“How long have you been in Benin?” the lady at the guesthouse reception desk asked me in French. I processed her question and then answered, “Five months.”

“Oh, I thought you had been here a lot longer!” she said. “And who taught you to wear pagnes (pahn-yas)?” Pagnes are the wrap-around skirts (or pieces of fabric, rather) that most women in Benin wear. Feeling a bit insecure, I asked her if I was doing it right. “Yes, yes!” she exclaimed. “You look Beninese!”

What a compliment! Only the week before, I had complained to Jason about these frustrating skirts that hinder my usual strides and have to be securely fastened so they don’t open up and slide off.

Remembering the trouble I’d had in the beginning when we first got to Benin, I smiled, thinking of Elmire Badé. When we were together at the Africa Missionary Retreat, she patiently showed me how to stand while fastening the skirt around my waist, with my legs apart to ensure I would have room to walk.

The receptionist didn’t know the impact of her compliment on me. We have come to Benin to share Christ. In order to do that effectively, we need to come close to the people. I was so encouraged to hear that a simple thing like wearing pagnes like they do is helping to endear me to the people.

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