Video montage...

Bonjour -- Stateside!

I AM FREEZING!!!

Not kidding. I have been wearing pants, socks, long-sleeves, and sweaters since being back in Colorado, not to mention my winter coat and gloves when I go outside. A few times I've been tempted to turn up the heat...or just get a room heater for my room. Last night I turned on the humidifier, it's just so dry!

So I got back to the States safe and sound on Monday night. My flights were fairly uneventful...on the flight from Chicago to Co Springs there was some seating confusion and there was a German couple sitting in my row, the wife in my seat. I tried asking her where her seat was but she spoke no English, so then I started to speak French to her without even thinking about it!

So I was walking through the Chicago airport and as I passed this one lady, she looked at me and smiled! You know what I did? A little jig. Hooplah! So then I decided to see how many people I could get to smile at me if I smiled at them (don't worry, I chose my victims with wisdom). I love that Americans will smile back, but unlike the Africans, their eyes only hold yours until it's "uncomfortable". Then they look away.

I am planning on writing more later about how I've been digesting being back...I don't really want to try and dig through it all on my second day. I do just want to say that I am so glad to be spending time with my family here! Well, at least with my parents (my sister disappeared the day after I got back...oh the fun social lives of high schoolers!). Got to see a few friends, but it's been nice having a few days to just chill. Graduation parties are coming up, dance, lots of fun things...but first let me recover from jet lag!

Leanne, Hannah...I miss you guys like crazy. So thankful for the "conversation" we had my last morning. Dan and Alicia, have a wonderful time Stateside! Hope your first team experience was AWESOME and LEGIT! Fellowship Alliance Chapel team, I still talk about you all, even to my family here! Very excited to visit your church this year. Other interns (Shannon, Robert, Reinette), my experience wouldn't have been the same without ya'll. I love love love meeting other young people with a heart for the world and service. Alace and Steve, you and your family are such an encouragement! It was such a privilege to get to know a family like you who is obeying God even when it isn't easy. (not going to lie, I am praying you guys come to the States Joey's senior year!).

To all my readers, family, friends--ya'll rock! It has been such a blessing to have people who are interested enough to read about my experiences. Your comments, e-mails, and even just the readership stats have been so heart-warming. And if reading my or other blogs has made you interested in Gabon, either giving or serving, please don't hesitate to further inquire about what you can do! E-mail me at freaky.tea.sipper@gmail.com and I will point you in the right direction.

Below are some pictures from my last week or two. Uploading stuff is SO my faster here in America so I will be sharing more stuff over the weeks to come. A youtube channel with videos is on its way!


Some of the wonderful boys at Hope House


Chouchou, baby Anne, et moi! (chouchou is the daughter of our house-cleaning neighbor, Mama Justine)


Jill (a visiting nurse--she's getting married in July, yay!), me, and Sam Straw playing our last game of Settlers of Catan. If you come to Libreville, you can expect Sam or me (if I'm there) to ask if you like this game!! And if you do, be prepared to pull late-night Settlers stints! Mwuahaha...


Front row: Jill, Alace, me, Hannah, Leanne Back row: Sam, Jean-Romain, Eric Bill, Steve


My wonderful sisters Leanne and Hannah

Only two weeks left here in Gabon and I am still seeing new parts and aspects of Africa every day. First off (just so I don't end the post on a melancholy note) I'm going to start out by doing a little "end of the journey" shpeel now. I've decided that I do not want to further depress myself when leaving by most likely crying all over my computer my last night in Gabon while typing up a "I'm leaving" post (yes Mom, I know that was an atrociously long sentence). Truth is, I'm going to miss it here, as can be expected of anyone with similar experiences. I've not only experienced living in a community of family in Christ (missionaries, Gabonese, my housemates) but I have gotten to also live day-to-day life in another culture. I have experience the family of Christ (and the love that should be present in that family) with people used to a way of life so different from mine. But oh how I love so many aspects of their way of life! Time isn't pressing, dancing in church is normal, sitting after dinner and singing together...

But! There are so many reasons that I should be filled with joy as I leave this place and go back to the States. One, I have been so blessed and been given so much love from being here. And yes, I may be leaving that but I do know that if God ever calls me back to Gabon that love will still be here! Secondly, I have so many adventures ahead of me this year and in the years to come. My Lord has shown me so many times that He has His hand in my life, instigating, guiding, initiating, holding. And not to mention just getting to go back to Colorado to see my wonderful family, great friends, grandparents, not to mention drinking my first cup of milk in 3 and a half months...

As I write that, though, I think about my past week, which has been full of experiences with children. Last Saturday morning I went with Shannon, Leanne, and Sam Straw to Hope House for a few hours. Mama Nathalie (their "Mama") had us cut up loaves of bread and butter them, as it was early and the kids hadn't had breakfast yet. We also made them "cafe", which sounds yum but is really just Nido (powdered milk) with hot water and sugar cubes. As Hannah says, we here at the Envision center, "Treat Nido like dirt!" but to these children it is a wonderful treat. (So I'll just stick with regular milk and let them have the Nido--more for them!).



