How to get lost in West Africa.....

Okay, so this last week was more than interesting and wins the award for hosting the LONGEST DAY of my life! What was originally supposed to be a simple 3 hour drive to a remote village outreach turned into nearly 10 HOURS of endless driving on dirt roads exploring all kinds of small stranged named west African villages that I really hope to never see ever again. Our first mistake (and most deffinately the last one of its kind) was taking a local "navigator" - something that is almost an ironic statement in itself. They say here that in Africa you can't get lost....... HA!!! - soooo not true!
So here's the "how to" on getting lost in West Africa: Step one - When heading to a remote village, make sure to take someone with you who barely speaks French. Step two - ALWAYS assume he knows the way to his home village, I mean, why not - he only grew up there his entire life. Step three - Don't ask, "Soooo are you sure this is the right road" until you've driven half way accross the country and see a stop sign with a crossing paved road. Step four - AFTER admitting that he has ABSOLUTELY NO CLUE where you are at, ask him for further directions including the following - "sooo, at this Y in the road, should we go right or left?" (he said "yes" - so of course we went that way......for nearly 80 WRONGLY DIRECTED km.) or this one "soooo, you recognize this village riiiiiight?" (of course he's gonna say "ya sure" I mean don't ALL west African villages look totally unique?!?!?!) and my personal fav. "heh, we've been driving for over 4 hours now - is it much further?" (oh yes - it was much, much further - in the EXACT OPPOSITE direction that we were headed)
All that said - it is nearly impossible to get lost in West Africa- the catch: DO NOT take someone with you and instead simply ask people along side of the road where to turn next - cause those are the people who live there and know what they're talking about.

Shooting days.....

For the first time in my life, I went to sleep with the sound of gun shots off in the distance. As the night wore on, the shooting subsided and things seemed to calm down. I woke up this morning to find that the power had been out for hours which really isn't all that rare here in Burkina, but still rather annoying.
After talking with a few people here and double checking some local news sources, it turns out that the deep rooted rivalry between the military and the police finally turned violent, leaving one person dead last night.
The International School of Ouagadougou canceled classes today - leaving some American students to futher contemplate education overseas saying, "....in the States we get snow days; but here in Burkina we get shooting days."

The eyes of a child......

This shot captured my attention this last week out in the village here in West Africa. Most of the kids had never seen a white person before - some were even quite afraid of us - other just really really curious.........

A Night Aglow!

This last week in the village can be best described by this picture. Based in the fairly remote region of Ziga, our base camp was a bright light on the horizon of a very dark land. Each day we were able to bring hope, joy, and an abundance of HUGE smiles to 1000's of kids. We saw lives touched time and again and were able to impact over a dozen villages for Christ!
Looking back - everything seems like a blur at this point; but as 2006 comes to a close I'm able to look back and thank God for everything that He has done through the lives of the missionaries here in Burkina Faso, West Africa.

A Week Full of Smiles!!!

Wow - this last week has been an amazing time of outreach and ministry here in Burkina Faso! The last week has really stood out, in that we did nearly 20 outreaches in just six days enabling us to reach over 2000 kids with the Gospel!!! We handed out 1000's of gifts and saw smiles just like this one again and again. It was such a blessing to see the joy on these kids faces - almost impossible to describe in words..........so enjoy the pics and keep an eye out for many more to come!

Litteraly Thousands of kids to reach!

This week has just marked the beginning of what looks to be a VERY promising holiday season filled with outreaches and Christmas joy for thousands of kids here in Burkina Faso! Stay posted for more pics and incredible stories each week this December!

Priceless exprestions!

Once the gifts are handed out (usually in a classroom setting to prevent complete chaos) we give the kids a good 1-2-3 count and watch in delight! This little guys expression says it all!

What it's all about.

After each drama presentation, all the kids are given a chance to actively respond to the Gospel message. During one outreach, some of the kids even went around back to talk to Joseph (one of the local actor/pastor/evangelist) about accepting Jesus into his heart while all the other kids were opening up their gifts!

Drama in Ouaga!

The conclusion to the drama presentation that we do here with each and every outreach here in Ouaga.

Who's that?!?!

It all begins with a drama! When we first arrive at a school here in Ouaga, we set up a small stage and kick things off with a drama depicting the birth, death, and ressurection of Jesus Christ (all done in the local language) Pictured above, the kids are frantically reacting to satan jumping out from behind the stage......

