How do you wash your calabash?

I was thrilled when we were invited to a marriage seminar at our church… Aaron, not so much!

We were thankful for the opportunity to go, but it is still a huge challenge to do this kind of  "date-night"/"fun" stuff in French and Jula only- with no idea what we're walking into!  We should be used to it, but we're not- I still get excited, like I'm going to get to visit like "normal" and have sweet fellowship and chit-chat…Aaron is a realist, so he's not nearly as disappointed!

And when they said a potluck would follow, it really stressed me out…Do I bring my own plates and forks? Do I bring something totally American and potentially interesting to them, or do I stick with rice and sauce??

Thankfully, our day filled up fast and I had no time to fuss over the details, so we went from one event to the next, ending the day with the marriage seminar starting at 7:45, and then the communion meal started at 10:30 p.m!

The marriage discussion was eye-opening and interesting, but surprisingly the same as it would have been among our friends in the states!

Because we were there, the other couples (there were 6 others) often explained their situations with a disclaimer- "Maybe this is just in my ethic group, or in the African culture…"  We smiled knowingly, as they went on to explain their challenges of marriage- like communication, unmet expectations, financial stresses… all of areas of challenge within mine and other western marriages!


My favorite specific account was along the lines of, "My husband doesn't turn his socks right-side-out before leaving them on the bathroom floor 2 feet away from the laundry basket." The Burkinabé equivalent was, "He leaves his clothes in the salon, and when he goes to put them on the next morning, they aren't there, someone keeps moving them into the other room…and HE is frustrated that his clothes aren't where he left them.  Disgusting Sidenote- many of the african fabrics don't absorb moisture at all, so while they are sweaty and wet when you take them off, they aren't smelly or dirty so you can still re-wear them; so you hang them to out dry and put them back on the next morning.

You wash the calabash with leaves, but everyone knows that it's better to do it like my mom does it- with a corn cob- You're not doing it right... Kinda like when I married a granite contractor and wanted to scrub everything with Comet!

The times of fellowship together, sharing from our hearts, our experiences and our struggles, many of which are very much the same, are an encouragement and a blessing that help us to keep going through the tougher patches!  Praying alongside women like these is an experience and a privilege I don't want to take for granted!  I'm blessed to be able to hear the voice of a blind woman singing out praises to her Savior in a language that just received it's New Testament last year, and the Jesus Film last month!  

God is moving Mightily all around us, and the sad, awkward, misunderstood moments are no biggie in light of the changes we get to see and the lives we are able to pray for, live with and testify to!