Today for church we went to Avea I, the church where the Hope House Papa, Pastor Israel, is the senior pastor. As we walked up to the church all of our Hope House kids came pouring out of the door, smothering us in hugs, their smiles big enough to melt hearts of ice. I think to myself, "Why do they love us so much?? All we do is play clapping games with them, give them crayons and paper, and twirl them around in circles." The level of contentment that these children have just astounds me. And I realize that spending hours playing with them is such a blessing to me. I can't even understand what they say to me, but I see so much in their eyes. I see joy, pain, love, rejection, fear...have you ever stopped to really look into someone's eyes? And not necessarily when they are looking into yours, but at a moment when they don't realize anyone is observing them. I think you can see a whole other level, something so deeper than the surface.

"The eyes indicate the antiquity of the soul." Ralph Waldo Emerson

Yesterday our house team split up into two groups--the new interns, Robert and Reinette, went with Shannon to Hope House while Leanne, Hannah, and I went to a medical clinic conference thing for children. I'm not really sure what to call it because I'm not really sure what it was...and I don't even want to try and explain what I think was going on or who was involved or what was happening--big picture-wise, that is. What the three of us ended up doing was getting in a car with one of the pastors and driving to an orphanage in a part of LBV I hadn't been to before. Judging from a little table in a corner with candles, flowers, and a statue of Mary (the mother of Jesus) I am guessing it is a Catholic orphanage. Several other pastors and workers from the clinic had come in other cars, one of which was full of boxes and bags of food. We unloaded about 1/3 of the food and piled it in the main room of the orphanage. For about 20 minutes we prayed, the pastors spoke, took pictures, and the children sang a song for us. Then we all piled back into our cars and started driving to another orphanage! Up until that point, though, I didn't realize exactly what we were doing. So it turns out that we visited 3 orphanages, giving them food, words of encouragement, spending a little time with the kids...what was really cool was that every orphanage was different from the other.

Et Jesus dit: "Laissez les petits enfants, et ne les empechez pas de venir a moi; car le royaume des cieux est pour ceux qui leur ressemblent. - Matthieu 19:14

The second orphanage we visited was located in a little community area that ran along a long, dirt road. We parked our cars on a main road and had to carry everything down this hill to the house, which was located at the bottom of this big, long hill. All of the children were sitting out on a porch in front of the house, and I noticed that a majority of these kids were under the age of 10. There were also two wheel-chairs on the porch, each holding a child with either a mental or physical disability. One of them was a little girl who's body was deformed and crippled, her head abnormally large, but her smile and eyes (yes, eyes again) were...precious. If an angel had the face of a child, it would have hers. We followed the same procedure at that place but with a bit more interaction with the children. As we prepared to leave, one little girl shyly tapped my leg and asked (in French), "Can I touch your hair?" She then lightly stroked just few hairs on my forehead. Three months ago did I imagine that a little African girl would ask to touch my hair??

Could you imagine a little African girl asking to touch your hair?

The third orphanage we went to was government-run and more like a boarding school/compound than the homes where the other two (as well as Hope House) were. We also learned that this is more of a traditional orphanage where they try to find homes for the children, as opposed to shelter where most of the kids live permanently (again, like Hope House). Again, the same presentation except no children were present...I guess they were all in school? I'm not really sure, but it was a big compound so they might have all been in one of the buildings. At that point there were only 20 kids at the center, I believe.

I love kids. Sometimes kids even love me. Hey, I even had someone here speak a word of prophecy over me that I will be working with children in the future (awesome!! does that vision include cute little African kids or...?). I just want to know, how can little people so innocent and precious squeeze your heart tight with feelings of helplessness, inadequacy, and selfishness? I buttered bread for 30 kids, the same breakfast they get every day, only hours after complaining of having nothing in the house to eat...besides yogurt. And granola. And eggs. And who knows what else. I have stood in front of my closet here and gotten frustrated that I have worn and re-worn every piece of clothing that I brought with me, while I think I have only ever seen some of these children in one or two different outfits. Yet beyond material guilts like this, these children...their hugs, little gifts of plastic flowers, their desire to just sit next to you--all of this puts my ability to express love to shame. I realize how tightly and closely I guard my heart to spare myself pain. Yet I feel little Grace's hand hold tightly onto mine, or sweet Josue squeeze me in a tight hug, propelling themselves into a deep infatuation with their American "playmates", all the while knowing that at some point we will pack up. We'll get on an airplane and fly away, maybe never coming back. So many teams, interns, and missionaries have done so over the years. Yet they still love us. And you remember when I talked about being so blessed by their love? If they held it back, stayed in the corner, reservedly accepted our gifts, offered their hands instead of their hugs, then I would never have any reason to tear up from an overflowing heart!



God has commanded us to enter the Kingdom of Heaven like little children. So I ask myself, how can I truly be like a little child? Perhaps I could start off by loving like one. Not being afraid to love, to offer a hug, to jump into someone's arms. Even if I only spend 3 months with that person, loving them like Jesus loves me if anything could be more of a blessing to them than a pain to my own heart.

