Serving as a missionary means being involved in the community and helping wherever you can. Often, that can make for very long days. Here is a recent example:

The day started at 7 a.m. when a church lady arrived at my house, and we drove off in my truck to pick up several more ladies. Our goal was to bring back the firewood they sell to raise money for women’s ministries. Arriving at the forest not far outside of town, I pulled up beside their stacks of sticks and logs. As the ladies went into the forest to bring out more wood, I loaded the truck. When the truck was full, two of the ladies and I drove back and unloaded. The pieces of firewood had to be thrown over a high wall, which made it quite a workout. Then we went back to the forest to get the second load. By the time we finished, it was half past noon.

As soon as I got back to my house, I got a call from a new church member asking me to buy some traditional cheese and give it to her brother who was coming from Burkina Faso on the bus. After buying the cheese at the market, I met a friend there who was very sick with malaria. I called her husband to come and pick her up.

Back at my house, I found Joel and another friend waiting at my door. I helped the first guy move his audio Bible into the music folder of his phone’s memory card. Then I sat down to eat lunch and talk with Joel. He was hungry too, so I shared my food with him.

As we finished eating, the man coming from Burkina on the bus called to say he was nearing town. I went to the bus stop, and after half an hour of waiting for the bus to arrive, I was able to deliver the cheese. Then I returned home and finished talking with Joel.

The pastor was coming over at 6 p.m., so I started to sweep and mop my floors. Mama A from down the road stopped in and chatted with me as I worked. When I was done, I sat down with her, and we had a more serious conversation about her son who has been attempting suicide. As she left, and the pastor and his wife arrived.

After the pastor and his wife left at 7 p.m., I was very hungry. I couldn’t find much to eat, so I had some fresh tomatoes. I was still eating when the young people began arriving for the youth small group at 7:30. The youth meeting ended at 8:30, and people hung around until about nine. After chatting a few more minutes with some friends, I hobbled off to bed. It had been another very full day.

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