Saturday, August 7, 2010

Scars of Tignaln

Tignaln was one of the villager boys in Ineudu. He was so precious and had the deepest eyes I have ever seen. He seems to be staring into your soul when he looks at you. He was only six or seven. I knew something was special about this little boy but I couldnt exactly figure it out. He clung to us all week. I noticed the other kids were not very nice to him. He seemed like he only wanted love. His laugh was so contagious. He loved to be tickled. I saw that he always hid his hand where no one could see it. Finally I saw the reason why. His whole hand was scarred up. It looked like he had been burnt very badly. He couldnt even function properly with his hand. I could tell he was embarrassed by his scars. So, I got a translator to tell him that I thought his scars were very cool! I told him it showed that he was strong. I even showed him all of my scars. A huge smile swept across his face as he slowly uncovered his scars. I told him that if I was him I would show everyone my cool scars so they would know how strong he is. Later that day I saw him playing with both of his hands. I pray this precious little boy will be set free from the embarrassment and insecurities of his scars.

Ineudu

This week John and I were in the village of Ineudu. He got there on Monday and I arrived on Wednesday because I was taking care of a girl who had malaria. This is actually the first time I slept in a village. I have been waiting a long time for this! It was amazing. I slept in a mud hut with a straw roof. It was apart of a big compound, so I felt like I was apart of the community. Each night we cooked under the stars on an open fire. They cooked a dish called Tezit every night. It is similar to banku or fufu, but much better. We eat with our hands, sharing with several other people. There is a sauce they cook to dip it in. The sauce is equivalent to liquid fire. So spicy but delicious. It was a contest between John and I who could go the longest without drinking water. I would always win of course. I showered at night time after everyone went to bed because the "shower" was a little round thing outside that only came up waist high. It was interesting, but really cool that I could see the beautiful sky while bathing. ( 3 shooting stars the first night) The sky was breath taking. You can see the Milky Way Galaxy so clear. It looks like spilled milk. There are no lights or electricity for miles and miles. I saw shooting stars every night. If I slept till 6:30 they just laugh because they get up so so so early. During the day we would walk around the village and talk to different people on the verandas. Around lunch time the children would gather and we would play games and teach a few bible stories. John had a small bible study with the leaders of the church after noon and at 9 we would have worship under the stars, by lantern light. Night worship was awesome. The men and women were out at farm all day and had to come home and cook so this was the best time. The last night one guy stood up an said he needed Jesus in his life. Glory to God. We left the village with a bucket full of memories and 3 chickens. I was very sad to leave them.