My packing list

While I was packing for this trip, I found it really helpful to read picking lists that were posted by Peace Corps volunteers who had traveled to Benin. In case it's helpful to anyone else, I kept track of what I brought with me for a 10-month internship in the city of Cotonou, Benin. Now that I'm almost two months into my internship, I've made some notes on what has worked for me. Hopefully this will be helpful!

What I brought:

• Tank tops
• Short-sleeve shirts
• Long-sleeve shirts--For evening to keep off the mosquitoes
• Skirts--Longer than knee-length
• 1 pagne--That measure of fabric used to make a wrap skirt. A friend gave me one before I left, and I brought it along (thanks Kellie!). I think they're pretty comfortable, and they're also really easy to buy in-country.
• Athletic shorts--For at the house
• Capris--I love them for going places on the weekends. It's more comfortable than skirts for me
• Pants--I have not regretted having a non-skirt option for work
• **I got prettymuch all of my clothing from thrift stores. Cotton, rayon, and linen are supposed to be really good fabrics for hot, humid weather, so that's what I looked for.
• Rain coat--I'm really glad I have this during the rainy season. Mine is super lightweight with a hood.
• Sturdy sandals--I have Tevas
• More casual slip-on sandals--Especially for the house
• A nicer pair of sandals--Good for church and weddings
• Sneakers
• Socks
• Undies, etc
• A few pairs of earrings/necklaces--I work in an office setting
• 
  
• Copies of my passport/visa
• My actual passport/visa
• Some US dollars and euros--I had a long layover in Belgium--got me a waffle ^_~
• Bible--English and French
• Laptop/case
• Journal
• Pens
• Book for reading--I have also made good use of the eBook app on my laptop
• Camera
• Phone--If you want to travel internationally with your own phone (rather than buying one there), it needs to be "unlocked". I can't really explain it. If you need to know more, try Google-ing it. This also serves as my mp3 player.
• Chargers for electronics
• Power adapters--In W. Africa the outlets are the same as in continental Europe
• Mosquito net--Yes, you have to
• Twin bedsheets
• Gaff tape--others suggest duct tape--this is just my preference, and I'm already quite glad I brought it!
• Water purifier--This was highly recommended by other packing lists I found. I got a SteriPen from REI, but I actually haven't used it yet. It might be helpful if I have the opportunity to visit a remote village up north, but in the city people prefer to buy bottled water. UPDATE: Ever since I moved into my second floor apartment, I've found it's much easier to keep the 1.5 liter water bottles and refill them from my kitchen. So now I use my SteriPen quite frequently! Plus, it doesn't create as much waste from all the bottles.
• Bulletin board/tacks
• Photos from home--Don't forget these
• Command hooks
• 5 clothespins
• Headlamp--Or at least some kind of flashlight. Good for when the power goes out.
• Sewing kit
• Bananagrams--Potentially for literacy training and for funsies :)
• Playing cards--or something to help you relax
• Post-it notes/notecards
• A few French novels--Also potentially useful for literacy training
• A small knife--Thanks to my friend Tim for lending me one of his!
• Cliff Bars--Always a good investment
• 
  
• All the basic toiletries--Toothbrush, toothpaste, etc
• Various meds--Advil, immune boosters, malaria meds, probiotics, diarrhea meds, Dramamine, you name it...
• Micro-fiber towel--From REI, nice for packing light for overnight excursions.
• Some regular towels/washcloths--These I use at the house.
• Cough drops
• Band-aids
• Alcohol wipes
• Bacitracin
• Anti-itch cream--I think this was recommended to bring because of mosquitoes, but I haven't used it yet. Maybe because I come from a place that has mosquitoes, the bites don't bother me too much.
• Qtips
• Nail clippers
• Nail polish--It's a girl thing. Fun to do with host sisters!
• Tweezers
• Deoderant--It is noteworthy that no one really cares about BO here, but bring it if you prefer.
• Hand sanitizer wipes--Sometimes you just don't see running water or soap for a little while, and that's okay.
• Glasses/case--I also wear contacts but chose to leave them at home, because there's not always a good, clean, working sink available. But personally I don't wear my glasses all the time. If you need lenses all day and want to bring contacts, use your own judgment.
• Sunglasses
• Hair ties/headbands/bobby pins whatever to put it up--I'm discovering the simplistic beauty of the scrunchy.
• Lunette cup
• Gifts for my hosts--I brought them some strawberry rhubarb jam, a CD of Christian music, and some Sweet Martha's chocolate chip cookies. They loved them!

