My Typical Weekday

Note: My time is 5 hours ahead of the Eastern Standard Time. So if you want to know what I’m doing on any given weekday, you can add 5 hours to your current time (assuming you’re on Eastern Standard Time) to find my current time and then reference the timeline below to determine what I’m up to.

My morning starts about 3am-4am. No, I don’t get up that early, but I am woken up. It is at this time when the air temperature plummets and reaches the coldest it will be all day (probably somewhere in the 60’s). So it’s at this time that the purpose of the comforters on the end of my bed becomes evident and I am grateful for their presence. Then, around 6:45am my alarm clock starts to sound. Even if I don’t want to get up, the village roosters, dogs, and children will alert me of the morning along with the bright sun flooding through my bedroom window.

By 7:15am, I am up and getting ready.
By 7:45am, I have made the 3-minute walk to the Litseys’ house and am eating breakfast.
By 8:15am, I start preparing for the school day.

School starts at 9am and goes until noon when we stop for lunch. In those three hours, I teach the following classes: American History, Civics, World History, Physical Science, and Algebra II.

At 1pm, we start back up again and go until 3pm when a lot of the local missionary kids attend Specials (such as Critical Thinking, Chorus, Art, and Creative Writing). So I have to squeeze the rest of these classes that I teach into those 2 hours: General Science, 8th Grade Math, Pre-Algebra, and Algebra.

(For those of you keeping track, don’t worry, the kids are receiving Literature and Language Arts instruction, but not from me. Lisa Litsey is working with them for now, at least until their Research Papers are finished and it’s easier for me to take over… though we’re a little stumped on how I’ll fit it into the daily schedule.)

From 3pm–4pm, I get a chance to prepare for school, which usually means reading. Since we typically only have 1 book to share among everyone in each subject, I have to take advantage of every opportunity I have to read through some of the more in-demand books. This is also when the heat from the hottest part of the day begins to leave. It gets up into the 90’s by mid-day, so by that point we’ve definitely shed our morning sweatshirts and long sleeves.

Once everyone returns from Specials, I have Math Help time from 4pm to 5pm. This is time when they work on correcting problems they’ve missed or ask me for extra help.

Then at long last, 5pm arrives and the missionary women go on their daily walk. We usually take one of 3 routes, which all include a nice tall hill and are 3-4 miles in length. On our way back, we pass through the local market where we may pick up bread for dinner or miscellaneous veggies that may be needed.

By 6pm, we’re usually back home and I either get back to work prepping for school or I go home and take my evening shower. If I go home, I have to hurry, because dinner starts by 7pm for sure and no one likes being late to supper.

After dinner, I usually stick around the Litseys’ house trying to get more reading done while the girls are preoccupied with washing the dishes (the boys have breakfast dishes duty). Sometimes we play cards or a board game, but most of the time everyone picks up a book while others are taking showers or getting ready for bed.

By 9pm, I am usually home and if I haven’t taken my bucket shower yet, I make that a priority. In case you’ve never showered without a hot water heater (or running water for that matter), let me briefly walk you through this. You have two options: 1) Suck it up and dump the first cold cup of water on yourself, or 2) Wait 8 minutes for water to heat up on the stove and then mix that in with the cold bucket of water.

As far as the first method is concerned, that was what I did for the first 3 weeks or so that I was here. After the first few cups of cold water, your body grows accustomed and it no longer gives you chills. However, I will say that I definitely prefer the latter method. Yes, I have to be patient and let the water warm up, but having lukewarm water just makes you feel more relaxed.

If you’ve never taken a bucket shower, I challenge you to try it. All you need is a 5-gallon bucket, a cup (to scoop water out of the bucket), a drain, and any shower amenities you use. It will make you appreciate your running water and shower head so much more, especially when you have to rinse your hair! But seriously, it’s not that bad. In fact, it seems perfectly normal now and I don’t even have to think about it.