A mountain of gifts!

Seen here is just half of the gifts that were wrapped in preparation for the big distribution here in Burkina Faso!

The assembly line!

Nothing says Christmas like an assembly line! This holiday season, we had our wonderful fill of wearhouse type work - stuffing backpacks some days for some 4-6 hours at a time.

A mound of backpacks!

The first stage was purchasing some 4000+ backpacks and getting them stuffed with suprises for the kids here in Burkina Faso! What you see here is only one third of the backpacks that were stuffed before being wrapped.

Just thinking....

As the sun set each night this last week while I was in Ghana, I had time to really reflect on the past year spent here in West Africa. I'm beginning to realize just how far off I've been in trying to "guess" or try and "estimate" where I'll be in the future. I mean, who could have ever told me three years ago that I'ld be here in West Africa doing full time missions - certainly not me......and so I've allowed myself a new freedom of looking ahead at life. Gazing into the future with an open mind and no end in sight - dependant upon God's daily leading for my life......What a place to be.....

Looking a little closer.....

Soo, these last couple weeks have been filled with observations of all kinds. Throughout many of my travels here in Burkina Faso, I am always amazed at the flood of American t-shirts that seem to saturate the country from boarder to boarder.......but on this last trip it wasn't any American name brand or Nike swoosh that caught my eye. This pic was taken just before leaving a wonderful (and very gracious) family that we stayed with out in the "bush" for a few days. Notice the little girl's nice clean white shirt.......then look a little closer. It's moments like these that open my mind up to a whole "other" world out there. A perspective totally different than my own complete with other world views and sooo much more.........

No bus station here......

On one of our last village trips - we had a little time to burn on the side of the road just waiting for the next bus to come along that was heading our way. Luckily we had the shade of some trees and this great truck load of logs giving us a little shade and something to lean against

A little more than "Off Road"

Biking off into the "Bush" this last week was quite the adventure. After endless hours of scorching sun, we were looking at heading off for what we thought was just a short little ride down to the White Volta River. We were more than happy when the wind kicked up and the weather suddenly shifted, bringing in an awesome cloud cover and cool air. Three-four hours later we were on our way back - exhausted - but ecstatic about the latest adventure in the African Bush!

The Latest Village Trip...

Well, just this last week - I had the privelage of accompaning a small group of new interns here out into the "African Bush" doubling as a translator/photographer for the group! From the hot scorching sun to the fresh cool rains of Africa - we had an incredible time staying with an incredible local family that we had recently befriended and discovering further ways to introduce the Gospel to the remote regions of southern Burkina Faso!

All Smiles!!!

This last Saterday we had the awesome opportunity to present the Gospel to over 50 kids that we have been working with each week for the last year! This little guy is more than proud of his "Wordless Book" that he had just finished up. Nothing but smiles!!!

On the way to church....

A crowd of over 300+ people formed a greeting party and then followed the vehicles up to the small church in Ziga! This was all in response to the tremendous impact that the children's pastors training program is having.
Our first session was held just this last January with only 15 pastors being trained!!! After 3 of those 15 left to find work in Ivory Coast - there remains 12 children's pastors; and as you can see - God is using them to have an incredible impact!!!

Upon entering Ziga....

Upon entering the small village of Ziga - this was the greeting party that quickly surrounded the vehicles and led the way up to the small church. As you can see, the impact of the children's pastors training is hard to describe in words!!!

A GREETING FIT FOR A KING!!

Upon entering the small village of Ziga, hundreds of men, women, and children surrounded the vehicles in thanks for the incredible impact that our children's pastors training program is having in the area!!!!

Sooo many kids....not enough sound......

This was just one of the many outreaches that we are able to do each Christmas here in Burkina Faso! This group - numbering over 1000+ kids was too big of a crowd for our little sound system. For more information on how you can help - leave a comment with your name and contact information.

Nothing Like Coloring......

These kids are a blast...... (see post below).

CRAFT TIME!!

Okay - so what else is there to say with a smile like this one?!?? This last Saterday, we held our weekly "Kids of Hope" outreach and .......as usual, had a blast. I'm always amazed at how even just the simple little things like coloring can still bring the biggest smiles to these kids faces!!

Good Eats!

Now - THIS is the way to eat rice!!! All hands - no silver ware - totally West African style!!!

Pure Joy!

Did I mention - it's good to be back?

BACK IN ACTION!

