Hair Planting... Another Big Mistake!

Kathy and I had our hair "planted" before the Beaverton Foursquare team arrived. I wasn't convinced I wanted to do it but went ahead with the process anyway.

Personally, it was a big mistake, and I won't do it again. The rubber bands and the tightness of the braids broke a lot of hair. It only cost about $7, and I left the braids in for almost 48 hours. I was so relieved to get them out, even though it left me with Tina Turner hair until I washed it.

Here are the pictures you've been asking for!

A Little Advice: When you visit the village, stay on the footpath!

In the west, we are particular about our bathrooms. We are accustomed for them to look a certain way, and many of us like our commode at home best. (How many of you bolted off the bus because you wouldn't use the school bathrooms?) And when we travel abroad, we are often concerned about the “facilities.” In fact, we actually require a lesson in order to use some bathrooms in the world (like a traditional Thai toilet or bath).

In Africa, it is pretty obvious what to do when the bathroom is a hole in the ground. However, a recent trip to the bathroom in Kagbaray village left me with an important question. My question then became, “To whom do I ask this important question?” The answer was Hawa. Hawa is an amazing lady that Mike met in Freetown when he visited Sierra Leone in March. Not only is she smart, beautiful, full of the love of Christ, promoting social justice in Sierra Leone and seeing changes take place by God’s hand and grace, she’s also kind and fun. If you knew Hawa, you’d love her and want to spend time with her, too!

Now, back to my important question… Kathy and I look forward to our weekly prayer meetings with Hawa on Friday nights. And I chose last Friday to inquire of Hawa (after a lead-in that explained how silly I felt asking this question but needing to know the answer so I could at the very least instruct teams that visit in the future), “When you visit a village and the bathroom is a pile of rocks, what do you do if you need to poop?”

Her answer went something like this, “You should go out in the grass. If you want to, you can use some grass or dirt to kind of cover it up when you’re done.”

“Just out in the grass?” I continued. “Not in the hut with the rocks?”

“Yes, in the grass.” Hawa was patient to explain. “Pick some tall grass off the footpath.”

And then she offered this most useful bit of wisdom: “When you visit the village, you should stay on the footpath. You don’t know what you might find when you leave the footpath. Yes, in the village, stay on the footpath.”

Of course we all laughed. I thanked Hawa for her instruction and insight. And I was doubly glad that I’d asked the question.