Does that make any sense?

I don't mean to be preachy, or to make anyone feel guilty. I deal with a touchy subject...one that I think every person just has to wrestle with themselves. With open hearts to what God wants to teach us...through His word, through others, through our experiences, I think we can learn so much. So look at the eyes, take time to just sit and think...

Happy Mother's day :)

Olivia

The fruit here is delicious!

You're a little wary... "Didn't we buy that pineapple off the side of the road?" There it was, sitting with a few other fruits on a rickety wooden table. Cars leave behind thick trails of exhaust as they drive by, dirt is kicked up by the hundreds of feet shuffling past, and when was the last time the vendor washed her hands? But once it is all cut up into chunks, dripping juice, right on the table in front of you...of course you have to try it. So pick up a little piece and throw it in your mouth...wow. Fresh fruit taken to a whole new level. Why is the fruit in Gabon yummier than in the States??


So there was a bit of a new development with French class and now we're only doing class on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons. This is probably a big blessing since on Wednesday things are going to start to get busy! We get a new intern, Shannon, who will be my roomie for six weeks. Then on Saturday a team is coming in until April 9. Shortly after that we get a few other visitors, some of which will go with us to Bongolo when we move down the Lewans. So yeah...lots of changes, lots going on!

This past week has been fun. I wish I could remember all that happened...the days are starting to blur together! There were several clinic days, which are in and of themselves a French lesson! Because I write down the patient's information in a log book I am learning all of the neighborhoods here in Libreville (which are not easy to spell!). I got to watch a few injections and today a girl came in with a split-open leg to be cleaned and bandaged.

On Friday afternoon I went with Mama Jeanine and Mama Josephine to a woman's conference. The conference lasted for 3 days, hosting hundreds of women from all over Gabon. They did evangelism, prayer, praise, planning...I only got to go for a few hours but it was so fun to worship with hundreds of women passionate about the Kingdom of God!

The president of Turkey was here for a few days this week...magical cleaning and beautifying fairies worked their magic on certain areas of the city to prepare for his arrival.

Let me just say, remembering names and faces (especially of people I only bet briefly) is not my strong suit. Which can be a problem in a group-oriented society where everyone remembers you. Haha, sometimes people you never even actually met know who you are.

Oh, and just a quick college update! Unless God puts a major roadblock in the way, I think that in the fall I'll be a Nyack College student! In so many ways the Lord has provided for my freshman year of college and I feel quite at peace about the school choice. Funnily enough, this was something that was really stressing me out a few weeks ago...

If you ever think of it, could you pray that God would help me to have a humble heart? I need to remember that none of this is about me.

Until we meet again,
Olivia

Middle-March

It struck me as insane today that it is already the middle of March. Now the weeks are starting to move along quickly. Funny...I haven't done much these past few weeks. I was battling illness so I spent an entire week laying around, being lazy, sleeping...all that fun stuff. I'm feeling much better, so these past two days I went to the clinic for a few hours. I have a clinic story to post with a picture, so don't let me forget....

I'm not too sure what I was going to say in this post. I guess I wanted to write for the sake of writing...let ya'll know I am alive and well. We're at sort of a lulling moment before the end of March when a new intern arrives and in April we'll have an influx of visitors, plus a team...I'm not too sure who will be here, but I do know there will be people.

That's been one of the interesting things about being here, learning to live with people. I realize how easy it is to live with my family--they are the people who have known me my whole life. But when you live with people who don't know you, that have to get to know you...well, it's a learning period. And lots of fun, for sure! I'm not sure if I have figured out yet how to function to the fullest capacity in a house full of new friends. I probably never will, though...I just live each day as it comes.

It's so weird and awesome and scary being here and really having to live each day as it comes! How does one do it? Waking up having no clue what is going on that day; sitting in the car in front of some government building, waiting for JR and wondering how long I will sit there in my pool of sweat. Thinking about the fact that before I go home I have to decide which college to go to...but God is taking care of me. I'm not even sure how, but I don't think about it too hard. I'm simply living, and hopefully in some way glorifying God with my life.

Later to come this week--a clinic story or two, maybe some Hope House (the orphanage) news!

Amour,
Olivia

So please forgive me if this post seems disjointed or ramblish. I had a fever yesterday and I think it zapped my brain's energy. Yes, so a little frustrating to have spent two days laying around, doing nothing due to illness.

We were supposed to get a team in tonight but they had problems with their visas so they won't be flying in until Wednesday night at the earliest. Something really cool, though, is that Mike (the team leader) had a friend who accepted Jesus into their life last night. So if the team had gotten their visas, that probably wouldn't have happened! God uses bad things for His glory!

On Saturday we went to Hope House (an orphanage that Envision is connected with). There are about 30 kids there (more boys than girls) who are all very excited to have new people to play with. The ages of the kids range from little toddlers to 15-year-olds. They loved playing clapping games, taking pictures, having their pictures taken, kicking around a soccer ball, and showing off their acrobatic skills. Needless to say, I loved every minute of it and can't wait to go back!

