On Monday we headed into our tribal area... it worked out with flights and weights that the boys and I were able to go in and get a sneak peek at the area we will be living and serving in very soon....
I would by lying if I didn't say we were all really, really nervous. I was excited about the trip, but what if I hated the area or it was a horrible experience for the boys and then we spent the next 4 months dreading moving into the tribe? We talked and prepped the little boys a ton... they would be the first little white skinned boys the tribal people had ever seen... and I was afraid they would be mobbed.... which would lead to screaming and hating the area and spending the next 4 months dreading.... you get the idea. The night before we left the boys were up off and on all night long; they were so nervous. So we were a BIT tired and groggy heading into the whole adventure...
BUT, we had a ton of people praying. We could feel it every minute. And God was so gracious in answering prayers.
The flight in... the boys are extremely disappointed that we have an airstrip and don't get to use the helicopter. Our budget is extremely grateful we have an airstrip. :):)
We're about an hour and a half flight from town. They don't serve food or have potties on little mission planes... just FYI. :)
Our tribe! The airstrip on the right side.... you can faintly see the main village path headed off the path on the far left end of the airstrip. The second path forms a T and heads to the river. Our houses are going to be located towards the end of the airstrip close to the village.
The first hour on the ground was intense. Very intense. As soon as we landed and the plane turned off, people swarmed around the plane. The door opened and I could see dozens of faces... beautiful, beautiful faces. Immediately it was like "These are OUR people!" and I was so overwhelmed. Little grandmas rushed up to me and started giving me hugs and my thought was "They will never live long enough for us to learn the language and present the Gospel" and that was a really sobering thought. I also realized almost instantly that not a single lady spoke a single word of the national language... they didn't even understand "hello." It was this choking, "I HAVE to learn this language right this second" kind of realization. So, with all those emotions, I am fighting back tears while I'm trying to greet everyone, because I don't want to freak them out by being the crying white lady. AND this whole time the boys are clinging to me for dear life and hiding behind me as people are trying to grab their arms and say hello.
But really, the whole introduction part went really well. The people were beautiful - they bathe every day in the river, so they don't have a lot of skin diseases and they don't smell bad. They have very fertile ground, so things grow well and food is not an issue - so they are very healthy... not a lot of runny noses, goupy eyes, or yellow hair from malnutrition. (All common issues we see in tribal areas.) Plus the people were very kind and restrained. They were excited to see us and they wanted to grab arms - how they give traditional greetings - but they didn't pull on the boys' clothes or hair or cheeks. They seemed to get that the boys were scared, so they kept some space, which was such a blessing. And the boys held it together well - no crying or screaming; they were very brave. Immediately the ladies started trying to teach me words - pointing to boys/girls, house, bridge.... lots of laughter as I tried out very unfamiliar sounds. They showed us around the village - taking us to our lodging for the night and showing us the crude outhouse a prior missionary had constructed. They helped the little boys (and me!) over the logs that serve as bridges around their area.
All this while Brant was helping unload the plane and get our wood cutting team set up in their lodgings. He had to introduce them to the leaders of the village and get things squared away for the flight the next day. So basically it was just the boys and I and all the village ladies and kids on our own....
I was so thankful for the peoples' kindness and how gentle they were with the boys. The paths in the village are wide and clean, so the boys were soon comfortable running up and down them as we explored. The people grouped around us as we walked around. We pulled out the few toys we had brought with us and that gave the boys a good "coping" mechanism - they could throw a Frisbee with the other kids without any language needed, plus it kept a healthy distance between them. :) The tribal kids were fascinated by the Frisbee and caught on quickly, laughing and running after it. Some of the ladies figured out how to throw it and were giving their kids lessons on holding their arms just so... it was fun to watch. Once the boys saw that they were just regular kids who responded just as they did to a Frisbee, that really helped them relax.
Within a few hours, the boys were playing with the tribal kids, swapping grasshoppers in some made up game I never understood. (Though I think it entailed throwing the grasshoppers into the water and trying to peg them with sticks.)
Once Brant was able, he took us around the house sites and showed us where our house would be built. We have a huge beautiful fruit tree in our yard that will give us much needed shade in the afternoons. (And that we might get some fruit from!) We were told we didn't "own" the tree or its fruit - it belongs of one of the village leaders, but he was willing to share. Ezra was ecstatic- it was one of his favorite types of fruit.
We slept in the radio shed, which various short term missionaries have used before. It was cozy.... 3 tiny rooms- 1 with a table, 2 with wooden planks for beds which was really uncomfortable. :) No electricity and no water, except what collected off the roof in a 50 gallon drum outside (which we filtered to drink) But we survived.
It is hot in our area. Brant had warned me, and he was right. But, I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't THAT hot - not Texas in August intense, envelop you and you can't breathe kind of hot, but still hot, probably between 90 and 95 degrees. (In town where we live now, it's usually about 88 in the hottest part of the day.) It was very humid - our skin was sticky almost the whole time we were there. The worst part was it was still, very still. Not a whiff of a breeze at all. But when I fanned myself with a paper, it was so much more bearable. We do have ceiling fans for our house and little personal fans for our beds, so I think it will be doable. It did cool off nicely at night and was comfortable in the morning, so I was excited that we won't be sweating to death our entire time in the tribe. :)
The people brought us peanuts, boiled bananas (which were nasty) and these amazing fresh green bananas that we gobbled up. Late at night they brought a soup of potatoes and pumpkin... no spices, just boiled potatoes, pumpkin, and water. It was actually really, really good.
A typical village house...
Headed out to the airstrip to check out our house site...
Elijah standing in front of where our teammate's house will be - gives you an idea how close we will be to the village. (We are a tad farther away.... our house is the farthest from the village.)
My men standing in front of where our future house will be built....
The second day we went down to the river... the banks are steep and about 20 feet below the actual village; the people say it never floods over the banks. The river freaked me out a bit... it is huge, deep and very, very swift moving. Two words: life jackets. :)
Overall, it was a really, really good trip. I was encouraged about some things (tons of fresh fruit and veggies!) and was able to get a head's up on things that could be challenging (lots of flies everywhere - make sure to bring a good fly swatter!) Mostly though, I was excited to meet the people and know that this is where God has us. Thanks for praying. God abundantly answered your (and our!) prayers. As the boys were running around on the airstrip Monday evening, Elijah walked up and said, "Mom, I'm glad we picked this tribe. It will be a good tribe for us" and I agreed.
