Tuesday 25 November
It’s 15:56h, and I want to take a shower, go to bed and cry. I guess that means I have to write. The day is not over yet, but it’s been a challenge so far. We are still in the phase of explaining to people that the consultation days are Monday, Wednesday and Friday. We are doing triage, so we see who is urgent on days that are not planned for consultations, which also means we have to explain to people they won’t be helped today and that they have to return tomorrow or even on Friday. We did 11 consultations, and no organising yet, which was actually on the plan. Then there was this one girl. Young girl. Supposedly she’s 25, but she looks younger. She was carried in by her dad and uncles. And her family behind her. They put her on the bed, and she was with her mouth wide open, and her full body in a spasm. She was moaning some sounds out. Not known words. The family explained that she was arguing with her mother, and then she started spasming and entering this state. It wasn’t a convulsion. It didn’t take long for me to start praying. Right after they said what had happened, actually. I don’t believe this had anything to do with her physical health. Mamadu checked her blood pressure and pulse, and we checked her temperature. Not much more we can check here. I kept praying in myself, and she kept getting calmer. Her full body was okay, no cuts or anything physical to see. I asked Mamadu to speak to her, to see if she was responsive, and she was. Slowly, but there. She could follow instructions as well. I kept praying as we continued. Then I felt as if none of the interventions we were doing would help. I checked if her body had any amulets. I couldn’t feel or find any. I continued in prayer, in English, out loud. I asked all the men to leave the room, which was the only people there at that moment. I spoke her name, moved her face to look at me, and started speaking to her in English, praying over her. She nodded along and looked like she responded and understood when I told her I would pray in English. I prayed for her freedom. For her healing. I checked again for amulets on her full body; I felt something was there, somewhere, but couldn’t find it. Then my eyes fell on her hair, her head; she had an amulet braided in her hair. When I saw it, it made me angry. I couldn’t help it; I can’t explain. I got sad and teared up and cut off the amulet. I put it together with the other amulet I had asked to remove today. I put them there so I could go burn them right after. I felt like that was it. That is what needed to be removed from the girl. I finished my prayer, and as she lay calmly on the bed, I went outside and told Mamadu what to translate. Explaining that I checked her body, and her body was fine. Explaining the only thing I did was remove the amulet. Explaining that the amulet is bad, and that we all believe in God. We all, as in, them and me too. We need to trust God, not anything or anyone else. I told them to let the girl stay a bit longer, so she rests, and then for them to come to pick her back up later. But about 30 minutes later, she got up herself and said she wanted to go home. When we spoke to her, she said she felt fine, just a headache. I asked if she wanted to stay a bit longer and wait for her father to come and pick her up again, but she didn’t want to. She wanted to go home, and so she went. Again, about 30 minutes later, as I was treating a cut finger of one of the kitchen ladies, Mamadu the baker came. The girl’s uncle. He asked for the amulet back. I said it’s already gone. He asked for me to show him where so he could take it back home. I said I burned it. And I did. I had burned it right after I left the girl resting in the room. He was startled and then made a nervous smile, or one of disbelief. I asked, what were you going to do with it. He said he had to bring it back because the girl has a disease and the amulet was helping her. I told him, no, it was not. I said the amulet was bad. I said if they believe in God, they cannot also believe in something else. The amulets are a work of Satan. It doesn’t help, but it does harm. He listened, smiled and agreed. And then he didn’t ask again about the amulet. He helped translate from Portuguese to Fula for the lady whose finger I was treating, and then he left to go back home. After that, I came inside to finally eat; I hadn’t yet today. And as I sat down, almost ready to grab my phone and run away from this moment, run away from just sitting in His presence and talking to God, I stopped and said no. I wanted to take a shower, go to bed and sit and cry. And so I prayed. I took my laptop and started writing. Here I still am. In the meantime, about 4 visits either asking for a consultation or coming to say hi. One is waiting outside for me. An older man, with pain, so far I understood. I am waiting for Mamadu to come back so we can help him and then finally work a bit on organising the material. It’s now 17:14h and the golden hour has started. I take one more breath, one more prayer, and then I’ll go.
In the evening, before taking a shower, I had some comfort-snacks. The colourful ko’i lechi (a milk sweet) my sister made, lèter (peanut cookie), and a piece of djent’i kachó (a coconut sweet) I bought on Curaçao.
Wednesday 26 November
In the morning we had our half day of consultations. We planned to after lunch continue the organising, but after lunch one after the other person kept coming, and so we had another half day of consultation. Yap, a full day then.