So as for prayer requests, I would love to be restored to full health soon! And hopefully no one will catch this illness. Also, pray that the team would get their visas soon.

Oh, I would also like to share a bit about what is going on spiritually for me. This could be bizarre because I'm not really sure how to put it into words. I feel that God is stripping away my comfort layers, the things that padded my heart and kept it comfy. I will admit, I get lonely sometimes, I'm confused about college stuff, I miss my family, I don't have much contact from friends...I am truly having to totally depend on God. There hasn't been any miraculous transformation or some abundance of faith injected into me. I still pray continually for peace and faith and joy. But I do know that slowly, God is teaching me to depend on Him.

Hope you find something to laugh about today!
Love,
Olivia
feel free to contact me at freaky.tea.sipper@gmail.com!

Already Thursday

hey all!

I can't believe that another week is almost over. I was thinking about when I have to take another malaria pill and realized that tomorrow is the day! Interestingly enough, we don't have many mosquitoes here in Libreville...the only time I have applied bug spray was when we were at Bongolo.

So this past week has been fairly uneventful (or is that even possible in Africa?). I mean, unless you count being locked out of the house as eventful. Dan, Alicia, JR, and I came home after a long day and discovered the door was locked with no extra key hanging around as usual. Dan, creepily enough, was able to break in through a window screen in under 5 minutes...

Oh, and this morning one of the cats sprayed all over me while I was doing my Bible devotions/quiet time. Just when I was starting to warm up to the creatures...now my dislike is revamped (is that a word?).

I am truly beginning to discover that there is truth to the sermons and lectures you hear about how you cannot run away from "yourself" just by going to a totally new place. Even here, in Africa--my paradise, my dream, my own little promise land--I battle with the same emotions I did in my America home. I still get easily frustrated. Even in this place where "the waiting game" is part of everyday life, I get impatient. Some nights I go to bed with a restless heart. There are still questions tumbling about in my head and I have doubts about where I am going, what I should be pursuing, how to actually be living a worshipful life. I knew as I began this adventure that I had these questions, these doubts, these fears, but for some reason I expected to find the answers here. And maybe I will. But this is a learning period, a time when I may be changed but for that to happen I need to surrender. I am not exactly sure how to do that, but I am learning what it looks like to simply say, "Lord, I need You" and wait. These words keep running through my head tonight: "It's all about You, it's not about me, it's living by faith in You...abundantly." I pray for that abundant faith, and I pray that wherever you are, whatever your circumstance is, that you can find that faith as well. Because I have learned that you can't just go somewhere else to find it, not even across an ocean. God...He is where you are, and He is always giving us the opportunity to practice that faith, to surrender to Him completely.

Ok, I'm done preaching now. :) Love,
Olivia

Jungle Junkies!

After four days in the jungle I got a little too used to not having to inhale pollution-filled air every time I was outside. I tried to sit out on our deck today (we're back in Libreville) to have some Bible time but after five or so minutes my head was a little groggy. My lungs are definitely suffering here in the city.

So pretty much, I LOVE Bongolo. Not just the hospital itself, but the surrounding villages, jungles, river...just the atmosphere in general. In a small way it reminded me of Rainforest Cafe...that's really all I know to compare it to. The forest is so dense that you cannot see within a foot into it, and I found myself regarding the green mass as a whole new world of adventure and danger. I asked several people if hiking through the forest had ever been attempted, and I discovered that Gabonese people do forest farming of some sort. However, if someone ventures into the forest they must take a machete (for snakes and things...obviously). Maybe on our next trip to Bonogolo I can take a bit of a jungle hike (more on that to come).

Before I get started on the account of our little trip to the country, I will give a disclaimer that there is so much I want to tell. In order to break up the story some I am trying to upload pics, so if you see them in the post then it worked! So now I'll start from the beginning and we'll see where this story takes us!

I don't think that I fully realized that I am actually in Africa until we were driving down a bumpy dirt road that was lined with lush, green jungle. Living in an African city is quite a unique experience, to say the least, but the Africa I always dreamed of was, let's face it, the jungles and country. And when we were in the "thick" of it was when I was filled with the wonder of my location.

We arrived at the Bongolo Envision center late Thursday afternoon. Maryann and her husband, Dennis, have been living and working at the center for six months and are taking off back to the states in about a week. Mid-April Dan and Alicia move into the center to host teams and visitors (they'll be there for about a year). Anyways, Maryann is an amazing cook, as we discovered that evening at dinner time. It was so nice to have a few days of eating amazing food (especially the breakfasts with coffee!)...yes, I do love food enough to write several sentences about it.

From Gabon!!

Thursday morning I walked down the hill to the hospital to get a tour, which was given by Lisa. Lisa is one of the four American nurses at the hospital (the rest are Africans). The hospital is pretty much comprised of several buildings that are arranged in a circle-ish layout around a grassy area. There, for example, is a building with dentistry, a surgical building, maternity, eyes, pediatrics, and HIV/TB along with several other buildings with specific "roles".


