Crazy Americans...

***Yeah, I know...I changed the look of my blog. Just trying something new. I like it...I hope you do too! :)***

After Christmas at the girls home we had a few more "adventures". On the 26th we started our day off with watching a cow being slaughtered...Yeah, first a chicken, then a cow...I thought I was going to be a vegetarian forever! Later that day we were present for the dedication of the new school at JBFC. 100's of people from the village came in to take part in the celebration and a celebration it was!

At some point on the 26th we had a little play time. The girls had received a volleyball net for Christmas and they wanted to play. The area that they would be playing in was a mixture of sand, fine soil, and a little bit of gravel. We decided that the only way we could get the metal poles to stay in the ground was to use concrete. Liv and I somehow decided that we could handle that task...HA! A few of the girls helped us begin to dig two holes. After a few measurements we decided that we had to dig the holes 3 feet deep. I didn't think we were ever going to make it!

Finally after the holes were dug, we had to mix concrete...Lot's of sand, water, laughs and a ton of concrete being slung around during the "mixing" later, we got it poured. However, we didn't realize someone would have to stand and hold the poles till it set. The girls ran off and well, Liv and I stood and held poles for an extended period of time.

As people walked by from the neighboring village they just kind of gave us a look. At first I didn't get what they were looking at. Then it hit me...Two random white girls...Standing outside...Holding poles...Yeah, I'm pretty sure they thought, "Crazy Americans..."

Sunday, December 27th was our last full day at JBFC and it was coming a flood! Needless to say that since the "church" was a tarp in the middle of a field, we didn't go! The girls (not to mention the two of us) were utterly exhausted from Christmas and the school opening so we took it easy. Like we got up, did a few things and took a nap all before lunch! We finally all gathered in Chris' house and had lunch together. The girls feasted on cow intestines from the slaughtering the day before...We had African style spaghetti! After lunch we all crowded around Chris' laptop and watched Madagascar! Let me just say it's rather entertaining watching a movie that's in English with 28 girls who understand very little. They watched the characters and laughed when we laughed! :) I then started randomly laughing just to see if they would laugh. A few of them did, but after awhile I think they caught on. Pretty sure they just looked at me and thought "Crazy American..."

Anyway, after the movie the rain had let up and we ended up having the best adventure of our time there. Before I start this story I would like to say that I do not recommend doing what we did. If we would have stopped and thought about it we probably wouldn't have done it, but hey...When in Africa, do as the African's do...Or as the crazy American's do!

We decided to walk with all the girls, Chris, and Jim (A fellow American in for the school dedication) the 1-2ish mile trek to the rice paddies.

We had walked down a few days before to observe the girls planting (pic on left), but Jim had not been there and wanted to check it out. The walk was interesting to say the least. It was mud puddle after mud puddle and about every 5 feet or so you would hear a girl scream from losing their shoe in the mud! As a matter of fact, at one point we thought Liv was going to lose her foot in a mud puddle...Quite the entertainment! We got to the rice paddies and what looked like well mapped out rice paddies a few days before now looked like a huge swamp! (Pic below)

There was a one ledge of mud that we could still walk on top of. We walked (or slipped) on the ledge over to the big paddy they had planted earlier that week. We were all standing on the mud ledge around the paddy which was now a big pond. Liv, Jim and I were standing together and Chris was across the way. I looked at Liv and mentioned how funny it would be if one of us just "slipped" into the rather large mud puddle. Jim said he would do it! We told Chris our plan and he got the girls to countdown from three. They had no idea why they were counting down since they couldn't understand us...

The look on their faces when he dove into the puddle was priceless! Check it out!

They laughed and laughed until they were crying! A moment worth remembering!

We began the trek back and came upon a large open area that was flooded and we were going to have to wade through. It was about knee high...Some might see it as an obstacle, but we saw a swimming pool! Chris was at the front of the long line, I was a few girls behind him, Liv a few behind me and then Jim was bringing up the rear. He yelled back and asked if we wanted to swim. Liv and I looked at each other and said "Yeah!"

Chris walked to the middle of the "pool" as if he was going to help the girls cross, but as they got to him he dunked them!

The girls caught on to our plan, began to scream and then began running towards Liv and I. We blocked them and began throwing them in!

We spent the next several minutes splashing and dunking each other. At some point Liv and I both went under the not so clean water. We called truths and began the very cold and wet trek back to the house. We were greeted with a not so nice look from the matrons who had to clean the girls up once they got back, but once they saw the smiles and heard the stories of the girls they just looked at Liv and I,

shook their heads and laughed! I'm pretty sure they were thinking "Crazy Americans..."

As we were washing off and hanging our clothes to dry Liv and I reflected on our actions and couldn't believe we did it. We then began thinking about all the things that could have been in the water and what kind of crazy diseases we could have contracted. Yeah, we wondered if we were going to wake up the next morning throwing up or having a extra arm grow out of our head or something! However, later on one of the girls came up and in her broken English she said, "I like swim. Thank you." Worth it? I think so! I was OK being the crazy American.

A crazy American...Yep, that's what I felt like the whole time I was in Africa. We definitely stuck out looks wise, but also by our actions. People couldn't understand why we came to Africa to see them, minister to them, and give them things. It just didn't make any sense. It was crazy. People here in America thought we were crazy too. Who would ask people to donate large amounts of money in the middle of an economical crisis so they could go to Africa??? Who would want to be in Africa living in the "jail cell" with no hot water??? Who would want to give Christmas away instead of receiving presents??? That's just crazy.

Well, I can honestly say that I am OK being crazy...It was well worth it. I can honestly say that God blessed two "crazy" girls more than we could ever imagined while we were at JBFC. It was a crazy, but life changing Christmas for us both....

I am a firm believer that as Christians we are called to be crazy.

- Love your enemies...Crazy.
- Pray for those who persecute you...Crazy
- Turn the other cheek...Crazy.
- Die to self and put our will aside...Crazy.
- Put others before yourself...Crazy.

This stuff is crazy! As crazy as it sounds...It's true. Liv and I dared to be crazy for three weeks and we definitely got some funny looks and a few laughs. However, the results we saw and heard because of it was well worth it. Crazy changed us.

Are you willing to be crazy? It's the crazies that are going to change the world...