Anyway, back to my timeline, bedtime is anywhere from 10pm-11pm. Getting to bed is no problem, but sometimes falling asleep can be. It’s still quite warm at 11pm and even a sheet can be too much. Or course, by 4 am that’s all changed and the cycle starts over once again.

Indebted to Christ and His Will,
Julie

Making Africa Home

Three weeks ago, I was packing, saying goodbyes, and verifying that I’d taken care of all State-side and traveling details. Today, I find that I’m settling into a routine and blending into the community of believers present here in Guinea. I may not have mentioned it before, but our little village differs from almost every other village in the entire country. This is because there are four American families that call this home. Granted, it is rare that all four families would be living here at the same time, but three families is still a large number of white people in an African village. As it stands right now, there are nine American adults (parents and teachers) and thirteen American kids in the village, which we believe to be the highest ratio of whites to Africans anywhere in the country.

It is also interesting to mention that all four families are serving here with different churches and organizations, but the differences in doctrine and dogma pales in comparison to the huge work God has called us to do here. And it is that work that I am beginning to really see and understand. I knew my role here was needed so that James and Lisa Litsey could be freed up to do the work they came here to do, but I did not understand the magnitude of the work needed. God slowly pressed it upon my heart and mind as we made the long, dusty trek out to the village. As we drove through countless villages of concrete huts with thatched roofs, it occurred to me that we were passing hundreds of burdened people living without hope or love. Then as we reached the more mountainous regions, we looked out over the valleys and realized that below us were thousands more people in the same desperate situation.

It took a few days, but God finally (and unexpectedly) allowed me to comprehend a small portion of His pain for this nation and His children. So as I sat, tired and ready for sleep, I opened my evening prayers half-heartedly, eager for them to be done so that I could lie down and relax. I absently expressed my desire to build the necessary relationships and utilize effective teaching methods so that I could do the job God wanted me to do here. Then it struck me to pray for James and Lisa’s ministry with the people here. As soon as I mentioned the people they were working with, I began to see their faces and the faces of all the people I’d seen as we passed them on the side of the street. God broke my heart for the sheer number of people who still don’t know Him. It’s not just that they don’t know Him; it’s that they don’t know that there is hope. They are bound by lies and deception and don’t realize that their attempts to relieve their oppression are in vain because they seek refuge outside of Christ. Although this is true for so many in this world, at least in places like the United States they could seek out churches or a Gideon’s Bible. But here there’s no knowledge of the Good News of Christ outside of the few churches and missionaries scattered throughout the country.

Sitting there choked up with tears, I didn’t know what to pray other than for God to use us to allow His Kingdom to grow. I honestly understood for a brief moment that our purpose on this earth is simply to spread this Amazing Message of Jesus and I was convicted of all of the times I lived for things that won’t last past tomorrow. I am now to the point that I can honestly say that living for myself is no longer an option. I want to live a life governed by God so that not a single person put in my path would perish because I was too selfish or self-absorbed or proud. I pray that despite my inadequacy God would continue to mold, teach, and use me to advance His Kingdom. And as you intercede for me, the Litseys, and the work being done here, you are enabling this work to continue and are just as much a part of what God is doing here as we are. We can’t imagine trying to do this job without the support of the Body of Christ, because God has designed this task to work best when His Church works as one. Please be encouraged that your labors and prayers are seeing fruition here and I pray that I can adequately communicate some of the amazing things God is doing over here.

In fact, if you are interested in hearing more about what is going on over here, James and Lisa have said that they would love to add you to their email list so that they could send you their updates every few months. Just send me an email expressing your interest and I will pass your name and email along to them.

Thank you for all of your encouraging emails; they are a huge blessing. I am astonished at how God is using this ministry in so many unexpected ways. Your continued prayers for my ability to make this place home while learning to manage my longings for friends and family are appreciated.

Thank you again for your love and support. I wouldn’t be here doing this without it. You make this ministry possible and I pray I never lose sight of that.

Indebted to Christ and His Will,
Julie