"Time is moving quickly..."

That, my friends, is a direct quote from none other than Jean-Romain (nickname: JR...has a need for speed, doesn't know how to say "no", you might know him...he's a pretty popular guy)! Time is moving quickly. Someone told me before I left that the first couple weeks would crawl by and the rest would fly. They were right. And in those first few crawly weeks I hoped they would be right (about the flying by) but now I remember their prediction with ire. Why do good things have to come to an end?

But see, God is teaching me something through this. Weeks ago I began to realize just how hard it is going to be for me to leave here at the end of May. But the Lord placed a command on my heart: "Be content wherever you are, whoever you are with, whatever you are doing. Be content because I am with you. Abide in Me."


Anyways, now onto all the news of goings-on in Libreville/Bongolo over the past several weeks! After our awesome team took off (we are still missing them!), Tim Brokopp hung around for another week. Towards the end of his stay he took Shannon, me, and two local pastors (Simone and Jean-Marc) back to PK-27 where we had constructed the four corner posts with the team. The corner posts are boundary markers for the plot of land that the C&MA Gabonese church has bought to build an airstrip, new Hope House, clinic...among other things. Very monumental! So the five of us trecked through jungle and country side to pull off the wooden post frames and carry them back to the cars. A mixture of stinging ants, sloshy mud, pouring sweat, beautiful trees, and good conversation made it a great morning! Even getting the big van stuck in a mud-rut added to the experience. Oh, and top all of that with a marriage proposal from an old guy with no teeth who obviously loves his beer more than he loves me.



The week before Easter we headed down to Bongolo but in two waves. Hannah, Alicia, and Shannon went down on public transportation with a visiting doctor. The next day Dan, Leanne, JR, and I took all of the Lewan's possessions in the Land Cruiser. Our ride took a turn towards eventful when we blew out a tire (not really a big surprise). Something else that wasn't very surprising is that the next car that drove by had passengers who know JR. So they stopped and changed the tire for us! After we thanked them and they drove off we all piled back in, turned the key, and...nothing. No lights, no battery, not engine. Twenty minutes later I literally thought we would have to get rides from missionaries in Bongolo and get a two truck. But God provided and guided JR's hand to a loose wire, which with a little duct tape was as good as new! "On the road again..."

Highlights from the week in Bongolo were seeing TWO surgeries, teaching ultimate spoons to a group of local boys, dying eggs, and a party at Lisa's (one of the American nurses) home with African residents, pastors, and the American missionaries.

Ok, surgery talk. Imagine being in full-body scrubs, PLUS sterile gowns, caps on your head, masks over your mouth and nose, 80 degrees (with AC), making do with the equipment and tools that you have to perform life or death, make or break surgeries. For over thirty years some of these missionaries have been doing this work for God's glory! And I admire the African residents who dedicate so much time to taking this ministry into their hands.

I have been very blessed to become friends with a group of high school guys here--I like to call them my "Bongolo Brothers" (although in French it would be, "Freres de Bongolo"...doesn't roll off the tongue quite as well). Along with teaching them ultimate spoons and Jenga, we had some interesting conversations. One of the conversations had to do with universities in Gabon and America. They told us that here in Gabon, when a person goes to the university they are expected to join something like a secret society. There are several of these, and they are very dark groups obviously deeply in the grasp of the Evil One. To be a member of a group you have to perform some pretty horrendous acts, but if you are in a group you will have no trouble getting a job after university. If you don't join a group...don't expect to be able to feed your family. Yes, I realize that a) some information is lost or not correctly communicated when these boys' English is only a bit better than my French and b) there could possibly be exaggeration among young people here concerning these matters. But I do know that secret societies as well as tribal and political groups are common throughout Gabon and could really be controlling underlying workings of life here. Things that would be illegal or heavily frowned upon in America are part of everyday life here. These boys asked for prayer that God, their Father, would provide for them to go to university in America. Yet again do I see how much God has blessed us with yes, a flawed, but also a very rewarding and functional education system in America.



We drove back to Libreville from Bongolo on Easter Saturday. For Easter we walked down to a little local C&MA church. The service lasted about 4 hours and was full of music--some you could dance to, some that made you want to raise your arms in worship. Oh, and I think I heard my first sermon that took text from the Old Testament, not just the New Testament... "Joyeaux Paques!" and "Bon Fete" were exchanged as we walked out of the church and proceeded to shake the hands of every member of the congregation (all gathered in a large circle). That afternoon we went with the (awesome!!) Straw family to Beach Burger for a late lunch, followed by a walk on the beach. We topped off the day with Magnum bars (I feel like these deserve a separate post...to come). So you mean you can celebrate Easter without baked ham, Easter candy, and "The Passion of the Christ"? Who would've thunk...and it was a pretty awesome day, too.

This last week has been my therapy week...I've needed to go to OSPAC every day to refill my cup of love from all my Mamas and Papas and brothers! Yesterday we had our first exam for the English class starting on May 9. Oh how I remember the good old days of tests...(please don't remind me I have four more years of them to look forward to). This morning I baked some chocolate-chip scones as we are going to celebrate (with Alace Straw) the Royal Wedding of Prince Whoever-whoever (what's his name again??) and his bride. No, we aren't desperate and no one here is British. We just love to hang out with Alace! Oh, and we like to party. Which, also tonight is a birthday party with OSPAC people for Hannah (aka The Laminator, my ex-roommate, fellow musical-nut).

I noticed that I promised in my last post from weeks ago to write again that week, which never happened. So no more promises from Olivia. But I DO promise to post again. :)

Really truly, I am excited to see all my USA family and friends again (I just also really love it here),
Oivia

So I started writing up a post in the middle of the week, fully intending to finish it up the next day, but it just never happened. Dern, the opening paragraph was so awesome, too.