What I wish I'd brought:

• Swimsuit/goggles--I didn't bring them after hearing about guidelines for modesty in W. Africa. If I ever wanted to swim in the ocean, I said, I would be just as comfortable swimming in capris and a tank top. But a very kind woman from my church said she goes to a local pool to exercise, and invited me to go along with her. Of course I said yes! Now I go with her most Saturdays, and I love it. I just bought a swimsuit and goggles (after finding out that swimming laps without goggles is kind of annoying, haha) at the supermarket so that I could join her, but if I had known I could have brought them from home.
• A few DVDs--When I was in France, there were a few instances in the semester when I just needed to curl up with a favorite movie and give myself a mental break. I had thought ahead and packed a few favorites. I also had the luxury of living across the street from the main movie theater in Rennes, a fun place to go with friends. If they were showing an American-made movie, it was always possible to find an un-dubbed version playing at some point. In Benin, movie theaters are not a thing (big surprise) and although my host sisters will enjoy a movie together in the living room from time to time, they are always dubbed. If I had thought of it before I left, I probably would have chosen a couple movies to bring along so I could watch them in English.

If you are in the city of Cotonou (I don't know if Porto-Novo is similar), there is a huge hypermarket called Erévan near the airport, and it's a lot like a Target or a Walmart in the US. If you can't find something in a street market (or if you just want to luxuriate in aisles upon aisles of Western propriety) Erévan is a good bet. That's where I found the afore-mentioned swimsuit and goggles. They also have a large variety of food. The other day I was with someone who was looking for soy milk, and we found it! Unless you'll be living in a more remote area, you won't have to worry about not having access to everyday things. Heck, they even have yoga mats. It's like they know us.

UPDATE: You may have heard that Benin is the brithplace of the Voodoo religion. What I didn't know is that, in the same way that cross necklaces are often associated with Christians in some cultures, there are certain types of jewelry that are closely associated with the Voodoo tradition in Benin. This includes anklets, ear cuffs, and any visible piercing other than the earlobe. My first day in the office at Wycliffe Benin, I was kindly advised by my supervisor to take off an anklet I had made at camp the summer before. This is especially important if you're coming to Benin to work with a Christian organization. However, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets are just fine, so go crazy!

If you just happened upon this post because you will be traveling in or around Benin, and have questions on packing or anything else, feel free to ask in the comment section or send me an email: kapitchford@gmail.com :)

My cooking pod

Want a tour of my kitchen? There she is!

It's literally smaller than my bathroom, but it's mine and the faucet works consistently. For this and many other reasons, I feel beyond blessed :)

The Ring Bearer

This little guy got to hold the bride's personal effects while we took wedding photos for Diane and Igor. It was extremely cute.

Give Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

And what a great day to give thanks indeed. Let's review shall we?

