Distribution Day

March 6^th was another food distribution for all of the Burkina Faso Outreach sponsored children and it was a great time! You might be wondering what a distribution entails exactly, but first I’ll explain a little bit more about the program.

The Burkina Faso Outreach sponsorship program directed by Lynn Peters was designed to reach out to orphans and widows to provide for their basic needs- food, medical attention, education, and sometimes assistance with housing. The children in the program live in and around the Yako, Burkina Faso area and are considered an orphan because one or both parents are not in the picture.

I can tell you from personal experience that the program has helped out the community in tremendous ways, but more importantly the children are getting to hear about the Lord through the messages given at distributions, the different activity nights that are held periodically in Lynn’s courtyard (teen nights, Christmas parties, etc.), and the compassion of their sponsors and the BFO employees. Some of my most memorable times here have been getting to tell parents of orphans their child now has a sponsor. Showing emotion is very uncommon here and watching a parent dance because they cannot contain their excitement that their child is sponsored is an unforgettable experience.

If you are interested in sponsoring a child for $25 a month or would like more info, you can visit the Burkina Faso Outreach website, www.bfoafrica.org. Children needing sponsors are located on the left hand side of the website and as new cases are found, more children’s profiles will be posted. At the moment, we have a few priority cases of children who are in grave need too.

On to distribution day, which happens a few times each year…

In preparation for a typical distribution many 100 kilogram (around 220 pounds) bags of grain are delivered by a group of men and a HUGE truck. For this distribution, the grain was stored in my courtyard in three of my outdoor storage rooms. Before each distribution, all children in the sponsorship program (around 150 at the moment) are visited by Lynn and BFO employees to be informed of the date.

When distribution day arrives, the women and children arrive at all hours because many do not know how to tell time and some even show up on the wrong day because a calendar is a foreign concept to many of the people in the villages.

For this distribution, the women and children came to my courtyard and Lynn’s courtyard. They came with donkeys and donkey carts in hand too.

Here is what my street looked like.

At each distribution the children do a craft that sometimes is sent to their sponsors around the world.

Next, the children line up so Lynn can give them their ticket to go across the street (to my courtyard) and get their grain.

At this distribution, some of the children received gifts that came on the container from their sponsor. This is Sebastian, my sponsored child and also one of my students.

After the children receive their grain and put it in their donkey cart, they have to go find their donkey.

However, for some of the kids sitting in the donkey cart is a lot more appealing than actually finding their donkey.

After posing for yet another picture for the “Nassara” (white lady), it is time to secure the cart to the donkey.

 

Then it is time to return home to the village with a new bag of grain in hand until next time.

For those who helped with the event, a cold Coke is enjoyed after a successful distribution!

 

You Know It’s Hot In Burkina When…

- The children at school start to make faces like this

- The months of March, April, and May are not described as being pleasant by anyone (including the locals).

- The donkeys, chickens, dogs, sheep, goats, and cows that roam the streets freely try to find a shady spot to escape the strong sun.

- The locals make it even more of a point to get the “nassara” (the Mooré word for white person, a.k.a. my name around Yako) out of the sun than usual.

- You sweat just by sitting and reading a book at all hours of the day.

- You hear someone describe the heat as feeling like the sun is burning holes in your skin and then you actually experience that feeling while standing outside for less than a couple of minutes.

- You forget that a cold season even existed in Burkina during the months of December and January.

- The local Burkinabés complain it is hot, even though they never complain about anything.

- At the end of the day a cold soda sounds refreshing, even if you aren’t a big soda drinker.

- Some of the crayons in the classroom begin to melt.

- Sleeping outside is no longer considered camping, but a regular nightly occurrence.

- You do your laundry outside and the first clothing item you hang on the line is dry before you hang the last item on the line.

- The children at school remind you to put your moto in the shade so you don’t burn yourself when you sit down.

- Power outages become a frequent happening because so many are using electricity.

- The butter you put on a skillet to grease a pan melts before you even light the burner.

- Lastly, you resort to sitting in a laundry bucket filled with water on a Sunday afternoon and call it “Bucket Swimming.”

Oh how I love Burkina, even with its’ hot season!

 

Trip to Nazinga

I recently got back from a short trip to Nazinga Ranch, which is located in the southwestern part of Burkina Faso right before the Ghana border. It was an incredible time getting to spend with 4 other people (3 Ouaga missionaries, 1 film producer from the States) experiencing the beauty of God’s creation first hand. Below are a few of my favorites from the trip. More pics to come soon at www.flickr.com/oliviainafrica.

