Saturday, September 29, 2018

September 29, 2018

The boys and I were walking down the road, looking for cows when a crowd of women came walking toward us with spears and cow bells, ringing them in our faces and dancing wildly with their spears.  Thoroughly confused, I asked them to explain more.  “The garden is crying,” they explained.  For the next two hours, masses of women walked by us doing the same, some dancing wildly in circles around us.  Between the information I gathered from multiple ladies and our watchman, we learned a considerable amount about the culture that day. 

“The garden is crying” when the crops have been destroyed by insects.  When this happens, they bring their spears and cow bells and have a funeral for the garden.  Each woman who has had crops eaten will cut it at the stalk.  They tie multiple strands together and place them in the middle of the road, as a sign to show what has occurred.  Here is one that we found while driving through another village:

Anyone who lives in the village of the destroyed crop can drive or walk through undisturbed, but those from other villages must pay to cross the barrier. 

After cutting the crops they continue the funeral with dancing and singing.  I have been told they also sacrifice a goat to appease the land.  They carry the garden up to the fuara, which is the community meeting place where funerals are held.  They continue the funeral for the garden there.  The mind blowing thing about this is that at some point, the women get on their hands and knees, crawling a good portion of the way to the funeral.  The path is rocky, unsteady, full of dung (from animals and humans) and often has thorns. 

When they arrive, they beat the drums and dance, just as they would at a normal funeral for a loved one. 

Please pray for us as we attempt to learn the language and culture here, and look for culturally appropriate ways to share the Gospel.  Please pray that we abide well, teach our boys to do the same, and for physical emotional protection for us. 

Justin continues to meet with Paul, and I continue to meet with Teresa.  Please pray for abundant grace for them to abide in Jesus, stand firm, find joy and stay the course.  Paul and his wife would like to have another baby (for the amazing story of their infertility and miraculous pregnancy, ask for one of our earlier newsletters).  They have been unable to conceive, however, and her family has stated that they “have cursed her” because Paul’s family failed to pay all of the cows when they were married.  Cows are used as a dowry, and the husband’s family will often “make a down payment” at the time of the wedding, intending to pay the rest later.  Please pray that in spite of this, she is able to get pregnant, and that the confusion regarding the cows will be resolved. 

Teresa has sent her family to the refugee camp while she remains here, having a house built for them.  Her maturity is beyond her years.  She is also going to school and working for us.

 Please continue to pray for healing for her mother (she has paranoid schizophrenia), and that her family – especially her uncle and grandfather – will repent and follow Jesus.  I have been told that the UN wants to take her mother to the hospital.  I have been trying to track down someone to find out more – about the hospital and for someone in the refugee camp to advocate for them.  We would appreciate prayer for connecti
ons and wisdom to know how to handle this situation – we are still praying for healing for her, and that her children would be able to live and grow in a safe environment. 

We are both studying language and culture, and I am homeschooling Ezekiel while Justin maintains the cars and updates things around the house as needed.  The boys are very slowly learning language (it’s not as easy as it sounds for littles). 

Thanks for praying for us and standing with us, we are truly grateful for all of you!

In Christ,

The Culps

Justin, Amy, Caleb and Ezekiel