A day at La Mé

  La Mé, Cote D'Ivoire
Wednesday, January 23, 2008

I stayed up until after 10:00 last night to have a better chance of sleeping through with my jet lag, but it didn't work, I woke up several times, but still felt pretty well rested this morning.

Paul and Veïgène, the same driver we used last time I was here, were at the hotel at 7:30  We drive first to Carrefour where I changed some money.  A gaggle of moneychangers surround the car as we drove down their street.  I am seated in the back seat with Paul. The point man for the money changers gets in the front passenger's seat. "C'est quoi que vous avez?" he starts, "what do you have, dollars, euros?" About six men, apparently his associates, are standing around the car gazing in through the closed windows. I say I have dollars. "We are paying 430 francs per dollar" he says. I tell him he'll have to make a little effort. He sys that, really, that is all they can do. They are only charging 435 francs when they sell dollars, he says, so they are only making 5 CFA francs (about one US cent) per dollar changed.  I calculate that this transaction won't net them very much.  Is he telling the truth?  There's no way to know for sure, but it is a much better rate that the hotel was offering (395 francs per dollar), and the dollars is the weakest I've ever seen it. I finally agree to the rate, and we both work his calculator to see how many francs I should receive. He hands dirty wads of bills to me. His hands are shaking noticeably. He is sick with something. As I count the bills twice, I hope to myself that it is not a communicable disease. I decide I will wash my hands as soon as I can.
 
I hand him the Ben Franklins which he examines carefully: no marks, no tears; no big wear lines (I have to check all that when I pick up bills in the States to take with me.) "C'est bon?" I ask.  "Oui, c'est bon."  As he gets out, he hands me his business card. It is pale green with a small dollar euro signs at the top. His name is Yaya Dagmé. Under his name is written in French simply "exchanges." It gives his street address and phone number. "You keep my card" he says with a smile. I think of his trembling hands and wonder if he'll still be there the next time I come.
 
We drive out to La Mé. We pass many checkpoints manned by obviously armed soldiers. None of them stop us this time; that's good. The soldiers are concentrating on taxis. I lose count of the number of checkpoints, seven or eight I think.
 
On the road to La Mé, I see that work is still going on around the illegal toxic waste dump site.  What can take so long to clean up? They have been doing this for at least a year. It smells of chemicals as we pass it this time.  It never has smelled in the past, perhaps the cleanup is causing the smell.

After 45 minutes, we arrive in La Mé. I am very happy to see our Church brethren again.
 
There are ten children at the church hall and a few adults. The children are all freshly washed and wearing their best clothes.  While we wait for the adults to arrive from work or wherever they are, the children sing hymns to show they know them well.  After 4 hymns, Paul asked them if they have any questions for me.  They are nervous and shy.  So I ask them questions.  "What is the First Commandment?"  After a moment several hands go up. The answer is correct. "And the Second?" I ask. After an incomplete answer, a beautiful little girl about 9 years old, in a clean white dress with a broken zipper, answers correctly.  Her name is Gladys. She is the only one who knows them all (though she had a little trouble with number 10). At the end of the exercise I call Gladys up and give her a 200 franc coin, (about 50 US cents) and congratulate her on knowing the Ten Commandments so well.
 
The adults have arrived. I present a Bible Study on the importance of prayer and what the Bible teaches about it: why we pray, how we are to pray, and so on. I talk about an hour. I ask first if they have any questions.  One man asks about whether one's baptism can be called into doubt. He is a former Muslim whose family has put great pressure on him to recant his conversion to Christianity.  They have threatened to take away his wife (African families can sometimes arrange things like that), and throw him out of the house. He has a physical disability and would have a hard time to live without any assistance. He tells me later that he weakened at one point and under pressure went with the family to the mosque at prayer time. "But" he told me seriously "I never rejected Christ" even as we bowed at the mosque, I prayed to the true God, in Jesus' name. Then I realized that I had weakened; I asked God for His help to be strong and He has helped me.  I will never go that way again!"
 
Another asks how we can be sure our prayers are answered. Another question is about 1 Samuel 28: how to understand "Samuel" being called up by the medium at En Dor.
 
They are good questions and we have a good discussion. It is nearly lunchtime.  Before we break for lunch, I pull out my laptop and show a half-hour video update about the work of our Church in French-speaking areas. When they see scenes of themselves in La Mé from last autumn they point and nudge each other and laugh uproariously. Watching them, I enjoy the experience as much as they do! I videotape them laughing, so that I can show that to them the next time I come.

Watching the video

 
We break for lunch. Everyone goes home to eat what they have. Charlotte had prepared a lunch for me.  She puts on the table a plate and two forks, a napkin, and two little covered pots in which are chekeh (made from cassava, with a texture in between rice and cornmeal,) and red carp fish cooked in onions and peppers. I thank her very sincerely. This is a widow's mite, though she is not a widow. But I must eat sparingly. First because I'd rather she and her family eat most of it, and second because in spite of her best effort it could play hob with my intestines, the fish is fresh by local standards, but....  I've been there before and it's not a good place.
 
She also wants to tell me that she has worked hard to teach several of the ladies to read, but they are not very motivated.  She went to school until she was 13 and learned to read French. But, Charlotte explains, the other ladies are too tired to pay much attention when they can get together.  She has tried to help them and motivate them, but they have children and much work to do during the week. So even though they want to be able to read the word of God for themselves, it is hard, and they do not come when she offers to meet with them. I thank her for her effort, and tell her that I understand how challenging it is for everyone involved.
 
In the afternoon I counsel with several people, answering their questions and help with baptism preparation. No one is quite ready yet. Paul comes back rather late, he looks very sick. "I have a problem" he informs me. He has just come from the infirmary. He has a prescription. He has a boil that has been infected for a while. The infection has spread, and there is nothing to treat it at the makeshift pharmacy in La Mé. He has serious swelling in the nether region he tells me and the whole group, he needs to go to Abidjan. But he asks me to take care of one more counseling before we leave, which I do as expeditiously as possible.
 

Group portrait before we leave La Mé

We call for Veïgène, and start the drive back to Abidjan.  At the hotel, I give Paul replacement money so that he and Félix can get to the Leadership Conference. I also give a little extra help for those in need among the church members in his village.  We say goodbye until Friday when we should see each other in Lomé.
 
Tomorrow will be a travel day. Hopefully all will go well.