My First Safari Ride

After two weeks of travelling throughout West Africa, I am now taking advantage of having a little break and writing a blog…especially since my last one was April 12th! Wow that is insane…and I am again failing at blogs. I need to find an accountability partner for this problem of mine.

So two weeks ago the Journey Corps team left Cote d’Ivoire and traveled to a neighboring country, Burkina Faso. There we had a little “Family Vacation” as we like to call it. After saying good-bye to four of our team members we thought it was important to come together and regroup as a team. So we went to Bobodulaso and visited a game park. So with 12 people in a legally 6 person car we went on our own little safari. 4 people on top of the car and the rest safe inside we saw elephants, hartebeests, different kinds of antelopes, bush bucks and water bucks, alligators and countless birds. It was beautiful!

A few of us left Bobodulaso for Ouargadougou to meet a short term team from Cedarville College (Ohio). With confusing bus tickets our trip back to Cote d’Ivoire was delayed for two days. Being in another West African country, I experienced another round of culture shock. Burkina Faso is more westernized than Cote d’Ivoire, by far. With traffic lights and strip malls it’s no wonder we went through culture shock. (I even had a cheeseburger!!...like a real cheeseburger). We also visited a missionary family. We sat down on their comfy sofas, ate Snickers, and watched a copy of the latest American Idol…WHAT?!?! I didn’t think this stuff existed in West Africa. It was interesting coming back through the border into Cote d’Ivoire. I had the strangest feeling of “YAY I’m going back home!!!” It’s funny how I have only been living here for 7 months and I already feel that the people I interact with and live with are a part of my friend and family circles. This feels like home. It feels like my comfort. I suppose I shouldn’t find it so strange, since we are totally submerging into this culture. I was also reminded that my home is not here on earth, but in Heaven with the Lord Jesus. It was a really cool realization.

In Bouaké we had our second set of seminars with our directors Rod and Bakary. We continued to look at projects and studied how Paul did missions. It was interesting to look at scripture almost as a text book, but it’s history…I suppose I sometimes see it as something supernatural and unattainable. Rod also continued on his seminar with the Mission of God and this time he emphasized His creation and the roles we play in taking care of it.

God continues to move in BIG ways that, as always, are un-expecting. God is constantly telling me it isn’t the works I am supposed to be concerned with this year. This year I am being molded and stretched to be in His likeness. I can’t do everything and for me that is tough…I love doing everything and doing things well (the best…my pride) and taking on responsibilities. I have been realizing it is because I am constantly trying to seek people’s approvals instead of just listening to God. I also have been finding that I have peace and comfort knowing that He is the one in control. After fighting for 7 months (honestly 21 years) I finally have said…alright God you’re in control…NOT ME. It’s a daily surrender, one that is difficult sometimes, painful or frustrating in others, but it calls for me to be humble, die to myself and pick up my cross. Obviously easier said than done, but I am learning that it is SO worth it!

Scripture of the Week (month):

“Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.” -Galatians 1:10

Paul’s words are a little blunt, but to the point. Haha and so true.

“He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of ALL creation, became his prized possession.” –James 1:18

In Bouaké I led a bible study about what God has been showing me and this is an awesome summary. I asked everyone what thing they most held dear as a child. For me, I used the example of my little purple hat. I wore this thing ALL of the time and never left home without it. One time, at an Angel game, I left it in the bleachers. I think I cried for that stupid hat for over a week. My dad picked me up from school one day and said you have a surprise on the front seat of the truck…IT WAS MY LITTLE PURPLE HAT!! Well, I realized I’m God’s little purple hat…when I am lost He cries out for me. He sees me as something to be prized. And it’s not because I deserve it, but because he CHOSE to see me that way, out of love. Again…these last 7 months God has been showing me just how much He pursues and loves His children, His prized possession and that He would do and give anything, even death to His Son, for them. I don’t know about you…but I think that is pretty flippin’ awesome.

Prayer Requests:
-Against spiritual attack & distractions. That Satan could not get a foothold within this team, and within me.
-RCI family & CA family. My sister from Abidjan is going back, pray for safety. George looks like a leopard and is fighting a nasty cold (haha :) just look at his pictures on facebook)
-Relationships here in RCI & on state side
-Energy & strength to continue on to what God has planned for me

Thanks so much for visiting me today. How can I be praying for you and encouraging you? You know…when I ask how you guys are doing I actually want to know  haha so please respond. How are you and what is God doing in your life? Yup yup yup…can’t wait to hear from you!! I hope you guys have a wonderful day!