With this cutest little patient called Yaguba, but Mamadu decided he is called Guya. A nickname now. While Mamadu took care of his leg with some bandages, I gave him some cookies, which he, in return, decided to share with Mamadu. A beautiful cycle with generous little Guya.
Around 18:00h, Gabriel calls Mamadu directly, right as we were finishing the last consultation. He wanted to check in because the news had come in, around the world, that the military in Guiné-Bissau, due to the election, took over the command. An overthrow. A coup d’état. “The world” knew, and we, in tiny Tabanane, did not. The first seconds I thought “oh”, my heart stopped for two or three beats, and a short movie played in my head of a beginning war. But quickly that went away and there was calm again. Calm and attentively listening to Gabriel and Laura’s reassurance. They had a plan ready already, so that if I’d need to leave the country, there would be more than one way for me to leave and get back to Portugal. Amazing.
So then after the news we continued working. Mamadu and I were talking about the coup, and I asked if there was any news passing by online about it that he’d seen. He then explained that he actually had heard before Gabriel had called, but was afraid to tell me so I don’t get scared. Very kind of him. I told him I wasn’t scared, that he doesn’t have to worry. I’ll sleep fine and I won’t cry to go back home. And so I guess, the world ánd tiny Tabanane knew, expect me. Haha.
I finished the day treating myself with fries and never-too-much sauce, and my last chocolate wafer my friend Tânia gave me before coming to Guiné Bissau.
Thursday 27 November
5:30h on point I wake up. I think a bit about what I dreamed and then open my eyes and check my phone, 5:31h. And so I turn on the lights. Let’s start devotion time. Prayer. Studying a chapter in my Women’s Study Bible (USA) [Portugal + Nederland].
5:38h and 5:39h, a prayer call goes off. At least I believe it’s a prayer call. But just one call, and it stops.
5:56h, the call starts again till 5:58h. Prayer call again? Not the full prayer though, maybe just calling the people to go to the mosque? I’m not sure. I’ll ask Mamadu later.
6:13h till 6:15h, again the call goes off.
8:31h, cleaning my nose, wiping my tears, as I just finished writing But Yahweh Remains Faithful. I read the verses and one of the promises I read daily, and like that finish the devotion time by 8:49h. Now, send some messages on WhatsApp, shower and tidy.
Well, not simply “tidy”, Mamadu and I did a few hours of organising. We took all the clothes to be donated out and sorted them. Men, women, boys, girls, babies and healthcare products.
Then, right before we were about to stop, around 14:30h, Asamao came to bring me lunch. As both Mamadu and Ramatulai were there helping me, Mamadu with the sorting, Ramatulai washing clothes and sheets to use tomorrow during consultations, we stopped for the day and sat and had lunch together. Then after we ate, Mamadu went home, and Ramatulai and I went to the village to get to know the whole area. We walked a lot! I should’ve put on the Nike Run Club app, but didn’t. Next time I will! Now I’m curious how many km’s I could do there. We saw a lot of people. A lot of families. All were so welcoming and wanted me to sit for a bit. They all took out their best chairs and their biggest smiles. And they all laughed at me when I said good afternoon in Fula: “Tanan Njalane!”. A lot of giggles, but all enjoyed I tried. Everyone was grateful for the visit. I got a lot of lemons, oranges, and even passionfruit. And I explained to many the benefits of the lemon leaves, and that eating fruits every day could bring them the daily vitamins they need. Everyone listened and was so interested.
It’s beautiful seeing how the people of Tabanane live, and the children play. Babies chilling with dogs. Young girls petting donkeys. Kids running with tyres and keeping them in motion by hitting them with a stick. Daughters carrying home rice on their heads. Climbing roofs to pick passionfruit. Women gathering to together mash grain into flour. They call it pilar, the mashing part.
In the garden of one of the teachers called Malam, we saw this beautiful twist of fate. Two trees of my favourite fruit growing very closely to each other, twisting into what looks like one. These seeds might have been buried right next to each other. Maybe even at the same time. So beautiful to see.
Ramatulai and I were going to play Ludo, but it started getting late, and so we both went home. She brought me home first, came in for a cup of water and went home after.
I cleaned the bathroom and started cooking. Mamadu arrived right as I had started. I burned the food a bit, but we both still had our dinner. A piece of bread and a hard-boiled egg on the side. I told Mamadu this is not my best dish. Today would be leftovers put together into one. And it wasn’t that bad, but definitely not the best. Haha. Mamadu even said my okra pieces were horrible. “Horrível” was his exact word. Hahah. I forgive him.
