Thank you so much for all of your prayers! I am safe and doing well! My travels went much smoother coming home than going to Burkina. Each of my planes were delayed; however, I was still able to catch each of my flights. Again I felt God walking with me through each step as I made my way home. One really neat thing was that when I was in the Ouagadougou airport waiting to leave, I turned around and saw two familiar faces. Here a French couple that I met in Casablanca on the way to Burkina in October, were again going back to Casablanca with me on the same flight. What are the chances? God is so good! They don't speak much English, but I knew that they were genuinely sweet people. My plane was supposed to board around 2:30am, and at 4:00am we finally heard an announcement....except it was in French. I didn't know what I should do since some people were leaving, but since that couple just stayed seated, I did too. I was thankful because the plane arrived about 30 mins. later. I arrived to Casablanca and only had about 2 hours to wait around...it flew by considering I was there 16 hours on my previous experience. I arrived in JFK and had the longest layover, but I was still going on adrenaline as I talked with family on my cell phone for the first time and realized that I would see everyone soon! Also, a major excitement was the grand site of WENDY'S!!! About an hour before the plane boarded I crashed; I felt like I was going to fall over. Starbucks thankfully saved the day! Once we boarded there were several small things that kept delaying us. So, finally I arrived in Pittsburgh on Saturday evening around 11:45pm. My sweet mom was waiting for me! I ended up not going to bed till around 4am because my adrenaline returned by seeing my mom and Lexie. Lexie is now a horse! She is double the size from two months ago. I can hardly imagine what she will look like in another few months as the doctor says she still has a year to grow! She is so much fun and a total joy to be around even though she never calms down and never ceases to slim you after a drink. Also, all of my clothes now are covered with Lexie hair. She is worth it though and a great addition to our family. Speaking of additions....while I was in Burkina, my brother's baby arrived. I am now an aunt to Dylan! Last night my brother and Stacey went out on their first real date since Dylan's arrival, so my parents and I got to babysit! He is so precious! I already am nuts over him and am dreading leaving in a few weeks.
I am truly loving my time at home. Besides just spending time with family, I have been busy baking and helping my mom prepare for Christmas. It has been absolutely freezing here! I still have not adjusted to the temperature and cannot get warm.
Today was Dana and Zach's wedding. Dana and I have been good friends since we came to North-Mar Church about 7 or 8 years ago. It was really strange seeing one of my close friends, who is younger than me, getting married. How has life passed so quickly? I am so excited for Dana and Zach! The wedding was beautiful and the reception was a lot of fun. I got to see lots of friends and dance the night away. Also, I was the lucky girl to catch Dana's bouquet! The boy who caught the guarder was about 9 or 10...Drew's little brother. It was pretty comical. I would be okay being the next to get married but I think I may need someone just a tad older...and taller! haha! Well, it is late, and I am getting pretty tired.
I probably won't post on here as frequently, but I hope to keep some updates. Thank you for your time and for your love and support.
Merry Christmas! :)
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Teaching, a second Thanksgiving dinner, and some goodbyes
It is already Sunday night…how did that happen? I only have five more days here, and there are mixed emotions. I have loved my time here, and I love this country; however, I am very excited to see my family and spend Christmas with those I love most. Eight weeks seems to be a good amount of time to travel…it is long enough to get an idea of the true life somewhere, and it is enough time to miss those you love.
So now to catch up..
The rest of last week went really well in the class. I taught full time still even though Sheila was back. I was glad to have her around again! She seems to be doing well.
Thursday evening I went to youth group and met a short term college team from Las Vegas. They were really nice…and there were two really cute boys. (Single boys seem to be a little rare here)! I really enjoyed talking with the group. During the high school session there was a random discussion time, and one of the questions was, “Do you think that guys should be the ones to initiate relationships?” Wow! This was quite a heated topic. There were all different types of people represented…all with very strong opinions. It was actually pretty hilarious to listen to high schoolers’ thoughts and to think that that was me a few years ago.
Friday evening I went to the school with Sheila for Cinema Night. We showed Wall-e which I thought was really cute! Megs, I thought of you! :)
Saturday I went to the bank to exchange money for the last time. Then, I walked a few streets over to meet Tyler and Liz. Tyler is a missionary here, but I didn’t get to meet him the last time I was here. He just arrived back this past week and will be here for another year and a half. Liz is a missionary in Tanzania and here just for three weeks. After meeting Tyler, the three of us headed to the main road to catch my first Burkina taxi to Leanna’s house. All of the taxis are lime green, so they are easy to spot. We found one immediately, and it was a pretty low-key experience. Leanna started a Thanksgiving feast tradition last year where the singles come together for a giant feast after Thanksgiving. It was wonderful! Hands down, the best meal I’ve had since I’ve been here. Tyler, Ben, Leanna, Liz, and I did a little preparing and just hung out for several hours till it was time for dinner. There were twelve of us altogether. After dinner and dessert (a choice between five different pies!), we watched Fred Claus which was really funny! I ended up getting back home after midnight and felt like a 21 year old again. It was a great night, and I really enjoyed getting to spend time with these people who all were single and around my age. Oh, I almost forgot a very important detail. Another tradition to this meal is that the guys clean up! It was awesome. They took care of everything and then served us dessert. I took a picture of them washing dishes in the kitchen so that I can show the men in my family for Christmas! :)
Today was my last day at church. I was sad about this just because I love this church so much. As I experienced last time I was in Burkina, I got a true sense of what the “Body of Christ” meant. It is a beautiful thing. I will miss their worship…a lot. However, I am so excited to sing songs that I know. For those who know me well, you know that I am always singing. Well, here I have only sung a few times since I usually don’t know the song or the words in French. I have tried to compensate this by listening to my music each night as I go to sleep. I can’t wait to just sing loudly. Mom…I think Christmas cookies and Evie are calling our names! Back to church…I think that this time was easier for me to leave because I feel like it is not forever. Last time I didn’t really think that I would ever be back. But, I feel like someday, God will again bring me back (whether that is for a week or for years I don’t know). I thought that I would have to say goodbye to Elizabeth and Marie today, but they told me that they want to come and get together one more time this upcoming week. I hope that works out!
Well, there is a possibility for one more update before I return. We will see. Thank you for those of you who have emailed me and have been reading these entries. I appreciate how you are interested in my life and what God is showing me. I can’t wait to share more with you in person! :)
So now to catch up..
The rest of last week went really well in the class. I taught full time still even though Sheila was back. I was glad to have her around again! She seems to be doing well.
Thursday evening I went to youth group and met a short term college team from Las Vegas. They were really nice…and there were two really cute boys. (Single boys seem to be a little rare here)! I really enjoyed talking with the group. During the high school session there was a random discussion time, and one of the questions was, “Do you think that guys should be the ones to initiate relationships?” Wow! This was quite a heated topic. There were all different types of people represented…all with very strong opinions. It was actually pretty hilarious to listen to high schoolers’ thoughts and to think that that was me a few years ago.
Friday evening I went to the school with Sheila for Cinema Night. We showed Wall-e which I thought was really cute! Megs, I thought of you! :)
Saturday I went to the bank to exchange money for the last time. Then, I walked a few streets over to meet Tyler and Liz. Tyler is a missionary here, but I didn’t get to meet him the last time I was here. He just arrived back this past week and will be here for another year and a half. Liz is a missionary in Tanzania and here just for three weeks. After meeting Tyler, the three of us headed to the main road to catch my first Burkina taxi to Leanna’s house. All of the taxis are lime green, so they are easy to spot. We found one immediately, and it was a pretty low-key experience. Leanna started a Thanksgiving feast tradition last year where the singles come together for a giant feast after Thanksgiving. It was wonderful! Hands down, the best meal I’ve had since I’ve been here. Tyler, Ben, Leanna, Liz, and I did a little preparing and just hung out for several hours till it was time for dinner. There were twelve of us altogether. After dinner and dessert (a choice between five different pies!), we watched Fred Claus which was really funny! I ended up getting back home after midnight and felt like a 21 year old again. It was a great night, and I really enjoyed getting to spend time with these people who all were single and around my age. Oh, I almost forgot a very important detail. Another tradition to this meal is that the guys clean up! It was awesome. They took care of everything and then served us dessert. I took a picture of them washing dishes in the kitchen so that I can show the men in my family for Christmas! :)
Today was my last day at church. I was sad about this just because I love this church so much. As I experienced last time I was in Burkina, I got a true sense of what the “Body of Christ” meant. It is a beautiful thing. I will miss their worship…a lot. However, I am so excited to sing songs that I know. For those who know me well, you know that I am always singing. Well, here I have only sung a few times since I usually don’t know the song or the words in French. I have tried to compensate this by listening to my music each night as I go to sleep. I can’t wait to just sing loudly. Mom…I think Christmas cookies and Evie are calling our names! Back to church…I think that this time was easier for me to leave because I feel like it is not forever. Last time I didn’t really think that I would ever be back. But, I feel like someday, God will again bring me back (whether that is for a week or for years I don’t know). I thought that I would have to say goodbye to Elizabeth and Marie today, but they told me that they want to come and get together one more time this upcoming week. I hope that works out!
Well, there is a possibility for one more update before I return. We will see. Thank you for those of you who have emailed me and have been reading these entries. I appreciate how you are interested in my life and what God is showing me. I can’t wait to share more with you in person! :)
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas...in my heart!
I think that today was the last day of me being Sheila. She is planning on coming back to school tomorrow. The doctor seems to think she is ready to come back, so that is great news! I will be glad to have her in the classroom again. This has been wonderful experience for me as I have been full time in and out of the classroom; however, I wish it was under different circumstances (Sheila not being sick).
Sunday I went to church with Alice and the kids. Church was wonderful as usual. After church I went with Pete and the two guys left from the team that I met last week, to Dorkus House. This is a new project that the CMA has started to help women. Here woman do not have much status. Prostitution is a way of life for many…it is survival. This facility is in the middle of a remote village, seated on a lot of property. There are currently fifteen women from the age of 15 to 35 living there. Eventually, they want to house around 60. These women learn basic skills such as cooking, cleaning, hygiene, etc. They also are educated in school and taught some type of a profession like raising goats, growing crops, sewing, and others. The hope is that the women will stay here around a year to get on their feet and then go back home being able to survive financially, emotionally, and spiritually. The fifteen year old girl was there because she had a baby a month ago, and her family disowned her. This girl was so young. I tried to let the thought of a fifteen year old taking care of this baby alone in Burkina sink in. Thank God that there is a place that she can go and find the Lord. I was touched greatly by this ministry.
Monday after school I went to the orphanage for the last time since next Monday is Tabaski, and the students are off school. It was really hard for me to leave knowing that I may not see these kids again. Even more so, wondering if they will find a family…someone to love them. I think that the orphanage has broken my heart the most since I have been here.
This evening I met up with Marie and Elizabeth at the school. We ate dinner at the school’s restaurant. As I was waiting for them to come, I did some planning and then played the guitar. The other K/1 teacher has one, so I figured that it was time to break it out. The soreness of my fingers is a good indicator of how long it has been since I’ve played! Dad, I can’t wait to have some jam sessions with you! : ) The girls came just a few minutes after seven, so we were able to have a good amount of time to talk and eat. Elizabeth asked me if I wanted to sing a song with them in church in two weeks. I told them that this Sunday would be my last Sunday, so they asked for some paper, and we quickly got writing in French and English. We are going to sing “Give Thanks” which is one of my favorites. They have studied English, so their pronunciation is great, but my French pronunciation is HORRIBLE!! So, most of the time was spent breaking up the words for me. Once we sang it once in French, they said that I was ready to sing it. Here they wanted me to sing alone in French…yeah right! I kind of just made up the words as I went along, following them. So, I explained that with the short amount of time, we should all sing together. So, who knows! I am excited to sing with them and to give thanks to God for all that He has done on my last Sunday here in Burkina.
Well, I am not far from bed. I hope that your week is off to a great start. I can imagine that it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas there...not so much here! However, I am getting in the Christmas spirit by listening to lots of Christmas music. How I love it! : )
Thursday, November 27, 2008
I am Thankful...
This week can be summed up by the word “busy.” Yes, even in slow paced Burkina things can be crazy. Sheila has not been feeling well, so she has been to a few doctors and was told to stay home and rest. Therefore, I instantly became full time this week. One of my Kindergarteners asked me on Wednesday, “Is Ms. Hanks not here because she is trying to let you learn how to be a teacher?” I thought that this was pretty funny. I was supposed to take over full time next week, but I am thankful that I have had this experience. It is a lot different than third grade, but I am learning. I have found that I learn best through just experiencing something like this. Please pray that Sheila will start feeling like herself soon.
Yesterday was a lot of fun. I taught full time which always makes the day go by faster. Then, I came back to the school to meet Marie and Elizabeth. We were supposed to meet last Wednesday, but I think that Elizabeth was sick. Around 5pm when I was back in the classroom preparing since I didn’t think they would show up, I got a call from the guard at the gate. I caught my name and entrance. So, I figured that they must be there. I went to the gate and there were my smiling Burkinabe friends. Marie had some large book in a plastic bag. Here she brought a French-English dictionary in case we needed it. They are so cute. We had some sodas and split some french fries. We didn’t end up even using the dictionary once; however, that is not to say that we always understood each other. We did a lot of acting and broken phrases. Their English has improved so much since I was here in 2006. They said that they wanted to follow me back to Sheila’s to see where I lived so that they could come and visit me. However, with Sheila being sick, I didn’t think that was a good idea. So, we are hopefully going to meet again next week. They are so precious. It is so neat to see that the love of God is so universal and that there is a deep bond in that. When I got home from school, Leanna (the teacher who is a missionary) called to see if I wanted to come over her house for a girls night. Leanna was going to make some pumpkin pies, so she thought that we could have some fun carving them before cooking them. As we were carving, we listened to some Christmas music. I am quite aware that this was an unusual combination; however, it was a lot of fun. I got home around ten and talked with Bri for an hour before crashing.
Today is Thanksgiving. The first part of the day seemed like a normal day to me since I was teaching. It was my first Thanksgiving at school. I had talked about Thanksgiving to my students the past few days and why it is celebrated. There are three American students in my class, so they helped me out. Today I had the students write what they were thankful for and draw a picture of it. I am going to put it together and make a class book. I was able to talk with my parents, Bri, Grandma, and Gramps this afternoon before they went for their Thanksgiving meal at my Aunt Jill’s. Even though I would love to be sitting around with my family today and eating some pumpkin roll, I am thankful that I am here. This week with Sheila being sick, I have again realized that God has placed me in Burkina and with Sheila for a specific purpose. After talking with my family, John and I went with some missionaries to Ouagadoumil (the next city that is booming) for a CMA (Christian and Missionary Alliance…my denomination) Thanksgiving feast. The dinner was at the house of a missionary couple who I met the last time also. Steve, the husband, actually remembered meeting me. I have been in contact with his wife, Debbie, since I have been here. She is a teacher and has been working with creating education opportunities for underprivileged kids around Burkina. We have been trying to get together, but our schedules have not coincided. However, tonight I got to the house and saw my nametag was next to hers. How sweet that she was willing to get to know me on this special day. We decided that next Wednesday we are going to get together for lunch after school. Then, I am going to go with her to one of the Christian schools in the area, and we will talk about what is currently happening in the line of education in Burkina. I am excited about this! Besides the people around the table, it felt very much like Thanksgiving dinner. I was pleasantly surprised to see TURKEY there! Turkeys are extremely rare, so they are very expensive. I’ve heard that sometimes they still do not even taste like turkey. They also have hardly any meat on them because all the animals here are skinny. So, this was a big treat. There was tons of food and a table full of yummy desserts. I chose a piece of pumpkin swirl cheesecake. Basically it was fabulous! :) It was a fun night, and I glad that I got to be with people that I know.