• I am thankful to God for inviting me on this exciting adventure, in a place where I learn new things everyday.
• I am thankful for the challenges that navigating this new world/life/culture has brought me. Even though the challenging moments abound compared to what life was like pre-Benin, I am thankful that God has offered me an opportunity to be undeniably (and unavoidably) vulnerable, and to grow in many, many ways.
• I am thankful for a host family that makes me feel embraced and valued, and who are endlessly patient to match my seemingly endless learning curve. They encouraged me when I wrapped my first pagne (that wrap skirt I keep talking about), they join when I spring into the kitchen dancing, they ask me "have you meditated on the Word today?" In short, they remind me that I am not in this alone. And for crying out loud, my host mom understands my craving for a cold salad once in a while.
• I am thankful for my co-workers, who are willing to patiently work to understand where I'm coming from, even if I've "misplaced" my patience. They value the person that I am, and they are interesting in getting to know that person. They have shared their yams and porridge, helped me run errands (I don't know how I would have navigated the immigration office by myself), valued my input, and they don't give me special or preferential treatment (which gets old really fast if you're a white person in Africa, believe it or not). They even ate the mystery "cake" that I put in front of them without questioning (read on, and you shall see...)
• I am thankful for the work I get to do here, which combines the skills God has given me with an equal number of skills that I didn't know existed or that I actually had, but I guess that's a nice surprise! I also have to laugh because this is not my first job that has brought me inadvertently close to a lot of strangers' weddings (although that's not all that my job entails, it may or may not be my favorite part).
• I am thankful that God has provided a place to live which will also keep me in close contact with my host family--my apartment is above their house! I am looking forward to being more independent in my new living situation.
• I am thankful for you, because you have taken the time to read my blog, and many of my readers have also prayed and taken the time to send encouraging messages, which absolutely makes my day!
• I am also thankful for the cool breeze that is coming in the window right now, which makes me forget how hot it is and that the power is out. And for ceiling fans. And air conditioning. Let's be honest.

Can I just tell you about my week?? :D

Guys, it happened. I made pumpkin pie from scratch. My host family was baffled when I tried to pronounce the French word for "pumpkin" (in my defense, they still didn't know it when I wrote it out on paper). But when I googled a picture to show them, my host mom said "Ah, I know a market that sells that!" So on Sunday after church, she took me in her car, and I bought three little pumpkins.

My host family doesn't have an oven, but my co-worker Carole had invited me to come to her house on Monday night to use hers. So after work, I gathered my ingredients and we got to work.

I had never made a pumpkin pie before but the process was pretty straight-forward. I didn't expect to break such a sweat while peeling the pumpkins, but I'll blame that on the heat. It helped to have Carole, Vivienne, Carole's aunt Lily, and Carole's two children to lend a hand. To be quite honest I had no idea whether the pie was going to turn out or crash and burn, but it just felt really good to be making the effort. Without American measuring cups and only a sliver of baking experience that would be relevant for the task ahead, we prettymuch estimated all of the measurements, and I tried to say "That looks about right" with as much false confidence as I could.

Well a few hours after we started, we pulled out a couple of "about right"-looking pies from the oven, and I don't know about Carole, but I was dying with anticipation to taste it and see if it had worked, but we had to wait until the next day, when we would share it with the rest of the Wycliffe office.

Across from me is Carole's aunt Lily

DONE!!

Carole and I and the finished product :)

"Kate has brought a special cake to share with everyone," was the announcement made before the coffee break the next day. If I'm perfectly honest, I was so anxious to see if it had turned out right, I didn't even wait to see if anyone else had taken a bite before I tasted my piece. In hindsight, perhaps that was "gauche", but since I really didn't know if the recipe had worked, I'd say the "taking the first bite to check for poison" excuse was pretty valid in this situation, wouldn't you?

Anyway, they really liked it! Ugh, GUYS, I could have cried, I was so pleased! I smuggled a portion home for my host family to enjoy, too :)

They like it!! (Olivier, me, Paulin, and Yvon) 

The other exciting piece of news is that my new apartment is finished! I have been ready to move into a bigger and more independent space for a while. But I had a strong feeling that before I even slept there, I should first invite friends over to pray for the apartment, to commission it as a sanctuary for the time I am here and for its future tenants (because it will probably be used for future Wycliffe interns and visitors). So on Thursday of this week, a number of my co-workers took a field trip out to my finished apartment, where we prayed and prayed for God's blessings to rest on that place and for his Spirit to fill it up.

