An overview of the Past while:
Saturday the 28th was a long but fun day! Since it was the last Saturday of the month we did our widows distributions. I helped Jean and Winessa prepare the sacks of grain and load them into the truck. The bags are not light at all. I can pick it up and carry it to the truck, but Winessa can pick it up and carry it on her head. I don’t know the exact weight of the bags but i estimate they weigh about 70pounds (give or take). (I think each sack is really a third of a full sack, and a full sack is 100kg... anyways). I neglected to wear sunscreen, which turned out to be a big mistake. It’s not that I didn’t think about it- I did. But I hadn’t put on sunscreen in probably a couple weeks, so I wasn’t worried about it. But I spent a lot of time in direct sunlight and by the time I was back at the house I was bright red all over. After a quick rest, and the chance to get some of the dirt off my face before heading off to a soccer match. Our primary school boys invited us to their game and we were happy to go support them. The game was in sector 4, which you would think would be beside us (sec tor 3) but it’s on the other side of town. It was a good 45 minute walk at the hottest part of the day. By the time we got to the field I was ready to take a nap! I noticed, however, there was no shade to speak of at the field and so was more than a little disappointed... Fortunately the boys decided to warm up near a big tree a bit of a walk from the field, so I sat down for a little rest while they warmed up.As the game started we found a place to watch, and decided to sit down since we were so tired. I thin the heat must make me tiered faster, because it hadn’t been a particularly long day. But soon as we sat down the boys told us we needed back, we were too close to the field. So up we got, and moved back. Then just after sitting down, Achille, one of the boys came to find us, requesting we come sit down by the goal instead of on the sideline.Maybe it’s just me, but cheering by the goal seems to be very African. Or at least I don’t remember people doing it at home like they do here. Huge crowds will cheer by their teams goalie (I would think they’d want to be somewhere else to have a better view of the game, but it’s really the place to be apparently.) The level of skill at this game astonished me. Don’t get me wrong, everyone here can play. But these kids are young, and playing a fabulous game of soccer. When they would head the ball, they would direct it towards a team mate, they would trap the ball with a single foot in the air... I watched amazed. These kids were playing on a dirt field (note the picture above) in bare feet, but they didn’t mind. Our team won 2-0 and each time they scored a goal they would run back to our goal, doing cartwheels and cheering all the way. After the game a huge crowd of children went running through the field and down the street cheering & dancing to celebrate the victory.
Sunday March 1Church was a blast! I chose to sit with one our girls Yolande in the congregation as opposed to my regular seat facing the congregation. It was so much easier to follow along with the songs when she was singing moore loud right beside me. And when all the girls in the row were dancing I followed along and danced like them too. (I figured I could either stand there and look foolish, or dance and look foolish, and at least dancing is more fun! And then too I’m making an effort to do as they do.) In the afternoon the final for the church league soccer game was on. Our church was eliminated the week before, but we decided to go anyways. We knew a lot of our kids would be at the game, and we thought it would be good to be there. The game was a huge deal! There were tents and seats set up for some guests. Liz and I had a seat- which was nice because we got shade! There was on opening ceremony before the game where several people gave speeches, and prayed before the match. Thenthe game started. Before the ceremony started I watched them watering down the field. At first I thought it was kind of funny, but then realized it makes a lot sense. When you play on a dirt field a lot of dust gets stirred up, and so watering it down keeps the dust down. After the match we were invited to dinner at someone’s house. I don’t actually know whose house we ate at, but we had chicken and salad as well as drinks. I felt bad when I knocked over my Fanta, but then I realized no less than 3 Burkinabe had spilled their Fanta too, so I wasn’t so worried. On the walk home from l’Eglise Centrale we saw some street vendors cooking little dough cakes. We stopped and bought a couple and they were so good we bought a couple more from the next one we saw. Each one costs 5cfa (about 0.01$), and they’re served with Puma (a hot powdered spice), and salsa like mixture. We also sat down for a while with one of the street vendors while she grilled up some corn on the cob for us. They grill it without the husk, until the kernels are turning black and then serve it to wrapped in the husk again (50cfa). Delicious!
Tuesday I woke up not feeling well at all. Thus far I have evaded all sickness, but I knew it couldn’t last forever. Fortunately I wasn’t violently ill or anything, just tired, headachy and nauseous. I spent most of the day laying on the couch reading, or journaling. Adiara taught me how to make yogurt, which was fun, and surprisingly easy. Adiara is our new roommate. She’s tons of fun to live with, and she makes great meals. So far we’ve done a combination of us cooking American style food, and her cooking African dishes. She prepared Pommes Frites avec un Sauce aux Tomates (French Fries with tomato sauce- best lunch ever!) and Riz Sauce (rice with peanut sauce). We’ve introduced her to baguette pizza (baguette with vache qui rit, dipped in tomato sauce. It’s our version of pizza when we have limited ingredients.) and a couple other dishes.
Funny things from this week:Liz and I painted the entire baby play area- and for three days later had sore legs from all the up and down/ squatting and standing. However the play area looks great with a new coat of paint. I killed a cockroach. No big deal but I’d never seen one before. I was easy to kill once I trapped it, but hard to trap- those little guys are fast!