Today I have been reflecting on things that I am thankful for. Being in Burkina makes it really easy to be thankful when things like clean water or a meal once a day is living well. These people die everyday from preventable and treatable things like malaria, malnutrition, and diarrhea. So living each day with healthy resources is a major blessing. There are so many things and people that make my life blessed and joy filled. First and foremost, I am thankful for the hope that I have in Jesus Christ. When I look into the blank stares of some of the people here, I can see the emptiness in their eyes. I am thankful that I have hope and therefore, I have joy. My family would come next on my list. There are not words to express my love and appreciation for them. The other night as I was lying in bed, I was thinking about their love for me, and I was overwhelmed. I know that they would do anything for me. How much must God love us? Wow! This has been a year of change for my family—a good change. It has been a year that I have seen God work immensely in all of our hearts. I thank God for this! I thank God also for all of you. Each one of you has touched my heart in some way, shape, or form. Thank you! Lastly, (as this could go on for days) I am thankful that God has allowed me to experience His people around the world. I have been changed by these experiences and people. My eyes have been opened, and my heart has been broken. I hope forever.
Happy Thanksgiving! I love you!
Yesterday was a lot of fun. I taught full time which always makes the day go by faster. Then, I came back to the school to meet Marie and Elizabeth. We were supposed to meet last Wednesday, but I think that Elizabeth was sick. Around 5pm when I was back in the classroom preparing since I didn’t think they would show up, I got a call from the guard at the gate. I caught my name and entrance. So, I figured that they must be there. I went to the gate and there were my smiling Burkinabe friends. Marie had some large book in a plastic bag. Here she brought a French-English dictionary in case we needed it. They are so cute. We had some sodas and split some french fries. We didn’t end up even using the dictionary once; however, that is not to say that we always understood each other. We did a lot of acting and broken phrases. Their English has improved so much since I was here in 2006. They said that they wanted to follow me back to Sheila’s to see where I lived so that they could come and visit me. However, with Sheila being sick, I didn’t think that was a good idea. So, we are hopefully going to meet again next week. They are so precious. It is so neat to see that the love of God is so universal and that there is a deep bond in that. When I got home from school, Leanna (the teacher who is a missionary) called to see if I wanted to come over her house for a girls night. Leanna was going to make some pumpkin pies, so she thought that we could have some fun carving them before cooking them. As we were carving, we listened to some Christmas music. I am quite aware that this was an unusual combination; however, it was a lot of fun. I got home around ten and talked with Bri for an hour before crashing.
Today is Thanksgiving. The first part of the day seemed like a normal day to me since I was teaching. It was my first Thanksgiving at school. I had talked about Thanksgiving to my students the past few days and why it is celebrated. There are three American students in my class, so they helped me out. Today I had the students write what they were thankful for and draw a picture of it. I am going to put it together and make a class book. I was able to talk with my parents, Bri, Grandma, and Gramps this afternoon before they went for their Thanksgiving meal at my Aunt Jill’s. Even though I would love to be sitting around with my family today and eating some pumpkin roll, I am thankful that I am here. This week with Sheila being sick, I have again realized that God has placed me in Burkina and with Sheila for a specific purpose. After talking with my family, John and I went with some missionaries to Ouagadoumil (the next city that is booming) for a CMA (Christian and Missionary Alliance…my denomination) Thanksgiving feast. The dinner was at the house of a missionary couple who I met the last time also. Steve, the husband, actually remembered meeting me. I have been in contact with his wife, Debbie, since I have been here. She is a teacher and has been working with creating education opportunities for underprivileged kids around Burkina. We have been trying to get together, but our schedules have not coincided. However, tonight I got to the house and saw my nametag was next to hers. How sweet that she was willing to get to know me on this special day. We decided that next Wednesday we are going to get together for lunch after school. Then, I am going to go with her to one of the Christian schools in the area, and we will talk about what is currently happening in the line of education in Burkina. I am excited about this! Besides the people around the table, it felt very much like Thanksgiving dinner. I was pleasantly surprised to see TURKEY there! Turkeys are extremely rare, so they are very expensive. I’ve heard that sometimes they still do not even taste like turkey. They also have hardly any meat on them because all the animals here are skinny. So, this was a big treat. There was tons of food and a table full of yummy desserts. I chose a piece of pumpkin swirl cheesecake. Basically it was fabulous! :) It was a fun night, and I glad that I got to be with people that I know.
Today I have been reflecting on things that I am thankful for. Being in Burkina makes it really easy to be thankful when things like clean water or a meal once a day is living well. These people die everyday from preventable and treatable things like malaria, malnutrition, and diarrhea. So living each day with healthy resources is a major blessing. There are so many things and people that make my life blessed and joy filled. First and foremost, I am thankful for the hope that I have in Jesus Christ. When I look into the blank stares of some of the people here, I can see the emptiness in their eyes. I am thankful that I have hope and therefore, I have joy. My family would come next on my list. There are not words to express my love and appreciation for them. The other night as I was lying in bed, I was thinking about their love for me, and I was overwhelmed. I know that they would do anything for me. How much must God love us? Wow! This has been a year of change for my family—a good change. It has been a year that I have seen God work immensely in all of our hearts. I thank God for this! I thank God also for all of you. Each one of you has touched my heart in some way, shape, or form. Thank you! Lastly, (as this could go on for days) I am thankful that God has allowed me to experience His people around the world. I have been changed by these experiences and people. My eyes have been opened, and my heart has been broken. I hope forever.
Happy Thanksgiving! I love you!
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Mighty is the Power of the Cross
The past week started as a difficult one for me. I found myself asking God, “Why am I here?” There were a lot of things on my heart, and I think that I allowed Satan to take control of those thoughts. I know that I am where God wants me, but it is sometimes hard to see why. Life here is a lot different here compared to Taylor or home. Here, everyone around you is not pouring truth into your life daily. In fact, it is hard to find at all. I feel like my time here has been wonderful but exhausting. I am frequently in new situations, and there are a lot of “foreign” aspects of life…even though I’ve been here for awhile now. I have had to seek out many relationships which has been good for me. However, sometimes I wish that I could just sit and not have to explain myself to everyone. I want to talk with someone who knows all of me. Some days I just long for a good hug (I will get my share of these and more in a few weeks!!). However, yesterday was different. God was showed me that I just need to focus that much more on Him. I think that being here a second time and wanting to know His will for the next step of my life has caused me to put unneeded pressure on myself. Last night I was reading about God’s grace in my Bible study and how precious of a gift this is. I was reflecting in my journal afterwards about this, and God gave me the calming peace that I have been looking for this week. Then, as usual I put on some worship music to fall asleep to. I was listening to “Mighty is the Power of the Cross” by Chris Tomlin. I have heard this song countless times, but last night it penetrated my heart. I realized that it was all about the grace of God. I listened to this song three times last night and thought about the words in the verses. I realized that I have been forgetting the power of the God I serve. I have been so worried about my future. How could I even for a second doubt that my God who is so powerful would not be able to guide me in His timing? After this, I started thinking more about these words and what God has the power to do.
What can take a dying man and raise him up to life again?
What can heal a wounded soul?
What can make us white as snow?
What can fill the emptiness?
What can mend our brokenness?
What restores our faith in God?
What restores our faith in God?
What reveals the Father's love?
What can lead the wayward home?
What can melt a heart of stone?
What can free the guilty ones?
What can save and overcome?
…The power of the cross….
As I was thinking about each of these things, I started thinking of how His power has changed these situations in my life and others I know. Also, it made me have incredible hope for those I keep praying for. There are people I love that are broken. There are some that need to see the love of the Father. Some need to be released from the guilt they carry as they realize God has forgiven them. Some are searching in the world for happiness and need to realize that God is waiting with open arms to satisfy that void. Last night I was so encouraged to know that all of these things are possible through the power of the cross. And I believe in that power! I have seen it work in my own life. I refuse to let Satan have the victory of those I love and others in the world that are without hope. I went to bed so excited and refreshed!
Today I met Pete and team at the guest house. Alice called last night and said that she and the kids were sick, so they didn’t go to church today. The team is made up of seven guys, some dads and sons and some others. They are from a church in Atlanta, and I had a great time talking with them. It was really exciting to see a glimpse of what Pete sees when new people experience another country. They were asking me questions about the people and about Burkina, and it was great to see their eyes trying to take everything in. Church was a little different today because one of the guys from the team preached…so I actually knew what was going on for the first time!! His message was from Mark 2 which is the passage of the friends who bring their sick, paralytic friend to Jesus…through the roof. He focused on the friends and how they were not backing down. They knew the power of Jesus and had faith that He would heal their friend. There were so many people there, that they couldn’t get inside. They did not give up and leave. Instead, they decided to dig a hole into someone else’s roof. I had never caught the part that Jesus looked up and saw their faith…the faith of the friends. He then healed their friend. What would have happened if the friends would have thought, “I guess this isn’t going to work, so we better just go back.”? Not only was this man healed, but it was in front of a giant crowd. The power of God was displayed vividly to these people. I was sitting there thinking, God this is just like you to have this message today as this was still so pressed on my heart. There are several people that I love that I need to have this kind of faith for. Some of you may even be reading this. You are precious to me, and you need to be brought to Jesus. I pray that I will be that type of friend for you.
Some people aren’t able to get to the feet of Jesus alone. Let’s join together and bring people to Jesus!
Mighty, awesome, wonderful
…The power of the cross….
As I was thinking about each of these things, I started thinking of how His power has changed these situations in my life and others I know. Also, it made me have incredible hope for those I keep praying for. There are people I love that are broken. There are some that need to see the love of the Father. Some need to be released from the guilt they carry as they realize God has forgiven them. Some are searching in the world for happiness and need to realize that God is waiting with open arms to satisfy that void. Last night I was so encouraged to know that all of these things are possible through the power of the cross. And I believe in that power! I have seen it work in my own life. I refuse to let Satan have the victory of those I love and others in the world that are without hope. I went to bed so excited and refreshed!
Today I met Pete and team at the guest house. Alice called last night and said that she and the kids were sick, so they didn’t go to church today. The team is made up of seven guys, some dads and sons and some others. They are from a church in Atlanta, and I had a great time talking with them. It was really exciting to see a glimpse of what Pete sees when new people experience another country. They were asking me questions about the people and about Burkina, and it was great to see their eyes trying to take everything in. Church was a little different today because one of the guys from the team preached…so I actually knew what was going on for the first time!! His message was from Mark 2 which is the passage of the friends who bring their sick, paralytic friend to Jesus…through the roof. He focused on the friends and how they were not backing down. They knew the power of Jesus and had faith that He would heal their friend. There were so many people there, that they couldn’t get inside. They did not give up and leave. Instead, they decided to dig a hole into someone else’s roof. I had never caught the part that Jesus looked up and saw their faith…the faith of the friends. He then healed their friend. What would have happened if the friends would have thought, “I guess this isn’t going to work, so we better just go back.”? Not only was this man healed, but it was in front of a giant crowd. The power of God was displayed vividly to these people. I was sitting there thinking, God this is just like you to have this message today as this was still so pressed on my heart. There are several people that I love that I need to have this kind of faith for. Some of you may even be reading this. You are precious to me, and you need to be brought to Jesus. I pray that I will be that type of friend for you.
Some people aren’t able to get to the feet of Jesus alone. Let’s join together and bring people to Jesus!
Mighty, awesome, wonderful
Is the holy cross
Where the Lamb laid down His life
To lift us from the fall
Mighty is the power of the cross
Friday, November 21, 2008
Bonjour!!
Week five out of eight in the classroom has been completed. This week I taught science. We did a lot of experiments, all dealing with the Earth and the land that makes it up. It is funny how some dirt and water will thrill five and six year olds beyond belief. :) I am enjoying being with these students and feel like a mom to them since they are so little. There is constantly someone that needs their shoe tied or needs help in changing for P.E., or a little girl that asks me to do her hair. This is a very independent age compared to the third graders that I worked with first. I think that it is going to be difficult to leave knowing that I won’t be able to just “pop in” when I want later on. However, I cannot wait to see my third graders in just a month or so! I still don’t know what I think would be the “perfect grade” to teach because I have truly enjoyed both experiences and am so thankful that God has placed me in these two classrooms.
Well…to catch up…not too much out of the ordinary has happened since I last updated you. I am teaching more which is why I haven’t had a lot of time to write. Most of my day is still consumed with either being at the school or planning for school. Other than that, I have enjoyed spending evenings with Sheila and John. I am going to miss these two a lot! I hope that they someday come to Ohio and stay with us! There have already been a few things that I told John we will do if they come. Some include: enjoying Mom or Bri’s Chicken Fried Rice, going to Tokyo House, going ice skating, going laser tagging, and many others.
Monday I went to the orphanage again. I got to see a glimpse of my future dream. In the past year or two a few buildings have been built to begin a school for many uneducated students. The landscape is an open field and so far there is the orphanage, a high school, and elementary school, and a women’s clinic (where woman can go to safely give birth). A preschool is in construction and will be running within the next few months. This whole thing is so exciting to me. As some of you know, my heart is to educate, love, and bring the hope of Jesus to children who don’t have access to education. Someone else has seen this need, too. It is possible through Him!
Speaking of educating children, this week I experienced one of my favorite teaching experiences thus far. I decided to start reviewing the letters of the alphabet that the students have covered so far and to start forming words with them. The easiest way to do this I thought was to use word families. I had seen the idea in one of my labs to make an actual house out of paper. So, I made the “at” and the “an” families. …For those of you who don’t follow education lingo or remember from your early days, these are the words that have the same rhyme. Anyways, we went over these words as a group, and then I tried to act them out so that my two French speaking students would understand. The French speaking little girl knows the letters that we have covered so far very well, and she quickly figured out the pattern. Soon she was reading all of the words and she would get more excited each time. To see this girl being able to read these words in English when I have heard her say only a few words for weeks besides, “Miss Marshall” and “paint,” was thrilling for me! Today we reviewed, and she lit up. I think that I found her new favorite thing. Moments like this make me know that I am supposed to teach.