Update

SO MUCH TO WRITE ABOUT!!! So since the internet has not been working, I have yet to put up a blog in like 3 weeks…c’est pas bon (it’s not good). So…now we are hopefully getting two blogs at once or at least relatively close to each other : ) a picture diary which I hope ya’ll enjoy and an update. UPDATE: So two weeks ago I attended a 4 day long traditional Muslim funeral. SO INTERESTING. I had the opportunity to see where the traditional views and modern views come into play with each other. The first day everyone (literally EVERYONE) went to the morgue to collect the body, my host mom made sure I got to see the body before it was buried [great : / ] . Then people carried the casket through the street to different houses. There was a parade blocking most of the streets with people dancing and playing music. It was kind of cool to witness how much they celebrate a life here. The next day the lady was buried in her village. There were “medicine men” shooting guns trying to scare off the evil spirits. Then for the last two days it was a HUGE party. Dancing and singing in the streets, tons of food and a sacrifice. It was interesting watching the preparation for the sacrifice (I did not actually stay for that). There were men who are going through “initiation” [a tradition for men only, in the sacred forest] and for three months out of their 7 year initiation they cannot wear any clothes…the first time I saw this my host papa was laughing his head off, because of how shocked I was that my neighbor wasn’t wearing clothing. So for the sacrifice only men who are/have been initiated can light the fire and do the sacrifice. It was interesting watching a man in a loin cloth light a fire on the side of a busy road with lots of cars and mottos running by…and then he pulled out his cell phone (where it came from I am not sure)…how weird is that? My cultural awareness was definitely shaken with that one. Last week we had a week long seminar at the ICA campus in Bouaké. That was really great, being able to see all of the journeyers and being able to say good-bye to a few other people. {more about the good-byes in a little while}. Our seminar was a review on “projects” and how to get those started, what questions to ask and how to evaluate it. It was a much needed review. Plus it was a great time of rest and relaxation (and American food :) ) It was also a time where God rejuvenated me, and showed me just how much I need Him. In Bouaké we also attended a marriage for our friend Tenana who works at ICA. It was a super fun wedding. It was just a twenty to thirty minute walk. For our gift to Tenana and his wife we danced “American” for them. So in our African outfits we line danced :) yes…line danced at a wedding. It was so much fun!! I forgot how much I missed line dancing. And then we were invited to eat with the bride and groom. Yesterday…if you haven’t seen my earlier blog post…Gbagbo has been captured, finally! The 6 journeyers who are living in Korhogo were all out to lunch talking about our small group up here and we see people running into the streets shouting. So our first reaction is, oh no…we need to get out of here, a fight is breaking out. Well that wasn’t it. People were dancing and shouting for joy because the Ivory Coast after ten years is finally able to move on and work towards reconciliation. So we left our lunches and joined the great celebration. YAY…I am still overjoyed and I have only been living here for 5 months, I can’t imagine what others are feeling. And finally…in the last few weeks there have been a few changes within the Journey Corps family. Two of my friends have decided to move from their families in Korhogo, to two new families in Bouaké. All though I am sad to see two of my friends leave, I know this move is for the best for them. It is so interesting how God pursues us, He knows exactly how to speak to us, and for these two that means moving. I am super stoked for them and their futures here. And my two small group leaders, Peter and Katrina, have decided it is time for them to return to the States. These two have been nothing less than a blessing to this program, and will be greatly missed. I look up to these two not only for their work here in Journey Corps and with me, but for also hearing God’s voice and being so obedient to that, even though it is so difficult saying good-bye. Prayer Request: -this country would be united instead of torn, and for the new (and only) president Alassane, that he would have wisdom and rule justly. -our friends who are moving and leaving, that they would have peace and be sensitive to the leading of the Spirit -host family and family in California -against spiritual attack -He would be our vision I put up the Scripture of the Week with the last blog so instead I will do a Quote of the Week on this blog. Quote of the Week: This is the good news we offer the world. Yes, we are born into the world as children of the deep, condemned to live in darkness, to live out the sinful nature of our flesh. But we can be saved from all of that if we are willing to put our faith in Jesus. This, indeed, is what it means to become a new creation. Once we were instruments of unrighteousness, but now, by the blood of Jesus, we are instruments of good. And if we are to take into account the call to go into all the world as Jesus did, then we are given the insight to understand that God is calling the church to go into all the dark recesses of the world and there proclaim the light of Jesus. We are to continue the ministry of confrontation with the evil one. Where fear is sown, we sow love; where deceit is sown, we sow the truth; where violence rules, we enter in peace; where sorrow reigns, we minister joy; where sin abounds, we usher in the forgiveness and cleansing work or Jesus. Dan Harrison Alrighty then, we are finally all caught up on lives…oh wait a minute…you need to catch me up on your life : ) awesome, can’t wait to hear from you and hear about how things are going. So until then… Have a good day

