The final stretch in Didyr.....

Off to the last distribution!

A clean Christmas for all!

First week of GAKAC wrapped up....

First Week of December Outreaches!

Santa in Ouaga?.......

All Wrapped UP!! 2000+ READY TO GO!

Wrapping things UP!

What's going on this week?

Well, it's that time of year again! Yup - time to wrap over 2000+ backpacks filled with all kinds of goodies and toys for kids in and around Ouagadougou (pronounced WA-GA-DOO-GOO). I'll be posting short clips of the crazyness over the next couple weeks - so stay tuned and keep those Christmas tunes rolling.
Oh - and in case you were wondering, "how many backpacks is he standing next to?" This is about half of what we still have to wrap! (aprox. 1000 or so)

Another Day in Burkina Faso.....

So, I'ld like to say that this is a rare occurrence around here - but that's not so much the truth. As you can see in this pic, a dump truck was dropping a load and just as he was about finished - whoops! As you can see, a few people standing around; but not much else happening. The only thing that caught my attention about this sight was that is happened just a few hundred yards down the street from my house this time.
I figure they'll finish getting all the sand out of the truck, take a break around noon (no work here between the hours of 12-3pm) and then try and do something about getting that puppy up right. ......

The Kili Climb - back in June....

Coming Up this week.....

Check out what's happening in Tanzania!

Just to give ya the heads up.....

A Chance to Give Something Unforgettable......

Each year, we have the incredible opportunity to give out 1000's of gifts to underprivileged kids across Burkina Faso, West Africa. This short 5 minute video will give you a quick look at what last year involved and the upcoming opportunities this year. If this video grabs your heart or even if you would just like to find out more information about these outreaches, please leave a comment so that I can get in touch with you.

A Short Trip up to Dori.....

So what's downtown where you live?

About twice a month, I venture into downtown Ouagadougou to take care of everything from grocery shopping to simply running errands. It's often times the most obvious things that we often see just don't catch our eyes. That said, I was downtown with some people that were in country for just a few weeks and their fascination with this Mosque allowed me to see things in a new light. What you're looking at is one of the largest Mosques here in the capital city of Burkina Faso.
(oh, and one little detail, I do realize my mouth is wide open in this pic - so allow me to explain the context. It's an unspoken rule here that you just aren't supposed to take pictures downtown without all the proper "paper work." Now - whether that means bribing the right person or just having good friends in government, military, and/or police - well, your guess is as good as mine. That said - I'm talking with someone who is (and was) taking a picture of me..... )

Downtown here in Ouaga.

More sweet GREEN pics from a recent trip to the falls.

Recent trip down south into the lush green part of Burkina!!! Yes - it really exists!!!

A sneak preview at our upcoming video project.....

A different look at Burkina Faso....

URU Falls - just what the doctor ordered!

Same Slide Show as below - without the link! Just Click and Play!

What to do in the rain......

New Picture Slide Show From Tanzania!

Hey - just recently posted a new cluster of pics over at the Calvary International website (Click Here) Jump on over to the page and check out the pics along with some other fun gallaries. The page will display "Photo Gallaries" and you will be given a pull down selection tab to choose from.
The picture Titles that I have posted are as follows 1. (Kate Royal & Tyler Croyle) Kids of Hope 2007 2. (Tyler Croyle) Africa Village Trip!!! 3. (Tyler Croyle) Climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro - Tanzania 07 4. (Tyler Croyle) Tanzania Trip 07 - Pastors Conference

Calvary International Website Link

Kilimanjaro at Sunrise!

Love this shot taken by Lis (currently living in Moshi, Tanzania) of Kilimanjaro early in the morning. The lighting was amazing and the clouds just right for a sweet shot.

clipped from www.lishelfen.com

All worth it in the end......

So about 20-30 min. later or so we finally made it down to the falls and as you can see, it was all worth it in the end. Over 50 feet high and properly fixed at the end of a massive canyon plastered with every shade of green imaginable, I found myself suspended inbetween space and time.......... It was truly an amazing sight!

