The real purpose of a 30 hour famine... (very small video due to low bandwidth)

Death of a smartphone....

Nearly a year ago now, my cousin gave me this great Blackberry 8830 to use here in Africa. Upon returning here to Burkina Faso, I was able to get most of the features up and running. Well, a month ago I finally got the unlimited data rate plan going here. Everything was working great until yesterday morning I woke up to -you guessed it - the red light of death! At first I was rather confused as I always turn my phone off at night and have the alarm turn on the phone and wake me up; but this time I woke up before the phone was scheduled to turn on only to see a steady red light. I observed it for a while and noticed that it was essentially cycling internally. It would attempt to boot up (like from a hard reset) then flash the white screen with the turning hour glass for about 3 seconds and then go black again - only to start the cycle all over. If I take the battery out and plug it directly into my laptop, it will do the same thing only windows is so kind to remind me with a constant "bing" that it is virtually being unplugged and plugged back in over and over again.
If you should encounter this same problem, I regret to inform you that your phone is officially "bricked." I am sure that some tech savvy hacker out there has found a way to fix this; and if by chance you are reading this, I would greatly appreciate any comments or helpful hints you might have. In the mean time though, I will be hunting down a new phone on ebay and doing my best to get a replacement in the next 30 days.
Oh - and I forgot to mention that all my contact information was stored on the phone and lost in to a digital 'stargate' at this point in time. Live and learn - should have backed it up!

The cats will play when the .....power goes out???!

If there is one thing that I have discovered here in Africa, it's that the power cuts quite often; (everyday actually) and when it cuts at night, it's always good to have something fun to do. I recently acquired this awesome green laser off of ebay. Not only is it super bright, but I can use it to point out stars and constellations in the night sky as well. You would have to see it to believe it, but it's almost as though the laser beam just keeps going and going.

What I dream about when it's hot and humid......

Here in Burkina, the season is currently referred to as the "rainy season." It's no monsoon, but it can be quite hot and humid at times for a guy that grew up in Washington state. Just yesterday, I was sitting in my house with no electricity and sweating profusely as the humidity was over 70 percent. It's during those times that I like to close my eyes picture something like this.
This pic was taken back in 2004 of me standing on top of Green Mountain with Glacier Peak standing tall in the background. The view was breath taking and the air was so crisp!

Craving something different....

Yes - that's right. I have a grill on my front porch! Though it is rather small, it was a wonderful gift from some good friends of mine here in Burkina back in December. There are days here where the usual rice and sauce or bland pasta dishes just don't cut it; and those are the days that I bust out the grill and try something a little different! If you have any fun and simple grilling ideas that pertain to fruit - let me know.

Things Change.....

Here in Burkina, some things seem to take a long time to change. Interestingly enough, in some circumstances, things can change rather quickly as is the case with the Kids of Hope club property. What you are looking at in this picture is what has come together in just the last 2 weeks (yes - that is a foundation for a house). As a result, we are in the process of re-locating the club; and with God's direction and peace, we hope to be able to keep the club there for many years to come.

More awesome night "Lights."

Just last night, another awesome thunder storm rolled right over my little place here in Burkina. I was able to get just a few more pics before it started pouring down rain. If you look closely, you can see the three different pieces of lightning in the the shot.

Have you thought of trying the "West African Cuisine?"

For those that have lived in Burkina Faso, this is nothing new; but for anyone that has never traveled to central west Africa, this may be an intriguing sight. This local dish is called to and sauce (pronounced like the English word 'toe' ). The white stuff is made from millet and has a fairly bland flavor. The green sauce on the other hand is made from boiled leaves and often compliments or simply adds to the 'to.'
There is a restaurant in downtown Seattle called the West African Cuisine; and though I have never ventured there myself, I am curious if they serve this particular dish.

Ever wonder about gas prices in 3rd world countries???

What you are looking at is 400 CFA or roughly 85 cents (USD). Currently that will get you a round trip cab ride about 4 miles anywhere here in Ouagadougou. Sound too good to be true? It is. Cabs here are cheap. They have to be or else they would never make any money. The greater population of the country does not have the income to cover the cost of a car let alone a single payment. So what does it cost to fill a 10 gallon tank at the pump here in the capital city? The correct answer for today based on the current exchange rate of 1 USD = 465 XOF is $54.90 !!! When was the last time you paid that much for 10 gallons of gas???

You call that tea?!

So people often ask me what I eat over here in Burkina but often forget to ask about the drink of choice. This is a common sight all over here as tea is brewed and shared in three rounds between friends, family, and even alone. It's typically a black tea imported from China; and when brewed right, it can have a great flavor with enough sugar and caffeine to keep one going for hours. To fully experience Burkina, one has to stop and taste the tea.

Weekend ministry and activities.

Each Saturday here in Ouaga, I help host a kids club called Kids of Hope. This week, we continued the story of Saul's conversion experience in Acts 9. To get a better idea of how challenging it is to hit the mark without being able to see, we altered a classic game of "pin the tale on the donkey" as seen in the above pic.

Lighting up the sky

I was able to get this sweet shot with my little point and shoot camera last night from my front porch. I noticed some amazing lightning off in the distance, so I grabbed my little camera and set up the tripod to see what I could get. After taking about 20 or more shots, this first one turned out to be the best.

A Wall of Dust = Amazing Pic

This particular shot was not actually taken by me, but it best illustrates that "wall" effect that the dust creates just before a big rain. I had to turn up the contrast a bit because the shot was a little bleached out.

Just before the rain...

When it rains here in Ouaga, it rains hard; but just before the rain something different happens. Pictured above are three shots taken in about the same spot. I had to move a little on the last two due to all the dust. If you look closely at the second shot, you can see the dust moving towards the camera. I I had taken a good panoramic shot, you would really be able to see just how much the dust looks like a huge wall. I will post another pic after this that will better illustrate that wall effect.

The night sky....

[This particular shot was taken with a Cannon 20D using a Tamron 18-200mm lens. ]
There are days here in Ouagadougou where the humidity is just so high that it is not comfortable to be outside for very long; so at night, it's no wonder why many people get out and simply sit around for hours talking about their day.

"The stars around the fair moon fade
Against the night,
When gazing full she fills the glade
And spreads the seas with silvery light."

- Sappho (around 500 B.C.)

There is wild life in the city....it's just a rare thing is all.

It may be hard to tell by looking at this photo, but this monitor lizard is actually a good 3-4 feet long! Recently spotted in a local park not more than a mile or two from where I live, I would have never thought that something like this could live in the city without being eaten!

The bathroom is ..... over there.....somewhere.

Taking a nice stroll through a local park, I ran across this sign. The funny thing was that there was no latrine or path or tail of any kind.........hmmmm.....

Dream Machine! (No - I do not own it)

Brand new and fresh off the boat, this beauty was shipped from England with only 67 km on it!!! A friend of mine who is working with "Friends in Action" had this donated for use here in Burkina Faso. Every person has a different idea of a their "dream car/truck;" but for me, after living here in Africa for over 3 years - this is really is the ultimate ride!

More Frequent Blog Posts....

As I have just recently discovered the joys of using Google Reader, I realized one very interesting thing when it comes to following any blog: frequent posts are a must if you want to keep your readers interested! That said, I will be doing my best to keep this blog updated more often so as to keep you better informed and up to date.
Sincerely,
Tyler Croyle