After the tour, Lisa let me follow her around and observe her complete some of her tasks. I got to meet some patients, watch the nursing students do some *unpleasant* tasks (almost passed out),pray for Roger (a man who had had an eye surgery) and just got a feel for how things work at Bongolo. Two things that struck me as amazing/different from other hospitals: God is literally being glorified all the time by the staff and many of the patients, and I could take pictures of all sorts of things! (click on the pictures in this post to go to the album).

From Gabon!!

At the end of the morning I observed one of Lisa's classes with her 10 or so nursing students. As I walked into the classroom, pictoral comparisons between this room and classrooms I've been flooded into my mind. These students sit on wooden benches for their class, there is no air conditioning or fans, and the teacher has a single black board at her disposal. (FYI, the four American nurses split up the classes between themselves to teach). The session was for questions and answers, so it was only about half an hour long. At the end of the class Lisa introduced me to the students and they asked me some interesting questions. One was, "How do your parents feel about you going into this type of ministry?" Another asked how I could know at such a young age what I wanted to do with my life. I pointed upward and said "Dieu". I asked the students why they all felt called to nursing...discovered that this was a class full of tender-hearted, caring people. I would definitely go to Bongolo in case of medical emergency!

From Gabon!!

Later that afternoon, JR and I walked to the high school in the area, which happened to be one of the few C&MA high schools in Gabon. We met the principal and he talked to us a bit about the needs at the school as well as his job and the expectations of him to re-do, re-establish, and re-instate. The buildings are very old and run-down, so he must try to repair them. He is also trying to re-instill C&MA values at the school. Oh, and there are over 200 students preparing to take the national test next year. And they have 3 computers on which to study. A very, very different learning environment. Yet Pastor Clement (the principal) was able to say, "I will do God's work here." What an encouragement to meet people who have such burdens on their shoulders and have such peace in their hearts!

From Gabon!!

On Saturday afternoon about 10 of us went tubing down the Luetse River (which is the main water source for Bongolo). The ride took about 3 hours, and amazingly I was only mildly burned at the end of it! What an experience to be floating down a river through the African jungles! We never did get a clear answer from anyone as to whether crocidiles or hippos could be present in the river, but I do know there were bugs and snakes (although I didn't see a snake, whoo!).

From Gabon!!

We finished our stay by hosting a game night for the missionaries. A big group of us played Scum (so fun, remind me to teach you!). Before that little party, though, a group of guys from the high school came over. They taught us some French praise songs and we taught them some English ones. I admired these young men so much as I watched them sing about their love for God. How many high school boys do you know that would spend their Saturday night with complete strangers, singing praise songs and learning about someone else's culture?

From Gabon!!

So until mid-April when the Lewans move I must say goodbye to the beautiful jungle and hello again to the city...but we have lots of exciting weeks ahead, with beach days, a visiting team from Minnesota, and probably many more adventures! Stay tuned!

Craving a latte,
Olivia

In which Dan makes chocolate-chip cookies

So, as I might have said before, there are many things about my everyday life here in Gabon that I did not expect. For example, completely modern living arrangements, complete with running water (which would ocassionaly shut off at night but is now working properly) and a flat-screen television (which has not been used once the entire time I have been here, btw). We also have ipod docks, so we always have Michael Buble or Karen Carpenter serenading us as we cook our American food. Dinners have included spaghetti, grilled cheese, and meat loaf.

Something else I did not expect was to be living with a master bread baker (in our eyes at least). It just so happens that this master is Dan! He can make beautiful, delicious loaves of bread without even using a bread machine! My mind was officially blown with the first batch. I was extremely excited with the second batch, and now by the third I know that when Dan and Alicia move to Bongolo we will yes, be losing some awesome people, but also will no longer have our supply of heavenly home-made bread!

I think I was most content, though, a few nights ago when Dan came perkily to my bedroom door holding a bottle of milk in one hand and a tupperwear container in the other and cheerfully said, "Milk and chocolate-chip cookies!" And somehow these cookies, made from the recipe on the chip bag, were some of the best I have ever had. Every morning, afternoon, and evening along with our medicines and pills we had our cookies.

So no, as I walked into my new home in Africa I did not expect to see seasons of "The Office" on DVD laying by a television larger than mine at home. Within the first week of being in this new country I was lounging on a sunny beach, sipping Coca Cola and reading a book. This isn't the life of a missionary! I thought to myself. And for many, it is an extravagant life.

How do I find a balance? How do I learn while also finding time to rest? How do I give while I am also receiving so much? One day I sit in the middle of a one-room clinic, watching mice run along the walls. The next day I lounge on a couch watching "Discovery Channel". And yet...somehow I feel at peace with the entire situation. My ultimate purpose not only here in Africa but in my life is to bring glory to God's name. Can I do that by taking the blood pressure of a woman with malaria? Yes. How about my cooking dinner for my team-mates? Of course. Could I even bring glory to God as I sit here and watch "Amazing Grace" (with JR...interesting) and type this? I believe I am. Being a "missionary" isn't just about doing, it's about being. I am completely His, even if I lose sight of that sometimes. But I know that He has my days planned. Walking in the will of our God may not be easy, may not always be fun...possibly might not be safe. But it is a road of certainty--certainty that my works are not futile, my pain is not unnecessary, and that God is good. All the time.

