Spending the Day in "Boston"

My Day Out in the Village

I had been wanting to go out to my friend's village, Boston. However, when there was time, I did not feel well. When the village had some event, I seemed to have guests or some other program. As one week began to come to a close, I saw that I would not have much in the way of plans for Saturday, allowing me to rest, before Sunday, when we could go. I went on Friday to ask her if that was possible. She and her husband agreed that it would be a good time to go. Knowing it would take us almost an hour to get there, I said we should leave around 9am.

Sunday 9am came. I was not worried about running out the door, because people generally do not start getting ready until the start time anyway. So I took my time to eat breakfast and headed out the door around 9:30. As I suspected, my friend was not ready yet. She noticed I had forgotten my earrings, so I called to ask William to bring them over to me. She got ready and the two of us along with two of her children loaded up and headed down the road.

Just outside of town, we were stopped by a policeman. He was checking on our paperwork and where we were going. When he did not speak my current local language, I switched to the trade language. He smiled and let us go.

We talked about an issue she has with one of her children, about which she was planning on discussing with her stepfather at the village. With all of our talking, I almost completely passed up the chance to help a lady get to her village. After we passed the lady, I asked my friend if we could stop to pick her up. My friend agreed. It turned out that the lady knows my friend's mother and has an association with her stepfather. Bonus is that she also has my same last name.

We went on to my friend's village, Boston, where we greeted. After greeting, I drove the lady along with my friend out to the lady's village, Salem. We greeted. The lady was so grateful that she went to gather a huge bag of local rice, still in the bundle, for us. We visited. We talked about how great it is to care for one another. I shared the story of the Good Samaritan. I asked if we could pray before we left. She called her son over who prayed in their religious language. I then asked for permission to pray, which I did in their mother tongue. The lady promised to bring us local palm oil once it was ready. We thanked them and headed back to Boston.

Upon arriving at Boston, we were escorted to one of the huts. It had a bed and a mat that laid on the floor. It also had its own "private" bathing area behind the hut. It was much more convenient to taking care of one's business. We were brought peanuts and oranges on which to snack. My friend made tea for us to drink. I laid down to rest a bit, but my mind could not.

I was bothered by an event that happened in the greeting time before heading to Salem. A young lady sat at the entrance to the compound. She was dressed and seemingly in her right mind. However, as we greeted, she began wailing for a few minutes. Throughout the day, she randomly repeated the wailing. My friend said the young lady has been like that since she was pregnant with her little girl.  As I rested in the hut with my friend, I began reading in my local translation of the Word. I wanted to find some story to share to encourage my friend's family. I asked my friend if they had taken her to see doctors or religious leaders. She said they had taken her to everyone. The money was gone, but she was no better.

The stepfather came by the hut. He was embarrassed because they had no vegetables. I tried to reassure that there was no need for embarassment. They did not need to do anything more for me than they would for my friend. I kept studying the Word. Lunch came. It was a sauce made with chicken over rice with a green "condiment" sauce on the side. After lunch, I stepped outside just in time to see the young lady's daughter, barely two, uncovering the lunch for her mother.  It was precious and sad all at the same time. My friend and I moved outside of the hut and under a tree to have another round of tea.

My friend and the husband of the young lady were talking. They went back and forth on various subjects. I almost missed it as they talked briefly about his wife. He indicated that it was Satan that was tiring his wife, and my friend affirmed it. I asked for permission to share a story with them.

I read the story of Jesus healing the demon possessed in Mark 1. I then asked to pray for the wife. Not sure if it was a lack of faith or disbelief that I would want to pray for her, but the man laughed. I responded, "What could it hurt? You have taken her to doctors and religious leaders, and they could not help. If I pray and nothing happens, you are no worse off. If I pray and she is even a little better, then you can praise God." I proceeded to pray for healing in her life. (Please pray with me that healing will come in her life and that the Word will be received with power.)

My friend and I went around to the other compounds to say goodbye before leaving. Also gathered for us were grapefruits and oranges. It was an opportunity to thank them and share nuggets of truth amidst the goodbyes. I did not realize how long it had been since I was last there, most likely in 2012. No wonder I missed it so much.

We headed home. It was a good time. We made a quick stop to greet some family members on our way back to town. We drove quickly to make it back in time to see her son, who had come to town for the day. We divided up the rice and fruit. She went on to visit her family. I went to greet Jennifer quickly before heading home.

As a side note, because I had been exercising the week before, I was able to get up the next morning and exercise again before a full day of school and life here. My friend said she did not get out of bed until 5pm because her body ached from the travel out to the village. I was encouraged that it was not just my body that ached but also that the exercise was helping. While the actually time in the village is restful, the road to get there is not. Grateful for time with my friend and to reconnect with her family.