Politics and A New Lesson

Last Sunday was election day in Burkina Faso for local officials like mayors.  It took until Friday to tally the results and as usual, there was unhappiness among certain groups.  There was an example of how politics have gone terribly awry everywhere in the world, including Burkina Faso.  A man took out a very large loan to run for office.  When the results were reported and he found out he was not elected, he sadly committed suicide.  Its painful to see how much money is spent in political campaigns when people are starving all over the world.

Last week at Tabitha Center we began meeting on Fridays, as well as Mondays and Wednesdays.  I had been given some material that had flannel graph figures to use while teaching the lesson.  The lessons are all written in French and encourage the instructor to ask a number of questions to the audience.  I began by telling the women (we have capped the number at 70) that since I don't know Moore, I wouldn't know if there answer was right or wrong.  They laughed.  But I reminded them that Suzanne (the pastor's wife that translates my French into Moore) would.  And they laughed again.  I was very nervous about this approach because I wouldn't be able to understand their answers, and I didn't know if they would respond.  The lesson was about how a new baby fits in the family dynamics, and then asks if it is more important for the child to be healthy or to be taught good morals.  I had no need to worry about them responding!  They loved the flannel graph figures and the opportunity to voice their thoughts and feelings.  One of the points of the lesson was how children learn bad behavior.  There was an image of a father at a bar, the mother and father fighting in front of the children, and two women yelling at each other, and we talked at length about these examples.  After we finished the lesson, our representative from Aceddes and Suzanne had an announcement for the women.  Evidently the last time we met, one of the women had a large sum of money that had been given to her to give to her husband.  It was rolled up in the top of her skirt, which many of the women do.  Two hours after she left Tabitha Center she realized the money was gone so she returned to the Center and mentioned something about her neighbor sitting next to her when they were working and the insinuation that maybe she or one of the other women took the money.  Suzanne asked the women to pray together that the money would be found.  Immediately after saying amen, the room erupted in women yelling at each other.  It took almost 10 minutes for me to get them to sit down and be quiet.  I said don't you remember when we talked about I Corinthians 13 and how when you're angry, you deal with those involved with love and not with yelling at each other.  And then I pointed out that we had just talked about how women yelling at each other was a bad example for their children, and asked if they thought they had just been a good example.  They hung their heads and shook their heads no.  We have women who are Catholics, Assembly of God, Muslims, Christians, etc. in the room.  In this culture it is not uncommon for the women to yell at each other, and with the differing religions, not everyone believes that this is wrong.  Although it was a very difficult situation, it was also a great learning opportunity about how to deal with situations like this with love, just like God loves us.  And, oh by the way, the woman found the money at her home that afternoon.

Yesterday was a fair at the International School.  We set up a booth to sell the products that the women at Tabitha Center are making.  Someone asked if I was concerned if the product would sell and I could easily answer no.  I know that God has blessed the work there over and over so I wasn't concerned.  As it turns out, we sold more than I anticipated.  Many people were intrigued by the fact that the jewelry is made from magazine pages rolled into beads.  The women at Tabitha Center get better every day at rolling the beads, and creating the pieces of jewelry.  They have been making hair scrunchies.  Last week several of the women came to me and said they had created a new model for the scrunchie and what did I think.  It was far better and more attractive than the model I had given them.  They really take pride in what they are doing.  Talk about exciting!!

The Dental Team that was recently here donated a large sum of money to Tabitha Center.  One of the ways in which we are going to use the money is building a play area for the children.  There is a baby tied to almost every woman's back with one or two toddlers in tow.  We even have two sets of twins now.  The play area will serve a number of purposes including taking down the noise factor (understatement!), and an opportunity to teach them about God.  A team arrives early this week and they will be working on building wooden toys for the children.  These kids don't know how to play, so we need toys that are as sturdy as possible to teach them.  A team from my home church is coming out in February and one of the members of the team is the Children's Minister.  We're working together to see what they can bring with them as well.  Talk about exciting!

It was suggested that we have a Christmas party at Tabitha Center.  In discussing what the program would look like, I brought up providing a meal so 1) how would the cost of the food be covered (there will be well over 150 people there with the women and children) and 2) how could it be prepared.  The pastor's wife said Christmas is about being a family and remembering Jesus' birth so it's not necessary to be concerned about such things.  She said we could have everyone bring their own meal and have a picnic and just enjoy being together.  What wisdom!  Talk about exciting!

I also found out that the Burkinabae people don't give presents on Christmas, but they do on New Years. 

On a personal note, when I came to Burkina Faso I decided that how I looked didn't matter.  My concerns should be around the people I was serving.  And besides, I'm 60 now and no spring chicken!  But my vanity won out over my intellect this week, so many of you have seen the new me without grey hair on a picture Betty Arnold posted.  The woman who dyed it for me is a Burkinabae and her comment was that everyone has their time to go grey, but it wasn't my time yet (love that woman!).  So thanks for all the kind comments.  Sorry I couldn't be stronger about the whole vanity thing, but such is life!

