Slippery When Wet

Well, you know you’re in rainy season when you have no choice but to be in 4 wheel drive to get to church which is only a few blocks away. The once barren dusty dirt paths that was home to so many goats, sheep, donkeys and chickens is now absent of most except the donkeys that seem none too happy to be standing in a river of flowing mud and waste. Not quite the streams we experienced from our former trips to North Carolina. Also absent is the desire to grab my fly fishing rod and throw a fly out for a trout. The thought of what we may pull up is quite disheartening. With all sarcasm set aside, we are being blessed with rain. We only have a few months of rain before we return to the desert climate where we will be lucky to see a single drop of rain for several months. The mud will be turned once again to a dry dust that stings the eyes, and fills each breath you take. These rains sweep through and act as the sanitation crews that you wait for all year long. Where there is no dumps, no garbage trucks, no bathrooms, and plenty of roaming animals, the dirt paths we call streets become a state of what many would consider to be deplorable. What government and man does not offer in a remote place like West Africa, God does. Even though this may sound like a place that one would be bitter if God were to set them in, this is the place that makes my heart race with excitement. This is home. I could not think of a place I would rather be.

I arrived at church this past Sunday to teach, and was amazed at the amount of people that still made it to church. I have no idea how they make it there. It was nearly an impossible task with my truck, unless I had a canoe, I could not imagine how I would get there. As I sat and pondered how they got there, I noticed the perfectly clean dresses the women wore, and the men’s shoes!!!! Not a drop of mud on them! I am looking for some star trek transporter machine! I look down and notice my shoes full of orange mud from the 10 feet I had to walk from my truck to the entry of the church. Embarrassed, I slowly slid them under my chair, and then hid them behind the pulpit. There are still so many mysteries of Africa I need to learn.

The fields, which are actually defined as any area that is more than 10’ x 10’ that does not have a building on it, are growing well in Yako. Any abandoned property, any small open area next to the paths are now growing corn, millet, beans or peanuts. It is certainly a different landscape than we  have experienced  since December. Come the end of October, we will lose it all and wait anxiously for next years rainy season. We are enjoying the green for the short time it lasts!

God is My Refuge

Sometimes life is very hard! These past 2 weeks have been difficult.
First, Mike's younger brother died unexpectedly in a camping accident when his head was struck by a falling rock. He was 19 years old and otherwise healthy. Mike flew back to the states to be by his family's side. I heard stories of Luke's friends praying for others in the hospital. There were physical healings as well as spiritual healings. Luke was also an organ donor and through him, others received a miracle.

Then, last week during Mike's absence, a bus transporting several of our older orphanage children blew a tire and rolled throwing a few from the vehicle and injuring many. They were on an outing funded by volunteers from France. Nobody could have prepared for this. We got a call from Sara, a volunteer from Germany who was also accompanying them on this trip. You could hear it in her voice...it wasn't good. We received a text message from one of the boys that they had been in an accident and please pray. Our local pastor called and Delaney and I drove over to his house. We were on our way into Ouaga when Ruth called and I asked her if she had heard what happened. She was about an hour outside of Ouaga on her way to a wedding with Kimberly (another short term visitor) when she got the news, turned around headed back to Ouaga. She told me it would be better for us to stay in Yako so we headed back. I was getting reports a few times each day from Ruth or one of our kids. Things were looking very bad for a few of our children and the owner of the vehicle and driver. Lucie, one of the french girls was flown home to care for her injuries. After a few days all of the children except two were released. The two boys Edouard and Barthelemy had been thrown from the vehicle and had very serious head injuries. They were in and out of conciousness. Phoebe was released but has already had two follow up visits for her injuries. When she came back to the orphanage it was shocking to see her for the first time. Throughout the week the boys were continually improving. Both of them are having some vision problems and Barto is having trouble hearing out of one of his ears. They have seen specialists and now we just have to wait as they continue to heal to see if these problems correct themself. During this time these boys and their numerous caregivers and visitors have been able to shine brightly giving God the glory for every improvement. The bus owner's wife was able to be ministered to. The family is muslim, however she was very receptive to prayers she was receiving and was able to see firsthand Christ loving her and her husband through ordinary people. The french volunteers, not Christians, have also been able to witness the power of prayer and the love of God.

We got into Ouaga yesterday and visited the hospital. Barthelemy was released and on his way back to Yako as we were on our way in to Ouaga. We were able to see Edouard. I had prepared myself for the worst. I knew his head was wrapped as he had a skull fracture and large wound. I knew that he had stitches above his eye that were not done well. He was in pretty bad shape, but he is healing up very nicely! I know that he has come a long way over the week so I was seeing him after much improvement. He greeted us and was happy to see us. He is eating and moving around a little. We are grateful that he did not need surgery for the skull injury and we hope that he will be released this week. The owner of the bus that was riding with them never regained consciousness and died last night. The driver is still in and out of conciousness, still fighting for his life.