Joseph (one of the todders) likes to play this game where he squeezes my nose, and then I say a word. I’ll only talk when he squeezes my nose, and he loves it. Tinbnoma this week, reached up and squeezed my nose and I said something simple like “oui” then she signalled for me to squeeze her nose. She copied what I had said. We played the game for a good while, she copying all the words I’d give her, even attempting to say her own name! After a while she’d even attempt whole phrases like ca c’est un arbe.
Yesterday (Friday) we traveled into Ouagadougou. We’re here for FESPACO (an international film festival) and also just passing through on our way to Kongoussi. So far Ouaga has been an adventure in an of itself, let alone the film festival. Since we took the bus in yesterday morning, we took taxis around for the morning. At one point the taxis that picked us up really only had space for one more person, but picked up Liz and I, which meant I had to sit on Liz’s lap until someone else got out. We went to Marina Market, which sells American food. There we were able to buy cheese, crackers, pita bread (little things that make meals a little more interesting!). When we came out we saw a lady selling strawberries so we stopped to buy a few. We met a friend of Ruth’s, a Burkinabe business man, for lunch at the American Rec centre. He invited us to dinner also, but we declined because we had plans to see a film that evening. He told us he’d set aside the day for us, and couldn’t he at least tour us around Ouaga a bit? We agreed. He took us to his shop, to see his house that is being built, to meet his sister, and out for chicken flambé with a friend of his. It was the funniest tour of a city I’ve ever had, but I felt it was probably very African meeting family and seeing those things. I appreciated very much his kindness in wanting to show us around.
We went to FESPACO last night with a friend of hers from SIM. We had directions there, but one of the things we had watch for was the Lion. “Turn at the lion” they said. So we watched for the lion. Turns out there were roadblocks set up and we had to park the car and get out and walk. So we were walking towards the lion (or so we hoped.). The lion by the way was a statue- just in case any of you were wondering what i was talking about. At first i misheard and thought the instructions were to turn at the LINE and i thought that was a little sketchy, but quickly realized my mistake.
We did make it there. I hadn’t really experienced Ouaga’s nightlife before at all, since I’ve spent very little time in Ouaga. Walking down the road was a funny introduction. The traffic is just as hectic as it is during the day, except you have to watch even more for motos. There were men walking up and down the street selling just about everything, even blow up pools (pre blown up for your convenience!). I saw a blow up chair in the shape of a teletubby even.We saw a film from South Africa (so it was in English- refreshing!). The theatre was outside, which was really interesting. At first I thought we were inside, but then I looked up and saw stars..
We have a busy day planned today. All things going according to plan we will meet with a friend for lunch, see the FESPACO closing ceremonies, and then possibly see another film this evening. Tomorrow we will go to church here in Ouaga and then get on the bus to head out for the town where we’ll be staying to do Operation Christmas Child. I’m really excited for what the week ahead has to bring. However at the same time this coming week is full of unknowns. All I know about this coming week is that we will be working with Samaritan’s purse, and the name of the hotel we are staying at. Everything else is a mystery. I trust God has great plans for this week, but please pray for the week. Pray for safe travel, and if we travel around to surrounding villages that travelling will go well. Pray for good health for me as well as everyone else on the team. Please pray for me as I minister to the children, and show them God’s love. Pray that language would be no barrier when I have the opportunity to tell them about Jesus.
Many Blessings I’ll leave you with an excerpt from the Lorica. I read it recently and the whole piece is beautiful but the beginning part especially so. Here it is:
“I arise today through God’s strength to pilot me: God’s might to uphold me, God’s wisdom to guide me, God’s eye to look before me, God’s ear to hear me, God’s word to speak for me, God’s hand to huard me. Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise...”
Sunday March 1Church was a blast! I chose to sit with one our girls Yolande in the congregation as opposed to my regular seat facing the congregation. It was so much easier to follow along with the songs when she was singing moore loud right beside me. And when all the girls in the row were dancing I followed along and danced like them too. (I figured I could either stand there and look foolish, or dance and look foolish, and at least dancing is more fun! And then too I’m making an effort to do as they do.) In the afternoon the final for the church league soccer game was on. Our church was eliminated the week before, but we decided to go anyways. We knew a lot of our kids would be at the game, and we thought it would be good to be there. The game was a huge deal! There were tents and seats set up for some guests. Liz and I had a seat- which was nice because we got shade! There was on opening ceremony before the game where several people gave speeches, and prayed before the match. Thenthe game started. Before the ceremony started I watched them watering down the field. At first I thought it was kind of funny, but then realized it makes a lot sense. When you play on a dirt field a lot of dust gets stirred up, and so watering it down keeps the dust down. After the match we were invited to dinner at someone’s house. I don’t actually know whose house we ate at, but we had chicken and salad as well as drinks. I felt bad when I knocked over my Fanta, but then I realized no less than 3 Burkinabe had spilled their Fanta too, so I wasn’t so worried. On the walk home from l’Eglise Centrale we saw some street vendors cooking little dough cakes. We stopped and bought a couple and they were so good we bought a couple more from the next one we saw. Each one costs 5cfa (about 0.01$), and they’re served with Puma (a hot powdered spice), and salsa like mixture. We also sat down for a while with one of the street vendors while she grilled up some corn on the cob for us. They grill it without the husk, until the kernels are turning black and then serve it to wrapped in the husk again (50cfa). Delicious!
