Nestor

Nestor is an old man who lives in the remote Kabiye village of Legue-Legue. Legue happens to be where I had my bonding experience during internship in 2003, and I spent alot of time with Nestor and his family during that time. That time mostly consisted of playing Mancala and drinking sollum, Nestor's two favorite pastimes. At the end of my stay in Legue, I traded Nestor an empty 1.5 liter water bottle and a DARE t-shirt for a handmade Mancala board, which is now one of my prized possessions.

On my trip in March, I was able to visit with Nestor once again. He had changed quite a bit, especially in the gray hair department, as you can see in this picture. Nestor has always been a nominal Christian. He has a disability with his legs due to a case of polio he had as a young man. He can hardly walk, so he doesn't really do much. He is a fiesty old guy who often comes to church meetings just to run his mouth and aggravate others.

So why am I blogging about Nestor? Because I genuinely like the guy. He is funny, energetic, inviting, hospitable, and just fun to be around. He doesn't possess all of the qualities I usually look for in friends, but I am still drawn to him nonetheless. Nestor to me is a testimony of how God bridges gaps between all things. My barriers with Nestor are linguistic, cultural, generational, and even personal. But I just like the guy! I can't help it, he is just a magnetic person for me. I look forward to spending more time with him come January. He was always helpful to me with language, and if nothing else, I think it would help me with culture shock to sit with Nestor outside his compound, play a little Mancala, drink a little sollum, speak a little Kabiye, and further a friendship that is only possible because God made it so.