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.......