Photo Diary

Ok so…I am sort of lame on writing blogs right now, sorry everyone. But I had a super cool idea… One of the most frequently asked question is “Alyssa, what do you do? What is your typical day look like?” Well I thought it would be super cool if you got to see what I did instead of just reading about it…so here we go :)

So I wake up between 5:30 and 6:00 am (I’m super confused about why we wake up at different times so I just wake up when my sister Martha wakes up because we share a bed) Then I sweep the courtyard while God paints me a beautiful masterpiece every morning *my sunrise* (Tyler…stop laughing at me it’s true).

[after sweeping is when my days differ…here is a typical laid back day]

After sweeping I take my bucket bath and eat breakfast. I usually help the family with the chores such as laundry, cooking, cleaning and such. I also tutor 2 guys in English who can’t go to school because of the crisis or I go to work at the church. *picture of Teguere church* This is where i do the churches finances and where i do secretarial work Monday-Thursday.

Later in the afternoon I get to hang out with my host family and eat lunch and take a short pause. Usually I do my “homework” or journaling that is a requirement for Journey Corps. *picture of family [from left to right:big sister Martha, Host Papa Chorl, little brother Azariah, little brother Coronah, me, little brother Binjamin, little sister Ferrehala, little sister Yelli, host mom was taking the picture* After my short pause I either go back to work at the church or dispensary or I help cook.

Whenever I get back home I usually take my bucket bath and eat dinner with my family. Because it is so hot and I don’t have electricity so we sleep outside for a little while and then go to bed.

These are all of the journeyers and the staff of Journey Corps, I thought you may want to see who it is I live with in Africa :) *picture of journeyers from left to right: Katrina, Peter, Jamie, Heidi, Bakary, Angelika, Rod, Stephanie, Naomi, Me, Holly, Jason, Chazz, CJ, Beckie and Devin *

Prayer Requests:

Political situation-things are still heating up.

Pray that God’s peace and comfort would reign

Different work and ministry opportunities Host family and Family in the states

Sicknesses and healing (Heidi just had surgery on her appendix pray for healing, my little brother has malaria, older sister is sick, I had Ameebas last week…and so much more)

That God would continue to be my only vision

Scripture of the Week:

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:

2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3 a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,

4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

6 a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7 a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8 a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.

9 What do workers gain from their toil? 10 I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet[a] no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end

Well I hope you guys enjoyed the photos and the short video. Let me know what you think and let me know how your life is going. Love you tons and until next time :)

Take Care!

ONE PRESIDENT!!!

The first day I can get online is the day the Ivory Coast has one president!!! Gbagbo has been captured and we are dancing and singing in the streets :) Praise the Lord Please pray for peace and reconciliation. That this country would finally be brought together in unity. Blog post to come...

A Bitter Sweet Reunion

Fotmana! (Welcome in Tyembara) I hope all is well for you and your family this awesome Sunday.

This last Wednesday the 6 Korhogo people travelled with Rod back to Bouake for 3 ½ days of debrief and rest with the other 4 Journeyers who are already down in Bouake. It was a bitter sweet reunion. I loved being with everyone again. We lived together 24 hours a day for over 3 months…with that you get used to seeing people and doing things. However, it was such a short visit and saying good-bye is also a difficult thing to do.

So on our little mini-vacation we had the opportunity for community and rest. We did tons of debriefing over the last month being in our families, shared our difficulties and laughed about our short comings (which there were many). We also met in our small groups for a little while to do the same.

After all of the long logistical things happened we got to have fun  we went to Hotel Mon Afrik for some ice cream and swimming (it was SO good since the power had been out everywhere else to finally have a refreshment). We also played volleyball and soccer—my two favorite sports to play. And I finally watched Sleepless in Seattle, a movie I had never seen until Friday. We also went to the Rock Quarry for dinner. My favorite part of the night is singing worship around the fire under the stars it’s beautiful. And Holly and I rode on top of the Land Rovers on the way back. Dude dodging trees in the dark is no easy task!