A colourful sunset and a starry tent, and it’s just right to call it a night.
Umaru just came right when Mamadu was leaving. They continued chatting outside, and I went in to take a shower, so I closed everything off right away. Again, some time answering messages and then an early bedtime, because tomorrow another long day and early wake at 5:30h.
Friday 28 November
This morning the devotional drove me into action. Into wanting to gather a small prayer group, where each day there would be a person or a couple praying for me and my mission. I love my Women’s Study Bible (USA) [Portugal + Nederland] so much. I love God’s sovereignty even more. How perfectly these chapters, studies and experiences are to me and what I am living right now. And how beautifully this study Bible explains it all. Take a look with me.
“The walk of faith is a balanced blend of prayer and action. Nehemiah prayed and then put his request before the king (Neh. 2:4, 5); he prayed and then “set a watch” (Neh. 4:9). He exhorted the people to “remember the Lord… and fight” (Neh. 4:14).
The opposition of enemies and spiritual warfare are inevitable when people are doing the work of God. Satan’s purpose is to destroy God’s people and God’s work. Satan’s tactics as seen in Nehemiah include: ridicule, slander, opposition from within and without, and physical threat. Nehemiah combated these tactics with continual prayer, single-mindedness, wisdom, and righteous living. God’s people in every age must employ these same weapons.
Becoming entrapped by sin through compromise (such as intermarriage with unbelievers) is easy, but escaping from that sin and its conseqences can be difficult (see, for example, Tobiah’s room in the temple, Neh. 13:4, 5).”
After my devotional, I took a nice shower and started the day. I woke up feeling a bit tired, slow and like a flu is coming. This might be connected with the inflamed lymph nodes I felt yesterday morning. They are still inflamed. A bit painful, but still okay. I’ll continue taking my vitamins and supplement mixes. Every morning I have started drinking one multivitamin and a cup of what I’d like to call Power Tea, which includes: moringa, spirulina, ashwagandha, oregano and a bit of lemon juice. Not being able to get all the nutrients I normally eat, I thought this would be a good way for me to stay strong and still get them in some way. Normally my diet is made out of fruit, vegetables, porridge or yoghurt, granola and sometimes either chicken or fish. And when I’m craving, I get myself whatever I want: fast food, chocolate, chips, ice cream. I love eating, and “keeping a diet” is definitely not part of my vocabulary. But thankfully both my parents love eating healthy, and so I was brought up loving it too. Here, on the other hand, I am not eating a lot of fresh things like usual. Hopefully, along the way I will find more that grows here and which I can eat fresh.
Another morning of consultations today. Mamadu and I filmed a short video as well. Day 4 practically we did today, as we also did some consultations on Tuesday. Next week we do plan to continue with the 3-day consultations schedule. Let’s see how that goes. We helped 17 people today in about 4,5 hours. A good day. In the afternoon I had my check-up call with the Diazes. And an early evening to rest and enter tomorrow in my Sabbath. Yay!
Saturday 29 November
Today was a hard day. My plan was to rest the whole day. I was looking forward to it. Finally, a day alone again. Nobody here. Just me and God. Staying in bed, doing my devotional, eat, sleep and watch something comforting. So I can refuel. Refuel, refresh, recharge and get ready for another week. But… the lovely people of Tabanane had other plans. They wanted to come and check on me. See how I was. But as they found everything closed, they knocked, knocked and knocked. “Kong kong!” — that’s how they knock on the door. Not actually knocking, physically, with their hands, no. They say the knock out loud. Kong kong. Can you hear it? Now hear it about 50 times. Not 50 people. At least, I don’t think so. But many times, groups of people came. Kids, adults. Anyone. Came to say hi and thus said their kong kong’s for sure 50 times. At first, I thought, “Let me respond and explain.” But then I thought, how? How will I explain if they don’t understand Portuguese? Mamadu is not here. Google Translate won’t help. So then I thought, “Okay, I’ll stay quiet; maybe they will understand and leave”. But I then started to feel guilty. And it kept getting worse and worse. Do they understand this resting day? I did explain it, but certainly not everyone heard, and it’s not news to be spread, of course. Do I try and say something either way? Do I call Mamadu? What do I do? Then Mamadu calls me himself. To check in. But also, to say that he is outside and asking if I could open the door. With little will and much annoyance, I do. And my heart breaks. There is Mamadu with a present for me. Food. Now humbled, I thank him. I tell him a bit about the people that came by and me not being able to explain to them that I am resting. He said he’ll talk to the kids. I go back to bed. Rest. But then I heard steps entering the garden. Did someone just enter there? I hear more steps. “Kong kong!” And the windows fly open. There I lay in my short pyjamas, looking up to 2 startled kid faces. As I hurry to get up and out of the tent, I send the kids off with short Portuguese words and many pointing hand gestures to go back home. “Hoje descanso.” Today I rest, is what it means. But did I really? I was happy when it was night again, when normally I would get bummed because the resting day would almost be over. Tonight, I was happy it was.
