the village...

SAHORO

Ashley and Jon are always so sweet to think about things that Katinka and I may want to see and experience while we are here with them. Last week was Katinka’s last week in Benin and she had not been on a village visit with Ashley yet. So Wednesday afternoon, we loaded up and headed to the village, Sahoro.

(we stopped by the school outside of Sahoro to see Augustin's half-brother, Vincent, play futbol for a little while. Augustin, Ashley, GrandMama, Louise at the school)

 Sahoro is a pretty special village to Arbre de Vie's program. Over 10 of our children lived in Sahoro at one point in their life before coming to the orphanage. Augustin, Seraphin, Bernard, & Louise came with us on Wednesday. They each had lived there. Seraphin and Bernard’s family still live there. Augustin’s mother and father are both dead. He was his mother’s only child, but his father had many, many wives. So he still has numerous half-siblings and step-mothers in Sahoro. Louise's mother and father are also dead. Her and her 6 siblings all live at the orphanage. There is also still some of their extended family and numerous friends in the village.

It is insane to me how normal some of these things have now become to me. If Ashley had taken me to Sahoro my first week here I am confident I would have just walked around with tears streaming down my face. Augustin pointed over to a plot of dirt…”My dad is buried there.” No marker. Nothing. But that is where his father’s body is. Seraphin and Bernard’s sweet grandmother emerged from her mud hut, thrilled to see her grandsons but obviously in poor physical condition. She relayed to us that her eyes have started hurting her constantly and her vision is slipping. The village children with no shoes. No clothes. No education. No access to adequate health care. It is all quite devastating if you sit back long enough and think about it. But, I have learned, there is not much time for that. And walking around crying does not do much for anyone. So instead of tears, I laughed. And played with the children. And greeted all the villagers who were so warm and welcoming. 

We started out at Augustin’s father’s home. He built quite a large “compound” for all of his wives and children while he was alive. It is actually quite impressive and the homes are well built. We met many of his half-siblings and nieces and nephews. I held a sweet 4-month-old baby girl, one of his nieces, and she just smiled and smiled! Which is impressive. Since most babies I hold here scream because they’ve never seen a white person before... She didn’t seem to mind the color of my skin though. Give her a few months…

We made our way through the village, walking along the red dirt paths and collected quite an entourage of village children as our journey continued. The village is very isolated. No electricity. Water is collected from wells throughout the village. This is all that many of these people have ever, or will ever, know. 

The sun was setting and the green just seemed more green than normal. 

The sky seemed more blue than normal. 

Seraphin and I were walking up ahead of the rest of our group with quite a few village children. He was talking to me about his family and his other siblings as we walked to the village church his parents were at. I looked over to my right and saw the most beautiful scene. I will remember it forever. In that moment, with Seraphin to my left speaking his very best English and village children to my right, clamoring to grab my free hand…the Lord spoke to my heart. 

This would not be the last time my feet walked the red dirt roads of the village, Sahoro. 

I would be back.

I would see these children again. 

I would hug their necks. 

I would laugh with them. 

I would be back.

I will be back.

I’m not sure what that all looks like yet.

Or what exactly that all means, but I will always, always remember my first night in the village, Sahoro.

LIVE FULL LIVES

FULL IN THE FULLNESS OF GOD

GOD CAN DO ANYTHING YOU KNOW

FAR MORE THAN YOU COULD EVER IMAGINE

OR GUESS

OR REQUEST

IN YOUR WILDEST DREAMS