For God

I was in a meeting when my phone began to ring. Not being Burkinabe (pronounced Burkina bay), I chose to hold off until after the meeting to answer the phone. A true Burkinabe answers his or her phone at any and all times...... I'm not there yet. I called back and found there was a 7 year old girl who was in the hospital, but needed to be placed in the orphanage once released. I exclaimed, "Of course! We would love to have her!". Two days later Social Action shows up at the orphanage with this little young lady whose name translated from Moore' means "for God." I can say with all my heart, this is the name was right on mark. I walked in and she looks up at me and smiles from ear to ear. Not too uncommon for a child, but the story attached to this particular one makes this smile nothing less than remarkable, amazing, and humbling.

I was told that she had just had surgery on her mouth and tongue due to severe damage done by drinking lye. Lye is the acid used to make soap here in Burkina. It literally melts all that it comes in contact with at full strength. She was rushed to the hospital in Ouagadougou for surgery, and for the most part, the surgery was a success. Unable to speak, she can only communicate with emotions, and the emotion she used when she arrived at our orphanage was a smile.

The history of the difficult childhood this little girl has had nearly made me collapse. There was a evidence all over of the hardships she had faced, but this child was different. She was "for God", and He had a different life in mind for His little princess. We handed her a small doll, and she instantly started caring for and hugging the doll. All the staggering details of her life just stopped, a u-turn in life with the hope for the future.

 

 

As impossible of a place Burkina can be, at times you think to yourself, are we truly finding "the least of these"? When we get tired, and worn out from running long hours 7 days a week, many times we ask ourselves "are we making a difference"? When I find myself once again walking into the cemetery with a heavy heart there are times I could even ask myself "why am I doing this?", and the answer is all wrapped up in this little girls name, For God. It was God who brought me here, it was God who brings me each of those who the world considers the least of these, but God sees the diamond in each of them.

 

Life is hard, but my life is not. People I know have suffered, but I have not. It is much easier to appreciate the life I have now that I live in Africa. When you see a smile on the face of a 7 year old girl who has endured more than I will in my lifetime, I am humbled. This smile was not for me, this smile was "for God."

 

 

Reflections on a Saturday Morning

Saturday is the weekend for most folks. Time to relax. Believe me, when I get a chance to relax on a Saturday I try and take full advantage of it. Most Saturdays are full of activity around here and this morning was no exception.

Today we had a shoe distribution at a school, a grain distribution for widows, a water baptism, a military visit and a trip to the hospital with a sick child...all before noon!!

We sent people off in different directions to get everything accomplished. Mike and I went to the baptism because one of the girls living at the orphanage was getting baptized. This was the first baptism we have gone to here.

Baptisms are typically done at the end of the rainy season when all the water has not dried up. This morning we arrived at the church. There were about 150 people getting baptized today. Before things got started, there was a large crowd gathered along the street. Then we heard the screaming and laughter and thunder of little feet as a local school was dismissed from class to join those gathered along the street. Something was about to happen! After several "official looking" cars passed a large group of cyclists came down the street. I am not sure if this was "Tour de Faso" (an actual event here) or something else, but everyone was cheering and we were glad to have witnessed it.

After the crowds died down, we greeted some of the pastors and then started our walk to the barrage (body of water, like a lake). This is where the baptisms would take place.

Everyone gathered and we were given a bench to sit on. Then there was some passionate preaching and singing. Afterwards, 2 of the pastors pulled off their shoes, rolled up their pants and walked down into the water. People then lined up in the water and one at a time they spoke a little and then were dunked under.

It was a very nice experience and a very beautiful morning and we couldn't help but reflect on the very first baptisms.

A week in pictures

Just a little bit of what's been going on this week at the orphanage.


Bathtime is now quicker, easier and more fun now that our baby bathing room is finished! 

Our tanties have their hands full!

Here comes trouble! We use a lot of diapers every day!

Schoolchildren receiving a new pair of TOMS shoes

Our new dining hall is nearly complete! Painting has begun!

Repainting the cribs for a fresh new look

Kids receive letters from their sponsors 

How many flies can you fit on one grape sized piece of fruit?
Now multiply that by 1000. It's the season for fallen fruit.

Teatime anyone? A daily ritual here in Burkina.

Time to go! See you next time!

Spa Treatment in Burkina Faso?

Well, we often say that we cannot complain about the heat and the sweat because millions of people pay to sit in saunas. And when you sit in the back of a truck and ride at high speeds, the dust that pelts your face can almost be called dermabrasion. However, this past Saturday, a few of us were treated to something special...a pedicure of sorts.

Okay, so we didn't have the fancy foot bath or the sweet smelling lotions, but we did get our toenails painted with fancy designs. And this cost us a whopping 40 cents a piece! There are some bargains to be had here.

Marguerite came to the orphanage guesthouse with her basket of nail polish and even some fake eyelashes if we were interested. We bypassed the eyelashes and got down to business. While our toes were being made works of art, Marguerite's son was playing with a few toys on the floor.

Pat gets the royal treatment

In the beginning all was good, but then she pulled out glue and press-on toenails. I think my eyes grew 3 sizes. I had to act quickly...do I let her do this or not? I couldn't imagine what would happen to my toenails if I had plastic glued to them, so my tongue caught up with my brain and I said, "Wait!". I asked if it was possible for her to just paint my natural nails. She complied, we picked colors and away she went.

My forty cent pedicure!

I received a lovely design. Emily and Pat had their toes done up in the colors of the Burkina Flag, complete with stars. There was a qualifying soccer match on later that day for Burkina's team and we think they won because of the good luck they brought with their toes.

Burkina toes in progress.

Another interesting day in Africa!