I felt very lucky to have such amazing co-workers, who went out of their way in the middle of the day to do something so special for me. :) Here is a photo of almost everyone that made it (Paulin and Oliver were taking the pictures)

Daniel, Papa Tebe, Carole, me (can you tell I tried to dress for Thanksgiving?), Mathieu, Gerard, and Lucas 

Carole and me

Paulin said, "Let's get a picture of the Wycliffe Benin Multimedia Department!"

That's all for November, friends. Thank you again for your prayers and support. Here are a few more prayer requests:

Please continue to pray for this organization, that God would continue to inspire every work we undertake, and that he would continue to guard us against any conflict and misunderstanding.

You can pray for me, because that God would continue to push me further, and keep me motivated and patient, especially with myself.

Please continue to pray for translation projects in progress around Benin.

Pray for safe travels for my host mother Martine, as she was visiting family in northern Benin and will be heading home this weekend, perhaps today.

Blessings to each of you this holiday season!

November News

Thank you so much for your continued prayers during the past months. God has heard and has been so faithful. Here's what's been going on since my last update!

I spent a lot of time in October working with a colleague to plan literacy videos which we will hopefully be shooting over the course of the next few months. These videos will be used in areas of Benin where it pertains to the language group in question: Saxwe (SAH-hweh) in the southwest, Idaasha (ee-DAH-tcha) in central Benin, and Fon in much of southern Benin (Cotonou is in this region). The Idaasha and Saxwe videos are geared towards people who already know how to read and write in French, but who have never learned to read and write in their native/regional language. The Fon video is for those who have never learned to read or write in any language. Shooting these videos will involve traveling to the region where each language is spoken to record a native speaker teaching the lessons. We would definitely appreciate prayers for a smooth production process, safe travels, and that God would use the finished products to empower his people and that he would touch their hearts in new ways as they learn to read the scripture for themselves. I will update when we know our specific travel dates.

In addition, we are also preparing to shoot interviews with a number of Wycliffe Benin personnel and partners about the work and impact of Wycliffe. This video will go on the Wycliffe Benin website, which recently underwent an update. We plan to begin shooting the interviews this week. Again, we would appreciate prayers for a smooth production process, and for God to use these videos to raise positive awareness for the work and impact of Wycliffe Benin.

Finally, we made an advertisement for renting out our multimedia services (e.g., filming weddings, recording radio ads, editing footage, etc.) We've already heard back from several people who would like us to film their weddings this year! In Benin, they have the equivalent of the bridal shower about a week before the wedding (that's also when the bride's father gets to decide whether he's going to let the man marry his daughter--no pressure or anything!), then most couples have both a civil marriage (at town hall) and a religious marriage (in their church). This past week, we got to film the bridal shower, the civil marriage, and the religious marriage for a couple. Congratulations Brice and Dorcas! Here are a few of the photos we took (all from the religious marriage):

The traditional choir

The "westernized" choir

The receiving line after the wedding (stretching all the way around the sanctuary!)

You don't know them, but why not send up a prayer for God to bless their marriage and bear fruit through their union?

And I almost forgot! *drum roll* Wycliffe Benin Multimedia services now has its own logo. It will go at the beginning of Wycliffe Benin's videos. We animated it so it goes *swoosh!*

What do you think? Pretty nifty, huh? Before you know it we'll be making cool jackets. B)

Wycliffe Benin is currently constructing a new headquarters, one that will have more space and be better suited for the work that the staff does to oversee the translation teams around Benin. The money that we make from filming events goes towards funding the construction of the headquarters. We can always use prayers for God to continue to oversee and provide for the material needs of that project!

Don't be deceived, dear readers, into thinking that every passing day I spend here is action-packed and productive. I'm not saying this to disappoint, I'm just saying that we also spend a fair amount of time in the media studio between projects, waiting for videos to finish and export, or waiting for interviewees to respond to our emails. There are days when I come home feeling like I've accomplished nothing important the entire day. Coming off of 4 years of college where I filled my schedule to the brim, and a few summers working as a camp counselor, spending so much time doing so little can be hard for me to stomach with a smile. (It's especially great when I choose to relax by reading rather than sleeping during the siesta, and my co-workers tell me I didn't relax. I love receiving feedback on my relaxation habits, as you can imagine.) Long story short, I can get seriously antsy when there is nothing to do.