Youth group was on Thursday night, and it was a unique one. We got to go to someone’s house and help an organization who will be distributing 3,000 backpacks to orphaned and underprivileged children for Christmas. The Gospel will be presented in the process. We made a huge assembly line and cranked up the Christmas carols. It was so exciting to be a part of this, and a lot got accomplished since there were so many of us. There were times when I felt like Lucy from the I Love Lucy episode where she and Ethel are working on an assembly line for chocolate. The bags kept coming; however, they were a little harder to put inside our clothes or in our mouths! :) We took a one minute water break half way through. This was my first “water in a bag” experience. Here they don’t sell a lot of water bottles but water bags. You simply bite the edge and squeeze the bag. It is common to see someone walking down the street with a water bag dangling from their mouth. I tried this to see what it would be like. I concluded that the Burkinabe not only have tough heads but tough jaw bones.
Tonight after I went back to school for a little bit, Sheila and I did a little relaxing in from of the Tele. We watched the finale of “Strictly Come Dancing” which is the British version of “Dancing with the Stars.” I have followed this show…along with CSI, CNN, Super Nanny and others….a lot more than at home. I love dancing. Whenever I see these shows or any type of dancing, it makes me want to dance. After I graduate from the LTC (the no dancing policy at Taylor), I think that I will think about my future dance career. Haha!
Well, tomorrow I will wake up at the usual 6AM…but on a SATURDAY!! I will be heading to the school with Sheila to help with the school’s annual Walk-a-thon. It is a fundraiser that the school does to give money to a village school.
Random fact of the day: Mosquitoes are attracted to the color black. Maybe you knew this. I didn’t until yesterday. However, after wearing black pants yesterday and a black skirt today, I confirm this theory.
It is about time to call it a night here. Please let me know if there is anything that I can be praying for you. A few of my prayer requests are:
-To finish strong as there are only a few weeks left
-For continued health
-To be able to spend some quality time with Elizabeth and Marie
-For my upcoming visit with Farida
-My new relationships here…that I may truly reflect who Jesus is and that they may come to
know the Lord
-Patience to “sit and wait” for God’s plans and His timing in many areas of my life
Thank you for your prayers and for your love!
Week five out of eight in the classroom has been completed. This week I taught science. We did a lot of experiments, all dealing with the Earth and the land that makes it up. It is funny how some dirt and water will thrill five and six year olds beyond belief. :) I am enjoying being with these students and feel like a mom to them since they are so little. There is constantly someone that needs their shoe tied or needs help in changing for P.E., or a little girl that asks me to do her hair. This is a very independent age compared to the third graders that I worked with first. I think that it is going to be difficult to leave knowing that I won’t be able to just “pop in” when I want later on. However, I cannot wait to see my third graders in just a month or so! I still don’t know what I think would be the “perfect grade” to teach because I have truly enjoyed both experiences and am so thankful that God has placed me in these two classrooms.
Well…to catch up…not too much out of the ordinary has happened since I last updated you. I am teaching more which is why I haven’t had a lot of time to write. Most of my day is still consumed with either being at the school or planning for school. Other than that, I have enjoyed spending evenings with Sheila and John. I am going to miss these two a lot! I hope that they someday come to Ohio and stay with us! There have already been a few things that I told John we will do if they come. Some include: enjoying Mom or Bri’s Chicken Fried Rice, going to Tokyo House, going ice skating, going laser tagging, and many others.
Monday I went to the orphanage again. I got to see a glimpse of my future dream. In the past year or two a few buildings have been built to begin a school for many uneducated students. The landscape is an open field and so far there is the orphanage, a high school, and elementary school, and a women’s clinic (where woman can go to safely give birth). A preschool is in construction and will be running within the next few months. This whole thing is so exciting to me. As some of you know, my heart is to educate, love, and bring the hope of Jesus to children who don’t have access to education. Someone else has seen this need, too. It is possible through Him!
Speaking of educating children, this week I experienced one of my favorite teaching experiences thus far. I decided to start reviewing the letters of the alphabet that the students have covered so far and to start forming words with them. The easiest way to do this I thought was to use word families. I had seen the idea in one of my labs to make an actual house out of paper. So, I made the “at” and the “an” families. …For those of you who don’t follow education lingo or remember from your early days, these are the words that have the same rhyme. Anyways, we went over these words as a group, and then I tried to act them out so that my two French speaking students would understand. The French speaking little girl knows the letters that we have covered so far very well, and she quickly figured out the pattern. Soon she was reading all of the words and she would get more excited each time. To see this girl being able to read these words in English when I have heard her say only a few words for weeks besides, “Miss Marshall” and “paint,” was thrilling for me! Today we reviewed, and she lit up. I think that I found her new favorite thing. Moments like this make me know that I am supposed to teach.
Youth group was on Thursday night, and it was a unique one. We got to go to someone’s house and help an organization who will be distributing 3,000 backpacks to orphaned and underprivileged children for Christmas. The Gospel will be presented in the process. We made a huge assembly line and cranked up the Christmas carols. It was so exciting to be a part of this, and a lot got accomplished since there were so many of us. There were times when I felt like Lucy from the I Love Lucy episode where she and Ethel are working on an assembly line for chocolate. The bags kept coming; however, they were a little harder to put inside our clothes or in our mouths! :) We took a one minute water break half way through. This was my first “water in a bag” experience. Here they don’t sell a lot of water bottles but water bags. You simply bite the edge and squeeze the bag. It is common to see someone walking down the street with a water bag dangling from their mouth. I tried this to see what it would be like. I concluded that the Burkinabe not only have tough heads but tough jaw bones.
Tonight after I went back to school for a little bit, Sheila and I did a little relaxing in from of the Tele. We watched the finale of “Strictly Come Dancing” which is the British version of “Dancing with the Stars.” I have followed this show…along with CSI, CNN, Super Nanny and others….a lot more than at home. I love dancing. Whenever I see these shows or any type of dancing, it makes me want to dance. After I graduate from the LTC (the no dancing policy at Taylor), I think that I will think about my future dance career. Haha!
Well, tomorrow I will wake up at the usual 6AM…but on a SATURDAY!! I will be heading to the school with Sheila to help with the school’s annual Walk-a-thon. It is a fundraiser that the school does to give money to a village school.
Random fact of the day: Mosquitoes are attracted to the color black. Maybe you knew this. I didn’t until yesterday. However, after wearing black pants yesterday and a black skirt today, I confirm this theory.
It is about time to call it a night here. Please let me know if there is anything that I can be praying for you. A few of my prayer requests are:
-To finish strong as there are only a few weeks left
-For continued health
-To be able to spend some quality time with Elizabeth and Marie
-For my upcoming visit with Farida
-My new relationships here…that I may truly reflect who Jesus is and that they may come to
know the Lord
-Patience to “sit and wait” for God’s plans and His timing in many areas of my life
Thank you for your prayers and for your love!
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Happy Birthday...African Style!
Today is Sheila's birthday! :)
Two posts in two consecutive days...you're so lucky! haha! Just kidding! Anyways, today was another great day.
I went to church with Alice and the kids this morning, and it was a joy as always. We were more late than usual, so I had a hard time finding a seat. Elizabeth was walking out of the church and saw me. She grabbed my hand and led me to the front to where Marie was sitting. I was so excited just to be sitting by her. This may seem strange to some of you, but my heart is filled with delight and gratitude when I am with these people...especially these two girls. I keep thinking how amazing God is to allow me to be worshiping in the same church that I fell in love with two years ago. It is wonderful! I didn't understand the service at all since I was sitting by Marie and another Burkinabe girl. But Marie would point to the verse in her Bible, and I would find it in mine. The sermon was on Samson, and I'm not sure what about. So, I read all about his story.
This afternoon Sheila and I got some things done in the classroom while John had tennis lessons. We then came home, and John and I decided that we would be the cooks for Sheila's birthday dinner. John wanted to just make eggs, and Sheila wanted to have chicken. I suggested we make chicken fried rice with eggs (one of my family's favorites!). They liked that idea, so John and I got busy and two hours later "well ah!" This was my first experience cooking in Africa. The rice was a lot drier than normal but still pretty good. If it were up to John we would have had a million other things in it because he kept trying to add things like tomatos, mayonaise, some spice that I've never heard of, etc. For those of you who know my food selections, you may know how I felt about these ideas (cough, cough, DK!). :) Anyways, we added some soy sauce and overall...a success! Sheila was happy not to cook, and John and I had fun. For dessert we decided to have the Snickers bars that I bought the other day. I unwrapped the three bars and carved "Happy B-day" into them. Then, John found a candle from the freezer, so we lit that. We went into the room with the snickers and candle singing "Happy Birthday" to Sheila. It was mainly me singing, but John was a good sport. We wanted Sheila to blow out the candle, but it had already gone out. So, I ran to the kitchen as I held out, "Shhheeeeiiiilllllaaaa......" and grabbed another match to relight the candle. She then blew it out.
Well, time to finish up lesson plans for tomorrow!
Two posts in two consecutive days...you're so lucky! haha! Just kidding! Anyways, today was another great day.
I went to church with Alice and the kids this morning, and it was a joy as always. We were more late than usual, so I had a hard time finding a seat. Elizabeth was walking out of the church and saw me. She grabbed my hand and led me to the front to where Marie was sitting. I was so excited just to be sitting by her. This may seem strange to some of you, but my heart is filled with delight and gratitude when I am with these people...especially these two girls. I keep thinking how amazing God is to allow me to be worshiping in the same church that I fell in love with two years ago. It is wonderful! I didn't understand the service at all since I was sitting by Marie and another Burkinabe girl. But Marie would point to the verse in her Bible, and I would find it in mine. The sermon was on Samson, and I'm not sure what about. So, I read all about his story.
This afternoon Sheila and I got some things done in the classroom while John had tennis lessons. We then came home, and John and I decided that we would be the cooks for Sheila's birthday dinner. John wanted to just make eggs, and Sheila wanted to have chicken. I suggested we make chicken fried rice with eggs (one of my family's favorites!). They liked that idea, so John and I got busy and two hours later "well ah!" This was my first experience cooking in Africa. The rice was a lot drier than normal but still pretty good. If it were up to John we would have had a million other things in it because he kept trying to add things like tomatos, mayonaise, some spice that I've never heard of, etc. For those of you who know my food selections, you may know how I felt about these ideas (cough, cough, DK!). :) Anyways, we added some soy sauce and overall...a success! Sheila was happy not to cook, and John and I had fun. For dessert we decided to have the Snickers bars that I bought the other day. I unwrapped the three bars and carved "Happy B-day" into them. Then, John found a candle from the freezer, so we lit that. We went into the room with the snickers and candle singing "Happy Birthday" to Sheila. It was mainly me singing, but John was a good sport. We wanted Sheila to blow out the candle, but it had already gone out. So, I ran to the kitchen as I held out, "Shhheeeeiiiilllllaaaa......" and grabbed another match to relight the candle. She then blew it out.
Well, time to finish up lesson plans for tomorrow!
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Conferences, Fancy Birthday Dinner, Laughter, and More
It has been awhile since I have updated this. Sorry. I tried to post this last night, but the internet decided not to work. Anyways…I think this will work. I hope that you are all doing well! This week has flown by like others. My experience is already half way over. I am loving my time here, learning a lot, and glad I am here now; however, I will be so excited to be home for Christmas!
I taught mathematics this week to the Kindergarteners, and it went well. It was easier for me to teach this than Language Arts because there is only one group of Kindergarteners in the room during math. During Language Arts, the first graders are also in the room which makes it hard for both groups because they distract each other. But, both have been fun. These are the two main subjects that are every day. The other subjects are only one or two times a week. Next week I will take over science. Even though I am teaching the majority of the curriculum, I feel like I am not teaching a lot compared to teaching in my last experience. This is somewhat of a blessing because it allows me not to be overwhelmed here and to really enjoy the people and experience which I was afraid would be taken away with busyness that I felt during my last placement.
Thursday night John and I decided to watch a movie. I picked out several that we could choose between with a process of elimination. He liked all of my choices, but I think he liked the elimination game better. So, at the end he said, “Let’s just add some more to our choices.” After we decided that Land Before Time was the winner…we realized that the VCR was out of commission. It no longer releases the movies, so John came back with two rulers. For twenty minutes he and I tried everything to get the movie out. After my cut finger and him getting shocked, it came out! Then, we went to put it in, and it wouldn’t stay in! I was cracking up! We eventually got it in and working…persistence pays off!! John said to me in a serious tone, “Oh, life is hard!” We both had forgotten how sad this movie was. Wow…little kid movies teach kids hard things about life awful early. We were both sad during the movie, but it was a fun experience.
Thursday and yesterday were parent-teacher conferences, so I sat in on them with Sheila. It was so interesting to see the parents from several different countries and to see how each culture views their children’s education. Compared to parents in the states, most of these parents are “over concerned.” Some parents don’t speak any English, so Sheila would speak in French for some conferences. I tried to follow along during these twenty minute sessions in French, and I understood the basics. I now know maybe five phrases in French instead of my two starters, “Bonjour!” and “Se la Vi!” Another thing I really enjoyed was observing the different clothes that the mothers wore. Most came in beautiful African dresses. It was a great experience to be a part of!
Yesterday afternoon I went to Marina Market with Sheila, John, and Kaytah. We restocked the kitchen, and I decided to buy a few treats to share…like WHITE CHOCOLATE Magnum Bars!! When I got to the counter, the bill was extremely expensive. I realized when I got back that the magnum bars were the equivalent of $4 a piece…not per box. So, I don’t think that I will be purchasing any more of these!
Today was a wonderful day! I did some reading this morning after sleeping in! :) Then, Sheila took me to Charity’s birthday party so that I could help Alice. It was a Dora theme party and a lot of fun. There were twenty little girls, all 5-7 years old. It was loud but great! It was nice because I knew all of the girls from class. They all thought I looked different since I was wearing jeans instead of a skirt. I got some lesson planning done this afternoon and went to school with Sheila for awhile. Then, Sheila, John, and I got ready to go to dinner in another city…next to Ouagadougou. Its name is Ouagadoumil, and it is amazing. I had seen only a small part of it last time and remember being in awe of the president’s palace. However, I was blown away today by the mansions we passed (literally). I think that I have seen another side of Burkina Faso this time. Maybe it was just where I was the last time, but I think that Burkina is doing better economically as a whole. But poverty is still a major issue. You just have to walk out your door to see a hungry child or starving dog rummaging through the trash on the road. Anyways, we went to Ouagadoumil to eat at a fancy restaurant in which I can’t remember the name and couldn’t pronounce it when the sign was right in front of my face. All of us dressed up, and it was so wonderful to dine together and to enjoy our fancy meal. I guess I forgot to mention that we went because tomorrow, the 16th, is Sheila’s birthday. We went on the back roads home, so John was navigating. He asked if I wanted to go past the Presidential Palace, and I said I would since I forget what it looks like. Well, Sheila drove us down a road, and we went through an intersection with a yellow, flashing light. John started to kind of freak out and told Sheila that she had to turn around because we weren’t allowed to go this far. I guess that it was the street to the palace and that there are military waiting with guns a little further down. So, she put the car in reverse and we backed up several hundred feet. It was hilarious! We were all laughing, and I told John that they probably have a camera that they can see us on and are saying, “dumb Americans!”