Thanksgiving in Burkina Faso

Last Saturday, a dental team arrived from the U.S.  Con and Hien are Vietnamese.  Con is a dentist and Hien, his wife, is a doctor.  They have two wonderful daughters that came with them.  Also on the team, Mar who is from Burma and works in an E.R., Brittany who works in health care, and Matt and his wife Kara.  Kara is a secretary at her church and Matt works with computers.  On Sunday I had the incredible opportunity to travel with them to Tougan.  John and Betty Arnold, Pete, and Larry supervised the operation from the Burkina Faso end.  We arrived Sunday evening and were treated to dinner by the local church.  We started early Monday morning and Con finished the last patient for the day close to 1 a.m. Tuesday morning.  Pulling teeth began Tuesday around 8:30 a.m. and by the time we finished at noon, Con had pulled 68 teeth from 38 villagers!  Some of the teeth came out easily, while others were difficult and very painful for the patient (and all of us watching).  We packed up and headed back to Ouagadougou in time for Pete to catch his return flight back home. Early Wednesday morning the team was back at work in Sector 30.  There is no electricity or running water in Sector 30 which presents special opportunities but everything went smoothly.  With no electricity, it was necessary to end before dark and head back to the mission house.  Today, Friday, we were back at Sector 30, and at 3:30 p.m. Con had one more patient to see before closing down and packing up. 

Last night our team had a Thanksgiving dinner complete with turkey, dressing and stuffing.  The dental team joined us and we had such a nice evening.  Before coming, the dental team asked what each of us would like for them to bring to us.  We sent one or two items that we either were missing from home or would be useful in our ministry.  I asked for a water bottle, and scissors with white thread for Tabitha House.  They went above and beyond in bringing not only what we requested but other gifts as well.  It was like Christmas! This team is made up of very special people that I have become close to in 6 short days.  We'll all be sad to see them go.

Celebrating Thanksgiving in a country that does not celebrate the same holiday was strange.  It didn't feel like Thanksgiving.  It's hot, there are no advertisements for the holidays, and no black Friday shopping.  But it was an enjoyable day and nice to spend the evening with our team and friends.

Only through God's blessing and guidance, Tabitha House continues to be successful.  We were told today that people all around the Sector 30 area are talking about the work there.   It's amazing to watch these women who don't know how to read, write, or use a pair of scissors, beam with pride when they learn a new skill and are anxious to learn more.  I really struggled with capping the number of women that could come at 50, but we had no more room.  The goal now is to love and train these 50 women to have the ability to carry the work on by themselves, and to give them the skills to go out and teach others about Jesus and the Good News.

I missed my daughters and their families on Thanksgiving - that's for certain.  But I'm really thankful to be here and a part of this work.  

Claire, the woman who works here at our house, lost her sister this week.  She was 18 years old.  You can see the sadness on Claire's face.  Please keep her in your prayers.  And just a note about Claire -- last week after my French lesson with Daniel, she went running after him as he was leaving.  They talked for a few minutes and then Daniel came back to the house with her.  Claire wanted to know if it was o.k. for her to call me "Mammie".  In their culture they call women who they respect "Tantie"  which means auntie.  Claire wanted to know if she could take it to the next step and call me Mammie.  It was really touching.  Claire is a very gentle, kind soul.  With it being so hot here, I've fallen back into the bad habit of drinking Coca Cola.  Whenever I drink one I fix half of it for Claire.  When I offer it to her, you would think it was a gift of gold. 

Wednesday was an exciting day at Tabitha House

Wednesday was an exciting day at Tabitha House.  First, a team that was recently here from the US heard that we were in need of tables and made five of them.  They were delivered early Wednesday morning.  Here is the thank you note that was sent to them:

Dear Friends, 

You will soon be receiving some photos of the delivery of the tables you made to Tabitha House.  It will be hard for you to appreciate the feelings and emotions of the women by the pictures.  So, I thought I might share it with you with words.

The women that come to Tabitha House have a very hard existence.  They work to eke out an existence from one day to the next.  They certainly don't think of themselves as special in any way. But today you made them feel very special.  You showed them that others care about them and love them -- people that they haven't even met!  Most importantly, you helped them see the love of God working through you.  Instead of trying to cut fabric on a narrow wooden bench, they had that fantastic table to use.  Instead of designing and putting together necklaces with the beads and string on their laps, they had a table to lay out their beads.  They even used one of the tables, carefully covered with a piece of scrap material, to use an iron that had been heated in the fire to complete the ties for the jewelry sacks.  Everyone of the tables were used today, and will be for hopefully a long time.

When I first went to Tabitha House to be introduced to the women, I looked out at their faces and thought "how arrogant I am to think that I could come here and make a difference".  These women needed a miracle-maker.  It scared me so badly that all I wanted to do was get up and run as fast as I could!  But I clearly heard God's voice in my head saying "you can love them.  That's what they need. You can love them."  That's what you did by your gift - you loved them and by doing that gave them hope for a better existence.  Many who come have not heard of Jesus Christ before, so your gift shows them what life in Jesus is like - loving others because He loved us.  And that's powerful!

So, on behalf of the women at Tabitha House - THANK YOU!  Your love is and will be far reaching.

Dee Dee Sterling

Then to add to the excitement of the day, I had the incredible opportunity to distribute money that had been received for the jewelry and dolls they made. The women were paid a percentage of the funds based on the number of days they came.  Most of the women sat in stunned silence and amazement at the amount they were receiving.  (These women and their families eke out an existence on about $.50 a day.)  Some cried and some could just sit smiling from ear to ear.  From what I understand, there was a a lot of rejoicing in their homes that evening. 