But then I'm reminded that sometimes, just maybe, God has bigger things on his mind than video production, and I need to acknowledge that in the moments when I have "nothing to do", God still wants to use me. Instead of thinking of things I wish I could accomplish, what if I focused instead on the person before me, and how I can inject God's love into my interactions? For example, with the co-worker who pops into the studio to say hi, with the woman who stops by on her moto every day to sell lunch, with the woman who sweeps the floors in the office, with my host sisters at home.

"And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him through God the father."
Colossians 3:17

I invite you, my readers, to keep me accountable about this. Ask me about the recent opportunities I've had to live out Colossians 3:17 in my life. Or if this verse strikes a chord for your in your life right now, tell me about your experience! I always enjoy your comments and feedback. It's not often that I see any other non-Africans (let alone Americans) around in the office, and even then it's for relatively short periods. My co-workers are amazingly supportive, and I love spending time with them, but they are not always aware of my need to process things and "talk it out", which is something I need more often than not (and ideally in English, plz and thanks). If you ever doubted that your words make a difference, I can honestly say that they do. :) So thank you!

Not related, but I took this on a walk in my neighborhood :)

I hope to put up at least one more post before the end of November. In the meantime, if you have any question, prayer requests, or fun Thanksgiving recipe ideas (that don't involve ovens or microwaves) please feel free to leave them in the comments, or you can send me an email (kapitchford@gmail.com) or a FB message!

Yvon is Back!

Last week at the office, everyone was excited for Yvon's return from Accra, Ghana, where he had been away for a month-long English course. Welcome home, Yvon!

Upon his return, he specifically asked me to convey his thanks to all my readers who prayed over his travel and studies. He really appreciates your support! His studies went very well, he said, and he learned a lot. He also asks for your continued prayers as he pursues his TOEFL, a certificate of English proficiency that would allow him to study in any English speaking country. One of his biggest wishes is to study theology in an English-speaking country.

The studio

Me, Mariette, and Paulin (with the state of Michigan making a cameo appearance) working in the Wycliffe Benin studio in October. We just moved in all the media equipment from the old headquarters about a month ago!

One for the bucket list, and then some

Like my last post, this one comes with a soundtrack, because most things in life are better with music. I gave this one two songs, because you might just need both songs to get through the whole post. That means you'll have to press play two separate times, but I think you'll survive. ;)

As I had mentioned in a previous post, last week Wycliffe Benin welcomed visitors from Wycliffe Netherlands for a visit. They had specifically come to see the Idaasha translation project in Dassa, Benin, which they support financially. The group consisted of 2 Wycliffe Netherlands personnel and 4 guests who have donated towards the project. Through their visit they were able to see firsthand the work they have been supporting, give the translation team their blessing in prayer, and bring back photos and footage to show their churches the work that they are supporting.

Here's what we did while they were here!

If I may draw your attention to a previous post, I had mentioned on my bucket list that I wanted to visit the village of Ganvie. Well on October 8th, that's just what we did. It was the day after our Dutch visitors had arrived, and we all piled into 2 cars to drive northwest to a dock where we climbed into a boat and shoved off into Lac Nokoué (Nokoué Lake).

We were thoroughly enjoying the view in every direction. Meanwhile, the occasional fisherman would drift by... 

And then the village came into view. It got closer...

And closer...

Until there we were, in Ganvie.

And all we could say was, "Wow... is this real life? This place is incredible."

(For those of you that don't know, Ganvie is a village that is a few hundred years old, with about 30,000 inhabitants, built entirely on water. Their houses, stores, churches, mosques, restaurants, and all manner of public gathering places are on the water, supported by stilts. I can't even begin to imagine the creativity involved in constructing a place like this. We saw all ages of citizens poling and paddling boats of all sizes through the "streets". Boats would almost be a more important form of transportation than walking! Well, that and swimming. Can you imagine what it would be like to grow up here? Holy cow!)