Thank you for those of you who have been praying for me. God has opened my eyes and heart a lot these past few weeks, and I am excited to share what He has been doing. You are a part of that! My health has been great so far, and I thank God for this. Please pray for continued heath as mosquito bites are inevitable, and malaria is so common. I think that I may have mentioned this before, but one of my prayer requests is that I would be proactive about the rest of my time here. It is so easy to be consumed in the routine of school and just living. Even though I am so happy that I am truly experiencing an international teaching experience, I want to be able to soak up the Burkina experience. These are so different from each other. Please pray that I would have the motivation to look for opportunities and to also have opportunities come my way. Please also continue to pray for God to confirm things in my heart.
I appreciate each one of you!
I taught mathematics this week to the Kindergarteners, and it went well. It was easier for me to teach this than Language Arts because there is only one group of Kindergarteners in the room during math. During Language Arts, the first graders are also in the room which makes it hard for both groups because they distract each other. But, both have been fun. These are the two main subjects that are every day. The other subjects are only one or two times a week. Next week I will take over science. Even though I am teaching the majority of the curriculum, I feel like I am not teaching a lot compared to teaching in my last experience. This is somewhat of a blessing because it allows me not to be overwhelmed here and to really enjoy the people and experience which I was afraid would be taken away with busyness that I felt during my last placement.
Thursday night John and I decided to watch a movie. I picked out several that we could choose between with a process of elimination. He liked all of my choices, but I think he liked the elimination game better. So, at the end he said, “Let’s just add some more to our choices.” After we decided that Land Before Time was the winner…we realized that the VCR was out of commission. It no longer releases the movies, so John came back with two rulers. For twenty minutes he and I tried everything to get the movie out. After my cut finger and him getting shocked, it came out! Then, we went to put it in, and it wouldn’t stay in! I was cracking up! We eventually got it in and working…persistence pays off!! John said to me in a serious tone, “Oh, life is hard!” We both had forgotten how sad this movie was. Wow…little kid movies teach kids hard things about life awful early. We were both sad during the movie, but it was a fun experience.
Thursday and yesterday were parent-teacher conferences, so I sat in on them with Sheila. It was so interesting to see the parents from several different countries and to see how each culture views their children’s education. Compared to parents in the states, most of these parents are “over concerned.” Some parents don’t speak any English, so Sheila would speak in French for some conferences. I tried to follow along during these twenty minute sessions in French, and I understood the basics. I now know maybe five phrases in French instead of my two starters, “Bonjour!” and “Se la Vi!” Another thing I really enjoyed was observing the different clothes that the mothers wore. Most came in beautiful African dresses. It was a great experience to be a part of!
Yesterday afternoon I went to Marina Market with Sheila, John, and Kaytah. We restocked the kitchen, and I decided to buy a few treats to share…like WHITE CHOCOLATE Magnum Bars!! When I got to the counter, the bill was extremely expensive. I realized when I got back that the magnum bars were the equivalent of $4 a piece…not per box. So, I don’t think that I will be purchasing any more of these!
Today was a wonderful day! I did some reading this morning after sleeping in! :) Then, Sheila took me to Charity’s birthday party so that I could help Alice. It was a Dora theme party and a lot of fun. There were twenty little girls, all 5-7 years old. It was loud but great! It was nice because I knew all of the girls from class. They all thought I looked different since I was wearing jeans instead of a skirt. I got some lesson planning done this afternoon and went to school with Sheila for awhile. Then, Sheila, John, and I got ready to go to dinner in another city…next to Ouagadougou. Its name is Ouagadoumil, and it is amazing. I had seen only a small part of it last time and remember being in awe of the president’s palace. However, I was blown away today by the mansions we passed (literally). I think that I have seen another side of Burkina Faso this time. Maybe it was just where I was the last time, but I think that Burkina is doing better economically as a whole. But poverty is still a major issue. You just have to walk out your door to see a hungry child or starving dog rummaging through the trash on the road. Anyways, we went to Ouagadoumil to eat at a fancy restaurant in which I can’t remember the name and couldn’t pronounce it when the sign was right in front of my face. All of us dressed up, and it was so wonderful to dine together and to enjoy our fancy meal. I guess I forgot to mention that we went because tomorrow, the 16th, is Sheila’s birthday. We went on the back roads home, so John was navigating. He asked if I wanted to go past the Presidential Palace, and I said I would since I forget what it looks like. Well, Sheila drove us down a road, and we went through an intersection with a yellow, flashing light. John started to kind of freak out and told Sheila that she had to turn around because we weren’t allowed to go this far. I guess that it was the street to the palace and that there are military waiting with guns a little further down. So, she put the car in reverse and we backed up several hundred feet. It was hilarious! We were all laughing, and I told John that they probably have a camera that they can see us on and are saying, “dumb Americans!”
Thank you for those of you who have been praying for me. God has opened my eyes and heart a lot these past few weeks, and I am excited to share what He has been doing. You are a part of that! My health has been great so far, and I thank God for this. Please pray for continued heath as mosquito bites are inevitable, and malaria is so common. I think that I may have mentioned this before, but one of my prayer requests is that I would be proactive about the rest of my time here. It is so easy to be consumed in the routine of school and just living. Even though I am so happy that I am truly experiencing an international teaching experience, I want to be able to soak up the Burkina experience. These are so different from each other. Please pray that I would have the motivation to look for opportunities and to also have opportunities come my way. Please also continue to pray for God to confirm things in my heart.
I appreciate each one of you!
Monday, November 10, 2008
A Long Awaited Reunion
Saturday was a relaxing day filled with sleeping in and lesson planning. Other than that, we went to a pizza restaurant in the evening and played cards for a few hours. We had a great time laughing together! I know that I am right where I am supposed to be! Thank you for all of your prayers!
Yesterday I went to church with Alice and the kids. It is so refreshing to be there. Even though I don’t understand most of what is going on, I sense the presence of God and the hearts of the people. I love these people. These are the Burkinabe that impacted me so much two years ago. Speaking of two years ago…one thing that was a highlight for our team was the two nights of dancing around the church in a circle while singing…for three hours each time. It was a sweaty celebration of brothers and sisters in Christ. I tell you this because while we were singing on Sunday, the circle began! I was excited to just watch, but little did I know that the second person in the line was MARIE! She was the other girl who I got to know well here last time. She motioned for me to come join her with a big smile. So, I gave her a quick hug as we danced around the church. Not knowing the words and not being able to “feel the beat” exactly like an African, I again felt like I did in 2006…silly but wonderful! Afterwards, I got to talk with Marie and Elizabeth together and give long overdue hugs. What a moment! I thank God for allowing me to experience this! With broken French and English we expressed our excitement, and I think that in two weeks they are going to come visit me. We will see! I can’t wait to talk with them more! The rest of Sunday was not as exciting…more lesson planning. Here is a picture of Marie, me, and Elizabeth:
Today I introduced the Kindergarteners to Mr. S and his Super Socks! They really like this one…and so do I! I also taught the math lesson today which was the last day for “one more.” I thought I would be creative and use playing cards since the numbers correspond with the hearts, spades, cloves, and diamonds. I had the kids find the card that had one more, etc. This was not as big of a hit as I had hoped. I think this would have been good for older grades though. Oh well…we learn.
Funny story of the day…during story time I noticed that two of my students, of the opposite gender, were sitting really close. They are the tiniest kids in the class and both are five. They were holding hands and then pulling up their shirts so that they could tickle one another. At first I was cracking up, but they were getting a little inappropriate for the class, so I sat in between them. During free time later, they made each other gifts: a painting for the boy and a necklace for the girl. So, before we went home, we were sitting on the carpet. Sheila noticed that they couldn’t keep their hands off of one another again and told them to move. This time they were putting their hands down each other’s pants. Sheila and I caught glances and tried hard not to laugh.
After school I went back to the orphanage with Sheila and a few other older girls. There were only a few of us, unlike last time. When we got there, several of the babies were crying, so we jumped in and started picking them up. Even with all of us and the few workers, there were still more babies. I don’t know how these workers do it by themselves. Today the smell was not as bad and the babies seemed generally cleaner which was good to see. The little girl that was so little the last time, her name is Sienna. She is still so tiny but maybe just a bit bigger. As soon as I walked in the door I grabbed one little baby name something close to Anna. She stole my heart, and I had a hard time leaving. She was so precious and so happy. It is so hard to imagine that someone could not want someone so beautiful and so innocent as this little baby. I heard tonight that during our break when we didn’t come, the orphanage got a baby that was three days old. He was found in a dumpster. A few days later he died. My heart is broken for the children with no hope. I still feel that God may have something in my future with homeless children...in some way, shape, or form.
Yesterday I went to church with Alice and the kids. It is so refreshing to be there. Even though I don’t understand most of what is going on, I sense the presence of God and the hearts of the people. I love these people. These are the Burkinabe that impacted me so much two years ago. Speaking of two years ago…one thing that was a highlight for our team was the two nights of dancing around the church in a circle while singing…for three hours each time. It was a sweaty celebration of brothers and sisters in Christ. I tell you this because while we were singing on Sunday, the circle began! I was excited to just watch, but little did I know that the second person in the line was MARIE! She was the other girl who I got to know well here last time. She motioned for me to come join her with a big smile. So, I gave her a quick hug as we danced around the church. Not knowing the words and not being able to “feel the beat” exactly like an African, I again felt like I did in 2006…silly but wonderful! Afterwards, I got to talk with Marie and Elizabeth together and give long overdue hugs. What a moment! I thank God for allowing me to experience this! With broken French and English we expressed our excitement, and I think that in two weeks they are going to come visit me. We will see! I can’t wait to talk with them more! The rest of Sunday was not as exciting…more lesson planning. Here is a picture of Marie, me, and Elizabeth:
Today I introduced the Kindergarteners to Mr. S and his Super Socks! They really like this one…and so do I! I also taught the math lesson today which was the last day for “one more.” I thought I would be creative and use playing cards since the numbers correspond with the hearts, spades, cloves, and diamonds. I had the kids find the card that had one more, etc. This was not as big of a hit as I had hoped. I think this would have been good for older grades though. Oh well…we learn.
Funny story of the day…during story time I noticed that two of my students, of the opposite gender, were sitting really close. They are the tiniest kids in the class and both are five. They were holding hands and then pulling up their shirts so that they could tickle one another. At first I was cracking up, but they were getting a little inappropriate for the class, so I sat in between them. During free time later, they made each other gifts: a painting for the boy and a necklace for the girl. So, before we went home, we were sitting on the carpet. Sheila noticed that they couldn’t keep their hands off of one another again and told them to move. This time they were putting their hands down each other’s pants. Sheila and I caught glances and tried hard not to laugh.
After school I went back to the orphanage with Sheila and a few other older girls. There were only a few of us, unlike last time. When we got there, several of the babies were crying, so we jumped in and started picking them up. Even with all of us and the few workers, there were still more babies. I don’t know how these workers do it by themselves. Today the smell was not as bad and the babies seemed generally cleaner which was good to see. The little girl that was so little the last time, her name is Sienna. She is still so tiny but maybe just a bit bigger. As soon as I walked in the door I grabbed one little baby name something close to Anna. She stole my heart, and I had a hard time leaving. She was so precious and so happy. It is so hard to imagine that someone could not want someone so beautiful and so innocent as this little baby. I heard tonight that during our break when we didn’t come, the orphanage got a baby that was three days old. He was found in a dumpster. A few days later he died. My heart is broken for the children with no hope. I still feel that God may have something in my future with homeless children...in some way, shape, or form.
Sorry to end on a sad note...I just wanted you to know where my heart is. I am thankful that I get to be a part of something like this and finally feel like I'm here to do more than teach.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Bartering
What a great day! This morning when I woke up at 6AM, I was really glad it was Friday! The kids were crazy and wound up today. It probably was due to the large sugar intake. They first had their usual snack. Then, a mother of one of my students, who turns five tomorrow, brought in cake. It was the sweetest cake I have had maybe ever! Because today was our last day to focus on Mr. P, I bought some Popcorn. So...they did a lot of eating today. Oh, and they took treat bags filled with candy home from the birthday, also. Good luck to those parents!! :) Anyways, things went well and I am loving working with these students! I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but teaching here is very relaxed compared to teaching in the states. There are a lot more breaks for teachers during the day. Then, because I am with such young kids, we have "choosing time" two times a day. This is when the kids basically play...dress up, my favorite Letter People Go Fish, read books, paint, make beaded necklaces, use lots of scotch tape for building paper airplanes and paper watches, dressing up, etc. It is FUN!!
After school we went home for lunch, and I hurried outside to meet the Burgs. Sarah and I have been wanting to go back to SIAO again, so we were hoping that someone we knew would want to go...and the Burgs did! I cannot begin to tell you how much fun shopping was today. They still had tons of things left, and the vendors were more willing to go down on their prices because it was later in the week. We had several hours, and Sarah and I got our feet wet with African bartering. I have to admit...I'm not too bad. I guess all of those garage sales when I was younger has paid off! :) Depending on the country, some knew English. The ones who did were hilarious because they would say, "Oh, I make you a good price...a very good price." One man cleared his chair off and asked me to sit down as I thought of "just one more final price" for the boutique (cloth picture) that I was interested in. We went back and forth and eventually I got a good deal on it. It is true that you have to walk away if you don't like the price because this strategy was extremely effective. One man found me several stands down about a necklace that I asked about. I found so many fun things and bought a lot more than I did the last time. So, I think that I am set now with my shopping for the trip. There are just a few little odds and ends that I still want to pick up around town before I leave.
Here is a picture of my beautiful new boutique. It is a picture of the continent of Africa and it has a woman working on it while her baby is wrapped on her back. I love it so much!
Tonight is a relaxing night for me. I am getting things organized and rearranging some things since I now have the dresser. I am really looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow. However, lesson planning will be a majority of the day I think as I will gain math next week. This should be fun! :)
After school we went home for lunch, and I hurried outside to meet the Burgs. Sarah and I have been wanting to go back to SIAO again, so we were hoping that someone we knew would want to go...and the Burgs did! I cannot begin to tell you how much fun shopping was today. They still had tons of things left, and the vendors were more willing to go down on their prices because it was later in the week. We had several hours, and Sarah and I got our feet wet with African bartering. I have to admit...I'm not too bad. I guess all of those garage sales when I was younger has paid off! :) Depending on the country, some knew English. The ones who did were hilarious because they would say, "Oh, I make you a good price...a very good price." One man cleared his chair off and asked me to sit down as I thought of "just one more final price" for the boutique (cloth picture) that I was interested in. We went back and forth and eventually I got a good deal on it. It is true that you have to walk away if you don't like the price because this strategy was extremely effective. One man found me several stands down about a necklace that I asked about. I found so many fun things and bought a lot more than I did the last time. So, I think that I am set now with my shopping for the trip. There are just a few little odds and ends that I still want to pick up around town before I leave.