Sometimes I find myself wondering how I get the privilege of working in this ministry.  What I've decided is that I can't answer that question so I'll just be extremely grateful for the opportunity.

One of the women that come to Tabitha House lost her husband in an accident on Tuesday.  If you would, please say a prayer for her and her family.  Life was hard before and now without her husband, I can't even imagine.

Sunday was the 21^st anniversary celebrating women in the church here in Burkina Faso.  The service was 3-1/2 hours long with lots of singing, dancing, and acknowledgement of women, all organized and led by women.  Each year they commission a special fabric for the event and make their skirts and dresses out of it.  They wrote special songs and did a great skit on being blessed by God but then turning around and not treating others with the same love.  It was a joyous service.  As I watched, the importance of the day for these women really hit me. 

Amnesty International did a study on women in Burkina Faso in 2010.  Here are some of their findings:

Unmarried women are seen as ill-fated and of little worth. Married women without children face discrimination and are at risk of being abandoned or rejected by their husbands and in-laws. There are heavy cultural pressures from the community on women to have many children, seen as a sign of wealth, particularly in rural areas.

Although women have equal status under the law, in practice most are subordinate to the men in their lives and are unable to make key decisions, including the timing and spacing of their pregnancies. Women are embedded in a vicious circle with little access to education or to information on sexual and reproductive rights, and are subject to early marriages, female genital mutilation and polygamy as well as being expected to work long hours while pregnant or after childbirth.

Women are well aware of the dangers of pregnancy, as nearly everyone knows a relative or friend who died or suffered complications in pregnancy and childbirth. Several women told Amnesty International that young girls in rural areas used to wish each other "not to have the misfortune of being pregnant".

Women in Burkina Faso

• Every year, more than 2,000 women die in Burkina Faso from complications of pregnancy and childbirth.
• In 2007, the literacy rate for women and girls was only 21 per cent, compared to 36.7 per cent for men and boys.
• In rural areas the fertility rate is 6.9 children per woman, as compared with 3.7 in urban areas. The national average is 6.2.
• Young women in rural areas are more likely to bear children, with 157 per thousand rural adolescents becoming mothers, compared with 64 per thousand in urban areas.

Statistics taken from Giving LIfe, Risking Death - Maternal Mortality in Burkina Faso (pdf 2.34MB) a report by Amnesty International.  http://www.amnesty.org.au/poverty/comments/22437/

It is wonderful to see the church in Burkina Faso playing such a dynamic role in acknowledging and changing the status and worth of women. 

A Growing "Good" Problem

This morning I woke up and was immediately apprehensive about going to Tabitha House.  Didn't sleep much during the night and I felt very unprepared.  On Monday I thought it would be a smart thing to just leave all of the materials there and not tote them back and forth.  It didn't dawn on me until late yesterday that I had made a bit of a goof.  In order to get a running start today, I should've cut the magazine pages up so that the women could immediately start rolling beads, but everything was at Tabitha House.  So this morning I got into the car and started praying that God would be with me.  I always have a concern in my stomach that I really can't converse with the women and that can make it difficult to get a reading on what they are thinking or feeling, plus today I didn't feel prepared.  When I walked through the door there were 27 women ready and waiting - not counting Johasakim, myself and probably15 little ones.  We went around the room and had everyone say their name since we had four new women.  And then the magic began!  I gave the devotional and we prayed.  Without a hitch and like a well-oiled machine, the women broke up into groups either cutting magazine pages, rolling  beads, making sacks for the jewelry,  sewing placemats, or putting together a prototype of a cloth necklace we are going to try.  They are so excited and anxious to learn and just have to be shown once how to do something and off they go!  The video will give you an idea of the activity and the noise level.  I sat in amazement and watched God at work.  It was fantastic.

A funny note about the placemats - when we tried to explain what they were for the women were absolutely baffled.  They usually eat on a bench or sitting on a rock, rarely at a table, so they couldn't understand the concept of what a placemat would be used for.  I'll be the first one to admit that I use placemats in the United States, but today they seemed so frivolous and I felt a bit guilty about the excess we enjoy.  Fortunately though our excess will help fund their existence so there's a positive!

It's good that there are 4 days before we meet again on Monday because most of the supplies have been wiped out and need to be replenished, we are just about out of space to hold everyone and some thought needs to be done on how to organize the room, and there needs to be some planning as we grow faster than I ever anticipated. 

The women that come to Tabitha House are of varying religions and that excites me.  It is a great opportunity to introduce Jesus Christ to those who may not know Him, and give a boost to those who do.  The African way of praying is for everyone to pray out loud all at once.  Sounds kindof like a bee-hive.  What's interesting is that women like for me to pray in English and will ask me to do that periodically.

Some of you have asked me if there is anything you can do.  There are two things that would be tremendously helpful.  First is to remember the women in your prayers.  Second is to help buy materials and the best way to do that is to send a check made out to Engage Burkina to:
3522 Hiram-Acworth Hwy
Dallas, GA 30157
and mark it "Dee Dee's Ministry Funds".  Please know that I haven't and won't ask for funds.  This is just in answer to several requests.  And as an FYI - I'm not told who sends funds unless you specifically direct that.  In other words, you won't make me feel bad if this isn't something you're interested in!