Uru Falls from a distance.......

An incredible sight - worth every bit of the hike. Isn't she a beaut?!?

Uru Falls - Tanzania.... a little more than I had originally planned....

(hiking down to the falls.........normally an easy day hike just about killed me after the "full" Kilimanjaro experience)

There were too many sights to see and so little time while I was in Moshi, Tanznia. I am a total fanatic when it comes taking pics of the area - especially sunsets, waterfalls, mountians, and stuff like that; so the day after I got back from climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro I had this crazy idea that I could just drive 10-20 min. away and catch a glimpse of the falls. I really don't know what I was thinking.... Maybe it was a blissfull fantasy I had on the flight over, or maybe I just thought that with a little effort we could drive just about anywhere that we wanted......either way - it was all worth it and an incredibly beautiful sight to see. Tanzania really was a "breath of fresh air" in more ways than I could ever begin to describe. Hope you enjoy the pics.

My Mt. Kilimanjaro journal!

Originally, I set out to "conquer" the highest mountian in Africa. Maybe it was all the initial excitment in me or just pure adreneline; but I will admit up front that I had NO IDEA what I was getting myself into. What follows is my audio journal transcribed for you to enjoy. Sit back and browse the pics, laugh a little, and seriously think twice if you ever had the urge to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Mon. June 18^th 8:32am

“I feel a lot better . Had a great sleep. It’s been a very interesting weekend…… I’m excited and nervous as heck. I really wanna do this climb, but I feel a little under prepared, under the weather, and slightly out of shape; but that’s not going to stop me from giving 110% till my body (caugh) beyond! till my body won’t allow me to go any further; so this is something that’s deffinately on my “life to do list.” I’m looking forward to standing at 19,000 feet, looking at a new perspective of the world. Till later……

Mon. June 18^th 11:30am

[at the gate] A lot of paper work, a lot of waiting…. Base elevation is 6,400 feet…….Lot’s of anticipation. I’m ready to get moving.

Mon. June 18^th 1:21pm

Just saw some Blue Monkeys. Got some pictures. Just about halfway to camp. This first trek is so far just like a gradual day hike through the woods, and uh just about anyone could do it. So far so good…..

First stop - Base Camp #1 - Mandara Hut!!!

Mon. June 18^th 3:28pm

[just arrived at first base camp] So far so good. I’m just….setting in. Nice long hike. Really kind of a walk through the park – crud, there’s ant everywhere – and uh, we got up here and there’s these Kalabask black and white monkeys, really cool. Camp, is kind of a open clearing. Quite the hustling bustling place. This things like right out of a movie.

Mon. June 18^th 5:46pm

It’s a good 60 degrees out, although it feels chillier! Sitting in the mess hall, we hiked up to the crater and for the first time in my life I could actually feel exhaustion from altitude. Just climbing up a little bit – 100 ft./200 ft. feel completely drained – feels great! Umm, really enjoying the camp here. Looking forward to tomorrow morning……..Hoping to get some good shots of the mountain tomorrow too soo, we’ll see. So far so good.

Tues. June 19^th 8:17am

First night on Mt. Kilimanjaro: quite the interesting experience. I had the blessed company of two ‘love birds’ that were uh not satisfied with making out for the entire night. That was interesting. I think that was enough to bring the food back up to the surface. At 9pm I was off to the bathrooms to uh puke chunks of spinach and whatever I ate for dinner. It was quite the glorious experience, so I had to walk that off. Woke up around 6/6:30, finally got out of bed around ¼ to 7am. It was a long long night. Didn’t have much for breakfast cause I couldn’t eat much. The temp. out here is probably just above freezing……looking forward to a good hike today and hopefully a better dinner; cause uh….that was pretty bad.

Off to Base Camp number 2!!!! Nothign can stop me now!!!

Tues. June 19^th 9:23am

We are looking at Kibo Peak on the left and Mowen’s Peak on the right. Beautiful blue sky sunny day……this place almost looks like Arizona or something.