Here is a picture of my beautiful new boutique. It is a picture of the continent of Africa and it has a woman working on it while her baby is wrapped on her back. I love it so much!
Tonight is a relaxing night for me. I am getting things organized and rearranging some things since I now have the dresser. I am really looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow. However, lesson planning will be a majority of the day I think as I will gain math next week. This should be fun! :)
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Leanna...one of God's many blessings!
Today was another fun day in the classroom. Yesterday I taught the students the "Down By the Banks" song/hand game. They loved this, and they wanted to play it again today. I think this may be a new favorite. Sheila thanked me this evening because it has been in her head all day long. Today was like every day in that at some point some student(s) cries. When you are 4, 5, or 6, life can easily be scary or upseting.
After school I went to Leanna's house for lunch. She is a CMA missionary here as a teacher. I have gotten to know her mainly through helping with the youth group as this is another one of her ministries. I had such a wonderful time getting to truly know her and her heart. I found out that her sister is Lydia, the girl from LIFE 2004 in Phoenix, AZ that got hit by a bus and all of us prayed for. She has the picture that they showed the thousands of us on the screen, hanging up on her wall. She also went to Kent State, so she knows where Canfield is. Also, she has been to North-Mar! Besides the fact that we have a lot of geography in common, we have similar passions and even struggles. Leanna was back in the states when our group came in 2006, so that is how I missed out on meeting her before. I know that she is a blessing from God in my life as she has already encouraged me so much. She helped me understand some of the different opportunities after I graduate and in the future. This was so helpful!
I then went to the school to wait for Sheila as she had a meeting. I watched the high school soccer game while I was waiting...and they won! We then came home, and there were two surprises waiting for me. One...Kaytah had washed all of my flipflops and they are now sparkling clean instead of coated with red dirt. I was so excited!! Then, my dresser was in finally, so Kaytah picked it up today. Basically, Kaytah is the man!! :) It is brightly colored and will soon be used instead of my suitcases.
Well, I am going to get a quick bite to eat before youth group this evening. The day has been flying by with a lot of different activities. It should be a fun night!
Today I am thanking God for again being faithful and putting Leanna in my path.
After school I went to Leanna's house for lunch. She is a CMA missionary here as a teacher. I have gotten to know her mainly through helping with the youth group as this is another one of her ministries. I had such a wonderful time getting to truly know her and her heart. I found out that her sister is Lydia, the girl from LIFE 2004 in Phoenix, AZ that got hit by a bus and all of us prayed for. She has the picture that they showed the thousands of us on the screen, hanging up on her wall. She also went to Kent State, so she knows where Canfield is. Also, she has been to North-Mar! Besides the fact that we have a lot of geography in common, we have similar passions and even struggles. Leanna was back in the states when our group came in 2006, so that is how I missed out on meeting her before. I know that she is a blessing from God in my life as she has already encouraged me so much. She helped me understand some of the different opportunities after I graduate and in the future. This was so helpful!
I then went to the school to wait for Sheila as she had a meeting. I watched the high school soccer game while I was waiting...and they won! We then came home, and there were two surprises waiting for me. One...Kaytah had washed all of my flipflops and they are now sparkling clean instead of coated with red dirt. I was so excited!! Then, my dresser was in finally, so Kaytah picked it up today. Basically, Kaytah is the man!! :) It is brightly colored and will soon be used instead of my suitcases.
Well, I am going to get a quick bite to eat before youth group this evening. The day has been flying by with a lot of different activities. It should be a fun night!
Today I am thanking God for again being faithful and putting Leanna in my path.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Election Day!
After hearing about the election for far too long...today is here! I have been watching a lot of CNN World News, so I have thankfully been able to follow the campaigns for the past few weeks. It has been interesting to me how over here, the news involves the whole world. This is not the case with our news in the states. Basically a national disaster has to occur before we cover another country's news...unless of course it effects us. So, tonight I watched a live speech from McCain in Colorado. Why didn't he deliver a speech like that before? If he did, I think he would be a lot more confident right now. The other thing that I enjoyed watching was how many Americans are actually voting in this election...it is about time!! I have to admit that the more I watch, the more I find it hard to leave the TV or Tele as they say here. I am going to make this short tonight because I want to go to bed early so that I can wake up at 4:45am tomorrow to hopefully be just in time to hear some exciting news of the new US president. Who will be happy...Sheila or me....we will soon find out!
Quick recap of the day...school was great. Being with such little kids is a full time job, but it doesn't feel as much like work. I think this is because there is less traditional teaching and more experiential learning going on with life lessons like how to share or take turns. I am really enjoying my time with the kids. Today we found out that one of our students moved during last week, so he wont be back. This is something that I think I would really struggle with as an international school teacher. I only knew this kid a week and was sad today when I heard this news. I can't imagine not saying good-bye or anything after getting to know a child like a teacher does. This is so common though at schools like this because parents are always relocating...most of the time to different countries. Anyways, back to the day...after school we came home and had chicken for lunch. We were all excited because chicken is a precious thing here with the few that are alive and well. So, I started to use my fork to pull off the meat, but it didn't budge. I was politely trying to eat this which seemed more and more impossible. Sheila soon said, "Do you need to use your paws for this?" I told her I was waiting for that. So, we all were tugging and pulling with our fingers, but still nothing! We think that Kaytah, the cook, overcooked it or something...Then, we decided we needed "saws," so Sheila grabbed each of us sharp knives. The chicken finally came off the bone, but it still was a workout. Seeing all of our faces as we struggled was so funny, and there was a lot of laughter. It was probably good that Kaytah doesn't understand English because I think he would have been offended if he did. Good fun for the day!
Well, I'm going to bed...GO VOTE!!!!!
Quick recap of the day...school was great. Being with such little kids is a full time job, but it doesn't feel as much like work. I think this is because there is less traditional teaching and more experiential learning going on with life lessons like how to share or take turns. I am really enjoying my time with the kids. Today we found out that one of our students moved during last week, so he wont be back. This is something that I think I would really struggle with as an international school teacher. I only knew this kid a week and was sad today when I heard this news. I can't imagine not saying good-bye or anything after getting to know a child like a teacher does. This is so common though at schools like this because parents are always relocating...most of the time to different countries. Anyways, back to the day...after school we came home and had chicken for lunch. We were all excited because chicken is a precious thing here with the few that are alive and well. So, I started to use my fork to pull off the meat, but it didn't budge. I was politely trying to eat this which seemed more and more impossible. Sheila soon said, "Do you need to use your paws for this?" I told her I was waiting for that. So, we all were tugging and pulling with our fingers, but still nothing! We think that Kaytah, the cook, overcooked it or something...Then, we decided we needed "saws," so Sheila grabbed each of us sharp knives. The chicken finally came off the bone, but it still was a workout. Seeing all of our faces as we struggled was so funny, and there was a lot of laughter. It was probably good that Kaytah doesn't understand English because I think he would have been offended if he did. Good fun for the day!
Well, I'm going to bed...GO VOTE!!!!!
Monday, November 3, 2008
6AM mornings are back again!
Last night was another no-internet evening. After giving up on it, I started to read in bed before going to sleep. Around 9:30 the electricity went off. It came back on in a few minutes, but I decided that I was too tired to read anymore by that point. I am reading Miracle at Tenwek, which is a book that Megan gave me last Christmas. It is about the life and impact of Ernie Steury, a medical missionary to Kenya. So far it has been amazing, and I am enjoying reading this in my free time when I am not too tired. The book addresses a lot about the specific call that God placed on Ernie’s life and how even through obstacles, times of uncertainty, and discouragement, God carried that through to His purpose and plan. It has been encouraging for me as I am seeking God for the specific calling He has on my life.
I am not sure if it was the week off of school and relaxing or what, but I am feeling very tired and am not up to doing much. This is a prayer request of mine because it is easy to be very consumed in planning and teaching things and not soak up the culture and people around me. The school itself is a completely separate community. It is wonderful, but it is very different and removed from the rest of Burkina even though there are Burkinabe students who attend. Most teachers and students return in the afternoon and evening to either plan or attend some activity. This is a great thing; however, you must be careful to not let it consume you.
Yesterday I went to church with Alice and the kids. Pete was away on a trip, so it was just us. Once a year the women are in charge of the service, and it is located at the central CMA (Christian and Missionary Alliance) church in Ouagadougou. Yesterday was that day, so we went to this church that is very modern compared to the Pat Twah, the other church. The prime minister, whose children attend my school, was invited and ended up coming. The church was packed with probably close to 1,000 in attendance. There was a band and tons of music that was fun and energetic. Several woman were up front dancing around in a circle. This reminded me of church when I came in 2006. Our team danced around the church with the people for three hours…for two nights. It was hot but so much fun. This is how I got to know Marie (who I have not seen yet) and Elizabeth. During the service, Alice translated for me which was so nice to know what was going on. The message was about peace. The woman talked about how we often let interruptions and discouragement get in the way of the peace of God. It was a good service…all three and a half hours!! :)
Today was back to the grind, waking up at 6am. Since I went to bed early last night, I did pretty well at being awake this morning. My tea with Digestives helped! :) The kids were so well behaved today, even though I thought they were before. I think that the break was well-needed. Today was my first lesson on the letter “P.” It went pretty well, but the kids finished a lot sooner than I had anticipated. Thankfully, I thought of another activity on the spot. As I had imagined, it was really difficult to keep the attention of the kids when two of them only know a few words in English. I sometimes get bored when I hear a long conversation in French, and I have a lot more self control than these kids. Tomorrow’s lesson should be fun along with the rest of the week because I have a different theme for each day. Penguins are tomorrow, followed by pigs, picnic, and popcorn party. At the end of the day the kids usually have free time. They all love the alphabet people “Go Fish” game. I cannot tell you how many times I have played this in 6 days! Today was really rewarding because one of my non-English speaking students asked me to play with her. She was finally able to say, “Mrs. Marshall, do you have Mr. fill in the blank.” I was really proud of her!
Tonight for dinner we are having pizza from the Burgs, missionaries that I knew last time. Their older son and a friend had started a business, but they are now in the states for college. I guess it is a family recipe, because they are still making them. I remember loving them last time, so they should be good. Well, hopefully, I will be able to post this online tonight, and I am also hoping to talk to my family. Another prayer request…even though I am so glad I am here, I am struggling knowing that my family is all together for a month since Eddie is on vacation and at home. Not talking to them as much and feeling so far away makes it harder for me.
Well, I hope that your week is off to a great start. There is now a five hour time difference between us since we don’t have Daylight Savings. The election is tomorrow, so I am planning on going to bed early, since I will want to be up late tomorrow evening. I think Sheila and I are going to be glued to the TV, even though we have different hopes for the outcome.
FYI…Clicker is back to his normal spot behind the hot water tank in my bathroom. He has been missing for a few days, so I am glad to have those big familiar eyes back! :)
I am not sure if it was the week off of school and relaxing or what, but I am feeling very tired and am not up to doing much. This is a prayer request of mine because it is easy to be very consumed in planning and teaching things and not soak up the culture and people around me. The school itself is a completely separate community. It is wonderful, but it is very different and removed from the rest of Burkina even though there are Burkinabe students who attend. Most teachers and students return in the afternoon and evening to either plan or attend some activity. This is a great thing; however, you must be careful to not let it consume you.
Yesterday I went to church with Alice and the kids. Pete was away on a trip, so it was just us. Once a year the women are in charge of the service, and it is located at the central CMA (Christian and Missionary Alliance) church in Ouagadougou. Yesterday was that day, so we went to this church that is very modern compared to the Pat Twah, the other church. The prime minister, whose children attend my school, was invited and ended up coming. The church was packed with probably close to 1,000 in attendance. There was a band and tons of music that was fun and energetic. Several woman were up front dancing around in a circle. This reminded me of church when I came in 2006. Our team danced around the church with the people for three hours…for two nights. It was hot but so much fun. This is how I got to know Marie (who I have not seen yet) and Elizabeth. During the service, Alice translated for me which was so nice to know what was going on. The message was about peace. The woman talked about how we often let interruptions and discouragement get in the way of the peace of God. It was a good service…all three and a half hours!! :)
Today was back to the grind, waking up at 6am. Since I went to bed early last night, I did pretty well at being awake this morning. My tea with Digestives helped! :) The kids were so well behaved today, even though I thought they were before. I think that the break was well-needed. Today was my first lesson on the letter “P.” It went pretty well, but the kids finished a lot sooner than I had anticipated. Thankfully, I thought of another activity on the spot. As I had imagined, it was really difficult to keep the attention of the kids when two of them only know a few words in English. I sometimes get bored when I hear a long conversation in French, and I have a lot more self control than these kids. Tomorrow’s lesson should be fun along with the rest of the week because I have a different theme for each day. Penguins are tomorrow, followed by pigs, picnic, and popcorn party. At the end of the day the kids usually have free time. They all love the alphabet people “Go Fish” game. I cannot tell you how many times I have played this in 6 days! Today was really rewarding because one of my non-English speaking students asked me to play with her. She was finally able to say, “Mrs. Marshall, do you have Mr. fill in the blank.” I was really proud of her!
Tonight for dinner we are having pizza from the Burgs, missionaries that I knew last time. Their older son and a friend had started a business, but they are now in the states for college. I guess it is a family recipe, because they are still making them. I remember loving them last time, so they should be good. Well, hopefully, I will be able to post this online tonight, and I am also hoping to talk to my family. Another prayer request…even though I am so glad I am here, I am struggling knowing that my family is all together for a month since Eddie is on vacation and at home. Not talking to them as much and feeling so far away makes it harder for me.
Well, I hope that your week is off to a great start. There is now a five hour time difference between us since we don’t have Daylight Savings. The election is tomorrow, so I am planning on going to bed early, since I will want to be up late tomorrow evening. I think Sheila and I are going to be glued to the TV, even though we have different hopes for the outcome.