One week...

(I tried to upload pictures but it just isn't going to happen. I will make an album on Picasa for them soon and post the link here).

Today marks my one week anniversary of arriving in Gabon! It feels like forever ago that I left...I feel like I have been here in Libreville longer than 6 days. Someone told me before I left that the first two weeks crawl by and the rest fly by...not sure if that is a good thing or not!

For the past few days I have been working in the mornings at the clinic, OSPAC. Both days JR left me to fend for myself language-wise, but I am totally cool with that because it lets me interact completely with the staff--I get to practice my French and they their English. Both days there were very few patients, but they were still amazing experiences. I am going to try to take pictures of the building when I go again because it is hard to describe the little place. Let's just suffice to say that it is definitely a third-world clinic yet I know that more meaningful care is given to people there than at many of the hospitals in America.

When a patient comes in, they go into the little screened area where the nurses consult him/her. We take their blood pressure and they explain their symptoms. Usually then the nurse prescribes them some medicine that they have at the clinic. Some patients are referred to Bongolo Hospital (a day's drive away) or to another CMA clinic. So far, most of the ailments I have seen are simply caused by lack of medicine.

In the other room of the 2-room building is an eye clinic...the waiting room over there is always full. Many of the people who come in merely need a pair of glasses, but here in Libreville those cost $600 a pair. So there is a man, Joseph, who sits in a room with a single table and makes eye glasses for people who need them. He has a pamphlet/book called something like "Glasses for Missions" and then he has a wooden block tool thing that he uses for bending and twirling wire and cutting the round disks of lenses. So these glasses are pretty much pieces of wire bent into a frame with lenses slid into place. Crudely made yet actually kinda chic! I told Joseph that if I ever need glasses I will come to Libreville to get some. Check out Leanne's post to see some pictures of these amazing things!

Yesterday (Friday) I went in the morning to the beach with Dan and Alicia. The part of the coast they go to is right by a little hotel so the trash is pretty cleaned up and there are some nice tropical trees shading parts of the beach. (Pictures, of course, but you'll have to wait for those). We were the only ones there except for a family who hauled in a huge fishing net. Even on the coast it was tres chaud (very hot) and by the time we got back to the Straws house I was baked! Next, Pito took us on a field trip to a market. Ok, when I say market, picture a HUGE outdoor mall! But not like a farmer's market, really. The huge let-down is that it's rude here to take pictures of things without asking so I couldn't take any. But we walked for at least an hour down alleys, through hot buildings, and around stands piled with anything you can imagine. Ginger roots, bananas, crabs, chicken feet, yams, beans, fish, bread, and then things like toothbrushes, mirrors, pirated DVD's, sunglasses (I bought a pair), fabric (I bought some of that), purses, clothing...anything you would need for survival!

The sad part of the day was when we got back to the Straws afterwards and JR discovered that someone stole his bag out of the car that holds everything important to him--passport, bank card, money, etc. I admired him so much, though, because he was able to say, "I will trust God. He can use this for good."

Tonight the Straws and the OSPAC staff are coming over for a party. My first African party! And at the perfect time, too, to celebrate my one-week anniversary (not really, haha)! I am starving, but we are going to pray for a while before we eat! That's another amazing thing, the prayer mentality these people have. Prayer is as much a part of their lives as eating. Being among these believers is showing me a whole new dimension to faith...to God. I pray that in some way I could be as much of a blessing to them as they are to me.

Bonjour from Libreville!

