Cote d'Ivoire Update

Bonjour!

Well it’s been about a week since we arrived in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire. I honestly don’t know where to start. I guess first of all, thank you for your prayers! We spent two days in Houston, Texas training students and briefing them on what to expect. Travel was relatively smooth and painless. The flights were long, but no major delays so praise the Lord for that!

We arrived in Abidjan last Thursday night. We headed straight to campus on Friday morning. It brought such joy to my heart to see familiar faces. I think my favorite thing about West Africa is the people. They are the warmest, kindest people I have ever met and their joy is contagious. If you read my blog at all you know about two girls I met back in February. We had some pretty good conversations, but they are Muslim and don’t believe Jesus is God. The University of Cocody is a campus of 60,000 students. I knew the chance of running into them was slim, but I asked the Lord to help me find them that first day. God totally answered that prayer because within the first hour I was there I ran into those sweet girls! I’m so excited because I got their phone numbers and am looking forward to meeting up with them over the next few weeks. What I want more than anything this summer is for those girls to surrender their lives to Jesus. Please pray for me as I continue to talk to them about Jesus. Like I said, they are Muslim and it is really hard for them to see the truth in the Gospel. I know the only thing that is going to change their hearts is the Lord. 

We spent Saturday settling in and unpacking. Sunday we went to a local church. It’s all in French so I didn’t understand much, but I LOVE the way they worship the Lord. We went to campus every day this week. Ministry here is very different than back in the states. On one hand it’s really easy to get into spiritual conversations. You can literally walk up to someone and ask if you can share with them about what it means to have a personal relationship with God. On the other hand, the language barrier often makes it hard to communicate. I’m thankful for the power of the Holy Spirit. I know he bridges gaps and grants understanding despite language and cultural barriers. I had a ton of conversations last week, but I’ll just tell you about one that really stuck out to me. I met a girl named Anna studying in one of the classrooms in the English department. We started walking through the Gospel, but her teacher came to start class right in the middle of our conversation. I was disappointed because she was really tracking with me, but fortunately I got her contact information and we got to meet up today. I finished sharing the gospel with her. She was already a Christian, but admitted that she hadn’t been living a life surrendered to Christ. She wanted all that to change and decided to commit to following Jesus with her entire life. Right then, we went through a follow-up lesson. There are six total that talk about what a real relationship with Christ looks like. It was so fun to see the wheels turning and things start clicking. I am so excited to keep meeting with her and see how the Lord changes her throughout the summer.

The other thing I’m really excited about is the American students we brought with us to Africa. Our team has already had so much fun together and the Lord has blessed us with great unity thus far. I have the privilege of discipling three women: Kelsey, Leslie, and Renee. I am so excited to get to know these girls better. They have been bold in sharing their faith and I know the Lord is grow them a ton this summer. I’ll tell you more about them in a following update.

Here’s a brief rundown of our weekly schedule so you can pray specifically for us.

Monday

10-2: sharing on campus

3-5: French class

7: team Bible study

Tuesday

10-2: sharing on campus

3-5: French class

7: fresh bread (check-in. How are you doing? What are you struggling with?)

Wednesday

10-12: sharing on campus

12-2: distance campus (local high schools)

2-4: fun adventure (seeing the sights and experiencing the culture of Abidjan)

7: discipleship with my girls

Thursday

8-11: prayer meeting with Ivorian staff

12-2: weekly meeting with students involved in Cru

2-4: soccer with students

7: women’s time

Friday

10-2: sharing on campus

3-5: French class

Saturday

Rest, random events (teaching Bible stories in orphanage, market, etc.)

Sunday

Morning: Church and rest

Evening: family time (special surprises planned by staff. Last week a water balloon fight.)