questions or concerns about financial donations, ministry happenings or just curious about what the heck we are doing, please send me an email. We believe in transparency and we are happy to talk through anything that might come up. Also, if you don’t have a home church, you have to check them out. They are truly amazing! They are not perfect, but they so love Jesus.

It is also my intention to make weekly posts. I don’t always see our life as extremely exciting so please, send me questions you have or curiosities. I don’t always notice the craziness of my life anymore but I’m sure other people do, so give me some suggestions!

Ways to give:

http://thebridgefellowship.net/online-giving 

This web address will show you a few options on how to give. There is also an option to mark it
for the Ropieckis. This is easy and completely secure.

THE BRIDGE FELLOWSHIP
5066 LEBANON ROAD
LEBANON, TENNESSEE 37087

You can also send a check to the above address and just put “Ropiecki Africa Mission” on the for line.

A third option is to just drop it in the offering plate on any Sunday morning at The Bridge. Again, just mark it for Ropieckis.

615-547-2739-Call The Bridge office if you have any questions about giving or about the church.

Ropieckir@gmail.com- feel free to drop me a line. It’s nice to hear from home! I will be happy to answer any questions I can and find out who knows the answer if I can’t!

Yes, that is a spatula shaped burn on my leg.

The number one question we are asked by friends and family at home is what do you eat. This is a funny question to us because really we eat very boring foods and often the same thing again and again. It’s not as exotic as you are thinking, I promise. That said, we have eaten some strange things or at least tried them, but they aren’t on our everyday diet.

So, here I am with our list of weird things we have eaten and our list of ordinary things that we eat and maybe a little insight as to how everyday cooking goes down.

First, my kitchen is outside. We literally live in three rooms and none of them are food designated areas. We do have a great hut that we use for our school area and dining area. So eating is done off the ground. I do not have my children eating in the dirt, promise.

We have a small two burner gas stove top, like you use when you are camping. It is really handy for quick heat ups like boiling water, etc. But we mostly rely on our coal pots. They are metal containers with a clay inside that we put charcoal into and cook over an open fire. Our life has best been described as an extended camping trip. I think this especially applies to cooking time. I like to bake, so we devised a way to use a big pot that we bought here to bake certain items. First, let me say these giant aluminum pots are melted down engine blocks….got that mental picture? I fill the coal pot and light it, then when it is good and hot, I put the item to be baked into the giant pot and put some of the hot coals on the inverted lid. It kind of has a dutch oven effect. Now, there is no temperature control so a timer isn’t really reliable. I have to work off smell here and pray that the smell isn’t of burning food!

We bake chicken or fry chicken, we can even make pizza and breads. We can sometimes get potatoes and we love to bake those or fry them up. We can’t get vegetables very often except for the local potato leaf or cassava leaf. These have to be cooked, they aren’t like salads. They aren’t bad but you can only eat them so many times a week. I try to buy a large amount of carrots and green beans when we go to Freetown and I steam them and freeze them for use throughout the month. So, with limited ingredients, we have become quite creative!

A few days per week we eat local dishes. They are not bad, just repetitive. Every dish contains onion, tomato paste, local hot peppers, oil and some leaf or vegetable all served over rice. Our favorites include blackeyed bench (blackeyed peas cooked with all the above ingredients). We also love groundnut soup (peanuts ground super fine with above ingredients added) and we like punky stew (pumpkin with…you get the picture, right?). We like these but only so much!

We eat 2 meals per day because, well, can you imagine firing up a coal pot everytime you want a snack? We have oatmeal 5 mornings a week and Saturday and Sunday we live it up with pancakes and the big treat of bacon and eggs. I am hungry on this Monday morning just thinking about it! We eat whatever fruit is in season around lunchtime for a snack then have an earlier dinner. Yes, we have all thinned out, but we aren’t hungry as much during the day either because we are just so busy. I am starting to question the validity of the five meals a day being best. Africa: the ultimate diet!

We can’t get bread here very easily. So we may have it a few times per month. We also longingly remember milk, a commodity completely unavailable here. So pop open that red or blue top for us tonight. We plan to drink it by the gallons when our feet hit the ground! Cheese is expensive here, we enjoy each bite. Cereal isn’t something we get very often because at $10.00 a box…who could buy cereal? Crazy, right?