FYI…Clicker is back to his normal spot behind the hot water tank in my bathroom. He has been missing for a few days, so I am glad to have those big familiar eyes back! :)
Saturday, November 1, 2008
SIAO and Reformation
Today was the long awaited visit to the SIAO festival...don't ask me what it stands for! SIAO is a BIG thing here in case you couldn't tell by the water bottle! Yeah...BIG!!! :) We thought it would be good to get an early start before the sun scorched us and before all of Ouaga came. We picked up the other K-1 teacher and her husband along the way and arrived at 8:45. The gates didn't end up opening till 9:00 and the actual buildings didn't open till 9:30. So, we were pretty toasty by the time we even began. Therefore, our first stop was the one of the two air conditioned buildings. There are four main buildings, and about 100 stands in each. Countries from all over Africa are represented. Basically, a piece of heaven for me. The air conditioned buildings were more "classy" and had fewer booths with higher priced items. The other two buildings were mass chaos with people everywhere and some aggressive African sellers. I loved just watching all the people and looking at their beautiful things they brought to sell from their country. A lot of things were similar throughout the countries, but each had specialities....like leather or silver jewelry or sparkling clothing, etc. We managed to cover the four buildings in two hours. I could have easily spent 6 hours more there and LOTS of money. I love most African jewelry...my new weakness. (I think even more than Magnum Bars)! My French is horrible, but I practiced a few market phrases the other day so that I would be able to make some purchases on my own. I did find one necklace and bracelet set that I didn't think I could live without. Later this week, I hope to go back.
After shopping in the heat, we were all worn out, so we came back to the house with the other family and had a feast for lunch. We then just sat around and socialized for hours, Burkinabe style...even though Americans and Canadians made up the room. I just relaxed the rest of the afternoon and thought of ideas for this evening's costume.
Costume you may wonder. Well, the youth group had a Reformation Party tonight to celebrate the anniversary of Martin Luther King's thesis. So, everyone had to dress up as a Reformer. We had Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, Rosa Parks, 3 Blind Mice, Pink Panther, a baker, and others that weren't really Reformers but dressed up and myself as Alice Paul. Last year I learned about her involvement in the women's suffrage movement and was very intrigued by her. So, when I googled women reformers tonight, she was one of the options. Not as fun; however, a good choice. I don't think that there was one person who really knew who I was, but since they hardly know me, most of the kids just smiled and acted like I was someone. It was a fun night with several messy games that reminded me of my days in youth group. Kids had mummy wrapping contests with TP, they carved watermelons, they chugged Coke...and threw up, they played Pin the thesis on the wall, and the messiest...bobbing for gummy bears in cooked rice. I laughed a lot and enjoyed getting to know some of the kids.
Well, that was pretty much today, and I am really tired!
Friday, October 31, 2008
A Few of My Favorite Things...Magnum Bars and Digestives!
Today was my last real day of “holiday” even though I really didn’t deserve it after only one week of observation. I tried to write an update yesterday; however, it was one of those days that the internet just decided not to work…for four hours. After that, I finally gave up and went to bed.
Yesterday, Thursday, I went to school with Sheila to do some more planning. Scholastic book orders had come in. Who would have thought that they would even be able to ship these? Sheila and I organized all of the orders for the school. Parents buy a lot more than they did when I was in elementary school! We then went to the supermarket which is a cultural experience itself. I love riding around on the roads because it is like a roller coaster ride—full of suspense. After two weeks here, I have made some observations. Enjoy 20 random things:
1. Milk comes in powder and packages here. The powder comes in coffee cans with Arabic writing and the packets look like individual butter packets.
2. Flies are slower here. I think that they are not used to being swatted. Bri…they would have nothing on you! : )
3. There is a mix of the 19th century with the 20th century with living in the capital. This is especially true with the driving and roads. The 21st century is a long ways away.
4. Speaking of the 20th century, they created a bypass. Wow! It is hilarious to watch the people get on that! Everyone looks confused and cars are going everywhere. Also, bicycles ride on it, too. This cracked me up because it looks like a highway and then you see this twelve year old riding as fast as he can beside you.
5. There are no lanes on the few paved roads. You honk if you want someone to move over and look for any available space. Free space is anyone’s to claim.
6. Analogy….Sheep is to Ireland as Lizard is to Burkina!
7. You can have a whole conversation with “Se Va” because depending on how you say it, it means several different things.
8. Tampons are kitchen sponges.
9. Instead of step stoles in the grocery store to stalk the shelves, the men climb into buggies.
1o. Digestives and Magnum bars are here…I am one happy girl!!!!!
11. Everyday from 2-3pm is lunch and siesta time. I am starting to finally get used to this.
12. Commercials during a TV show is a new thing here. They still have hardly any…it’s awesome!
13. Women have strong heads and great balance, and they start this at a young age.
14. Whenever you are in public, people are ready to help you…and to make money. No one asks if you need help; it is an automatic thing. Some examples that I have experienced so far…man carrying my luggage and loading it at the airport, man cleaned our windshield at the light, men are always in parking lots waving you to a spot and helping you get out, and in the grocery store, they box your things and carry them out (similar to the states here I guess). They don’t expect a lot of money…just something. On the street, people will risk their life by jumping into traffic if they think they have a sale.
15. My feet may possibly be red forever.
16. Diet pop is hard to find and I miss Sprite Zero! Everything here is Coke products. Interesting enough…some man managed to find me Diet Pepsi but there is no Diet Coke. I am thankful for this…just thought it was strange.
17. Bills like electricity, water, gas, etc. are paid in person.
18. “No” is not a word in the Burkinabe vocabulary. They will always try to find a way to do something, even if it is not what you have asked.
19. Glitter scarves are the “new thing” in case you are looking to be in style.
20. Hannah Montana has managed to create a fan club even in Burkina.
Anyways, on to today…HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BRI!! Today my brother is 27 years old. I wish I could be home to give him a hug and go out to eat with my family. But, I guess I will just have to make sure to find those lion teeth for him instead! Oh, and Happy Halloween! Only because I know the date do I know it is Halloween. Nothing here is decorated because only the American kids and a few others know about it. Today has also been a very productive day for lesson planning and writing papers. We had pasta and MAGNUM bars for lunch which was really good. Then, this evening I enjoyed a cup of tea with digestives. How wonderful!
Today was also the first day of the SIAO craft fair/festival that I have been greatly anticipating. Everything here shuts down early this whole upcoming week…schools, stores, etc. We are going tomorrow morning, and I heard that all of Burkina will be there. I can’t wait!!
Well, two weeks ago I was heading off of American soil. I am glad I am here. Thanks for your continued prayers and emails.
Sweet dreams! …Ok…real quick…I just have to say that today—during my siesta nap—I dreamt that I was on stage rocking it out with Backstreet Boys! What a dream! HAHA!
Yesterday, Thursday, I went to school with Sheila to do some more planning. Scholastic book orders had come in. Who would have thought that they would even be able to ship these? Sheila and I organized all of the orders for the school. Parents buy a lot more than they did when I was in elementary school! We then went to the supermarket which is a cultural experience itself. I love riding around on the roads because it is like a roller coaster ride—full of suspense. After two weeks here, I have made some observations. Enjoy 20 random things:
1. Milk comes in powder and packages here. The powder comes in coffee cans with Arabic writing and the packets look like individual butter packets.
2. Flies are slower here. I think that they are not used to being swatted. Bri…they would have nothing on you! : )
3. There is a mix of the 19th century with the 20th century with living in the capital. This is especially true with the driving and roads. The 21st century is a long ways away.
4. Speaking of the 20th century, they created a bypass. Wow! It is hilarious to watch the people get on that! Everyone looks confused and cars are going everywhere. Also, bicycles ride on it, too. This cracked me up because it looks like a highway and then you see this twelve year old riding as fast as he can beside you.
5. There are no lanes on the few paved roads. You honk if you want someone to move over and look for any available space. Free space is anyone’s to claim.
6. Analogy….Sheep is to Ireland as Lizard is to Burkina!
7. You can have a whole conversation with “Se Va” because depending on how you say it, it means several different things.
8. Tampons are kitchen sponges.
9. Instead of step stoles in the grocery store to stalk the shelves, the men climb into buggies.
1o. Digestives and Magnum bars are here…I am one happy girl!!!!!
11. Everyday from 2-3pm is lunch and siesta time. I am starting to finally get used to this.
12. Commercials during a TV show is a new thing here. They still have hardly any…it’s awesome!
13. Women have strong heads and great balance, and they start this at a young age.
14. Whenever you are in public, people are ready to help you…and to make money. No one asks if you need help; it is an automatic thing. Some examples that I have experienced so far…man carrying my luggage and loading it at the airport, man cleaned our windshield at the light, men are always in parking lots waving you to a spot and helping you get out, and in the grocery store, they box your things and carry them out (similar to the states here I guess). They don’t expect a lot of money…just something. On the street, people will risk their life by jumping into traffic if they think they have a sale.
15. My feet may possibly be red forever.
16. Diet pop is hard to find and I miss Sprite Zero! Everything here is Coke products. Interesting enough…some man managed to find me Diet Pepsi but there is no Diet Coke. I am thankful for this…just thought it was strange.
17. Bills like electricity, water, gas, etc. are paid in person.
18. “No” is not a word in the Burkinabe vocabulary. They will always try to find a way to do something, even if it is not what you have asked.
19. Glitter scarves are the “new thing” in case you are looking to be in style.
20. Hannah Montana has managed to create a fan club even in Burkina.
Anyways, on to today…HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BRI!! Today my brother is 27 years old. I wish I could be home to give him a hug and go out to eat with my family. But, I guess I will just have to make sure to find those lion teeth for him instead! Oh, and Happy Halloween! Only because I know the date do I know it is Halloween. Nothing here is decorated because only the American kids and a few others know about it. Today has also been a very productive day for lesson planning and writing papers. We had pasta and MAGNUM bars for lunch which was really good. Then, this evening I enjoyed a cup of tea with digestives. How wonderful!
Today was also the first day of the SIAO craft fair/festival that I have been greatly anticipating. Everything here shuts down early this whole upcoming week…schools, stores, etc. We are going tomorrow morning, and I heard that all of Burkina will be there. I can’t wait!!
Well, two weeks ago I was heading off of American soil. I am glad I am here. Thanks for your continued prayers and emails.
Sweet dreams! …Ok…real quick…I just have to say that today—during my siesta nap—I dreamt that I was on stage rocking it out with Backstreet Boys! What a dream! HAHA!
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Relaxation
Already two days down this week from my "holiday" or vacation. I haven't written much these past few days because there has not been too much to write about. However, I have truly enjoyed doing not much of anything and just lounging around talking to Sheila and John.
Yesterday Alice invited me and Sarah, a short term missionary who I met the other day, over for lunch. This was a nice way to get to know Sarah. She is here for two years! She will be helping with the ESL ministry here which I got to see last time I was here. I am hoping to get together with her in the near future. Anyways, she had to leave, so I just stayed around at Pete and Alice's. I had fun playing Barbies and wheel barrel races with the kids along with getting to talk more to Pete and Alice. I am thankful to have them so close! Alice also suggested that I try the skype calling to cell phones or home phones. I called Eddie and the reception was great. He was surprised to hear my voice!! :) So, last night, as I was waiting for my parents to land in the states from their trip to Punta Cana, I added some minutes to my skype account. I called my grandparents and then my parents just as they were landing. SO good to hear the voices of family yesterday! My parents and I then connected back up later last night when they got home and tried our first skype to skype conversation. Last night and tonight was similar...sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. The electricity and internet here in general are a little crazy. The electricity usually goes out at least once a day for fun. And the internet decides when it wants to work. I think that the dial up is another problem with skype. However, I still got to briefly see my parents and hear their voices. :) Tonight Eddie came over, so I got to see him, too! It is pretty amazing that something like Skype exists even in Burkina Faso! Yay technology!
Well, today I went to school with Sheila. She worked on report cards, and I began my lessons for next week. I will be teaching Language Arts to the Kindergarteners. They do the Letter People here which I did and LOVED when I was in Kindergarten! I will begin with Mr. P and his pointy patches. Today was interesting with planning and just how it is different with fewer resources. The school has a lot of resources; however, I personally do not. I was used to having little things like my lesson book, sticky notes, excess paper, my printer, etc. Being a planning freak sometimes, I must say that it is killing me to know that I have something at home that would be "perfect" for a lesson. But, I am learning to work with what I have, and I have to do much more creative but simpler things. I never thought twice of copying something at my last teaching experience, but that is not the case here. If there are more than 10 copies of something, you have to fill out a special sheet. Even though this sounds silly, this has been really hard. I have realized how wasteful I was during my last teaching experience. This is a new way of thinking for me which will be good...but hard. Good news...I did end up packing my sticky notes and found them this afternoon. SO exciting! :)
Big news of the day...I am going to get to see FARIDA!!! She is my compassion child, and I just found out this afternoon that things are confirmed for Decemeber 11. Thank you to those of you who have been praying. This has made me so excited, and I have been thanking God for working this all out! Now, I am praying that God will prepare my heart and hers along with other members of her family for our future encounter. I know that it sometimes is an awkward thing for the child, and I want her to know how much she is loved by me and most of all by God.
Well, tomorrow I am going to exchange some money into CFA or Franks, and then Sheila and I are going to go shopping. It should be fun! I guess the craft show thing I was talking about a few days ago begins on Friday. So, I am anxiously awaiting that, also!
It is now 1am here in Ouagadougou, so I must peace out! Love you all! :)
Yesterday Alice invited me and Sarah, a short term missionary who I met the other day, over for lunch. This was a nice way to get to know Sarah. She is here for two years! She will be helping with the ESL ministry here which I got to see last time I was here. I am hoping to get together with her in the near future. Anyways, she had to leave, so I just stayed around at Pete and Alice's. I had fun playing Barbies and wheel barrel races with the kids along with getting to talk more to Pete and Alice. I am thankful to have them so close! Alice also suggested that I try the skype calling to cell phones or home phones. I called Eddie and the reception was great. He was surprised to hear my voice!! :) So, last night, as I was waiting for my parents to land in the states from their trip to Punta Cana, I added some minutes to my skype account. I called my grandparents and then my parents just as they were landing. SO good to hear the voices of family yesterday! My parents and I then connected back up later last night when they got home and tried our first skype to skype conversation. Last night and tonight was similar...sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. The electricity and internet here in general are a little crazy. The electricity usually goes out at least once a day for fun. And the internet decides when it wants to work. I think that the dial up is another problem with skype. However, I still got to briefly see my parents and hear their voices. :) Tonight Eddie came over, so I got to see him, too! It is pretty amazing that something like Skype exists even in Burkina Faso! Yay technology!
Well, today I went to school with Sheila. She worked on report cards, and I began my lessons for next week. I will be teaching Language Arts to the Kindergarteners. They do the Letter People here which I did and LOVED when I was in Kindergarten! I will begin with Mr. P and his pointy patches. Today was interesting with planning and just how it is different with fewer resources. The school has a lot of resources; however, I personally do not. I was used to having little things like my lesson book, sticky notes, excess paper, my printer, etc. Being a planning freak sometimes, I must say that it is killing me to know that I have something at home that would be "perfect" for a lesson. But, I am learning to work with what I have, and I have to do much more creative but simpler things. I never thought twice of copying something at my last teaching experience, but that is not the case here. If there are more than 10 copies of something, you have to fill out a special sheet. Even though this sounds silly, this has been really hard. I have realized how wasteful I was during my last teaching experience. This is a new way of thinking for me which will be good...but hard. Good news...I did end up packing my sticky notes and found them this afternoon. SO exciting! :)
Big news of the day...I am going to get to see FARIDA!!! She is my compassion child, and I just found out this afternoon that things are confirmed for Decemeber 11. Thank you to those of you who have been praying. This has made me so excited, and I have been thanking God for working this all out! Now, I am praying that God will prepare my heart and hers along with other members of her family for our future encounter. I know that it sometimes is an awkward thing for the child, and I want her to know how much she is loved by me and most of all by God.