Today? Today was a hard day.
Sunday 30 November
Early morning, and Mamadu arrives to help prepare for our first community activity. While we prepare, I tell what happened yesterday and request that we explain better what a full resting day means to me. I know the people of the village love greeting and welcoming the volunteers that come to serve them. I explained that this time, it is not someone staying for a short period like they normally do: 4-5 days, maybe 1 week. One time, a lady stayed for a month. But this time, I will be with them for 6 months. And my serving time will not only be being present with them, nor just my project, but I will also be serving in health care and doing activities with different groups of people, thus more activities in total. And I am so excited for it all! But from experience, I do know I need proper rest every week to be able to pour well into every person I encounter. Thus, respecting the Sabbath. Respecting my body. Respecting God’s creation of a resting day for us. Mamadu said he will tell the people about me resting every Saturday. Let’s see how it goes next week.
The HOPE Fair. My first community activity! I’m super excited and so grateful for all the helpers. Mamadu my buddy, Mamadu the baker, João, and the ladies Codo, Aishatu and Salimatu. The clothes we have been taking out of the storage room during the week, we have been preparing and separating them into categories. Women, men, children and babies. When I say we, I mean Mamadu and I. Then today we turned the school cafeteria into a “fair” or market. We used the tables to fold out the clothes and also some leftover healthcare and cosmetic products. I found some plastic coloured chips we handed out to every person waiting outside in the line as an entrance ticket, which they then exchanged for one piece of clothing inside the fair. HOPE Fair. With, of course, the Hope for Fulanis pun in it.
After the Hope Fair we tidied, and I made pumpkin pancakes. Arepa di pampuna, a typical dish on our island Curaçao, which I often make when I am abroad. This time though, I saw something for the very first time. Something that left me flabbergasted, actually. It was preposterous. Mamadu asked for mayonnaise on his pancakes. WHAT?! I love mayonnaise, but on pancakes?! A big no-no. But I forgave him. Again. And he genuinely enjoyed it.
Mamadu padeiro (the baker) brought this round bread. Warm and fresh. I don’t remember its name, but I took a bite of it straight away. Later I had more with some soup I made. No getting sick over here, so it was filled with onions and garlic. Also some potatoes left still, so I threw them in there too.
Monday 1 December
New week, new month, fresh start! Starting with morning consultations and another cutest little patient, who at first was afraid of me, then a bit shy smiling with me from afar and finally when I gave him a bag of chips became my friend, haha. It was a good consultation day, we keep spreading the news about our 3 days a week, and we noticed people coming from other villages as well.
After some lunch we had our first class today! Yayy! The training has officially started. Six weeks of training three volunteers into health care agents. Where which they will be able to give basic preventive advices, basic health care and be able to recognise which cases can be treated in the village, which need to be referred to a health care center and which need to be referred to a hospital. Very basic, very simple, but can have a major impact on the village of Tabanane and even surrounding villages! Today we started with hygiene: how to wash our hands and when do we wash our hands. Mamadu, Aishatu and Salimatu were present, and their babies Fatumata and Abdul as well. I gave them their student-starter-kit and some rules and guidances about the classes. For example, the importance of time and respecting each other’s time. We also read the introduction of the manual I created for them and started reading the first module. They also gave a word about how grateful they are for this opportunity and for investing in them. They were very very grateful. The class went very well and we are all excited for the next!
After class Mamadu and I did a little walk, saying hi to some people and passing by Asamao’s house. We then also went to Mamadu’s house and took some pictures that the sister and brother-in-law of Gabriel had asked for for their project. The kids enjoyed the tiny photoshoot, haha. All smiles. After that, Mamadu brought me home, where right away I cooked, showered, ate and slept. Tomorrow a new day.
Thank you for joining this journey and taking your time to be here! I will do my best to update you every week. I also film a lot of shots of my experience, so if you want to see the videos, you can follow @tashmness on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.
Thank you for reading, danki di kurason.
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Tashmness. 
i really loved this writing … and the pictures… amazing. Please keep sharing
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