I really love good food. It is something I think about and dream about. It has been kind of fun coming up with new recipes that require minimum ingredients and also interesting to use ingredients I never really found or used in the states. Curry is a fun new favorite as well as eggplant in everything, lentils in a lot of things and the use of frozen peas as a good filler. That said, if you have any ideas leave a recipe! We would love to add to our repertoire!

Now, weird things we have eaten…

We have purchased and butchered ourselves a couple of goats now. I really like goat meat. But I have a new appreciation for the phrase “tough old goat”, it’s not a compliment, at all! Goat, isn’t that strange but I’m easing you into this.

We have also purchased and butchered in our backyard a couple of pigs. Our favorite experience in this is when our Christian friend Mohamed and our Muslim friend Moses killed and gutted one on an old door in the backyard. Think about it, you will see the irony there.

We had a really nice pepper soup with porcupine one night. We purchased a giant porcupine like you see at the zoo and ate it. Not too bad but a little chewy. And I was a bit freaked out when someone cut off it’s tail to let the baby use it as a rattle. Too far, too far.

We have had several Freetown Bo’s for dinner and this is our favorite bushmeat by far. However, sad, cause they are cute little tiny dear.

We did it. We have eaten monkey. Sorry. It was good…real good. Then someone handed me a piece of meat and I put it’s little cooked hand in my mouth and now I have sworn off monkey eating. Those little faces and hands are too much! But, it was good.

Pumba, was also delicious. For those who do not understand my Disney reference, a little warthog is a good thing.

Giant snail. This I am not sure I would recommend, but you should try everything once, right?

Number one, hands down, strange thing we have eaten…termites. A little like nutty popcorn, we like them. But you have to get over the fact that there is a bug in your mouth.

We still have a few things on our “to try” list but we are working our way through! I think giant rat and snake are still to be consumed. Not sure those are going to be for me! The kids are total troopers and try everything. We’ve been totally surprised by what we have liked and they can say they have eaten these cool things! They, as I have said before, are pretty much the coolest.

So, to all those grandparents, aunts and uncles who are concerned about our food intake, as you can see we are surviving just fine. Our diets are different but we are pretty good about taking our vitamins to make up for any lost nutrition. And overall, I would say we have gained a lot in the way of cutting out processed or nonessentials in our diets. That said, feel free to send chocolate. I could really go for a reeses!!

Things I've learned in Africa

Tonight as I was sitting on my back stoop washing a tub of shoes, I realized there are so many things that I have learned here that were never even on my radar before. That crap about everything I needed to know I learned in (fill in the blank), not true and has not applied to my life.

So without further intro, except this, I give you the things I have learned!!

1.       I have learned to use a washboard. Not heehaw with spoons style but with my feet in a river bent at the waste scrubbing my dirty drawers. This is a life skill I never thought would come in handy, but my whites have never been brighter and no stains!

2.       Talking loudly and making large hand gestures does not convey your point when the person you are speaking to does not speak your tongue. This is a common misconception in the US where I have spent many a conversation with a non English speaking friend talking v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y and loudly over and over while flailing my arms about like a crazy person just trying to say I like your outfit. Then, I am confused as to why I am not understood. Now, I am the one being yelled at over and over and watching these crazy people try to tell me things in Mende. Turns out I understand them no better whatever their volume may be or the gesture.

3.       My kids are awesome. Not funny, but they really are!

4.       I don’t need a hair dryer. I am 9 months clean and it is refreshing! Ok, I miss it sometimes but I have survived!

5.       Not everything tastes like chicken. Somethings have a taste all their own…..but that is another blog!

6.       Snakes are more afraid of you than you are of them. Lies, lies, lies. I have disputed this for years. They are evil, um, remember a little guy named SATAN? They are looking to eat me.

7.       How to cook with charcoal. I can literally cook anything on my coal pot now. Just try me. Take that Martha Stewart!

8.       I love high fructose corn syrup. Go ahead. All those health conscience friends that I have,  judge me. I hate my body, I will die, so unhealthy, blah, blah blah. It tastes real good, real good.

9.       Flip flops can double as dressy foot wear. I love a good pair of high heels. It’s a fact. But flip flops are my footwear of choice here and I can rock them in shorts or a dress like it’s nobody’s business.

10.   I don’t visit enough with my neighbors. I knew my neighbors but we only saw each other for 3 minutes total each week. Otherwise, we all went to our separate corners and tried to stay out of each other’s way. Here, we are constantly greeted by our neighbors just because they love us. Now, this has a down side, but only because I am a crazy closed off American.