 

So yeah, my job can be pretty awesome sometimes. It's almost as if God knows how to give good gifts to his kids. ;)
But seriously, God never stops giving good things to those who are ready to notice and say "thanks".
"You parents--if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him."
Matthew 7:9-11

Sunset back in Cotonou--we returned to the city by boat.

The next day, Carole, our Dutch visitors, our driver Eugene and I set out towards the north and arrived in Adja on a Thursday afternoon.

The view from my hotel room in Adja

Our final destination would be Dassa, the home of the Idaasha translation team, who are supported financially and prayerfully by Wycliffe Netherlands. However, we had the opportunity to visit the Adja team on our way up, so that is what we did. For many of our Dutch visitors and me, this was our first time visiting a translation site. I felt totally humbled to be interviewing with these faithful servants who have been dedicated to translating the Bible for so many years.

The Adja translation team in their office

Wycliffe Netherlands, the Adja team, and Carole

While we were in Adja, we were invited to the home of Nancy and Terry Sullivan, two Wycliffe missionaries who live and work in the area. They were happy to have the company (they said our group set a new record for the number of people to share a meal at their table), and we were all happy to have such welcoming and entertaining hosts! Nancy and Terry are very animated conversationalists, and I think I speak for everyone when I say there was never a dull moment in their presence.

  

The Sullivans' helper Louise had prepared a splendid (and also very American, to my not-so-secret delight) meal: spaghetti with tomato sauce, garlic bread, and salad--salad!--with *ah!* ranch dressing!

I never expected to be so elated at the sight of ranch, but then again not too long ago I never expected to be in Benin, so I decided to have my moment with the ranch dressing.

Scripture review meeting

The next day, we moved on to Dassa, where we met with the Idaasha translators, as well as their entire team of reviewers--those who help to refine the translation and check for theological correctness, cultural relevancy, etc. They involve members of many of the local churches, and of all denominations. Evangelical, Catholic, Assembly of God, and so on, they were all represented, all sitting around the same table, all actively involved in producing a Bible translation that would change the lives of each of their congregations. It was an amazing thing to witness.

The whole Netherlands gang

The Idaasha translation is also what I will be helping to record, with my colleague Paulin, to make a sort of "Bible on tape". Before I arrived, they had already recorded the book of Mark, and we will eventually get to record Hebrews and Acts, which are also finished. The next step for them is to put the Mark recording onto memory cards, which people can then purchase and put into their phones to listen to Mark being read aloud. These memory cards will be sold from the Wycliffe office in Dassa.

The creativity and ingenuity with which this team strives to bring the word of God to the Idaasha people is so encouraging, and it's amazing to think about how lives will be changed because of these simple ideas and simple devices. It was also very cool to see our partners from Wycliffe Netherlands engaging with the Idaasha team, and they left with a much better picture of the important work that they are supporting. The translators, in turn, were so happy and encouraged to meet people from a different part of the world who were so excited about the work that they were doing. It seems apparent that God used this visit to accomplish good things in all directions!

(Oh, and I got my very first official Wycliffe t-shirt! It says "Wycliffe Netherlands", but I went to Hope College, so that's still mostly accurate... Go Dutch!)

The following day, Saturday, we spent exploring more of Dassa, with the expert help of Prosper, another Wycliffe missionary who is from the area. Unlike southern Benin, where the terrain is more flat, Dassa is surrounded by many hills. We got to do some climbing, and were rewarded with more than one amazing bird's eye view of the city.

The view from our hotel wasn't half bad either :)

Dassa sunset of the hills (which preceded an incredible lightning storm)

The following day, Sunday, we visited a church where Idaasha is spoken. The whole group sat in on a Sunday school class where teachers use a comic book called "Jesus the Messiah". It's a book the originated in the Netherlands, and has how been reproduced in many of Benin's indigenous languages. While they are still waiting for the finished New Testament, the comic book allows Christians to learn about the life of Jesus. Here's a photo from the classroom.