Miss Marshall returns to Burkina

I don’t really know where to begin. I guess I will start by saying that I am here in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso safe and healthy! It has been an adventure so far! I’ll back up to Friday, departure day!

Friday
I left my house around 11:30pm after my “last meal” as dad would say at Olive Garden with Mom and Dad. We headed to Pittsburgh and said our goodbyes. I then flew to JFK where Eddie was waiting for me when I got off the plane…what a good surprise! I haven’t seen him since the beginning of August. We had dinner together in the airport and tried to catch up as much as possible. We eventually made our way to the International terminal, and since Eddie wasn’t allowed to go through security with me, we decided to chat awhile at the food court. I had my boarding pass to Casablanca and was told that I would not need to check in till I arrived there in Morocco. So, it was almost time for the plane to board, so Eddie and I said our goodbyes, and then the lady at the gate told me that my boarding pass was no good. Umm…what? I hollered for Eddie, and we quickly followed a man to Royal Air Maroc’s ticket counter as he said, “I hope that they are still opened.” You can imagine the state I am in right now as I was quite emotional before this! We arrived at the ticket counter and the lights were out, and there was no line. We found a man that worked there….a tall, intimidating man…and he looked directly at me and said, “sorry, it’s too late. We’re closed.” I then stared at him and then Eddie for a few seconds and burst into tears. He then proceeded to tell me he was “just kidding.” Funny joke! I then took my new ticket to security and said goodbye to Eddie, still crying. I called Mom and Dad one more time on American soil and tried to explain the previous situation. My poor family! As I got on the plane, the man from the ticket counter was there, and said, “Oh, you’re still crying! Stop that!” and laughed. I then finally started to calm down. As the plane took off, I realized for the first time how crazy this idea may be…the whole traveling to Africa by myself. I have to admit that I was incredibly nervous…more about my upcoming experience in Casablanca knowing how long I had there and not knowing what the airport would be like. I kept repeating Joshua 1:9 over and over in my head to fight back tears, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” These were exactly the feelings that I had! I thank God for the calming peace He gave me that evening and thus far. I was able to sleep a decent amount on the plane which was a blessing for the next day.

Saturday
This day can be summed up by waiting! I arrived in Casablanca around 7:00am. My luggage was there which was comforting. Only one more stop to go! After using the “Do you speak English question” several times, I finally found out how to get to the ticket counter and lugged my things upstairs. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to check in 15 or so hours early, but thankfully, I did. The man at the ticket counter spoke some English, so he told me that I could go to the hotel. I didn’t know where it was, and was NOT leaving the airport. I was already way out of my comfort zone. Also, because of safety reasons, my parents and I decided to take this flight instead of going to the hotel overnight. So, I told the man “no thank you.” He said, “Mam…do you know you are here for a long time?” I told him that it was okay, and he looked at me like I was crazy. After I had my boarding pass, I asked the man where a phone was. I needed to let my family know that I had arrived safety to Morocco. I found this hole in the wall dark shop that sells cell phones and phone cards. I saw a payphone on the wall, so I dialed the numbers that the phone card people had told me (that I had checked three times for MOROCCO). It didn’t work. I thought that it was just because I didn’t understand how to work the actual phone, so I asked the man at the desk, “Do you speak English?” He responded by putting up two fingers close together…very close together! I tried to explain that my card is supposed to work, and he kept saying “no Morocco.” After 10 minutes of going back and forth, I decided to buy his 60 minute phone card that he kept shoving in my face. I didn’t expect to use my Euros yet, so I had to grab some money from my money belt underneath my jeans. I tried to be discreet, but it didn’t work. He started laughing at me. I asked him if he could help me dial on the phone since I was already frustrated. He took his fancy card, all excited, and put it in the phone, and it didn’t work. I’m sure he thought, “I am in trouble now.” He tried a few more times—no luck. The phone kept reading something in Arabic that meant… “ERROR!” He shrugged his shoulders and said in broken English, “I don’t know.” He then tried to write down my number on paper to see what was wrong. He realized that there was an extra one. He tried again and it started ringing! Mom answered, and of course I started crying! See a pattern here? I promised her I was okay, but I don’t think she believed me. She asked if I was safe, but I really didn’t know the answer to that yet. Our conversation lasted only a few minutes, no more than 3, because my phone card showed 18 minutes already gone. I then waited around the middle of the ticketing room because I didn’t know what would be on the other side of the gate, and I had a long time to wait. I met two older women—Iris and Norah—from Scotland. One was Irish! I really enjoyed talking to them. They were trying to “ring London” because of flight mess ups. Iris knew if she ringed London, the problem would be solved. I hope she got through on that stupid phone! Ha! I then sat a little longer, knowing I had some time to kill! I figured I would sit there until I came in contact with an English speaking person that could tell me about the rest of the airport. God is good because a Dutch girl, Wendy, sat down right beside me. She was a little older than me and was in Morocco for a friend’s wedding. She checked her things in, and we both went through customs and security. I was glad we did because there was a lot more on the other side. Not nearly like Pittsburgh, but it at least had a few shops and food stands. Wendy and I explored a little and talked. This made the time go until 1pm when she left. I ran into the man from the ticket counter, and he said, “Mam, are you sure you don’t want a hotel room?” I again said, “no thank you.” This time he just walked away shaking his head. I sure have had a lot of people look at me like I’m a crazy lately! :) I was bored silly for the rest of the night. People watching is fun…especially in another country…but after 14 hours it gets lame. I didn’t hear English for about 10 hours. When I was waiting at my gate around 10:10pm (boarding time), I met a girl from Germany going to Burkina who spoke English. She and I talked for awhile as African time we boarded around 11pm and didn’t take off till after 11:30pm since I was sleeping then. I woke up for breakfast at 2:30am which is when we were supposed to be landing in Ouagadougou. I was then a little nervous about whoever was supposed to pick me up. Anyways, I landed in Burkina at 3:30AM…an hour late.