11.   I don’t know how to wring things out. This is something I thought I mastered when I was like 10. Turns out I am a total idiot. Every time I try to wring out anything here it ends in someone grabbing from my hands, saying don’t you know how to wring, then doing it themselves. I have quit and just hand it over automatically.

12.   A country road is not a country road is not a country road. I have ridden on more southeastern country roads in my lifetime than I can even count. They were nothing. These dirt roads have been around since the Pharoah had a little kingdom. It’s insane.

13.   A large tub is a very useful household tool. I have 4 but I wouldn’t object if I had 2 more. They are awesome. What do I use it for, you ask. Good question! Well…..dishwashing, laundry, shoe washing tub, bean soaking, baby bath, water fetching, storage for fruits and veggies, upside down-chopping surface, rain collector, drum, the list goes on and on.

14.   The name Muhamed is not just a Muslim name. Do you know how many Muhameds there are within a 2 mile radius of my house? Crazy big number. But a number of them claim to be Christian. Confused?

15.   Africa is not dry. The humidity is like 900%. If it is possible to have more than 100%. Even in the dry season, it is so humid!

16.   There are 1001 medical uses for brake oil. Can’t begin to tell you how many times people have encouraged me or others to rub brake oil on it. While I can’t confirm that this is the miracle drug that some people believe it to be, I myself have adopted a similar attitude toward apple vinegar cider. It is good stuff! Drink it, rub it on something, spray it in the air from your mouth like a fountain, it will probably cure some ailment you have.

17.   Every piece of trash has a repurpose. I have never considered myself a wasteful person. Then I moved here. Everything I throw away is taken from my trash bin and repurposed. I had a broken water pitcher I tossed, it was taken and reused today. Old coke cans were melted down for cooking pots, all plastic has an ultimate purpose, and no clothing item is beyond repair.

18.   Women’s underwear, it’s not just for the ladies.

19.   A hair saloon is not a place to go for a hairdo and a bar brawl with ruffians and hooligans, it’s just a misspelled salon. This was heartbreaking to the children and I.

20.   God will not give us more than we can handle…..this is a bold face lie. I call bull crap! I can’t even put a number to the days that have ended with me in the fetal position saying I can’t do this!! He has put me where it is way not something I can do or handle. Can’t even find a biblical bases for that nasty rumor that we can handle it. I do see that if I can’t he will and he gets the glory. So I am happy to step aside when the frogs out number the humans in our compound making us relive the Egyptian plagues or when it hasn’t rained in, oh, 6 months and let him do his thing, cause I can’t handle it!

 

This isn’t even the tip of the iceberg! I have learned so many lessons and life skills while here. It really is awesome. There are still things to learn though, I’ll keep you posted!

There's a snake in my boot! (or kitchen)

Interesting night here. Michael took one of our girls out to the bathroom last night around 8:30. That’s not that interesting, but remember the toilet is outside.  It’s not long until I hear, go inside, and my husband shouting our guards names. (one of whom was not on duty and lives a mile away, not sure what that was about) Anyway, I get all kiddies safely indoors and go out to see Mike with a cutlass and a crazed look in his eye. There is a cobra in my kitchen! Ugh. Snakes bring out the neighborhood in a big way here in Bauya so everyone came to investigate. Ironically, the guard Michael called for is terrified of snakes and kept a safe distance from the kitchen saying just let me get someone.

So, Michael puts on rain boots, another man, T-boy, shows up in flip flops and refuses boots. Then in walks our neighbor Pa Cowen. He is so tough. He’s the African John Wayne if you ask me. Awesome. He is armed with an old cutlass and nothing else. He moves everyone out of the way and stomps into the kitchen. The man is 5 feet tall on a good day, he is at least 65 and he weighs in at a whopping 95 pounds, and like me, 0% body fat. (Ok, I just snorted laughing at that) He goes in guns a blazing and begins to throw pots and pans, cooking oil cans and vegetables out the door looking everywhere for the snake that could kill us all. No fear!! During this all the other men are looking around warily with flashlights wondering if the snake is coming to sneak up on them since it is clearly terrified of Pa Cowen. And for comic relief, I send Anita, a friend, up behind Mike to pinch his leg and watched him jump a mile! (good times)

After 15 minutes of looking and many theories we all decided Michael was crazy or this snake has some serious spidey skills, because he is not in my kitchen. Of course, I still made Michael stand guard for me when I needed to shower and he had to escort every woman in the house for their nighttime potty break.  Because, hey, he’s got the boots!