Tues. June 19^th 10:18am

We’re walkng through what we call the “moonland zone.” Everything looks just like uh rolling hill prarie…… I look off to my left and I see a mass of clouds….We’re already above 10,000 feet. Feels great! Warm temperature. Already had to shed a few layers. I look off to my right and I just see rolling hills. Straight ahead are two peaks, and we’re heading towards the snoooow. It’s gonna be a good afternoon!

Tues. June 19^th 1pm

Walking through the moonscape still. This area looks like Eastern Washington - so familiar. We passed by a little off flow of glacier water and uh nice cool breeze running off the mt. The clouds are starting to roll over the hills, starting to uh get to a little cooler air now. It’s quite nice!

Tues. June 19^th 1:07pm

Get text from Liz in Moshi asking how we’re doing and wishing us the best! Technology always amazes me – climbing a massive, 19,000 ft. mountain and we still have cell signal. But of course.

Tues. June 19^th 2:04pm

We just passed 12,000 ft. above sea level. I’m officially higher than I’ve ever been before on foot and uh yeah, feels great! Feeling really weak in the legs but, looking forward to taking a rest here, we’re almost to camp and uh, I get the rest of the day off soo – whoof! This is something else up here. Probably the most BORING landscape in the world; but uh, that’s okay – it gets better – once I can see the mountain again.

Tues. June 19^th 2:30pm

Roll into base camp number 2 annnnnd find out that I can have a shower!?! COLDEST stinking shower of my LIFE! Glacier water over a toilet?! Quite strange.

Time to acclimatize!

Tues. June 19^th 4pm

We head up for the acclimization hike. We are currently at just around 13,000 ft. (actually 12,300ft.) and we will be shooting up to 14,000ft.

Tues. June 19^th 5:30pm

We reach just over 14,000ft. and it is amazing. The way up is very slow but the view of Uhuru peak or Mt. Kilimanjaro - I should say – is outstanding then we cruise on down. It is cold, as soon as the sun sets, the temperature begins to drop.

Night number 2 on the Mountian!

Tues. June 19^th 6:30pm

We arrive back at base camp. It is now a setting sun.

Tues. June 19^th 7:30pm

I walk out of the “mess hall” or “dinner room” or whatever you want to call it and notice the city lights are just AMAZING! The moon is…..sooo bright. The stars are like I have never seen before. The air is so much thinner up here……This has turned out to be quite the hike!

Wed. June 20^th 6:30am

Getting up is always easier than going to bed. The clouds over Moshi are amazing!

Wed. June 20^th 8:35am

Hit the trail. Head on up to Kibo Hut. It’s a looong 4-5 hour hike. It’s a very barren, what they call “Alpine Desert.” And uh looking forward to some cool air with this thin atmosphere and HOT sun. I can already feel the sunburn on my neck.

Wed. June 20^th 9:52am

It’s pretty spectacular up here. It looks like uh Alpine Desert; but we’re not quite there yet. Still in this Moonland Zone.

Wed. June 20^th 10:10am

I just realized that I sound like a weezing rat on this thing. Breathing up here is sloooooow. Short breaths, and the walking up here is a snail’s pace; so we take a 10-15 min. break, call it good and keep heading on up towards the mountain. At this angle, it almost reminds me of Mt. St. Helens, just a little higher.

Desert death march!

Wed. June 20^th 10:55am

I reach the ridge. Looking down on the alpine desert. Seems like a “highway” to freedom. It’s like a paved road up to the mountain. Uhhh, we’re anticipating a cool breeze, so we layer up, throw on a jacket, face mask, and head on down… yeah!

Wed. June 20^th 11:55am

Working our way through the saddle in the Alpine Desert. The wind is rippin and kickin and I feel like I’m at every bit of 14,000 feet. Moving at a snail’s pace, I’m breathing heavily. It’s the strangest feeling in the world. Tonight is gonna be……more than interesting.