Well the last few days have been a very much needed break. And I am appreciative of that. I like to think of these times as my Sabbath. I hope you get your rest also…its biblical: “on the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation.” So I say call your bosses and take a day off  [responsibly of course]

Scripture of the Week:
“Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead he gave up his divine privileges he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:2-11
Our focus for Bouake was all of Phil…and again in church today these verses were emphasized. It’s always a good reminder to be humble.

Prayer Requests:
~the heat!! I am literally dripping sweat and it is driving me crazy…all I am doing is sitting and writing this right now…what the heck haha
~family (RCI & CA)
~our projects
~God would continue to be our strength and our rest
~we will continue to be molded and stretched beyond our wildest imagination
~maladies

Thank you again
Love always Alyssa Grabarkewitz

Women's Conference

In the last blog I said that I would talk about the different ministry opportunities in this blog. To be honest I have yet to start my projects. The committee that I have to meet with has been busy getting ready for their General Assembly Meeting. Heidi and I did, however, meet with our Pastor, Keo, to talk about the churches different ideas and what they are already planning for this next year. Their ideas are far more exciting than any idea I could ever come up with. Téguéré church (my church here in Korhogo) is located on IBB (Bethel Bible Institute) campus. Pastor Keo is also the director of IBB. So a lot of ministry will be happening on campus with pastors in training and their wives. We will be potentially helping with the pastor’s English and mostly focusing on their wives. Some of the women can only speak their mother tongue, Tyembara, they cannot read nor write. So alongside their husbands these women are enrolled into classes to help prepare them to be pastors wives. Some of their classes include learning French and how to read and write, nutrition, finance management, natural family planning and I think counseling. I will have an opportunity to participate in these classes and even teach some of them.

Some other ideas that are away from campus that Téguéré church would like to see happen in the next year are super exciting! For starters they would like to see a church started in a village. Right now there are 4 villages surrounding Téguéré that do not have a church. They would like to start evangelizing and focus on one of these villages and help start a church there. This is perfect, because this is a huge passion of Heidi’s and what she went to school for. Another plan has to do with the 6 schools around Téguéré. Right now due to the crisis here only 4 private schools are meeting. However, when the country isn’t in the beginnings of civil war and all schools are open, we have young Christian followers and connections in each one of those schools. The church would like to see a small group/bible study happen at each site. It would be something to feed and fuel these young believers and in return, it is also an outreach opportunity to their friends and classmates who wouldn’t otherwise go to church. And the fun part about this is that this is a huge passion of mine. I am a firm believer of kids leading kids and bringing them to know the Lord. So I am pretty stoked to potentially be an unseen helping hand in this.

These are just a few of the churches ideas. I should be meeting with the committee relatively soon since the General Assembly was a 5 hour meeting after church on Sunday! So there will hopefully be more updates on these thoughts a little later.

As for more of an update on what I have been doing with myself in RCI, last week was the annual AEBECI-Korhogo’s women’s conference. 500 women from all over Korhogo took part in this weeklong conference. Heidi, CJ and I also attended with our host moms. This was an overwhelming experience. Majority of these women were from surrounding villages in Salem and only a handful could speak French. The entire conference was in Tyembara! People would speak to us in Tyembara! And then when we didn’t understand their questions and demands (because they were in Tyembara) we’d get yelled at in Tyembara!!! The funny thing was that the little Tyembara we do know we were asked to repeat over and over and over and over again and each time we said it everyone would die of laughter. Another interesting part of us being there was the fact that we are white. For a lot of the women this was their first time seeing a white person. Tons of them came up to touch my skin and as they did I touched theirs asking if it was different or the same. They all said the same. The children that were with them were terrified of us because in villages they tell young kids that if they don’t behave, the white man will come and eat them. It gets disheartening after awhile, always making children scream and cry for their moms. So we had to make a game out of it so we didn’t get depressed about this. [Please don’t judge :)] Heidi got 3 kids’ to cry, I got 2 and CJ didn’t get any. Heidi was the winner, especially since one of those times was in front of all 500 women in a seminar. That was kind of funny. At first it was hard being the freak show, there only for amusement, but at the end of the conference the women said it was encouraging that we were there. Although we are different, we are still the same in Christ. We are sisters and worship the same God but in different ways. I like that don’t you?

Scripture of the Week:
“In the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands. Then, even if some refuse to obey the Good News, your godly lives will speak to them without any words. They will be won over by observing your pure and reverent lives. Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourself instead with the beauty that comes from within the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God. This is how the holy women of old made themselves beautiful. They trusted God and accepted the authority of their husbands.” ~1Peter 3:1-5

Since I could not understand a thing being said in the conference, I thought it would be a good idea to pray and reflect on things that would make a godly woman. There’s some interesting stuff.