First off, our new intern, Shannon, is here! She has now been here for one week and four days (and will be leaving in five weeks). We are rooming together on the first floor of the house (SUPER AWESOME element is that we have a bathroom in our room!!) and have had lots of fun getting to know each other! I don't know why, but sharing a room with a stranger in 100 degree weather, sweating like a pig, falling over exhausted at night...plus add in a few silly midnight convos (after chocolate dessert) makes rooming fun!

This past week we had a team from Fellowship Alliance Church come out for seven days. Let me tell you, spending a week with 12 oldish men (not old, but all married fathers) is a blast! Not only were these men willing to let God work on their hearts, but they were hard workers (even when it came to washing dishes), flexible with the schedule, embracing of the Gabonese, interested in getting to know the staff here, and humble enough to ask questions. It was awesome to see God change a group of people's hearts and minds in seven days.

So some of the guys on the team spent a lot of the week working (construction-wise) on the guest house (in process) at CFTAC (the CMA headquarters). A few of the men are medical professionals and spent most of their days doing consultations at the clinics (OSPAC and Snee). I loved experiencing all the things we did with the team, but one of the most enriching experiences for me personally was getting to sit in on the consultations. For one, what these men were doing is potentially what I could be doing someday in terms of healthcare in third-world countries. What made the experience even cooler is that both Brian (a physician's assistant) and Dr. Mike would explain cases, medicines, etc. etc. to me and others sitting in the consultation (oh yeah, have I mentioned there is not such thing as HIPPA here?).

Ok, crazy story. On one of the medical days...I think Tuesday, I was working in the morning at OSPAC with Brian and Tim (used to run Envision center, grew up in Gabon, speaks fluent French...aka translator). We were extremely backed up with patients by 1 in the afternoon (oh yeah, they announced at the two biggest CMA churches in LBV that there were American doctors in town and where you could find them during the week) so Dr. Mike came over from Snee to help us get all of the patient seen. But with Tim in translating for Brian, the only person Dr. Mike had for translation was Pastor Jacob (of Nzeng Ayong church). Pastor Jacob (the most amazing man in the world, btw!!) speaks a little English, but not enough to do full medical translations. So I was sent in to sit in on Dr. Mike's consultations and for the next two hours worked with Pastor Jacob to translate!! Let's just say that the experience was...insane. And draining. And awesome. I have never been so aware of how crappy my French is, how important it is to me to learn it, and how thankful I am that God had me take a semester of French before I came here. Yeah, I don't speak very well, but I was literally able to help translate a doctor's crazy medical talk to the patient and the patient's stories and questions to the doc. !!!

So yes, excitement, but it only happened once. After that afternoon I told Hannah that she should do the translation for the rest of the medical days, just because she speaks better than I do and the process would move along faster. On Thursday OSPAC had a mobile clinic to a village about an hour's drive east of Libreville. We saw about forty patients, mostly elderly, with all sorts of ailments ranging from cancer to malaria to eye problems. On Friday we spent a chunk of the day putting up concrete posts in the jungle (the region is called PK 27). The four corner posts mark out the property that the CMA church has purchased and, way into the future, will be a compound where pastors will live, the Hope House will move to, probably some medical stuff...all sorts of awesome things for the future of CMA Gabon. Yes, it was probably the hottest day of the week and a few of our guys probably verged on getting heat strokes, but it was so cool to lay down the beginnings of this huge project!

I wish I could tell ya'll about everything that happened, all the memories, but my wrists hurt and I realize that some of these memories are just going to have to be precious to me and the people I've shared them with.

I promise to write again this week, God is doing so much in Gabon and in my life and I just want the world to know how amazing He is!! Thanks to everyone for your prayers and support. Even though I can't express it very well, I am truly, truly thankful.

Love in a glove,
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

bonjour mes amis :)

well, today was momentous (not entirely sure what the definition of this word is but I think I am using it in the correct context). Today for the first time since being here I wore pants! Last night I tossed and turned in bed, trying to fall asleep in the heat (although, to be honest, it wasn't the heat that kept me up...I had a delicious Magnum bar [chocolate + caramel + ice cream] a few hours before bed). Then this morning, early early, I heard loud thunder and pelting rain and pulled my sheet over my chilly legs! Today in French class I even had to rub my arms a few times to chase away the goose bumps. So it has been a chilly day and I love it. *heart*

We have started a new week of French. Last week there were no classes because Dan and Alicia were in Bongolo. But at the end of the week, our instructor (Pito) sent everyone an e-mail saying that he got another job in a different city and is leaving us--tomorrow! Thankfully he knows another man who has taught English with the Peace Corps like he (Pito) did, and Jean-Jacque took over today. He has a different teaching approach from Pito--he speaks entirely in French all throughout the class, where as Pito would explain things to us in English. Part of me is glad that he is pushing us and that this way we are even more exposed to hearing French, but part of my brain also screams, "Pleeeease, give me a break from French!" Still, I want to learn the language so I will embrace this challenge! Every day I pray, "God, please let me understand what You what me to know, say what You want me to say, and glorify You in every way!" But I do pray for all of us to have a new and fresh understanding of this language.


This is a picture of a woman, Christine, who came into the clinic last week. She has a large tumor on her neck that is even more extensive inside her body. She desperately needs to travel to Bongolo Hospital to have it removed but she does not have enough money to afford the trip. Please, please pray for a miracle and that God will provide for her.

I am very thankful for God's provision and that He continues to teach me things about Him and life in general. Oh if there was a word that expressed His goodness, it would be the most beautiful word.

love from Libreville,
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