Wed. June 20^th 12:37pm

We stop for lunch. I’m completely wasted. I think the “saddle” leaves absolutely nothing to be desired. I don’t know how to describe it, so I’ll try again later.

Kibo Hut! The "calm before the storm!" Rest up - cause we leave at midnight!

Wed. June 20^th 2:30pm

We roll into the final base camp. Forgot the name. It is windy, cold; and I finally figured out a name for Alpine Desert – it’s what it would feel like if hell froze over; cause my goodness, there’s nothing pleasant about it! So we’re prepping. Getting ready to leave tonight, we’re gonna wake up at 11pm. Probably won’t have much to say other than “ug” and “just get me to the top of this insane mountain! Yeah.

Wed. June 20^th 6pm

Just above 15,000 feet. We’re officially higher than I could ever get in Washington and on any mountain……it feels every bit it. My legs are sore [due to lack of oxygen]. The sun is setting right now. I hope I can make it to the top tonight.

Wed. June 20^th 6:32pm

I’m gonna try and head to bed and catch some shut eye before we wake up at 11pm. This hasn’t worked to well the past couple nights as the food has most come back up (buuuulaaaw…) We’ll see what happens!

Heading up the final "gauntlet" to Gilman's Point! WALK OR DIE!

Thursday June 21^st 12:25am

We’re moving up the trail to Gilman’s Point. I found my rythem. Inhale – left, exhale – right. It’s a slow, slow pace and as I look up I can see a few of the groups above me and 3 groups below me. Kind of an errie sight with the head lamps. So far so good. No problems breathing. No odd pains yet, and hope to see or feel none!

Thurs. June 21^st (time unknown)

My first interesting experience. Taking a dump at over 15,000 feet. Remember – always poop downhill. Oh yeah – everything here is more work than EVER imagined; but when you look up and see the stars, it’s amazing. Moving at about 10 paces per minute – sloooooooowly. I feel good. I can make it to the top of this thing. Good stuff.

Thurs. June 21^st 1:16am

Round number 2 of “poop on the mountain” come aggressively. Hope I never have to do that again! It’s the MOST fridged experience of my entire life!

Thurs. June 21^st (time unknown)

Don’t have a clue what time it is. Moving slow. From here on out – it’s mind over matter!

Climbing throught the night.......

Thurs. June 21^st 2:10am

We reach the cave….[I was miss-informed at this point. NOT the cave that marks the halfway point. Just a small stopping point] 4,950 meters. I feel like a dead man (laughing to myself). I’m gonna leave this thing now – gonna make it!

Thurs. June 21^st 3am

All I can think about it sleep. “Pole, pole” [meaning slowly, slowly in Swahili]

Thurs. June 21^st (after 6am)

The sun is officially over the horizon. I don’t’ have a clue what time it is; but whatever time the sun rises in Africa. We didn’t quite make our goel, not quite to Gilman’s Point. Just need to get there; or die trying. It’s beautiful up here. Nothing “pleasant” about it.

Not quite to the top! Almost there!

Thurs. June 21^st 7:20am

I reach Gilman’s Point! I’m not dead 5,681 meters – feels every bit that way! All I wanna do is sit here and take pictures and sleep! I feel totally wasted! Wow…..I feel really high…

Thurs. June 21^st

I made it and I’m not dead! Though it sure feels like it! I’m at 5,895 meters above sea level. I can barely feel my legs. My head is pounding, it’s a beautiful view from up here; and I can’t wait to head back down. From here – to Uhuru Peak.

On the ROOF OF AFRICA!

Thurs. June 21^st 9:45am

HA! I made it! I can’t believe I stinking made it! I feel like a dead man walking. This place is covered in glaciers and snow; and oh…..yeah….. I can barely feel my legs, my head is pounding – it’s great – yeah! And why am I doing this again???!!! Oh yeah – so one day when someone asks me the craziest thing that I’ve ever done – Climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro! Yeah – and deffinately - The Hardest! But I’m NOT DEAD!