I am trying to figure out the temperature in Farenhite to tell ya'll...to put it into perspective, because it is really hot! Aha, it is 73 degrees, so not terribly so, but coming from 20 degrees...plus, of course, it is humid. Like I just remarked to Leanne, it smells like the reptile houses at zoos.
Today I went to church with some of the other team-workers here at the Envision center. There are only four of them right now, Leanne, Hannah, and Dan and Alicia (they are a couple). Leanne is sort of our leader, Hannah is...I guess she's just like a missionary who is primarily going to be hosting teams when they come. Dan and Alicia are here until mid April and then they are moving to Bongolo (a C&MA hospital a day's drive away) to host teams when they go down there. So Hannah, D&A, and I went to one of the many C&MA churches called...I think they were calling it En Zion, which would mean "In Zion". The church services here last for several hours, but we were late so we were only in the service for about half and hour. Of course it was all in French and I only understood a few words, but the song they sang afterwards I actually knew, so I could sorta sing along in English!
All of the team-workers have been here before together so they knew some of the people at the church. You know, in America it seems like something the churches make a big push for is that church members be more welcoming to newcomers. Just come to Africa and you'll get over you fear of approaching strangers! Many people even just came up to shake our hands and say, "Bonjour!" I can already sense the heart that these people have for God.
Everything here is, as you can imagine, just very different from America. The city of Libreville is fairly large and it is right on the coast so I think beach trips will not be scarce. The driving and road conditions here are very different! I will never forget to buckle my seat belt! The roads are pretty bumpy here in the city, I hear they are worse in the country, but I like bumpy roads...they make for a fun ride. The driving is very fast-paced. Let's just say if I started driving here I would be honked at every few seconds...and I'd probably get into an accident.
I wish I had pictures to post for ya'll but I got in last night and was so exhausted the only thing I could think about was how to converse and when I could go to bed. And today for some reason I just didn't want to start snapping pictures...I have 3 months, which is plenty of time to capture this new world in photos.
The flight over here was actually pretty awesome. God answered everyone's prayers for things to go smoothly. I found every gate and got onto every flight easily. And on the flight from Chicago to Frankfurt a huge group of fellow believers were flying over to go on a tour of Israel--so about half of the plane was filled with Christians! It was just so amazing to have family in Christ there. I sat in a row with a very fun, kind couple going on the trip. That flight seemed to "fly by" (haha). By the time I got on the plane from Fankfurt to Libreville, though, I was brain-dead. I tried to sleep on that flight but I only had off-and-on napping. Thankfully there was no one in the seat by me so I could curl up on two seats. Once we landed in Libreville I could just feel (even in the plane) the humidity. We got off and I stood in line for about half an hour to have my passport checked. Leanne and the team were coming to the airport to get me but the car broke down--that happens a lot here. So one of the missionaries, Steve, came to get me instead. Steve and his family live across town and work with the Envision team a lot but they are sort of independent missionaries. We watched Wipeout while waiting for Leanne because they get television channels from South Africa!
Three of us here at the center--Dan, Hannah, and I--are sick. Please pray that we all heal quickly and that no one else gets sick. It would also be really nice if we didn't have to deal with sickness at all for a while! I'm sure a fever would be extremely uncomfortable here.
Also, please pray that we would not have any more car troubles. Like I said, there is a lot of that here. The van broke down last night and like this morning we got up to go to church and the land rover had a flat tire. I think the broken-down van is really stressing out J.R. (a Gabonese man who lives in the center and "takes care" of us), so pray that he would be at peace about that.
I promise to take pictures soon! There are lots of lizards here, and there were two cockroaches in the house yesterday. Plus, we have banana and papaya trees in the yard! How awesome is that!

Jean 14:6 "Jésus répondit: Je suis le chemin, la vérité et la vie. Nul ne vient au Père que par moi."
John 14:6 "Jesus answered, 'I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no one comes to the Father except through Me."

The Development - Part 3

Only in Colorado can it be 20 degrees one day and 50 the next. And trying to decide whether to wear a long or short sleeve shirt in December?? I don't think I'll have the problem in Gabon. Someone recently pointed out to me that Gabon is right by the Congo! Tropical a bit? It's going to be so hot while I'm there...maybe I'll get a tan!

So to finish up the story of how the entire thing developed I'm going to keep it short and simple. I left off where I was trying to decide between telling Honduras "yes" and scrapping Gabon or go with Gabon (even though I didnt' have all of my questions answered) and tell Honduras "no", riksing both internships completely. Finally at some point I got all my questions answered by Envision and I knew pretty much all I needed to know to make the decision.

Now this is where it gets kind of silly. Remember how at the beginning of the entire process I had originally wanted to go to Africa somewhere? My heart is with that continent and I'd been hoping from the beginning for a chance to go there. So here I was trying to decide whther to go to Africa or Honduras. Looking back, I was being sort of silly as I sat on my bed nearly tearing my hair out as to which one I should choose. Then it dawned on me. "Duh, Olivia! Africa is where you wanted to go all along! Why are you trying to decide if you should be going there if you have a door opened to go??"

So it was just quite clear to me at that point that I should go for Africa. Even though some of the kinks weren't smoothed out yet (and still aren't) I know that God is going to work it all out.

That is something that has been so comforting about this entire thing. To know that God really completely has control over these next few months (well, every month of my life of course, but these in particular) has been one of the most incredible parts of this. For the first time in my life I have had to trust God with a completely life changing event and this time, instead of me having to hem and haw over what I should do or choose, God just made it so clear that I needed to go away and He has taken care of it all.

The biggest question I get is how I'm paying for all of this. This is the best part of the whole story. So last October I was rear ended...my car was totalled and I had some minor back injuries. Around this September, just when I was figuring out all of this going away stuff, the insurance company called me. They asked, "Would you like to settle your bodily injuries claim?" and I was like, "Uh....what does that mean?" and they said, "Pretty much we'll send you $6,000 if you promise never to sue us or the man who hit you for injuries." What did I say? "Heck yeah!" (not really, but it's how I felt!). And so in less than five minutes God took care of all my financial issues. At the time I didn't realize just how amazing amazing amazing! this was. But now...oh how I know now. To think, if I had had to raise $6000 on my own to pay for this? I'm not sure how I would have done it. Obviously with God's help but I am so so so thankful He gave me full check to pay for it all.

As I've said, there are still loopholes. I still have unanswered questions. But I think part of the excitement of everything is seeing how God will weave it all together.

Lord, I dedicate this entire trip to you. Everything it does to me and whatever I can do for others may it be in Your name and for Your glory! Thank you for your all consuming love, Father.