If you were to see the hospital and how patients are treated you would understand that it is truly a miracle that all of our children will be okay. First of all there are not enough beds for those that come in so people are stacked up in the hallways and out in front of the hospital. There are bodily fluids everywhere. In each room that has a bed there are about 4 to 6 people and family members crowding the room. Nobody will be seen until someone makes a payment. A person could wait days on a floor waiting and die in the process. It happens all the time. After being seen the patient's caregiver (a family member or friend) will be told what medications and supplies are needed. The caregiver will have to send someone to a pharmacy to buy these things and bring them back. If an x-ray needs to be done, you pay first or it doesn't get done. I have seen nurses administering medicine by IV, but all wound care I watched being done by family or friends. Watching a loved one waiting for pain medication is frustrating as well as seeing that nobody writes anything down (no patient charts) and doesn't know what has been given and what time it has been given. The caregiver must take note of these things or you can see that the wrong medication could be given or too much medication can be given. It is certainly eye-opening.

But through all these trials I will not grow weary, for I know I am not alone. I know who is with me.

Isaiah 41:10 fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

One foot in front of the other

We take our steps one at a time, listening for God's direction. Sometimes it seems it would be a good idea to be blindfolded so that the steps we take are not our own and we would be forced to fully rely on God to lead us. That is not His way though. He allows us to blunder along sometimes tripping over our own feet, creating our own obstacle course. This is because He loves us so much that He wants us to freely choose to follow Him.

On the mission field it is no different. There are times we have to stop and listen because we can get so caught up in the needs around us that we lose sight of the step God wants us to take.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” -Proverbs 3:5

Being Available

As we start each day with plans, we often have to change them. God has plans of his own and sometimes we just have to be available. When we are available we can witness the miraculous, wonderful nature of God.

Sometimes being available isn't convenient. Sometimes we are busy and in the middle of other things that are important. But I promise you that if you become available and start listening to the direction that God is leading you, you will see with such clear vision the pieces of the puzzle being put together. We had two such instances happen within two days of eachother just this week.

On Friday, our nurse Beatrice told us she was heading to the village Cabo for the bi-monthly malnutrition clinic she was doing with some mothers whose children were not thriving. Mike went with her a month ago and it was amazing to see the progress that the children were making. I wanted to go with her on this visit so Mike and I, along with one of our short term visitors Linda got in the car with Bea and headed out of town.

Approaching Cabo is a beautiful sight. There are mountains in the distance and this time of the year everything is very green because of the rainfall. We arrived at the church and the pastor informed us that there was something happening at the hospital so many of the mothers went there.We only had a few mothers waiting for us. We set up chairs and the scale to weigh the babies inside the church and one at a time, they came in. When the third mother came in we could see that the baby not in very good shape. Skin was wrinkled and loose. It hurt our hearts to see this. Then it became evident that the mother was also not well physically. Her breathing was labored and her clothes hung on her tiny, frail frame. We asked Bea to ask her if she had been enough food. We know it is hard for many this time of year because last years growing season did not produce enough crops. They talked for a long time and Bea's eyes got very moist. This is significant becuse the Burkinabe typically do not show much emotion. She explained to us that the woman got sick and her husband left her. She was living with family but they could not help her much with food. She herself was too sick to work. She was going without food and her family could not give her the money for medicine. Her pastor has helped with what he could. With her consent we brought her and her baby back with us to Yako. We told her that we would take her to the hospital and that the baby could stay with us at the orphanage while she received the care she needed. On the way we purchased her a meal, the most food she had eaten in days. It was clear to us that God had us there at just the right time. I don't think this woman or her baby would have survived much longer.


Yesterday we had two food distributions in two different locations. Our pastor who heads up these distributions had to go about 8 hours away to care for his mother who is in the hospital. Ruth left for Ouaga to pick up two girls who will be volunteering at the orphanage for a few months. We had the truck and our motos to get to and from the distributions. In between distributions we got a call that there was a baby about 30 miles away whose mother died and she had nobody to care for her. Mike, one of our baby caregivers and our orphanage manager (who speaks some english) jumped in the truck and went to get her. Timing was crazy. We had no idea how we were going to manage getting to the other distribution. But even though the timing was not convenient, God knew where we needed to be. They picked up this adorable little one day old baby and brought her back. We are not sure if she will stay with us long term because there is still some investigation to be done. When a mother dies there is nobody to feed the baby. Milk is very expensive and families cannot afford it. Many times the babies are left to die. If there is a family member who is capable of caring for the baby and we can help them with milk, then she may be leaving. If we find that there is nobody to care for her then we keep her at the orphanage with the possibility of adoption in her future. Either way, God has a special plan for this precious angel. Mike also got back with thirty minute to spare so we were able to get to the next distribution and deliver grain to families in need.

Each day we just have to remember, God's plan and not our own and be available when he calls us.