Alas! I was able to get back into the program here with our awesome group of kids this last Saterday morning. What a blast! They were all shouting my local name "Ya Ya" and wondering how my trip to "Americky" was. Too cute! Needless to say - we had a blast! Oh - and did I mention that they ALL love the camera.

Return to Ouaga!!

Round 2 for West Africa!!

After arriving on a waaaay too early Air Moracco flight here in Ouagadougou, I was relieved to discover that the rain was falling quite frequently - making for a rather sticky but super comfortable stay. With 4 new interns arriving this last weekend, we already have a full packed schedule with meetings and planning for the months ahead.
It's exciting for me cause with the cool rain and fresh air that it brings, it's almost as though I can FEEL the difference in the air!!! It's a GREAT feeling to have both feet on the ground with a figuratively "full plate" in front of me. There will be a lot to share in the Blogs to come..........

Much to come.....

Well, for those of you who haven't heard already or don't live in Washington State, I've been back here in the states for about a month now. Things are coming along great and I'm looking forward to getting back to Africa to be working with tons of kids just like these guys pictured on the right here. Actually, the main focus of our ministry is shifting to mainly working with kids - which is GREAT!!! - cause there's a ga-zillion of 'em in Burkina Faso that need to hear about Christ.
So keep me in your prayers and drop a comment or two if you'ld like.

Back in the States

Today - actually being the 5th of July has been an intresting day. Being back in the states now for almost a month has opened my eyes to the many insights of what we call "reverse culture shock." Kinda sound odd??? Yeah - that's what I thought too.......until it all hits ya at once. I'm glad to say that I'm learning a lot; but I'll be honest - the lessons of life - the valuable ones - don't come without pain...............I only wish they didn't leave scars...........

NUMBER 1

Well - this is it. The ultimate necessity when traveling and staying overseas or any period of time - A DEPENDABLE LAPTOP. Now, this particular laptop was given to me as a gift and has been the BIGGEST blessing to me each and everyday! I've used it to do EVERYTHING from write sermons, to edit pictures, to writing emails, to listiening to music, and yes - even a little bit of MacGyver inbetween.
I can honestly say that I don't know what I'ld do withouth it over here! Be warned though - if you are thinking about taking a laptop to a third world country like West Africa - the heat and dust can take a REAL ROUGH toll on the life span of any electronic device. My reccomendation - if you aren't willing to part with it - just don't take it.

The ironies of life......

This picture truly hits all the ironies of life for me...... Though you can't quite FEEL the heat by this shot, it was just about 110 degrees as we were working out in the small village of Yaboo this last week. The irony is that I used to do this type of work in Washington state (in the rain) back when I was 15 years old and utterly despised it!!!! - BUT now here I am, doing missions work 7,000 miles away in the West Africa, enjoying every bit of the work I do each and every day! .......... and who ever said God doesn't have a good sense of humor!?!?!?!?

A Week Full of Thoughts....

Upon more reading, I ran accross the following:
"Remember, if you're not following your HEART, you are living someone else's DREAM."
- Lyn Christian
Something to ponder.......

Just don't look down!!!

Mental note - when in Ghana, visit Kakum National Park, and take the awesome swinging bridge tour!!! This was quite an experience.... oh...... and if you're thinking, "My, that looks a little rickedy and narrow.....?" Well, it WAS!!! That's what made it such great fun! At the highest point, we were about 90 feet above the ground............

Beautiful Atlantic Coast........in Africa!!!

This was just one of the amazingly beautiful views
that I was able to see while down in Ghana this last
month. The ocean never seems so beautiful, until you live in dust and desert without rain for months on end! God bless the Ocean!!!!

Many Travels

The last couple of weeks, I've had the awesome opportunity to travel all around Ghana! With the original intent of helping another missionary make it down to Accra (a fairly large coastal city of around 3 mill.) I ended up staying for two weeks. What was supposed to be just a 1 day trip ended up taking 4 days..........!!! Needless to say - God was faithful and kept us safe the whole time. I was able to see the coast and was absolutely astounded as to the amount of development just one country away from where I now live!
Over all, the trip was amazingly beautiful and refreshing. I loved the country....the fact that they all speak English, and the beautiful surroundings; but if I ever go back.......I think I will chose to fly!

Not all villages are easy to reach by vehicle!!! Actually - the village that was built on this rock 1000's of years ago is nothing but rubble now! It was an incredible vantage point though to see all the surrounding small villages in the area!