Well, tomorrow I am going to exchange some money into CFA or Franks, and then Sheila and I are going to go shopping. It should be fun! I guess the craft show thing I was talking about a few days ago begins on Friday. So, I am anxiously awaiting that, also!
It is now 1am here in Ouagadougou, so I must peace out! Love you all! :)
Monday, October 27, 2008
Goat Food
I was wrong yesterday when I said that I experienced Burkina culture…I experienced Ouagadougou main city culture, not actual Burkinabe culture…that was today.
This morning I woke up with my handy alarm clock that worked just swell. Sheila was up and ready for me with my tea. She is wonderful…and so is the tea! Alice and her two darling kids, Charity and Sammy, picked me up. Pete drove separate to pick up others. Charity is in the other K-1 class, but I see her often. She didn’t remember me since she was so young the first time; so she has been really shy towards me until today. Going to church was as wonderful as I had anticipated. Not much had changed about the church in spirit or atmosphere. The women all had on their beautiful African dresses, it was hot, and it was packed. The things that had changed were the large number of mopeds in the “parking lot” and also the finished benches on the project that we had started last time. It was a humble sight to see the chalkboards that we constructed in use. So the service…I LOVE African worship! I did not know a word during the two hours and 22 minute service, but I still loved it! I read about Ruth during some of the sermon. I love that there is no time limit. People are there to serve God, and boy do they know how to praise Him. I saw Elizabeth right away…she is one of the girls that I got to know well before. At the end of the service they asked all new people and people who have not been here for a long time to stand up. Pete came to my seat (men and women sit on opposite sides) to translate to the congregation who I was. He introduced me as Jessica. I didn’t hear my name, and Jessica was the only word I understood, so that is what I guessed, but I thought that maybe I was wrong until he called me Jessica several other times. Here he and Alice were working with two other Jessica’s over email, and Alice told him that was my name. He felt really bad because he didn’t think it was right. I thought it was funny, especially when some of the youth came up to me at the end and said, “Jessica? You are Amanda, right?” I couldn’t believe that some of these friends remembered me. Pete said that they really love North Mar and feel really connected to us. I was SO excited to hug Elizabeth. She and Marie had asked me to promise that I would return to see them someday, but I couldn’t. Who knew that God would have us embrace two years later? I also got to see Pascal! He speaks English well, and we all got to know him well last time. He know is married and has a little baby. After church they had a sprite/fanta/coke reception for me and two other families that were there for the first time. This church is precious! I am now back in Burkina! :)
We left church and headed to the Rec center…this is the American Embassy. Most missionaries go here every Sunday after church because they have good American food and a nice pool for the kids. They also have added a workout area which is really nice. We ate and then I just talked with several moms from my school. It was wonderful to talk with Pete and Alice about missions and just to catch up with them. I feel like I am in a totally different stage of my life than I was last time. I had new questions and my heart has been changed. God has used them so much here…and in my life.
Alice and Pete invited me over to their house afterwards, so I played with the kids and watched Zeus and Roxanne which was a cute movie. Around 5:30pm I went with Alice and the kids to drive their guard back home since Alice was going to buy some hay bales from him for their skinny goats. (I’m not sure if I mentioned, but almost every house has a guard that sits by the gate that each house also has. This is to prevent robberies.) She was planning on buying 30 bales. We drove several miles on the main road and then turned into a village off the road. Dirt roads are all bumpy, but these roads had valleys, and if we did not have four wheel drive, we would not have made it. The houses here maybe have a few cement walls and measure a square about the size of a small bathroom that we would complain about in the states. Several people sleep on the floor in these homes. There is no electricity and some of these people had never seen white people probably. The guard who lives here wanted Alice to meet his family. He has two wives, so eight kids in all. Some of the kids looked like normal little Burkinabe children, and the others were skin and bones…separated depending on the wife. His baby reminded me of the baby I saw in the orphanage, very malnourished. It got darker and darker as some of the people piled bales of hay on top of Alice’s jeep. The jeep was too loaded down at 20 bales…some even in the car. I buckled the kids into their car seats, we said our goodbyes, and Alice and I both looked at each other knowing this would be an adventure going back through these dirt roads, now in total darkness. Alice drove at walking pace, but bales fell off a few times, so we would stop and load them somewhere else. I eventually got in the back seat with the kids and held Charity on my lap so that we could bring more into the car. Alice was worried that once we got on the main road we could cause an accident with bales falling off in traffic. So, Sammy prayed the sweetest prayer asking the angels to hold onto the bales so that his Mommy could drive safe. And angels did protect us…no more fell off. Alice also talked about our time at the village with her kids. She asked them what was different about these kids than the ones that they know. Sammy said they were sad because they don’t know Jesus, and Charity said that they were really skinny. Alice explained that this is what starving really is, and how they should not use this term because they are not starving at all. She is a wonderful mom and she did a great job at explaining this difficult situation to these little kids. As I am now showered and clean, sitting here typing on my laptop, I can’t help but think about these people that I saw tonight. These are the “least of these” that God is talking about. What are we as Christians going to do?? Something must be done for these people and the millions over the world who are in the same situation or I dare to say even worse. What does it mean to love these people like ourselves and more so like Jesus? Please pray for the Burkinabe people. My heart is heavy tonight for these hurting people. They need the hope I am blessed to have.
This morning I woke up with my handy alarm clock that worked just swell. Sheila was up and ready for me with my tea. She is wonderful…and so is the tea! Alice and her two darling kids, Charity and Sammy, picked me up. Pete drove separate to pick up others. Charity is in the other K-1 class, but I see her often. She didn’t remember me since she was so young the first time; so she has been really shy towards me until today. Going to church was as wonderful as I had anticipated. Not much had changed about the church in spirit or atmosphere. The women all had on their beautiful African dresses, it was hot, and it was packed. The things that had changed were the large number of mopeds in the “parking lot” and also the finished benches on the project that we had started last time. It was a humble sight to see the chalkboards that we constructed in use. So the service…I LOVE African worship! I did not know a word during the two hours and 22 minute service, but I still loved it! I read about Ruth during some of the sermon. I love that there is no time limit. People are there to serve God, and boy do they know how to praise Him. I saw Elizabeth right away…she is one of the girls that I got to know well before. At the end of the service they asked all new people and people who have not been here for a long time to stand up. Pete came to my seat (men and women sit on opposite sides) to translate to the congregation who I was. He introduced me as Jessica. I didn’t hear my name, and Jessica was the only word I understood, so that is what I guessed, but I thought that maybe I was wrong until he called me Jessica several other times. Here he and Alice were working with two other Jessica’s over email, and Alice told him that was my name. He felt really bad because he didn’t think it was right. I thought it was funny, especially when some of the youth came up to me at the end and said, “Jessica? You are Amanda, right?” I couldn’t believe that some of these friends remembered me. Pete said that they really love North Mar and feel really connected to us. I was SO excited to hug Elizabeth. She and Marie had asked me to promise that I would return to see them someday, but I couldn’t. Who knew that God would have us embrace two years later? I also got to see Pascal! He speaks English well, and we all got to know him well last time. He know is married and has a little baby. After church they had a sprite/fanta/coke reception for me and two other families that were there for the first time. This church is precious! I am now back in Burkina! :)
We left church and headed to the Rec center…this is the American Embassy. Most missionaries go here every Sunday after church because they have good American food and a nice pool for the kids. They also have added a workout area which is really nice. We ate and then I just talked with several moms from my school. It was wonderful to talk with Pete and Alice about missions and just to catch up with them. I feel like I am in a totally different stage of my life than I was last time. I had new questions and my heart has been changed. God has used them so much here…and in my life.
Alice and Pete invited me over to their house afterwards, so I played with the kids and watched Zeus and Roxanne which was a cute movie. Around 5:30pm I went with Alice and the kids to drive their guard back home since Alice was going to buy some hay bales from him for their skinny goats. (I’m not sure if I mentioned, but almost every house has a guard that sits by the gate that each house also has. This is to prevent robberies.) She was planning on buying 30 bales. We drove several miles on the main road and then turned into a village off the road. Dirt roads are all bumpy, but these roads had valleys, and if we did not have four wheel drive, we would not have made it. The houses here maybe have a few cement walls and measure a square about the size of a small bathroom that we would complain about in the states. Several people sleep on the floor in these homes. There is no electricity and some of these people had never seen white people probably. The guard who lives here wanted Alice to meet his family. He has two wives, so eight kids in all. Some of the kids looked like normal little Burkinabe children, and the others were skin and bones…separated depending on the wife. His baby reminded me of the baby I saw in the orphanage, very malnourished. It got darker and darker as some of the people piled bales of hay on top of Alice’s jeep. The jeep was too loaded down at 20 bales…some even in the car. I buckled the kids into their car seats, we said our goodbyes, and Alice and I both looked at each other knowing this would be an adventure going back through these dirt roads, now in total darkness. Alice drove at walking pace, but bales fell off a few times, so we would stop and load them somewhere else. I eventually got in the back seat with the kids and held Charity on my lap so that we could bring more into the car. Alice was worried that once we got on the main road we could cause an accident with bales falling off in traffic. So, Sammy prayed the sweetest prayer asking the angels to hold onto the bales so that his Mommy could drive safe. And angels did protect us…no more fell off. Alice also talked about our time at the village with her kids. She asked them what was different about these kids than the ones that they know. Sammy said they were sad because they don’t know Jesus, and Charity said that they were really skinny. Alice explained that this is what starving really is, and how they should not use this term because they are not starving at all. She is a wonderful mom and she did a great job at explaining this difficult situation to these little kids. As I am now showered and clean, sitting here typing on my laptop, I can’t help but think about these people that I saw tonight. These are the “least of these” that God is talking about. What are we as Christians going to do?? Something must be done for these people and the millions over the world who are in the same situation or I dare to say even worse. What does it mean to love these people like ourselves and more so like Jesus? Please pray for the Burkinabe people. My heart is heavy tonight for these hurting people. They need the hope I am blessed to have.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Plain Pizza
Last night’s Cinema Night was a major hit! There were close to 80 kids that came to see Disney’s Camp Rock. I have never seen this, but it wasn’t as bad as I had anticipated. Let’s just say that Disney has really changed its style since I was a kid. Anyway, Cinema Night is a fundraiser for the school, and it costs 1,000 CFA or franks which is Burkina money. 500 CFA is equal to about one US dollar. I don’t know why it was so hard for me to comprehend this the last time I was here. Maybe because I didn’t have Math for Teachers yet. Haha! Anyways, 1,000 CFA includes the movie and unlimited juice boxes and popcorn. I think that most of the kids came for the food because it was a constant flow till both were gone. The high schoolers all chat and text each other. Then, afterwards Sheila and I cleaned up a room that looked like a dirty movie theatre. I am in awe that she does this whole thing every other week by herself. It was fun, but it is a lot of work. She is a great woman.
Today has been a day full of Burkina wonderfulness! I slept in to about 9:30 AM when I heard Rosie, the Labrador, bark. I think she is black; however, she is permanently stained red from the dust here. She sounds vicious but she is a sweetheart. Playing with her makes me miss Lexie. I bet that she is about the size of a pony about now. By the time I return, I suspect she will be a horse. I got my share of picking her up before I left because this wont be possible when I go home. Wow…off track! I had about two hours just to get some reading and emailing done this morning which was really nice. Then, Sheila and I just lounged around in the living room until around 3pm. We then went to another part of Ouaga which is more the business part of the city. This is where most of the hotels are located and also where the Presidential Palace is located. I remember the feeling I had last time I came when I saw these beautiful buildings. It is hard to see a corrupt government making good money when its people are starving. Sheila drove us to a furniture store in this area called Orca. The furniture was beautiful and reminded me of a regular store in the US except more original and exquisite pieces that looked African. Sheila wanted to get me a dresser for my “underwear.” I told her that I was okay with my suitcases, but she insisted and picked out a colorful dresser that I like a lot. We will get it on Monday. Then, she took me to what would be a dollar store in Burkina. To get there we had to walk through a market area where there were tons of people crowded around selling things. When Sheila and I walked up, we were bombarded and were being asked to buy even men’s clothing. These people are true salesmen…they don’t take no for an answer. Haha. We made it to the store, and Sheila bought me an alarm clock, and she picked up a few more things. It was fun to see what Burkina had as far as household items. We then headed home and lounged around again for awhile till John finished his first tennis lesson. I got to talk to a few friends on Gtalk which was really nice. We left for dinner around 7:45pm. We decided to make it a pizza night since there is a good place close to the school which is only about 2 miles away. It gets dark here really early because of the dust in the air. We ate at a pizza place across from the happening university bar. There were probably 300 college aged Burkinabe partying it up. Music was super loud but exciting since I love African music. I had a Margarita pizza….plain cheese….yum. A lot of food here has a little something extra in it, so I was glad to have my plain food. (Dauthan, I hope you are reading this)! While we were eating, bugs were attacking us. I think they realized there was some new blood in town. I learned quick last time here that you must cover up your bottles of pop (sprite, coke, and fanta…the three main sodas that are everywhere here) otherwise flies or other bugs are soon floating. At every meal, our food is covered before, during, and after with a plate to avoid this, too…even in the refrigerator. So, tonight I covered my sprite bottle, but I didn’t think to cover my glass. A big winged bug flew in. I grabbed it with my finger and threw it on the ground. Sheila said that you can always tell someone who is in Africa for the first time because they always freak out when a bug gets in their drink and then dump it on the ground. I guess I passed the Africa test!
