I would be lying if I told you that every day in Nasir was idyllic, if I said that I wanted to be there every single day, if I said there weren’t days when I wanted to stay in my house all day and pretend I wasn’t living in a culture so foreign and different to me. So I won’t tell you those things.
Instead, I will tell you that as I reflect on our first three months in Nasir, I see how God sustained me on the hardest days; how He, day-by-day, knitted my heart with the hearts of the Nuer people; how our little house (The Ginter Cottage) became our little home; and how much God grew my love for Nasir…the slower pace of life, the walks into town, the greetings by name by friends in our neighborhood, the laughter and jokes we shared with our workers, and the fun we had during language class. As we left Nasir on the 17th, it honestly felt like leaving home.
And that was in sharp contrast to the way I felt when we arrived three months ago. Leaving for this break helped me to see just how much I’ve grown, how much God has been changing me and my heart, and how much more I depend on and love Him. It is also such a tremendous reminder about how God’s plan is perfect. Had I done what I wanted to do (head back to America) in those first weeks, I would have missed all of the blessings, the lessons, the friendships, and the memories that He had planned for me. And there were SO.MANY.GOOD ones!
So, here are some of my favorite memories made during our first rotations in Nasir…
- The Mud Day. One Thursday, it rained all day and turned our entire compound into a tar pit. We couldn’t walk anywhere, it was cold and windy, and the metal roof was so loud that we couldn’t even hold a normal conversation. It was early on, when we were still just surviving, and it was a ROUGH DAY. As our team gathered in the Pierces’ house for dinner that night–after sloshing through the mud in our waders just to get there–we spent the whole evening venting, laughing at ourselves, and generally turning a really rough day into what could have aired as a really funny sitcom episode. We refer to it as The Mud Day, and it was one of the first times we could really laugh at ourselves and our situation…and a lot more laughter followed.
- The Skype Call. For whatever reason, the wifi signal wasn’t strong enough in our house that day for me to Skype with my parents, so I drug a chair and my laptop out beside the veranda to talk to them. Well, it didn’t take long before one of our guards, James, became curious. He walked behind me to peer over my shoulder, and he was really confused. I explained in my broken Nuer that it was like a telephone, only I could see them. I told him that it was my mom and dad, and he was really excited. Normally, James is really quiet and reserved, but that day he was laughing and waving and talking. Of course, my parents thought it was hilarious. Soon, Yien, our other guard, joined in. Then NyaBuol and her friend. My parents loved it, the compound workers loved it, and I loved it. Best Skype call yet!
- The LäwE. I’ve written about my läwE, but the day I bought it remains one of my favorite days. As I was buying it, I drew an enormous crowd at the stall from women who wanted to help me put it on correctly, and then all of the comments, cheers, and smiles I got from people as they saw a khawaja wearing a läwE for probably the first time ever was well worth every pound I spent on it!
- Mary and the Chicken. The day that my friend, Mary, showed up at our compound with a rooster to give me as a gift was a precious, precious day in my heart. After weeks of spending time with Mary and her family, after praying with them for various ailments and issues, and after praying for them and their salvation in my own quiet time, Mary shows up with a gift that meant more than words ever could.
- Cupid Shuffle with Our Staff. Yes, we went there. We held a big Thanksgiving feast with all of our compound workers to express our appreciation for their hard work, and to give them a taste of some American food. We ate, talked, laughed, and then we decided to dance. They had asked us to teach them a traditional American dance…but it’s difficult to pinpoint something like that in a melting pot like America. So we taught them the Cupid Shuffle. And as we danced, bumped into each other, and laughed a lot, it really felt like becoming a family.
- First Teacher Training. So, I have been working closely with ADRA, an organization that’s doing a phenomenal job on teacher training in Nasir County. The education community mobilizer, Martin, has been amazing in his willingness to collaborate with me, and I am able to fill more of a supporting role. One morning I went to just sit in and observe a training he was hosting for headmasters in the county. About halfway through the training, Martin received a call and needed to step out. Without any warning, he says to the 18 or so headmasters, “I must step out, but my colleague, Cassandra, is going to take over and finish up the training.” He then hands me the notes sheet and the dry-erase marker and is gone. I have learned enough to know that sometimes you have to fake it ’til you make it, so I acted like I’d had time to prepare and that I had a clue what I was doing. It ended up going really well, and they were exceptionally gracious in welcoming me and being so attentive. Their questions were excellent and we had a lot of fun.
- Who Has Two Thumbs and Is Funny? WUTAME!! Sometimes language learning, for all of us, is a very serious time and we not only learn a lot of new words and phrases, but we also learn a lot about the Nuer culture. But sometimes it’s not so serious. One afternoon, we were in a particularly jovial mood as a group, and we asked Ruac how to say in Nuer, “Who has two thumbs and is funny? This dude!” We translated it, we said it over and over again, we laughed, and now it’s our inside joke with Ruac (who also really loves to say “dude” since we taught it to him).
There are so many more great memories…far too many to blog about, but it’s safe to say that each day, the people of Nasir become more near and dear to my heart, life becomes a little more routine and normal, and God continues to open up opportunities for ministry, friendships, and community development.
NyaBuol and I the afternoon of our Thanksgiving dinner. I love that she’s in the middle of telling me something, her finger up to make a point. Hän nhokä ciekEmE!