The Development - Part 2

So I realized that I forgot to mention something really important in my last post!! Oh silly me. Around the same time that I was applying through Envision to go to Gabon, my grandma got me in contact with another missions sending organization that takes interns at a medical-type base in Honduras. Pretty much the way that set up works is different medical teams come down to this site to offer clinics for the locals. As an intern, I would be assisting the on-site pharmacist, helping out the teams, and working with the children. About end of October the pharmicist called me to give me all the information and, seeing as I knew nothing about the Africa situation, the Honduras opportunity was sounding very appealling. But after the conversation I didn't know for sure if I was accepted for the internship or not...

So the first week of November was when everything got crazy! It was on either November 1 or 2 that I went to the computer lab at school to print some stuff. While I was there I checked my e-mail and found two e-mails of great importance. One was from B. (the Envision contact). I had asked her what sort of work I would be doing in Gabon and she responded in this way:

"There are various things you will opportunities to involve yourself in Gabon . . . medical ministry, AIDS work, relief projects, attending to people’s physical needs, and anything else that needs to be done or a missionary needs help with."

I think my heart rate increased by twenty beats per minute as I read that. As someone who is considering medical missions for a career, those words held much promise and excitement.

But then I read the next e-mail, which was from the pharmacist in Honduras. She was confirming that I was indeed accepted as the intern if I could come.

Ok, so now I feel the need to state what was going on inside my head as simply as I can (not very easy, considering that my mind was working at 200 mph). Here I was in a situation where I was accepted to go to Honduras and serve with this super awesome lady I had been in contact with. I knew exactly what I would be doing, where I would be staying...every detail I needed to be at peace about it. But then here was this short paragraph from B. telling me that if I was accepted to go to Envision I might be able to do something related to what I want to do with my life!

I'm not going to even try to explain the stress my mind and emotions went through that week. I was pretty much waiting to hear from Envision all week as to 1) whether I was completely accepted to go to Gabon and 2) more detail on what I would be doing. But I knew that I had to give Honduras an answer by the end of the week because they were waiting for me to make a decision. So by the end of the week I was still at a loss as to what to do. Should I just tell Honduras "yes" and scrap waiting on Africa? Should I wait a little longer? What if Africa fell through and Honduras found a different intern?

I just want to pause to give thanks where thanks is due. I know thanks is due first and foremost to God. For like, everything. Without the His miracles and faithfulness none of this would have happened (obviously). Secondly I know that my family really supported me through it all. Well, my parents did that is (more to come on that topic later). They were there to listen to me whenever I had to think through my thoughts.

Oh, there is still so much to write about! But I'll save the money story for later as well as the story of The Decision!

The Development - Part 1

So while I have a few spare minutes I thought I'd write up a bit on the story of development of the trip. It's not a very interesting story but some parts of it are pretty cool. Or at least I think so.

So it all began this past summer. For many reasons I thought it would be a good idea to look into doing some sort of missions trip before I go to school in the fall. Right now I am pursuing nursing but I am definitely having doubts about it. So I thought, why don't I try to do a medical missions trip just to get a feel for cross-cultural missions?

It turns out that I discovered that I could graduate from high school in December as opposed to May because I have fulfilled all of my credits at the end of this semester. So I began to look into doing something the entire spring semester instead of going to school. At first, it was a fruitless search. I looked online at some orphanages that take volunteers. I knew that YWAM was an option...but an expensive one to say the least. It was quite a discouraging search.

However, around September things changed. One Sunday after church Dad called me over to where he was talking with a man I hadn't seen before. He introduced him to me as a staff at an office called Evision. Pretty much what Envision is is a sending office through The Christian and Missionary Alliance. They send 18-30 year olds from 2 weeks to 2 years to do all different types of service. There are several locations to go to and several different ways to serve. After having a brief discussion with this man I got enough information to get on the website and fill out an application. About a week later a woman (who I will simple call B.) e-mailed me with a more extensive application. Thus began about a month long process of filling out papers and asking people to write recommendation letters.

Around the end of October all the papers were filled out and all the letters were in. But the stress had just begun...and since this post is getting quite long I'll save that part for another time.

I don't know exactly...

Ok, so I know what you are thinking. At least, it is the first (or sometimes second) question people ask me when they find out I'm going to Gabon. "What exactly are you going to be doing there?" I usually respond with "I don't know exactly what I will be doing...but...". The other question I get is "How long will you be there?" That I can answer. About three months starting sometime in February. I think it's funny when people look slightly shocked and note that that is a "long time" considering that originally I had hoped to be going away for 4-6 months. Unfortunately I can't afford to go away for that long, but I'll take what I get. And I have been given a lot.

For my own purposes I am going to write out the whole story of the development of this trip on this blog. I like to record memories and already some of the details of how this all came to be are escaping me. To tell the truth, what has been happening in my life the past few months are some of the most amazing things that have ever happened to me. So I want to remember it forever as well as share the story with anyone interested enough to read about it. It's a pretty long story, though, so I'm going to write it up and post it in sections. More to come...