On a personal note, I LOVE ice cream - Dairy Queen's M&M Blizzard is my favorite.  Ice cream is not easy to find around here and the one place we have gone to is called Festival de Glace.  I didn't know how to get there, so it made the obession for ice cream even greater.  Last night a group of us went there and I paid very close attention to directions.  I am thrilled to say that I drove there by myself this afternoon and enjoyed two scoops of ice cream!  When it's 100 degrees, nothing tastes as good as ice cream.

Something Unexpected

I am so excited to announce that my daughter, Amber gave birth to Caroline Elizabeth Brown today.  Both are doing really well.  I really don't know how to thank so many people that have been praying for Amber and Caroline through a difficult pregnancy.  Isn't she just the sweetest little thing?

Today has been one of those difficult days of waiting - and waiting very far away!  I thought I would handle not being there for the birth better than I did.  Love is such a strong bond and I found myself wanting to be there so badly.  Her sister, Audra left Wisconsin this morning to be with Amber and I'm so thankful and proud of her for doing that.  Audra, Amber and I are the "Three Amigos"!

As a side note, today is a very important Muslim holiday, Eid al-Adha.  Most everything was shut down today.  Muslims went to the temple about 9 a.m. this morning to pray and when they returned home, they slaughtered a lamb or a goat in remembrance of Abraham's faithfulness to God when He instructed him to offer his son.  Then lots of food is prepared and the rest of the day people visit from one house to another enjoying each other's company and giving gifts.  The aroma from my window this morning was incredible!

Transformation

For the last three years, Tabitha House lacked leadership and both the number of women attending and the physical status of the building had declined sharply.  As you can see from this picture, the place had become a dumping ground.  Our numbers were growing but we were quickly running out of room to seat everyone with all the junk in the back.  And we never knew from week to week what might appear in the room to clutter it even further.  John Arnold called the pastor of Sector 30 and told him it was discouraging to arrive and find the room in such a mess.  That was a call to action!  Last Friday the women got together and we cleaned out the room.

I want the women to know that I'm a partner with them and want to work along side of them.  But everytime I would pick up a shovel or a broom, one would be there to take it from me.  Finally I convinced them to let me work with them.  We were shoveling piles of Shea nuts into bags.  After about 15 minutes of shoveling I thought I was going to pass out!  But they are not even breaking a sweat.  After 2 hours of working in over 100 degrees I had to call it quits while they were still going strong.  When I left, the room looked like this:

As we were working today, the pastor came with a team to fix the window grates and door.  I noticed he was working on some kind of equipment, but didn't have any idea what it was.  He finished with it about 10 minutes before we dismissed.  He tapped my shoulder, had me come over to the piece of equipment and turned it on.  It is an air conditioner he had rigged up!!  I actually could've kissed the man!  We are in the 100's now with the hot season to come and truthfully I wasn't sure how I was going to be able to handle it. Betty told me that these things are a huge honor.  Working there is a huge honor for me. 

We had a new baby today:

Her mom came in, spread out the piece of cloth and laid the baby on the concrete floor - no crib, no padding, no mattress. I'm sure this is how she sleeps at home, but it's probably a dirt floor.  Pretty humbling, isn't it?

The paper beads we are making require a page from a magazine to be marked every 2 centimeters across the top, and for the bottom, 1 centimeter and then 2 centimeters for the remainder of the bottom of the page.  The first mark for the 1 centimeter at the bottom of the page becomes one of the ends of a triangle, and continues across the page.  Today, two of the women were watching me mark the pages and ask if they could try.  Remember that they can't read or write.  So I had them mark the 2 centimeters across the top, and then the bottom as we pointed out each centimeter on the ruler and counted them out loud.  I'm not sure that they had ever seen or used a ruler before.  They were so intent and excited on what they were doing.  After awhile they wanted to try cutting the triangles.  Using scissors is very difficult for them, because they have rarely used them before.  But before long they were cutting away.  It was a moment of triumph for both of them - something we would take totally for granted.

One other thing you might find interesting is that the homes that these women live in do not have running water.  They have a large barrel that is bolted on a frame with four wheels and a handle for pushing.  They push these large barrels to a watering place and then have to push it back home.  I would guess it's half a mile to the watering place and back.  And when they are pushing these large barrels filled with water, they usually have a baby tied on their back.  It is mind-boggling how hard the people here have to work just to survive one day to the next!

An Unexpected Outcome

Today is the day that we had to go to the police station to determine fault for the accident I was recently involved in.  Even though I knew I wasn't at fault, it would be a lie to say that I wasn't scared and physically feeling ill about what could happen.  My hope, and what I thought would be the best scenario, would be for the young man and his mom not to come and everything just be dismissed.  But there they were, waiting for our turn.  They were sitting next to a large board that had pictures of traffic accidents where people had died.  There were dead bodies with blood all over the pavement.  It was a small stuffy area and I thought I might pass out. 