Turns out white people can’t kill snakes. There are a series of phrases that are spoken to us here in SL that make us cringe.  One, because we grew up in such a pc culture that mention of differences in races is way taboo in our minds and two, because there is no arguing with it. What can you say? “Mommy Rachel, you can’t understand. It is our culture.” Well, I understand perfectly, thank you very much. But because I may or may not understand doesn’t mean what you are doing is right! Also, anything starting in “We the black people…” This is going to end in “you the whites….” and a slew of generalizations. Very frustrating! I have no cred with that.

Evangelism has been on my mind lately. I’m not good at it. No, that’s not fair. I don’t do it would be more accurate. I am lazy. I am afraid I won’t be liked or use excuses like “that isn’t my spiritual gift,” etc. I’m so full of crap!! If we build an orphanage but don’t let these kids know about Jesus, how have we really helped? If we spend all of our time working to teach people here basic sanitation or provide a hospital to prolong their life but they don’t hear the word of God, what was the point? No matter where I live I have one “mission from God” and that is to show people who he is, actions, deeds, words. If you don’t get this, you don’t know Jesus! Sorry to be frank, but somebody has to tell you!

The thought of going to another country to evangelize seems so much easier than in the states. I know. I thought this way. But I don’t run into crazy jihadists who want to talk theology and debate daily like I envisioned. Instead, I run into apathetic people who believe they are “saved” thanks to where they go to church and saying they have faith. Hmmm, sounds a bit familiar. I have also had the opportunity to spend time with Americans who believe in doing good but don’t do it for the sake of Christ. Hey, I appreciate philanthropic work. It does good. But without Jesus, it loses its purpose. These people have shared their stories and they usually involve people in the states claiming to love Jesus but behaving like the world. And now they want nothing to do with him. Or they really love Jesus, but they don’t feel their role is to tell people about Christ. A preacher will come along and handle that. Gandhi once said about Christianity, “I like their Jesus, but I don’t care for their Christians.” (hope I didn’t butcher that quote) Who would?

Bringing it back around, promise. I came here feeling like I wanted to do good and that was enough. I am learning that we the whites are missing the mark greatly. (we the whites refer to Americans, not trying to be exclusive, see my pc is showing!) I can’t argue with cultural lifestyles that are thousands of years old, I can’t change everyone’s mind set, but I better be doing my dang best to show them Jesus and how he rolls.

I have to be accountable in the end for what I did with my time here and I may find myself in line with someone I should have told about Jesus. Break: yes, living your witness is a way to show your faith and an obvious. But it is way too often used as a crutch to not tell people. Face it; you want everyone to like you just like I do. (hehe) And what is crazy, I spent a few hours with a girl Sunday and made myself share my faith. I had to say in my head, ok here we go. She had no great conversion (she was American by the way) she may not even have been listening. But she called me this weekJ And I left her and 1, thanked Jesus and fell in love all over again. And 2, felt a burden for the lost that I have been missing. Are you missing it? I can’t save anyone; I can just let people know where to find it.

If you aren’t actively trying to bring people into relationship with Jesus in the US, don’t plan a mission trip where you know you will tell people. If you are “called” to live where you are then you are “called” to tell people about Jesus where you are. Location isn’t going to change that.  1 Peter 2:9  “But you are God’s chosen and special people. You are a group of royal priests and a holy nation. God has brought you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Now you must tell all the wonderful things he has done.”  Tell me my job is not to tell people about Jesus. Think you can’t argue with it’s our culture, try it’s what Jesus said!

So, we are still on snake watch or we are having therapy for Mike, not sure which. And we are trying our hand at evangelism. Because no matter our time spent here, we want to walk away knowing we will be joined by an adopted family one day.

It is hot!

Whew! It’s been nuts over the past few months! I’m exhausted just trying to collect my thoughts about the events.

Bauya is good and hot. I have refrained from any complaints on heat, dry, wet or sweat, because I moved to Africa. What did I expect? But March in SL has made a bit of a whiner of me! I am hot, it is dry, and my shirt and pants are soaked constantly because of sweat! There it’s out there. West Africa is hot. You are welcome for the education on the climate 8 degrees above the equator. Now you know!

The Ropiecki’s are well, in spite of the heat. Mike is seeing more and more progress at the site. It is so exciting to see all those blocks lined up waiting to become a house for kids. I know without a doubt God has amazing big things planned through this. I think in the next few generations we will see huge changes in this country thanks to the love and care that will be given to a group of orphans and the surrounding community through this little plot of land in the middle of nowhere. I love waiting for the exciting unknown almost as much as I like knowing everything!