Sarah (one of the first girls I met when I arrived in Burkina) and I before heading from Ouaga to Nazinga

Entrance to the Park

According to Pete (Ouaga missionary who drove our group) and wikipedia, Nazinga is a ranch which was started by a man named Clark Lundgren in 1979. Clark grew up in the south-western part of Burkina where Nazinga is located and decided to start the conservation project to help with the amount of animals that were being poached.

Nazinga is about 94,000 hectares (around 232,000 acres) and there are around 800 untamed, wild elephants that roam freely on the grounds. There are also more than 20,000 other animals.

Elephants towards the entrance to the ranch

It took about an hour to get into the park by car. Shortly after we arrived, we drove past a not-so-friendly herd of elephants. I was on the top of the vehicle with my camera in my hand, but should admit I got a little freaked out when they started making noise and acting like they were going to charge at us.

There were so many beautiful birds, some were even iridescent.

This is similar to the hut Sarah and I slept in

This was the view from inside the hut where Sarah and I stayed

Morning sunrise just before heading out to find more animals

This is a bushbuck.

On the way back to the campgrounds to pack up our car, we saw about twenty elephants in the lake.

Being a tourist, but looking more like a fish

A family of elephants going for a mid-morning swim

The whole group stopping for one last picture before heading back to Ouaga

 

And this is why I LOVE my job…

 

In and Around Yako

I decided I would share a bit of Burkina, mainly Yako, through brief excerpts of my experiences over the past few weeks…

• The other week when I went to do visits for the child sponsorship program with Boris, we passed a woman who was breastfeeding her infant, while riding her bike up a hill with one hand, and a bag of grain on the back (which can weigh anywhere from 100 to 200 pounds). The strength of the Burkinabés is incredible.

• Furthermore, the village Boris and I visited was about 15 kilometers (7 miles) outside of Yako. I LOVED the village we went to. It was near a small set of “mountains” (large hills) and was beautiful. The people were very friendly too, but then again that is true of anywhere you go in Burkina. On the way back from the village, I was thinking about how long of a ride it was on the back of a moto and most of the people in the village only have bikes (if that). I noticed a school in the village, but wondered if there was a high school. When I asked Boris, he said “no” and explained that the kids come to Yako to attend high school. Talk about a long commute!

• Recently, many sacks of grain were delivered to the storage room in my courtyard for the upcoming food distribution for the child sponsorship program. Around 5 men helped unload the massive truck full of 200 lb. sacks of grain. Each man was able to carry one on his head and back without having to even hold it!

• I went to visit one of my students, Yasya, at his home after school one day. He lives in a small village right next to Gobila and walks about 2 miles to and from school each day. When I arrived Yasya and his mom were looking around the yard as if they were in search of something. I was thinking the whole time they were going to give me a cup of village water to drink to be courteous, but I was very wrong. Next thing I knew Yasya was running around trying to catch a chicken. Once he caught it, he presented it to me as a gift from his family. Fast forward to when I arrived home with the chicken attached to my moto…I had to quickly find a hiding spot for the chicken because Mnonga went to town chasing it around the yard trying to catch it. If only I would have had my video camera out!

Yasya and I with the chicken his family gave me as a gift

Arriving at home with the chicken hanging on my moto

• The other week when I left my street, I saw a little 4-year-old pedaling an adult’s bicycle…talk about no need for training wheels. Right after that, there were a couple children on the side of the street going to the bathroom on top of a pile of trash. Like I’ve mentioned before, plumbing is uncommon for most Burkinabés and toilet paper is expensive.

• A few weeks ago I took the public transportation to Ouagadougou. My bus ticket was a whopping $3/4 and I got the added bonus of taking a small bus, instead a large, charter bus. I quite enjoyed my bus ride and getting to talk to the locals who were on the bus with me. However, I don’t believe there is a maximum capacity for anything when it comes to transportation because we had about 21 people in a 13 passenger bus, not including all of the cargo that was stored on top of the bus along with a few people who decided to ride on top for the 2 hour trip. It was a very memorable trip to Ouaga, that’s for sure. Oh the joys of Burkina!