Prayer Requests:
*our service projects
*strength and energy
*patience
*against spiritual attack
*the healing of many people for many things
*our friends and families at home in the states and homesickness


Well this was just a super quick update and there will be more, later. Please check out the new pictures online and I hope you enjoy :) Miss you and love you guys!

Until next time…

Sometimes you still have to give thanks

Well this week has been an interesting one, if that. It has truly been an interesting experience living with an Ivorian family. Through language and cultural barriers life is a little intense. On top of that I have been sick quite a few times, and I think it’s because of the food. My host family insisted that we call our pastor so that he could take me to the hospital, but I assured them that that was not necessary and that it is normal for missionaries to get sick from the food. They didn’t understand and called the pastor anyways, when I was taking my bucket bath. He came over and saw that I was insistent on not going to the hospital and agreed that if I still hadn’t been feeling well by the end of the day he would take me whether I liked it or not. It was quite funny. It is a complete difference between our two cultures. In America, you leave the sick person alone, give them their rest time and peace and quiet. In Cote d’Ivoire, you would never dream about leaving a sick person all alone. That’s crazy talk!! So I have had constant people around me touching me to make sure I don’t have a fever, asking how I am doing trying to feed me. I won’t lie, when I was sick the first night, I was SO ANNOYED by this!!! SO annoyed!! So much so that I had to pray that God would give me self control to let these people love on me the way that they know how. Boy oh boy that was a challenge.

While I was journaling yesterday, I was trying to think about what I should be writing about and the only things that were coming to mind, were all of the things that I am frustrated about, such as being sick (like the example above). Also how bad I am at French and how frustrating it is not being able to get your point across. I listed how I was wishing for different circumstances like living back in Buoaké or with another family. I especially can’t stand being talked to and treated like a two year old (they even locked up my bike so that I have to ask before I use it). It’s all so FRUSTRATING!!!

…well…then God reminded me of our Scripture of the Week:

Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful
in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
1 Thes. 5:16-18

Crap…you mean I actually have to be thankful and joyful while vomiting in a hole outside?? Our being recovered by my older sister even though it’s 90 degrees outside and I don’t want any blankets on me?? Dude, God you are insane!! What the heck? Haha (this is sort of what I was thinking). Well I suppose I will give this being thankful thing a shot.

So I started to list all of the things that I should be thankful for. It started out small such as the gorgeous sunrises I have the priviledge of seeing every morning and for the amazing stars I get to eat dinner under every night. I am thankful for the French and Tyembara that I do know and for being able to tie my panya skirt right so it doesn’t fall off now. For my church here and back in the states and the friends and family members I have there. For my host family who is willing to take in and care for and love a stranger (and a strange one at that). For my family in the states (whom I miss an insane amount) and for their willingness to call and talk to me whenever I need them too and their support for me being here. That God has kept His promise in sending me here, to Africa. That He renews my strength each and every morning and gives me just enough strength to make it through the day. That His love and His grace have no bounds what so ever and they cannot be limited by language or culture. Dude the God who created the ENTIRE universe loves me the way no one else could possibly love me…a way that I can’t even understand or grasp. Dude…HOW COOL IS THAT!!!! That’s awesome :) I have so much more to be thankful for than I do to complain about. I have prayed that the Lord would turn my frustrations into even more things to give Him praise for. That His will would be above all else even if that means that I won’t be happy with it. So that’s where I’m at, at this particular moment. I still have to take one day at a time, I still have to pray for God’s strength that I am dependent on, I still get frustrated with things, I still feel homesick, but I praise God for these things. They are stretching and molding me in ways I could never have fathomed in a million years. I praise God!

Prayer Requests:
*1 Thes 5:16-18 will always be on my heart and mind and that I will always give thanks, no matter the circumstance
*Against spiritual attack
*For our stomach’s getting used to the food and water here
*For our service projects we will be starting soon (more to come on that next time…I am extremely excited about some of them)
*For our brothers and sisters in the south where the country is ‘hot’ and our other brothers and sisters around the world who are being persecuted for their faith [I just finished reading “Heart of Fire: a martyrs story”…so good, read it]

I get a few email responses about blogs and such, please keep those coming. They have been nothing but an encouragement to me and I appreciate every word of them. I want to hear about what you are thankful for and what else you give God praise for. And of course also the frustrations and hardships, so that I can also be praying for you. “Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep” Romans 12:15

Thanks again :)

Until Next time…