Night driving in Ouagadougou—if possible—is even crazier than during the daytime. I really cannot explain in words what driving is like here; it is something that you have to see to believe. There are electric stoplights like in the US; however, they are kind of like those stOPTIONAL stop signs in the US on back roads. People just go when they want. Then, there is a little curb size blocking on the edge of the road where mopeds and bicycles drive. Mopeds also drive on the main road. Mopeds weave in and out of traffic and just pull in front of you if there is room. It is nothing to see donkeys pulling a wagon of sand on the main road, too. Pulling onto this road in the morning is a great sight because everyone is up and getting around. The bicyclists are riding as fast as possible…and some are booking it! Then, there are the women…in dresses…with a baby tied to their backs…carrying a purse on their shoulders…driving a moped. Women are also walking around the side street carrying a bucket full of about 100 bananas on their head. There are also the people at each stoplight. The men are selling phone cards that add minutes to cell phones. Most people buy these during the light…a quick exchange. The other people are the little children who beg for money. Everyone comes right to your window and if one person in the car says no, they go to the next window. The children break your heart. I have been really touched by Sheila because she has a drawer in her car that she keeps loose change. The few times kids have come to our car to ask for money, she quickly gets out a coin and says hello to the child. They are so excited over these few cents. Just the thought that this is their life is so sad and upsetting. These kids should be able to school and learning so that their kids don’t have to ask for money someday. However, even the public school costs too much money for several here. How we take education for granted. Another tangent I know…This road that I have been talking about is the main road which is paved, and then everything else is rough, dirt roads. Dad….I never want to hear you complain about me watching out for those little potholes….those are nothing! I have seen how much a car can really take! Haha! One teacher from the school asked me if I was going to get a moped while I was here, and I said, “No, I want to go home in December.” I would seriously be scared to death to drive here.
Well, here I have a book again. I hope that you are all doing well. Thanks to those of you who have emailed. I love hearing how you are all doing. I have now been here one week. My time here is going to go by fast. I am SO excited about going to church tomorrow morning with Pete and Alice. I cannot wait to be back in this church and to see some precious people. God is so good to let me return to this country!
I started a Bible study called, Experiencing the Heart of Jesus by Max Lucado. This first week is about how much God cares for us. I have a lot of thoughts about this but for sake of time, I want to leave you with a verse that I came upon today and was excited about….
“The person who loves God is the one God knows and cares for.” 1 Corinthians 8:3 NLT
Why would we not pour our hearts out to the Father who loves us so much? Rest in His love!
Today has been a day full of Burkina wonderfulness! I slept in to about 9:30 AM when I heard Rosie, the Labrador, bark. I think she is black; however, she is permanently stained red from the dust here. She sounds vicious but she is a sweetheart. Playing with her makes me miss Lexie. I bet that she is about the size of a pony about now. By the time I return, I suspect she will be a horse. I got my share of picking her up before I left because this wont be possible when I go home. Wow…off track! I had about two hours just to get some reading and emailing done this morning which was really nice. Then, Sheila and I just lounged around in the living room until around 3pm. We then went to another part of Ouaga which is more the business part of the city. This is where most of the hotels are located and also where the Presidential Palace is located. I remember the feeling I had last time I came when I saw these beautiful buildings. It is hard to see a corrupt government making good money when its people are starving. Sheila drove us to a furniture store in this area called Orca. The furniture was beautiful and reminded me of a regular store in the US except more original and exquisite pieces that looked African. Sheila wanted to get me a dresser for my “underwear.” I told her that I was okay with my suitcases, but she insisted and picked out a colorful dresser that I like a lot. We will get it on Monday. Then, she took me to what would be a dollar store in Burkina. To get there we had to walk through a market area where there were tons of people crowded around selling things. When Sheila and I walked up, we were bombarded and were being asked to buy even men’s clothing. These people are true salesmen…they don’t take no for an answer. Haha. We made it to the store, and Sheila bought me an alarm clock, and she picked up a few more things. It was fun to see what Burkina had as far as household items. We then headed home and lounged around again for awhile till John finished his first tennis lesson. I got to talk to a few friends on Gtalk which was really nice. We left for dinner around 7:45pm. We decided to make it a pizza night since there is a good place close to the school which is only about 2 miles away. It gets dark here really early because of the dust in the air. We ate at a pizza place across from the happening university bar. There were probably 300 college aged Burkinabe partying it up. Music was super loud but exciting since I love African music. I had a Margarita pizza….plain cheese….yum. A lot of food here has a little something extra in it, so I was glad to have my plain food. (Dauthan, I hope you are reading this)! While we were eating, bugs were attacking us. I think they realized there was some new blood in town. I learned quick last time here that you must cover up your bottles of pop (sprite, coke, and fanta…the three main sodas that are everywhere here) otherwise flies or other bugs are soon floating. At every meal, our food is covered before, during, and after with a plate to avoid this, too…even in the refrigerator. So, tonight I covered my sprite bottle, but I didn’t think to cover my glass. A big winged bug flew in. I grabbed it with my finger and threw it on the ground. Sheila said that you can always tell someone who is in Africa for the first time because they always freak out when a bug gets in their drink and then dump it on the ground. I guess I passed the Africa test!
Night driving in Ouagadougou—if possible—is even crazier than during the daytime. I really cannot explain in words what driving is like here; it is something that you have to see to believe. There are electric stoplights like in the US; however, they are kind of like those stOPTIONAL stop signs in the US on back roads. People just go when they want. Then, there is a little curb size blocking on the edge of the road where mopeds and bicycles drive. Mopeds also drive on the main road. Mopeds weave in and out of traffic and just pull in front of you if there is room. It is nothing to see donkeys pulling a wagon of sand on the main road, too. Pulling onto this road in the morning is a great sight because everyone is up and getting around. The bicyclists are riding as fast as possible…and some are booking it! Then, there are the women…in dresses…with a baby tied to their backs…carrying a purse on their shoulders…driving a moped. Women are also walking around the side street carrying a bucket full of about 100 bananas on their head. There are also the people at each stoplight. The men are selling phone cards that add minutes to cell phones. Most people buy these during the light…a quick exchange. The other people are the little children who beg for money. Everyone comes right to your window and if one person in the car says no, they go to the next window. The children break your heart. I have been really touched by Sheila because she has a drawer in her car that she keeps loose change. The few times kids have come to our car to ask for money, she quickly gets out a coin and says hello to the child. They are so excited over these few cents. Just the thought that this is their life is so sad and upsetting. These kids should be able to school and learning so that their kids don’t have to ask for money someday. However, even the public school costs too much money for several here. How we take education for granted. Another tangent I know…This road that I have been talking about is the main road which is paved, and then everything else is rough, dirt roads. Dad….I never want to hear you complain about me watching out for those little potholes….those are nothing! I have seen how much a car can really take! Haha! One teacher from the school asked me if I was going to get a moped while I was here, and I said, “No, I want to go home in December.” I would seriously be scared to death to drive here.
Well, here I have a book again. I hope that you are all doing well. Thanks to those of you who have emailed. I love hearing how you are all doing. I have now been here one week. My time here is going to go by fast. I am SO excited about going to church tomorrow morning with Pete and Alice. I cannot wait to be back in this church and to see some precious people. God is so good to let me return to this country!
I started a Bible study called, Experiencing the Heart of Jesus by Max Lucado. This first week is about how much God cares for us. I have a lot of thoughts about this but for sake of time, I want to leave you with a verse that I came upon today and was excited about….
“The person who loves God is the one God knows and cares for.” 1 Corinthians 8:3 NLT
Why would we not pour our hearts out to the Father who loves us so much? Rest in His love!
Friday, October 24, 2008
"Have You Seen my Duckling?"
Today was our Elementary School assembly for parents. The kids were all dressed up as book characters; however, some of them were just dressed up as whatever they felt like it this morning. It was a comical sight! We were supposed to begin at 7:30 am, but at 7:15 half of our class still hadn't shown up....our main characters. Finally, as we were walking out the door, all but one showed up. We were one of the first groups to perform, and we did "Have You Seen my Duckling." It is a book with only a few words which as you may be able to guess are, "Have you seen my duckling?" We made duck billed headbands yesterday that were super cute. Sheila and I also made a big nest for our little ducks. Today they just kind of waddled around, and I'm sure that most had no clue what they were doing because I didn't, and I know the story. Good thing they are so cute at that age! :) Then, the principal spoke and introduced me to everyone which I thought was sweet. The rest of the day was pretty crazy since the kids got out around 10:30am and then teachers had meetings.
Quick recap from yesterday....we went swimming, and the little ones did a great job! I was really impressed at how well they did for being so small. I guess I started swimming around that age, too, which is hard to imagine. Last night I went to an English speaking youth group where there was a mix of American and Burkinabe 6th-12th graders. It was a fun experience. It made me feel really old, even with the senior high group. I got to see Diana who was one of the missionary girls that I got to know when I was here last time. It was great to see and talk with her. I also met some other people my age that are here in Burkina for short term missions. I am looking forward to getting to know some of them better while I am here. John also came along with me which I was thankful for. I plan on going each week, so I hope he continues to come, too.
It is hard to believe, but I am on vacation now!! My school has a week off of school as they are preparing for report cards. Sheila has been really sick with a cold, so she is looking forward to resting. I am planning on getting some things done for my education portfolio. Also, we are going to get to experience some more of Burkina which I am really looking foward to. Shiela said that there is a giant craft show once every two years here where people from all over come with their things to sell. This will be next week, also. I am more than excited about this! Bri, maybe this is where I can find some real lion teeth for you to make your necklace! I'll see what I can do! :)
Well, I think it is time to go help Sheila make some popcorn. Sheila is in charge of "Cinema Nights" every other Friday evening at the school. They show a movie for the kids and have treats. This is great for them as there is not a ton for them to do on the weekend. I will let you know how it goes!
Quick recap from yesterday....we went swimming, and the little ones did a great job! I was really impressed at how well they did for being so small. I guess I started swimming around that age, too, which is hard to imagine. Last night I went to an English speaking youth group where there was a mix of American and Burkinabe 6th-12th graders. It was a fun experience. It made me feel really old, even with the senior high group. I got to see Diana who was one of the missionary girls that I got to know when I was here last time. It was great to see and talk with her. I also met some other people my age that are here in Burkina for short term missions. I am looking forward to getting to know some of them better while I am here. John also came along with me which I was thankful for. I plan on going each week, so I hope he continues to come, too.
It is hard to believe, but I am on vacation now!! My school has a week off of school as they are preparing for report cards. Sheila has been really sick with a cold, so she is looking forward to resting. I am planning on getting some things done for my education portfolio. Also, we are going to get to experience some more of Burkina which I am really looking foward to. Shiela said that there is a giant craft show once every two years here where people from all over come with their things to sell. This will be next week, also. I am more than excited about this! Bri, maybe this is where I can find some real lion teeth for you to make your necklace! I'll see what I can do! :)
Well, I think it is time to go help Sheila make some popcorn. Sheila is in charge of "Cinema Nights" every other Friday evening at the school. They show a movie for the kids and have treats. This is great for them as there is not a ton for them to do on the weekend. I will let you know how it goes!
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Clicker
Today many Burkinabe men were crawling around my bathroom floor to replace the water heater which is located in my bathroom. I was wondering what would happen to my little lizzard friend(s) with its lean-to gone, but it has adapted well. Since it is here for the long haul I think, I've decided to name him Clicker. He sings to me as I go to sleep. Tonight he was right above the toilet. I feel much better when he plays hide-and-seek. :)
Today was a fun day. I got to help out more in the classroom with the Kindergarteners. We made zebras out of toilet paper rolls. Since I told Sheila about my obsession with zebra print, she thought it would be a good idea for me to make one, too. I don't know who liked this craft more, the kids or me. I now have a new decoration for my desk in my room.
Story of the day: 2 friends got in a fight and ended up kicking each other. The one boy has a French accent and the other has picked it up even though he doesn't speak French. They came in running to the classroom during their recess break. I just sat there and watched Sheila handle it, and she did a great job. Long story short...who knows who started the kicking?!? Anyways, Sheila was trying to review how to deal with problems the right way. She asked them what they were supposed to do if someone kicked you. She was looking for...tell them to stop. Well, one kid said, "Punch them!". I had to look away because he kept repeating it, and I was cracking up! They ended up shaking hands and promising to be nice friends. Oh little kids!
After school John had his friend over for lunch. We had tocos and french fries. I love that anything goes here; everyone needs a little Africa flexibility in their life. Then, Sheila and I went back to the school to work on our kids' costumes for Friday's assembly. Each grade will be preforming for a few minutes from a book. Our class is doing, "Have You Seen my Duckling?". It is going to be awesome! We made beaks and other items this evening, and the kids practiced on the pond (long blue paper) today. They will be really cute ducklings! Sheila noticed that Pete was outside. For those of you who don't know Pete...I'm sorry! :) Pete is the missionary that my group worked with when I was here in 2006. He is hilarious and also an amazing man of God. I was so excited to see him! He remembered me, and we talked a little about what I am doing there and future plans. He and Alice are going to pick me up for church on Sunday! I am going to a youth group meeting tomorrow night, but I guess it is a different one. Pete said that the girls who I got to know before are still here and remember everyone from our group. I can't wait to see them!!! I think that seeing Pete, going to Pete's church, and being with these girls will make me feel like I am really back again!
Well, I think I am going to try to make it an early night since I will be up later tomorrow because of youth group. Tomorrow my kids have swimming and the teachers swim, too! I CAN'T WAIT! Get ready for some funny stories!
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
A little romance...
I'm sure that I just got a lot of you curious from that title! haha! No...no...not me...my little first graders. Today I came into class and one of my first graders said, "Miss Marshall, can I tell you a secret?" She whispered in my air, "I am in love with James, and he guessed it!" They sit by each other, so when I looked over he smiled and nodded his head yes. She then told me that James was able to guess all her secrets and that was one of them. They are so funny! Today I laughed a lot! We had P.E. today, so the kids played kickball. I went out to observe, and I am so glad that I did! They were hilarious. About three kids knew how to play, and the rest were just running wild! Some sat down on the bases, some ran the opposite way, some just stood there. It was a fun time. The rest of the day went by quickly. I got to work with an Indian boy who is probably the most intelligent and cutest boy his age I have ever seen. He read me this story perfectly in his cute little accent. I was amazed, so I asked him how old he was and he said five. I was blown away! At the end of the day we played Duck Duck Goose which is classic. The kids LOVED this. I got a few pictures, but I was not able to capture how precious this was unfortunately. It ended with two kids falling down and crying.
After school we came back for lunch which was mashed potatoes, beef, rolls, and fruit salad. Hands down...best meal yet! We experienced German hamburgers and chips for dinner. We were supposed to have french fries...or should I say Belgium Fries?...but the water randomly was off for a few hours. That's Burkina for you! Thankfully, the water is back on so that I can shower. You cannot go a day here without showering...well, you would not want to! I went back to the school for a few hours with Sheila, and we got things prepared for tomorrow. We were able to have a great conversation over a cold coke and sprite.
Well, it is a little after 9pm but between the heat and early mornings, I am wiped out!
After school we came back for lunch which was mashed potatoes, beef, rolls, and fruit salad. Hands down...best meal yet! We experienced German hamburgers and chips for dinner. We were supposed to have french fries...or should I say Belgium Fries?...but the water randomly was off for a few hours. That's Burkina for you! Thankfully, the water is back on so that I can shower. You cannot go a day here without showering...well, you would not want to! I went back to the school for a few hours with Sheila, and we got things prepared for tomorrow. We were able to have a great conversation over a cold coke and sprite.
Well, it is a little after 9pm but between the heat and early mornings, I am wiped out!
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