 

The First of Many Goodbyes

I recently got back from SIM’s annual spiritual life conference, which was held in Fada (about 3 ½ hours away from Ouaga, 5 ½ from Yako). The theme of the conference was contentment and it could not have come at a better time.

Sarah will be leaving on January 30^th to return to Canada and the time is quickly approaching where I will have to say goodbye to her- the first of many goodbyes for me as I will be leaving at the end of May. Sarah and I have been on a rollercoaster of emotions and experiences since we first arrived in Burkina. I will never forget meeting Sarah at the terminal in Paris after my tickets had been changed in New York and my trip rerouted from Casablanca to Paris. Sarah had her own difficulties traveling to Burkina because prior to leaving she got food poisoning. Not fun! We were so tired when we met after having traveled for so long, but that didn’t stop us from talking on the 6 hour flight from Paris to Ouagadougou only to discover our grandparents were of Hungarian descent and we both owned pink computer cases and pink Bibles. Random I know, but it did make for interesting conversation.

Sarah and I out to one last dinner in Ouaga before her January 30th departure from Burkina

Once we arrived in Ouaga, we spent almost three weeks studying language. I studied French and she studied Moore. We experienced the September 1, 2009 flooding in Ouagadougou and were able to help with relief efforts a little before heading to Yako to get settled into our ministry and our quaint, little home. Sarah began working more with the Burkina Faso Outreach child sponsorship program and eventually preschool, whereas I focused more on the first grade class in Gobila and assisting the teachers.

Fast forward to the present, we have spent the past five months living, traveling, working, cooking and eating together. A lesson I’ve learned on the mission field is you can’t choose your friends, especially when there aren’t a lot of people around. Now don’t get me wrong, I have come to LOVE my mission family here in Burkina, but because of human nature and the fact we don’t naturally gravitate to every person we come in contact with, there can be times when I am craving to talk to my friends and family at home who know and understand me. However, Sarah has become like family to me here and I will miss her bubbly personality, joyful heart and positive outlook on life.

Sarah’s upcoming departure has made me think a lot about my future and the unknowns that lie ahead (reverse culture shock, finding a job, living at home again, getting plugged into a church community, etc.) and then I am reminded of the theme for the SIM conference- contentment…in where God has me now and where He is taking me. I may never again see the people I have spent time with in Burkina on this side of eternity and I want to make the most out of my last four months in Burkina. I want to not be anxious about the future, but be content with where God has me now.

Soula Isch, the guest speaker at the conference, gave the following definition for contentment:

“Contentment is a state of the soul, God’s shalom,

an interior peace which doesn’t depend on circumstances,

but is rooted in God’s love and grace.”

His promises to us are true, prayer to Him is powerful, His presence brings contentment and I desire to be deeply rooted in His love and grace at all times, in all circumstances. Praise God for who He is and for the challenges and unknowns He brings into our lives to teach us how to be content and experience interior peace. As I seek to find true contentment in all circumstances, I am praying for you all who read my blog that you might find contentment as you go about this new week.

Blessings,

Olivia

 

My Dad’s Trip to Burkina

My Dad came to visit Burkina from December 30^th until January 10^th. It was such a wonderful treat to have him here and we had such an incredible time! His two weeks here were jam packed with lots of different parties and preparations for the opening ceremony of the new school building in Gobila, which took place on January 6^th. I am so glad he was able to come spend time here and get to know the people I have come to know and love so fondly. It was such a wonderful way to mark the halfway point of my time here too! Below are some of my favorite photos from my Dad’s time here along with a few of his thoughts about the country, the culture, the people and the children. For more photos, click on the ‘Media’ tab, located at the top of this page.

“Back in the States…what an experience…awesome, fun, eye-opening, frustrating, depressing, uplifting, all at the same time…Burkina Faso and its people can’t really be described adequately in words or pictures…they have to be experienced…”

My Dad with Assami (the child he sponsors) and his grandmother

“I loved the kids, who always have smiles on their faces…it took them a while to warm up to me, especially since those in Yako and Gobila really only knew the ‘nassara’ women – Lynn, Olivia and Sarah…it was really a treat to visit Olivia’s first grade classroom and have them shout ‘Mike’ on cue.”

My Dad with some of the students in Gobila

“All the children want to shake hands and have their pictures taken. They aren’t so much interested in you having their picture as they are to see themselves in the camera after the picture is taken. I don’t think they really get to see themselves very often.”