What happened next is something that noone but God could have devised and put together.  We introduced ourselves to them and I noticed that the mother gave me a concerned look.  A conversation started (in French so I couldn't understand it) between Betty, Adama and the mom.  As it turns out Adama had worked with the woman's sister for a long time.  The mom was a Christian and came to know Jesus through Pastor Tomas at the Central Church where I attend with the Arnolds.  As they continued to talk they found out that they had more and more acquaintances.  The young man had his toe wrapped, and cuts on two fingers and his arm but was doing well.  That they would be so kind and compassionate was totally unexpected.

We were then called into a room to go over the accident.  Rumor had it that if you were white, you would be found at fault regardless of the circumstances and I could hardly breathe knowing what probably was ahead.  A very impressive young police officer drew the scene of the accident on a chalkboard from pictures they had taken.  For almost an hour he then talked to the young man about the foolishness of what he had done.  He did not do it in a demeaning way, but rather with facts and concern for his future safety.  He asked how old the young man was and he said "20".  The police officer said "Congratulations" and let him know that he wouldn't make it to 21 if he kept driving the way he was.  By looking at the chalkboard, there could be absolutely no doubt about how the accident happened.  Although I was relieved that proof showed he was clearly at fault, I kept waiting for another shoe to drop.  There was no other shoe, just a lesson for the young man to learn that fortunately hadn't killed him.  We were then told that we had a chance to work it out among ourselves first, and if a resolution couldnt be found then the police would make it.  We decided not to ask for them the replace the window - they would take care of their damages and we would take care of ours.  Everyone in the room was amazed that we didn't demand payment and as John said, it was a great testimony.

Who could've written such a script?  None of us, that's for sure. It was truly amazing to watch unfold.

A Really Good Day Turned Not So Good

Ever had one of those days that starts out really good and in an instant turns into a not-so-good day?  That was today!  I needed to put gas in the car and had not done it on my own before.  Susan explained the French words I would need to know and I was thrilled when I pulled away from the gas station with everything have gone like clock work.  I headed out to Tabitha House and we had a fantastic day.  We started studying the virtuous woman in Proverbs 31.  I was hoping that they could memorize verse 10 but quickly found out that the translation in Moore was difficult and they were struggling with it.  I tried to get them to stop, but they were determined and before long they all knew it.  Remember that they can't read or write and much of the Bible and it's concepts are very foreign to them.  But they are like sponges -- ready to take everything in.  After that we worked some more on the paper beads and they were able to put lacquer on the finished beads.  The video shows you how excited  they are about this project.  They make each bead with great care and are really proud of their creations.

I love being with them while they are working.  They have such a good time and have such distinct personalities.  When we finished the beads, we went to look at the garden.  On Monday we helped dig and plant a garden that will help provide food for the women and some extra income for the food that will be sold.  I was very touched because they named one of the rows the "Dee Dee row" since I had planted the starts in that row.  When I first started going to Tabitha House, the women would shake my hand, and then I would hug them.  Hugging is not a custom in this country and they weren't quite sure what to make of it.  Now they give me big bear hugs.

Meet some of our newest friends at Tabitha House:

Jacqueline

Florence

Maimounata

Zoenabo

Zoenabo

Fatou

Nemata

Rasmata

I left flying high because it had been such a successful morning.  As I was almost home that changed in a matter of a moment.  I was making a left-hand turn on to the street that I live on.  I had stopped for on-coming traffic and had my blinker on.  I had checked all mirrors to make sure I was o.k. and just as I started to make the turn, a motorscooter came flying up on my left and smashed into the driver's door.  The glass shattered and I was covered in glass.  I saw that the moto had gone down, but the young man had moved over to a place in the shade.  As soon as I could gather up as much glass as possible that was on my lap, I got out and dumped it by the side of the road.  I went over to see if the young man was o.k. and called Betty.  She was there in a matter of minutes and was one of the most welcome sites I've ever had in my life!  Here in Burkina Faso you don't have to have a license or take lessons on how to drive a moto.  Everyone is in a hurry and wants to be first so they pass however they think is going to be the fastest.  This young man came up behind me and tried to pass me on the left even though I was stopped to turn and had my blinker on.   I guess he thought he could beat me before I turned.  His arm and toe were scraped pretty badly.  His mother came to get him and when she looked at him she said "I told you not to drive so fast!"  She took his arm, left the moto right in the middle of the road where it had skidded and left as quickly as possible.  She knew he was at fault and more than likely there are no papers for the moto and the young man did not have insurance.  The police had been called so we had to wait for them.  They surveyed the scene, put the moto in the back of their truck and told us to go to the police station on Saturday.  The really sad thing about this is that it happens all the time.  There are so many people on motos, bikes, cars and donkey carts and they all want to be the fastest.  Red lights and traffic laws mean nothing.  John came soon after Betty arrived and he had a native Burkinabae with him that helps to negotiate through these things (I'm not the first to have something like this happen and unfortunately I won't be the last).  He was very kind and told me that no matter how hard you try you can't keep people from doing stupid things like this young man had done.  John and Betty were absolutely wonderful with the situation.  They are fantastic people who take really good care of the team here in Ouagua. There are many lessons that can be learned from today but when all is said and done I want to remember the happiness of the women at the Tabitha House today and thank God for blessing that work.

A First - Giving a Lesson in French!

