Mokbamgobah

COTN has summer interns that serve for about 8 weeks each year... so we were excited to join the team in Banta for some of their ministry activities. Part of what they're doing this summer is taking 3-day bible clubs to remote villages. In past years, they've held bible clubs at the COTN complex and asked children to travel there for club... taking the club to the villages is a new model, and one that's resulted in many more children being able to participate. It's also been a good opportunity for adults in the villages to see the work of Children of the Nations in action.

The interns were scheduled to do a 3-day club in Mokbamgobah during our first week there. We were given the opportunity to join them and we eagerly jumped at the chance. Mokbamgobah is about an hour long walk away from the COTN complex... through dense vegetation, other small villages, and across a large river.

COTN has had a presence in this village since they moved to Banta. Many children from Mokbamgobah make the long walk every day during the school year to come to the COTN school. Because of the distance and the danger involved in crossing the river, COTN has placed a satellite school in the village for the youngest children. Now only the junior and senior secondary school kids have to travel to school. The nursery and elementary school children have a school right where they live.

When we approached the river and saw the hollowed out tree canoe, we were all blown away. I told the kids... "Hold this moment in your mind. You're about to cross a river in Africa in a handmade canoe...' It almost seemed surreal.

The men who paddle these canoes are there all the time... ready and willing to take loads of people and possessions across the river free of charge. It's extremely hard, as the river has a very swift current and the have to paddle quite a ways upstream in order for the current to take the boat to the correct landing spot. They are amazingly strong and skilled. They take 10 to 12 people at a time... and I never saw them miss the landing  spot. I'm sure if I tried it we'd end up a mile downstream.

Asia and I were at the back of the pack as we were walking and before we really realized what was happening, we were standing there watching all three of our kids take off across the river. We had to wait for the boat to come back across... so all we could do was hope (and pray!) that our three kids made it safely... and then that we would also survive... on the way back at the end of the day we split ourselves up so if a boat went over and everyone on it drowned at least the surviving boat would have one parent who lived! (Actually, I felt completely safe in the hands to the paddlers... Asia was a bit more nervous.) There were no seats in the canoe, so you have to squat the whole time... harder than it sounds... and quite uncomfortable. But for sure, an experience we'll not soon forget.

Once we got to Mokbamgobah, the interns set right to work getting the activities for the day started. They were working in conjunction with the man who teaches at the COTN school there and Reverend James, one of the staff pastors. There were songs and skits and games, much like a VBS curriculum in the states... (minus the hyped up videos, electric guitars and high tech stuff most american churches feel is necessary to keep kids' attention...)

The children in the village were just lovely... full of smiles and affection. It was so cool to see all three of our kids jump right into the crowd and help out...

Asia and I stood back and watched. Mokbamgobah is SO remote. There is no running water. No electricity. No modern conveniences. The homes in the village are mud huts with thatch roofs... but kids are kids the world over and it didn't take much for Kyler, Savannah and Ethan to discover that.

I had to keep mentally pinching myself throughout the day... so thankful for the opportunity to watch it all unfold... amazed that we were actually there... in  a remote African village... all together... it really was one of many moments throughout the trip where I was overwhelmed by the blessing it was that we were able to share this experience.

The day ended with all of the children being fed lunch. There was a crew of village women who cooked the food COTN provided for this... fish stew with rice. COTN has a very successful feeding program that provides nutritious meals twice a day for all the children who attend their schools. This is a huge need in the region - as malnutrition is way too common. Meeting physical needs is huge, since hungry kids don't learn well.

We had an incredible time in Mokbamgobah... and are so thankful that we had the chance to be a part of this lovely little village for a day. It's people and beauty are forever etched in my mind.

The bathroom 'facilities'

Our walk home was uneventful and lovely. We each were able to have great conversations with other members of the team and each other, processing some of our favorite moments from the day. Stepping into another world is such an amazing experience... and talking through some of our insights and encounters from the day was really important. Doing that as a family was incredibly bonding.

Hearing the kids' observations and struggles reconciling our life in america with what they were seeing and feeling in Sierra Leone was so good... watching their perceptions and understanding about the world stretch was a dream come true for me... and we were only a few days in... already I was overwhelmed with gratitude for the opportunity to be here... and the amazing answers to prayer I was experiencing... It was truly almost breathtaking to engage in what God was doing through and around and in us. It was almost ridiculous how many times I had to stop and give thanks - or, as the Sierra Leoneans say... 'tel papa God tenke.'

Tenke God.