We Are One Family

Justine is on mission in Senegal.

It was a big gift to spend one week outside the bustle of life in Arafat, in a place where time moves along at the pace of a donkey, not the pace of a motorcycle. I was touched again by how close to the land everyone lives, how much life follows the weather. They are aware that everything is Providence: God willing, sobe yallah, there is rain and they will be able to live more comfortably until the next year.

I spent some hours with Bernard, Ephie’s uncle, in the peanut fields and was struck by how much he loves his work. One late afternoon after a huge rain, we went out just to “check on the field” and yet we spent a good 20 minutes weeding, in companionable silence. A moment of real peace: the cool air, everything, if possible, even greener than before. After we were quite thoroughly soaked and muddy, we stopped and he said in his soft voice, “Justine? Thank you. You could’ve stayed in the city where life is easier, but instead you came all the way to the village and you weeded the peanut fields with us. We are one family, Justine. You will always be welcome here as one of us.” He was right; I really felt as if I belonged.