Yesterday I had the opportunity to give my first lesson on the "L'amour de Die pour vous est vu dans la creation" - God's love for you is seen in His creation.  Fortunately Suzanne who was translating from French to Moore (the local tribal language) understood my limited French and the lesson seemed to go well.  I asked the women if they would memorize Gen. 1:31a and if they could recite it on Monday, I would have a special surprise for them.  For most of us, memorizing a verse is an easy thing.  But these women can't read or write.  Suzanne would recite the verse and they would recite after her.  When they heard there would be a special surprise for knowing it, they really worked on it!  All during the morning you would hear them break out in reciting the verse and if someone made an error, someone from across the room would correct them. 

At the end of the lesson I asked them if they thought they were beautiful.  It was an easy answer for them - "Yes, they thought they were beautiful".  When I was talking about this with my French teacher this morning, he asked what women in the U.S. would say.  I told him that I thought most would think they were not - that they were too fat or too skinny and that would start the list of all the things they could find wrong with themselves (self included!).  Daniel said that a woman who is heavier is viewed as more beautiful here.  If a women doesn't gain weight after six months of marriage, the rumor is her husband isn't providing for her.  It makes sense in the third poorest country in the world - if you have food you gain weight and if you're starving you're thin.

I had the pictures of the women that I took on Monday printed.  I had included their names (as best I heard them).  The women were so excited about the pictures.  They talked about them the whole morning.  But at first I could see that they were giggling about something and I wondered if it were the spelling of their names.  Sure enough, that was what it was.  I didn't know how to ask Suzanne in French how to spell them correctly, so I wrote my name on the chalk board and pointed at a specific letter.  Then I went to one of their names and pointed to a specific letter and asked bien or mal (good or bad).  She understood me and was able to give me the correct spelling.  We had so much fun through the process.  Two new women joined us and I'll have to guess at the spelling until Suzanne can see it printed.  With names like Zakinatou and Ilboudo you can understand why it is a bit of a challenge.  What I admire about these women is that they are transparent - no hidden agendas.  They are kind and loving. Their day-to-day life is hard, but they seem to always be happy and ready to laugh.

Zakinatou

Ilboudo

As I was giving the lesson yesterday, two goats came in to see what was going on.  Near the end a rooster joined us for awhile.  Almost every woman had a baby that she either had sleeping tied to her back, or nursing.  I noticed that when one of the babies started to urinate, the mom would hold them over the floor.  There are no Pampers in Sector 30.  After the baby finished, the mom would take a straw hand broom and spread the puddle so that it would dry quicker.  The floor was dirty to begin with, and the women would put their babies down to play, crawl or lay on the floor.  The difference in life perspectives really hit me.  They live in mud huts with dirt floors and have no idea of germs.  There were several babies there that appeared to be malnourished.  They nursed often, but never seemed happy and were lethargic.  Hopefully we can get the moms to give those babies water with crushed moringa leaves so that they can get stronger. 

A Personal Note

On a personal note, my daughter Amber received very good news from the doctors today.  The baby she is carrying finally has a normal heart rate and the amniotic fluid has decreased.  Before I left a little over a month ago, there was a real concern that the baby was in stress and might have to be taken early.  But with medicine and prayer, the heart rate is basically converted to a normal rhythm.  Thank you for all of your prayers.  God is so good!

Tabitha Center - First Day

Tabitha Center is a place of refuge for widows and other women in Sector 30, the poorest section of the capital city Ouagadougou.  They come there several mornings a weeks to study the Bible, pray, and work on income producing projects.  With only a month of French under my belt, we interviewed and hired a translator to go with.  One young woman that was going to have a one day trial basis called last night to say that she was out of town and couldn't make it back in time.  The young woman was very kind and sweet, but her English was limited and I was concerned that it could make things more difficult.  Then not to show up was a red flag so we decided to go back and start at square one to find a translator.  In the meantime, I had committed to being at Tabitha Center this morning.  I decided to go by myself and give it a whirl.  As I was praying last night about the day, I had a realization that I could do this without a translator if need be.  I would write out my lessons in French and have my French teacher check them for me and work on the pronunciation.  It would be a good way of pushing me harder to learn and converse in French.

The drive to Tabitha Center is like driving anywhere in Burkina Faso.  Traffic is usually insane and the roads, both paved and dirt, are bumpy.  I took some videos on my way in this morning just to give you and idea:

The directions to get there went something like this:  Take Charles de Galle to the dead-end circle and turn left.  Go to the light where the blue and white gas station is on the right and make a left.  Go until the road dead-ends and turn right on the path.  Go down to the large electrical wires and turn left.  Go to the first set of two electrical wires and turn left.  You'll go down a very narrow path until you come to Tabitha Center. This is a video of pulling up to Tabitha Center and the children that run to the car in excitement of visitors.

Fortunately for me, Jehojakim from Aceddes was there for part of the morning.  He speaks some English and we were able to cover a great deal of information.  I brought out a suitcase full of items that came from the States, including a solar charger, pillow case dresses, seeds for peanuts, carrots, tomatoes and melons, and toothbrushes and toothpaste.  After that we went to the room where the women were gathered. What I was quickly reminded of is that you don't have to speak the same language to communicate.  We had so much fun!  They had an absolute blast going through the pillow cases dresses and choosing several for their daughters:

I took their pictures and wrote down their names so I can memorize them faster. There are more women that could  not make it today, so I'll add them as they come. 

