Journal Entries from West Africa


10-11-18
The air is hot and thick. People on mopeds weave through traffic. I know it’s on the other side of the continent, but it’s already bringing back so many memories from South Africa. We were greeted at the airport by some buskers who serenaded us until they realized we weren’t going to give them money. We rode a bus to WAAST where Mary Ballenger talked to us and we ate pizza, salad, and fruit. The pizza had barely any cheese on it and tasted like hamburger meat. They have good pineapple. There was also some kind of melon. I am staying in house #95.
...
It feels so good to be here. Even though I’m tired, sweaty, and my stomach hurts — experiences like this are like a breath of fresh air for the soul. I have finals due this week and it feels impossible. I have no idea how I am going to do it.
But I will,
and I’m happy
and God has created such incredibly diverse beauty to fill this earth with.

10-12-18
I woke up at 6:00 AM, took a shower, and got dressed for the day. I hung my hammock from two beams on our patio. Two young men walked by me.
“Are you celebrating your birthday today?”
“No.”
They thought I was hanging up decorations. I had a hard time understanding them. They walked by again once I had gotten in the hammock and repeatedly told me not to fall out.
...
I came across a funny, middle-aged white man who introduced me to his pet monkey. The monkey’s name is Squeaky. She was chained to a tree. She is 26 years old. They let me feed her peanuts from the palm of my hand. Her species is called “Mona.” She put all the peanuts in a pouch on her neck and let me feel it. Then, she ate them slowly. She constantly tried to groom me by picking at every hair, freckle, and hangnail. I think it’s the coolest, sweetest monkey ever.
...
I helped scrape chipped paint off the walls in a house and then I helped paint a white ceiling white. We got all the ceiling done and cleaned a bunch of stuff that was dirty around the house. It poured rain outside and I found a worm that was a foot long.

10-14-18
We went to the ocean and I collected some rocks and shells. The water was the warmest ocean water I have ever felt. There are so many people here — everywhere. There are 8 million people in Togo ( which is a pretty small country) and we are in the capital city. It’s insane.
...
At dinner there were a lot of missionaries. At the end, we prayed over them all and I cried. It was such a special moment. They had all been in ministry for so long and were all amazing people of God. It really touched me to see. I want that to be my future.
Oh, and there are a lot of slugs here.

These are just a few of my memories from our wonderful trip to Togo. If you would like to read more posts from my other travels, you can do so here.

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