Sunday
I guess it was Sunday now. There were three buses that were waiting to take us ten feet to the airport which I remembered thinking was so funny last time. I saw a man that I talked with in line as we were boarding in Casablanca, so I joined him on the first bus. I thought it was funny that we were the only two on that bus. But, I thought, well…we will get through customs first! Well, our bus took us to an unfamiliar entrance. After the guard looked through my passport and kept shaking her head no, I thought there must be something wrong. I thought I’d help her out by showing her my visa. I realized then from my little friend, that we were at the wrong entrance. Here we had went to the VIP entrance for officials who skip customs. NICE! Yep, right on the bus was a big sign! We were now last in line through customs. Good news…my bags were both there! Thank you, God! That was so reassuring! I then went outside and saw a sign that had my name on it that was held by a Burkinabe man. It sure wasn’t like in the movies, but at least it was my name, and he had a big smile! His name is Justan (Justin in the states); however, this evening I thought he said Pizsta. Hmmm…don’t know?!? Anyways, I remembered that the last time I arrived, I was scared by the Burkinabe who try to sell you things outside the airport. They are very pushy and intimidating. This time I knew what to expect, so I was okay. Justan grabbed by bag and another man grabbed my other one. They loaded them in the van, and the man started talking to me in some language. I don’t know what he said, but I know it involved me giving him money. I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do, so I looked at Justan who shook his head. He only spoke French. He opened the door for me, and I got in and closed it. The man wanting money kept getting louder and looked like he was trying to open my door. I held it closed while Justan got in and finally started the car. The thought ran through my head, “French would sure be nice right now.” I hoped that Justan was taking me to Sheila’s house, but I didn’t know. So, I just prayed that he was truly the man that I heard was coming to get me. The side streets got darker and darker. One time I thought he was pulling over, but he just slowed down a lot and turned to miss a big bump in the road. We pulled up to a house, and I was hoping that Sheila was on the other side…she was!! She greeted me with a hug, and she showed me to my room. We sat down for about 15 minutes and had some water before getting some well needed sleep. Wow…I am here!

I woke up around 2:30 in the afternoon, and went to the living room to meet Sheila’s son, John. The three of us went to the US embassy for lunch. I went here 2 times the last time I was here, and really liked the food. We then went to the school, and Sheila showed me around as we got last minute things done. The rest of the evening Sheila and I talked and watched some TV. I also had some great tea which reminded me of Ireland…that good! :) Sheila went to bed around 9, so I did some journaling and looked around my room for lizards because Sheila warned me that one lives behind the hot water tank in my bathroom. When I looked, there were two tails. Then, as I was sitting on my bed, I looked up to make sure none could possibly be on the ceiling, and I was wrong…there was a pair of eyes staring at me. They are all over. This reminded me of Paraguay a lot. Ellen, I thought of you last night! I felt like the first night I was in Ypetimi and moths were falling down on us all over our bodies. I knew that they couldn’t hurt us, but they still freaked me out. Same situation. I am not used to showering with lizards or hoping they are not in my bed. I just pray that one doesn’t fall on my head or on my face anytime! I was thinking that God sure has stretched me between Paraguay and Burkina. I don’t think He is done with me yet, but I know that I have become a lot better.

Monday
Today was my first day at the school. The class has 15 kindergarten and first graders. What a difference between 15 and 32! These kids are precious! I love this age! I already know that this is going to be a wonderful experience. The principal got together with me today which was nice, and I learned more about the school. One funny story…we had show and tell today, every Monday, and one girl brought a rabbit. Sheila already has another rabbit, a turtle, and a hedgehog as a pet. So, she added the other rabbit to the cage. After break time, the little kids came running in, and one little girl said to me, “The rabbits are hugging each other. I think they are falling in love!” Let’s just say that bunnies will be here soon! :) I love the slow pace of life here which is also in the classroom. The students are from all different countries which is awesome because it is a true international school. I was busy learning their names that are hard to pronounce and getting to know their little personalities.

After school the technology man from the school came over to hook up my laptop to the internet here. This was a blessing so that I can keep in contact somewhat.

Sheila and I then went back to the school to meet up with some other teachers and some junior high girls. The group of us went to the outskirts of Ouagadougou to an orphanage that houses about 15 babies. What a heartbreaking experience. Sheila goes every Monday to hold and love on these little ones. I think that I will go with her each time. I can’t begin to describe the smell of urine and dirty babies…much worse than a nursing home. There were several times when I tried not to gag at the baby I was holding. Then, there was one baby that was the most malnourished baby I have ever seen. The lady working there gave her to me to hold. It was everything I could do to fight back tears. This precious baby was several months old but her body was not big enough to hold up her head. She maybe weighed three pounds. She just kept crying. I didn’t even know how to hold a baby that small. I sang “Jesus Loves Me” to her as I prayed for her. It is comforting to know that she has a Father who loves her so much and His heart is breaking for that one little one because she is precious in His sight.

Well, I think that this blog is huge already, so I better do a few other things before I go to bed. I hope that all of you are doing well. Know that I am doing well and learning a lot! God is good! :)