Thurs. June 21^st 12:05pm

It’s not often you get left by your own guide; but I guess that’s life here in Kilimanjaro. It’s 12:05 and I’m heading down. Everyone else is off the mountain – there’s one left; but I’ve been waiting for an hour now and have yet to see any sign of ‘em coming off the mountain. Thinking they might have taken a different route and dropped below me. So I’m gonna take it slow and get off this thing. Everyone else is back at camp.

Friday June 22^nd

I’m 5 and ½ hrs. to the gate. We leave just a little bit before 8 ‘O clock this morning and hopefully hit the gate by 1 ‘O clock! I’m BEAT, my legs are killing me; and I’m ready for a day off! It’s been fun.

In Summary:
Hiking Kilimanjaro was - by far - the most lonely 5 days of my life! I did not originally plan on hiking it on my own (me and a guide) but that is how things turned out. While hiking for five days, many questions ran through my mind about life and as the hours blurred by, I realized that the mountian had taught me many things. I have NEVER pushed myself so hard in life to accomplish one goel - and so I learned that it is the same in relationships with people - the greatest reward comes when we don't give up on one another.
After much pain and endurance and finally reaching the "roof of Africa" in 4 days, I realized that in all my strivings to do something great, I had forgotten something more important - someone to share the experience with...... a lesson well worth the pain.

Off to the village!!!

We had a few setbacks on the way out to the village this last week - this blowout being one of the worst. After leaving the city around 3pm, we finally made it to our destinationaround 11pm that night....all safe, sound, and ready to sleep.

Tire blowout at night

In this shot, a HUGE truck that was waaaaay overloaded cruised by while we were changing the tire on the truck. Without a tripod, it blurred the shot a little bit but still came out pretty cool.

Remnants of past wildlife!

This rather well preserved head of an antilope is all that's left of the wildlife that once roamed the area and provided tasty meat for the village in years past. This is about the closest I got to any wildlife out in the village!

Waking up each morning....

Out in this particular village, we get to sleep on the roof each night - which can be a little tricky getting down in the morning before having that cup of coffee to wake me up. The history of the village is quite a rich one. Up until just 25-30 years past, there was plenty of wildlife that used to roam the area. Everything from lions to elephants shared the forests with the Nuni people; so each night they would climb up on the roof to seek protection from anything that might be roaming below. Now with the forests depleted and all the wildlife long gone, the roofs are used for storage and guest sleeping quarters.

Sock puppets in action!

Nothing like whipping out the 'ol sock puppet for a little entertainment! Kate and I had a good time attempting to depict Pharaoh's dream of the 7 fat cows and 7 thin cows.

Children's ministry out in the village

Each year when we head out on this trip (to the Nuni people), we are always blessed to see the amount of kids that come out to hear the play games, watch the skits, and hear the Gospel. Though it's a little hard to tell in this shot, I'm doing my best to tell the story of Joseph when he was in prison (all in French!!!) It was a fun challenge!

Praying with the kids

After all the skits and stories, we took time to pray with the kids and ask if any had never before asked Jesus into their hearts. The response was awesome.

Filming Fun!

Joel, Heidi (in picture) and I have been working hard trying to get the infamous "green screen" effect to work on our recent filming ventures. It's been a challenge as the key ingrediant wih almost all filming is lighting (of which we're a little limited). This shot was taken in the extra room at my house here in Ouaga while we were setting up the props and background to do the filming for our "Jacque's Cusine" segment.

Birthday in Burkina!

From left to right (Deanna and Randy Harrison, Heidi Hayslip, Me, and Rachel Harrison) We had a great time celebrating my 26th Birthday here, sharing stories and a fun evening together. The missionary community here are really a great group of people.

PART 1 of Kids Video!

PART 2 of Kids Video!

PART 3 of Kids Video!

On our last village visit....

As with almost all of our village visits, the kids seem to come from no where to see the new "white people!" It's always fun to goof around and try and talk to them as each village around here speaks a different dialect or entirely different language. Of course, getting everyone to smile for a picture........well, that's another story......

and then the rain!!!!