I got a visit from my father! I have missed my family desperately, so seeing his face lifted my spirits and was just good old fashioned fun! His sweet fiancé was brave enough to trek across the big blue ocean and join the adventure. I was a bit worried. One, I didn’t know if the heat would be too much. Two, it can be a bit chaotic and crazy here and lastly, it is a far cry from how I lived in the states. But I haven’t seen him have more fun or be so at ease in such a long time. We had an incredible visit. He held village children’s hands, experienced the market, carried a few bricks, tickled his grandchildren, and even endured a two mile hike to Mowotto, the birthplace of his two newest grandkids. I was so happy to share my life here with them. I’m good now; I can go a bit longer!

 

Our house is a hotbed of action from dawn until dusk. People are in and out all day long with different things. Maybe they need help, maybe they need to talk about a problem or maybe they just want to greet me. I never know who will be outside my gate! One of the people who come to our compound often to work is a man named Joe. We love Uncle Joe. He is a funny man who loves practical jokes and playing with my kids. He is an incredibly talented carpenter who has built several wonderful and functional pieces of furniture for Casa de la Ropiecki. (When you have three rooms every piece of furniture becomes prime storage space and precious) Joe fought in the war as a civilian that assisted villages in escaping before the incoming rebels would take over an area. He is tough as nails but stops to play with Ella and Hawa every day and sends them around with frogs to spring on unsuspecting parents or guards. He is awesome!

Joe is a Muslim man that we have been praying for, for some time. We have desperately wanted him to start a walk with Christ, but sometimes that can be a bit tricky here. However, we have seen several Christian men pour time and love into his life and have slowly watched his curiosity grow. All of the time spent with Joe has paid off and came to a head when my dad came.  All it took was his go getting attitude and the next thing I know I am translating what a walk with Christ looks like to Joe and hearing him say, “I believe you when you say Jesus is the way to God.” It was incredible!! So, it is with great joy I make the announcement of a new brother and an awesome addition to a big family.

We are here to build an orphanage, an orphanage that is currently seeing children become part of their forever families. We are watching them light up, grow and change as they are joined to a family that loves them unconditionally and sees them as their children no matter their DNA. The parents are so happy because they now have the children that their hearts have been seeking and the children glow because they realize they are loved and not going through life on their own. God held them for this family.

I have 1 adopted daughter and 2 that I want desperately to make my legally adopted children. I have 5 children total and I struggle to remember which are biological and which are adopted. I often tell children who ask why some of my children are black and some are white that sometimes God puts babies in our bellies and sometimes he plants them in our hearts. It is true. None of our children have been planned by us, but God knew our holes and filled them with our hearts desire regardless if we were aware of them or not. What I have seen is my heart filled with more love, patience and contentment and my children become their radiant self that God created them to be. I believe completely that adoption is God’s heart. Just as Joe is now my brother in Christ thanks to adoption, I also know that I have brothers and sisters all over the world loving the same daddy I do. It breaks my heart to think of the adoring way I look at my girls and know that God is looking down on me with the same glimmer and love in his eyes. I am Jesus’s sister and adored the same. He can’t remember who his birth son is and who he has adopted! I am loved.

I am exhausted most days and can’t imagine adding more children to our gaggle at this point but I can see people everywhere I look who need their forever father whether they realize it or not. He is working with all his might to get papers in hand and bring them home to watch them grow and become a member of our kooky crazy family! I understand his want and urgency (maybe just a glimpse). My only hope is to be broken to bring them to him.

So, adoption is God’s heartbeat. It is what he loves. I mean that in both a spiritual way and a literal way. Crack your Bible and give James a scan if you think I’m crazy. If you don’t feel the need to run out and adopt a child, find an organization that will allow you to support the orphan (TRS is a good starting place) Find a couple that need to raise funds to bring home their precious ones. Do something!! It isn’t a calling for the select few, it is a command from God! (please read James so you don’t think I’m crazy)

On a different note, we finally have our Just Dance working. I AM SO HAPPY! I love dancing! It has been so fun. Some of our African friends have joined us in a few night time dance parties. Pretty much the most I have laughed in…..ever. Everyone gives it their best and it is great to see them start to learn the steps but in the meantime, it is hilarious. We had a girl tell us that she really wished she could dance like us because white people have all the best dance moves……..really?