Dear Prayer Partners,
Thank you so much for all the precious birthday messages! I savored each one. They were an encouragement to me, made me smile and gave me an extra burst of joy. What a blessing you are! You mean so much to me!! (and are the core of our ministry!!)
Many of you asked—“What in the world do you do in Benin for a birthday??”…..
Well, being that Jeff’s schedule has him often needing to be in two places at the same time (with me needing to be somewhere else altogether), we decided that waiting until my birthday, to celebrate a bit, wouldn’t mesh with the crunch of schedules. So Thursday, March 29th, we did a glorious thing, nothing! We drove down toward Cotonou, veered off on a deep, sandy road along the beach where all the fishing villages are nestled under the palms. We bounced slowly along deliciously enjoying the white sand and thatched roofs of huts planted close to the breakers, until we found a few three-walled bamboo structures under swaying coconut palms, which faced nothing but the turquoise and midnight blue streaked ocean. One we rented from a friendly young man for $4 for the entire day. With a choice of flaming sun or cool, hut-shade, we read in our collapsible chairs, or rested on towels tossed on the warm sand. Perfect.
Saturday, I quietly celebrated by communicating with many of you (you know I love to talk and write!). My African sis, Alima, called my early in the morning to the tune of her three sons singing loudly in my ear, “Bonne Anniversaire à toi!”(HBDTY) Which was awesome. In fact I received no less than 4 French singing phone calls! Kari kicked me and my laptop out of the living room in the afternoon, while she decorated with balloons, printed messages and a fancy tablecloth. Around 7:00 pm Jeff took Kari and me out to our new Chinese Restaurant, right here in our village of Calavi!!! A real restaurant! Modernization is creeping in! This Chinese restaurant has not made the turnabout to appealing to international tastes, but is truly Chinese, gingerroot and all! It is clean, nicely decorated and boasts some unusual delicacies—Pig’s eyes, Pig’s ears and Pig’s stomach. Poor pig. I ordered duck.
We dined on rice and delicious meat sauces, although the normal array of Chinese vegetables simmering in the sauces, were strangely missing. I questioned the waiter on this novelty. He just gave me the “waving hand” in response, which meant, “I just work here. I don’t cook!” Even veggie-less each dish burst with flavor! The duck set before me resembled a bird-type animal that had encountered a machete just after having been cooked. The abundance of sauce required me to pick up each portion of bone as a puppy would to hopefully discover the hiding duck morsels.
One such morsel I couldn’t identify as it lay on my plate. No fears, for I didn’t think I had anything to fear, but I should have been forewarned after having just read the menu; I reached into the sauce and pulled out the strangely shaped item. Gently I placed it in my mouth to remove the sauce so I could ascertain whether meat was present in any part. Yet when I retrieved the one end from this procedure and looked closely at what remained in my hand, I encountered quite a surprise. A foot. I mean a duck claw, tightened up in rigor mortis protruded from my hand. Fascinated, it only took me a moment of fishing to find the second, to set it free of the sauce, and to show them, victoriously, to Kari. What a birthday prize to find in your sauce! With duck claws on your plate, you don’t need toothpicks!
Kari had planned a surprise of her own for me. Our unofficial African son, Marc and his fiancée showed up to share in the festivity of eating chocolate chip cheese cake and opening presents. No, Kari did not challenge Benin’s fire department’s skills by covering the cake with the required number of candles. Besides, our house is made of cement.
But before we could light the cake, in through the gate walked two couples, 2 young children and a baby (who was given the name Jeffrey!). Kari’s eyes grew wide with alarm as she said, “I didn’t invite them!” No worries. Sylvain is a professor at our seminary in Togo. He and his wife, Sabine, are very close friends of ours. They now have three children when she was told by doctors she couldn’t have any. Their little girl is “God’s Grace”. Their first son “God’s Gift”.And their baby has a similar Fon name, although I’ve chosen to call him by the name they gave him that is dearest to my heart, “Jeff!” (which in English means “peace.”) The other couple, Valentin and Elizabeth, are likewise good friends of ours who minister here in Benin. One couple was staying with the other and decided to surprise me (Ah, yet another surprise!) on my birthday. Excellent company and conversation. And we did eventually get to the cake and presents!!
So what do you do in Benin for your birthday? The same thing you do any other day—make plans and enjoy all God’s surprises!
Love in Christ,
Barbara
Author of Beyond Surrender
Serving the Peoples of Benin, Burkina Faso, Togo and Cote d'Ivoire
bsingerman@gowestafrica.org