Tuesday I woke up not feeling well at all. Thus far I have evaded all sickness, but I knew it couldn’t last forever. Fortunately I wasn’t violently ill or anything, just tired, headachy and nauseous. I spent most of the day laying on the couch reading, or journaling. Adiara taught me how to make yogurt, which was fun, and surprisingly easy. Adiara is our new roommate. She’s tons of fun to live with, and she makes great meals. So far we’ve done a combination of us cooking American style food, and her cooking African dishes. She prepared Pommes Frites avec un Sauce aux Tomates (French Fries with tomato sauce- best lunch ever!) and Riz Sauce (rice with peanut sauce). We’ve introduced her to baguette pizza (baguette with vache qui rit, dipped in tomato sauce. It’s our version of pizza when we have limited ingredients.) and a couple other dishes.
Funny things from this week:Liz and I painted the entire baby play area- and for three days later had sore legs from all the up and down/ squatting and standing. However the play area looks great with a new coat of paint. I killed a cockroach. No big deal but I’d never seen one before. I was easy to kill once I trapped it, but hard to trap- those little guys are fast!
Joseph (one of the todders) likes to play this game where he squeezes my nose, and then I say a word. I’ll only talk when he squeezes my nose, and he loves it. Tinbnoma this week, reached up and squeezed my nose and I said something simple like “oui” then she signalled for me to squeeze her nose. She copied what I had said. We played the game for a good while, she copying all the words I’d give her, even attempting to say her own name! After a while she’d even attempt whole phrases like ca c’est un arbe.
Yesterday (Friday) we traveled into Ouagadougou. We’re here for FESPACO (an international film festival) and also just passing through on our way to Kongoussi. So far Ouaga has been an adventure in an of itself, let alone the film festival. Since we took the bus in yesterday morning, we took taxis around for the morning. At one point the taxis that picked us up really only had space for one more person, but picked up Liz and I, which meant I had to sit on Liz’s lap until someone else got out. We went to Marina Market, which sells American food. There we were able to buy cheese, crackers, pita bread (little things that make meals a little more interesting!). When we came out we saw a lady selling strawberries so we stopped to buy a few. We met a friend of Ruth’s, a Burkinabe business man, for lunch at the American Rec centre. He invited us to dinner also, but we declined because we had plans to see a film that evening. He told us he’d set aside the day for us, and couldn’t he at least tour us around Ouaga a bit? We agreed. He took us to his shop, to see his house that is being built, to meet his sister, and out for chicken flambé with a friend of his. It was the funniest tour of a city I’ve ever had, but I felt it was probably very African meeting family and seeing those things. I appreciated very much his kindness in wanting to show us around.
We went to FESPACO last night with a friend of hers from SIM. We had directions there, but one of the things we had watch for was the Lion. “Turn at the lion” they said. So we watched for the lion. Turns out there were roadblocks set up and we had to park the car and get out and walk. So we were walking towards the lion (or so we hoped.). The lion by the way was a statue- just in case any of you were wondering what i was talking about. At first i misheard and thought the instructions were to turn at the LINE and i thought that was a little sketchy, but quickly realized my mistake.
We did make it there. I hadn’t really experienced Ouaga’s nightlife before at all, since I’ve spent very little time in Ouaga. Walking down the road was a funny introduction. The traffic is just as hectic as it is during the day, except you have to watch even more for motos. There were men walking up and down the street selling just about everything, even blow up pools (pre blown up for your convenience!). I saw a blow up chair in the shape of a teletubby even.We saw a film from South Africa (so it was in English- refreshing!). The theatre was outside, which was really interesting. At first I thought we were inside, but then I looked up and saw stars..
We have a busy day planned today. All things going according to plan we will meet with a friend for lunch, see the FESPACO closing ceremonies, and then possibly see another film this evening. Tomorrow we will go to church here in Ouaga and then get on the bus to head out for the town where we’ll be staying to do Operation Christmas Child. I’m really excited for what the week ahead has to bring. However at the same time this coming week is full of unknowns. All I know about this coming week is that we will be working with Samaritan’s purse, and the name of the hotel we are staying at. Everything else is a mystery. I trust God has great plans for this week, but please pray for the week. Pray for safe travel, and if we travel around to surrounding villages that travelling will go well. Pray for good health for me as well as everyone else on the team. Please pray for me as I minister to the children, and show them God’s love. Pray that language would be no barrier when I have the opportunity to tell them about Jesus.
Many Blessings I’ll leave you with an excerpt from the Lorica. I read it recently and the whole piece is beautiful but the beginning part especially so. Here it is:
“I arise today through God’s strength to pilot me: God’s might to uphold me, God’s wisdom to guide me, God’s eye to look before me, God’s ear to hear me, God’s word to speak for me, God’s hand to huard me. Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise...”
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