The First Day in Country!!!

It was close to 10 pm by the time we had arrive at the hotel from the airport, closing out our long voyage from Houston to Abidjan. It would be an early morning as we are breakfast by 7:30 am – consisting of eggs, pastries, various fruits and of course coffee (which is not you Father’s Starbucks – boy is it strong!).
On the bus for a trip to the Dabou United Methodist Hospital for the welcoming celebration worship service. A bus trip of about an hour travelling through small towns and local markets, this would be our first experience of the teaming masses of people in Cote d’Ivoire. Because we arrived in the shadow of night, most of the scenery and people were unnoticed because of darkness.
Suddenly we were in the city with buildings, buses and many, many people. Next we were in the country side -- lush and green with people walking and riding bikes on the side of the road. The welcoming celebration worship service was incredible with two choirs and a band that made singing praises to God a joyous event. There was communion served to the mass crowd who had come from many different places to be at the service. When everything was finished – the two and a half hours had flown by. Individuals drawn together for a common purpose serving God and worshipping together was a sight to see and a joy to witness.
After worship it was off to lunch in the local village and the meal was wonderful. Rice, potatoes, fish, chicken and beef – it was a great time of fellowship and breaking of the bread. There was a "little" rain as this is the beginning of the "little rainy season" -- which makes the distrubution of nets even more vital as the incidents of malaria spike during these times.
In the evening we returned to the Jubilee church, where we were greeted by Bishop Boni and proceeded to eat dinner. It was during this meal that we experienced the wonderful musical voices of several choirs. It was another time of worship as voices raised in joyful adoration were heard. These incredible voices brought all in attendance into the presence of God and focused us on the task at hand.
We had only been in the country for a little over a day and yet we had seen one of the villages where the nets would be distributed, worshipped with joyful voices raised and fellowshipped around a common table with our Ivorian brothers and sisters. As I thanked God for the faithfulness of these brothers and sisters and the massive task that God had called us to – I could not imagine what the next couple of days would hold for us.