“The people were all friendly and I got to use some of the French I learned in high school…thank you, Monsieur Bernier! I even got to learn some phrases in Moore and I met a king and shook his hand! I planted a tree with him in honor of the dedication of the new school in Gobila and would love to see that tree years from now. I wonder how many children and how many school rooms it will ultimately shade…”

My Dad and the King at the opening ceremony for the new school building in Gobila

“It was sad because there was so much poverty and frustrating because your heart goes out to the people and you want to do so much but there’s really no easy fix…Lynn and Olivia are working with the children and educating them for a hopefully better future…you can’t fix it all at once but you have to start somewhere and small is best here I learned…help them help themselves…”

My Dad and I on the day of the opening ceremony

My Dad with one of the sponsored children at the New Year's Party

My Dad and I at the Barrage

My Burkinabe and American father together

 

A Burkina Christmas…

Christmas was a lot of fun here and now we are getting geared up for the New Year! On Christmas Eve, Lynn and I went to church in Yako. I especially loved the worship. Watching the women walk down the aisle, holding candles, singing Silent Night was one of the most special parts of the service to me. I think it was probably because I knew the song in English, but nonetheless the African’s version was beautiful.

Christmas Day, Lynn and I called a handful of the neighbor kids (ages 3-13) over to her courtyard to make ornaments for her Christmas tree. The children also heard about the birth of Jesus because many of my neighbors present are Muslim. It was so fun getting to spend such a special day celebrating with the children I have come to love and adore seeing everyday. Christmas here is very simple and for the children that came over it was a real treat. Gift giving is not a tradition here for Christmas, instead the Burkinabés like to spend time greeting their friends and neighbors and saying “Joyeux Noel!” (Merry Christmas). Experiencing Christmas here in this culture and simply having a lot of time on my hands here to just…well…think…really allowed me the opportunity to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas and what it looks like for me personally. While I missed being around family and friends this holiday season, I felt so blessed to get to spend the day with so many beautiful children.

For some of the children, it was a first for tracing and cutting something.

Sidiki making his ornament

Bebe decided to take a break from making ornaments and eat some peanuts (which she stashed in her dress) instead

Ibrahim by the Christmas tree

In addition to getting to spend time with the neighbor kids, I also spent time doing one of my new favorite hobbies…cooking! Before I could do all of the cooking though, I had to pluck and cut my Christmas dinner. Thankfully, I didn’t have to kill my Christmas dinner too. Adama (my night guard) came over and helped with that part. I was just to “chicken” to do it. Okay…sorry bad joke…Nonetheless, it was quite the experience and Adama got a kick out of the white lady wanting to learn how to prepare a chicken.

Plucking off all the feathers

Christmas dinner was a lot of fun with Lynn though. We ate our Christmas dinner outside by the candlelight (power only went out once…wa-hoo!), which was a first for me considering it is near the freezing point in St. Louis this time of year. All in all, it was a wonderful Christmas Day!

Now we are on to the next round of festivities for the New Year, which include a New Year’s party for all 135 of the sponsored children, an employee party for all of the locals who work for BFO (Burkina Faso Outreach), and an inauguration ceremony for the new school building in Gobila. I am really looking forward to sharing all of these experiences with my Dad (who is here from Dec. 30-Jan.10), but I am especially excited for the inauguration ceremony. The children will be dancing, singing, presenting a skit on the six days of creation, as well as showing off some of the things they have learned this year. Missionaries from Ouaga, the mayor of Yako, as well as school inspectors from Yako will also be attending. As one of their teachers, I know it will be a very proud moment for me as they have accomplished so much already this school year!

As I look back on the past year, I am in awe of God and how He was and still is at work in my life. Around a year ago today, I was preparing to head to SIM in Charlotte for the first time to see if missions was what God had in store for me and now to actually be here in Burkina is an incredible feeling. He continues to refine and mold me for His glory. I am eager to see what He has in store for me in 2010 and I am excited to share this journey I am on with you. Happy New Year! Bonne fête!

 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

 

Happy Holidays!

Lately after lunch, the kids have had fun repeating songs and phrases that I say in English. After a couple days of practicing, the kids learned how to sing We Wish You A Merry Christmas and now they love to sing it all the time!

Happy Holidays from the first graders in Gobila to YOU around the world!

For more videos of my time here, you can visit www.youtube.com/oliviainafrica.

For more photos of my time here, visit the ‘Media’ page (located at the top part of this page) and click on the picture.