This shot was taken just 2 and 1/2 hours after the previous two in the dust storm. The rain came in full force and was absolutely incredible to see again after a six month break with only heat and dust.....

Couldn't see a THING!

At one point - we had to just stop driving cause visibility dropped to "0!" It was pretty crazy to see this kinda of wheather in April - but exciting none the less, cause we all knew what follows dust storms like these!

Killer Dust Storm!!!

It was around noon when it hit Ouaga this week. Just getting out of the truck to take this picture, I couldn't see or breathe - it was totally awesome!!!

Five minute update from West Africa!

Kate's Return from England!!

(As pictured above) If you look closely, you can see Kate riding up on her bike as the kids are just noticing her coming. Within seconds she was swarmed by smiling faces and warm greetings!

Saturday Clubs are BACK!

What happens when you film too long.......

First day back for the 2007 year! Everyone say HELLO!

Click Here

Kids of Hope kicks off for 2007!

We're back in action here in Ouagadougou for 2007 again with our Saturday Kids of Hope clubs! It's Kate Royal and I who are organizing everything now with the kids each week and having our hands full for sure! These kids are a blast and full of energy - making the club a perfect place for them to run around and learn some great lessons from the Bible at the same time! More to come!

As the sun sets

Sooooo, this last week we were back in the village of Ziga doing some filming and I decided to take a walk around during the evening and just try and enjoy the sunset. It's strange being here in West Africa......after growing up in Washington state all my life and thinking the sunsets were cool but not all that; I'm begining to realize just how good I had it all those years. The sunsets here are alright; but just seem to come up lacking........ (notice something missing?....)

Recent Village Trip!

Just this week, we (Joel and I) were able to go out to Ziga (where we did all the Christmas outreaches) and do some filming during the children's pastors training. It was a great opportunity to finally get the "behind the scenes" perspective of all that goes on each time we visit the area - and of course to goof around on the side. We're currently working on a rather fun film that we will be sending to churches in the States to show to the kids that want to be involved in missions!

New arrivals!

Scope out the latest little tikes here at our new office. 
Jynx has been hanging around now for just about a year. Now
she has some kids of her own - and they're absolutely adorable!

During the week.......

It's been an interesting past couple weeks here, learning what is now a third language (Fulfulde) in order to be able to communicate with the Fulani beggar boys (pictured above). Each Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday Moumouni and I make sure the kids get a good meal of rice and vegis which is always preceeded by a solid game of soccer. It's been a blast attempting to speak the few words that I've been able to remember from classes each day; but the kids are a blast and get a kick outta hearing me try. Each morning when I show up at the office where the kids gather for soccer, they all greet me and start asking me all kinds of questions - on the top of the list is "How is John and Mellissa?" and "When is Kate coming back?" which to me still sounds like "toy waru mownini bodu suluuuu...?" and "woogy snoogy macko taco...?" Gotta love these kids!!!

What's up....?

Sooooo.... in case you may have been wondering what I've been up too these last couple weeks - it's right in front of me in the above pic. God blessed me with this great Dell Laptop back in Aug. of last year with all the options for video editting; and now I'm pushing it too the max! We finally got our hands on Sony Vegas 7 and Final Cut Pro (two totally different video editting programs) and are using them together to produce some sharp looking promo shorts of the internship here in West Africa and the ministry that takes place here in Africa as well! Stay posted and we'll hopefully be able to upload it online here within the next couple weeks.

Running l'eau

Well, the temp has jumped back up here in Burkina Faso, and after not seeing rain since last October, the water is becoming a little more scarce. This shot was taken up in the often visited area of Ziga where we did our crazy fun and busy outreach back in December. We are now in the process of planning a future project for farming and irrigation which of course would involve - none other than a well! It'll be interesting to see how things pan out, seeing how these puppies run upwards of $12,000-$15,000 a piece........

My Oh My!

Okay - so this little girl's expresion is absolutely adorable! She had just opened up her gift and found a brand new backpack with all kinds of goodies inside. She was so suprised that she didn't know what to do......