Odette

Asseta

Zeste

Iasette

Tabita

Atena

Centia

Madolin

Suzanne

We arranged for me to come on Monday and Wednesday mornings from 8 a.m. - Noon and teach a Bible class and work on an income-producing activity.  I'll also come on Saturdays from 9 a.m. - noon and teach personal hygiene and sanitation.  As the garden is planted, I'll try to make it out more often to help with that.

I was overcome with emotion when I left this morning.  When I asked what I could do to help, the reply was "your presence here is enough".  I kind of wanted to pull a Moses and say "wait a minute - you don't understand! It's just me, nothing special, nothing earth shattering".  But I can't help but believe that I'm here for a purpose, and I'm ready to get going!

This last picture is one of the things that drew me back here after the visit in the Spring - the children.  There were several today that are not in this picture that were definitely not feeling well.  One little baby was sitting on the dirty floor when I came in.  She had flies all around her, and especially around her mouth where there was a sore.  Please pray for all these little ones and the women at the Tabitha Center.  

.

As a child I remember hearing sermons on how we as Christians are and should expect to be persecuted.  I never understood that -- no one made it hard for me to worship, my family was never threatened because we were Christians, I didn't fear any other religious group or ever expect to be harmed or killed because of what I believed in.  Today at Central Church my understanding changed with a resounding force. A man and his family from Niger were visiting and he told of the persecution there.  At the conference last week there were reports of pastors being denied land to farm and access to the village well in the villages they serve.  There is an upcoming election here that could change if and how Christians can worship.  They pray constantly about this (sometimes all night long) and ask God to guide their leaders   I know some of the native people that live here -- they are my friends -- and the understanding and realization of what might lie ahead for them is very real.  It is no longer just a far away place that I don't understand or know about that.

On a lighter note, if you are a cheddar cheese lover this is not the place for you!  We haven't seen any in the local market the month that I've been here and this happens frequently.  If some does happen to make it in, the price is unbelievably high.

Lessons in Patience

Today is the beginning of my third week in Burkina Faso. In those three weeks I have learned quite a bit, but know so little. Patience is not my virtue right now.  I want to know French NOW and I want to be working NOW.  I learned how to ask "how much?" in French. Yesterday I walked to an outdoor market not far from our house to buy avocados.  I was able to tell the women that I wanted avocados, but they didn't have any.  One of the women took me back through a maze of vegetable and fruit stands until she found a woman that had them.  The area was somewhat covered overhead so it was darker and flies were everywhere.  It was a little disconcerting at first, but I proudly asked "how much?" in French and when she replied I had no clue what she said!  Woops - need to work on the answer once I ask the question!   Daniel helped me this morning on the names of different currencies. Definitely something I will need to concentrate on learning.

I also drove by myself yesterday for the first time.  Although that doesn't sound like much, here I felt triumphant when I made it to my destination and back!  There are no road signs with the names of the roads, many of the dirt roads look the same, and there is no point of reference like mountains. There are so many types of vehicles such as bicycles, motorscooters, motorcycles, donkey-drawn carts - you name it!   I'm driving a 8 or 12 passenger van and am very thankful that back in the States I drive a Suburban . Next time I will venture a little further out.

We attended the Central Church again yesterday.  There was quite a bit of confusion because a woman who had breast cancer had died that morning.  She had no money, so the church was attending to her burial and caring for her four daughters.  The Youth Group was to have a meeting that afternoon, but it was cancelled so that they could dig the grave.  Since the woman had no money, her body had to be buried quickly to avoid costs for holding it to the next day.  It was very impressive to see the response of the group.



 

Introduction at the Tabitha House

The woman in front is Suzanne, the pastor's wife

Women at the Tabitha House

Betty Arnold and Dee Dee.

Tabitha House

Children of Sector 30

Yesterday, 9/12/2012/, John and Betty Arnold took me to Tabitha House to meet with Johasaquin, an Accedes employee who oversees the operation there. We were expecting to just meet with him, but as it turns out, the women of Sector 30 come to Tabitha House every Monday and Wednesday from 8 a.m. - noon so they were already there. In what seemed like a whirlwind moment, John, Betty and I were seated in front of the women and I was being introduced as the woman from America that had come to work with them.  It is hard - really impossible -- for anyone who hasn't visited Burkina Faso and Sector 30 to be able to understand the poverty.  They live in mud huts with no water, no lights, scarce food and where nothing is easy.  As I listened to the introduction and looked out over their faces, my first impulse was to get up and run!  I kept thinking how can I make a difference?  What can I do?  I felt totally overwhelmed.  But I heard a voice in my head saying "You can love them.  You can love them."  And I can certainly do that!  As we build relationships, and I learn more about their lives, ways for helping will come. 

I am always enamored by the children, so the pictures are a few that I met yesterday.  They are so eager to smile at you, shake your hand, hold your hand.  Most of their clothes were very tattered, so I can hardly wait to take out the pillowcase dresses that the women from Clay Church made!

