Lindsey in her Traditional Congolese Clothing! 
Lindsey with the Ladies of A-S! 
Monday, March 18, 2013
International Women’s Day was March 8th. Of course in the States we have Mother’s Day, but I am not entirely sure why we have not implemented celebrating Women’s Day with other women all over the world! Perhaps it was lost because we believe so highly in equality among men and women (yeah, yeah, I am not saying we shouldn’t or that it’s a bad thing)…I am only saying that maybe now we no longer want anyone to remember that we are WOMEN. We have been so determined to bring equality; we can no longer celebrate Women’s Day, without having Men’s Day…so, while other ladies in the world had Friday off from work, America was still was rushing about their day, working as hard as they can to get as much done before their weekend! You know what ladies you are missing out!
Let me tell you about my day! Blake came home from the office Thursday, saying “Lindsey I have a surprise for you. I have a bag of clothes from the ladies in the office, and they said to wear them to the office tomorrow and be there by 9am! You are going to celebrate International Women’s Day!”. When we first started our work overseas 3+ years ago…these types of surprise events made me a little uncomfortable because it’s an awkward situation. You likely know 3 or 4 people…but the language is a barrier…you sit and listen to conversations, not actually knowing what is being said, you smile and nod, clap along, and miss the obvious social cues as to when you are supposed to stand or sit, close your eyes and pray, or greet the person next to you. 3 years later…although the awkwardness is still there at times, I have grown to LOVE these events! To be invited to an event like this is a big deal. It’s a big deal to the ladies inviting me…they have spent time making clothes, and purchasing fabrics (which is not cheap considering most of them make less than $1/day), and it’s a big deal to me, because it means I have been accepted among the ladies in the community.
After evaluating my clothes (which was a wrap skirt with only 1 tie string), a very puffy shirt with ruffles and an extra fabric piece (that is used sometimes as a head wrap, or to tie a baby on your back, or many other options), my morning began. I should note that the fabric had a picture of a lady and said “Modern Woman” as well as the date of March 8th, and International Women’s Day written on the fabric. After struggling to wrap the skirt (which was too long) around my waist enough times to secure my 1 tie string to another bunch of fabric to ensure that it didn’t fall off me or come untied, figuring exactly how MY extra fabric piece was intended to be used, and trying to climb up onto our moto in my now (really tight) skirt, we headed to town! We are about a 20 minute ride from our house to the office, so I got claps and cheers, from our friends during the drive, since I was clearly in place with my Congolese clothes but out of place with my extra pale skin and red hair! By the time we arrived at the office, some ladies were already gathering, but one of the ladies pulled me aside to re-tie my skirt, because it was not centered with a certain picture on the front to match exactly how everyone else was wearing their skits!
After I was fully clothed and was looking good, and after the other ladies arrived, it was time to start the service! We sang and danced, prayed, had a small devotional, and ate lunch together. During the service, there was one lady that speaks a little English that translated some of what was being said and another lady that translated some to French (the service was in Lingala):
· We thanked the Lord for the past year, keeping us safe and healthy.
· We thanked the Lord for making us women.
· We confessed our sins and asked for forgiveness.
· We prayed for our husbands.
· We prayed for knowledge to discern how to be pure and righteous (Philippians 1: 3-11)
· We prayed for the ladies in Eastern Congo that are currently being affected by war.
· We prayed for all the ladies across the world, specifically those that do not yet know the Lord.
· We prayed for each other.
There were some moments that I felt like an intruder. There were some very intimate moments in the prayer, and since I couldn’t understand everything that was being said, I felt a little strange being a part of it, but I knew I could pray without understanding and I did just that.
I said before that we sang and danced. There was such joy in the room, and it was so fun to watch. There is one song that all the ladies put their purses on their heads and dance around in a circle…I found out later the song was saying to Pharaoh, we are packing our bags and leaving, you have to let us go…you can’t keep us here. It just made me smile knowing, we have songs similar with hand motions and we have a lot of fun singing them as kids, but what joy it was to sing this song together as grown adults!
Eventually the service came to a close, we shared a meal together and said our goodbyes. But what fun that day was! I had the opportunity to meet the wives of the translators, and I had the chance to meet other ladies in the town and community. It was a great feeling to have been invited to participate in such an important event. I now know that I have been in Gemena long enough to say that I have friends! As my communication increases, so will the relationships! I did all of this, while Blake was stuck inside working! See, it does pay to be women! Ladies, embrace this! We get to support our husbands by being their wives.