Hogs and Hippos!

On little bit of a lighter note, I've been researching about some of the wildlife in GB. This is by no means a touristy trip I am taking, but naturally (and maybe because I've seen too many movies) when I think of Africa I think wildlife; jungles and the Serengeti and whatnot. Since we will be traveling to remote town and villages, surely we'll come across something! A monkey or two perhaps??? I hope so. (I'm trying to convince my mom that we need to watch "The Ghost and The Darkness" the night before we go. Y'know...to get in the spirit of things! HA!)

Anyway, I found out that because GB has not been industrialized much, it is renowned for its diversity in flora and fauna. Everything from the common chimpanzee to the great African elephant, to giant pangolin and mongooses (mongeese?)!

Maybe I'm just getting my hopes up, but who knows! I've never been there before! As long as I don't run into this guy!

Call of the Cashew Coast

Paul writes in Romans 15:20, " It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else's foundation" (NIV).

The goal of all JESUS Film Mission Trips is to help reach some of the world's least evangelized people. Guinea-Bissau is unique among West African nations in that it is largely untouched by both Islam and the gospel. Yet there is a great spiritual hunger and Islam is starting to move in as well.

The goal of this trip to give training to existing Christians and pastors on how to help new believers grow in their faith and to share their faith using the JESUS Film. Amazingly, many of the villages and towns we will be going to have never heard the gospel in their native language. Presenting the JESUS Film will be their very first time in hearing or seeing anything about Jesus!

The best help we can give the Guinean people is spiritual help. Obviously, their country is feeling the strains of political and economic collapse, but our main focus is to share the message of Jesus and serve the greater long-term vision of transforming GB into on of the largest sending nations in Africa.

Hoping for some eye-opening encounters.

One of the many reasons I'm getting extremely excited for this trip, is this will be the first time in my adult life that I will be traveling out of the country. My family went to Japan when I was about 6 months old, so naturally I don't remember a thing. I've seen pictures, so I guess that's proof enough that I was there. I have been on several mission trips, but they have been to places like Mississippi or inner-city Chicago. Interestingly, I've never even been up to Canada! Not even to go bowling!

Though I have traveled across and up and down these grand United States of ours, encountering slight religious and cultural differences, I'm really hoping and praying for some eye-opening experiences on this trip. Seriously, this isn't a road trip to St. Louis. This is a different hemisphere! Anything I've ever learned or think I know about any foreign country, I've learned from the comfort of home. I really have no idea what to expect. And maybe that should scare me, at least a little. But I'm more excited about it than anything!

Some of the preparation information we have (by that I mean me and my mom. She's going on this trip, too. How cool is that? If you don't know my mom, she's super cool) talks about what we'll encounter on our trips to rural areas and villages: candles instead of electricity, hand-drawn buckets of water, bathrooms are basically holes in the ground, etc... All this makes my mom uneasy, but I'm excited about it. I can't wait.

Another tricky thing is that I know absolutely no Portuguese. Supposedly, speaking English can get you around okay enough, but not really. I guess we'll be learning some of the more important terms in the near future. Like "where's the bathroom," and that sort of thing. I guess I'll find out!

Fun facts about Guinea-Bissau!!

- Guinea-Bissau (or GB, for short) is only 35 years old, gaining independence from Portugal in 1974.

- GB is the fifth poorest country in the world based on GDP and HDI (human development index). I noticed today that the last paycheck I got from my last job was about twice as much as the average Guinea-Bissauan makes in a year.

- Former President Vieira and his rival Military Chief Wai were both assassinated in January 2009, though a stable interim government is currently in place. Fun times.

- Guineans predominantly practice traditional African religions, followed by Islam. There is a small, but growing Christian community. Our participation in this trip is part of a larger vision to transform GB into on of Africa's largest sending nations for missions. Unlike some of the surrounding countries, Christian work is openly welcomed.

- GB's currency is the African Franc (XFO). One US dollar buys about 460 XFOs.

- GB is 5 hours ahead of US Eastern Standard Time.

There's more to learn about this tiny little North African country, and I'm wanting to find out a little more about it in the near future. Especially cultural stuff. You can only get so much from a wikipedia page.