There are three different languages that are spoken at Tabitha House - French, Jula and Moore (pronounced More-ay).  Betty is helping me find a young woman that can translates for me.  (It's going to be awhile before I can speak French fluently enough to communicate).  When that person is on board, then I will start going on Mondays and Wednesdays.

Worshipping at the Central Church Burkina Faso - September 9, 2012

This morning I had the awesome privilege to attend the Central Church in Burkina Faso.  I was first struck by how excited the people were to worship and how large the group was.  There are a lot of young people and as you can see in some of the videos they do a lot of singing and dancing.  What is really amazing as well is that the sermon is done in two different languages and the translator never misses a beat!  My French teacher attends there and he introduced us to his wife and little boy Sam.  The people were very friendly.  Afterwards I had the chance to have lunch with John and Betty Arnold.  They are great people who work very hard to spread God's love in this country.  It was a great day!

Claire cooks for us and
cleans the intern house

My roommates, Joanna and Susan

Burkina Faso!



Daniel Ouedraogo Salifou



My first day in Burkina Faso was spent setting up my room and in Orientation.  I share a home with two other women, Susan and Joanna.  There are approximately 10 of us on the team and we met to talk about what to expect living here and getting to know each other.  This morning I started language training with Daniel.  He is very kind and patient - the later being the most important! 


 

I was going to include a picture of our street and house but it has been raining for over 3 hours now.  At times this morning it was hard to hear Daniel because the rain was coming down so hard.  Most of the streets are dirt, so you only imagine what that means for trying to get around. 

One of the things I had forgotten about was the number of people here and how noisy it is.  At 4:30 a.m. the rooster next door starts crowing and the prayers from the mosque down the street blare over a loud speaker.  There is constant activity (except when it rains).  Many of our neighbors cook outside and spend most of their day and evenings out on the street or in their yards.  Goats are everywhere - just roaming around!

Just before I left, Janet Ross visited Clay Church and gave me several books to use while I was here.  She is a nurse who has travelled with teams to majority world countries to provide health care.  One of the books she gave me is called Sanitation and Cleanliness for a Healthy Environment.  One of the suggestions in the book is a simple compost toliet for tree planting.  Basically it's a moveable shelter over a shallow pit.  When the pit is full, it is covered with dirt and a tree is planted.  The toliet makes fertilizer for the tree and helps to decompose the waste.  I'm anxious to see if this is something we can do in Sector 30 with the Moringa trees.

15 Days!

In 15 days my plane takes off for Burkina Faso, Africa.  I have two suitcases (that can only weigh 50 lbs/each) that have to contain one year's worth of living.  A very unique way to look at what is really necessary to exist!

The experience leading up to this adventure has been phenomenal.  Almost every day I have the opportunity to talk to someone about the work in Burkina Faso, and have learned so much through those discussions.  The outpouring of care and support has been unbelievable.  A dear friend told me yesterday that my friends in HR are planning a monthly "Dee Dee Day" to go to the Grotto, light a candle and pray for me.  How cool is that!  Clay Church is donating funds to purchase transportation for me to use for the year and the car will then be donated for future interns and missionaries, AND a working fund for the mission work I'll be doing.  Unbelievable!  The local Kiwanis Club donated funds to plant over 100 Moringa trees, Harper Cancer Research Institute is donating a microscope so that the villagers can see "live" germs - and that's just a few examples of so many great things that are happening.

A friend recently asked me how she could help.  My task for her was to find a way to make something out of nothing and with that, the widows of Tabitha House could use it to make an income.  When you live in the poorest section of the third poorest country in the world, that's poor!  The missionaries and interns study the Bible with these women and introduce ways to make a living.  That is one of the places I'll be working at for the first three months of my stay.  Your ideas and thoughts are requested and welcome!

For the past two weeks my youngest daughter (who is due to deliver a little girl the last of October) has been in the hospital in Indy.  There have been problems with the baby's heart rate going up to the mid 200's and then suddenly dropping down into the 50's.  The first couple of days were a little scary, but the problem is almost resolved and she may get to go home today or tomorrow.  My daughters are so great about my year in Burkina Faso. My oldest daughter will come to be with her sister after the baby is born, something I would normally do.  They are wonderful.

The next time I write will be from Africa.  As always, your prayers are requested and gratefully received.

Dee Dee

An anthropologist proposed a game to the kids in an African tribe. He put a basket full of fruit near a tree and told the kids that who ever got there first won the sweet fruits. When he told them to run they all took each others hands and ...ran together, then sat together enjoying their treats. When he asked them why they had run like that as one could have had all the fruits for himself they said: ''UBUNTU, how can one of us be happy if all the other ones are sad?''
'UBUNTU' in the Xhosa culture means: "I am because we are"
♥
Ubuntu!

The Beginning

In early 2012, I travelled to Burkina Faso, Africa.  Clay United Methodist has been digging wells there, and along with three others, we went to visit villages where the wells had been dug.  We also wanted to find out from the villagers about other possible ways to help.  We spent ten days travelling in the bush, meeting wonderful people, and learning of life in one of the poorest countries in the world.

I fell in love with the country and the people -- especially the children.  It quickly became evident to me that I had to return to Burkina Faso...there was so much to do.  The University of Notre Dame granted me a one-year leave of absence and I will return in September, 2013.